omeralaa Reviews

Black Widow (2021)

Average

[6/10 · 13 July 2021]

As the perspective is everything in reviewing movies I should explain myself from MCU movies, I'm an 80% MCU fan and 20% DCU fan, on the other hand, I'm a 60% DC characters fan and 40% Marvel characters fan, and of course "Black Widow" isn't in my top 10 favorite Marvel characters list -which is doesn't really exist but if I did it someday I'd never put Black Widow in it- So you should know that I'm not the number one Black Widow fan and so does the majority of people because she has never been introduced as a main character on the silver screen before.

So if this was not an MCU movie, I wouldn't watch it

But let put that beside and let's talk cinema.

The action was lousy, and I blame whoever put Cate Shortland in this project, she has never made action movies before and that's her first time to be on a blockbuster movie, and unfortunately, she failed to give us a single good action sequence.

There's a scene, Scarlett Johansson's stunt double face is fully clear and much more stupid things.

Editing was trying to hide the actresses' laziness and the director's lack of experience by fast cutting the scenes to hide stunt doubles faces but that made the action sequences experience even worse, I almost had a headache.

The movie's CGI is cheap, it really can harm your eyes, in 2021 and they did that how come? Hands down it's one of the worst.

I saw a lot of people talking about Florence Pugh's performance, and that surprised me, not if she was bad or something but you guys saw better performance than David Harbour's? He stole the show He's the best thing in the movie, his comedy scenes killed me, honestly without him I'd rate the movie 4/10 Scarlett Johansson's performance is Scarlett doing Black Widow, not Scarlett doing Nicole from "Marriage Story": A lot of superhero poses and 0% effort of doing action scenes without a stunt double.

Rachel Weisz's performance was just meh.

In any movie -especially a superhero one- I'd love to see a good villain like Thanos or Loki and so on.

In this movie, I saw a bad-written one, he has absolutely no motive for his actions, I know he's a metaphor for masculinity and how a lot of men shutting females' mouths and control their actions, but the metaphor wasn't enough, I wished for more, I wished for a better character with real motive.

In the end, it's not a bad movie, but it shall have been a better one.

Nomadland (2020)

A real cinema

[9/10 · 19 March 2021]

"Home is just a word? or is it something you carry within you?" I'd love to start my review with this quote, it sends all the messages the movie has tried to send. The movie talks about a woman who has lost her home, husband, job and everything actually and she decided to go on a journey to live the nomad life and the story goes along to see her trials for redemption, redemption from loneliness. And the movie pointed to very important topics like capitalism and how it makes people waste their whole life doing something and literally die without doing anything they wanted to do and not enjoy a second from their lives.

I really loved how the music started and ended in a specific time, I tried to figure out what is the right expression to tell and I ended up with "The music was talking" it was speaking Fern's emotions and asking questions then answering at the end of the scene.

An essay won't be enough for me to tell you how much I loved the cinematography. actually seeing the sky of the American West is enough, I felt the beauty of the nature of the American West from my home in Cairo.

Frances McDormand's performance was a real A class one, she is stunning -as always- and it won't be a surprise if she won her third Oscars with this performance. and by talking about the performances, Are those people actors or they're just real persons who live this lifestyle I would be surprised if I know they're actors, and if they're then Chapeau to the casting choices they mastered their roles.

But there was something a little bit confusing for me, the movie was slow-paced and that's not what confused me, I was confused with the rapid development, there were some scenes that are just going the camera with Fern's walks or something then cut then Fern in another place with different people. and that's all I hated about this movie.

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Well it's not that bad

[5/10 · 28 December 2020]

I saw the hate wave before I watch the movie and I'm thankful for this, I decreased my expectations and I started watching it, and I was surprised that it's not that bad, it's not either good but it was just meh, not THE WORST MOVIE EVER. I was expecting that I was going to watch another feminism movie that's just like "we're women, we're powerful and don't need men, men are trash" but there wasn't anything like this and I appreciate that they didn't go this way.

As I started with the pros, the thing I liked most in the movie was the love story between Wonder Woman and Steve, it was fun and beautiful. And actually that was all what I liked about the movie.

I can start talking about what I hate about the movie and they're not a lot but each point I hated a lot! The CGI was really bad, the flying scenes and the running scenes were so disturbing, there were some scenes I literally screamed MY EYES like Phoebe. The second point I want to establish some things, can we all agree that is Gal Gadot is a very very pretty woman? I don't think that anyone would disagree, Okay now can we all agree that is she is a terrible actress? She was bad, not just in this movie, in her entire career.

