Category Archives: Oscar nominee

Film Reviews: The Favourite. Green Book. Vice. Side Effects. Enemy at the Gates. Copenhagen. Escape Room. Agora. Going All the Way. The Deep Blue Sea. A Date for Mad Mary. Dad in Training

19 Saturday Jan 2019

Posted by in movies, Naomi Watts, Oscar nominee, Rachel Weisz

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the fff green book vic

The Favourite

‘She saved me my whole life. Without her, I’m nothing.’

I went to see it again today, as it’s nearly perfect and I’ve had a stressful week. It’s even better the second time, and even though the audience I saw it with sounded disappointed, I couldn’t stop smiling at the screen. It was impossible to route for Abigail, seeing how annoying she was. Yorgos Lanthimos streches history to squeeze that alledged romantic story line in there, which ends up being the only part that actually makes sense. Olivia Coleman and Rachel Weisz give beautiful performances. The music score is wonderfully chilling, the cinematography, in big part focused in Anne’s room is breathtaking. The costumes are amazing, epecially everything they gave Rachel Weisz to wear. And I completely missed that About A Boy reunion the first time I watched it. The Favourite is quickly becoming one of my new favourites and I may watch it again next week.

And no one in their right mind would ever choose Emma Stone over Rachel Weisz.

‘I am not food, you cannot just eat and eat.’

‘You sent for Abigail to try and make me jealous, I think.’

‘How good to see you’ve returned from…’
‘Hell. I’m sure you shall pass through it one day.’

10/10

Green Book

Viggo Mortensen is fantastic as the chauffeur. I still don’t understand why Viggo wasn’t offered more groundbreaking roles after The History of Violence, so I am over the moon about his role in Green Book.

9/10

Vice

The first half was too long and so boring, I fell asleep. Now how about that tiny Naomi Watts cameo?

5/10

side effects enemy.jpg copenhagen

Side Effects

I have been on my share of antidepressants, and I remember being put on this particular one at 16, just before I did this play, and it gave me the craziest side effects, including never ending dryness in my mouth. Needless to say I stopped taking it after opening night, cause it made me feel too uncomfortable.

Even though I didn’t like how the story unfolded, for once I liked Catherine Zeta-Jones’s character, so that’s something.

7.5/10

Enemy at the Gates

What a ride. I watched it twice today. Also, don’t tell me that this was not one of the films that inspired that disturbing underground sex scene in ‘In Darkness’.

‘On the train coming here, we were in the same cart, I saw you, you were reading and you feel asleep. I didn’t dare to look at you, you were so beautiful, it was scary. Afterwards, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. It made me smile. Then I thought of all the men who would get to hold you, who’d make you laugh. How lucky they were. And now I’m the one lying next to you’.

8/10

Copenhagen

Just as wonderful as You & Me Forever.

7.5/10

escape ago-e1549723150153.jpg going

Escape Room

Am I supposed to route for someone who said ‘Downtown’ is elevator music? This felt very much like Cabin in the Woods, but not that good and not gory at all.

This is the 100th film watched with my Odeon Limitless pass.

5/10

Agora

Imagine if Amenabar showed us or even mentioned exactly what they’d done to Hypatia, instead of this PG 13 mercy killing. We would have been traumatised.

8/10

Going All the Way

These two hate women but expect sex from them. The film also laughs at suicide, no person would ever try to off themselves cause they couldn’t get it up. What an awful film.

2/10

the deep a date for mad dad in tr

The Deep Blue Sea

It’s based on a play by Terence Rattigan of the same name. The lighting seemed overexposed at times and I did not especially like that there were only 2 or 3 locations, but I loved the theatre feel, while all the suicide bits and talks and post Blitz London scenery were mesmerising. Falling head over heels for someone who doesn’t love you back can be devastating. I used to know a girl who drove herself mad, because someone a few years older did not want her. She ended up in therapy and is now happy with someone else.

7/10

A Date for Mad Mary

Another great little film I watched on HBO Go.

7.5/10

Dad in Training

As wonderful as it’s poster. Awful title translation.

7.5/10

 

 

Room. Spotlight. Brooklyn. Carol. The Revenant. The Danish Girl. Steve Jobs. The Martian. The Bridge fo Spies. Joy. The Big Short. The Hateful Eight. Trumbo. Mad Max.

22 Monday Feb 2016

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There’s less than a week left till the Oscars, and most of you is trying to watch all the nominated films in time for the big show. That was me over a month ago. Every year I watch all films nominated before the Golden Globes. This year,  it was a bigger challenge as the ceremony was so early in the year. I made it on time, even though the last film I watched was on the day of the ceremony. Here are my thoughts on this years Academy Awards nominees.

Room

Definitely my favorite this year. It’s not based on an actual story. The book’s author was inspired by the Fritzl case, for all of you not familiar with it, It’s a story of a Austrian woman that was held prisoner for 24 years by her father who abused and raped her, and as result she gave birth to 7 children. What is it with Austria illegal child imprisonment? Three worldwide known cases in 3 years? The author used elements of this tragic story, most noticeably, a steel door that weighed about 300 kg with a code lock door system, and sickness of one of the children followed by begging the kidnapper to get them to a hospital. You may have heard of this case in 2008 when the woman finally escaped her abuser. The film also reminds me of the Jacee Dugard kidnapping, mainly because of the soundproof shed. This film is a must see, and please look out for the carpet/truck scene, that will leave you in awe. The scene includes Jacob Tremblay’s wonderful reaction as his character sees the world for the first time.

