Saw this film in Amsterdam a few months ago. Some of the performances are impressive, especially Lea Seydoux as the wife of one of the victims. It is fairly engrossing throughout. I didn't care for the set-up, though, especially the wedding sequence which introduces many of the characters. I was disappointed that the wonderful actor Michael Nyqvist didn't appear in this-I'm assuming he wasn't able to finish shooting his role due to his illness and was replaced.
Reviews
5 Reviews
Roma
(2018)
Stunning and unforgettable...
9 October 2018
I saw Roma at a screening on Saturday night at MOMA in NYC.
This is an absolutely stunning, unforgettable film. Good God, Cuaron is a fantastic director. He's also the cinematographer and his superb work on this simply couldn't be improved upon. He has perfectly cast the film from top to bottom and has guided the non-pro who plays the lead to embody her character to an extent that is truly remarkable. I can't say enough about how moving an experience this film provides. And because I don't want to discuss the plot for spoiler reasons I'll end here. However I want to urge everyone to PLEASE see this in a cinema with a great sound system-the sound mixing alone is extraordinary. Like, give the sound mixer the Oscar, already. No other work could possibly come close to approaching this towering achievement.
This is an absolutely stunning, unforgettable film. Good God, Cuaron is a fantastic director. He's also the cinematographer and his superb work on this simply couldn't be improved upon. He has perfectly cast the film from top to bottom and has guided the non-pro who plays the lead to embody her character to an extent that is truly remarkable. I can't say enough about how moving an experience this film provides. And because I don't want to discuss the plot for spoiler reasons I'll end here. However I want to urge everyone to PLEASE see this in a cinema with a great sound system-the sound mixing alone is extraordinary. Like, give the sound mixer the Oscar, already. No other work could possibly come close to approaching this towering achievement.
Cold War
(2018)
Wonderful performances but...
8 October 2018
Saw this at a screening last night in NYC.
The film is visually striking and the two central performances are quite wonderful but it just didn't quite add up for me. I suppose seeing Alfonso Cuaron's incredible film Roma (also stunningly shot in black and white) the night before may have unfairly influenced my view of this one. Still, I wanted more from this film and ultimately didn't get it-I'm referring to the sort of character/plot/setting details which fly fast and furious throughout Roma but which rarely seem to appear in Cold War.
The director Pawel Pawlikowski and leading lady Joanna Kulig (who really is superb playing a very difficult character) were at the screening for a Q&A. Both were extremely charming and articulate. I enjoyed Pawlikowski revealing that he advised Kulig to bone up on the 1940s siren Lauren Bacall to capture her character's "sarcasm." My main issue with the film came to the fore when Kulig said one of the reasons her character felt out of place during the film's midsection was because Zula missed her "family" of folk singer/dancers. The problem is we never actually SAW her interact with them like a "family." In fact we only saw her interact with one of them once during the audition sequence very early in the film and even then it was for an opportunistic reason.
I do recommend this film, though. Many of the set pieces involving music are striking and there are many images (especially Miss Kulig floating in a lake) which will stay with you for a long time. I'll definitely see it again when it lands on Amazon Prime.
The film is visually striking and the two central performances are quite wonderful but it just didn't quite add up for me. I suppose seeing Alfonso Cuaron's incredible film Roma (also stunningly shot in black and white) the night before may have unfairly influenced my view of this one. Still, I wanted more from this film and ultimately didn't get it-I'm referring to the sort of character/plot/setting details which fly fast and furious throughout Roma but which rarely seem to appear in Cold War.
The director Pawel Pawlikowski and leading lady Joanna Kulig (who really is superb playing a very difficult character) were at the screening for a Q&A. Both were extremely charming and articulate. I enjoyed Pawlikowski revealing that he advised Kulig to bone up on the 1940s siren Lauren Bacall to capture her character's "sarcasm." My main issue with the film came to the fore when Kulig said one of the reasons her character felt out of place during the film's midsection was because Zula missed her "family" of folk singer/dancers. The problem is we never actually SAW her interact with them like a "family." In fact we only saw her interact with one of them once during the audition sequence very early in the film and even then it was for an opportunistic reason.
I do recommend this film, though. Many of the set pieces involving music are striking and there are many images (especially Miss Kulig floating in a lake) which will stay with you for a long time. I'll definitely see it again when it lands on Amazon Prime.
Book Club
(I) (2018)
Genuinely awful
22 May 2018
I love all these ladies but this film does not serve them well. It was all so badly written and directed. And the constant use of green screen was downright embarrassing-there was even a scene IN FRONT OF A HOUSE which was 100% green screen. Like, WTF?
Luna
(1979)
I actually auditioned for this film
19 November 2007
I actually auditioned for the role of the son when the mother was originally supposed to be played by Liv Ullman I think I read for it twice but was ultimately rejected because I looked too American in a Tom Sawyer kind of way-the boy who ended up doing it had a European quality in his face which Bertolucci wanted for the role. I saw it twice when it came out in the US, both times at the Loews Twin Cinemas. I remember it as having been gorgeously shot. The performances by Clayburgh and Barry are extremely good. Alida Valli is superb. The opera scenes were fantastic. Why isn't this out on DVD? Will we have to wait until after Bertolucci's death?
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