thomas-leitha Reviews

Ripley (2024)

9 for the camera 3 for the rest

[6/10 · 15 May 2024]

Black and White stood for cinema noir but not necessarily after we have gone digital. Though the camera work (and post production) is great in this Netflix production it doesn't make up for boring hours of a well known story to unfold. Few thrillers plots are knit that thight that you should be allowed to think about all the unplausible details. This isn't one.

Apparently nobody totally believes Ripley's story but finally have him his way. A speedy story telling, a beau like Delon helps to overlook those gaps but not an eight hour long miniseries. People here think of Hitchcock and such like, I thought of a tobacco or perfume commercial...

Kafka (2024– )

Basically an intro for the novice

[6/10 · 26 March 2024]

A biopic about a poet like Kafka should not loose its control over the different flavors of language but this might be the biggest flaw of this movie.

E.g. Listen to Max Brod's interviews on you tube (in German) and you will hear the special flavor of German-speaking Jews in Prague during the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. English speakers may reference to the many interviews with Billy Wilder (given he was born in present-day Poland but spend part of his youth in Vienna) to get a feeling for this.

Ofczarek is great in his physical dominance has Kafka's father, but talks like a Viennese patriarch and not like a Jew living in Prague.

The lack of dialect coaches in European production has never been so evident as in this project. It is true that Kafka's prose is surprisingly free from dialect but we are talking here about non-fictionary scenes. Some of the smaller roles like the wounded soldiers in the scenes at the insurance are more convincing than most of the main actors.

The script was rather conventional as most of Kehlmann's recent works with its different approaches to reach the final end spiced up with some mildly absurd ideas: No, Kehlmann is no Schnitzler and if one has Musil to be played by a female actor to touch his latent bisexuality, a mustache is simply silly.

It could have come much worse but I hoped for it to be better than this,100 years after Franz Kafka's death.

Poor Things (2023)

No, no, no: much green screen for nothing

[3/10 · 23 March 2024]

No, if saving your primary sexual organs is a feminist act, you may - as many - call this a feminist plot, but I object.

No, form and content have to be visually related, but all the sometimed cheap CGI gimmicks, the painful musical score and the soft sex scenes divert from a possibly interesting story. We haven't seen such absurd skies since Gone with the Wind and better steam punk designs in Wild Wild West.

If you have an absurd starting point for a story (an brain transplant certainly is) an absurd production design is one twist to many.

I wonder why even those who dislike the movie here praise it's production design and camera work. The continuous fisheye, the nauseating camera movements and the psychedelic colors are overused and question the directors ability to master his craft.

Too long and overrated by those who mistake such a conundrum of effects as art house.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

Being different can be boring

[5/10 · 24 February 2024]

There are directors who perfected a visual style and use it in all their movies and then there are those who surprise with different styles for different stories. Both can be rewarding for the viewer but can also be boring. While I loved 'Island of Dogs' I lost interest in this movie after few minutes as it's story was predictable and it's style was unnerving.

Great actors appeared like robots, transitions and effects were attractive initially but exhausting for most of the movie and left me with the impression that the director was all to keen to impress that he lost rhythm and meaning.

Art house pour art house.

Einstein and the Bomb (2024)

Netflix wanted a slice of Oppenheimer success and failed by doing the right thing for the wrong cause

[5/10 · 18 February 2024]

If one expects having Einstein's role in the Manhattan Project revealed, the title has mislead him. The real drama of this story is summarized in Einstein's conclusion: "Organized force can only be opposed by organized force." This must have been devastating for a die-hard pacefist communicating with Ghandi, Russell and others. This could have been of outmost relevance in our times of wars in the Ukraine and Gaza where "killing for peace" is fiercely debated and remains morally as unsolvable today as it was for Einstein and his times.

Telling a story of frustrated pacifism using Einstein's bio would have been of greater relevance than this far fetched junctim between Einstein and the bomb.

Another annoying feature of the piece, as with many cheap digital productions nowadays, are over-used green screen and post-production effects. And I have seen most of the used historical footage in much better quality the the used clips here (eg Hitler's speeches) which didn't add to the overall impression of this production.

