Movie review: Megalopolis (2024)

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

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Megalopolis (2024)

[en.wikipedia; IMDB]

Entertaining.

Mind blowing.

Francis Ford Coppola should have delivered Megalopolis a long time ago, maybe in the late 1990s or early 2000s, since the world has changed dramatically since then and one cannot simply market & sell such a movie today... which explains the poor box office results.

In order to pull such a movie, one needs to be (i) a genius, (ii) crazy...?


A fable, indeed.
A really good fable.

Lots of philosophy and references occurring at a really fast pace...

Given that even I couldn’t catch/understand them all, what about the layman?

Well, the layman is completely lost (i.e. does not have the time to understand and digest that fast pace of philosophy and references) when watching the movie, which explains in part the many bad reviews.


Megalopolis (2024) performs & delivers a brilliant critique of present day America against Ancient Rome - technically, both share so many similarities (up to the point of being almost identical) with respect to politics, social structure, overall organization, establishment, sexual manifestation both in public and in private etc.


Really good with respect to everything: cinematography, sound, soundtrack, special effects, editing, actors’ performances etc.

The cinema experience is a must.
TV just cannot deliver what the cinema delivers with respect to this movie.

It really deserves some Academy Awards nominations... but probably won’t get anything at all...


So, why so many bad reviews?
Well, because of

1. Too much philosophy and too many references, which the layman (i) cannot understand and (ii) does not have the time to understand and digest given the fast pace at which they occur.
2. The brilliant critique of present day America against Ancient Rome with respect to sexual manifestation both in public and in private... I suspect this upsets everyone, both sides, pro- and con- everything displayed, therefore both sides feel they are under attack, so they switch off their brains and blame the movie for attacking them and supporting the other side :))

Conclusions

Great movie.
A really good fable.
I totally enjoyed it.
Time & Money well spent.

Lots of philosophy and references occurring at a really fast pace... which the layman (i) cannot understand and (ii) does not have the time to understand and digest given the fast pace at which they occur...

Also, Megalopolis (2024) performs & delivers a brilliant critique of present day America against Ancient Rome - technically, both share so many similarities (up to the point of being almost identical) with respect to politics, social structure, overall organization, establishment, sexual manifestation both in public and in private etc.

Francis Ford Coppola should have delivered Megalopolis (2024) a long time ago, maybe in the late 1990s or early 2000s, since the world has changed dramatically since then and one cannot simply market & sell such a movie today...

...which explains the bad reviews...

...which explains the poor box office results.

Movie review: The Silent Hour (2024)

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The Silent Hour (2024)

[en.wikipedia; IMDB]

Entertaining overall, although some (or many?) viewers may not fully appreciate it.


The sound & soundtrack are really good, really creative - they create the perfect atmosphere.

The cinematography gets really good & creative at times.

...and when the best of both cinematography and sound & soundtrack from this movie meet on the big screen - and they do meet quite many times! - magic happens!


Indeed, the storyline may be simple, straightforward, linear, predictable... with several twists just as predictable... but it gets the job done - it is a good simple story with some really good & creative cinematography and sound & soundtrack at times...

Really good acting.

The cinema experience is a must.
TV just cannot deliver what the cinema delivers with respect to this movie.


It’s a thriller, not your standard action movie, ok?!
It does have good action from time to time, just enough to keep one focused on the story.


If it had starred some A-list (or at least famous) actors, if it had had a greater marketing & advertising budget to promote it... it would’ve been a hit!

Indeed, one can just feel they’ve been on a low budget, but they pulled some incredible magic with that low budget!

Good job! and Congratulations to everyone involved in the movie!

Conclusions

I really enjoyed The Silent Hour (2024). I wish more viewers would enjoy such a movie.

I’d say The Silent Hour (2024) shall be regarded as a classic and/or as a reference over time; many more other movies would inspire from and/or develop on top of the framework & pattern that it had just established / delivered.

I hope it receives some Academy Award nominations! It definitely deserves some!

Movie review: Poor Things (2023)

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Poor Things (2023)

[en.wikipedia; IMDB]

Weird.
Strange.
Crazy - I mean really crazy, not metaphorically crazy - I really mean crazy as in crazy for real, ok?!

Entertaining... for those who can taste such a movie.

Very European given the rather large amounts of philosophy and smart dialogue.