9/10

Spotlight

Great story, an outstanding thought-provoking film. My second favorite this year. The Spotlight journalism team from The Boston Globe reveals there are 90 priests/pedophiles in Boston only.

If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to abuse them.

It’s time, Robby! It’s time! They knew and they let it happen! To KIDS! Okay? It could have been you, it could have been me, it could have been any of us. We gotta nail these scumbags! We gotta show people that nobody can get away with this; Not a priest, or a cardinal or a freaking pope!

They say it’s just physical abuse but it’s more than that, this was spiritual abuse. You know why I went along with everything? Because priests, are supposed to be the good guys.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that we spend most of our time stumbling around the dark. Suddenly, a light gets turned on and there’s a fair share of blame to go around. I can’t speak to what happened before I arrived, but all of you have done some very good reporting here. Reporting that I believe is going to have an immediate and considerable impact on our readers. For me, this kind of story is why we do this.

9/10

Brooklyn

Relatable for anyone who wants to move to the US. Like most of the films nominated this year, it’s based on the book of the same title. I am not sure why she spent so much time talking to the rich Irish guy. Why did she even stay in Ireland so long? We all know how nosy and rude people in small communities, towns or neighborhoods can be. I knew they would show her sharing all the clues she heard from that Irish girl on her first day on the ferry with another girl at the end. For someone who has lived 3 continents away from home, I gained a bunch of knowledge myself. The kind I would not get from research. This knowledge and experiences are one of the best things in life. Once I’m at it, living somewhere and going on a 2 week long or even 1 month long trip are not the same things. I can’t stand people who brag on Facebook how lovely some country is, when they know nothing about living there. Brooklyn beautifully shows how Saoirse’s character settles in the new country. She could have faced more obstacles, but I get that was not the reason for the film. I love that she is homesick to the point were she cries and can’t even work. I remember how all of my friends asked me how come I’m not scared of moving from Europe to Australia, but I never felt homesick. After university, I went back to the UK and homesickness kicked in. Reminiscing to Australia is another thing, but missing the street you grew up on is homesickness, and I never felt it in Australia, probably because I had too much fun or that living there was one of my biggest goals. I don’t see myself working in my home city, living in my childhood home when I’m old, of course, but definitely not studying or working there. I love that she couldn’t attend her sibling’s funeral, because you need to take this into account as well, if you move to another country, you’ll be living on a budget. I love how in the end she realizes, that the place she called home is not her home anymore, that her life is in America now. My third favorite film this year.

I wish that I could stop feeling that I want to be an Irish girl in Ireland.
Homesickness is like most sicknesses. It will pass.

I’d forgotten what this town is like. What were you planning to do? Perhaps you didn’t even know. Perhaps it was enough for you to know that you could ruin me.

You have to think like an American. You’ll feel so homesick that you’ll want to die, and there’s nothing you can do about it apart from endure it. But you will, and it won’t kill you. And one day, the sun will come out you might not even notice straight away-it’ll be that faint. And then you’ll catch yourself thinking about something or someone who has no connection with the past. Someone who’s only yours. And you’ll realize that this is where your life is.

9/10

Carol

I still liked Chloe better, couldn’t Todd Haynes get Julie Moore to play Carol? For those of you who don’t remember he directed her in Safe. Also, I still don’t think Rooney was the right fit for Theresa. I thought the same about Cate Blanchet, but changed my mind while watching. The film is based on the novel called The Price of Salt, written by Patricia Highsmith, author of the famous Strangers on a Train and the Tom Ripley series, that was later adapted by Alfred Hitchcock into a film. I have a feeling the film would be better if it was made in the 50s, (the book was published in 1952) and it would most likely be more similar to ‘The Children’s Hour’, one of my most favorite films of Audrey Hepburn (also starring Shirley McClaine). I haven’t read the book yet, but I want to. The author said it was inspired by a woman in fur she met one day as she helped her pick out a doll (in the film it was a train set). The author has never seen the woman again, as opposed to here, having an affair with her. The rest of the storyline was based on her previous experiences, as one of her ex-lovers lost her children in a custody battle after she was recorded in a hotel. I haven’t read the book, but I’ve heard that Carol was supposed to be in her early 30s and Cate Blanchett is in her mid 40s. I like that Todd chose a bigger age difference, by making the relationship even more ‘forbidden’. To finish, here is what the book’s author said about why the book was so well received: ‘The appeal of The Price of Salt was that it had a happy ending for its two main characters, or at least they were going to try to have a future together. Prior to this book, homosexuals male and female in American novels had had to pay for their deviation by cutting their wrists, drowning themselves in a swimming pool, or by switching to heterosexuality, or by collapsing—alone and miserable and shunned—into a depression equal to hell.’ This is my fourth favorite film this award season.

9/10

The Danish Girl

A beautiful real life story and a true inspiration for transgender community. The film us based on the book of the same title. They should have shown us the notebook, or read quotes from it at least. It’s surprising and admirable that the wife went along with his new true self, as it wasn’t a long marriage. This is my 5th favorite film this season.

