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Pawn Sacrifice (2014)
Good biopic
Pawn Sacrifice gets to dramatize the real-life story of Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire), Cold War-era chess prodigy and champion. In a clear attempt at prestige candidacy, the film falls victim to the usual biopic pitfall by relying solely on the events as they played out, as opposed to using them to determine a story worth telling. Maybe a bit too long but certainly worth it
Two Ways Home (2019)
Beautifully depicted story
Two Ways Home" is a low-key indie drama about a family history, going through personal failures, mental health and strong redemption. It is beautifully shot, as well as empathetically-acted and reasonably well-written. Furthermore it benefits from that essential ingredient that makes or breaks many a low-budget independent film - a sense of place. It's a rural Iowa story from start to finish but it works.
Orange Is the New Black (2013)
Excellent ensemble
There are so many ways this could've gone totally wrong but this series is handled with seriousness and poignancy. Moreover the prison is full of rich, diverse characters with faces that the movie experts do recognize---Natasha Lyonne, Kate Mulgrew, Taryn Manning--- but most of them won't be recognized and recognizable, which is fine, because there's not a single Mischa Barton in this giant ensemble. These 13 episode are often quotable, very funny, occasionally violent and completely engrossing. Overall a perfect series, combining humor, drama and a bit of violence as well.
The Operative (2019)
suspenseful
Diane Kruger releases an extremely intense and believabe performance, though. Even though she's been transformed into an intentionally plain figure with bland, chestnut hair and no makeup to blend in, she can't help but exude a striking screen presence. And she is afforded glimmers of a personality beyond her character's opaque façade -- look glimpse into the difficult childhood that pusheded her character to lead such a crazy and strange life, a rare smile while drinking, flirting, having sex and dancing at a party. But mostly she is all business, and a slow, steady tension eventually emerges as she increasingly finds herself in over her head.
Hillbilly Elegy (2020)
Excellent with Oscat deserving performances
Hillbilly Elegy is a very interesting sociopolitical story, perfectly played by both Glenn Close and Amy Adams. For all the overbearing sound and fury of the two lead performances, for all the purported gravitas, in the end it just feels pointless, a poverty porn portrayal of the lives it intends to honor, an Oscar-friendly narrative of personal triumph in the face of great hardship, a movie designed to end with an uplifting epigraph; it is also one of the best movies of the year, a masterpiece for sure.
The Young Pope (2016)
Extremely original
The Young Pope is one of the most beautiful season of television ever made. Created by Paolo Sorrentino, The Young Pope is set in the Vatican, which is in Rome, and shot in Venice. The story is told efficiently, different from the traditional plotting, and a lot emphases isnput on the visual style, intense wit and deep character examination. Jude Law is perfect, as well as James Cronwell and Diane Keaton. Surely unlikely but totally genial.
Dark Waters (2019)
Excellent
Dark Waters is entirely believable, it is about the slow, horrifying discovery of what a chemical company has done for decades. Haynes pumps the film so that it becomes full of paranoia and isolation, so that it matches the sensations experienced by the real protagonists (it is based upon a true story). As Bilott, Ruffalo could have amped up the glamour by playing a hotshot in order to flatter his A-list activist credentials (he also produced the film). But here, he deflates himself. He's sullen and awkward in his movements - when the stress piles up, his hands starts to violently shake. He doesn't present Bilott as an hero, but as a man who's been awakened to the world of moral decency, only to be rewarded with powerlessness and ineffectual anger. A part of thr mission is driven by the loyalty to his small-town roots, though his enemies soon use it as a weapon against him. Overall a masterpiece.
Manchester by the Sea (2016)
Very sad, too sad
A sad film about life as it is lived in the real world, with unassuageable pain, loose ends untied, life lessons unlearned. Life with no narrative closure. A man bearing the burden of a terrible tragedy, which explains his exile from the place where he grew up; the situation appears to offer the familiar trope of an unsympathetic guy redeemed by the responsibility of parenthood and odd-couple friendship with the quasi-child. Yet things don't work..