Very European given the rather large amounts of nudity, explicit sexuality & sex scenes etc.
I’m still wondering how they agreed to finance all that in Hollywood?! :)) I can understand Europe, which has been doing it for a long time now... but Hollywood?! Are they changing mindsets or experimenting with new approaches to film making?!

Weird & Strange & Crazy soundtrack - made my ears hurt at times.

Weird & Strange & Crazy scenery / set decorations, visual/special effects, makeup & hair styling, costumes...

Really good acting.
I can understand Emma Stone winning the Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as Mark Ruffalo getting nominated for Best Supporting Actor [en.wikipedia].
Nota bene: I have had objections and shall always have objections against La La Land (2016) [Liviu review] and Emma Stone for the Academy Awards they have undeservedly won back then... but now Emma Stone truly deserves her Academy Award!

I agree with the awards & nominations Poor Things has received so far, including the Academy Awards [en.wikipedia].

Conclusions

Poor Things (2023) is... Weird... Strange... really Crazy, not metaphorically Crazy... with respect to everything... - all those involved either are true professionals with a wild imagination, or have been high the whole time! :) Either way, they got it right!

Movie review: Reality (2023)

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Reality (2023)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Cool.
Great.
I really liked the acting & cinematography & video editing.

Definitely to watch at the cinema.
TV shall truncate the spirit & mood & message of the movie...
TV is a rather bad option in this particular case.

I expect few people to understand the story & message.


Sadly, the government and its institutions (e.g. law enforcement, intelligence, voting system etc.) can become incompetent or biased or hijacked by the bad guys or any combination of the above... so they deliberately ignore the whistleblowers... so when some whistleblower gets frustrated because they cannot fix the broken system and leaks classified documents to the media they suddenly get investigated for treason and sentenced to jail...

...makes sense if you think about it, right?!...

I mean it makes sense for the institutions which desperately want to cover up their failures...


Well, now you know why so many smart people turn their back to the government and its institutions, which in turn weakens the state even more, which leads to even more incompetence or bias or hijacking etc.
It's hard to start the spiral, yet even harder to reverse it...

...but hey!, we do get better politicians with each election, so we should have faith it shall all turn out well in the long run :)), right? :))

Well, if you can understand my sarcasm... then you can understand what it's all about!

Conclusions

A great watch.
Time & Money well spent.
I just hope the free world lasts for 2 more generations!

Movie review: Dumb Money (2023)

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Dumb Money (2023)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

I like that they've put a lot of soul into it, I could feel it.

Look, this movie is all about the story, the mood, the acting... - all good, they certainly got that right given their angle/approach!

I know, I know the story gets anti-capitalist & anti establishment at times, but that's part of the deal with such a movie, so I'll make an exception and take that deal just this time in order to consume everything else I like about this movie :)

Nota bene: I do have quite a lot of objections regarding the story, but if I were to deliver my opinion in full and/or start indexing everything wrong with the story, then this would turn into a 30 minutes read, so I only say this: I do have quite a lot of objections regarding the story, but I have to swallow it in order to consume everything else I like about this movie :)

Funny at times.


Good acting.

Paul Dano is close to excellent. I noticed him a long time ago in There Will Be Blood (2007) [en.wikipedia] - excellent.

All the other actors deliver a really-really good performance. All of them! Congratulations to everyone!


Special effects? - none.

Soundtrack? - just a tiny bit, they only deliver the bare minimum to create the right mood.

Cinematography & Video editing? - average.

Overall, I consider it Entertaining.

Sadly, not so many people can understand & taste such a movie, since they either consider it not entertaining or they reject such a story.

Conclusions

I feel it's been worth my time & money. I recommend it.

Movie review: Barbie (2023)

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Barbie (2023)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Crazily stupid.
Stupidly crazy.

Shutting down my brain (in order to watch it) feels good, maybe I should do it more often?! :)

Ok, fine, it's not that stupid... it does have some supposedly smart lines / take home messages from now and then... but not that many and they do reveal as superficial if you carefully dissect them.

Sorry, but their approach against capitalism and patriarchy and everything else supposedly wrong with the world we live in... is sort of wrong by itself... but, hey! that’s good marketing for the movie, sells the product, keeps the industry going... :) so it's ok, can we please have some more?! :)

Entertaining overall.

