This is a dynamic and powerful documentary. It gives you an idea of how law, police, manipulation, corruption, wrong imprisonment and heartless people from the upper class still work 'clumsily' in the 21st century, despite the new technology and forensic investigations' improvements. The conclusion of the tv-series is only one: "Time passes, and for some, life is still worth nothing." Decisions can be made, only from those who have hearts, who have an open view and especially for those who are capable of 'recognising their mistakes', because at that way they win nothing, but lose credibility and win hate against them.
This documentary can be compared with "Making a murderer" (2015 - ) or "Inside Look: The People v. O.J. Simpson, American Crime Story" (2016).
Splendid job and well done - really enjoyed it.
Reviews
16 Reviews
The Innocent Man
(2018)
Police in USA are puppeteers who still play with people as if they were puppets
24 December 2018
King of Devil's Island
(2010)
So 'striking' that becomes 'exotic'!
9 November 2017
It is worth watching the movie only because of the pictures. Nature, snow, cold-blue colors and a sea that looks like the end of the world. On the left side the sea, a beach covered with snow, a tiny-wood-house with a desperate boat in it and a couple of surviving treas on the right wing - likewise a wallpaper from ancient Windows versions. However, there are more intriguing surprises. Young fellas with 'lost' faces, but inspired at the same time with some zealous. Grown before time kids because of life's inequality and poor enlightenment from their supposed family duties. Toughness, harsh times and constancy always accompanying them, without giving up. Injustice, revenge and a friendships' story that only invites us to join the movie and act as if we were supposed not only to suffer together with the main actors, but also to try helping them. All of these, because we will agree with them and with what happens to them. They are our friends even though we have just met them. Magic right!? The movie is a mixture between Shutter Island, Les Choristes and The Kite Runner. All in Norwegian stylish and prudent style that brings us the chance to live this adventurous and dramatic jewel. Brilliant!
Arrival
(II) (2016)
It is not about the destination; it is all about the journey
6 March 2017
Enemy (2013) and Prisoners (2013) merge and become Arrival (2016); a movie with continuous flashbacks and flashforwards - the main trouble with the pace and timing in this film.
Denis Villeneuve, the 'Mystery-Drama-Man', is stimulating us to think that the journey (our life) is far worthier than the final destination (death). And this is something that can be understood thanks to Louise, because it is her who embraces life after suffering all losses in her past, and the events that will happen in her future. This is why she offers to the observers the thoughtful question of: "if you could view your life as an image, a story told in one nonlinear and infinite symbol, would you change it?"
But be careful, because the director makes us think that Louise is remembering her past when she could be actually seeing glimpses of her future! What is more, the movie is so slow that one could fall asleep four or five times during the movie! In here, everything happens every 15 minutes than the linear films we are accustomed to watch. This is why Arrival is not better than neither Prisoners nor Enemy. At least, in both movies from 2013 follow a linear path with a mysterious end, whereas in here the inexplicableness is not around the heptapods but Louise's visions.
Despite this, it should be pointed out that there is no better choice for Louise Banks' role than Amy Adams. She is just brilliant. Every single move, word and look is just outstanding. And that is what the movie is about. The movie is all about Louise and the interactions in her mind, with her friends and between the 'aliens heptapods'.
As a matter of fact, the problem is presented in front of us and it is something like "imagine that there are 12 alien ships which have just arrived and positioned themselves around the globe - what would you do?" Well, if the word was given to the Chinese General Shang, he would probably destroy humanity. But let us not forget that "in war there are no winners, only widows". Why do we have to fight? Let us learn the language of these aliens, teach them our language or let us do both things. Let us think about the consequences! Some of them could be changed. Others, like Louise's case, could be foreseen, and although Hannah's future will be dreadful, it might be worth to enjoy her a little bit.
In a nutshell - the idea of the movie is excellent. It touches both reality and fantasy. The timing and pace were the only issue to convert this movie into Best Motion Picture of the Year at the awful Academy Awards given to the Moonlight-Disaster.
Denis Villeneuve, the 'Mystery-Drama-Man', is stimulating us to think that the journey (our life) is far worthier than the final destination (death). And this is something that can be understood thanks to Louise, because it is her who embraces life after suffering all losses in her past, and the events that will happen in her future. This is why she offers to the observers the thoughtful question of: "if you could view your life as an image, a story told in one nonlinear and infinite symbol, would you change it?"