Nyad (2023)

10 for acting 5 for visuals and less for the script

[6/10 · 7 February 2024]

Basically it is on of those uplifting, never give up movies but in the end you are overwhelmed by first class acting. Neither Foster nor Benning had really remarkable lines and their characters in real live may have been difficult to say the least. It's kind of a miracle how both carry the story and draw your attention to a predictable script. One simply believes them whatever they do, their affection as well as their troubles. Both dare their roles and make watching the movie a treat.

We get some nice visuals, too, even if some of them have been seen before and we're predictable as the story, but who cares if you can watch two great actresses at the height of their art.

Bevor der letzte Vorhang fällt (2014)

Travesty on Netflix

[5/10 · 31 January 2024]

This documentary may find a larger audience than so far as it is currently featured on Netflix. The final performance of their tour acts as a vehicle for a short bio of very different characters having ended (?) in this travesty show. Some of their stories are more interesting than others, most are predictable and even the ambitious camera work left me surprisingly untouched. IMHO this project, whatever its intentions were, convinces us that being a member of a travesty show does little to pinpoint the people to a certain biography. If this was tge intention it may have deserved a higher rating, but the movie as a whole didn't get me.

A Haunting in Venice (2023)

Why?

[4/10 · 25 December 2023]

I am afraid Sir Kenneth is aiming at doing all of Christie's material, finally reapearing as Miss Marple in the end. There is no shortage movie versions of her whodunnits and one needs to improve previous versions if another couple of bucks are spent. This doesn't seem to be the case with Branagh's efforts.

This time he found out about weird camera angles (German or Dutch angles, if you prefer the professional terms) and repeats some Scary Movie gimmicks, but is this suffice to star and direct another lengthy and dull movie just to have some nice plot turns at the end, when nobody listens to details anymore having left the theater or consciousness.

Maestro (2023)

Wanted to like this pic, but

[7/10 · 23 December 2023]

I was liiking forward to this release but remained highly unsatisfied. I understood that the picture takes the stardom if Bernstein for granted and focuses on his marriage problems, but it does little to resolve this mystery.

It's all fault of the book as the acting is convincing and the camera work solid. Bernstein's wife in this movie obviously is attractive and bright, but she had to be more than that to intermit Bernstein's long row of male relationships. The plot gives little glue why Bernstein is attracted to all these men snd suddenly to one woman. And as she was well aware of his status, what happen in the long run that she couldn't cope, just to finally return.

I found one possible glue in a Stephen Sondheim interview who described Bernstein as a true friend and confidant as long as no other peapke are around and a different human being if in a large crowd. May be this could explain what happened in this marriage, but I couldn't find it in any of it's lines.

Sorry but the movie could have been much more than a well done biopic.

The Zero Theorem (2013)

Met Mr. Gilliam yesterday, but

[5/10 · 5 November 2023]

To be fair, I didn't actually "meet" Terry Gilliam yesterday, but sat in the 20th row of the Gartenbau Kino, Vienna during a retrospective of his works and he adressed the audience after the final credits.

Still amazed how relevant Brazil is after all these years, I decided to watch The Zero Theorem on Google Films, but... It may be unfair to compare this movie to arguably Gilliam's masterpiece but coming back to some of the same concepts one expects at least an expansion, thematically and/or artistically, but Terry Gilliam still is an extraordinary story teller and has designed some of the most relevant images for the screen. In the end I have learned more about The meaning of Life in Monty Python's movie of the same name and in Brazil than in The Zero Theorem, even as a fan of this director.

Oppenheimer (I) (2023)

Content per minute is smaller than it seems

[7/10 · 29 July 2023]

I understand that Nolan knows his craft and his scripts are like you learned it at school. His actors are, as expected, perfect, even in smaller parts. Yet, after three hours, I left the IMAX unsatisfied. No, it was not the ending, that was predictable. I simply don't understand why it took so long to tell a rather simple story. Don't get me wrong, the story is rightfully told, but sometimes I felt all the flashbacks, the continous enjoying soundtrack and repeating similar biographical details are there to simulate greatness. Camerawork is professional but far from being extraordinary and this goes for much of the movie.

In the end, despite of the masses flooding the IMAXs, interviews and making of s evoke expectations that are just partially fulfilled.

May be everything was too perfect to completely disappoint but falls short to be really great.

Extraction II (2023)

Fastest recovery since Rocky

[4/10 · 16 June 2023]

It isn't that one expects a sophisticated plot in an action movie but this one has the depth of a DOS Ego Shooter with Win 11 graphics.