Die Protokollantin (2018)
einfallsreich
Tatsächlich ist "Die Protokollantin" vor allem auch eine Geschichte des Scheiterns, zusätzlich zu einer Kriminalserie. Freya begeht aktiv und passiv Selbstjustiz an Männern, die jungen Frauen Böses angetan haben, doch ihre junge Tochter bekommt sie dadurch nicht wieder. Ausgerechnet bei ihrem jüngsten Racheobjekt Thilo Menken mehren sich schon bald die Zweifel, ob er tatsächlich für das Verschwinden eines weiteren Mädchens verantwortlich war. Zeitgleich scheitert Freyas Chef Silowski an seinem Sohn, der um sich herum die Mauer eines Berliner Luxus-Hipsters aufgebaut hat. Der Kommissar ist wahrscheinlich der beste Schauspieler der Serie, und hier hat er sogar besser als in Babylon's Berlin gespielt.
The Infiltrator (2016)
watchable, energetic and tense
All the plot-threads keep the viewer guessing. With the help Diane Kruger Mazur ingratiates himself perfectly into various homes and habits. Then there's Mazur's wife, bitter and bitter, the expendable Evelyn (British actress Juliet Aubrey, excellent). Director Brad Furman is obviously working in the long shadow of Martin Scorsese and the Breaking Bad team. Still, he's learned all the right lessons, especially when it comes to music. Them Two's Am I a Good Man and Leonard Cohen's Everybody Knows chime thrillingly with the action. As solid entertainment goes, this is the business. The finale as well is very intense.
The Captive (2014)
Too much anguish
What begins teasingly moody, however, about the ramifications of a horrible incident - shades of "The Sweet Hereafter," still Egoyan's best film - becomes baroque and ludicrous as the Hitchcockian scenario, although it ends up loosing its psychological bearings in a web of too many plot twists and self-conscious jumps in time. Though Ryan Reynolds rises above the rest as a father destroyed by sadness and anger, "The Captive" quickly devolves into scenes feeling like stilted dramatic re-creations. All in all there is a sad atmosphere but it works pretty well, though not being a masterpiece.
4 Blocks (2017)
sehr realistisch
Extrem realistische Geschickte, auch extrem, weil es Figuren sind alle glaubwürdig und überzeugend, ihre Leben plausibel und das ganze Szenario sieht echt aus. Man sieht die heutige Berlin, mit vielleicht ein bisschen zu Verbrechen aber die Mischung verschiedener Kulturen und Nationalitäten, die auch in der kriminellen Umgang passiert ist sehr gut beschrieben. Ähnlich der Italienischen Serie Gomorra nimmt diese Show davon viele Elemente und viele Ähnlichkeiten, z. B die Wachmänner/Wächter die beobachten und kontrollieren dass die Polizei nicht vobe nicht die vorbeikommt. Habe nicht die ganze Serie geschaut aber diese Produktion wirkt wirklich versprechend und originell.
4 Blocks (2017)
sehr realistisch
Extrem realistische Geschickte, auch extrem, weil es Figuren sind alle glaubwürdig und überzeugend, ihre Leben plausibel und das ganze Szenario sieht echt aus. Man sieht die heutige Berlin, mit vielleicht ein bisschen zu Verbrechen aber die Mischung verschiedener Kulturen und Nationalitäten, die auch in der kriminellen Umgang passiert ist sehr gut beschrieben. Ähnlich der Italienischen Serie Gomorra nimmt diese Show davon viele Elemente und viele Ähnlichkeiten, z. B die Wachmänner/Wächter die beobachten und kontrollieren dass die Polizei nicht vobe nicht die vorbeikommt. Habe nicht die ganze Serie geschaut aber diese Produktion wirkt wirklich versprechend und originell.