9/10

The Revenant

The Revenant is a story of a guy who wants to avenge his Native American son’s death after being separated from his group. There’s Indians and snow and a giant bear, trying to rip him to pieces. It’s based on a book that portrays the intriguing life of Hugh Glass. The only thing that was an actual event is the bear attack, and these two guys were asked to stay with him till he died, they dug a grave and stole his belongings. In the book and film, one of them kills his Native American son, which I assume he never even had. The bear scene was definitely impressive and probably the only intriguing part of the film. By now you’ve probably seen the para-poster saying the film is ‘A story of actors who got cold and ate some meat, and Leo being messed about by a bear.’ The titled revenant is his dead wife, who doesn’t bring anything to the story. The film should be re-titled Revenge or something. After googling the book, it turns out the original title of the book is ‘The Revenant: A story of Revenge’ Now that’s much better. Despite it’s partial brutality, it wouldn’t pass as a horror film, and someone could have taken it for one after hearing that title. I feel like award shows are desperately trying to award Leo, just because he has been missed out on so many times. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed The Revenant a lot, it just wasn’t my favorite. The film may be too brutal for some, especially the opening scene. You would think it’s Tarantino’s film, not Inarritu’s, Hateful Eight 2 or something. Subtitles are distracting, their accents were all over the place too. The scenery is breathtaking with all the glaciers and waterfall and lots of snow. I know everyone is in awe of how great this film is, but I think there were 5 films that were just a little more magnificent.

8/10

Steve Jobs

Kate Winslet is getting all the awards for speaking with an accent that could never pass as Polish. Also, Poland is not and Eastern European country. It’s Middle European. It’s a huge difference, they haven’t been taught Russian in schools since the late 80s. Another film where they just don’t bother to check the facts. I haven’t seen the other two Steve Jobs films, that are supposed to be really bad, but this one was interesting and quite informative for someone who’s never owned a Mac or an Iphone. My 7th favorite this year.

7.5/10

The Martian

Worse than Contact with Jodie  Foster and  Gravity with Sandra Bullock, but slightly better than Interstellar, even though a little more boring. Matt Damon gets left on Mars, is announced dead and Jessica Chastain and her crew decide to go back for him. It’s not very thrilling, but interesting for sure, and you’re gonna get teary by the end. Interstellar was more heartbreaking with 80 years passing and him staying young.

7.5/10

The Bridge for Spies

Based on life of James Donovan, it follows the events around the first prisoner exchange on the Bridge of Spies. Cold war, Soviet spies, hostages, Glienicke Bridge, Berlin Wall. If you like any of these topics, it’s a film for you. Otherwise, you won’t find it astonishing. How would we even watch it if Tom Hanks wasn’t in it? Steven Spielberg finds this story particularly personal, because of his father, who was putting the remains of the U-2 plane for display for the Soviets. The film was co-written by the Coen brothers. I wish it wasn’t a spy film and they focused on the Berlin Wall instead. The Berlin Wall scenes were my favorite, though not shown well enough. Tom’ character’s jacket being stolen, not relevant. People turning their backs on him for representing a Soviet spy, sure. It’s a court film meets war film meets action film meets thriller. If you’re not a huge history freak, or a huge Tom Hanks freak, you’ll be bored. Gladly my dad is both, so I’ll recommend it to him and maybe he’ll explain to me what the hype is about.

7/10

Joy

My 10th favorite this year. Jennifer Lawrence plays a girl who came up with a washable mop. She tries to sell the product, but is taken advantage of by one of the companies she orders the product from. Bradley Cooper’s character, annoying. Robert DeNiro is only maybe in two scenes. I didn’t find it significant enough, compared with other films, and I see the Academy thought the same, as it wasn’t nominated for best film, just best actress.

7/10

The Big Short

When my friend said she’s giving up on Hollywood after seeing this one, I thought she was being over dramatic. As it turns out, this is the most boring film I have seen in the last couple of years. Not many will care for some guy who foresaw the 2008 financial crisis. Lots of small banks and private companies give loans to people who lie about their employment. It wins lots of best written script awards, but I don’t think it’s a must see.

6/10

The Hateful Eight

I am a fan of Reservoir Dogs, and  I liked Inglorious Bastard, but I could never appreciate Kill Bill, Death Proof or even Pulp Fiction for that matter. Most of The Hateful Eight is shot in one cabin, some is shot in the woods outside. The language and content is vulgar at times, but that’s with all Tarantino films. I was telling all my friends that The Hateful Eight will be one of Tarantino’s best films and It just wasn’t. Please watch it for Jennifer Jason Leigh’s performance, she’s the only reason I’m glad I watched it.

5/10

Trumbo

Trumbo follows the life of a famous screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who had to write his masterpieces under a fake name, because he got blacklisted for having Communist beliefs. Trumbo is know for Hollywood classics like Roman Holiday or Gladiator. For some reason I really liked it, it was heartbreaking at times, and heartwarming at others. The film is definitely not as good as Trumbo’s scripts, and it feels a little simple, and same as Joy, it was nominated only for best actor. I recommend it anyway.

7/10

Mad Max

I haven’t seen the Mel Gibson one, or any others from the series, so I can’t comment on the weird future land and it’s creatures. The only things I liked about it was that it was based in Australia and it’s dry and simplistic scenery, or the lack of it. I couldn’t imagine where were all the places they mentioned located, but remember the old Roman Empire or pharaoh films where they were saying something was somewhere and you just couldn’t image it? That’s what happens here. I guess it’s the desert effect. The whole film is  just a very long car chase, I wouldn’t nominate for anything.

