“In the Mood for Love” is a subtle and delicate portrait of platonic love in mid-’60s Hong Kong. It’s a little restrained and repetitive if compared to Wong Kar-Wai’s other films, but from an aesthetic point of view, it’s definitely one of his most refined and mature works. The lack of action is purposely stressed out, as the characters are being constantly held back by their insecurities and chronic loneliness. The same camera angles, the same actions, the same music are obsessively repeated to mark the passing of time, with the images speaking more than the words. Su and Chow are often shown through windows, curtains, or other common items, as if the viewers were one of the couple’s invasive neighbors who are spying on their clandestine relationship.
“Christine” is an extremely lukewarm horror flick, but at the same time a well-paced, fairly entertaining teen adventure. Definitely not an easy concept to pull off without looking totally ridiculous. The fun is all condensed in the middle, with the gas station scenes being the absolute climax. Unfortunately, things get slightly duller afterward.
Carpenter condemns materialism again, and makes the clear statement that you have to become an asshole if you want to be popular at school.
Pretty much a carbon copy of the first six episodes of the anime series, good and bad points included. I like the warm tone of the original, but the visual upgrades here are evident. It can definitely be a good starting point for new (younger) viewers, but I still think you should bother spending 20 extra minutes and check out the series first.
While "1.0 You Are (Not) Alone" was essentially a frame by frame remake, “2.0” tries to shake things up a little. It retells the same story with a few twists, but also tries to add new characters, new events and give a grander sense of scale. Most of the extra fat has been trimmed, and some unconvincing situations have been corrected (above all, the somewhat ridiculous coincidence that saw Toji suddenly becoming a pilot). The voyeuristic boobie panty tease shots are still there, unfortunately.
The portrayal of the characters’ emotional state and inner conflicts might not be as subtle as it used to be, but they still managed to deal with the most important issues within a reasonable running time.
Above all, I appreciated how the film has its own self-contained plot line and is (almost) perfectly enjoyable as a standalone piece. Unfortunately, the other “Rebuild” entries felt more like overlong anime episodes rather than actual films.
It's great that they finally tried to do something a little different, but here we are missing everything that made the franchise special or the first two films remotely good. We are at a point in the story where the focus should be finally moved to the characters, but most of them have been suddenly cut out or turned into something completely different. The personalities of the ones who are still around have been strangely flattened, with important issues often being resolved in a short conversation if not a casual shogi game (??). On the other hand, things that should be kept simple are made overcomplicated with no apparent purpose. I dare anyone who is not familiar with the series to understand the point of this film.
Shinji's struggle mostly came from the inside, but this time they decided to let the world end earlier so that he could have something extra to whine about for a couple of hours. I was initially pleased to find out that the film would be focused on the relationship between him and Kaworu, as the original series only spends 15 minutes on it. Still, it felt like they could develop that aspect a little more as well. Maybe they spent too much time working on the (boring) CGI action sequences to make people happy.
I am confident that "3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time" will be better, but as this is no TV show, each individual film should be satisfying with its own definite narrative arc.
"I Vitelloni" is a humorous but critical portrait of a generation of Italians, as well as a poignant love letter to Fellini's hometown Rimini and provincial Italy in general. The bittersweet sense of melancholy that permeates the film comes from the fact that the five "young" men are way past the age of dreaming, but still keep dodging any kind of responsibility and clinging to the same purposeless lifestyle. In the end, Moraldo is the only one to finally realize that underneath their clown masks, they are nothing but losers in an old town.
I wouldn't call it a neorealist film, but Fellini's style here is still quite distant from the baroque extravaganza of the 60's.
Honestly, I don't buy the "life is a feast" philosophy behind "8 1/2", but the flamboyant way it is visually translated into cinema is so unique that I can't but simply love this film and get lost in Guido's mind each time. The world is shown from the artist's eye, with no cues to help us distinguish daydream from reality. It might seem complicated at first, but making order out of chaos becomes relatively easy once you memorized all characters from each domain.
