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As Amorosas (1968)
Playing in a tender manner the amoroso style of the drama
Khouri's movies were very introspective, with characters questioning life. Unfortunately - among his best ones - 'As Amorosas' has not been restored. The quality of image and sound on DVD is simply terrible. "We are people who cannot be absorbed, not by the world, not by anyone.," says Rita Lee in the picture. Off the record she said that ¨- my love-hate relationship with Khouri continues - I can't believe that with all the talent he had, he insisted on focusing on the drama of the existential emptiness of the bourgeoisie, especially with so much going on at the time!¨ The time was the rebellious 1960s.
Ripley (2024)
Cinematographer Robert Elswit elevated it to something else
RIPLEY is a landmark. Highly contrasted b&w photoography, static tableaux, minimal pans and tilts. A half dozen dolly shots over eight-hour-long six episodes. Tableaux, extreme closeups, montage, repeated visual patterns. Architectural compositions. Fifties b&w still references. Stiff posture, minimal expresion (although Andrew Scott's line delivery is somewhat repetitious). Nothing in Zallian's Curriculum Vitae (or Netflix's for that matter) would have led one to expect this level. Ripley is a stylish series, like a masterclass in black and white photography. No, that's not a typo. I do mean photography, even though it's technically called cinematography.
Glass Onion (2022)
Relegated to the small screen & the indiscriminating spectator
Daniel Craig reportedly told Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos at the 'GLASS ONION' premiere that the standing ovation they got proved that it should get a full theatrical rollout. When Sarandos said it wasn't Netflix's model to do that, Craig replied "Your model is ¨outdated¨!"The thing about Glass Onion on Netflix streaming is you could just see on here all the posts from people who were like, "I watched the movie for 10 minutes and gave up." So did Yours Truly, by the way, for your information. Is my sheer indifference insulting to the Craig man? Perhaps. Benoit is no icon. He is a cartoonish, unfunny caricature. He is indeed to be relegated to the small screen.
The Masked Singer (2019)
We're not amused
I'm sticking to the Brazilian version of the franchise bought by the Globo Organizations and starred by popstar Ivete Sangalo. Useless B$ is the concept behind the show. From now on I'll refuse to watch another episode of this poorly produced, poorly edited, and arguable form of television "entertainment". The fake audience is ridiculous. I think it's really sad how far from good taste viewers have gone. This show is trash, but like The Voice and others, it's turning the society of watchers into a bunch of robots. How can a TV show expect you are so stupid? You must keep & protect your brain cells and never get dumber. The fact that it's rated only 5.8 on IMDb website page releives me for now. I have a sneaking suspicion that all the performers respond to a casting call, with their contracts stating how long they'd be staying. I believe the "winner" is negotiated by agents. Have you noticed how many of the performers are also part of the usual soap opera "celebrity" gang? And the judges are plain disgusting. What a bunch of smiling idiots, barking for approval like attention-starved puppies. Their guesses are either 100% scripted, or they are indeed very dumb.
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
Less intriguing than watchable
Convinced by a child, Superman decides to force peace, present himself at the Un ited Nations to declare his intentions appreciatedly, and steal all the atomic weapons on the planet by launching them into space. According to IMDb customers, this is the worst movie I have ever watched, together with ¨Cats¨. Well, I beg to disagree. The Man of Steel herein crusades for nuclear disarmament and meets Lex Luthor's latest creation, Nuclear Man. The movie means well. The cast does their thing. It's far from perfect, but it's not very worse than Superman III, Man of Steel, and Batman v. Superman. FYI As of 2024, Lex Luthor will create a clone of Superman in 'SUPERMAN', which will be played by David Corenswet. The clone will be Ultraman. The film will be inspired precisely by 'SUPERMAN IV: QUEST FOR PEACE'.