I won't give any comment about Pedro Pascal's performance because why the hell is he doing a white male character? his face was annoying and all what I was thinking about when I saw him was hmm is he wearing a wig? why does a Latino actor play a white male character and why his son is an Asian?

The last act was like we messed a lot huh? bring it all back like something never happened, and that was done in a super cringe way.

In the end, I didn't hate the movie, and I didn't like it either, it was just another superhero movie nothing special about it.

The Windermere Children (2020)

Unique Movie

[7/10 · 1 October 2020]

After every new war movie I ask myself one question, Was this story should've been filmed or is it just a new war movie that doesn't have a special thing? In this case I didn't think a lot, the answer was obvious, this story is really unique and I didn't know about it before, and the fact of that this story is a true story makes me wonder why the hell didn't any filmmaker tried to film it before? Stories like this are hidden from the screen because the filmmakers are busy with remaking Disney's animated movies. The story was heart-touching, the first act was really hard to see, as those trying to adapt to a new lifestyle, which is? the life of freedom, the life that they never have seen it before, although all of this if I'd make "A feel-good movie" list, I think I'll put this movie in it. The movie isn't about showing sympathy to those children, it's a message of hope.

It's the first movie that I saw from Michael Samuels, but GOD! I liked his cinematic style a lot, his choice of pale and dark colors in the first act then they get brighter and brighter was brilliant. And by talking about colors I'd love to appreciate the cinematography. But I think the most effective tool for him was the music. The music had played an important role in delivering emotions to the audience no tool could've.

But there was a big problem for me, the dialogue. It was well-arranged to the level of poetic, I asked myself "Would a character with this backstory really say that?" a lot in this movie, there were sentences that seem more like speeches from the mature older version of those characters.

Tenet (2020)

An absolute masterpiece!

[9/10 · 29 August 2020]

At first, I want to ask Christopher Nolan one question, HOW THE HELL YOU DID THIS? Seriously I want to have an answer, How did he write such as this masterpiece! How did he get this complicated, fabulous and creative idea? What is going on in his mind? The story is written and directed perfectly, the narration style was absolutely unique. I have no idea how can anyone direct such as this story, that was a huge challenge, and as usual Nolan gave us a masterpiece that we'll put beside (Memento), (Inception) and (Interstellar) The movie is so fast-paced in a good way, there was no boring moment. The chemistry between John David Washington and Robert Pattinson was great and funny and both of their performance was really good. Elizabeth Debicki performance was the best in the movie because she had the chance to show her acting abilities and she cached up that chance and showed us an A level acting.

The music wasn't unique and distinct as the music of Interstellar for example and I think this movie needed the touch of Hans Zimmer, I'm not saying that Ludwig Göransson failed but Hans Zimmer in another level.

If there was something I'd say that I didn't like it in the movie would it be that Nolan discarded any set up or characters backgrounds except Elizabeth Debicki dramatic story but it wasn't that bad for me, I didn't care about that, the exciting story didn't give me the chance to focus on it. But the actual problem was the third act, it was really complicated and I got lost and I convinced myself to discard the questions that were in my head and enjoy the well-made action sequences and Elizabeth Debicki performance.

I think this kind of movie that gets better with a second and third watch.

Fearless (2020)

I wasted 90 minutes watching this

[2/10 · 16 August 2020]

I'd love to start talking about what I did like about this movie, well I didn't like anything about this movie. The movie is really bad, it has totally messed up, I didn't laugh a single time, I didn't smile neither. The movie is full of bad jokes with bad timing, characters be in a middle of a fight and they say a joke, and it's not even funny! Also was full of babies' jokes they were bad and they repeated the same jokes for only god knows how much. You can consider the babies' sequences is the low quality version of the baby's sequences in (Incredibles), they duplicated some scenes from it.

Beside all that bad jokes, the movie was trying to force the message of (You should be in the real life and stop playing video games) and all that stuff, the movie was putting this message in any sentence in the dialogue instead of showing us this morale in right context. As it was in (Ready Player One) by Steven Spielberg, this idea was represented in a beautiful funny story in (Ready Player One)

The dialogue was bad, super cringe and full of cliches (What could is it being fearless in a fake world, it's time to start being fearless out here) that poetic sentence would come from a kid? it was so cringe hearing sentences and speeches like this

All the characters were bad for their own reasons. The villain was ridiculous and not frightening at all, He doesn't even have any power! General Blazerhatch was annoying, you know that military caricature character with all its cliches? yeah exactly like what did come in your mind now. That hero in the poster, Light whatever, it was the most useless character I have ever seen in an animated movie.

The movie is really time-wasting, I didn't like it at all.

