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Reviews
The King (2019)
One of the best medieval films I've seen
This was a very well done and atmospheric medieval film that kept me interested throughout. I won't write an entire review, just one small note...
I couldn't help but feel that Pattinson and Chalamet should have had their roles switched. It seems Pattinson would have fit the role of the King much better, especially when it comes to the action scenes, for which he is much more physically suited. I found Chalamet as the "heroic knight" figure quite unbelievable simply because of his tiny frame and somewhat sickly look. Chalamet would have also made an excellent Dauphine with a slightly less exaggerated character.
John Wick (2014)
A Stylish Revenge Flic
A revenge film that has absolutely no qualms being linear and predictable. In the vein of Crank. 100 minutes of Keanu killing Russian mafia.
But what makes it special is the beautiful and dynamic color palette. If you can, please enjoy this movie in 4k UHD with HDR and fully immerse yourself in Stahelski's and Leitch's vision which takes us on a prismatic journey from blues, to greens, to reds and yellows and everything in between.
Dune (2021)
*HOT TAKE* A Visual Bore
Almost all the reviews I've read rave about the "visual brilliance" or "stunning cinematography," while (occasionally) complaining about the slow pace of the plot or anticlimactic ending. My qualm, however, is the exact opposite.
I have no problems with the plot, pacing, etc. Whatsoever. The story is complex and the movie needs to set up and explain a lot of components of Herbert's universe to make it understandable to viewers who haven't read the book.
What I found to be unbearable was the visual dullness of Villeneuve's vision. Yes, there are some nice shots of sand and desert, but other than that we see a visual language that was completely contained to two colors: Orange (sand) and Gray (uniforms + ships). Even on Caladan, a supposedly lush world, grey dominates with only a few specks of green.
I was hoping for a unique vision of Herbert's universe that would play on the variety of planets that the main factions arise from: Atreides - Caladan (Oceanic), Fremen - Arrakis (Desert), Harkonnen - Giedi Prime (Industrial), Sardaukar - Salusa Secundus (Prison). Yet despite all these different backgrounds and cultures, we get one color: Gray. Harkonnens are dark gray, Sardukar are light gray, Atreides are just gray gray, and Fremen are sandy gray.
This monochrome palette, accompanied by uninspired costume and ship design (grey boxes), leads to a thoroughly uninteresting visual experience. I understand that Villeneuve is a very serious director and was trying to make a very "serious" adaptation of Dune, but serious doesn't necessarily have to be boring.
Perhaps I was spoiled by Lynch's Dune, which while bizarre and deviated from the plot heavily, at least is more visually interesting. Not to mention the concept art for Jodorowsky's Dune.
The Good Liar (2019)
Uninteresting surprises
This film is full of surprises, but they all fall flat. Several times throughout the film we learn new twists in the characters lives, but there is never any moment when the audience can look back and say "oh now I understand that moment earlier in the film!" It's the opposite, all the new information comes out of nowhere and is unrelated to the previous information we've learned in the film. The ending follows in the same vein and left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Overall the film had a good setup and could have been successful with some more clever screenwriting and foreshadowing.
El hoyo (2019)
Beating a very, very dead horse
They force the "capitalism bad" message down your throat so often throughout this movie that you'll be wishing you were on level 333 to detox for a month. We get it after the first 5 minutes: people are greedy and self-serving. But the details don't make any sense and seem to work against the main moral of the story. Why are they constantly randomly changing levels every month? How does that work into the allegory? What are the motivations of the Administration? How would anybody be expected to be selfless in that situation if they don't even know how many people are below them that need to be fed? Why are some people there as a punishment and others by choice? Why is there meaningless symbolism all over the place (e.g. the bottom level being 333)? Where did the kid come from? None of it makes any sense whatsoever. And to make matters worse, there are plot holes galore...
The film wraps a sack of s*** in a fashionable social message and tries to sell it by making its viewers feel superficially enlightened. Even the dullest, most politically ignorant philistine couldn't miss the MESSAGE--a word which is repeated AD NAUSEAUM in the final scenes.
American Dharma (2018)
Interesting interview spoiled by drama queens
Morris asks some probing questions into Bannon, whose ideology often glosses over the more practical repercussions of Trump's presidency. Unfortunately, I both Morris and Bannon overly dramatize the entire interview and make it into a Shakespearen dialogue more than an informative lesson for the viewer. Furthermore, the over-the-top imagery Morris uses add to the feeling that it's all a little too much and these guys take themselves way too seriously.
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
Somewhere between amazing and terrible.
It's hard to get my thoughts together about this film; It's interesting in the way that it plays with the idea of what a film and plot can be. Many people are writing that it's just a senseless collection of vaguely related scenes and characters.... But that is undoubtedly the point. Only a expercenied and well loved director would be allowed to make a movie like this and I'm glad such experiements do occasionally get to see the light of day.
But can a film still be entertaining and relatable without a coherent plot? Once Upon a Time manages to do this to some extent but I'd be lying if I said I was glued to the screen the whole way through. I'm giving the film 7 stars, mostly for it's refreshing unorthodoxy (even for an already unorthodox director). I see very few mixed reviews; almost all are either either extremely positive or negative. It seems that the people who are giving it overwhelmingly positive reviews are being a bit disingenuous and overlooking the film's extremely slow pacing and non-existent plot, while those that are trashing it are missing the point entirely.
Anyways, just my two cents... Definitely a movie that makes you want to write a review!
The New Pope (2020)
Don't watch this if you enjoyed the Young Pope
A dumpster fire. Garbage. Pointlessly eroticized without adding any depth. Lost all of the subtlety and authenticity of the first season to appeal to a larger and more idiotic audience.
If you enjoyed the Young Pope, do yourself a favor and don't watch this.