La zona (2017)
Erschreckend
Handlungstechnisch ließe sich fast von einer Ergänzung sprechen, weil "La Zona" ganz auf die Nachwirkungen des Unglücks abstellt, auf das Leben mit dem Verlust von Angehörigen, Sicherheit und Eigentum. Die Überlebenden wohnen beengt in Anlagen, die an bessere Slums erinnern. Trotzdem kann man sagen dass die Handlung gut funktioniert und dass die Schauspielern eine angenehme Leistung geben.
The Gentlemen (2019)
good return from Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie returns to the atmosphere of his first few movies with The Gentlemen, wherein violence and chaos form a succesfull . The director, maybe predictably, gives The Gentlemen an opening stretch that overwhelms the public with exposition and context. Clear, certainly, that the barrage of information is a bit and requires a fair amount of patience from the viewer. The Gentlemen then follows into a progressively enthralling midsection which boasts one captivating sequence after another. The thoroughly watchable atmosphere is undoubtedly heightened by top-tier work of the movie's eclectic cast, and by the time all the pieces fall into place within the rather spellbinding climax.
La Gomera (2019)
langsam aber sehr interessant
Whistling also has other resonances that Porumboiu allows us to ponder. Cristi - and maybe his commanders - have ambiguous identities and loyalties. They could be whistleblowers of a sort, revealing the secrets of their masters ( police officers mixed with criminals); and they are also snitches, singing like canaries. (The advantage of Gomera's whistling is that it sounds like birdsong to the uninitiated.)
The cast is totaly unknown but the result is good.
Porumboiu gives us a knotty, twisty, nifty plot which is quite involving but gets to hangs together well, and there is also an amusing juxtaposition of gloomy, rainy Bucharest and (on the contrary) the sunny terrain of La Gomera. We also get a neat and unexpected coda. An elegant and stylishly crafted piece of entertainme
Odio l'estate (2020)
excellent return
A few years after the not so succesfull experiment of "Fuga da Reuma Park", after the celebrations for 25 years of activity together and after Aldo Baglio had started working alone (that seemed to be the beginning of the end of the Trio), here they go with a surprise new film, bringing the three guys back in the wake of a solid and mature comedy, which gets to speak to the hearts of old fans but maybe also able to conquer new ones. Certainly a bittersweet reflection on the passing of time and the risk of forgetting who we are, the story well written, funny and at times even moving, The film features three unexpectedly excellent first ladies, perfectly at ease in their meeting with Aldo Giovanni and Giacomo as well as the return of their historic director, who still knows how to make the most of their potential.
Collateral Beauty (2016)
Disappointing
A negative surprise, given the stellar cast. To its credit, the cast itself struggles mightily in a collective attempt, in order to prove that there's something to all this. Winslet goes so far as to add a trace of reality to her role as the conscience-stricken Madeline. And Hellen Mirren, dares a touch of cynical humour by turning Brigitte, one of the hired players, into the kind of luvvie who'll do anything as long as it involves a performance. Otherwise the story proves banal and and also a bit boring.
911 (2018)
Dinamyc and original
A sort of kaleidoscope of a TV show managing to squeeze in so much that it's hard to believe that "911" has already showcased so much (plane crash evacuation, a roller coaster disaster, a dangling pervy window-washer, amongst the others. And all in about a month. Shows like were seen this before, that vary wildly from week to week and set its audience up for an anything-can-happen approach. But through this three-thread narrative, "911" has succeded in giving audiences three shows for the time investment of one, a perfect hit for a TV-watching populace with a shrinking attention span. All in all a good show.
The Irishman (2019)
typical Scorsese's styile
The Irishman," a three-and-a-half-hour epic from Scorsese, masterfully and completely unfolds Sheeran's story. The Irishman" is long, to be sure, but always compelling and with a great cast, i.e. Scorsese, De Niro, Pacino and Pesci, all in their mid-to-late-70s.