Bao (2018)

Heart Touching

[8/10 · 14 August 2020]

Pixar knows how to touch your heart, even if the duration of the movie is only 8 minutes and even if there's no dialogue. The movie was heart-warming and so emotional (put tissues next to you), the movie has a powerful message adults and children will understand it and appreciate it.

Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)

Longer than it should've been

[6/10 · 13 August 2020]

The movie shows all kinds of sexual harassment girls are getting nowadays and forever, either from a work boss, friend, boyfriend or just a guy walking in the street and how they suffer from their consequences. And that's a great message to try to send, but were there other things I did like in the movie beside the message? Of course Starting from the great performance from Sidney Flanigan, she was amazing, she was a perfect casting choice, and the fact that this is her first film ever blows my mind, she was perfect! To the dramatic story that breaks your heart when you see that little powerless innocent girl suffering from all that harassment. To the friendship between her and her cousin, and the chemistry between them was fascinating it was really heartwarming.

There are somethings I didn't like, sometimes the movie was boring and there were some scenes that don't help or move the story forward, they were added to add more minutes. And I didn't see a change in the character, Open the movie and watch the first ten minutes, then watch the last ten minutes you barely see any difference. and that's a huge mistake in any script.

I have to say it was really hard for me to continue watching this movie, there were some scenes I couldn't continue looking at the screen and I stopped it for awhile to could continue it. And I think it did help the story and the message.

The movie's title and its reference inside the story was pretty awesome, you've all watch it.

Shine Your Eyes (2020)

Too poetic

[4/10 · 11 August 2020]

Cinematography was fascinating and unique, (Leo Bittencourt) used the 4:3 aspect ratio and it looked attractive, you can pause at anytime and you'll see a beautiful portrait. But does cinematography only makes a good movie?

The movie was too slow paced, it was really boring, (Matias Mariani) added a lot of poetic scenes that doesn't mean anything, also the dialogue was poetic.

O.C. Ukeje and Indira Nascimento performance was good but there was nothing exceptional.

The story was ridiculous and bizarre, does anyone care about what did the movie try to say? I think the movie was too personal and it wasn't for me.

Frances Ha (2012)

A friendship story

[8/10 · 10 August 2020]

Frances, as she was described, she looks older but less growing up. Noah and Greta wrote an interesting character who is a spontaneous, energetic, childish and a loyal friend, She is just talking about anything come in her mind. And Greta's performance was really great, you can see in her eyes when she's happy, sad, angry and in love. The friendship between her and Mickey Sumner was exquisitely beautiful, it was written and performed perfectly, the chemistry between Greta and Mickey was remarkable.

I'd like to appreciate the charming dialogue which was realistic, interesting and funny. Writers when they trying to write a realistic dialogue most of the time they end up with a boring one, but definitely this dialogue wasn't.

The movie was fast paced but it wasn't rushed, we saw her growing up journey without any moment of boring, and all the credits go to the editing and the fast cuts. And how the music starts from some point and how it ends was epic.

An American Pickle (2020)

Is this was supposed to be a comedy movie?

[3/10 · 7 August 2020]

I didn't expect a lot from this movie I just wanted to laugh, then it impressed me at the beginning. The movie started with an amazing narrative style as the cinematography was fascinating then the exposition of the love story was both funny and beautiful. And that's all what I loved about the movie and I raised my expectations after that (I wish I hadn't)

The way of turning him to a pickle was ridiculous and that's okay I'm not watching a comedy movie to look at this kind of things but it should have been funny at least.

Then the second act, Herschel's reaction after he had back was cold and it was supposed to be much funnier (another missed opportunity) Then the movie reached the maximum level of the lazy writing, the hole pickle project was ridiculous then Ben's continuous attempts to ruin Herschel's life were illogical.

The director "Brandon Trost" and this is the first long movie he has ever directed, didn't show me that he knew how to direct a comedy movie, he cared a lot about the cinematography (as he's a cinematographer) and forgot about the music. The music was terrible, the most of the movie was quiet and have that sad vibes, there was a track that can be fit in a thriller movie, and the movie's colors were dark, also the cuts was super weird, all of that didn't help to get the comedy movie mood.

Seth Rogen as Herschel has only one facial expression and as Ben was overreacting most of the time, neither of them was funny for me.

In the end, I think that "Brandon Trost" has totally missed up and didn't know how to come out with a comedy movie.

Young Ahmed (2019)

A new Islamophobic movie

[3/10 · 6 August 2020]

At first I want to establish a few things, first that I'm a Muslim person who live in an Islamic country which is Egypt, the second is that I like The Dardennes' cinematic language and I liked (Deux jours, une nuit) so much.

