meinwonderland Reviews

Riders of Justice (2020)

Coping with loss

[6/10 · 29 May 2024]

A soldier goes on a crusade to avenge his late wife who died in a train crash.

Anders Thomas Jensen's Retfærdighedens ryttere is a subversive and profound exploration of the revenge film genre. He competently uses its tropes as a vehicle to examine deeper issues in the life of someone who is affected by the loss of a loved one. In the movie, both Markus (Mads Mikkelsen) and Mathilde (Andrea Heick Gadeberg) react in different yet similar ways after the train crash. Whether it is by using violence or sticking notes on a wall, they both have the need to fill the void, find meaning, and, above all, find a cause to lessen the pain.

Premium Rush (2012)

Do not rush to see this movie!

[5/10 · 28 May 2024]

The movie follows Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a bike messenger who finds himself running away from a corrupt cop (Michael Shannon) while he tries to deliver a mysterious envelope.

David Koepp's action film is watchable due to the leads and some adrenaline-filled scenes in the constant cat-and-mouse game the characters play that, for some moments, make the movie overlong despite its run of only 90 minutes. There are interesting decisions to put the audience in the shoes of the protagonist and what it means to be a cyclist in NY, the way he visualizes the possible routes to take is well done.

At the end of the day, Premium Rush is done competently but breaks no new ground. It is entertaining, but otherwise unremarkable.

Late Night with the Devil (2023)

Horror was not a guest on this late-night talk show

[4/10 · 27 May 2024]

Set in the 1970s', the movie is about the last broadcast of a late-night talk show that doesn't go as planned.

David Dastmalchian's performance as the host is on point, he makes the movie watchable. Other than that, there's not much worth seeing here. Originality is missing, it takes too long to get there, and, while the journey has some entertaining moments here and there, it ultimately fails and doesn't deliver. 90 minutes of style over substance. Less is more, especially when you fill the story with over the top clichés that ruin what otherwise could've been a good movie.

Late Night with the Devil embodies the pitfalls of the V/H/S franchise, It aims for some sort of shock but ultimately fails due to its overused tropes, zero frights, and terrible special effects.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

What a wonderful movie!

[7/10 · 23 May 2024]

Set many generations after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes (2017), the movie follows Noa, an endearing young chimpanzee, on a quest to save his clan. A quest that will find him learning about the past of his kind and pondering existential themes.

Wes Ball's Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a profound and nuanced study of prejudice, ethics, and humanity that problematizes ape-human coexistence after Caesar. This is expertly achieved due to the fact that, like its predecessors, it doesn't take sides. There are many "What if...?" moments that place us before questions about the nature of our species.

Visually striking with incredible CGI, well-written characters, and adrenaline-filled scenes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is a new entertaining adventure in the franchise that lives up to the legacy it inherited.

Challengers (2024)

Breathtaking

[9/10 · 8 May 2024]

Sexy, funny, enticing, and smart, Challengers is a fresh cinematic tour de force beautifully shot, acted, and masterfully crafted. An absorbing drama that keeps you engaged from beginning to end with an electrifying score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross that brings to the screen the feeling of being in a continuous frenetic motion that many times also communicates what cannot be put into words, whether that is because it is unknown or by an unwillingness found where a realization is hard to cope with. Music brings out what is too strong to be allowed to be enacted directly.

Luca Guadagnino's unique cinematic style is seen throughout the film. His sensibility to humanness depicts a kaleidoscopic roller coaster of emotions, from desire and euphoria to grief and loss, tension filling every scene, glances speaking louder than words, and magnetic chemistry giving the audience just enough to be invested in this original story. The way tennis is used as a vehicle to depict a three-way relationship on and off the court is remarkably achieved, and the leads were perfectly cast. Their nuanced performances are mesmerizing, alluring, and live up to the complexities of each character.

Visually, the match scenes are shot in a unique way. The constant hyperactive camera movements make tennis more entertaining than ever.

Justin Kuritzkes's script, like many times when it comes to art, is not so much a conclusion in itself but a continuation of a conversation that began before it. A dialogue with Celine Song's Past Lives, for instance.

Challengers has everything expected from Luca Guadagnino, beautiful visuals, gorgeous-looking actors, a thematically profound screenplay, and outstanding music. Arguably Guadagnino's best.

Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024)

Guaranteed entertainment for the whole family

[6/10 · 25 March 2024]

Kung Fu Panda 4 follows the story of Po in a quest to defeat the shape-shifting Chamaleon and save his land.