Eventually, the film is about nothing: all we get is the self-portrait of a man who is reflecting upon his role as an artist: his responsibilities towards his financiers, the pressure of his audience's expectations, the growing gap between the person he wants to be perceived as and the person he actually is (the king of Vitelloni), the way childhood, religion, and private troubles continuously influence his artistic vision. Narcissistic as hell, but definitely convincing.
Obviously, I loved the last scene like everyone else, but I still think that Fellini's original idea could have been even better.
“Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time” definitely went above my (low) expectations, but still left a bitter taste in my mouth. Overall, the film is extremely cinematic, well-balanced, full of thoughtful, little details, self-referential notes as well as tons of fan service. Each character gets their own spotlight, and for once, they even attempted at closing all story arcs on a positive note. If Hideaki Anno was still fighting his way out of depression when working on the original series, he is now a happier man who found healing through the love of his wife (referenced multiple times in the film). Honestly, I still prefer the pessimism of the original, but it would make no sense to have history repeat itself again. After all, the film itself acknowledges that it’s not the same characters, not the same director, not the same audience anymore, and that it’s now time to go back to reality.
The ending felt satisfying indeed, but looking back, I can’t help noticing how needlessly and helplessly convoluted the story to that point was. Robots kick each other asses, catastrophes continue one after another, untold background stories of certain characters suddenly arise, but the mechanisms behind are poorly explained, to the point that the original felt straightforward and crystal-clear in comparison. I like hermetic storytelling and elaborated plots, but the answers are supposed to be in the film instead of being supposedly omitted for the sake of fan theories and speculations.
At first, “Dogman” tricks you into thinking it is just the usual parable of the oppressor and the oppressed, but as the story progresses, it reveals itself as an equally brutal, ambiguous and fascinating reflection on human instincts and drives. In the end, is it the story of a man who failed to tame the beast? Or is it the story of a beast who kept being loyal to the wrong man until he was inevitably forced to respond to his instincts and finally bite back?
The obvious reflections on masculinity and consumerism are trite as hell, but visually it’s at least a decade ahead of its time. The film starts off with the apparently irrelevant story of a boring man suffering from insomnia, but Fincher constantly makes sure he is keeping his audience constantly stimulated and entertained through inventive camerawork, dynamic editing and sophisticated visual effects.
However, I had preferred if things were taken more symbolically. Norton’s fights and conversations with Pitt could have been metaphors of the struggle inside his mind, but the film bothers to show that everything physically happened in front of everyone. Supposedly, the first members of the Fight Club were attracted by Norton kicking his own ass at the parking lot…
The first half is pretty much flawless for its time. It's been 80 years since the end of the Great Depression, but Chaplin's satire is still biting and relevant. However, things start to get a little monotonous after the protagonist gets out of jail. In particular, the rushed ending didn't have the emotional payoff I had hoped for.
There is no doubt that Wes Anderson’s stop motion adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox” is more than on point visually. Yet, the artsy and sophisticated production design doesn’t make up for the inconsistency in tone. The offbeat comedy and clever dialogues could be a little too much for a child to handle, yet the themes introduced and reflections made are not stimulating enough for an adult audience. It might not be a life-changing experience, but it surely guarantees 87 minutes of light-hearted divertissement.
"1917" is no doubt an outstanding technical achievement, to the point I spent the whole film admiring the camerawork and riveting photography instead of empathizing with the characters (Deakins, you did it again!!). The film really succeeds at giving the illusion of being shot in a single take, with lengthy yet incredibly fluid and suggestive tracking shots that let you discover the world at the same pace as the main characters. It's an immersive experience but ultimately felt more like a horror-tinged virtual tour of the battlefield rather than an example of emotionally resonant storytelling. There are a few engaging moments along the way indeed, but it always seems like the director's ultimate objective is to impress and keep making you think: "how the hell did they shot that!". Gimmicks can make a difference in certain films, but at some point, you are supposed to forget about them so that you can get lost in the film's world.