5/10

Vera. Jury Duty. Defiance. Joy Division. The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story. Converstations with Other Women. A Case of You. All Roads Lead to Rome

21 Sunday Feb 2016

Posted by in movies, Oscar nominee

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Vera

I have tried to watch this one when it was nominated for Oscars, but I found it boring and turned it off after first 20 minutes. A couple years later, I DVR’d it and deleted a few weeks later. This week the film was leaving Netflix, so I had to give it another chance. It was still boring, I’m not sure why half of British films are. Action took place in exactly two rooms, and not in the good ‘Carnage’ way. It lacked a dramatic climax, she was performing illegal abortions, and then she got caught and was put in prison for 2.5 years, the end. The family was shocked, and one of her sons practically wanted to disown her, but it still lacked something. I’m not sure why the girl who got raped didn’t come to her, but some other guy. I waited for the connection between the two stories. I would not have seen it if it wasn’t an Academy Award nominee, and I’ll never watch it again. If you want to watch it solely for Imelda’s performance, then do it. But you won’t find anything else in there.

5/10

Jury Duty

Reminded me I need to rewatch 12 Angry Men. The first half is hilarious. Especially when he chooses the longest trial. He pretends he knows the first defendant, saying he used to prank people with him and cheat on tests in high school, then he pretended to be handicapped, when the trial was about some doctor’s malpractice , etc. In one of these jury try-outs, he quotes Al Pacino’s character from ‘And Justice for All’: ‘You’re out of order! You’re out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They’re out of order!’, and he is chosen for this trial after he says he doesn’t watch TV, cause it’s always biased, and he looks for the truth, which no one cares about anymore. My most favorite is when he fell asleep, fell out of the jury box, got up and said ‘All rise’ and the court guard called him a moron. How about when he wrote he wants to ‘Sauna’ and threw the note that ended up hitting the killer’s face? It was a funny film with awful ending. Bruce from Judging Amy is in it. If you liked him as Amy’s court assistant, watch this film. Stanley Tucci wasn’t that big in the 90s, so maybe the film did not scream ‘He’s guilty’ but when you watch it today, you know something isn’t right there. I am a little obsessed when it comes to details of crimes, as you’ll see in the review just below, and I have always dreamed I’d get a chance to be called in for jury duty. My face would look exactly as the main character’s. I would be laughing and enjoying sweet time off work, in a nice hotel with paid meals, and I would hope for a long trial, hopefully with lack of evidence, so It’d be even longer. I wish I could sign up for jury duty, but it just doesn’t work that way. My dad said life is too short to watch crappy films like this one. But he laughed through most of it, so maybe it isn’t that bad after all.

4/10

The Perfect Husband. The Laci Peterson Story

What I don’t get is how can you lie to the victim’s family and friends, and for months pretend you had nothing to do with their death? If I remember correctly, the child was separated from his mother by coffin birth, which means the acid from mother’s womb threw baby’s body out after mother’s death. They didn’t explain anything in the film. They just said they found the infant and then the mother. Why should we watch a crappy Lifetime film if they’re not gonna explain the details of someone’s death? The body of the mother was found 20 miles from the shore almost 4 months later. The pictures of the dead child have sadly leaked online. The woman’s head was never found. I don’t remember him having a lover, who didn’t know he was married. Did Lifetime just made her up? There’s lots of cases like this one and all the most media covered ones have their Lifetime movies. It reminded me of that Candace Cameron Bure ‘No One Would Tell’, another Lifetime real story film about a teenager Stacy Collins who was murdered by her boyfriend by the local lake. In the Laci Peterson case, her child’s body was found near her husband’s fishing place. Another resemblance is it’s also another case where the partner did it, and then stayed to hang out with the family. The actor who played Mr Paterson looked exactly like him, how did they find a person who looks exactly same?

3/10

Joy Divsion

What I absolutely love is that this is one of the very few films that actually showed the most tragic consequence of the end of World War II, the biggest mass rape in history, the gang rapes of women by the Red Army. The supporting female character is gang raped three times, and the main character is shown trying to cope with the loss of her decades after. It’s estimated that more than 2 million German women were raped, some of them up to 70 times during 1945. It is estimated that 100 000 women were raped just in Berlin, other than the 2 million German, 100 000 Polish, and even 100 000 Russian. Women were raped as they were leaving concentration camps too. It’s said that most of the woman aged 8 to 90 were raped by the Red Army. I was always angry during history class in high school, because we never covered this topic. Sure we were mostly stuck a couple periods before even World War I, but this is what should have been talked about in school. Most of war films focus on Jews being killed and no one shows what happened after, just that everyone was happy that the war was over. When in fact Red Army soldiers were told to take what’s theirs and rape women. Sorry for the long ‘history lesson’, It’s just one of the subjects I’m interested in, and fun fact, I was born in one of the Pomeranian cities. Now back to Joy Division. Obviously, flashbacks were the most important part of the film. They should have skipped the present, and just make it a war film.

7.5/10

Defiance

Woah, but Bielski brothers were not some heroes. Their group supported the Soviets and helped them in massacring 128 innocent Poles in Naliboki. How did over 1000 people sit unnoticed by the German in Poland/Belarus for 5 years? They joined the Soviets. It’s based on a true story, but half of the facts don’t match. I’m sure the film was easy to watch, if you didn’t know the truth. It would have been so much better, if truthful. I’m pretty sure the town they were occupying called Nowogródek was a Polish town at the time, but today it’s Belorussian. But of course they again, didn’t check the facts. And where on Earth were Polish people?  Polish town, not one Polish person? Nice airbrushing.

7/10

Conversations with Other Women

Pretty good, though left a little unresolved. Why would they choose to have an affair, if they knew they’d be back to their spouses the next day? The affair was not a very steamy one too, it was just a hook up, with no emotions, even though he started saying he loves her at the end. The conversation was on the whole film, but I don’t think enough was said, or that these were the right words. They came up with an alternative reality and hooked up pretending it was true.

