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Reviews
Queer (2024)
While it has spécial qualities, they are hidden in a mass of clichés and a boring pace
This is one of most boring and pretentious I have seen for years. Except for the sound track that tries to put some life in this otherwise contrived and obsolete story of an old gay men going through his depressing quest for a meaning to his life. Extremely slow paced, pseudo intellectual dialogs, caricatural depiction of gays in the 50's, the film appears like wanting to show how lost gay men were in these years.
Daniel Craig plays the anti héros. Drug addict, sexually impotent, he floats in a unreal world, desperate to find an anchor. He is sad and pathetic.
The film can be seen as the trash version of the famous Luchino Visconti's masterpiece Death in Venice. It could have been called Death in Mexico .
After the highly regarded Call me by your name, the director seems to err to produce a new work of value.
Anora (2024)
3 acts, one excellentc, one really bad and the last one average. it's too little.
The first act is fun and exciting. It is about success and is the most entertaining part of this movie. The second act is vulgar, too long, boring repetitive and caricatural. The third act is about failure and assessment. It is reasonably good with finally some real emotions. Unfortunately the general unbalance, the vulgar and caricatural excesses and lack of emotion bring the movie down
I can't find Mikey Madison good. She is hysterical, emotionless and overacting ubgand during the large part of the movie. It is only on the last part that we see that she has the potential of a good actress.. It's too late.
Dane-ye anjir-e ma'abed (2024)
À heavy handed analysis of present day Iranian society
This is is supposed to present the point of view of women struggling against a misogynistic government. The result is a long, often tedious, analysis of Iranian society contradictions.
The pretext is the famous recent riots when a young Iranian Kurdish girl died after been arrested for ignoring the vestimental law for women in public places. This was seen again by the west as the oppression of Iranian women
In this film the women in their comfortable bourgeois life of shopping dressing up and watching funny tick tock are suddenly faced with restrictions due to the promotion of the father to a new position in the law enforcement that could expose him to revenge.
The wife who cares more about getting a new dishwashing machine, getting a larger appartment and providing comfort to her daughters rather than showing empathy for the suffering of her husband from the intolerable pressure he is getting in this new job that offers many financial advantages. The girls follow the trend that the social media promotes about associating the death of the young protester to an accusation of the theocratic system that oppresses women by imposing rules of behavior in public.
Instead of trying to understand their father, not only they show him comtempt but they cruelly put him in a even more stressful situation by acting against him. The three women make a bloc to lie about the dissappearance of a gun kept at home by the father. He is distraught and worried about his career because of the lost gun. He soon realizes that the women in his family are lying, and because of the social upheaval in the street they have become judgemental on the male of the family and indifferent to his anxiety. They have totally lost respect for him as a man and a provider. He decides to force the truth to appear but this will cost him his life.
The irony is that this film is unwillingly sympathetic to the hard working father who faces a negative judgement from his immature wife and daughters. His death makes him a hero while the behavior of the three women makes them accomplice in the crime. Is the director trying to tackle the complexity of the Iranian society trapped between the religion, its traditions and the invading influence of western ideas? In that sense the film goes beyond the critic of the misogynistic theocratic system that prevail in Iran since the 1978 Islamic revolution.
Motståndaren (2023)
Powerful, ambiguous and fascinating
This film is a real surprise. It explores the world of emigrants who have a secret that drove them away from home but who end up falling in the same pattern of behavior. Nobody can escape from who he is.
The actors are amazing and the atmosphere of snow and alienation in Sweden is very well rendered.
The wrestling scenes are powerful as they carry both homoeroticism and the repressed violence of the hero.
The secondary characters are well defined and reveal the contrast between the emotional of the eastern emigrants and the reserve of the western.
Superbly acted, masterful direction, excellent music. Yet the end is rushed and a bit disappointing compared to the rest of the film
Otherwise an excellent film for adults.
Verdens verste menneske (2021)
Mature young men, confused young girls...
The film is one of the most anti-feminist i have seen for along time.