But be careful, because the director makes us think that Louise is remembering her past when she could be actually seeing glimpses of her future! What is more, the movie is so slow that one could fall asleep four or five times during the movie! In here, everything happens every 15 minutes than the linear films we are accustomed to watch. This is why Arrival is not better than neither Prisoners nor Enemy. At least, in both movies from 2013 follow a linear path with a mysterious end, whereas in here the inexplicableness is not around the heptapods but Louise's visions.
Despite this, it should be pointed out that there is no better choice for Louise Banks' role than Amy Adams. She is just brilliant. Every single move, word and look is just outstanding. And that is what the movie is about. The movie is all about Louise and the interactions in her mind, with her friends and between the 'aliens heptapods'.
As a matter of fact, the problem is presented in front of us and it is something like "imagine that there are 12 alien ships which have just arrived and positioned themselves around the globe - what would you do?" Well, if the word was given to the Chinese General Shang, he would probably destroy humanity. But let us not forget that "in war there are no winners, only widows". Why do we have to fight? Let us learn the language of these aliens, teach them our language or let us do both things. Let us think about the consequences! Some of them could be changed. Others, like Louise's case, could be foreseen, and although Hannah's future will be dreadful, it might be worth to enjoy her a little bit.
In a nutshell - the idea of the movie is excellent. It touches both reality and fantasy. The timing and pace were the only issue to convert this movie into Best Motion Picture of the Year at the awful Academy Awards given to the Moonlight-Disaster.
Mary and Max
(2009)
The talent of an 'unseen and innovative' piece of artwork
19 December 2016
The Lumière brothers should be proud of Max and Mary (2009) - Top Rated Movies #179. At the end of the day, they created 'cinema' so that it develops to such a degree that it brings us masterpieces like this animation-comedy-drama.
In here, observers get satisfied with three components: the art of clay animation/ Claymation (1), the 'admirable and sudden' friendship between Mary Daisy Dinkle and Max Jerry Horovitz (2), along with all unexpected and comical idiomatic expressions (3), such as "Mary Dinkle's eyes were the colour of muddy puddles. Her birthmark, the colour of poo." or "Butts are bad because they wash out to sea, and fish smoke them and become nicotine-dependent". And, in addition to this, spectators are also able to enjoy the way in which these two characters cultivate their friendship following the antiquated "letter-box-way", without any kind of technology. Surely, the beauty of Adam Elliot's 92 minutes comes from the latter perspective.
It is intriguing to take part of the 'reading letters' connection between Australia (Mary) and the United States (Max) now that societies have changed their ways of communicating. Perhaps, if they have used Skype or WhatsApp, it would not have been as accurate as it ended being. It is undoubtedly much better the way they imagine the other with letters, pictures and sweets, than sending videos or sharing mobile calls. To put it briefly, this movie is like a book, and if it was made with the latest trends of XXI century, it was going to be like any Netflix series.
However, because of the fact that each of them is located in the back of beyond, cinema-goers are under pressure all movie long. Who does not want to see these two weirdos together? It would have been great, would not it? Notwithstanding, despite their unhappy and boring lives (we all have our own problems in this busy world) they find enough time to write and share their stories. Nowadays, the world is full of 'plastic people' and one never know if it is better to share some story with a relative or acquaintance than with someone in the boonies. As it says at the end of the film, "God gives us our relatives, thank God we can choose our friends." (Ethel Watts Mumford), which clearly means that sometimes it is even better to choose a stranger because of all the trouble one could receive and save from a closer friend.
To conclude, it should be pointed out that plenty of every-day-life personalities are shown during the movie. We all have met, or even are currently dealing with that elderly man or woman, that beggar, the presumptuous lady, the people at the bus station, the typical neighbour, and on and on. They are all pawns in our daily basis – they just seem to be the responsible ones for some of our actions. Despite that, we truly need to concentrate in the ones that make us 'happy' and fulfilled, like it does Max or Mary, because we are all strange and the only thing we need is to find the ones that are ready to jump on the same train – our soul mate.
P.S. My rating is 10 out of 10. P.P.S. "Scent of a Woman" (1992) was my favourite movie. P.P.P.S. Mary and Max it is now replacing its place.
In here, observers get satisfied with three components: the art of clay animation/ Claymation (1), the 'admirable and sudden' friendship between Mary Daisy Dinkle and Max Jerry Horovitz (2), along with all unexpected and comical idiomatic expressions (3), such as "Mary Dinkle's eyes were the colour of muddy puddles. Her birthmark, the colour of poo." or "Butts are bad because they wash out to sea, and fish smoke them and become nicotine-dependent". And, in addition to this, spectators are also able to enjoy the way in which these two characters cultivate their friendship following the antiquated "letter-box-way", without any kind of technology. Surely, the beauty of Adam Elliot's 92 minutes comes from the latter perspective.