Cats (2019)
The movie turned out a hot mess, storywise
But it's still the brilliant songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber (music) & T. S. Eliot (lyrics). Most of the cast are good singers ( especially Judi Dench as Old Deuteronomy) and the new song "Beautiful ghosts" is alright. Nothing EXTREMELY wrong with the film as it's just as a Jukebox Musical ... it literally exists to attempt a narrative around songs, so it's fair to say that the soundtrack is *better* than the rest of the film. FYI Donald Trump used to play the song "Memory" from "Cats" when he was having a meltdown and wanted to calm down. Well, the US may owe its existence to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn...
Band of Brothers (2001)
BAND OF BROTHERS remains a fine series in film history.
My fascination with the objects of the war is directly proportional to the aversion that the war generates for me. Huge budget, crazy staging for a war series, top actors, touching themes, superb photography ... it's the top of the range of series. There are some repetitions and clumsiness. But
I disconnected to the story because characters change with every episode. It looks more like a dramatized documentary than a gripping story. I also find the mood too sentimental. The Belgian damsel's role seemed to be to give the protagonist of the episode a moment of sadness. The Germans had the obvious role allotted to them, like Indians in cowboy series, like Vietcong in Nam series and Russians in cold war movies.
At last I found parts of the series boring : kinda ¨Stars and Stripes and Apple pies¨
But it is well cast, directed, produced, big-spending TV production, if the story itself is way overrated. Just like Saving Private Ryan, it makes Germans look like blindfolded turkeys, goofing around in American gunfire, while the Americans are the ones with any skills for example in even the most basic infantry tactics. Overall very entertaining, but not realistic, save the clothing...
Sherlock: The Reichenbach Fall (2012)
Andrew Scott is a fascinating villain, but not the Moriarty of Doyle's
I guess I am in the minority here but I miss Jeremy Brett, Even Basil Rathbone. The new Jim Moriarty, performed by Andrew Scott, doesn't look like the classic arch-villain. Some things can't be modernized at all! The series missed all the concept of the original story. It did try hard to be a hip, modern, high-tech show. No, just No. In acting classes they teach something called overacting. Trying too hard is what we experience throughout the episode. Subtle humor? No. Slow burning tension? No. Storytelling? Just ordinary. This show consists of holmes explaining things that he noticed and drawing extremely far-fetched conclusions that... just... happen to be correct. This British take is a curio but it veers on the brink of low taste, weird plot, weak twists and mindless choices. It plops on in the realm of... failure. One weakness is Martin Freeman as Dr Watson. Cumberbatch is a barmy twicking weirdo with no deep substance behind and without empathy induced towards him. The modern ideas only add to the larger canvass of boredom. I tried to like it, I failed.
House M.D.: Broken (2009)
¨Broken¨ is one of the best episodes
Hugh Laurie from brilliant tv series HOUSE will always be Dr. Gregory House in my eyes. He is one of the greatest characters in the last 30 years to grace our televisions. Playing the incredibly witty, outside the box genius of a doctor, while sarcastically having absolutely no bedside manner or filter, while being extremely funny, all this while self-medicating . . .
Huge thanks to the youtube algorithm for showing House MD episodes. More than ever I'm addicted to Gregory House's flipping voice and his goddamn sarcasm. Hugh Laurie's the GOAT House is one of a kind. Let me quote: ¨Rational arguments don't usually work on religious people. Otherwise, there'd be no religious people.¨
Lady Night (2017)
Sorry for Mr Cantankerous' bad manners, he definitely didn't dig this talk show
¨Lady Night¨ is kinda rubbish program. The hostess dresses poorly, in arguable taste, she speaks too quickly, she has terrible video editors and she often makes fun of her guests, except maybe when these are questionable pop stars like Xuxa Meneghel or Angelica Huck - whom she shamelessly flatters. She should take a serious course in diction and vocal delivery. Brazilian broadcast television is known for programming nonsense in prime time. Lady Werneck is hardly a Lady. It would be nice if she showed something interesting & valid to say, something worthwhile saying. I mean not in the philosophical sense, merely in the entertainment sense.
