Chasing the feel of watching First Reformed ? Here are the movies we recommend you watch right after.
When asked about starring in First Reformed, Ethan Hawke said it’s the kind of role he would have never dared to audition for 10 years ago. This is coming from the same goatee icon who did Gattaca 22 years ago, and Training Day 18 years ago. Needless to say that his performance in this movie is exceptional, and we hope that it will be rewarded with an Oscar. The film centers around his character, a reverend of a church in New York, who is trying to help a couple with marital issues (deciding the fate of a pregnancy). Instead, he uncovers a deeper story and becomes unexpectedly involved. Religion intersects with ethical questions on activism, abortion, and environmental issues. I know that sounds like a lot, but First Reformed delivers on everything. The writing by Paul Schrader is delicate yet ensures that the movie keeps a gripping pace.
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Actor: Ah-in Yoo, Ban Hye-ra, Cha Mi-Kyung, ChoI Seung-ho, Jang Won-hyung, Jeon Jong-seo, Jeon Seok-chan, Jeong Da-yi, Jong-seo Jun, Jun Jong-seo, Kim Shin-rock, Kim Shin-rok, Kim Sin-rock, Kim Soo-kyung, Lee Bong-ryeon, Lee Joong-ok, Lee Soo-jeong, Min Bok-gi, Moon Sung-keun, Ok Ja-yeon, Song Duk-ho, Soo-Kyung Kim, Steven Yeun, Yoo Ah-in
Director: Chang-dong Lee, Lee Chang-dong
The performance of a pot-bellied Joaquin Phoenix is nothing short of perfection. He brilliantly portrays a hitman down on his luck who happens to rescue a kidnapped teenage girl. It’s a tight movie, running a short 89 minutes. It makes a point that sticks. Pure entertainment, pure acting, and amazing directing by Lynne Ramsay (who also directed We Need to Talk About Kevin).
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Actor: Alessandro Nivola, Alex Manette, Christian Reeve, Claire Hsu, Cristina Dohmen, Dante Pereira-Olson, Edward Latham, Ekaterina Samsonov, Frank Pando, Jalina Mercado, Jason Babinsky, Joaquin Phoenix, John Doman, Jonathan Wilde, Judith Roberts, Kate Easton, Larry Canady, Leigh Dunham, Lucy Lan Luo, Madison Arnold, Novella Nelson, Oleg Ossayenko, Ronan Summers, Rose De Vera, Ryan Martin Brown, Scott Price, Sophie Piedras, Vinicius Damasceno
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Thunder Road is both a single-shot 13 minute short and a 91-minute feature-film expanding the story. Both are excellent and award-winning, but I really recommend the full experience!
Jim Cummings (above) is the director, writer, and main actor of this dark comedy. He plays a police officer having the worst day of his life as he tries to sing Bruce Springsteen’s Thunder Road at his mother’s funeral.
This sight is funny, and so is most of the story. But it’s also cringe-inducing, and because the main character is so sincere in his decline, will make you feel guilty about laughing so much.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Actor: Ammie Masterson, Bill Wise, Chelsea Edmundson, Chris Doubek, Frank Mosley, István Mihály, Jacqueline Doke, Jim Cummings, Jocelyn DeBoer, Jordan Ray Fox, Kendal Farr, Macon Blair, Marshall Allman, Nican Robinson, Tristan Riggs
Director: Jim Cummings
If you like: weird movies and / or Scandinavian mythology, this movie is for you. It's about unusual looking border agent with super-human abilities (such as smelling fear and shame) who meets someone like her for the first time There is a big revelation in Border that I can't share but while this movie was directed by an Iranian (Ali Abbasi), it's deeply rooted in Swedish folklore. Themes of identity, gender, and otherness intersect through a thrilling script and beautifully-shot nature scenes.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Fantasy
Actor: Andreas Kundler, Ann Petrén, Åsa Janson, Donald Högberg, Eero Milonoff, Eva Melander, Henrik Johansson, Ibrahim Faal, Jörgen Thorsson, Josefin Neldén, Kardo Razzazi, Kjell Wilhelmsen, Krister Kern, Matti Boustedt, Natalie Minnevik, Rakel Wärmländer, Robert Enckell, Sten Ljunggren, Tomas Åhnstrand, Viktor Åkerblom, Viktor Åkerblom-Nilsson
Director: Ali Abbasi
This is a really weird movie starring Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman. They play a wholesome and well-off couple where Farrell is a heart surgeon. The movie starts with him taking care of a teenager called Martin, who's not related to him or seems to have any real connection with him. It later turns out that Martin shares a special bond with the surgeon, a bond that will threaten his family in unexpected ways. The camera work and direction by Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Favourite) offset the weirdness to offer an intriguing experience.