It is intriguing to take part of the 'reading letters' connection between Australia (Mary) and the United States (Max) now that societies have changed their ways of communicating. Perhaps, if they have used Skype or WhatsApp, it would not have been as accurate as it ended being. It is undoubtedly much better the way they imagine the other with letters, pictures and sweets, than sending videos or sharing mobile calls. To put it briefly, this movie is like a book, and if it was made with the latest trends of XXI century, it was going to be like any Netflix series.
However, because of the fact that each of them is located in the back of beyond, cinema-goers are under pressure all movie long. Who does not want to see these two weirdos together? It would have been great, would not it? Notwithstanding, despite their unhappy and boring lives (we all have our own problems in this busy world) they find enough time to write and share their stories. Nowadays, the world is full of 'plastic people' and one never know if it is better to share some story with a relative or acquaintance than with someone in the boonies. As it says at the end of the film, "God gives us our relatives, thank God we can choose our friends." (Ethel Watts Mumford), which clearly means that sometimes it is even better to choose a stranger because of all the trouble one could receive and save from a closer friend.
To conclude, it should be pointed out that plenty of every-day-life personalities are shown during the movie. We all have met, or even are currently dealing with that elderly man or woman, that beggar, the presumptuous lady, the people at the bus station, the typical neighbour, and on and on. They are all pawns in our daily basis – they just seem to be the responsible ones for some of our actions. Despite that, we truly need to concentrate in the ones that make us 'happy' and fulfilled, like it does Max or Mary, because we are all strange and the only thing we need is to find the ones that are ready to jump on the same train – our soul mate.
P.S. My rating is 10 out of 10. P.P.S. "Scent of a Woman" (1992) was my favourite movie. P.P.P.S. Mary and Max it is now replacing its place.
Grave of the Fireflies
(1988)
Tears and tears, but especial ones for Satsuko
16 December 2016
I still have the tears in my eyes. I just watched this sad story about Seita and his innocent sister Satsuko. What can I say? I truly believe that any movie critic should agree that this Grave of the Fireflies (1988) by Isao Takahata arrives a hundred times stronger and deeper to our hearts and eyes than Steven Spielberg's 'Schindler's List' (1993) or Roman Polanski's 'The Pianist' (2002)
At first, I thought that this was going to be some kind of manga-election as Top Rated Movies #59, but I do understand now a little bit of the Japanese history, survival and sadness. Once again, no words need to express the declining days of WW2. What a pity!
In here, we can enjoy a beautiful flashback into Seita's memories. And step by step, the lose of this particular family. Seita's imprudence takes his sister into heaven. He should have done better, for sure! He could have saved this mellifluous voice and charming princess. When the movie finished, I was still hearing her voice from somewhere...
Brilliant film-gem which puts us into the picture in the best way possible of what has happened in the city of Kobe, Japan. Thanks to the fact that the movie is an animation, it makes it even more 'dramatic' and accurate for the observers.
10 out of 10 - excellent work!
At first, I thought that this was going to be some kind of manga-election as Top Rated Movies #59, but I do understand now a little bit of the Japanese history, survival and sadness. Once again, no words need to express the declining days of WW2. What a pity!
In here, we can enjoy a beautiful flashback into Seita's memories. And step by step, the lose of this particular family. Seita's imprudence takes his sister into heaven. He should have done better, for sure! He could have saved this mellifluous voice and charming princess. When the movie finished, I was still hearing her voice from somewhere...
Brilliant film-gem which puts us into the picture in the best way possible of what has happened in the city of Kobe, Japan. Thanks to the fact that the movie is an animation, it makes it even more 'dramatic' and accurate for the observers.
10 out of 10 - excellent work!
The General
(1926)
Johnnie Gray is the ancestor of Charlie Chaplin
15 December 2016
Outstanding performance by Buster Keaton. What a silent comedy! What a character is this train engineer! Beautiful! This action-adventure-comedy is smooth and light fight with trains. But obviously, those kind of trains of the first ones - those that work with firewood and a flexible 'driver'.
Our main character, very tenacious, wants his love. He has his first one, the train, and now he wants Annabelle Lee. He does everything, from the beginning till the end to achieve her attention. An attention obtained because of an uniform. Yes, that is true, but only because those times were like that.
But forget about that love - cheap kisses and looks - because in here the story is about these bloody trains and how they chase each other. Interestingly enough, for 1926 this 67 minutes are 'marvelous'! There is more text than The Kid (1921) or City Lights (1931), and even more comedy and captivation. Yes, it is true that is all about those trains, but the story goes on the rails with a linear perspective.