Authors do not bother to show how Tyler got in shape after his near death experience at the end of part one. Any explanation would cut some minutes of the 20 minutes or so stunt scenes. Background motivation is overrated, just blast another car into pieces.

The only reason to watch this movie until the end is not to find out how the story is going to end, it is to see more of its extraordinary camera work. There are scenes with camera movements the leaves you baffled. Sure they used cranes but sometimes the cam moves like a butterfly around the fighters. If this is what you need you are welcome to watch 2 hours of shooting, fighting and blasting.

Arnold (2023)

9 stars for the man, 6 for the documentary

[6/10 · 8 June 2023]

We had other documentaries about Austrians most famous export in the past and most of the facts given in this new production are well known . The new production adds little to the public domain and finally fails like all the others to explain why he achieved what most of us failed in.

We rely on Arnold's analysis of Arnold's mind and he comes surprisingly close to the matter: Competitiveness, Stamina, Neglecting the odds,.. It would have been interesting to hear other voices to explain why he succeded where most other people with a similar mindset failed.

May be the answer is that someone who can convince Jamie Lee Curtis to be a dull husband and the audience that he is De Vito's Twin can achieve anything.

The documentary is entertaining but basically another lost chance to explain the phenomenon.

The Last Bus (2021)

Apparently u either see cliches or gems

[8/10 · 24 May 2023]

Professionell critics seemed to dislike this road movie a lot and many IMDB users love it. As with many movies judgment depends if u can connect with some of the bits and pieces the author throws at you but refuses to tell you how to use them. Goethe once said that any other master identifies himself by what he says and does but a master in poetry identifies himself by what he left out.

I enjoyed this movie because it gives u time to contemplate and is visually surprisingly old style.

Among the highly colorized movies we are fed today, this sticks out and paints UK as I have seen it so many times. Don't expect much of a plot but enjoy first class acting.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

No, never ever an Oscar movie

[5/10 · 17 March 2023]

Given I have watched this movie after a long (I'm in Europe) and sleepless Oscar night, but I doubt this has risen my expectations too high to be fair. Based on a very simplistic view at the concept of multiverses and stuffed with every personal problem a family encounters nowaday, fast editing, some fair actors and few cheap visual tricks fail to cover a flat script.

Everything is connected in some way to everything and husbands and daughters aren't much help if you cannot cope with your own demons, but can anybody tell me, why this movie is worth over 2 hours of my own life? Even the first half of Monty Pythons 'Meaning of Life' offers more insights, fun and katharsis than this overlong, overstuffed and overrated roller-coaster ride into the emptiness of life, without even realizing that this movie is part of the problem it apparently tries to find a solution to.

Even a 'box of chocolates' give me more entertainment than this doughnut and I didn't even like other movie.

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

Without the war in the Ukraine the Academy wouldn't bother

[5/10 · 24 February 2023]

It takes some courage to re-remake already well done movies based on a world famous book. That this hasn't yet been done by a German crew, as pointed out by the director in the "making of" is not a sufficient excuse.

Having read the novel ages ago, I'm not fully qualified to judge how close this Netflix production is to the book, but one rarely sees a script based on a long novel and settle for such poor dialoges. With all the previous WWI movies and their perfectly colorized scenes in dark colors this movie just reiterates already seen visuals and adds little to the horrors of men fighting men.

It isn't a really bad movie, but it is unnecessary. One wonders about the many Oscar nominations, but, as suggested above, just reflects current politics and not sny achievements in art.

Worth (2020)

A movie you should watch

[8/10 · 12 February 2023]

Without a legal background and with an European point of view, I can't comment on the way the government pays taxpayers money to save airlines, but after several financial and the Covid-19 crises, we all may have a different look at those things. The movie, in contrast to its title, says little about the worth of a human life but the ways the political and legal system works "to get things done and go on". Serveral negative ratings here seem to blame the script for exactly that, but there is a more interesting subtext to all of this: the impossibilty to act fair, the complexity of human lifes if you dig deeper, the unanswered question of responsibility and that sooner or later almost everybody is accepting everything, just to close the book.

One comment dislikes the "feel good end" of the story, but it pretty much depends on your own view of life; you might as well just cry about how things went.

Even if you dislike the movie, it is well played and may make you rethink a lot.