The fourth installment of the franchise feels like a reunion with these loveable characters we met when we were young. It's the first time the furious five won't be joining our protagonist in his new adventure. In their place is Zhen, a fox played by Awkwafina, whose voice gives the character that funny yet serious quality she's good at.

The movie is full of hilarious moments as well as martial-arts driven action scenes, and a lot of new characters. The new Dragon Warrior's adventure is guaranteed entertainment for the whole family since its main theme of embracing change will resonate with everyone, no matter their age.

May December (2023)

It's the moral gray areas that are interesting

[7/10 · 25 March 2024]

Inspired by the real story of Mary Katherine Letourneau, May December follows an actress spending time for research purposes with the woman she'll play in an upcoming movie whose romance and pregnancy with a minor made tabloids nationwide.

From Nabokov's Lolita to Louis Malle's Pretty Baby, age-gap relationships have been of interest to different artistic expressions. The challenge to social sensibilities found at the core of such themes is one of the reasons people still feel drawn to stories like this one. Like Elizabeth (Natalie Portman) says in the movie, "It's the moral gray areas that are interesting." Todd Haynes' May December achieves drama in bigger doses as the movie progresses. A thought-provoking experience where the dynamics of the relationship between Gracie and Joe are naturally depicted. The power imbalance lends authenticity to the story in a nuanced manner that unveils their inner thoughts and feelings helped by the piano-driven score.

Robot Dreams (2023)

They liked dancing to disco

[6/10 · 12 March 2024]

Pablo Berger's bittersweet melancholic tale about the relationship of a dog and a robot in 1980's New York achieves profundity in meaning in its depiction of love and the passage of time.

A character study of a Dog whose solitary life takes him to order an Android whom he'll spend time with. From walks in the park eating hot dogs to dancing to disco beats or going to the beach, Dog and Robot bloom in their New York summer until unexpected events put everything into question.

Robot Dreams's touching and moving story depicts love as real as it gets, and that brings forward the always human dichotomy of finding joy and sadness in something at the same time.

Asteroid City (2023)

Not Good

[1/10 · 10 March 2024]

Considering this comes from the filmmaker who gave us Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, all of them great movies, Asteroid City seems the work of someone who wanted to make a movie just for the sake of it, leading to the script as something secondary, left behind.

The problem with the movie is not its lack of any notable characters, because it has great actors and this is an ensemble movie, not one with protagonists. Nor is the seeming lack of a plot, since a lot of great films are more episodic than anything else. La Dolce Vita, for instance. The problem is that it's overcharged with layer after layer, even by Anderson's standards, rendering the movie a boring experience devoid of any logic or sense.

The only positive aspect of Asteroid City is Anderson's visual signature of beautiful pastel aesthetics along with the symmetric camera moves. Other than that, there's nothing worth seeing here.

Sundown (I) (2021)

Michel Franco's L'Étranger

[6/10 · 10 March 2024]

Sundown is a profound movie with Albert Camus' L'Étranger parallelisms. A character study of a man who, taken at face value, social conventions don't seem to have any value anymore after he decides against attending his mother's funeral and instead opts to stay in Acapulco, where he and his family were vacationing.

The portrayal of the events in the movie flows seamlessly in scenes where calmness speaks as the inner voice of someone nonchalant that won't be understood by anyone who sees in the challenging of the expected behavior not inner causes that need to be understood, but an enemy that has to be fought. The absence of dialogue in many scenes makes the conversations feel natural and real instead of forced or overdramatic. The imagery also has that calming quality to it. The protagonist, most of the time, is on the beach at ease.

Sundown is an existential exploration worth seeing. Tim Roth is fantastic in this role.

Unless (2016)

Tries too hard to be profound without success

[4/10 · 10 March 2024]

The premise of the movie is interesting enough to give "Unless" a chance. Reta is a writer who finds her daughter Norah dropped out of school and is living in the streets. She and her family will face this predicament in different ways while they try to find the reasons why Norah chose to do that.

The problem with the movie, at the end of the day, is that it tries too hard to be profound and have deeper meanings in its socio-political commentary that fails to have the desired effect and doesn't deliver once the reasons for Norah's behavior are known.

Entertaining for the most part, but it's not worth the time.

In the Earth (2021)

A24 vibes but fails to deliver

[5/10 · 10 March 2024]

In The Earth is a movie that has A24 written all over it. This is a good thing if you like quality artistic films. The movie has a good start, it doesn't waste too much time in presentations, and the characters are soon in the woods, where the last team disappeared looking for a cure for a virus.