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Actor: Alicia Silverstone, Anita Farmer Bergman, Barry G. Bernson, Barry Keoghan, Beverly Kristy, Bill Camp, Bryant Bentley, Carly Tamborski, Charles Poole, Colin Farrell, David Pittinger, Denise Dal Vera, Drew Logan, Dylan Keith Adams, Herb Caillouet, Jerry Pope, Joanne Popolin, John Newsom, John W. Harden, Lea Hutton Beasmore, Megan Chelf Fisher, Michelle Dobrozsi, Ming Wang, Nicole Kidman, Raffey Cassidy, Robert Gerding, Steven Schraub, Sunny Suljic, William C. Ingram
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Actor: Alice Kremelberg, Anna Deavere Smith, Anne Hollister, Antoine Drye, Armando Riesco, Barbara Ann Davison, Ben Falcone, Ben Rauch, Bill Walters, Bonita Hamilton, Brandon Scott Jones, Charlotte Mary Wen, Chris Lamberth, Christian Navarro, Dan McCabe, Dann Fink, Dolly Wells, Doris McCarthy, Erik LaRay Harvey, Ethel Fisher, George Aloi, Gregory Korostishevsky, Havilah Brewster, Jane Curtin, Joanna Adler, Josh Evans, Justin Vivian Bond, Katie Kocik, Kevin Carolan, Linwood Brown, Liz Eng, Lori Prince, Lucy DeVito, Marc Evan Jackson, Marcella Lowery, Marcus Choi, Mary B. McCann, Melissa McCarthy, Michael Cyril Creighton, Michael Laurence, Moisés Acevedo, Peter Donovan, Pun Bandhu, Richard E. Grant, Ricky Garcia, Roberta Wallach, Ron Maestri, Rosal Colon, Sandy Rosenberg, Sandy Rustin, Sean Oliver, Shae D'Lyn, Stephen Spinella, Tiffany Blair, Tim Cummings, Tina Benko, Wayne J. Miller, Zabryna Guevara
Director: Marielle Heller
Directed by the award-winning Swedish filmmaker Bjorn Runge and adapted by Jane Anderson from Meg Wolitzer's 2003 novel, The Wife has enjoyed great acclaim since premiering at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. The film follows the growing tension between acclaimed author Joseph Castleman and his wife Joan, who works as his secret ghostwriter, as Joseph is set to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. The direction is clean and careful with Glenn Close giving possibly one of the finest performances of her career as the supportive then increasingly resentful Joan. Emotional and funny at times, The Wife is a profound character exploration, celebrating womanhood and liberation.
Genre: Drama
Actor: Alix Wilton Regan, Anna Azcárate, Annie Starke, Björn Runge, Björn Runge, Carolin Stoltz, Christian Slater, Elizabeth McGovern, Glenn Close, Grainne Keenan, Harry Lloyd, Jan Mybrand, Jane Garioni, Johan Widerberg, John Moraitis, Jonathan Pryce, Karin Franz Körlof, Mattias Nordkvist, Max Irons, Michael Benz, Morgane Polanski, Nick Fletcher, Ossian Skarsgård, Peter Forbes, Richard Cordery, Suzanne Bertish
Director: Björn Runge
This Danish film which was the country's submission to the Oscars is about a delicate subject. A lawyer who specializes in defending children, and who is used to developing closeness with her clients including meeting with them in her home, starts having an affair with her teenage step-son.
There is inherent tension to this obviously very explicit plotline: how would a serious, non-erotic (or not-only-erotic) movie like this one portray such attraction. And of course, afterwards, what are the implications?
Genre: Drama
Actor: Carla Philip Røder, Elias Budde Christensen, Ella Solgaard, Frederikke Dahl Hansen, Gustav Lindh, Liv Esmår Dannemann, Mads Knarreborg, Magnus Kreppe, Magnus Krepper, Marie Dalsgaard, Mathias Skov Rahbæk, Nessie Beik, Preben Kristensen, Silja Esmår Dannemann, Stine Gyldenkerne, Trine Dyrholm
Director: May el-Toukhy
This twisted movie is actually two movies, the credits even roll in between. The first half is gorgeous: talented dancers get together for a party and perform beautiful contemporary dance sequences. They introduce themselves through their audition tapes to join the dance group, but also through conversations at the party. The second half is less fun. It turns out someone had laced the sangria they've been drinking with a psychedelic drug. Not for the faint of heart or anyone who didn't like director Gaspar Noé's past movies (Enter the Void, I Stand Alone, etc).
Genre: Drama, Horror, Music
Actor: Adrien Sissoko, Alaia Alsafir, Alexandre Moreau, Alou Sidibé, Ashley Biscette, Claude Gajan Maude, Claude Gajan Maull, Claude-Emmanuelle Gajan-Maull, Gaspar Noé, Giselle Palmer, Kendall Mugler, Kiddy Smile, Lakdhar Dridi, Lea Vlamos, Mamadou Bathily, Mounia Nassangar, Romain Guillermic, Sarah Belala, Sharleen Temple, Sofia Boutella, Souheila Yacoub, Strauss Serpent, Taylor Kastle, Thea Carla Schøtt, Thea Carla Schott, Tiphanie Au, Vince Galliot Cumant
Director: Gaspar Noé