Our main character, very tenacious, wants his love. He has his first one, the train, and now he wants Annabelle Lee. He does everything, from the beginning till the end to achieve her attention. An attention obtained because of an uniform. Yes, that is true, but only because those times were like that.
But forget about that love - cheap kisses and looks - because in here the story is about these bloody trains and how they chase each other. Interestingly enough, for 1926 this 67 minutes are 'marvelous'! There is more text than The Kid (1921) or City Lights (1931), and even more comedy and captivation. Yes, it is true that is all about those trains, but the story goes on the rails with a linear perspective.
The 400 Blows
(1959)
The "Liberté, égalité, fraternité, ou la mort" is here the "Negligence, companionship, liveliness, or the collapse"
13 December 2016
What a dreadful disenchantment! What a shame of life! What a pity of parents! Sorry boy, it is not your entire fault: your school mates also want to run away from those 'chaotic' kind of teachers and miserable classroom. You are not the only one willing to do it, although your brightness looks like missing from your head-box and it is probably in your 'bollocks'.
The educated ones once said: "the apple does not fall far from the tree", so Antoine darling, do not expect too much from this life, because it was your mother who drew your path since she gave you birth. What is more, did not you see her kissing that disgusting guy whilst crossing the pedestrian crossing? She does not give you money, she is not even interested in what you are studying at school... What kind of mother is that!? Yes, but do not forget to throw the garbage away...
Ah, right, I understand. Only when you missed things up she comes to you and says "if you do this, I will give you that". Oh, come on! But even so, after all your 'minor effort' in Honoré de Balzac to get better marks, here comes the other nuts scatterbrained tutor and throws away all your effort. Even I would not make any effort to study in that case.
However, remember that you have a treasure, which name is 'René'. Such a lovely friend, always helping and giving the most accurate advice. What a bad luck at the end, though, when he could not visit his friend Antoine, after a long journey with the bicycle.
But, at any rate, Antoine is a good kid. When he has to take away the garbage he does it. When he has to study, he also does it. Even when his tutor tells him off and orders him to clean or do anything, he is listening! Let us not forget that after stealing the typewriter, it was him who decided to go back and leave it from where he took it, and it was not his Chicken-René-friend.
I truly believe that François Truffaut wanted to show us the 'lack of child guidance' combined with the unhappy home life, Antoine's mistakes and his behavior towards the consequences. This movie reminded me of both Billy Elliot and Forrest Gump, given the fact that all characters are running towards desperate destinations, in a crucial time of their lives.
I enjoyed the movie and the French expressions, but I disagree that this movie is better than Ben-Hur (1959) or Strangers on a Train (1951).
The educated ones once said: "the apple does not fall far from the tree", so Antoine darling, do not expect too much from this life, because it was your mother who drew your path since she gave you birth. What is more, did not you see her kissing that disgusting guy whilst crossing the pedestrian crossing? She does not give you money, she is not even interested in what you are studying at school... What kind of mother is that!? Yes, but do not forget to throw the garbage away...
Ah, right, I understand. Only when you missed things up she comes to you and says "if you do this, I will give you that". Oh, come on! But even so, after all your 'minor effort' in Honoré de Balzac to get better marks, here comes the other nuts scatterbrained tutor and throws away all your effort. Even I would not make any effort to study in that case.
However, remember that you have a treasure, which name is 'René'. Such a lovely friend, always helping and giving the most accurate advice. What a bad luck at the end, though, when he could not visit his friend Antoine, after a long journey with the bicycle.
But, at any rate, Antoine is a good kid. When he has to take away the garbage he does it. When he has to study, he also does it. Even when his tutor tells him off and orders him to clean or do anything, he is listening! Let us not forget that after stealing the typewriter, it was him who decided to go back and leave it from where he took it, and it was not his Chicken-René-friend.
I truly believe that François Truffaut wanted to show us the 'lack of child guidance' combined with the unhappy home life, Antoine's mistakes and his behavior towards the consequences. This movie reminded me of both Billy Elliot and Forrest Gump, given the fact that all characters are running towards desperate destinations, in a crucial time of their lives.
I enjoyed the movie and the French expressions, but I disagree that this movie is better than Ben-Hur (1959) or Strangers on a Train (1951).