No romance?! Nothing?! Oh, come on!
You have Barbie, you have Ken... and... nothing?!
Are they brother and sister or something?... or is Ken in the friend zone or something?!
That chemistry between Barbie and Ken, that relationship leads to romance either way you take it!
This is not a movie for kids, but for grown ups... right?

Instead of love we get friend zone from Barbie's side and envy & frustration from Ken's side...
...which is toxic both ways...
...but surely explains how & why the storyline develops once they reach the real world...

The original plot - i.e. the mother playing with the Barbie doll and projecting her anxiety & frustrations (regarding being a woman & mother, and cellulitis, and suicide thoughts etc.) on the Barbie doll - leads Barbie & Ken to the real world, which then leads to nothing really... but it's the very toxic relationship between Barbie & Ken which actually builds a real story!

What’s the excuse for the lack of romance?!
They are plastic dolls which have no genitals?!
Oh, come on! Go to a DIY store and make some genitals: just buy a drill and a wooden stick (preferably Pinocchio style if you know what I mean!)

If Barbie had offered Ken love & sex they wouldn’t end up in that mess in the first place.
If Ken weren’t an incompetent & worthless & idiot blonde doll they wouldn’t end up in that mess in the first place...
For the record, the fake plastic sand that Ken walks on on the fake plastic beach is worth more than Ken himself!, in fact that fake plastic sand is worth more than all of Kens combined! :))

Good acting overall.

I really liked Michael Cera as Allan and Kate McKinnon as Barbie - these 2 I enjoyed the most! I wish they had more screen time!

You can safely watch it on TV.

I expected better songs & soundtrack given it’s a musical, right?

However, it's a better musical than Ryan Gosling's La La Land (2016) [Liviu review], which I didn't like at the time and still consider it really bad. So, if that one earned so many nominations and Academy Awards, then this one surely deserves more :))

It will get some Academy Awards nominations nevertheless... and probably some Awards?!
Later edit: got some nominations, only won the Best Original Song - fair.


Spoiler 1: in the end, Barbie becomes human and moves to the real world... (1) to embrace & enjoy her vagina (she has an appointment to a gynaecologist at the very end, ok?!)... and then (2) probably also fully embraces the cellulitis and suicide thoughts she has already got a taste of... and then (3) probably turns on the TV / radio / Internet... that would be new! :) and disappointing?! :))
Oh, well, then Barnie can say “Hello, real world!... Bye, real world!... I really wanna go back to Barbie land!!! :(( Can I go back to Barbie land now, please?!”


Spoiler 2: that mother & daughter & father relationship is weird... Given the way the mother behaves at first I could swear she’s a single mom also having to deal with her daughter’s adolescence... but then the husband/father pops in as an immature & castrated idiot trying to learn Spanish?! I suspect they’ve rewritten that relationship so many times that they’ve lost track of it!


Final thought: I’m not sure whether this movie shall get little girls interested in Barbie dolls, but it shall surely get little boys interested in Stereotypical Barbie! :))

Conclusions

I liked it.
Entertaining, that's for sure... although it displays/exhibits a very superficial message.

Movie review: Oppenheimer (2023)

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Oppenheimer (2023)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

It’s an... epic biographical thriller drama film... not an action movie, ok? :D

Great script and great movie directing...
It slowly and thoroughly develops the story and patiently builds the tension... through minor plots and twists... and by playing with the narrative threads... and by focusing on changes in characters’ feelings... and by letting the passing of time itself have its own impact on the characters...

I’ve been misled by the trailer to think there would be more focus on the science part or the atomic bomb part...
Truth is there’s very little focus on the science part or the atomic bomb...

Admittedly, the movie feels more like (and is :D) a soap opera :D with respect to its approach to characters’ love life & work life and politics in general... an excellent & expensive soap opera if you ask me, but a soap opera nevertheless! :D

Science in general and the atomic bomb in particular only serve as plots & twists to keep this beautiful & excellent & expensive soap opera going and basically sell/market it to moviegoers...

Entertaining for 3 hours straight.
Never drags.

Really good cinematography.

Interesting soundtrack & sounds - there's not much music to it, but rather an intense & deep & low noise, sort of an uncomfortable continuous noise at times... which makes perfect sense!

Great acting.
Lots of actors, some famous, some not famous - yet, all of them deliver a perfect performance! Congratulations to all of them!