The girl character is confused, immature, moody, undecided, self centered while the young men characters are mature, assertive, responsible and generous.
Julie is unbearable and the actress who plays the role does a good job in making that we never like her. False smile, false tears..
Overall a caricature of modern day young generation.
I was bored with close hots of Julie while endlessly waking in the street.. is Joachim Trier in love with his actre.
Licorice Pizza (2021)
A boring and endlessly empty movie
After intriguing 15 minutes, the film goes nowhere and the appearance of Sean Penn, Tom Waits and Bradley Cooper is just an attempt to boost the long and boring absence of a story. The only touching aspect of this otherwise cold movie is the presence of the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman.. but this does make a film worth Oscar nomination. It is a cheat...
Inventing Anna (2022)
Good 3 episodes , the rest is boring and uninteresting...
None of the feminine characters inspire sympathy. They are all either stupid , naive, historical or arrogant.
The women solidarity around Anna is pathetic. The obsession of the major characters in personal success demonstrates that all these women are seeking some kind of recognition as if they are aware of their weakness. Vivien, the ambitious journalist is a caricature. The actress overacts and the baby delivery scene is out of place, melodramatic and boring. The series should have stopped at episode 4. They are 5 useless episodes..
Mayor of Kingstown (2021)
Excellent , well made and very intelligent serie. Bravo Taylor Sheridan!
Dialogs are sharp, story is gripping, actors are excellent. Despite violence and cruelty there are subtle emotions and a philosophical reflection on the human complexity and struggle to get out of the animal world
I wait for season 2 as the characters are now well defined and I wonder what will be chapter 2 of Iris and Mike in the diabolic game of Milo.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Pretentious and artificial
Jane Campion wanted to revisit Brokeback Mountain but this time made by a woman. Beautiful postcard landscapes, smart camera (too smart), good actors . Yet the whole film looks fake. None of the characters are believable, the dialogs are artificial, the pace of the film is irregular with endless closeups full of supposed emotions. The music is a total disaster.. it just doesn't stop and the violins get on your nerves !
The dead calf is supposed to have died from anthrax or killed by a wolf as explained before.
It's totally unclear what Peter does with the dead calf. Isn't he dissecting As he did with the rabbit? No! It requires to read about the ending to understand what really happened. The story of the hides that Phil uses to make a gift to his new potential 'lover - friend ' is not believable. Phil has suddenly become a young girl in love, quite ridiculous!
Overall an awkward and failed movie that wants to be original but remain artificial and pretentious...
Midnight Mass (2021)
Interesting concept that fails.
The idea of people using the christian rituals as a cannibalistic process to subdue a simple community is interesting. Yet endless one to one pseudo religions conversations, overwhelming religious chorus songs, repetitive references of bible stories makes the series so bloated that the wild and Halloween like ending cannot save it.
I used fast forward very often!
El Cid (2020)
Season 2 is excellent. Waiting for season 3!
After an average season 1, the season 2 is very exciting with a much better plot. The character of El Cid becomes more extreme and reaches a climax at the end of season 2.
All characters are very good and the battle scenes are amazing.
Highly recommended.
El inocente (2021)
An uselessly complicated plot.. Unconvincing
The recurring off voice "reading" the past sgtory of some of the protagonists with snapshots of 'what happened' keeps reminds us that this is adaptation of a book.. a bad adaptation.
The story as such is simple but artificially made complicated by mixing flashback with present scenes in a way that the viewer is completely lost trying to figure our who's who.
Overall, it is a mentally tiring experience where thank God there are only 8 long episodes.
If you want a headache and no real excitement, watch this!
Sex Education (2019)
Season 3 is a total disappointment
While the two first seasons had a fresh humoristic atmosphere, season 3 has no plot, it is vulgar, not funny , badly written and badly directed. The girls are hysterical and the boys dull like hell. The sex lessons given seem to be like a gynecologic class. Boring . What a disaster! No chance that I watch season 4!