Bizarre plot with screamingly funny characters
23 November 2016
Is someone rational in this movie? Everyone plans to outwit and outsmart the other one! But how could that be possible when all of them are completely 'bonkers'!? What a stunning facial expressions all the characters have! Gen. 'Buck' Turgidson is just fantastic - it could not have been better in his role. Thanks to the stupidity of Brig. Gen. Jack D. Ripper, the rest of the actors start shuddering in their acting. Where the heck Dr. Strangelove appeared from!? This unbelievable 'nazi-fascist' is the last straw that broke the camel's back in terms of laughing! I thought we had enough ridiculousness with Capt. Lionel Mandrake and President Merkin Muffley but I was wrong! Here all is possible - even inviting the Russian Ambassador Alexi de Sadesky in the American politician round table. Such a brilliant idea by Stanley Kubrick in showing us what the world could have been if the path to nuclear holocaust came into reality with a little bit of giggling. Well-deserved #52 position for this movie that stops worrying about the Russia-America-War, and begins to love that bomb that they all tried to prevent from exploding.
Palabras de Caramelo
(2016)
20 minutes between reality and fiction
23 November 2016
I had the chance to watch this short in a 4K Format with Dolby Atmos / 5.1 / StereoIn. It was marvelous! That is probably the only way one could really go deep into this short-film- aim, which is to 'transform oneself into the main character' for 20 minutes. The friendship between Kori and Caramel is that beautiful that you just put yourself into Kori's feelings and senses - the deaf world. Based on Gonzalo Moure's book, the documentary goes beyond the story and relates the miserable, and at the same time 'joyful', moment that Kori just has in that refugee camp located somewhere in the Sahara. Is it true that he really communicates with the camel Caramel? We do not know, but what we could deduce is that Kori gets inspired and starts writing 'unusually gorgeous' expressions. Are those expressions made by him, or do they come from Caramel? Very intriguing! Maybe for each of us would be different. Each of the observers/spectators has to convert itself into a deaf boy and imagine 'Is it really possible to speak with a camel?'. This short should be nothing but the next 31 Goya Award. Outstanding!
The Kid
(1921)
The Chaplin version of 'The Pursuit of Happiness'
4 November 2016
This movie reminds me of The Pursuit of Happiness (2006). The only difference is the color of the movie, the duration, 95 years and the switch C. Chaplin/W. Smith. A miserable life for Chaplin here until he finds the baby - his new life. Happiness, in most of the cases, arrives easier to poor people because they know how to enjoy life with less. The trouble is that there are lots of mothers who still abandon their vulnerable children nowadays. And this movie is from 1921! It looks like plenty of parents did not watch this movie so that it could arrive to their hearts or feelings, and think twice the option of abandoning a child. But what kind of life does Chaplin has in the movie? Some dreadful clothes, a miserable room and a few pennies to eat some soup or cupcakes during the day? However, a child could always bring prosperity as it happens in The Kid. They seek for each other constantly and that is true love. It is understandable that a young mother could reach to the point to abandon a child, but what it is valuable in the movie is that after realising what she has committed, she gives charities to the penniless society. Since the encounter with the kid, Chaplin makes it easier to nourish, because we all know that life is better when you are positive, and moreover when you take it as a joke.
The Revenant
(I) (2015)
DiCaprio's un-bear-able performance in The Revenant should not win award
10 October 2016
Forty actors and actresses have received two or more Academy Awards. Only six of them have received three or more, with Katharine Hepburn, the recipient of four best actress Oscars, top of the table. Walter Andrew Brennan was the first to receive three or more Academy Awards in 1940. He was followed by Hepburn in 1969, Ingrid Bergman in 1974, Jack Nicholson in 1997, Meryl Streep in 2011, and by Daniel Day-Lewis four years ago. An all-time cinematographic injustice was resolved in 2016, when we could finally listen "and the Oscar goes to
Leonardo DiCaprio" for the first time. It is just a shame that it is not for his best performance in a movie.
The American actor and producer Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio, was once nominated for Best Picture (as a producer) for "The Wolf of Wall Street" and for his acting roles in five occasions. But the Academy Awards gave him the 24-carat-gold little statuette for a Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role because of all his attempts rather than his quality of acting. Can someone kindly explain what kind of acting this role involved? His character barely speaks Pawnee and Arikara languages in the movie, spending the whole 156 minutes crawling, falling over a cliff, yelling, sleeping, pillaging, riding a horse, making fire, being carried around picturesque landscapes and being attacked by a bear. This is not the way to win an Oscar just because one has never won it before. People who support him for this movie's roles should look up into perspective because they are wrong and they do not have the ability for sharp critics. Smart movie connoisseurs would prefer to give the Oscar to the fake bear rather than to the Titanic star who is a complete passenger in this film. It does not matter how tough the production or shooting schedule was. An Oscar should not be given via attrition of recent years, nor because he has been overlooked for past performances. If there were awards given out for going through the most hardship while making a movie, surely DiCaprio would be the winner. Though he sleeps in a dead horse and grows a beard in The Revenant, cinema-goers cannot really believe in Hugh Glass, the main character he tries to portray. Leo was better in Shutter Island, Catch me if you can or Django Unchained for example – they all showed the best of Leo.