Fallout (2024)
Don't miss Jonathan Nolan's WeirdWorld touch
It is a very well produced, shot, set, costumed, acted, written long-form advertisement for Microsoft's Bethesda Studio's Fallout videogame franchise. And most importantly, "Fallout¨ is THE best tv videogame sci-fi turned TV show. The inciting incident for themain narrative is a society that lives in fallout shelter and doesn't scan visitors for radiation. Admittedly it is a fantastic adaptation of the source material and a great introduction to that wonderful, weird, world. Gotta be honest, though, and warn sensitive spectators: some of the guys lack noses... Calling the series a "mod" is misleading. It feels like a full entry into the franchise.
The Substance (2024)
Hooooooly garbage
It is like if the worst David Lynch and the best (which always means worst of course) Andy Warhol made a movie together. Such a pathetic blast!... Aging star Demi Moore splits into her younger doppelganger in this excessive body horror that weaponizes male gaze and body standards into an Over The Top gonzo comedy satire before a jaw-droppingly gory "holy latrine!" finale. I can confidently say that I have been horrified eye to eye & ear to ear during the last 20 minutes of the movie... Actually during the last 1h20min ... What a pathetic ride! Please don't eat before or during watching it! Demi Moore runs around looking like Spike Jonze in a Jackass Bad Grandpa skit. I do disapprove of how gross it gets, and I do shout out to Dennis Quaid for releasing his chicken-comics in a most impure style of farce, even if he remained the less slimy thing in the movie. Scaroused is a word I would use to describe this film. The final act is some of the wildest trash I've ever seen. It is indeed a ¨modern fable¨ that's as subtle as a nuke and as grandly screwed as anything ever put on screen. Ms Fargeat was not put on this Earth to make Seventh art. The Substance is a ride you only see once (like for instance Requiem for a Dream.) Demi Jeckyll and Margaret - both halves of the main character - make the sexy parts as grotesque as in Cronenberg's undertakings.
Gladiator (2000)
Now We Are Free
An exhilarating, sweeping epic that begs to be seen on the largest possible screen. Although it lacks emotional depth and sweep , it still delivers the type of rousing, large-scale adventure that marked the best films of its kind - say, Spartacus. The heroism and the epic grandeur leave behind the flavour of cynicism. They epitomize the kind of high-profile bloodshed the masses now expect. The script is serviceable but not exactly inspired. Filled with brilliant filmmaking and outstanding performances, but it's neither profound nor philosophical to become am absolute masterpiece -- it's mournful, serious, beautiful and, finally, loud, obnoxious, but hardly the soaring tale of one man's struggle that it clearly envisioned to be.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Frodo Baggins and the other members of the Fellowship continue on their sacred quest to destroy the One Ring
The second of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It is two stories - one is that of Frodo and Sam making their painful way to Mordor with Gollum as a guide and that part is tedious to the extreme while Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are having a much more exciting time at the Battle of Helm's Deep. In true middle-volume form, the tone of this movie is quite dark. The Fellowship has been broken, and things seem to grow ever worse for its fragments as they pursue their separate quests, until the plot ends abrubtly with yet another turn for the worse. It may be typical of trilogies for the second volume to take the story ever-darker, but here the story gets more complex. This one has the war of Helm's Deep, and you know things are going to get worse before they get better.
