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Gunpowder Milkshake (2021)
I had high hopes for this since Headey, Basset, Ineson and Giamatti are so talented, but it's kinda meh. Some decent action
This is a dream cast ensemble of acting powerhouses and yet... It delivers a bland punch. There are a couple of decent action sequences at the end, and I call them decent because it seems to me everybody did some level of stunts in here. So kudos to that. But the direction is so uninspired and the story so thin, it really feels empty.
Reminds me of Atomic Blonde, another promising action-packed thriller that promised to deliver on their strong female characters and fell short of it's ambitions. It is underwhelming to have such an amazing female cast and giving them nothing to really work with. No depth to personalities, no real story and just ok action. I gave this 6 stars just because I love them so much and it's always a delight to watch them on screen.
Yedinci Kogustaki Mucize (2019)
Manipulation overdrive
I was told this film was a great drama about a disabled father who fell from grace and his relationship to his daughter. An exploration of the human experience. It's is nothing like that, but a load of stereotypes, a very basic story with a thirst for cartoonish cruelty, cliched bad guys with piercing eyes and stiff faces and a twist so predictable and forced its painful to watch. People cry with this because it's designed to make them feel guilty and to create a false sense of connection with characters that are in reality paper thin: the dad is just a victim, doesn't have any other virtue or depth, the little girl is cute, always a divine light in her face and a sense of forced innocence to make you go "aww", the dead girl's dad is evil, has no personality, his only trait is the way he smokes, the inmates are a pirate crew. There are no characters, only caricatures.
It's a soapy drama reminiscent of The Passion of the Christ: every sour thing on screen is designed to provoke despair, sadness and repulsion, but there's just that, the story doesn't say anything, it's just a cheap ride.
There's a somber character that is so mysterious and conceals so much information, you immediately know will play a key but artificial role in the big scope of the story. He's never really explored, because he's just a hidden ace for the film to deliver its final trick, which is so improbable and absurd, you feel cheated by the two hours prior to the reveal.
This film is more interested in making you suffer than developing characters and creating a story with a purpose. It says nothing about the human spirit, totally devoid of significance.
I really find it interesting that it holds such.a high rating on IMDB when it feels closer to a telenovela than it is to a powerful drama.
La camarista (2018)
The power of great directing
La Camarista (The Chambermaid, 2019) by mexican director Lila Avilés is a film that shows a level of freedom within the confines of a restricted budget that is just mindblowing.
If you read the rest of the reviews around here you will get a sense of the style it's shot: the camera, using beautiful cinematography, is a passive witness to a hotel chambermaid's daily routine. There is no spectacularity, not an earthquake to shatter the main character, she's never accused of stealing stuff... There's no dramatic trigger to turn this story into a powerhouse drama. Instead, Avilés chooses, wisely, to dwell on her star's nuanced but effective performance. Gabriela Cartol's Evelina (the maid in the title) is a shy, dreamy and sometimes annoying woman. A real person instead of a stereotype. We're not here to lament her poverty, but to join her daily conversations, her momentary daydreaming, her spirit breaking apart or becoming stronger.
Avilés is not interested on bringing disaster into her characters' lives. She doesn't want them to unravel, instead we're drawn into this colossal universe of a big city hotel and breaks into its small spaces and corners, revealing beauty in routine.
An overall enjoyable experience for audiences who relish subtlety, La Camarista manages to feel as a refreshing take on a cliché subject.
Córki dancingu (2015)
Let's dive into a world of farsical exuberance!
What a joy this little gem is. A mixture of diverse genres: fantasy, horror, drama, musical and some comedy thrown into the water, it's always a delight to watch. Never try to apply any logic to it, as it sets itself free from any conventions in favor of delivering an emotional and visually impressive piece of filmmaking, supported by a gorgeous retro soundtrack and the two most exquisite mermaids to ever grace the silver screen.
Every character you'll cherish even if they seem too sleazy or selfish. They don't really get too much depth, but you feel as you've known them for ages, especially Wokalistka, Kierownik sali and Mietek. They're all out of a comic book, enjoyable in their paper-thin personalities.
