What I saw in February (Part I)

Written by Bruna Ugá.

My watchlist this month was quite diverse. There is:

- Escapism from reality into dreams and hallucinations. 

- Facing life's challenges while finding friendship away from home.

- Pressure to be the best in one's life passion and pressure of a patriarcal society on the struggles of women. 

So let's dig into all of these!

Mulholland Drive (2001)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Mulholland Drive", 2001. Source: IMDB.

    During a cinephile’s lifetime there are going to be bad movies, good ones, excellent ones and those that keep coming back to their mind. The latter connect to the way you perceive the world around you and that’s what happened to me while watching “Mulholland Drive”.

    At some point I was afraid its abstractness would be just some trip without meaning – or at least to which I couldn’t give any meaning. Thankfully this assumption was wrong and there are many possibilities of understanding. 

    That’s not to say that everything must have an explanation or that I can list the meaning of each element here. But I was glad to see such a beautiful combination of creative imagery and touching storytelling that deeply conveys dreams and emotions. 

Rental Family (2025)⭐⭐⭐

"Rental Family", 2025. Source: IMDB.

    My first watch in the cinema this year! In this heart-warming film Brendan Fraser plays "Phillip", a north-American actor pursuing a career in Japan. It has lots of funny bits and its highlight is the relationship between characters.

    A few emotional moments tend to get cheesy but the storyline between "Phillip" and the elderly actor "Akira Emoto" (played by veteran actor Kikuo Hasegawa) stands out from the rest. The protagonist is a tender man which is a specialty of Fraser’s acting. His will to make people’s lives better made me think of  this as a japanese-american version of “Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain”.

Whiplash (2014)⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Whiplash", 2014. Source: IMDB

    When I watched it for the first time, my heart pounded fast and its 106 minutes felt like half an hour. Even though I knew everything that was coming, I felt the same way during my rewatch of “Whiplash”. In an era of films with gigantic budgets, CGI, AI etc., this movie shows how a simple story told in a stylish and intelligent manner can outweigh soulless blockbusters.     

Identity (2003)⭐⭐⭐

"Identity", 2003. Source: IMDB.

    As a curious kid I watched many movies not appropriate for my age on TV during late hours. I’m quite sure “Identity” was one of those, so a rewatch was long overdue.

    Even though it’s a slasher, its premise and execution are interesting enough to make it superior than other works of this genre. Instead of a cabin somewhere isolated there is a motel somewhere isolated; instead of a group of dumb teenagers there is a set of different characters – who are still caricatures, but that comes to make sense within the story.

    The awkward editing seen here is common to the 2000’s action and thriller movies. So, keeping that in mind, watching “Identity” can be as cool today as it was 20 years ago.

Fallout – Season 2 (2026)⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Fallout", Season 2, 2026. Source: IMDB.

    One of an adaption’s greatest qualities is being able to tell a story without the need of previous knowledge. “Fallout” is a perfect example since my ignorance of its source material doesn’t make the series any less appealing.

    It continues to be fun and engaging not only for the creative world building but also for the interesting characters. The main storylines with "Lucy", "The Ghoul" and "Maximus" are still the highlights but others like the people in the vault, "Norm" and his villainous father "Hank" also work. Let's hope that the third season keeps this quality level.   

Unbelievable (2019)⭐⭐⭐

"Unbelievable", 2019. Source: IMDB.

    Drama series involving crime hook me up fast. That is especially true with limited series like “Unbelievable”. The way the victims are depicted is its strongest point: the audience never gets to see gruesome photos or explicit violence towards them.

    Unlike other productions of this kind – many of which are excellent regarded of that – the focus is not on the criminal but on the victims’ stories and voices. There’s one moment at the end that changes the roles of who is usually “exposed” onscreen. That is an interesting subversion in how these pieces of media show women vs. men.   

Oh, also there is Toni Collette. I’m always happy to see Toni Collette in anything.