Still, I do appreciate that the film tries to point out the absurdity and monstrosity of war without being preachy and maudlin. The beginning can be a little misleading, but eventually, there is no hero to glorify nor big speech to make. You just follow an ordinary soldier in his journey and let the images speak themselves.
“Perfect Blue” is a unique psychological thriller that explores multiple personalities and the dark side of the internet in its early days. The sharp critique of the Japanese show-business and “idol” culture is obvious and sadly still relevant today.
The low-budget animation and peppy start can be misleading, but Satoshi Kon’s sophisticated direction succeeds at slowly building up suspense and tension to the point that we completely lose our sense of reality towards the end. The film clearly inspired Darren Aronofsky’s “Black Swan”, and possibly David Lynch’s “Inland Empire” in the way multiple realities meld through cinema.
Unfortunately, despite the fascinating premise and engaging development, the final plot twist and ending failed to meet my expectations. I guess that Kon was trying to avoid the usual cliche of psychological thrillers, but it felt like a random choice to make.
"2046" might suffer from its episodic structure and incoherent development, but aesthetically, it's by far Wong Kar-Wai's finest achievement. It shares the same sense of longing of "In The Mood for Love", but at the same time, serves in many ways as its polar opposite. Instead of focusing on two characters and the obsessive repetition of the same actions, images, and sounds, this time we explore the personality of four different women through a relatively wider sonic and visual palette. The beauty of platonic love is replaced by a compulsive need for sex and human contact, as if Chow Mo-wan is trying to repress the moral restraint that set him and Su Li-zhen apart. He became some kind of playboy, but still keeps missing all the important trains in his life. He then pours his desires and frustrations into an erotic sci-fi series called "2046", where all the women he met are depicted as "androids".
The film bothers to visually show us the world of Chow's stories, with simple yet highly evocative vintage sci-fi sets and beautiful costumes. After the premise, you would expect the two realities to reflect each others. However, they seemed to belong to two completely different films. I wonder if Wong Kar-Wai had shot those sci-fi scenes for some other purpose and tried to forcefully fit them into an "In The Mood for Love" sequel. Other than sharing the same actors, there is close no relation to events in Chow's life.
"The House that Jack Built" has been marketed as a horror movie or a thriller, but I found it way more enjoyable as a pitch-black comedy and character study. Overall, the style and structure are essentially the same as "Nymphomaniac", just with an OCD psychopath taking the lead this time. Each story is a mere excuse for Jack to digress in self-indulgent philosophical contemplations on life, death, and art, drawing obvious comparisons with Lars von Trier's career as a controversial and provocative artist. Again, archival footage and visual cues are imposed over the dialogues, reminding me of old-school "Metal Gear Solid" FMVs.
Still the unsurpassed king of splatstick comedies. Not a single drop of that fake blood has gone wasted! The proof that with passion and creativity you can achieve anything.
A grotesque and visceral period drama about two ambitious, scheming women pulling the strings behind the throne. The atmosphere is just too captivating to resist. It stays away from the glamour of Hollywood's costume dramas but still manages to be visually gorgeous and fashionably extravagant, even while dragging its characters into the mud. Wide-angle lenses often move across massive rooms and hallways to deform spaces and create a surreal, almost claustrophobic mood. The power play between the two leads is spiced up by witty dialogues and a general sense of quirkiness. Although the film stays engaging throughout, the ending might feel a little lackluster.
I doubt it will be remembered as one of Pixar's masterpieces, but it's a technically flawless and emotionally pleasant film nonetheless.
Despite the humor being a little childish at times, the film is clearly speaking to grown-ups with a simple yet important message. Some plot resolutions seemed a little bit of stretch, but I am sure it's a good compromise. The "Great Beyond" concept was interesting, even if visually a little too reminiscent of "Inside Out". The "real world" scenes and, in particular, the jazz club bits are spot on, though.
"Bad Taste" definitely has its iconic moments, but as a whole, it's honestly pretty dull. It would have probably worked better as a short. I particularly liked the ending and generally all scenes with "Harry Potter" (played by Peter Jackson himself).