This is, of course, familiar territory for Scorsese, who's made numerous films exploring the world of mafia; no one's better at showing us a cavalcade of men with leathery voices and averted eyes, following them down dark hallways and sidewalks, sitting with them in old styled Italian restaurants or in ordinary middle-class living rooms. Mobster after mobster crosses paths with Sheeran and Hoffa; Scorsese shows us, in onscreen notes, their eventual fate. With one exception (a man "well liked by all," who died of natural causes), all met violent ends.
Sorry We Missed You (2019)
Always a great director
Ken Loach's latest underclass testament is really great in depicting this Newcastle man (Kris Hitchen, great), a construction worker trying to pay the bills as a delivery van driver, who finds his dignity and family slipping away as he struggles to meet inhuman job quotas. A more than decent story that speaks about how desperate but dignified a man can be (he also persuades his wife (Debbie Honeywood) to sell the car and take long bus rides to her job as a nurse). Bleak even by Loach's no-guff standards, but it really kicks like a mule.
Das perfekte Geheimnis (2019)
Perfektes Remake
Perfekte Geheimnis" ist eine oft komische Komödie. Der Film basiert auf der zuerst in einem italienischen Kinodrama aus dem Jahr 2016 ausprobierten Idee, dass eine Abendessengesellschaft aus dreieinhalb befreundeten Pärchen sämtliche Handys auf den Tisch legt und jeden Anruf, jede Text- oder Bild-Nachricht im Kollektiv entgegennimmt.
Die Smartphones seien die "Flugschreiber unseres Lebens", behauptet die von Jessica Schwarz gespielte Psychotherapeutin Eva zu Beginn des Films. Offenbar unterstellt sie nicht nur ihrem Mann Rocco, den sie neuerdings "penetrant gutgelaunt" findet, dass sich auf seinem Mobilgerät Belege für peinliche Unternehmungen finden könnten. Alle Schauspieler sind wirklich gut und Ihre Leistingen fast perfekt.
Gemini Man (2019)
Not that much of a masterpiece but good
Not one of the best films of the year but at least one of the the most puzzling. It stars Will Smith here directed by Taiwanese genius Ang Lee and the effect is good.
Decent and charming asassin Brogan (Smith) is a cliché on legs, especially when he is betrayed by his own government and faces a killer who walks and talks like him, but is 30 years younger. The audience is supposed to be intrigued by the idea that she may fall for Brogan's younger self. It's not much of a contest.
Rambo: Last Blood (2019)
Hopefully the last one..
In spite the the lack of homicidal intent, the original First Blood played at times like a slasher movie wherein the audience was expected to root for the maniac. In many ways, the exponentially less accomplished Last Blood also feels like an inverted horror movie: less emphasis on the wanton machine-gunning of faceless combatants that defined the second, third, and fourth Rambo movies; more emphasis on Rambo's (and presumably the audience's) sadism. Really exaggerated on everything, the finally being one of the worst ever seen.
Blinded by the Light (2019)
unoriginal plot but emotional and dramatic
The key, ultimately, is that Bruce Springsteen's music causes an awakening, one that emboldens Javed to defy his father's edicts, brave speaking to a girl he likes and contemplate who he truly is. Yet the movie also has considerable compassion for its supporting characters and incorporates nifty touches involving peripheral ones, such as an unassuming neighbor who takes an interest in Javed's work. Other than the Springsteen connection and in spite of the story and the ending being predictable everything about the movie has a strong and independent sensibility, the kind that often struggles to lure people out to the theater. On the plus side, another film that combines music and nostalgia, "Yesterday," has been one of the, well, unsung heroes of the summer.Whether it's on a large screen now or a small one later, "Blinded by the Light" represents a sweet, easy-to-relate-to story that it deserves to be seen, at the least, by anyone who has shown a little faith that there's magic in the arts or a darkened theater.