DiCaprio(named Leo because his pregnant mother was looking at a Leonardo da Vinci painting in an Italian museum when he first kicked) was handpicked by Robert De Niro from 400 young actors for his breakthrough role in "This Boy's Life" (1993). One year later, at the age of 20, he was first nominated for an Oscar for his first best supporting actor role for "What's eating Gilbert Grape" (1994). He was nominated again for The Aviator (2004), Blood Diamond (2007) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2014), but failed to secure the coveted golden statue. What is more, last year everyone thought that the 41-year-old star was going to win the Oscar when Matthew McConaughey took home the Best Actor award for his appearance in "Dallas Buyers Club".
Although many actors' dreams will come true this year when they get their own Oscar Academy Award, there is a sizeable list of actors and actresses, who have never won an Oscar for best Actor or Actress prize. An analysis by FiveThirtyEight, a website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, looked at the 2016's Oscars Predictions and applied its mathematical models to produce internal predictions, guessing four out of six categories correctly. The website also compiled a list of contemporary actors who have been nominated for more than three times for acting awards and had never won, and rated them in terms of who deserved to win the most for the first time. They found that Matt Damon (nominated this year for "The Martian") is the actor who most deserves to win whereas Leo was twenty-second on the list. But is it the fact of winning an Oscar always the best thing for an actor's career and creativity? Maybe not winning might spur actors on to greater work. For example, Paul Newman won his Oscar at the age of 62 on his eighth go. Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar over a whole career of sparkling masterpieces. Peter O'Toole was nominated eight times and only ever picked up an honorary award
For the time being, DiCaprio has been delivering astonishing performances for over 20 years without having won an Oscar. There is no sign that he plans on stopping soon. If cinema-goers have deduced something from Kate Winslet and Julianne Moore's recent Oscar wins, it is that sometimes it just takes multiple nominations before you get the gold. Nonetheless, Leonardo DiCaprio should not be remembered as Oscar winner because of this movie. It does not represent his real acting potential as a leading man and it will not be as memorable as it was going to be if he was given the Oscar for one of his previous nominations. In fact, the lack of an Oscar could push him to take on more challenging roles and never ever seen projects.
The American actor and producer Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio, was once nominated for Best Picture (as a producer) for "The Wolf of Wall Street" and for his acting roles in five occasions. But the Academy Awards gave him the 24-carat-gold little statuette for a Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role because of all his attempts rather than his quality of acting. Can someone kindly explain what kind of acting this role involved? His character barely speaks Pawnee and Arikara languages in the movie, spending the whole 156 minutes crawling, falling over a cliff, yelling, sleeping, pillaging, riding a horse, making fire, being carried around picturesque landscapes and being attacked by a bear. This is not the way to win an Oscar just because one has never won it before. People who support him for this movie's roles should look up into perspective because they are wrong and they do not have the ability for sharp critics. Smart movie connoisseurs would prefer to give the Oscar to the fake bear rather than to the Titanic star who is a complete passenger in this film. It does not matter how tough the production or shooting schedule was. An Oscar should not be given via attrition of recent years, nor because he has been overlooked for past performances. If there were awards given out for going through the most hardship while making a movie, surely DiCaprio would be the winner. Though he sleeps in a dead horse and grows a beard in The Revenant, cinema-goers cannot really believe in Hugh Glass, the main character he tries to portray. Leo was better in Shutter Island, Catch me if you can or Django Unchained for example – they all showed the best of Leo.
DiCaprio(named Leo because his pregnant mother was looking at a Leonardo da Vinci painting in an Italian museum when he first kicked) was handpicked by Robert De Niro from 400 young actors for his breakthrough role in "This Boy's Life" (1993). One year later, at the age of 20, he was first nominated for an Oscar for his first best supporting actor role for "What's eating Gilbert Grape" (1994). He was nominated again for The Aviator (2004), Blood Diamond (2007) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2014), but failed to secure the coveted golden statue. What is more, last year everyone thought that the 41-year-old star was going to win the Oscar when Matthew McConaughey took home the Best Actor award for his appearance in "Dallas Buyers Club".