There is no actual plot, the movie is just going nowhere and doesn't follow the three acts structure. The movie is a character study movie but our main character is such a flat, unrealistic and caricature character. How can a kid be like that? How can a kid have this kind of thoughts? How can a kid have this cruelty? How can a kid have this insist on doing this kind of a violent act? It was a flat character who didn't change too much from the beginning to the end. The movie represents the idea of accepting people even if they tried to hurt you, but why did the Dardenne brothers put Muslims as the bad guys? Actually why are we treated as the bad guys from everyone? Bin-Laden? come on look at Hitler or Stallin. Whatever we are the stereotype of violence now so why do I whine.

The Dardenne brothers still have their cinematic tools like the long takes, shaky camera and not using a music. And like I said I liked it in (Deux jours, une nuit) But in this movie actually these tools made the movie slow paced and boring most of the time.

At the end I didn't like the movie at all, It wasn't entertaining and its ideas were biased.

Two Days, One Night (2014)

Magnificent Marion!

[8/10 · 4 August 2020]

Marion Cotillard has reflected so many various emotions like weakness, sadness, anxiety, instability and happiness easily and perfectly. Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne have put her in a difficult situation with their choice about taking most of the scenes with long take and she passed this perfectly. She has reached the perfectionism in this movie. Come on she have even acted with her BREATH!

Life can not have win-win situations, this philosophy was represented ably by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne cinematic tools in such a great story that shows our main character struggles to make people vote for her job against 14 person who have their own reasons to vote for dismissing her and get 1,000 EUR as a reward. The ingenuity of the script is that we can not say that people who will vote for the reward that they're greedy or selfish. Absolutely no, they literally fight for their survival in the life.

Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne have succeed in choosing their directing tools. Like they have succeed in delivering a lot of emotions without an important dramatic tool like the music and they replaced it with the background noises and that added more realism to the scenes. Also the shaky camera had a message that the characters have instability.

The Translators (2019)

Confusing

[7/10 · 30 July 2020]

-(Who done it?) theme is one of the most entertaining themes for me, so did I enjoy that movie? well yes!

-Movies with this theme either try to help the viewer by pointing on a character then reveal another character as the criminal, pointing on a character then reveal him as the criminal or not pointing on anyone then reveal the criminal. The creativity in telling such this story is to make the reveal moment a huge thing, plot twisted moment and MAKE SENSE.

-The first act was good nearly great, the script was organized, the writer focused on setting up the crime, it was all good 'till the last half of second act everything started to be messed up, starting from the mystery solving it was childish and illogical, then things got confused and I started to ask myself "What did just happen? What is he saying? What are you talking about?", then a flood of "Deus ex machina" that happened about 3 times last 20 minutes

-I enjoyed the movie but it could be a way better.

The Emperor's New Groove (2000)

A selfish, arrogant and hillarious Llama

[7/10 · 29 July 2020]

-It's a story of how using your power and authority in bad way will make you a hated person but did the movie tell that? Our villain Hmm sorry... Our main character "Kuzco" is a selfish, greedy and heartless emperor. The character was written in a funny way, he was a bad person in a way that I'd break my screen to kick his ass for his actions. In contrast, "Pacha" was a good person and for me he was a poor character and his actions weren't reasonable at all, he was written to be the pretty, kind and forgiving example for the kids.

-The narration style was pretty awesome, hilarious sometimes and creative for an animated movie (I think it's the first movie that followed that style And "Kuzco" as a narrator was so funny as he mostly narrates the story making himself the victim.

-The movie suffered from lazy writing, they used "Deus ex machina" technique a lot.. like literally in the last 10 minutes they used it 4 times.

-Answering the first question, for me the movie didn't make him a hated person as he wasn't hated from any character except "Yzma", "Pacha" hated him for a little bit but that wasn't enough he literally saved his ass from death more than once.

Hercules (1997)

A classic Disney animaited movie

[8/10 · 28 July 2020]

If there's a recipe of how to make a great animation movie that adults and kids can have fun from it, Hercules would be one of the best representative for this recipe. It's a really good movie and everyone can enjoy it.

For me the main theme of the movie was finding home, as the movie journey was how to back home after he cursed living with the people. Also there's a lot of sub themes like (Good vs. Evil) and our villain was great and he was a terrifying villain unlike the villains of other Disney movies such as (Frozen,Beauty and the beast,Zootopia) as their villains were not a big threat for our main character. And of course there was the theme of love.

I got the superhero movies vibes in the second act as Hercules is a kind of a superhero.

22 Jump Street (2014)

Writers were too lazy!

[4/10 · 22 February 2020]

It's 21 jump street but in college, same plot with same conflicts I didn't laugh but twice, It wasn't totally boring but It was a useless movie