Treason (2022)

Thin and superficial

[5/10 · 4 February 2023]

What could be a great spy story with an able cast becomes thin and unbelievable the longer the series runs.

Characters show little development and most of the turns and surprises of the plot would not even serve a local TV production, not to say a Netflix production.

One can't blame most in the cast as they do their best, but their material is too thin to keep one on its seat. I (and obviously many here) simply can't believe the why and what the characters do or have to do.

Camera work is decent and apart from some issues with HDR if your internet speed is suboptimal, but in the end the movie leaves you unsatisfied.

Glass Onion (2022)

Turn everything louder than everything else

[6/10 · 25 December 2022]

This quote comes from a sound check of Deep Purple and is fitting to this movie. Not that it isn't entertaining, not that one of the final appearances of two riddle fond greats (Sondheim and Landsbury) isn't a special treat but in the end the story is thinner than one may expect. All the special effects, all the twists of the story with dead people reappearing after being shot has an element of trying too hard, of appearing too clever, of overlooking some plot holes,... The villain puts up a charade and if you think about it, without any necessity or need, handing himself over after he already has wonnthe game.

Harry & Meghan (2022)

Sorry for the time spent

[1/10 · 17 December 2022]

Unless you are a professional psychiatrist you won't learn anything from this documentary you haven't already read in the tabloids. At one point you may feel Harry being lured into this mess, the next moment you realize that both couldn't be that naive not to know how the game is played.

If Netflix has paid the two anything near the sum reported, one may conclude that this company has completely lost its sense for their business. What they got for whatever they paid were some home videos und two overpaid amateur actors.

To be avoided, even for fans of The Crown and anything else having pleased audiences in the past.

Elvis (2022)

I wanted no troubles

[6/10 · 26 October 2022]

One knows what to expect from Buz and he delivers. Butler and Hanks give a brilliant performance and together with the whole team recreate how we have learnt to see the period, but nothing more. Elvis story has been told so many times and still contains some strange bits wainting to be explained to understand the phenomenon, but this movie doesn't try to throw some lights on this. All it does is to digitize the well known and sprinkles some CGI on the cake. I may be unfair because I liked parts of the movie but it fell short to my expectations. Returning to the original comeback show serves me better.

Fosse/Verdon (2019)

Basically a All that Jazz Remake

[6/10 · 31 August 2022]

I might be unfair, but the show would be great hasn't Fosse already told it. This production has more background but less dance than the original, Vendon had more lines than in All that Jazz, but couldn't deliver much more than in Fosse's script. Once again, this is unfair to a couple of great actors telling the story now, but who can impersonate Ann Reinking better the the original and even if Sam Rockwell shows arguably more facets than Roy Scheider, we already have seen Fosse as boy in the burlesque theater and in the hospital bed with almost identical shots and lines. It's 8 points for those who don't know Fosse's own pic and 6 for me.

Official Competition (2021)

A film for movie lovers and actors

[8/10 · 11 August 2022]

This movie is marketed as black comedy (it could be blacker for my taste) but it is basically a vehicle for great actors to overact, making fun of their profession but also show facets of their craft (there are many ways to say "Good Day"). On the other hand the movie draws attention to some facets of filmmaking that is usually neglectet, e. G. the importance of how sound is recorded.

We've seen many films about filmmaking and art, and this is definitely not one of the worst of its kind.

Buba (2022)

Nice characters but doesn't deliver

[4/10 · 6 August 2022]

Being in the mood for a black comedy I was drawn into the movie for its opening but lost interest as the plot wasn't sure which direction to go. Some plot twists, absurd interludes and a lotta trash later one wonders why all this happened. Some romance, some fraud, some violence but no substance tp make ends meet at last. Sry for the lost opportunities with a good cast.

The Gray Man (2022)

Visually as expected but surprisingly empty

[5/10 · 24 July 2022]

Rushing from place to place after opening with a colorful killing in Bangkok adds little to get us into the story.

IMHO relying on Ryan Gosling and Ana de Armas proven star qualities fails to substitute a proper establishment of their characters in this movie. Of course as many others I wondered who took all the money Netflix paid for this production but as with so many other big productions today, it's not the point if CGI, actors or travel expenses of the crew were overpriced, the problem lies in the script. The art in script writing is to build up characters and a story. If you don't know why things happen, you don't care and all the surprises and zigzags of the plot loose a lot of their potential.