6/10

A Case of You

Aren’t most relationships like that today? If you’re in your twenties or teens and you have never checked your crush’s Facebook page to see what they music they listen to and what films they like, then you’re lying. It doesn’t have to be a crush, it may be a person you wanted to be friends with. It’s like with favorite actors you’re currently obsessed with, you find out they like some song and you immediately download it. It’s all good when they upload their Twitter and Instagram often, if not, liking some celebrity can be painful. I am surprised the girl wasn’t a little grossed out that he spied her on social media. I also felt they tried to pull a ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ kind of ending, as it ended with a dance competition or recital too. The film started off nicely, and the nature trip into the woods ruined it all for me.

4/10

All Roads Lead to Rome

The writers tried to make another ‘Under the Tuscan’s Sun’ and failed miserably. The whole film is just Sarah Jessica Parker flirting with that Italian mommy’s boy. It wasn’t witty or funny, it just felt stupid. The scene where they fell off the rock? If you follow me on Snapchat, you may have seen I snapchated it adding ‘WTF’. Not something I would recommend to anyone else than a true SJP fan.

2/10

Philadelphia. Quartet. The Painted Veil. When Harry Met Sally. Down and Out in Beverly Hills. Fireflies in the Garden. Evil Dead. Evolution. Sixteen Candles. Pregnancy Pact. Body of Evidence. Octane. Mirror Mirror. Life-Size. Prosecuting Casey Anthony. The Cat in the Hat.

02 Saturday Aug 2014

Posted by in Julianne Moore, movies, Naomi Watts, Oscar nominee

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Philadelphia

A wonderful film, rewatched to use as reference to The Buyers Club. Fifith favorite Tom Hanks film, I know he’s got that many great ones in his filmography.

Sir, wouldn’t you be more comfortable in a study room?
No. Would it make you more comfortable?

10/10

Quartet

Seems pretty damn excellent and so bloody British to a person who lives in UK and bumps into a Brit person once week. Where did all the English people go?

I’m going to say something very rude to you: Fuck you.

This is not a retirement home, it is a madhouse!

I was pissed.

8/10

The Painted Veil

I was postponing watching this one as it seemed like Love in the Time of Cholera and it was nothing like it, not that it was a good thing. The film had three good scenes and the rest was slightly boring.

For God’s sake, Walter, will you stop punishing me? Do you absolutely despise me?
No. I despise myself.
Why?
For allowing myself to love you once.

It’s raining cats and dogs. I said it’s raining cats and dogs.
Yes, I heard you.
You might have answered.
I suppose I’m not used to speaking unless I’ve something to say.
If people only spoke when they had something to say, the human race would soon lose the power of speech.

You can’t be serious about taking me into the middle of a cholera epidemic.

Please, Mother. The idea that any women should marry any Tom, Dick or Harry regardless of her own feelings is simply prehistoric.

7/10

When Harry Met Sally

Has the whole opposite sexes cannot be friends down very well.

10/10

Down and Out in Beverly Hills

Funny is one way to describe it, insane is another.

9/10

Evil Dead

A good remake, a different ending and Jane Levy nicely surprised me.

7/10

Octane

Worst film I’ve seen all year? What is it with the 21st century and vampires anyway? In twenties we had Nosfratu, all the Draculas and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now we have ten shows that are all the same.

Do you know the words of Jesus Christ?
Do you know the words FUCK OFF?

3/10

Mirror Mirror

I feel like everything that was supposed to suck, sucked, also extremely boring.

Ten years passed, and Snow White grew older and blossomed. But the kingdom fell into an icy despair, and the queen realized that if she wanted to remain the most beautiful woman in all the land… well… Snow would have to do what snow does best. Snow would have to fall.

Snow White is dead. One of God’s great mysteries is his plan for each and every one of us…
Speed it up.
Snow White lived, she died, God rest her soul, Amen. There will be a buffet lunch served at two.

3/10

Evolution

Ridiculous, would have turned it off after 5 minutes if i could live without seeing every single Julianne Moore movie.

3/10

Sixteen Candles

More of a teen movie than a coming out one. It’s difficult to rate something that’s too girly for my taste.

I can’t believe this. They fucking forgot my birthday.

That’s why they call them crushes. If they were easy, they’d call ’em something else.

Ahh, eat me.
Who was it? Well what did they want?
Sex.

9/10

Pregnancy Pact

One of the latest Thora Birch films. Remember The Hole or American Beauty or Ghost World or Homeless to Harvard or that film with the monkey that stole stuff. This one was nothing like these. Very uhm, lifetime’y.

So this is what it feels like to be Jamie Lynn Spears.

3/10

Life-Size

Never seen it before, very artificial, not appropriate for children and bad in general.

3/10

Body of Evidence

Was i just watching porn for two hours?

3/10

Prosecuting Casey Anthony

A mediocre documantation of the story we all know and despise to think of.

4/10

The Cat in the Hat

Not bad, for a 5 year old. Never read the book and first time i’m seeing this.

4/10

Howards End. The Bridges of Madison County. Ironweed. Inside Daisy Clover. Eastern Promises. Out of Africa. The Last Picture Show. All is Lost. Deliverance. Timepiece. Silkwood. The French Lieutenant’s Woman. Non-Stop. The Assassination of Richard Nixon. Acceptance. Fireflies in the Garden. The Ladies Club. Vacancy.

20 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by in Jodie Foster, Julianne Moore, movies, Naomi Watts, Oscar nominee

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Howards End

Emma Thompson’s acting is always so profound and the film is excellent. Helena Bonham Carter and Anthony Hopkins accompany her just as good. The book is a must read.

