Nerdy Squirrel Reviews by Pasckie Pascua

“Anora” (2024, Hulu) erotic romantic comedy-dram a film written, directed, produced, and edited by Sean Baker . Note: This movie won Best Picture , Best Director , Best Actress , Best Original Screenplay , and Best Film Editing at the last Oscars. Add the Palme d'Or in Cannes, BAFTA awards, and Golden Globe nominations. Etc etcetera. Also, the film grossed $56.5 million worldwide against a $6 million budget, making it Baker's highest-grossing film.        Which baffles or astounds me. I am not saying that the movie is “awful,” regardless that the first half is all about sex worker sex (I am too old for those). I eventually did enjoy the movie for its comedy and Mikey Madison 's performance as Anora "Ani" Mikheeva, a stripper from New York who marries the wealthy son of a Russian oligarch , Ivan or Vanya. But as a Best Picture in a number of awards bodies? Nah ah. Not my kind of “Best Picture.” But then, that's how (the best of) cinema evolved. I don’...

“Adolescence” (Netflix) British crime drama. The story centers on a 13-year-old schoolboy who is arrested for the murder of a female classmate. Each of its four episodes was shot in one continuous take , with a lot of close-ups and elongated singular scenes yet never boring or plodding. Lead actor Stephen Graham, who plays the teenager's father, is also the co-creator and co-writer of the show.         The series is a must-see. It touches me for its poignant family realism or parents/children relationship that has always been complex as the kids evolve or start to grow. That complexity deepens amidst today’s technology’s impact on the young. Meanwhile, “Adolescence” projects issues around “manosphere,” “incel,” and those controversies ignited by influencer Andrew Tate, which are not my concerns, however.         You may google those words and Mr Tate but, I feel, those only muddle or confuse the deeper issue...

“Baby Reindeer” (Netflix) British black comedy - drama thriller , adapted from Richard Gadd’s autobiographical one-man show . Plot: Aspiring comedian Donny Dunn works as a bartender in a London pub . He offers a cup of tea to a customer, Martha, to cheer her up. Martha develops an attachment to Donny and begins to stalk him both in person and online.        I first read about the “true story” aspect of this series before I finally carried on, still reluctantly. Yet as the show flowed, a poignancy developed. An unmistakable urgency that is so real in these internet times as our individual universes are fit in an electronic gadget. I also recently saw a movie that treads the same vein, “Cat Person.”        Acting is exemplary. Richard Gadd as Donny and Jessica Gunning as Martha, and Nava Mau as Teri.         Direction by Weronika Tofilska and Josephine Bornebusch managed to...

“Zero Day” (Netflix) political thriller about a former President who is appointed to lead an investigation into a massive cyberattack that causes multiple disasters nationwide. A binge-watch lure, for sure. Director is the awesome Lesli Linka Glatter who previously made her TV mark with “Mad Men” (2007-2015) and “Homeland” (2011-2020).          Robert De Niro as ex-POTUS George Mullen is vintage De Niro. Credible, focused, in character all throughout. His Mullen is faltering, challenged, torn, enraged, but sincere and insistent. The persona has no pretensions.        The subject matter is very timely. Indeed, the series provokes discussion but I will leave it there so as not to spoil your weekend. All that I can say is, from episode 1, you know you'd be glued to your couch till the final episode 6. 🎥💻📽 “Prime Target” (Apple TV+) t hriller miniseries. Premise: Edward Brooks, a post-graduate mathematics stude...

“Say Nothing” (Hulu) historical drama, an adaptation of the 2018 book by Patrick Radden Keef e that details four decades in Northern Ireland during The Troubles . The series follows the lives of people growing up in Belfast in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, as well as their involvement in the Provisional Irish Republican Army , and inquiries into the Disappeared and particularly the murder of Jean McConville .         Interviews from the Belfast Project are woven into the narrative which also includes depictions of the 1973 Old Bailey bombing and the subsequent hunger strike by the Price sisters, Dolours and Marian, the central characters in this series. Viewers are also reminded that Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein leader, has consistently denied involvement in the Irish Republican Army (IRA).        Until Dolours and Marian reached older adulthood, the story is told almost in a journalistic manner. Crisp, tight,...

“The Last Son” (2021, Hulu) Western action drama film directed by Tim Sutton. Plot: Set in the late 19th century Sierra Nevada , Isaac LeMay, has been cursed by a terrible prophecy and in order to prevent his murder from the hands of his children, he hunts down his offspring, including cold-blooded murderer and outlaw, Cal, who is his last remaining son. While U.S. Marshal Solomon and bounty hunters track Cal down.        This is a decent Western indie. Minimally executed and finely-acted. As the ruthless Cal, Colson Baker, more known as rapper Machine Gun Kelly, can actually act. I only read about Colson when his relationship drama with Megan Fox hits showbiz tabloids. 🎥💻📽 “Bring Him to Me” (2023, Hulu) crime thriller , tells the story of a getaway driver, forced by a ruthless crime boss, to transport an unsuspecting young crew member to a planned execution, creating a tense journey where the driver must grapple with his conscience as he drives ...

“The Apprentice” (2024, Amazon Prime) bi ographical film that examines Donald Trump 's career as a real estate businessman in New York City in the 1970s and 1980s, including his relationship with attorney Roy Cohn . Before I say more, first I'd praise the performance of Sebastian Stan as Mr Trump and Jeremy Strong as Mr Cohn. Kickass!         President Trump described the movie as a "defamatory, politically disgusting hatchet job" intended to harm his ultimately successful 2024 presidential campaign . Of course, he wouldn't like it, what do we expect? Prior to. clicking it to watch, I veered away from reviews, beyond the info that both lead actors were nominated in the last Oscars, Golden Globes and BAFTA for their work. (Mr Strong also earned a SAG nomination.)        I was expecting a cartoonish showtime, regardless whether the indie film is all celebratory or defamatory of Donald. But neither. He is not ex...

“Kinds of Kindness” (2024, Hulu) black comedy - drama , structured as a " triptych fable,” whatever that was. Still figuring it out though I finished this movie, mainly due to the acting: Stone Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Hong Chau, Margaret Qualley. Can't lose with these performers. Add the curiosity of watching Joe Alwyn, one of Taylor Swift's many ex-boyfriends. In fact, Mr Plemons won Best Actor in last year's Cannes for this whacked job of surreal weirdness. Nevertheless, a fine acting gig.         I repeat: I enjoyed the acting, especially Jesse and Ms Stone (she even danced in the final frame!) However, I was at a loss as to what they were acting about.        This movie, which is praised by stoned, high in shrooms critics (obviously!) is a handiwork of Yorgos Lanthimos , whose best efforts delved on the same dadaist, absurdist notoriety: 2015's “The Lobster,” 2018's “The Favourite,” and 2023's “P...

“The Flight Attendant” (Max) dark comedy drama mystery thriller , based on the 2018 novel of the same name by Chris Bohjalian . Kaley Cuoco is the flight attendant.        Plot: Flight attendant Cassie Bowden is a reckless alcoholic who drinks during flights and spends her time having sex with strangers, including her passengers. Then shit happened. In Season 1, Cassie wakes up to the dead body of a hot dude that she had a one-night stand with, on a stop in Bangkok. In Season 2, she got embroiled in a messy trouble that was the trouble mostly of co-worker Megan Briscoe (Rosie Perez).        The comical turn of events are quite entertaining until I get distracted by too much segues and sashays and nightmarish walks into Cassie's hallucinogenic imaginings. The blood-splattered body of her hook-up was too much already! Cassie's intermittent flashbacks to the trauma episodes of her younger life can be exhaustingly ma...