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Metro (1997)
Slick action movie
This is a very well made, fun action movie, while Eddie Murphy and Michael Wincott elevate it. What impresses the most is the direction by Thomas Carter, whose work here is definitely underated.
Although this is a typical cop movie, Carter seems to know what he is doing, he is excellent at creating tension, knows how to make action, the movie has good editing, as well as some great use of quality orchestral music by Steve Porcaro (will remind you a bit of James Newton Howard). Carter's direction style is reminiscent of John McTernan and Tony Scott. It's a shame he didn't get a chance to make more movies (although he did make Save the Last Dance (2001), and Coach Carter (2005) which were quite good as well). If the script was a bit better this would definitely be a better movie.
Knives Out (2019)
Inexplicable hype for a mediocre film
Knives out uses a really old idea, the "whodunit". Unfortunately, contrary to what many claim, there is not much here that makes it particular different or modern, except some hipster dialogue and humor (including a lot of throwing up by a specific character) and some commentary on current social issues, like the immigrant crisis, and pointing fingers at the ultra-rich, which is ironic because the writer/director of this movie is by now a multimillionaire and one of the highest paid directors in Hollywood. The writing is full of supposedly smart dialogue and ideas. In reality there not much cleverness here, while it constantly feels like the movie is trying too hard, and comes across as very pretentious and smugish. Most of the humor falls completely flat, it is overlong (130 minutes), twists are not surprising and don't really make sense. Only bright spots, Daniel Craig's amusing performance and the very talented Ana de Armas. Other than that, a semi-entertaining, mediocre and ultimate forgettable film. A perfect example of an uninspired writer/director, with a complete lack of originality, who uses a boring overused premise and accomplishes nothing new or interesting in the least.
Personally I don't know much about Star Wars as I don't really follow pop-corn franchises, so I don't know what's going on with this director and Star Wars. However, it is very puzzling seeing this mediocre film which basically takes place in a house, getting so much marketing hype and buzz, while Hollywood seems to be in love with this movie and its' director. Looking around the internet for reviews and ratings one would think this is a serious Oscar contender for multiple awards, while some people are calling it the best movie of the year and calling out trolls (?) etc. I'm confused.
Twisted Pair (2018)
"Who am I? What am I?"
An immensely talented and truly visionary director (and producer, writer, actor, musical director, editor, cinematographer, director of photography, sound editor, makeup artist, production manager), who just like the character he portrays, "fully accepts these powers".
Neil Breen has created a deep phycological and philosophical study into advanced and radical subjects like DNA, cells, humanoids, robotic humanoids, A.I. (artificial intelligence), the exponential pace of the superior technology, synthetic brain power, programmable virtual reality, programmable DNA, programmable matter, mind hacking, deep learning neuronetworks, cyber and terror attacks, the digital universe, digital tribes, the virtual metaverse and the virtual universe. But still, he doesn't forget the "majesty of nature".
After watching 'Twisted Pair' you will be asking yourself: "Who am I? What am I?" (Neil Breen's delivering of this line alone, deserves an Academy Award. Its weight literature-wise, is equal to Shakespeare's "To be or not to be").
Technically, Neil Breen introduces revolutionary techniques in the use of green-screen and the use of stock pictures, stock footage and stock music.
Finally, it's no accident that in the end of this masterpiece, Breen uses the famous line from E.T. (1982): "I'll be right here", but instead of his brain, he shows us his heart. Yes Neil, you'll be in our hearts forever.
The Director and the Jedi (2018)
It could have had a different fate
This is an insightful and very well made documentary with great work from director Anthony Wonke. Also it contains great original music by Antony Partos. The positive aspect of it, is that you get a lot of inside in the art of filmmaking, working with actors, set design, animatronic puppets and the process of film shooting in general.
What's interesting about it is that watching the development of this movie you get the feeling that, although this was a huge production, it was made as if it was a low budget personal project by a single person. It is apparent that this project was literally handed almost to its entirety to Rian Johnson, as he wrote the story, the script and was in control of every aspect of the production, even the title! At some point you can't help it but wonder: How is it possible that a major production of the most popular franchise ever existed was handed in its entirety to a single person, a director who had previously made two or three low budged films, and had no connection to Star Wars or LucasFilm prior to this? Additionally it seems that the director had no cooperation or accepted any input by anyone related to LucasFilm previously, like story groups, people from the extended universe, actors, filmmakers, of even the screenwriters and director of the previous film "The Force Awakens", J.J. Abrams.