Se7en (1995)
Please try to avoid pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth
Set chiefly in downtown Los Angeles, Se7en infused the city with a gloomy, rainy vibe by eliminating any identifiable landmarks, iin order to retain the city's anonymity. It's an intriguing, appalling, savvy, nasty, unsettling, dark, grisly, horrifying and intelligent thriller with a tantalizing, morbid atmosphere of unease. It's not the identity of the killer that gives it its kick -- it's the way director David Fincher raises mystery to the level of moral provocation. Watching Se7en is like cracking open a safe to find it crawling with eels . The overall style is chic, studied and murky. BTW According to Roman Catholic theology, the seven deadly sins are the seven behaviours or feelings that inspire further sin. They are typically ordered as: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
A big crazy guy gets himself a nuclear bomb
After a period of grief at the loss of his former sweetheart, Batman (Christian Bale) comes back to do battle with Bane (Tom Hardy), a former member of the League of Shadows. Bane gains the upper hand early on, but Batman avenges his earlier defeat as he overpowers his opponent and villain. There are moments in the entire movie that provoke kinda "This is awesome!" response. It confirms everything that Nolan had already done. And it's a shining example of why comic book movies should try to e nhance the original comics. Comic book characters are simple and naturally campy. Do not take them seriously, do have a brilliantly intelligent script that warrants not being taken seriously.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Number One - still the best entry
"The Lord of the Rings" is an exceptionally complicated story. There are countless locations, situations, and subtleties presented throughout this film series - yet it is easy to follow and a lot of fun. It is an example of fantasy done right. It has elaborate sets, an anthemic soundtrack, and realistic costumes. My favorite aspect is the production design. Love it or hate it, the 'Lord of the Rings' is quite unique amongst fantasia fiction. Few if any films can compete against such a thorough and self consistant universe. This is not mis-en-scène to be just another fantasy combo - the only reasonable comparisions are with Homer's epics and maybe even the Christian Bible. Tolkien has been often decried by the literary establsihment - despite his work being of a scale that an entire lifetime of effort was poured into. Tolkien's not easy to read but the films are certtainly most rewarding.
The Matrix (1999)
Either filmicly or mathematically, a Matrix is an actual array of functions and arranged numbers
Well, , it hasn't aged well. The once mind-bending sci fi has little to offer, after a quarter of a century the movie's once awesomely innovative style just looks like every other bad action scifi. The only good thing left is Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving.) The first half is interesting, the second half is just Hong Kong combat. The grades I would give it, in a discriminatory and critical way, would be the following: Concept: A. Story: D. Characters: D. Dialog: D. Pacing: B. Cinematography: C. Overall visual design: B. Acting: D. Music: D. Matrix was made in the turn of the century. It's only fitting then that the Sci-fi culture in the 21st century is both a friendly companion and a bold boundary pusher. Whether it takes us to the heights of outer space, alternate universes, or even just around the neighborhood, science fiction stories truly enrich our pop landscape.
Interstellar (2014)
The heartfelt family story at its core isn't strong enough to carry the film on its own
This is proper sci fi, very long but enjoyable with a few caveats. As realistic as ¨Gravity.¨ Special effects are incredible and some of them done the old fashioned way. Without CGI. But the sound is erratic - the bangs and crashes far too loud and the speech often hard to hear. I liked its scientifical basis despite whopper plot conveniences. I liked its portrayal of relativity. Nolan is the greatest director around, but this isn't his best moment. Sappy characters are a prominent flaw in such a story of love between a father and daughter. McConaughey was the main guilty party - he always mumbled and mum bled. Anne Hathaway also guilty but not so badly. The plot is neither clever nor surprising as it is supposed to be.
Breaking Bad (2008)
Overall design: A. Acting: A. Characters: A. Dialog: B. Pacing: B. Cinematography: B. Music: B.
Whenever I see comments about series that feature "gray" characters, like Breaking Bad, I realize that people have lost the ability to read layers... For them it must be A or B. One day they will realize that human beings do break bad, being complex, contradictory, making bad decisions, being enchanted by power, etc. An odd meth-cooking couple tries to get their business running. The pace is intense and fun. The overarching plot doesn't have much direction; the story is basically a series of mechanisms to get the characters to develop the way they want. Still, there are a lot of plot strands that seem to be building to something but are then just left behind in a few episodic seasons of the show.