There's just a bit of explicit sexual content perfectly timed, just to make the point and keep the story going.
They could have inserted more, but I guess they tried to avoid hurting their rating or something.

The cinema experience is a must.
TV and/or streaming would ruin the movie experience.
IMAX?! What for?! I don't see the point to it with respect to this movie.

Oppenheimer is gonna earn a lot of Academy Awards nominations, that’s for sure...
Later edit: it has, it deserves them.

Conclusions

Time & Money well spent.

I just wish the trailer would have been more honest:
(i) Truth is there’s very little focus on the science part or the atomic bomb...
(ii) Science in general and the atomic bomb in particular only serve as plots & twists to keep this beautiful & excellent & expensive soap opera going and basically sell/market it to moviegoers...

Movie review: Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

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Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Pure action.
Lots of action.
Old school type of action.
There certainly is some cgi there - there must be some cgi, right?! :D - but I can't see it: D I suspect there is some cgi but can't quite put my finger on it : D
I think I got a bit of a headache at times :) due to the rapid scenes of old school action :)... but I don't mind :) since I'm both an action fan and a Tom Cruise fan!

The story is... complex... lots of twists and turns... it's complicated...
Admittedly, I couldn't make a summary of what happens and what each character does at a certain time... that's how complicated it is :))
All I can tell you is "everyone wants to put their hands on both halves of the key and I'm not sure who's in control, the A.I. or some human?!"

Entertaining, be sure about that!

They keep a fast pace throughout the movie, all those 160 something minutes!
The movie never drags.

It's dense... lots of twists... lots of details... carefully delivered confusion/ambiguity...
In order to keep track of everything during the creation process - i.e. write the script and/or direct such a movie - one requires discipline, being incredibly organized... and also being a bit crazy :)... which is exactly the kind of people I admire & enjoy following!

Tom Cruise delivers a really good performance as always.
...but each of all the 4 supporting female actors deliver an even better performance, I'd say - Hayley Atwell, Rebecca Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff - congratulations to whoever handled the casting!

The cinema experience is a must.
IMAX probably delivers more than regular cinema (which I've watched) with respect to this movie.
TV and/or streaming would ruin the movie experience.

Conclusions

Great movie. Time & Money well spent.

Looking forward to part 2 :)

You know what's the real Mission Impossible?!

Releasing Oppenheimer (2023) [Liviu review] and Barbie (2023) [Liviu review] - right after _this MI movie_ in order to bite into its earnings, which they've succeeded...
...and then marketing those 2 movies as 1, i.e. Barbenheimer [en.wikipedia], in order to bite even more into MI's earnings, which they've succeeded...
...and also have Oppenheimer compete against MI for IMAX screens, which they've succeeded... yet it's unfair since MI certainly benefits from (and needs more) IMAX while Oppenheimer can do just fine in regular cinema :))

These 3 victories against MI are the most real life _Mission Impossibles_!!! :D

Movie review: Cocaine Bear (2023)

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Cocaine Bear (2023)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Comedy + Horror = excellent combination
Nota bene: I had the impression - given the trailer etc. - that I was going to watch a comedy… However, while watching the movie I learned it was a Horror movie, too… Very refreshing I'd say :)


I must admit that when I’ve chosen to watch it I had low expectations.
I can say for sure the movie delivers more than expected.
Many comments & reviews I've read are so wrong!


The Cocaine Bear - essentially the villain, yet a cute CGI villain if you ask me :) - enters the scene precisely at the right time every time in order to keep the action/movie going - excellent timing and/or planning, I can say that for sure!

However, I wish they had written more scenes for/with the Bear.
It feels there are kind of too few scenes starring the CGI Cocaine Bear, therefore the movie feels cheap - they should have invested a bit more in the special effects / CGI with respect to the whole Bear "ecosystem" :)

In particular, I wish they had written some truly funny scenes with the Bear, too as opposed to the horror ones which predominate in the movie.


Good story/storyline, everything intertwines nicely.
Smart.
Fast paced. The movie never drags.


Good acting.
All actors perform really well.


Good editing.
They cut it perfectly. They keep it short. They only keep the relevant content.
Congratulations to whoever has had the courage & skill to cut that well!


Entertaining.
You cannot possibly get bored given the Good story/storyline and Good editing.


Sound - average.
More work on the foley sounds, please!