Kathleen Kennedy tries to explain this at some point by stating the following: "George Lucas created something and even now people are still trying to figure out, what was it that he tapped into that resonates still today? I think, part of it is that the ideas inherent in the story telling were meaningful to him and consequently they were to a lot of other people. So we have to be authentic to that process. Every single person that steps into the Star Wars universe has to ask themselves: Why is this meaningful to me? That's what is interesting about the contribution about that Rian is making. Every single decision is personal to him."
But was Star Wars really such a personal project to Lucas? If you think about it, it was THX 1138 and American Graffiti that were actually Lucas's personal projects. Star Wars was a classic fantasy Sci-Fi adventure with heroes and villains with a very clever story, great characters and special effects, which massively exceeding its scope and became a worldwide cultural phenomenon. And even if Star Wars was personal to Lucas, it is not personal anymore. Today it is a huge franchise with many divisions, with a supermassive following with a single heartbeat and enormous expectations.
However, the new LucasFilm decided to disregard this massive following and the audience expectations and made a conscious choice of turning episode 8 into a personal project by a single guy. Without collaboration, extensive discussion and teamwork by members of the established community of Star Wars, how would they know that this movie would capture the essence of what makes this effective and appealing to the audience? Well I guess they didn't seem to care about this.
It's interesting to note that even in this documentary, which was overseen by the Last Jedi production team, the fact that Mark Hamill strongly disagreed about the treatment of his character could not be concealed, neither be overlooked. Mark Hamill is an actor who has been defined by and carried this character on his shoulders for more than 40 years. He has been interacting with Star Wars creators and fans for all his life. Sure, he is correct to say "It's not my character to decide". But one would think that he is probably one of the most capable persons alive, able to capture the essence of, what the audience value about, what they treasure and expect from this character.
Instead, by the choice of LucasFilm, the fate of Luke, a character cherished and beloved by millions all over the world, was exclusively determined by a 43 year old guy from Maryland. Whether this was a good choice or not, the future will show.
Finally, anybody can see that throughout this documentary there is a sense of gloominess, as if this is covering something really sad that happened. Is it the music which sometimes is melancholic? Is the passing of Carrie Fisher? Is it the evident frustration and wretchedness of Mark Hamill during this production? Whatever it is, it doesn't help but make you wonder. What if LucasFilm had taken a different approach? What if other people were involved with this production, people who could genuinely capture the pulse of the Star Wars fans. This trilogy and these characters could have had a different fate.
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
Disgraceful
How amazing is it, that John Favreau and Dave Filoni managed to make Star Wars fans cry with tears of joy, with just a cameo appearance of a fake CGI Luke Skywalker, in a single TV show episode.
And to think that Rian Johnson on the other hand, was given millions and actually had the privilege and honor of having Mark Hamill in his disposal to utilize for an entire movie, while the immensely anticipated reapearence of the character of Luke Skywalker after 35 years, rested on his shoulders being the sole writer/director of episode 7.
And what did he do?
I'm only going to say one thing: When fans watched Luke Skywalker toss his father's lightsaber comically behind his back, when they watched him milk a sea cow's tit and drink its milk in a disgusting manner, when they watched him whining "go away, leave me alone, I want to die!" like a coward, when they watched him consider of killing his nephew in his sleep, when they watched him making awkward jokes instead of being a Jedi master, when they watched him force projecting himself (or whatever that was) instead of fighting, and especially when they watched him die. Alone. On a rock. Nobody cried. They were just confused.
And I will close with this: The disrespect Rian Johnson showed to this character, to Mark Hamill and to millions of fans around the world, it will NEVER be forgotten.
The Kite Runner (2007)
Unbelievably slow and boring..
This is an extremely slow and not very well executed movie at all. Don't let the trailer mislead you. This is not the adventure of an Afghan/American returning to his country..
