The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

 

 

A charismatic surgeon, is forced to make an unthinkable sacrifice after his life starts to fall apart, when the behavior of a teenage boy he has taken under his wing turns sinister. 

Definitely the work of a talented director creating an atmospheric film with excellent photography, good soundtrack and a formidable cast, but the intended horror and its surreal message of redemption seems stilted and pretentious; Funny Games it is not.

 

Bombshell (2019)

 

A group of women take on Fox News head Roger Alies and the toxic atmosphere he presided over at the network. 

A top cast drama based on the actual events and depicting an important topic gives its stars lots of room to display their talent, but the events are unnecessarily toned down, probably to avoid legal liability, so that its message doesn't have the full impact it deserves.

 

Nicole Kidman

Genius (2016)

A chronicle of Max Perkins's time as the book editor at Scribner and his relationship with Thomas Wolfe.

Muddled attempt of recreating a historical literary episode has some good period detail, but most figures are portrayed unsympathetically (especially Jude Law's Thomas Wolfe) and hardly manages to give an impression what the fuss is all about.

Destroyer (2018)

A police detective reconnects with people from an undercover assignment in her distant past in order to make peace.

Dark, intense, downward spiral of an undercover cop is skillfully revealed in slow bits and with a twist ending; Nicole Kidman delivers a remarkably terrifying performance as the downtrodden cop.

Nicole Kidman

Grace of Monaco (2014)

The story of former Hollywood star Grace Kelly's crisis of marriage and identity, during a political dispute between Monaco's Prince Rainier III and France's Charles De Gaulle, and a looming French invasion of Monaco in the early 1960s.

A quite pedestrian depiction of an episode of Monegasque history and Grace Kelly's part in it; Nicole Kidman's fits into the title role effortlessly.

Birth (2004)

A young boy attempts to convince a woman that he is her dead husband reborn.

Unusual drama insinuating or rather imagining the possibility of reincarnation skillfully holds its protagonists - and the audience - in a suspended, disquieting state of doubt and belief. 

Maltin***: "Eerie, riveting drama is remarkably effective in building and sustaining a mood of unease - and uncertainty."

The Portrait of a Lady (1996)

Nicole Kidman

Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_Kidman

Before I Go to Sleep (2014)

A woman wakes up every day, remembering nothing as a result of a traumatic accident in her past, but one day, new terrifying truths emerge that force her to question everyone around her.

Memento-like psychological thriller with no depth, but with a disappointing ending;  Nicole Kidman, however, is very good in the lead role.

Trespass (2011)

As they're held for ransom, a husband and wife's predicament grows more dire amid the discovery of betrayal and deception.

Unpleasant thriller with an ensemble of disagreeable characters relentlessly stomps through its confused plot.

Maltin BOMB: "If there's a point to this unpleasant, endlessly repetitive time-waster, it's that the wealthy are just as corrupt and miserable as their "lessers." But you knew that."

Secret in Their Eyes (2015)

A tight-knit team of rising investigators, along with their supervisor, is suddenly torn apart when they discover that one of their own teenage daughters has been brutally murdered.

Unusual Thriller with a twist ending, well executed, but the main attraction are the the tree lead performances.

The Beguiled (2017)

The unexpected arrival of a wounded Union soldier at a girls school in Virginia during the American Civil War leads to jealousy and betrayal.

A remake of Don Siegel's movie of the same title with all the good parts left out; the intention of transforming the story into an example of feminine solidarity backfires by omitting all racial, erotic and social subtexts.

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

To Die For (1995)

A beautiful but naïve aspiring television personality films a documentary on teenagers with a darker ulterior motive.

Slyly made satire with an excellent performance by Nicole Kidman  has lost some of its bite over time, probably because much of it has come true.

Halliwell*: "A deft satire on the worship of celebrity for its own sake and the way television can elevate the ordinary to heroic status, though it takes aim at an exceptionally easy target - a small-town girl - without managing to hit the bull's-eye."

Maltin**1/2: "Kidman is perfect...this black comedy seems to make all the right moves, but plays out its story with a surprising lack of irony; by the climax it has nothing more to offer."

New acquisition: To Die For (1995)

New acquisition: Birth (2004)

Stoker (2013)

A young woman's world comes crashing down when her father dies in a car accident, and adding to the girl's emotional turmoil is the sudden arrival of an uncle whom she never knew existed.

The plot, strongly reminiscent of Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt, doesn't spell out in full, but it has atmosphere and the director has a fine artistic eye for details and it does have a wicked twist ending.

Maltin**: "Director Park, in his English-language debut, uses his formidable skill creating a moody atmosphere to bring a sense of foreboding to this sick and pointless story...which, inevitably, is punctuated by extreme violence." 

Paddington (2014)

A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home and finds himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, where he meets a kindly family, who offer him a temporary haven.

Lovable combination of animation and real-life movie is great tasteful entertainmenr for kids and adults alike; nice touch to see Nicole Kidman as the villain.