Soundtrack - I think it’s missing :) I don't remember anything worth remembering :)


Some may consider there's too much gore, but frankly it's not that much and it's bearable :)
Handling/Depiction of violence resembles Tarantino's style.


I recommend the cinema experience, since you get the full feeling, you get all the fun & all the horror, you know :)
TV might be ok, too.


If only they had invested a bit more into delivering more Cocaine Bear screen time...
If only they had more of the Hollywood magic & infrastructure at their disposal...
If only they had some A-list actors/celebrities/stars (or at least B-list or very bankable people)...
If only they had a bigger budget...
...it would have ended up as a classic/masterpiece and a box-office hit!

They did the best given the resources put at their disposal. Congratulations for that!

Conclusions

To sum up, I totally loved it.
Worth watching.
I recommend it.
I’d say I witnessed some quality magic being delivered despite a rather low budget.

Movie review: Tenet (2020)

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Tenet (2020)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Wow!
Great job Christopher Nolan!
Awesome!
Thank you, Christopher Nolan!

I've always demanded more action... BUT not today! Today I've finally received the action I always wanted!

Great movie, I tell you!

Fast paced from the very start till the very end! It's just incredible how it can deliver such a fast pace throughout the whole movie!
Feels like 1 hour, but it actually lasts for 2.5 hours.

Great story!
Smart, yet the way it's delivered is so accessible and the physics behind it so easy to understand for the layman.
Quite a lot twists and turns and rewrites or reinterpretations of the same situation.

Great cinematography.

Great acting.
All actors do a great job - there's some great chemistry there between all of them.

Great soundtrack.
Unusual (or even disturbing) sound to some people, but just great to my ears.

Great special effects.

Definitely worth watching at the cinema!
TV simply cannot deliver the same engagement.
TV or your expensive sound system cannot deliver the same sound level as the cinema.

I'm so sorry all this covid-19 shit hurts it's box office performance. I'm aware of all the money required to back such a project - sadly, they'll make little profit because of all this covid-19 shit.

Best action movie since Inception [IMDB], which too has been written and directed by Christopher Nolan!

Definitely deserves some Academy Awards nominations.

Conclusions

Awesome movie!
Best action movie since Inception [IMDB]
Thank you, Christopher Nolan!

Movie review: The Call of the Wild (2020)

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The Call of the Wild (2020)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Entertaining.
Awesome. Great.
Sweet. Touching.

Best dog movie I've watched since the start of the trend some years ago.

Coherent and Consistent storyline.
Smart.
Totally gets into you.
They deliver the story at the perfect pace. Just perfect. The story never drags. Keeps the viewer focused on the story from the very beginning to the very end.

Great acting.
The computer generated dog is great, very expressive :) Congratulations for the great job!
Humans also deliver a great performance: Omar Sy, Cara Gee, Harrison Ford and everyone else!
As a side note, Omar Sy and Cara Gee deliver a great performance, there's really good chemistry between them - they do deserve their rather large share of screen time.
Harrison Ford is great, totally fits in etc. - congratulations to whoever has cast him for the role!

Great cinematography, soundtrack, video editing / post processing etc.

Beautiful landscapes / scenery.

The cinema experience is a must. The movie is just too good to waste it on TV.

Conclusions

That's the kind of movie I'd like to see getting Academy Awards nominations! It surely deserves some!

Totally loved it. Time well spent. Money well spent.

Movie review: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

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Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Great animation.
Entertaining.

Coherent and Consistent storyline.
Smart.
Linear, but very catchy. Never drags. Keeps the viewer focused on the story the whole time.

Totally loved that CG character Sonic :)
...and Jim Carrey delivers an excellent performance!

Let me be clear on this: it's Jim Carrey's performance that pushes the movie from good to great!

Suitable for both children and adults. Each of them shall love it and consume it in their own way...

Conclusions

Time well spent. Money well spent.
Best animation I've seen for a long time now - much better than Toy Story 4.
Looking forward for the sequel.

Movie review: Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020)

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Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Entertaining. Really entertaining.

Incredibly good.
Almost awesome, I'd say.

Coherent and Consistent storyline.
Smart. Really, it's a lot smarter than you'd expect.
Never drags. Never.
Keeps a fast pace from start to end, which is great.
A simple story, indeed, yet they manage to create quite a lot of magic around it.

