Pegafree Reviews

The Father (I) (2020)

Painfully realistic.

[10/10 · 22 August 2021]

Going in to watch this, I knew this film would resonate with me. Anthony Hopkins gives an absolutely stellar performance of a man suffering from the hourly/daily kaleidoscopic twists and turns of dementia. I absolutely loved how the film was able to depict the confusion and warping of time from the father's point of view.

From his insistence that someone was stealing personal items, to his staunch refusal to leave his flat, it all too keenly reminded me of the last chapter in my mother's life. The final scene hit closer to home than anticipated -- so painfully, but realistically captured. Brilliant.

Come Play (2020)

Surprisingly Good

[8/10 · 31 January 2021]

A month ago we rented the Babadook, and while I found that somewhat enjoyable, as a horror-movie fan who has seen countless movies of the same ilk, it was not terribly impressionable.

Then hubby rented this movie and I had no foreknowledge (hadn't even seen a trailer) of anything about it except that it was another "horror" movie. Yes, there are clear similarities to The Babadook, but I enjoyed this more, and found it more original.

As a parent of a child on the spectrum, who has been raised on screens his entire life, I could eerily relate, which for me, added depth to the experience. Yes, this movie is scary, quite scary at times, but it is less a traditional horror story, as much as it is the story of attempted communication and contact between different beings and realms.

If I Hadn't Met You (2018)

Slow buildup but deep, sweet, and suspenseful

[8/10 · 3 April 2019]

It does start out slow, but it is worth it. This is not a glitzy action-packed sci-fi story, though it does have its satisfying time-travel/parallel universe moments. At the end I found myself caring for all the characters and riveted by the events as they unfolded, even as I foresaw a major development before it was revealed.

I started to watch it with the English dubbing, but found it was a much richer experience to watch with the original audio (Catalan) with English subtitles.