When it comes to horror movies, it is always better to avoid the cheapness of using loud sounds as cues where you're supposed to jump scare. Silence is always more frightening. This movie belongs to the latter. It has an unsettling atmosphere that is scary enough to frighten you. It has good performances and psychedelic scenes.

However, In The Earth goes downhill in the second act, where the action takes too long and the scenes are drawn out.

Neutral result for me.

Ava (II) (2017)

Ava fails to deliver

[4/10 · 10 March 2024]

The summer vacations of Ava, a teenage girl, with her mother and sibling take a turn for the worst after she is told her eyesight will be lost.

The movie has a good start, entertaining with the right pace where the protagonist is introduced and the family dynamics are shown. The predicament she faces is strong enough to make sympathy an easy end result. Ava, above all, is sad about not having seen beauty, so she decides to make the best of the time she has left.

The movie fails in the second act, where the action is stagnant and the story takes an unbelievable and boring turn.

It had the potential to be a good coming-of-age, but ultimately went astray.

Blue My Mind (2017)

Teenage body horror

[6/10 · 10 March 2024]

Blue My Mind follows Mia, a teenage girl, as she tries to find her place among the popular students in school while facing body transformations that question her identity in every way.

A fairy tale coming-of-age that finds meaning in the examination of identity in the most basic and natural sense with a dosis of body horror that turns its dream-like quality into a nightmarish tale of teen drama.

The movie's greatest asset is Luna Wedler's performance as Mia, a protagonist who conveys the often found dichotomy of teenage ache for emancipation while at the same time requiring the safe haven of childhood.

Monday (2020)

While Suntan is really good, Monday is neutral at best

[5/10 · 9 March 2024]

Monday follows the story of Mickey and Chloe, who meet at a Friday party in Greece and end up living together. Soon they realize the spark that made them fall in love with each other might not be enough.

The cast is ok, the leads have chemistry and deliver good performances. The movie talks about a reality often ignored. The problems that arise when a couple takes the step to live together and what otherwise would be little differences become big problems. The problem with the movie is that it feels stagnant in many moments where it doesn't know where to go or what to say and fills the space with unnecessary scenes after unnecessary scenes, making the end result neutral at best.

The Voyeurs (2021)

A good thriller

[6/10 · 9 March 2024]

The movie follows a couple who moves to a new apartment, and they soon find themselves spying on their neighbors from across the street. What began as playful curiosity becomes an obsession with unforeseen consequences in this thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

The Voyeurs is entertaining from beginning to end. The pace is right, and the story is a well structured one where scenes flow seamlessly. The cast is well chosen. They are believable in every situation. It is a movie that breeds curiosity as the situations are developing and more information is being learnt.

It's worth watching if you like thrillers.

Swimming Pool (2003)

Motivation

[7/10 · 7 March 2024]

A nuanced and layered story that finds its strength in the execution of narrative dynamics that render the movie in a dream-like fashion.

Swimming Pool is a story during the ennui of summer that follows a British mystery author trying to find inspiration for her new book in her publisher's French house, where his daughter is also staying.

The performances are right. From the beginning, it is quite clear the main characters have strong chemistry. Dialogue is something one could refer to as something of the utmost importance in a story, but it is remarkable when a filmmaker can communicate without the need to put it in that form. This movie has a lot of that. It is immersive and definitely worth watching.

Attenberg (2010)

A monotone character study that has its moments

[5/10 · 7 March 2024]

Attenberg is an exploration of the life of Marina, a woman who likes watching animal documentaries and mimicking their sounds, has never been in a relationship before, and doesn't want to.

Between shots of her and her only friend, aside from her father, Bella, dancing in strange ways, the movie shows Marina's curiosity beginning to grow, and this leads to her exploring new areas until now left forgotten.

The end result is something monotone, although it has its moments where it is funny and bizarre, especially when she and her father are acting like monkeys and, of course, the dances. The dialogues between her and her father are the best part of the movie.

Suntan (2016)

New Romance

[7/10 · 7 March 2024]

Suntan achieves to depict love in a realistic manner as some tragedy that disrupts the life of its bearer from the foundations and grows its seeds to unimaginable heights, making the world a completely different scenario where everything has a new meaning than before. Love is a tragedy, especially when it's not returned.

In the movie, a forty-something doctor is beguiled by a young girl who is vacationing with her friends. An obsession is born out of that allurement, and what started as a game has undue consequences.

The performances in the movie bring forward the required drama situations like these need. There is a lot in the glances and semblances of the main characters to portray the physicality of a bad romance.