Really good acting.
All actors deliver a really good performance.
There's a really good chemistry between all of them.

Delivers the action it promises. In fact, delivers more action than the trailer promises, which rarely happens these days.

Really good special effects. Not very expensive, but really good.

The cinema experience is a must.

I must admit to have started with low expectations... but ended up very pleased about the whole movie!

I'm totally in for the sequel!

Conclusions

Definitely worth watching. Definitely.
Money well spent. Time well spent.

Movie review: The Gentlemen (2020)

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The Gentlemen (2020)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Entertaining.

Coherent and Consistent storyline.
A lot of twists and turns.
Really smart.
Never drags. No dead time whatsoever. Keeps the viewer focused on the story the whole time, from the very beginning to the very end.

Really good acting. All actors deliver a really good performance. Really good chemistry between all of them.

Really good with respect to everything else: cinematography, post processing, soundtrack etc.

The cinema experience is a must.

This must (it must, ok?!) become a classic like Snatch (2000) [IMDB; en.wikipedia] has, directed by the same Guy Ritchie.

Definitely deserves some Academy Awards nominations, yet has not received any.

Much better than Knives Out (2019) or Joker (2019) or Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) or in fact anything that I've seen in a long while.

Conclusions

Definitely worth watching. Time well spent.

Movie review: Joker (2019)

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Joker (2019)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Most reviews...

1. praise the movie,
2. consider it really good with respect to everything,
3. agree that it may at least earn some nominations at the Academy Awards if not win some etc.

At first glance, it all seems correct.


...but, if you let the story/movie digest in the back of your head for a couple of days, you might conclude (as I have) that:

1. The story (and the whole movie) actually is artificial and superficial in its stubborn attempt to be deep.
   Seems deep, but it's actually chaotic.
2. Seems so European by the way it constantly bullies (i.e. psychically tortures) the main character.
3. They constantly hesitate at taking sides and pointing fingers... or at least are very ambiguous about it... or maybe I just haven't paid enough attention to all details?... I'm still not sure whether the Joker has been 100% mentally ill, or it's been his mother's fault, or Thomas Wayne has mistreated Joker's mother...

I do have the taste for good drama, be sure about that! :) It's just this one has touched me less than it has touched most reviewers.


The violence in the movie is ok. I agree with the "R-rating", but to be honest there's nothing special about it, nothing that may require debate - the whole discussion on this topic I suspect to be well done marketing to attract people to the cinema...


The cinema experience is a must. TV cannot possibly capture the whole experience the movie delivers at the cinema.

Conclusions

Joker (2019) is a good watch to most people, but not so much to me.

Movie review: Paradise Hills (2019)

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Paradise Hills (2019)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Entertaining overall.

Starts well - the initial 10% of the time displays a good storyline, is well paced, keeps the viewer focused etc.

Then for the next 50% of the time it turns bad, really bad - it's like the Middle Ages in history - not much of a storyline, almost nothing interesting or mildly relevant happens... it just drags, gets rather boring etc.
Not sure on their intentions here, but they have certainly failed - it simply doesn't resonate with me.
Certainly the movie feels a lot longer than it actually is because of this rather bad part.

Then, for the remaining 40% of the time, it suddenly turns really good: the storyline develops rapidly and gets more and more interesting & captivating, you get action & adrenaline etc. - basically you get the whole package. This part saves the whole movie - congratulations to whoever's been in charge on this part!

There are 2 nice twists and turns. First, regarding the school's real way of accomplishing its objectives and what/who The Duchess really is. Second, regarding Markus - indeed, this one is rather obvious, but I won't spoil it :)

I really enjoyed the cinematography + the choice of costumes & colors + the rather weird, but subtle soundtrack that blends in perfectly.

The cinema experience is a must, since TV would ruin the whole experience.

Conclusions

Paradise Hills (2019) is a good watch and I consider the time has been well spent with respect to the initial 10% and the final 40% of the movie.

Movie review: Ad Astra (2019)

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

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Ad Astra (2019)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Entertaining.

Coherent and Consistent storyline.
Smart.
Linear, straightforward, yet smart - quite an awkward combination.

Slow paced, but it doesn't drag.
The story develops nicely throughout time and seems stubborn enough to keep going and keep the viewer focused despite the slow pace.

A bit sad/pessimistic, but it's the right choice in order to fit the story.

