Dear friend,

This week I completed one more revolution around the Sun, and although it was far from perfect (I couldn’t take my usual day off), I had a nice present from Nia DaCosta and Alex Garland.

Glass Onion, written and directed by Rian Johnson, US, 2022 - ⭐⭐⭐

After liking Wake Up Dead Man, I decided to give another try to Benoit Blanc’s second adventure, thinking that maybe I had been too hard with it the first time around.
I found myself revisiting all the reactions I went through more than three years ago, enjoying the first act, mostly enjoying the second act too, being utterly baffled by the third one.
Like in Knives Out, it seems that Johnson adheres to all the rules of the murder mystery, but at some point he decides they are too strict for him and breaks them… badly.
In this specific case, the murder specifics make no sense, there is very little investigation, and the ending is just… appalling. It’s like the screenplay swapped the classic ‘finale’ revelation with a mid-film one, leaving no time or interest for a worthy resolution.
This time, I felt less irritated by the fact that Edward Norton’s character was dressed like Frank T.J. Mackey (I get it, he was his role model), and I didn’t even notice half of the ‘mistakes’ that made me so annoyed years ago. Kate Hudson is delightful.
Finally, on average, it gets three stars again.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, directed by Nia DaCosta, written by Alex Garland, United Kingdom, 2026 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved The Marvels and enjoyed most of her Candyman, so I really hoped I would like Nia DaCosta’s foray into the world created by Boyle and Garland, especially because I want this trilogy to get completed.
Basically I spent the whole runtime looking like The Scream by Edvard Munch, sometimes literally holding my face in my hands. In one way or another, every ten to fifteen minutes something surprising, upsetting, moving, or just scary happens, leaving no time to think or slow your heartbeat down.
Its themes may be very explicit, but they are of the kind that resonates with me, and they are supported by striking visuals and storytelling, not to mention a monumental performance by Ralph Fiennes.
I don’t expect this to be a five-star film for everyone, but to me it’s a perfect horror film.
Further reading: Chuck Jordan’s excellent analysis.

Little Siberia/Pikku Siperia, directed by Dome Karukoski, co-written with Minna Panjanen, based on the novel by Antti Tuomainen, Finland, 2025 - ⭐⭐⭐

This Finnish film also has themes to explore, but I don’t think it does, or at least I didn’t feel it wanted to take a stance on them.
There is a priest in a small quiet village who is also a war veteran and is put in a position where he has to decide whether his faith can support him or not. And he looks for a sign in an asteroid that is creating unrest and attracting criminals from abroad.
It’s a very dark comedy, and perhaps not all of its humour transfers well to other cultures, so, despite overall enjoying it, I felt it lacked conviction.
But I’m relieved by the fact that Finnish people risk slipping on ice as much as Mediterranean folks do.