Trailer of the movie "Holit 2"/Tulip Media
Four new and worthwhile films worth seeing
1. "Holit 2": there is a possibility that this is the biggest hit of the year
This is probably the biggest movie of the week, probably of the winter and maybe even of the year.
"Holit 2" came out here already on Tuesday, on the occasion of the Sabbath, is coming out in the rest of the world at the end of the week, and according to all predictions is going to be a huge blockbuster.
Since it just came out now, it is expected to be part of the 2025 Oscar season, that is, only in a year, and it is very likely that it will receive a bunch of nominations then.
Before the full review that will be published by us tomorrow, we will mention the basics: "Holit 2" continues the saga that started in the previous film, which was successful in its own right.
And what is the plot?
Ha, here we come to the terms of use.
It is important to clarify that in order to understand this hit, you need to do your homework.
If you haven't seen the first movie in the series, do so, and even if you have, it won't hurt to watch it again, and it's best if you're also familiar with the books.
In any case, seeing this hit in IMAX is an experience.
Also because of the impressive directing work of Denis Villeneuve, who aligns here with Christopher Nolan and stands next to him at the top of the list of the greatest commercial directors today - a status that was previously reserved for Spielberg and Lucas;
Also because of the spectacular work of all the other crew members - photographer Greg Fraser, composer Hans Zimmer and so on;
Also because of the actors' gallery, which includes most of the big names of our generation - Timothy Shalama, Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler and who not (only Sidney Sweeney is missing);
And also because seeing "Holit 2" in an auditorium full to the brim, with viewers of all ages clinging to their seats with bated breath for almost three hours, is the kind of spiritual transcendence the film describes.
In addition to everything, his engagement with faith, religion and Christianity is very topical, and despite all the popcorn he will sell, it is hard not to see political connections in him, including those that are relevant to our region at the moment.
experience.
From "Holit 2"/Tulip Media
2. "A robot's dream": one of the biggest sensations of the last Oscar
And here is a film whose total budget is equal to the make-up budget of "Holit 2".
It is a 2D animated film made in Spain, devoid of dialogues and stars, yet it received an Oscar nomination - in the longest animated film category.
This, at the expense of empires like Netflix and Disney that were left out because of him.
"Robot's Dream" deserves a nomination and also deserves an award - it is a unique and beautiful film, a real masterpiece, a kind of "eternal sunshine with a clear head" in animation.
It is suitable for anyone of any age, as long as they have a heart.
Based on Sarah Varon's graphic novel, director Pablo Berger presents a story set in 1980s New York.
As the name implies, the heroes are a dog and a robot.
The dog is a lonely puppy named Dog, who buys himself a robot to alleviate his loneliness.
They become soul mates and inseparable, but then something happens that destabilizes their harmony.
All they have left are their memories, and then they both ask themselves the biggest question of all, which Gina Rowlands already asked in "Another Woman": Are memories something you have, or something you've lost?
"Robot's Dream" answers this with extraordinary depth, both visually and emotionally, and all this in just over an hour and a half - you have to watch it twice to match the length of "Holit 2".
Oscar nominee.
From "A Robot's Dream"/Arcadia Motion Pictures, Lokiz Films, Noodles Production, Les Films du Worso
3. "Staying for the holiday": an instant classic in cinema
Alexander Payne shone as one of the most prominent American filmmakers of his generation with "About Schmidt", "Byways", "The Heirs" and "Nebraska", experienced a decline with "Living Small" and now makes a big comeback with "The Holdovers", which is nominated Oscar in five categories - including best film.
After a successful distribution in the rest of the world, this movie is now also starring in our theaters.
Paul Giamatti, in one of his best roles, plays a professor at a prestigious prep school who is stuck with the student he hates for Christmas break.
"Staying for the Holiday" is a film whose plot takes place in the 1970s and looks as if it was made then, in the golden age of American cinema, when films were films and values were values.
"Staying for the holiday" is a story that enters the heart and stays in it, about two people who, precisely at Christmas, learn what it means to be a manz.
Five Oscar nominations.
From "Remaining for the holiday"/Tulip Media
4. "Letter to a pig": now also on HOT and VOD of Lev
Two weeks ago it became known that "Letter to Pig", the short and beautiful animated film by Tal Kantor, is nominated for an Oscar.