Really good acting, soundtrack, post processing etc.
Discreet, yet complex special effects that perfectly blend in and complete the story.

For some reason it reminds me of Syriana (2005) [IMDB] - the same slow pace, the same soundtrack style/pattern, the same sadness/pessimism etc.

The cinema experience is a must.

Conclusions

Definitely worth watching. Time well spent.

Movie review: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

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Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Kisses the asses of Hollywood just like La La Land, so it might get some Academy Awards nominations or even win some! :))

Its only merit is it offers a glimpse into the inner workings of Hollywood, on what happens behind the scenes etc. It's only a glimpse, keep that in mind, so nothing thorough!


Long. Too long.
Boring. Too boring.

Pointless. Really, what's the point of it?
Stupid, I'd say.
I cannot describe the story... I cannot imagine their original intentions regarding the story...

Good acting, that's for sure - it deserves some Academy Awards nominations with respect to acting...

Good cinematography.

The cinema experience is a must, so you can fully comprehend how stupid, bad, pointless the movie is :), yet how good the acting really is :))
TV would only make the movie seem less bad :) and the acting less good :))

Conclusions

A waste of both time and money to me regarding the story, yet a good watch regarding the acting performance.
Well, at least now I can finally say I've watched a rather bad Tarantino movie :))

Others praise the movie...

Movie review: Anna (2019)

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Nota bene: for other movie reviews, click for the dedicated page with movie reviews.

Anna (2019)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Great.
Entertaining.

Great story.
Smart.
Much more than a Coherent & Consistent storyline.
Best story of an action movie I've watched in years.

Great acting.
All characters get the right amount of screen time.
Helen Mirren, Luke Evans and Cillian Murphy really shine.
Sasha Luss does a good part. However, must note the other 3 carry part of the load, so her task is easier than carrying the whole movie by herself.

Quite a lot of action, well packed, spread nicely throughout the movie.
Obviously, I would have liked more action, but there's plenty already.

Really good editing and post processing.

The cinema experience is a must.


The only major flaw is the time range - given the technology displayed in the movie, they should have added at least 5 years, if not 10, to the chosen time range, i.e. instead of the late '80s / early '90s, they should have chosen the late '90s. But, hey, all action movies are flawed to some extent, so I don't mind :))

Anna (2019) feels like Atomic Blonde (2017) done right... So, my best guess is Luc Besson has started all this to show everyone how Atomic Blonde should have been done - and he definitely succeeds at that! - but he adds elements and technology available only 5-10 years later :))

Conclusions

Worth watching. Time well spent.

Movie review: Glass (2019)

[Post published by Liviu, on Liviu's [Personal] Blog]

Nota bene: for other movie reviews, click for the dedicated page with movie reviews.

Glass (2019)

[IMDB; en.wikipedia]

Disclaimer: I admit (1) I have not watched Split [IMDB; en.wikipedia] (but I am familiar with the story behind it) and (2) I were too young to fully understand Unbreakable [IMDB; en.wikipedia]... so, let's dive into the 3rd installment of what appears to actually be a trilogy! :)


Entertaining.
Smart.
James McAvoy is the real star. Samuel L. Jackson is funny & crazy as usual. Bruce Willis is kind of old... but more on acting later.


Coherent and Consistent storyline.
Smart.
Several twists and turns.

Develops nicely over time.
The pace is fast enough (but not very fast, though :D) during the first half.
Then the pace constantly slows down and the story drags...
... and during the final 15 minutes the story drags badly, in order to build a large expectation for another sequel :) This approach hurts the movie overall, if you ask me.


Obviously, James McAvoy (as all those 24 personalities) is the real star. Everything gravitates around his character / personalities.

Samuel L. Jackson (as Elijah Price) - funny & crazy as usual :) He just forces you to side with his evil mastermind character :)

Bruce Willis (as David Dunn) is kind of old. Why, but why did he get old? I'm a huge fan! Anyway, he does a good part.

Sarah Paulson (as Dr. Ellie Staple) acts as if she's about to burst into tears any minute now :))


Good cinematography, special effects, soundtrack etc.
Kind of cheap and dull background - however, given the $20 million budget it's great what they have accomplished!

I hope they don't do the so much anticipated sequel. The story is just fine as it is now.

Conclusions

Worth watching. Time well spent.