The Midnight Sky (2020)

 

A lone scientist in the Arctic races to contact a crew of astronauts returning home to a mysterious global catastrophe.

Beautifully produced and photographed sci-fi doomsday drama is good to watch, but never really explains what has been going on, rendering the plot almost silly, and the ending is quite predictable.

First Man (2018)

 

 

A look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969. 

 

Excellently produced and quite realistic rendition of the first moon landing is fully focused on Neil Armstrong and who he was, very successfully so, enhanced by Gosling's immersive performance, but somehow misses out on giving both the man and the mission any substantial meaning.

King Kong (2005)

In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to the mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with leading lady Ann Darrow.

A remake of a classic movie that is worthy to be compared with the original and adds its own magic with a capable cast, top-of-the art effects and some nice new touches to the famous story

Maltin***1/2: "A rare remake that reinvents the original film while honoring it at the same time. Jackson pulls us into a world of wonder, both on Skull and Manhattan Island, and takes us on a long but thrilling adventure that's hard to beat."

Argo (2012)

Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.

Well-crafted, entertaining political thriller with a good cast manages to mix tension and humour; however, the audacity of the true story seems more fascinating than what the movie actually offers.

Maltin***1/2: "Incredible true story...Affleck's sure-handed direction...manages to shift seamlessly from incredible tension in Iran and internecine politics in Washington, D.C., to the absurdity of the scheme in Hollywood. As the old pros in Movieland, Arkin and Goodman are hilarious, and every one of their punch lines scores a bull's-eye. Smart, enormously satisfying entertainment..."

Manchester by the Sea (2016)

A depressed uncle is asked to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy's father dies.

Meticuluosly performed and produced slice-of-life drama, at times heart-wrenching, but also a bit drab, espacially as the plot keeps piling up the blows of fate.

Carol (2015)

An aspiring photographer develops an intimate relationship with an older woman.

Highly exquisite adapation of Patricia Highsmith's lesbian love story achieves an intimate perspective from within a fragile relationship and awes with some Saul Leiter-inspired cinematography.