In the contrary, about 3/5ths of the movie cover the boring story of two boys in 70s' Afghanistan. In this part the director and producers give us a bad imitation of European style of film-making (cinema paradiso alike). This part just goes on and on and on and on, for more than one hour (feels at least like 2), involving the boys running around in dusty places, some bad dialogue between them and the dad of one of them, not very good acting from the two boys - and all of this, just too give us the message that the boys share a special relationship.. This could have been told in 20 minutes.
The direction is slow and lazy, while it feels low budget, probably intentionally so to give us a "third world country feel", but all it does, is that it adds up to our boredom. Only some nice shots (involving the kites flying) offer us a few short awakenings..
Suddenly there is hope. We move to the other 2/5ths of the movie, when the Russians invade Afghanistan (finally! - I was waiting and waiting for this), and at that point you start thanking Allah for some variation in the flow of the movie. But soon you realise that things are not going to change.. And the boredom continues. Even when the story moves to the US in the 80s, it some how manages to retain the slowness and boringness of it. Even when some romance comes into our hero's life, it is the most boring romance you will have ever seen on screen. Even when it seems there is some action coming, it will be the most boring action you will have ever seen on screen (the hero just sits and takes some kicks and punches, while he is saved by....!!!! - well you' ll have to see that for your self)..
Anyway I just can't go on and re-live this endless torture. Maybe I'm being a little bit unfair.. There is a touching story behind all the boredom, there is some pretty scenes (kites, Afghan wedding), there is some good performances (Homayoun Ershadi - Baba), but those are not enough.
Let alone the completely superficial political messages about Afghanistan (good seculars, bad Taliban, bad communists, good boys, good America.. that's about it).. This is simply a 128 minute film, that feels like 5 hours.
Michael Moore Hates America (2004)
Is this about America or Michael Moore?
Well, this is just a bunch of pointless people (elderly film makers, psychiatrists, failed showmen, some angry psycho called Andrew, the film-maker him self, etc) trying to make Moore look bad, mostly by calling him names (check out Penn Jillette swearing! what the f.. was that about?). No real arguments are made here about the subjects of Moore's documentaries, besides that these people have just discovered film editing - wow! maybe they should also check out how the evening news are edited. Nothing here but a boring and desperate attempt to convince us that everything is fine in America, while trying to make Moore an America hater and a liar, in a country that is full up to the neck, with lies.
Sansa (2003)
Astonishing
I had the opportunity to see "Sansa" at a film festival in Thessalonica Greece. Before I went into the theater, I didn't really know what to expect, I had just read a brief preview in the festival's guide and decided to give it a chance. When the film ended it took quite a while until I got over my astonishment from this extraordinary experience.
The movie starts out in France following a man called Sansa, who doesn't come from anywhere (although he speaks French most of the time) and doesn't know were he is heading. He is always on the move, observing and talking to people in the streets, especially to women who he really worships. He is an artist; he makes portraits of people earning some money and his plan is to travel. This will lead him to an incredible journey around the world with no passport or luggage, through places like France, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Russia, Japan, Egypt, India, Africa, where he walks around, meeting people, welcomed by some, chased away by others. On his journey Sansa meats a conductor/violinist, passionate about music and women, who goes by the name of Monsieur Click and who mysteriously shows up in most places that Sansa appears.
There is no real script or story to this movie. This is an improvisational project about the director's vision of this world and its people, trough his eyes. The camera continuously follows Sansa, closely capturing his actions and expressions as he observes people around him. These are real everyday people; the director focuses on their faces, their eyes that stare at us, plunging us into the mystical visual atmosphere of the film. Beautiful, in different ways, faces of women and the various conversations between them and the main characters is the centerpiece of the film, and women are the source for inspiration for Sansa and Monsieur Click. Art and especially music play an important role in "Sansa" and used in a very appreciative way by the director.
The cinematography is very artistic and the picture is visually stunning, with digital hand camera work, close-up shots and the use inventive light, color filtering techniques and enhancements.
This is a real masterpiece, a rear film about life, art, people and the world around us. Simply unmissable.