10/10

The Bridges of Madison County

Just a love story, but what a good story it is. The scene where Meryl’s character  sees Clint’s character from her truck and knows she chose wrong and falls apart in the car and her husband is irritated with her having a meltdown, a beautifully heartbreaking scene. Fits every relationship where one simple got away. Clint does a spectacular job as a director.

10/10

Ironweed

They sure seemed very homeless. I bought it at once, the plot was all I needed and Jack and Meryl were unrecognizable. One of my favorite scene was followed by my OCD kicking in when she washed her hand in holy water, absolute perfection. This is exactly why we should not go to churches.

10/10

Inside Daisy Clover

Too teen for my taste, but it has Natalie Wood and Robert Redford in it. Although the scene where she burns down the house is a masterpiece.

6/10

Eastern Promises

I did not like it as much as I thought I would. For me it was just another Russian mafia movie, just more intriguing and has Naomi Watts in it.

You were not in fucking KGB!

6/10

Out of Africa

One of the best films ever made. What a story, the film just as good as the biography. Meryl’s Norwegian accent leaves us in awe.

10/10

The Last Picture Show

It was amazing, my favorite role of Cybil Shepherd. Oh how her character messed with boys’ minds. And how losing virginity was so important, we had to witness the nasty but in a sense relatable pool table scene, when she seduces her mother’s boyfriend. God, I just got distracted thinking of The Accused, but nothing beats The Accused. One of the best coming of age films.

9/10

All is Lost

When I heard this film was being made, I was ecstatic. Robert is finally back from his retirement/doing crappy films and it is good. Just enough symbolism in my mind to get me going. Still trying to figure out what the shoe container meant.

10/10

Deliverance

Watched it again, as I can never skip it. One of my favorite films. The rape scene leaves the viewer exhausted and angry at the world, which is just as it should be. This is exactly how low budget films should go. Watch to see excellent acting from the main four Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox and John Voight.

10/10

Timepiece

It sure had it’s atmosphere. A lovely drama, very good for Christmas.

5/10

Silkwood

Favorite Meryl Streep film and one of the best films ever made. Every single scene is breathtaking, what a heroine Karen Silkwood was. A very realistic presentation of working at a power plant/factory. Exactly the conditions you would expect in a radioactive environment. Plus Cher kills it.

10/10

The French Lieutenant’s Woman

One of the very few Meryl Streep films that I just don’t get what the buzz is about.

6/10

Non-Stop

It was all I hoped it would be. All I need is seeing my favorite actors doing everyday life things. Seeing Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson flying in economic class, sleeping on the plane and generally behaving like every other person was extremely entertaining. One of my most favorite thrillers of this century. I even stopped comparing it to Flight Plan, which is just the most addictive film for me along with Panic Room. Non Stop will be played non-stop at my house the minute I buy it on Blu-Ray.

10/10

The Assassination of Richard Nixon

Lacked something, but the failed assassination and the motive of Sean Penn’s character make it worth watching. For me personally the film just needed more Naomi Watts.

6/10

Acceptance

A disappointment, but Joan Cusack kept it funny. A very light view on college admission process, a satisfying ending.

3/10

Fireflies in the Garden

Eight months after watching it and I cannot tell you much about it. That’s how unmemorable it was. All I can tell you is that Julia Roberts played a deceased mother and there were some flashbacks. Just an average drama.

5/10

The Ladies Club

Excellent take on rape and revenge genre. Extremely underrated.

6/10

Vacancy

Lacking something, but in the end good enough.

5/10

 

The Way We Were. The Electric Horseman. An Unfinished Life. Ordinary People. Educating Rita.

17 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by in movies, Oscar nominee

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How screwed up my life is right now if I cannot find time to post a few sentences on films I watch. I hate quoting films without writing reviews. I hate that the 12 hour shifts and lack of time forbids me from something that brings me so much pleasure. God, you used to want to do it for a living remember? I need to go back to uni or all my brains and talent will dry up. Don’t mind my background story, I’ll just get on with it.

The Way We Were

What a classic. In my opinion, Barbra Streisand’s best. The script was written by a genius, the story compelling and believable for the times it was set in.  If you ever could not make the relationship work, even though you loved someone very much, The Way We Were is perfect for you. But what beats the romantic aspects of this film is the history. American films that get all the communism and WWII facts right, instead of portraying the Vietnam War over and over, are magical. And if you miss the reluctant and easy high school years when you had no real troubles or have just recently transitioned to adulthood, you will be reminiscing those days along with going on and on about how good this film is. We all knew girls like Katie, ambitious themselves sure, but at the same dating bad boys and hoping they’d change them, convince them how enough they really are, but as a result, pushing too hard, making them feel like they expect too much of them, and pushing them away.Just off the top of my head, and because I just rewatched the whole series, remember how many times was this film mentioned in Gilmore Girls? If I remember right, I counted three times. The scene when Lorelai goes all Katie on look and calls him hours after he broke up with her and gives him a synopsis of Katie and Hubba’s storyline? I love how clingy and over dramatic this scene is.

I don’t have the right style for you do I?
No you don’t have the right style.
I’ll change.
No, don’t change. You’re your own girl, you have your own style.
But then I won’t have you. Why can’t I have you?
Because you push too hard, every damn minute. There’s no time to ever relax and enjoy living. Every things too serious to be so serious.
If I push too hard it’s because I want things to be better, I want us to be better, I want you to be better. Sure I make waves you have I mean you have to. And I’ll keep making them till your everything you should be and will be. You’ll never find anyone as good for you as I am, to believe in you as much as I do or to love you as much.
I know that.
Well then why?
Do you think if I come back its going to be okay by magic? What’s going to change? What’s going to be different? We’ll both be wrong, we’ll both lose.
Couldn’t we both win?

