There are times when scenes from a film haunt your mind for days. Calvary is one of these films. It gets your attention from the start.
The tail of the Innocent, the circle of unjust violence, the way to escape from it. The fact that we, as people focus now days more on defaults than on virtues. The fact we may underestimate the best virtue of them all.
Do not miss it.
Provocatively different in numerous ways, 3-Iron is a story about dream and reality, a strange (but descent) point of view regarding taking and giving, the rules we live by, the rules imposed on us, violence and its side effects and … transcendence!
My rating : 09/10
There are numerous things I liked in “The Company You Keep“. Left my thoughts mature for a couple of days before posting this one. It is obviously a film with a political flavor. Apart from that, however, the characters, their beliefs, their emotions are very well presented. Acting is superb and the story is well-developed (based on a book). One must have a lot of guts to shoot such a film now days, even if it is Robert Redford …
My rating: 09/10
Stoker is a film to be seen twice. Why? Because, as a cinema film critic once said, the message of the film is (almost always) revealed at the beginning. Once the story unfolds, the message presented at the beginning sheds new light to it.
It is a tale full of subtle and obvious insinuations, presented with unique beauty. A screenshot or a small scene have much more to say than what is usually expected. Scene transitions are built in a unique, poetic way. This work of art manages to present violence and atrocities wrapped-up as a present. A present well justified by Chan-wook Park.
Slavoj Zizek certainly would have spoken about this film in “The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema (2006)” if it was filmed before 2006!
My rating: 09/10
After seeing a good movie from a director I do not know, I try to see other films he made to have a better understanding of his work. Since “Killing the softly” was a film I liked, Chopper of Andrew Dominic was next.
It describes a world of criminals, which is totally outside of any reference a normal person may have. Violence to the extreme, a code of ethics totally alien to me (although I may understand how and why it exists), a film that had nothing to offer but the vision to a world that should not exist in the first place. Does it do it well? Yes. Would I recommend it? No.
My rating: 03/10
“Killing Them Softly” is a movie one needs to have a strong stomach to watch for two reasons. Since it is a tale about outlaw games, the people involved, the beneficiaries behind them, it is expected to have violence. There is a lot of it and it is very realistic, that being the first reason. However, what is extremely interesting are the broadcasts in radio and TV in various points of the play commenting on the US financial system, the players involved, the way things are going. summed up at the end of the film by the main character (Brad Pitt). There are also the well portrayed feelings of the poor devils involved in one or another way in the plot, their lack of options, their imaginary world where they escape to avoid reality, their loneliness and fate. If ones also considers the “business” discussions taking place between the people “calling the shots”, so similar to the discussions taking place in legal businesses, then one realizes that this film says something more than an illegal gambling story. That is the second reason. This is one of the films saying more than one story. A must see.
My rating: 09/10
A female friend of mine mentioned yesterday that 95% of men stop maturing at the age of sixteen to eighteen. Well, it should have hurt my feelings but it did not! Was it the 5% left or the feeling deep inside that, well, part of me is really still a kid that really enjoys a real good tale? Probably it is the second case 🙂
Well, Iron Man 3 is such a tale. Despite the fact it is the 3rd sequel, it does keep its freshness, delivers a good show and whoever enjoyed Iron Man 1 and 2, will certainly enjoy this one too. It does have a touch of philosophy too: the film opens with the quote “we create our own daemons”. How true… Don’t get too frustrated though: philosophy ends there!
My rating (for its kind of course) : 08/10
“The Attack” is a film about love, friendship, trust, betrayal, hate, beliefs and much more. First of all, it is a great movie to see. Direction by Ziad Doueiri is excellent, it has a gripping story (L’attentat is a best seller) which combined with the acting of all actors involved totally immerses the spectator in the film’s story. It is also a film that raises numerous issues for discussion.
Most of all, it is from these films that have a point (or more) to make (as I suppose does the book). So, unless the story is unveiled, one cannot really discuss about the film.
Things I liked in the film:
So, the rest of the post contains spoilers and it is up to you if you want to read it before or after seeing the film.
My rating: 09/10
Shadow Dancer: Choice upon choice when each one is worst than the other. An excellent thriller with numerous turn plots, very good acting, a realistic story and a say I like to keep “There is no solution with violence”.
My rating: 08/10
Pulp Fiction was a milestone picture for me. Since then, I’ve been following Quentin Tarantino‘s movies. But since then, there is a perpetual story with different characters, at a different time and place: a case of injustice where the main character, the hero, must avenge. And then there is a lot of violence, blood spill, atrocities, extreme scenes, that fill the scenery.
You may say: but this is Tarantino! True. May be I am changing and expecting something better or different from Tarantino who, I think, does have the potential to do something over and above a splatter movie.
Anyway: “Django Unchained” has excellent acting from all actors, a very good story (except from a tiny loose end – no spoilers here!) and the “usual” Tarantino style 🙂
My rating: 06/10
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