Stumptown (2019)
Bad script
The constant flash back "4 years ago" etc... are so annoying as they destroy the episode rythm. The characters are not attaching and the stories are basic. I left after 3 episodes... Waste of time. There are much more interesting series to watch.
The Flight Attendant (2020)
Dissapointing
While the first 3 episodes are intriguing, the rest is really bad. Drunk almost all the time,Kaley Cuoco turns ugly and unbearable to watch. The story is diluted in her childhood memories trying to justify why she is so unbearable but it does not makes her less unpleasant to watch with her constant stupid actions and subsequent apologies. I stopped watching the series on episode 5... it was becoming so repetitive and boring
Antigone (2019)
How to use the aura of a Greek tragedy to make a bad movie
The pretention of this film is to make us believe that it is a tragedy because it takes its title from a famous Greek tragedy and because the protagonists it shows bear Greek names picked from the tragedy. In 2020 it sounds absurd to have North African emigrants called Antigone, Ménécée, Ismène, or Étéocle!. More over the story ignores totally the original content of the tragedy.
The result is an amateurish film badly acted and badly directed. The only positive aspect is the beauty of Nahema Ricci's facial expression. Unfortunately because of the inexperienced director her expression remains the same all along the movie.
Herrens veje (2017)
Season 1 deserves 6 stars. Season 2 deserves 1 star
Very interesting season 1 well acted, intriguing with lots of surprises.
The season 2 is slow, empty, no stories. just boring as if all was said in season 1. Disappointment.
True Detective (2014)
Dissapointing
I loved season 1 and 2 but I find season 3 episode 1 too talkative and boring, especially that the acting is very composed and artificial. I am not interested to follow it through
Mohammad Rasoolollah (2015)
A sensory experience that leads beyond the mind
This film can only be seen by letting go of our logical mind that tries to analyze characters or look for suspense. If you allow your emotions to conduct you, then this film will fulfill you. It's a film that calls on you senses. The vision of beauty, the magical sounds, the loving caress of hands, and even the smell. If smell is one sense that is not yet stimulated in a theater, in this film the evocation is so strong that you smell the sand, the wind, the sea and the perfume of the roses. For Majidi the beauty of the nature and the love between people are the only path to God. Muhammad is an ode to an orphan who had a deep connection with Nature and its Master and became the leader of new religion.
Amsterdam (2013)
Surprisingly good despite some flaws
A good story on male friendship and betrayal. The rhythm is good, good acting, good cinematography and an excellent music score. The sound design in the forest could have been better. The psychological development of some characters is also a bit awkward. There are a few credibility hiccups in the script such as the story of the money and the credit card, XXX's long and not really justified silent absence, his sudden return for no reason. There is also a "continuity" mistake in the last shot of XXX carrying his bag that we saw him throw in the ice hole. Otherwise, it is a good film with lots of surprises and an amoral ending! As this is the director's first film, it is promising.
Mavro livadi (2009)
Haunting and magnificently shot and acted
A very beautiful film reminder of the classical "Black Narcissus" with an incredible photography of Marcus Waterloo and a haunting atmosphere. The double identities of the two protagonists is very well rendered and their desire to escape from the emotional prison that circumstances have thrown them into. The music and the sound track of night birds, wind and silence give the film an unusual texture. If it is a first film, it is very promising as the actor direction is excellent and effective, the choice of location and the erotic and religious feel that emanate from this film show that the director has a very good potential to make another work of art.
Shuttlecock (1991)
a haunting film
A film with an extraordinary cinematography and music. Acting by Alan Bates and Lambert Wilson is excellent. The atmosphere of the film between past and present is extremely well rendered. Music by Garbarek adds to the haunting feeling. Although the end scene is not convincing, the film is very interesting and compelling to watch. I saw it twice and was equally fascinated. The cinematography of Denus Lenoir is simply amazing, it all looks like Rembrandt paintings. Alan Bates is amazing,as usual, in the role of man broken by his guilt and victim of a cruel ordeal. It was shot in Portugal and the UK. I highly recommend this film that I saw by accident on a TV channel. I think it is was never released in theaters.