Maybe something terrible will happen – maybe you’ll have a good time.

Wouldn’t it be lovely if we were old? We’d have survived all this. Everything would be easy and uncomplicated. The way it was when we were young.
Katie, it was never uncomplicated.

10/10

The Electric Horseman

Nicely surprised, I thought it would be just a 60s styled romance, but it was so much more than that. One of both Jane Fonda and Robert Redford’s lightest movies, but still a great watch. Jane plays a slightly annoying reporter, the piece has some thrilling moments as they run from the world and what’s even more appealing, the beautiful scenery. It would never make it this big in 2000s, thankfully It’s the 70s and every film is original and just excellent.

Mr. Steele, why were you 45 minutes late to the press conference? Well, I’d like to apologise for that. I was giving mouth to mouth resuscitation to a bottle of tequila. And, we lost her too.

10/10

An Unfinished Life

One of some best cowboy thrillers of 2000s. Oh the small town based movies where people work at their ranches or at home and face troubles like avenging a bear. Where the police will not come running when Robert Redford beats the crap out of a guy. Morgan Freeman can just sit in the same place the entire movie, and it will not stop him from acing the role. It’s such a shame the little girl who played a cutter on Greys back in season two, did not choose to pursue acting career, because her fresh talent in An Unfinished Life is just on point.

You think the dead really care about our lives?
Yeah, I think they do. I think they forgive us our sins. I even think it’s easy for them.
Griff said you had a dream about flying. Yeah. I got so high, Einar, I could see where the blue turns black. From up there, you could see all there is. And it looked like there was a reason for everything.

You’ve seen too many westerns old man.
That doesn’t exactly work in your favor.

8/10

Ordinary People

As a person who has now seen a couple dozen films on suicide and depression, Ordinary People, lacked something. It feels embarrassing to say it, because It’s Robert Redford’s directional debut and he does a great job. Donald Sutherland did not disappoint either. It’s still great, the Academy Award for best picture rightfully deserved, but something’s missing. I will definitely rewatch it in a few years to figure out what is it that I do not get and find the book. This is going to bug me for months.

Did it hurt?
I don’t remember, really.
You don’t want to talk about it.
I’ve never really talked about it. To doctors. But, not to anyone else. You’re the first who’s asked.
Why did you do it?
Uh… I don’t know. It was like… falling into a hole. It keeps getting bigger and bigger and you can’t escape. All of a sudden, it’s inside… and you’re the hole. You’re trapped. And it’s all over. Something like that. It’s not really scary… except when you think back on it. ‘Cause you know what you were feeling…

9/10

Educating Rita

And to think Educating Rita is on many British students’ reading list in high schools, some genius must have thought of that. Julie Walters’ performance left me speechless and so did the script. It’s an exceptional film, I can just imagine how good Julie must have portrayed Rita on stage. I was looking so long for this film, and the wait was definitely worth the time. Michael Caine intrigues the viewer with how easily this character comes to him.

Christ! My customer! She only come in for a demi-wave, she’ll come out looking like a flippin’ muppet!

Doctor Bryant, I don’t think you’re listening to me.
Mr Collins, I don’t think you’re saying anything to me.

Doctor, are you drunk?
Drunk? Of course I’m drunk. You don’t really expect me to teach this when I’m sober.

Why?
Darling, why not?
Oh, Trish, don’t. Come on, it’s all right, don’t cry. You’re still here.
That’s why I’m crying – it didn’t work. It didn’t bloody work.
Trish. Look, you didn’t really mean to kill yourself. You were just…
Just what, darling? Poor Susan. You think you’ve got everything, don’t you?
Trish, you have.
Oh yes. When I listen to poetry and music, then I can live. You see, darling, the rest of the time it’s just me. And that’s not enough.

Yes, well, apparently you were a little… drunk at your tutorial today.
No.
No?
No. I was a lot drunk.
Oh, Frank, why do you do it? When you’ve got… well, what haven’t you got?
A drink at the moment.

Found a culture, have you Rita? Found a better song to sing? No, you found a different song to sing, and on your lips it’s shrill and hollow and tuneless.

10/10

I’ll try to review some films tomorrow. Have a nice Wednesday!

Lincoln. Silver Linings Playbook. Not Without My Dayghter. Mrs Doubfire. Catch Me If You Can. Sinister. Nine Miles Down. Taken 2. The Assassins. Losing Isaiah. Unknown. The Cave. Freshman Fall. Little Black Book. Girl Fight. The Internship. Rogue. Bunnyman.

06 Tuesday Aug 2013

Posted by in Julianne Moore, movies, Oscar nominee, Sally Field

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The remaining films I watched between December – August. For some reason I haven’t posted them yet. The notes got lost between the move, and uni and work and another move.

Lincoln

With The Impossible movie of the year.

10/10

Silver Linings Playbook

10/10

Not Without My Daughter

No film has ever scared me as much as this one.

10/10

Mrs. Doubfire

I am job.

10/10

Catch Me If You Can

What an amazing film.

9/10

Sinister

Not as good as Insidious, but still creepy at times.

7/10

Nine miles down

I was truly surprised by this one, even though I found some of the acting annoying.

8/10

Taken 2

Almost as good as part one.

Do you know how to shoot?
No.
Then drive.