The immediate reaction of many was the question - and where can you see him?
So now there is an answer - last week it went up on yesVOD and +STING, and now it is also available on HOT and Lev's VOD.
The film is based on a childhood memory that haunted the director.
Her class met with a Holocaust survivor, who told them that a pig saved his life.
Although the animal is considered impure in Judaism, in his case it turned out to be a guardian angel, and its body separated him from the Nazis who were looking for him.
The Jewish survivor of course did not forget the pig, and years later wrote him a letter of thanks.
More in Walla!
She dreamed of a pig saving a Jew in the Holocaust.
It became a masterpiece and an award-winning film
To the full article
On the way to the Oscars.
From "A Letter to a Pig"/The Hive Studio, Miyu Productions
This unique story intervened in Kantor's dream, and these memories left a strong impression on her.
He didn't let go of her even in her adulthood, until a few years ago she decided to turn them into a cinematic piece that would deal with the meeting of the Holocaust survivor with the pig, and the meeting of the schoolgirl with both.
The result is this animated film, and the rest is history - which now hopefully ends with a statuette.
In the meantime, don't miss the opportunity to watch "Letter to a Pig" - a masterpiece film, which manages to deal with the memory of the Holocaust in a mesmerizing way, from a new angle.
The script is complex and full of layers - and the animation, which the creator worked on for five years, is a work of thought full of details and expression.
One movie that really doesn't burn to watch
5. "Sai Bova": despite the big names, don't rush to go to this movie
One of the first big flops of 2024. Although the film is signed by Ethan Cohen, who along with his brother Joel created contemporary classics and award-winning hits such as "Fargo" and "Hard Country", and although it features names such as Margaret Cavali and Pedro Pascal, " Sai Bova" crashed at the box office, both in the countries and here, and received lukewarm reviews in communications and cold reactions from the few audiences that watched it.
Cohen created the film together with his partner Trisha Cook, who defines herself as a lesbian - they are married and have children together, but both he and she have another partner.
The two started working on the project in the late nineties and it takes place in 1999.
Margaret Cavali plays a young woman with a Texan accent who lives in Pennsylvania and travels to Florida.
Her partner in the adventure is Marian, a young woman who has not had sex for several years and prefers to spend her time reading books by Henry James, but the journey with her hyperactive friend will reawaken her sexual desire, and how.
To finance the trip, the two volunteer to transfer a car from one rental agency to another, and in the best cinematic tradition, it turns out that the trunk has a particularly sensitive package, and there are connected and dangerous people who are willing to kill them to get their hands on it.
Among the supporting actors you can find Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal and also Coleman Domingo, who is nominated for an Oscar this year for "Rustin".
All the boys here play characters of impersonal characters.
It's clear what the film is trying to do: take the men, who have always been the protagonists of this type of action film, and place them on the sidelines, while the lesbians are revealed to be the protagonists of the action, and all this without any objecting to them - there are a lot of sex scenes here, but Cohen and Cook do not present them in a cheap way or exploitative, and avoid showing frontal nudity.
The only organ shown to us is the male genital organ, and it is also in the form of a dildo, and even then the women use it for their own pleasure.
failure.
From "Sai Bova"/Tulip Media
It's hard to believe we're saying this about a movie involving Ethan Cohen, but "Sai Bubba" is very inferior - the acting performances are terrible, especially Cavalli with her heavy, fake Texan accent;
The production values are poor;
The directing and editing work is as arbitrary as almost everything else here, and even the short length of the film is not in its favor.
He only exaggerates how rushed and casual everything seems, and how the plot moves and characters are nothing more than drafts and chapter heads.
The attempt to take trite genres such as the travel film and the action comedy and paint them in new and queer shades is of course interesting, but "Sai Bova" executes it in a sloppy, even childish way because it is rude, enthusiastic and trying.
Maybe in 1999 the script was innovative and brilliant.
Today, we have works like "Seven Baby" and "Bottoms" by the American-Jewish-bisexual creator Emma Seligman, who gave her characters a rich, complete and deep world of dilemmas, struggles, social connections and cultural references.
None of that is present in this film, which takes its unrefined messages and hammers them over the head with phallic symbols.
Even the little bit of subtext we get with a spoon full of cheap symbolism.
There is no reason to rush to such a movie.
drive slowly
More on the same topic:
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Tal Cantor
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