It is a delicately put together fable with some of the best ideas on practical effect solving I've seen in a long time. So gorgeous you'll feel inside a dream.
If you're familiar (I know you are) with the Andersen's Little Mermaid tale, you'll feel at home... But then again you might not.
Hereditary (2018)
A heart-wrenching horror drama that took my breath away
I don't want to write a long review for this. I just saw it for the second time last night and my final conclusion is this...
-Toni Collette broke me. She's such a talented actress. I'm sorry, Yalitza (I loved you in Roma), but this is the woman who should've been nominated and should've won the Oscar for best actress this year.
-The ending still feels like a whole different film to me. Even though you get all the signs leading to it. It was mishandled, a bummer after such a PERFECT and POWERFUL first hour and a half.
-What a beautiful film about sorrow. I was far more invested on that than I was at the ending.
-Some of the most shocking images to be put on film these days.
-If you're not into slowburns, this is not for you.
-It feels very similar to The VVitch and I'm glad there's people taking horror to such a brilliant level of elegance.
-It's more of family drama than a scare fest.
-I never read reviews or posts revealing THAT SCENE or the ending. There's still hope for people not spoiling stuff.
Peace
Fright Night Part 2 (1988)
This might surprise you, but it's bloody great!
This was my first Fright Night film. I saw it alone at 14 years old in the theater and I left the room totally hyped. At the time it was scary, but also sexy and cool. Revisiting this one is not a great experience as most DVD copies are crap, but the film still holds it's comedy and erotic power. It's the same story as the first one, though this time it involves revenge by Regine Dandrige, Jerry's sister.
It lacks the spirit of the first Fright Night since it's not a homage to old vampire flicks but a reinvention of the myths portrayed in the first one. It's nice to see Ragsdale and Wallace reprising roles, but disappointing to not see Bearse and Geoffreys back, especially since the ending of its predecessor was so revealing of a possible sequel with Evil Ed.
Instead we get a new villain in the form of Regine, beautifully played by the astonishing Julie Carmen, and her freak posse: another gender bending vampire, a dumb werewolf and a mysterious bodyguard who might be considered asa reinterpretation of Billy Cole. The group works amazingly and deliver a lot of funny interactions while remaining really cool to watch. Regine is supposed to be this terrific performance artist, which makes it believable for her character to keep her vampire status hidden in plain sight (great idea). Peter Vincent and Charlie Brewster remain the same, the first one the unwilling vampire killer and the second one a real douche -Charlie is despicable in both films, but this time the action takes place in a broader setting.
There's one scene where Regine steals the TV show from Peter Vincent, acting as a host, and it's creepy and impressive. It feels fresh and is beautifully filmed.
I think they delivered on expanding the Fright Night myth while repeating the formula of the main source, something Ghostbusters tried to do but failed.
It's hardly a classic, but it's pretty enjoyable.
Fright Night (1985)
My proper introduction into horror films was so elegant and campy!
I was 10 years old when Fright Night hit theaters in 1985. I recall reading some Fangoria magazines at a local restaurant in Mexico City called Sanborns, where they used to bring a lot of American titles back in the 80s (Starlog, Fangoria, GoreZone). I came across a picture of Amy with her big fangs and big mouth make up and was instantly traumatized by her insane and scary look. Then I saw the poster when the film was finally released, a somewhat similar image, striking, enticing and scary in unison. That vampire face stuck with me for years to come, though I couldn't watch the film because I was so young.