Eileen (2023)

Love will make you crazy

[5/10 · 6 March 2024]

Thomasin McKenzie is really good at playing Eileen, the young, naive, and curious girl whose stagnant and stifled life consists of going from work at a prison to her home with her father, but then sees her life disrupted after meeting the new psychologist at work, Rebecca.

The movie has beautiful photography resembling the 60', aesthetically with sepia outstanding and muted colors looking like the outer manifestation of Eileen's dull life. The editing sometimes achieves bringing into images the protagonist's thoughts and therefore getting to know what otherwise wouldn't be known.

Eileen's a character study that ultimately fails because of the unnecessary events in the third act, which try to say in an unbelievable way what was already said and understood, ruining what could've been a good movie.

Sharper (2023)

Wasted potential

[5/10 · 6 March 2024]

The movie begins when Tom meets Sandra, they start a relationship, and a series of cons take place where we don't really know who is behind as more characters appear and their stories are told.

Sharper achieves mystery and engagement from the first minute. At first, sight the story is well crafted, the pace is right, and the characters are interesting. Julianne Moore is fantastic as always. However, it fails in the final act when it trades authenticity for empty predictability. The problem is, when a character is well-written, a failure to act in the expected way becomes unrealistic and a poor turn of events.

The movie had potential but was ultimately ruined by what seems to be decisions made by executives trying to please the target audience rather than writers trying to make a good story.

Entertaining and enjoyable? Yes. Would recommend? No.

Neutral result at best.

Air (I) (2023)

Entertaining at best

[5/10 · 5 March 2024]

The movie follows Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon), a sports marketing executive, in his pursuit to get Michael Jordan to sign with Nike.

Air has its moments, and overall it is entertaining and enjoyable, but nothing more than that. Despite having notable actors, it fails at having a single memorable scene. The script is acceptable, some good dialogue here and there, but the same story has been told a hundred times before, and this one doesn't offer anything new. Some of the choices Ben Affleck made as a director are understandable but nonetheless strange if somewhat ineffective. The pace has its problems. Some scenes felt like they were rushing, while others felt slightly lengthy.

It is one of those movies to see only once. Although it might deliver if entertainment is what you're looking for.

BlackBerry (2023)

The rise and fall of the world's first smartphone

[6/10 · 5 March 2024]

There's something about stories like this. How some people convey the essence of their vision in a company or product, reaching enormous success only to end in a catastrophic demise. Stories like this are proof enough that no company is too big to fail, and anything can happen anytime. No matter how many riches you make overnight, they might disappear overnight as well. Stories like this seem unreal, yet they aren't.

Blackberry follows the parabolic rise and ultimate demise of the world's first smartphone. A company that, at its height, controlled 45% of the cellphone market, while today it's 0%.

The movie is really entertaining and enjoyable. The hardships people involved went through to stay ahead of the curve in an ever competitive market is something worth watching. Glenn Howerton is fantastic as Jim, a bossy character that is always funny in those situations where as a professional CEO he has to deal with an amateurish environment when trying to run the company.

Totem (2023)

Born to die

[6/10 · 4 March 2024]

Tótem follows Sol, a seven-year-old girl, as she spends a day at her grandfather's house, where her family is making preparations for a surprise birthday party for Sol's father, Tona.

This movie could be described as a cinematic stream of consciousness since the family dynamics depict dysfunctionality seen in different ways in each character and how they manage with the fact that Tona has cancer and his deteriorated health make any future uncertain.

Tótem is efficient in saying without words. Communicating with images that speak louder than any dialogue could. This allows the development of the story to be smooth yet effective in an empathic and natural way.

Spaceman (I) (2024)

2024: A Self-Discovery Space Odyssey ft. Paul Dano's soothing voice (and Hazelnut Spread).

[7/10 · 4 March 2024]

Spaceman is a psychological space odyssey that touches on profound topics like identity, loneliness, guilt, and love, in a nuanced and authentic thought-provoking manner through the story of the so called "loneliest man in the world," an astronaut on a space mission who meets a strange creature with whom he reflects about meaning and life on earth. The nature of these reflections make of the movie an emotive and self-discovery journey from beginning to end with memorable characters and the right atmosphere that treads smoothly when needed.

Aesthetics, sometimes reminiscing of Gustav Klimt and vaporwave-style, enhance what the film is trying to convey. From the closed and reduced spaces as a portrayal of loneliness and suffocation, to the distorted flashbacks as a natural representation of a narrow assessment.

Spaceman is worth watching for all of these reasons, but also to see Adam Sandler and Kunal Nayyar in non-comedic roles with actors like Isabella Rossellini, Paul Dano, and Carey Mulligan.

Arguably, Adam Sandler's best movie.