Although many actors' dreams will come true this year when they get their own Oscar Academy Award, there is a sizeable list of actors and actresses, who have never won an Oscar for best Actor or Actress prize. An analysis by FiveThirtyEight, a website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, looked at the 2016's Oscars Predictions and applied its mathematical models to produce internal predictions, guessing four out of six categories correctly. The website also compiled a list of contemporary actors who have been nominated for more than three times for acting awards and had never won, and rated them in terms of who deserved to win the most for the first time. They found that Matt Damon (nominated this year for "The Martian") is the actor who most deserves to win whereas Leo was twenty-second on the list. But is it the fact of winning an Oscar always the best thing for an actor's career and creativity? Maybe not winning might spur actors on to greater work. For example, Paul Newman won his Oscar at the age of 62 on his eighth go. Alfred Hitchcock never won an Oscar over a whole career of sparkling masterpieces. Peter O'Toole was nominated eight times and only ever picked up an honorary award
For the time being, DiCaprio has been delivering astonishing performances for over 20 years without having won an Oscar. There is no sign that he plans on stopping soon. If cinema-goers have deduced something from Kate Winslet and Julianne Moore's recent Oscar wins, it is that sometimes it just takes multiple nominations before you get the gold. Nonetheless, Leonardo DiCaprio should not be remembered as Oscar winner because of this movie. It does not represent his real acting potential as a leading man and it will not be as memorable as it was going to be if he was given the Oscar for one of his previous nominations. In fact, the lack of an Oscar could push him to take on more challenging roles and never ever seen projects.
Room
(I) (2015)
No room for 2015's Room
12 September 2016
Sometimes a person's world can be as small as a stifling room. Specifically, when a 17-year-old girl is kidnapped by a man who uses her as his sex slave, having abducted her sever years earlier producing her child. Surprisingly the movie is now 125th ranked IMDb movie of all times,but bewildered movie's director, Lenny Abrahamson, should have realised some troubles in this 118 minutes. Firstly, we all thought the boy was a girl. Is it so difficult to cut his hair a little bit? So, we are expecting Ma to have lied about his gender so that he would not be a rape target. But not – towards the end you realize it is a boy. Why were we so distracted by that for absolutely no reason? Then the director had created 50 intriguing first minutes provoking questions like: 'are they going to die enclosed?' or 'will they somehow try to escape?' whereas in the second half he fabricated a clumsy and infinitely one-dimensional and boring drama. There is just no real connection between the first and the second act. The seven years Ma previously spent in the room might as well have been a written premise at the start of the movie. But with no deeper layers to the film and with no character really fleshed out, the picture feels aimless. Maybe the first part of the movie was that brilliant that the second half does not live up to it. Unfortunately, the Irish filmmaker did not find harmony like he previously did in Frank (2014) and What Richard Did (2012). If the movie had finished just before they have escaped from the garden shed that would have been great. He should have probably said to himself: "As the movie is so-called 'Room', I must focus more on what happens inside the room and go with the flow with all the rest of it". Nice effort 'my friend' but this does not work like this, mainly because this is a potential Oscar winning movie and what you have done is just not even enough to be nominated for the Oscar awards. With such a bloodcurdling topic, a seven year prisoner who has been abducted and her little child discovering for the first time the existence of a brand new world outside a room where he was born, the story struggles to hold our interest as the outside world intervenes. The issue as cinema-goers is that we have simply expected to find the cherry on the pie – to see something unexpected and pleasurable, and what Abrahamson does to all cinemaddicts is living them starving because nothing interesting happens at all. Put simply, we know how this part of the story goes – they both are stressed, later they come down and eventually adapt to the house rules. That is really sad and the worst thing is that with a sort of plot like this, the movie has got a score of 8.3 out of 10 on IMDb! How come this movie is better than The Truman show (1998), A beautiful mind (2001) or Gran Torino (2008)? You should open your eyes and ears people and do not rate movies so generously next time. This is definitely one of those movies that the IMDb rating makes you imagine some sort of Life is Beautiful unfolding in a room. In here all is about an annoying kid and his annoyed mom stuck in a room. They both manage to escape the room and guess what? They continue to be annoying and annoyed. The characters are so completely one dimensional that the movie fails to both entertain or be insightful. You end up feeling stuck with the characters in this two hour long ordeal. Like someone dragging a fingernail on a chalkboard.