Game of Thrones (2011)
Take a couple of tries to get into it, once you do there'll be no looking back
It is a long series, with convoluted plot lines. The plot structure is complete, the details are rich, and the creativity is endless. With the premise of maintaining Martin's original tone, the TV show is naturally more concise and its key points are more prominent. The characters are brilliant and wonderful. The series is not only magnificent in dramatic scenes, but also exquisite in photography, costumes, scenery, and art. The plot integrates a variety of elements and is coated with magic. However, it reflects the real world. It focuses on illusion, but focuses on the struggle for political power.
Forrest Gump (1994)
Characters: A. Special effects/design: A. Acting: A. Pacing: B. Dialog: B. Cinematography: C. Concept: D. Story: D. Music: D.
There are no villains, there isn't even really a storyline as such. Despite some low-key humour and the satirical approach to the whole plot, it's basically quite a sad story. The young life of an idiot who can run fast. A celebration of an ordinary person who is neither handsome nor intelligent, yet delivers beyond most people's wildest dreams. The ending is bittersweet, yet an upper. The interjection of Forrest Gump into actual historical video footage is technically superb. JFK, LBJ, Vietnam, Watergate, and other history unfold through the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75. Tom Hanks finely portrays the just-under-normal-intelligence hero. It's mostly entertaining, but it's so mostly dumb. It's a sort of aimless nostalgia-fest for baby boomers, bathed in disgustingly bad philosophy. Hard not to see it as saccharine allegory although affecting. The affecting relationship between Forrest and Jenny, the sometimes subtle humor, the clever placement of Forrest within so many monumental historic American events, the scenes on the park bench... It's very worth seeing.
Inception (2010)
Pro robber infiltrates the subconscious of his victims and steals information
The plot is so complex that any elucidation would be incapable of justifying its depth. The film deals with a futuristic world where the human mind can be intercepted through the invasion of dreams. Cobb is an expert in the art of extracting information (stealing valuable secrets) from the depths of the subconscious in a dreamlike state. His proficiency, however, is undermined by a turmoil that begins with the premature death of his wife. He is forced to live the life of a fugitive, far from his children. His only chance for redemption lies with a Japanese tycoon named Saitu, who wants him to perform an inception (insertion = planting information in someone's mind). To accomplish this unprecedented task, Cobb and his team must overcome a maze of unpredictable challenges, where any slight mistake can trap them in perpetual limbo.
A Primeira Tentação de Cristo (2019)
Just a case for the psychoanalysts' couches
Do psychopaths like the producers of this thing have an inflated sense of self-worth and superiority (including other psychopaths)?
The anwser to this is very simple: Yes. Maybe Messers Put, Porchat & Martins feel focused on their goals in theirroutine movie making. They see us spectators like people who are weak due to the emotions that rule over us. They feel like they can accomplish anything that they set their minds to. It is just life for them, movie pros. Unlike narcissists who need some kind of validation that they are great, they need not tell anyone what they already know. In a way psychopaths have many advantages over a normal person. Their lack of true emotions and ability to see any situation for what it is can help them along. In a sense, it is not an inflated sense of self that they have but it is more like stating facts that apply to them. They know that they are great, its just that simple.
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
From an author and work listed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum
Perhaps I exected a pragmatic historical revisionist story of Christ's life and times. Truth be told, since childhood and cathechism I realized that Jesus and the apostles were not just mythical but actual historical personages as well. What Messers Kazantzakis and Scorsese give us instead is an overwrought anti-Biblical rendering of Jesus' rise and fall. Lots of fire and brimstone, angels, dreams, etc., etc. Empirically, speaking, the film is well-written, well-directed, rather creative, but I personally could not fully enjoy it. Jesus here is a prickly, unlikeable, unpredictable. The apostles aren't admirable at all - even though the authors are not trying to paint a negative picture -- I mean, Jesus Christ does perform actual miracles -- the whole thing is just wacky. My biggest complaint is the high-flung almost hysterical prose and dialogue. I am left feeling I should have just read the Gospels themselves. Which I did - since childhood and catrhechism. Maybe this is better for spectators with a rather theological bent.