Then Fright Night II came along and I was 14. I got hooked on the hype and went to see it alone, my mom and my brother waited for me at the mall. I came out of the film fully convinced horror was something I've been missing. I was truly scared to see any horror film, and my first one was A Nightmare on Elm Street II at a rerun theater. That one got me excited about the genre, but it was Fright Night II the one that really did the trick for me. Then I saw the original film in Beta cassette and became fully devoted to Fright Night. It was a mixture of comedy and horror that reminded me of Ghostbusters in a way, with these two common men fighting the forces of evil in a SFX extravaganza that allowed itself to be serious, funny, terrifying and seductive.The make up effects were impressive, balancing the grotesque with the coolness of an era full of innovation. It felt so real you almost wanted to be a vampire yourself. I was much more in love with Fright Night than I was with The Lost Boys, as the cool factor on that one is different, feels like kids wanting to play adults, something I couldn't relate to. Fright Night was more naive and felt like it payed homage to those black and white films you could watch on TV at night. Don't get me wrong, both films are amazing and the still hold up after al these years, it's just this one spoke a little bit more to my geeky side, it had this classic vampire sleekness while sporting a modern take on old myths. It felt familiar and at the same time totally fresh.
I think this is one of those films that deserve more praise than it actually does. I recently saw it with my wife and a close friend, they're both 25, and they became truly fascinated with the characters and the way everything fell into place. It's till an impressive film.
The Conjuring (2013)
What's with the hype?
Horror is one of my favorite genres in film, I think it says a lot about our nature and it takes a lot of skill to create a truly frightening experience for moviegoers. I stayed away from The Conjuring series because I felt it had everything that's boring and predictable about modern American horror just by reading the accolades it got. I wasn't interested in Annabelle or The Nun or any other James Wan related flick for that matter -though the first Saw is really ok just for the ending. I have a lot of friends and follow a lot of critics whose opinions I respect a lot and they all praise this film so much that I though "Well, there MUST be something really cool about it. I might be missing something good". And I rented it and watched it at 1 AM with all the lights turned off and... You know, all the ritual for horror fans. I wasn't disappointed, it was what I expected: a well directed, well acted (Farmiga and Wilson are amazing actors) mediocre jump-scare fest. It is by no means a bad film, but i isn't worth of it's hype and in no way deserves to have so many sequels and spin-offs. If this is the best of the series, how bland and generic could the rest be? I'm really surprised to see how many people connect with this when it delivers a poor atmosphere, the scares are really dull and uninspiring, the supernatural makeup is terrible. The best scene for me was the hair-pulling possession, that was really nice, but other than that I felt it never delivered anything new to the genre or even something remotely frightening. It was just ok, and it saddens me to think this type of film (along with Insidious and Sinister, which I haven't seen either and after this experience I'm not planning on never seeing them at all) is what American horror is now about. How dull! I love The VVitch for it's tense atmosphere and for being such a beautiful portray of witch-era tales, and Hereditary is an amazing horror-drama with a subpar plot twist that left me feeling cheated, but still I felt like watching something fresh and chilling. It wasn't the case with The Conjuring and I just can't see what everyone sees in it. I was right about it all along.
Blackfish (2013)
The blame on Sea World is just the tip of the iceberg
It's true that Blackfish is one of the most moving and terrifying documentaries ever done on the issue of animal abuse. You will be moved by it like few times before. That I guarantee.
But aside from all the 'don't go to Sea World' feeling, Blackfish is about our relationship with nature, our poor knowledge of animal behavior and the levels of cruelty we exact on other species and even our own just for fun and profit. The footage is absolutely disturbing, with interviews from former Sea World trainers and witnesses to some unfortunate accidents, along with real footage of things gone so horribly wrong you wonder how nobody before dared to challenge Sea World and similar theme parks for their total disrespect towards animals and human beings.
But at the same time you get a wider sense of awareness of our own society, and you can't help but think this is the way our corporate world deals with everything, from client service to human and animal lives. You know you've seen animal abuse documentaries before, but this one is about us as a negligent race and it's presented in a way that hits so hard it's immoral not to start caring.
There are some scenes here that will crawl deep into your thoughts and dreams and, if you consider yourself a sensitive person, they won't let go for a long time. But other than just feeling this deep sense of rage and humbleness, I think it's time to take some matters at hand and, first of all, stop allowing yourself to 'ignore' these kind of things.
Ignorance is a sin.