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Anora is a romantic drama that has been receiving much critical acclaim and several prestigious awards. While this movie isn't the outstanding masterpiece some critics and fans claim it to be, this film is nonetheless worth your attention, respect and time if you appreciate contemporary dramas with quirky characters.

The story revolves around Russian-American erotic dancer Anora Mikheeva from New York City who is in her early twenties and going through quite a few challenges. Her mother and sister live in a different state, she stays in a modest dwelling with a roommate who annoys her more than anything else and she works an erotic dancer in a club with much competition and jealousy. Her life seems to become a fairy tale when she meets the son of a Russian oligarch who requests her services, pays her generously and ultimately asks her to marry him on a trip to Las Vegas. Things however turn sour when her husband's upset parents learn about their union and use their massive influence to annul the wedding. What follows are twenty-four most eventful hours filled with confusion, fear and pain.

This film convinces on numerous levels. It accurately portrays the clash between rich and poor. The protagonist is merely treated like a tool by her husband's family while she is genuinely fighting to organize positive changes in her life. This hopeless struggle is the guideline through the movie. The way the Russian oligarchs perceive the world also has negative impacts upon numerous other characters such as businesspeople, handlers, henchmen, lawyers and even priests. The depth and diversity of these characters is one of the film's greatest strengths. The acting performances are also remarkable with Mikey Madison shining brightly as resilient protagonist in her charismatic cinematic breakthrough.

The film's story is a mixed bag. The entire middle section from the moment the protagonist first meets her future husband to the point when they go to Las Vegas for the second time is dynamic, entertaining and surprising. The opening segment is however shallow while the closing segment drags on for far too long.

This leads us to this film's biggest flaw. It overstays its welcome with a challenging length of one hundred thirty-nine minutes. The final result would have been much more fluid if it had been cut by at least half an hour to avoid repetition in the falling action and especially in the tiresome resolution. Portraying the main story's aftermath certainly serves an understandable purpose but it is ultimately portrayed poorly due to a rapid decrease in energy.

In the end, Anora is a romantic drama that convinces with a realistic topic portraying the clash between rich and poor, fascinating characters with depth and memorable acting performances. The flawed story, excessive length and lack of energy in the resolution that should instead conclude this movie on a high note are the most notable downfalls. Ultimately, Anora qualifies only just as a good genre film but it fails to shine brightly enough to be genuinely considered the greatest movie of the past year.

Mickey 17 is a science-fiction satire loosely based upon the novel Mickey7 by American author Edward Ashton that only saw the light of day three years ago. This movie takes place thirty years in the future and follows an indebted man who runs away from home by signing up as an expandable worker for a spaceship crew aiming to colonize a planet known as Niflheim. Mickey Barnes has to accomplish dangerous missions for manipulative religious leader and failed politician Kenneth Marshall. Whenever he dies, a clone of him is printed and programmed with the protagonist's original identity. Problems start to occur when one version of the protagonist is believed to be murdered by mysterious aliens who actually save his life and a new clone is already being printed in the spaceship.

This science-fiction satire has a few strong elements that deserve to be praised. The camera work is calm and precise. The visual special effects are on the pulse of time but never exaggerated. The aliens are intellectually appealing. This film criticizes numerous elements such as cloning, colonialism, militarism as well as religious and political agendas that can still be found frequently in our real world. This film's story and style often remind of Bong Joon-ho's Snowpiercer released twelve years earlier that is based upon a four-volume French climate fiction graphic novel.

However, this new movie also has multiple flaws that need to be mentioned. The film's plot is predictable from start to finish and fails to come around with any noteworthy twists and turns. The movie's pace is dragging as its length overstays its welcome by at least half an hour. The acting performances and character depth are often repetitive and superficial as viewers will have a hard time emphasizing with anyone in this film.

At the end of the day, we have an average science-fiction film that fails to explore new ground. Fans of the contemporary Dune movies might want to give this film a try. Occasional science-fiction aficionados can however skip Mickey 17 without any regrets. Fans of director Bong Joon-ho might feel slightly disappointed by this film and should rather explore his greatest films from the past such as atmospheric psychological thriller Memories of Murder.