7/10

The Assassins

Yet another action film with Stallone, Julianne Moore, again playing just an accessory to men and Antonio Banderas in the role I actually almost liked.

7.5/10

Losing Isaiah

7/10

Unknown

Disappointed with this one.

5/10

The Cave

Not nearly as good as The Descent.

4/10

Freshman Fall

An amazing and inspiring lifetime film.

I can’t concentrate. I don’t eat. I can’t sleep.
I drank too much, I forgot I haven’t eaten and I went upstairs with this guy and he had sex with me.
It was the first week of school, I went to this frat party and things got out of control.
I said no. I didn’t want to, but he wouldn’t stop. He wouldn’t listen to me. He ripped off my clothes.
Just because you knew the guy, doesn’t mean it wasn’t rape. If you said no, and he did it anyway, you were raped.
I shouldn’t have gone upstairs.
I don’t want you to think any less of me. Mom, I was raped. I had too much to drink, it was dumb.
Still that doesn’t give anyone the right to rape her.
It’s not fair that he could do that to me and just go on like nothing happened.
Why are you doing this to me?
Because you raped me.
As if rape can be mediated.
Rape is rape whether a woman’s drunk or not.
If there’s any doubt in your mind, she means no.
You’ll what? Rape me again?
Nothing like that could ever happen to me.
It’s my turn, so shut up. I’m talking.
I thought if I pretended that it was no big deal, it would just go away, but it didn’t. I forgot who I was and why I came here. I lost my scholarship, I lost everything.

10/10

Little Black Book

I modelled then I barfed quietly.
Oh good, narration.
Would you look at this cervix?
Textbook.
Damn proud of you.
How do you know her?
We did a show last year on bulimia.
I got sick that night and not on purpose.

10/10

The Christmas Hope

7/10

Girl Fight

5/10

The Internship

7/10

Rogue

Not impressed.

4/10

Bunnyman

I really do not think the girl would be jumping on a tree right after being raped. It was very low budget, but also very gore and good.

7/10

The End of The Affair. Hannibal. Psycho. Crazy. Stupid. Love. Savage Grace

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by in Julianne Moore, movies, Oscar nominee

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I have figured out the way to post as frequently as before, I have downloaded this app for my Galaxy Note and now I can write just as much as I want.

This week, surprise, surprise, yet another Julianne Moore marathon.

The End of the Affair

All the jealousy, ‘He killed me with jealousy, you’re killing me with love’, blaming God for talking her away from him. A sensational film. One thing I don’t understand is, if she died of tuberculosis, he does know he’s gonna die too, right? Why was that was mentioned? Or have I seen True Women too many times as a kid?

10/10

Hannibal

What I love about this sequel is that there is more action than in the first part. In The Silence of the Lambs, I was not intrigued by the side story of that girl from Greys getting kidnapped, but absolutely fascinated with the Clarice/Dr.Lecter relationship. It must have been really hard for Julianne to live up to Jodie Foster’s creation of Clarice, but she did a great job in the end. What I really liked was that after all those years both Clarice and Lecter still obsessed over each other. The last act is psychopatically good, starting with Hannibal dressing Julianne into this dress (off scren, you pervs) and serves the brainy meal. How her hair gets stuck in the fridge and they finally kiss and he chops off his hand instead of hers and finally the scene by the water where she identifies herself as Agent Clarice Sterling.

10/10

Psycho

Why do they keep doing remakes of the best films ever made, what is the point? Classic stays a classic, no remake is needed, as no remake is going to be better than the original. The sister and the boyfriend were my favorite characters, no doubt. I really do not see Vince Vaughn as Norman, in some scenes he was good enough, in most just average. I would have not watched it if it did not have Julianne. Remake like any other remake, nothing more, but not disastrous.

7/10

Crazy. Stupid. Love

For more than a year I have been telling myself, I’m not watching this, even on the plane three weeks ago I could have watched it and did not. Somehow I did end up watching it, as I had a need for a light romantic comedy type kind of film. First of, we all knew she was her daughter, why would you put Emma Stone with Julianne Moore in the same film when there is no other lead female characters. The fight outside their house was absolutely hilarious, I rewinded it two times, Julianne’s ‘Jessica!’ killed me, so has the parents meeting where we find out he slept with 9 women. I was actually nicely surprised with this one, not the dating part, for a 21st centry romantic comedy, it was really decent and I definitely recommmend it.

8/10

Savage Grace

One of my favorite Julianne Moore movies, though the plot does not stick to what we read about the family presented in the film. The incest scene was the best scene of the whole film, but there were many unconsistencies. I knew the threesome was made up, as that did not make sense at all. The mother wanted to fix him, by having women sleep with him, she would not allow him to make out or maybe even sleep with her boyfriend, I am not surprised they got sued for going too far. The next thing that was absurd was that the murder happened a few mintes after the incest, they made it look like he blamed her for forcing him to do this, when we read that the affair was an ongoing relationship and even if they wanted to go this way, he let her, there is no way he would have killed her right after this scene. What is more, we did not see any signs of his madness, she was outgoing, butnot crazy, and so was not he. The should have focus on his disease. The film does not say that he has played with knives before. The bathroom scene, though one of the best, it was nicely implied he had sex with this boy, but the mother was not angry, though later, she could not stand his homosexuality. The last point is casting, I know the character was a beautiful woman herself, but it would be easier to understand the issue if the mother was played by a less attractive actress, no man feels sorry for the son when Julianne plays the mother. Despite all the flaws and plot holes it was an incredible film.

8/10