Anomalisa
(2015)
Unusual animation
15 February 2016
Michael Stone is a fantastic character. Shut within a hotel, he opts for atypical behavior. In a certain way he does not want to be alone and starts looking for someone to make him "smile" and not feel lonely after an exhausting journey. Everything happens in a slow pace inside a place we all have had the chance to witness - a hotel. Despite his monotonous and sad personal life, he recalls why he arrived to this status. Firstly, he finds features in a girl that astonish him till the point to escape from reality. But eventually, he starts finding imperfections which points out he cannot be recovered from what he has become. There is something that is constantly affecting him negatively. Secondly, this story is about him and the rest of the world. In that amount, there is only one person that really grabs his attention - Lisa. Because all the others are equal, even with the same voice, he finds her as an anomaly and tries to figure out what does she has as an identity. Subsequently, he realizes all this delusion he created for himself. Thus, the impossibility to win the fight with his emotions has failed again. You can be famous, rich and have a marvelous family, but happiness starts from the inner. His sorrowful face almost all the movie is an inference that denotes imperfection. Perhaps Lisa's mellifluous voice can change that for a while but what is the point of it if he has to come back afterward to the real life which makes him sad? Is it a good idea to do so or it will be better not to regret like Bella's story? The best deduction from the movie is the fact that because he is not perfect inside himself, he is kind of attracted to woman's physical imperfection that might be perfect in the inside. A movie that reminds me of Wallace and Gromit in a combination with The Science of Sleep.
Joy
(I) (2015)
Women also can be tremendous fighter
17 January 2016
Tenacity is within Jennifer Lawrence's character undoubtedly. When life does not bring you happiness, all your family is kind of inept and you truly believe you are not one of them, there is Joy, our brilliant fighter. With a huge weight on her back, divorced, with a daughter and just made redundant from work, she needs to do something because she is not a conformist. In pursuance of joyfulness, good luck and bad luck are with her. But she never gives up. Despite never seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, she moves on and on until climbing up the whole pyramid. A pyramid hard to climb but worthy ascending it. There is no lift to success and because of that Joy had to take the stairs. Along her journey, she interacts with the unfair and corrupt society learning the essential keys that will allocate her in a peaceful serenity. Being constantly at the cliff's edge and with nothing to lose, our brave lady makes her "all in" once acquired the necessary knowledge of it. Well-deserved end for our "mop-inventor" who can now seat on the master chair, knowing all the hard-won way it took her to have a untroubled sit on it.
The Danish Girl
(2015)
Lack of argument and obscure support from Gerda
17 January 2016
From the main start, gradually, Einar Wegener feels "uncomfortable" in his own body. It is obvious we all have to find what makes us joyful determining the paths to our "happy end" (if you are lucky enough). But what happens here is completely ambiguous. What an "unusual" decision from the main character and even more shocking from his partner, Gerda Wegener! One pursuing the painting-fame whereas the other, while helping for those futuristic treasures, discovers the real "who I am and who I want to be" according to its inner harmony. In a case scenario like this, Alicia Vikander acts courageously in useful way that helps her partner. Interestingly enough, she allowed him to become what he transforms later on in the movie and it was her who added more weight to his skeptical decision. Decision which changed her life completely and made her realize how things changed up. She had to impose her disagreement into her husband. After six years of marriage, we did not see any fight nor huge argument. How can you permit something that you foresee and know it will demolish your life? For the happiness to your beloved? She should has been more egoist and push her partner against it. This couples did not fight by that time? How come? Only mellifluous voices and sudden vanishings. Do not you realize your life is going to change in a disastrous way? Well, do something about it, do not let it go nor support it! Overall, it is an extraordinary story similar to The theory of everything or Still Alice. Well done by Tom Hooper but regarding the Oscars it will be hard against the beast of The Revenant.
Los hijos de Mama Wata
(2010)
Excellent work!
18 February 2013
The documentary arrives to your hearth immediately. There is a lot of people around the world who do not know what is to live in a place as Sierra Leone. American people or specially European people are available to a lot of resources. We can not say the same for people of Sierra Leone regrettably. What we can see in this documentary is the way of survive in a little country of Africa thanks to the sea (that is the reason why the tittle is named "The children of Mama Wata", where Mama Wata has the role of The mother of the water, because of the fishes she delivers to them. On the other hand I must say that people of Sierra Leone are very strong talking specially about the issue of "no surrender" and keep fighting and waiting for a miracle. How would you feel if you were there? Think it just for a moment and you and you'll want to get away from that image that comes to you mind.
Congratulations Juan and Silvia!
I love you, do not forget that!
Congratulations Juan and Silvia!
I love you, do not forget that!
Tell Your Friends