Fucked-up puppet show that digs into the underbelly of the showbiz: drug abuses, sex scandals, violence, STD's, various body fluids squirting everywhere... The film is packed with episodes and characters, has a cathartic finale, but plot-wise felt a little disconnected. However, it has that charming "obscure TV show from the 80s" atmosphere which lets you oversee the imperfections.
“Outrage” marks Takeshi Kitano’s return to yakuza films after a bunch of failed experiments in new genres. Unfortunately, the result is pretty mediocre. It has a slightly tighter pace and a slicker visual style than his old classics, but unfortunately misses all the introspective and poetic moments that made Kitano's gangster flicks recognizable. Japanese viewers might find themselves more involved emotionally as they are familiar with the stellar cast, but the script says nothing about any of the characters. Pretty much as if Kitano was a child playing war with an expensive Bucket o' Soldiers. Fairly entertaining but nothing more.
Terrible show, even by Marvel’s standards. The plot takes forever to get going, and when it finally does, the payoff is nonexistent. The end of episode four slightly raised my expectations, but it all eventually ended in subpar action scenes and absurd plot points to throw in random appearances of other characters to boost Disney+ subscriptions. It could have deserved a less tragic score if it wasn't for the empty political messages continuously being shoved in the audience's faces in the most ridiculous ways.
Despite the abused source material, "Hannibal" manages to create its own peculiar atmosphere and surprise its audience with a whole new approach to the same old story. The first season works as some kind of prequel entirely focused on Hannibal and Will Graham's ambiguous relationship, while the other two seasons freely rearrange events from Thomas Harris' books to fit Bryan Fuller's vision. Even the characters directly taken from the novels tend to be gender-bent, have completely different personalities or new roles in the story. Compared with Anthony Hopkins' somewhat campy portrayal of Hannibal Lecter, Mads Mikkelsen's performance feels much more sober, elegant, and charming in its own way.
I liked how the show attempts to take us inside the killers' minds and capture the twisted beauty of their "designs". It requires suspension of disbelief on many occasions but ultimately pays off with sophisticated visuals, a consistently intense atmosphere, and hours of wicked mind games. Hannibal Lecter's character is obviously what makes the show so engaging to watch, but his superior intellect tends to be emphasized a little too much at times. In particular, things start to get a little repetitive from the second half of the second season. It was interesting to see Will Graham fight his way out of prison and at the same time work new series of murders from behind bars, but once he gets out and starts his new "therapy", the same old cat and mouse game begins again. Still, the level stays pretty high and gets even higher for the sumptuous season finale.
The third and last season is overall satisfying, even though a bit too disjointed in pacing. It starts with a series of classy yet tediously slow and pretentious episodes set in Florence and inspired by the "Hannibal" novel and film. Then, Mason Verger's campy revenge story kicks in to serve as a memorable climax for the whole series. The second half revisits the "Red Dragon" story arc but felt a little dull in comparison. Still, it's heartbreaking to see this show end so abruptly. At least we got the long-debated homoerotic subtext officially celebrated in the season finale.
On a side note, I can't believe that so many characters kept coming back from the dead, though. I understand that they were trying to keep the main cast alive for a long as possible, but every time someone gets stabbed or supposedly killed, you already know that most likely they are going to make it as usual.
This season was overall satisfying, even though a bit too disjointed in pacing. The Italian episodes are as classy as they are tediously slow, and while the whole Red Dragon story arc had its highs and lows, Mason Verger’s campy revenge story served as a reasonably memorable climax for the entire show. It’s sad to see this show end so abruptly, but at least we got the long-debated homoerotic subtext officially celebrated in the season finale. I can’t believe that so many characters still keep coming back from the dead, though. I understand that they are trying to keep the main cast alive for a long as possible, but every time someone gets stabbed or supposedly killed, you already know that most likely they are going to make it as usual.
This season was better-paced and slightly more eventful, but at the same time, it gave me the impression that the main plot did not progress much. Both the Supes and the Boys are starting to show their contradictions, and a reasonable time has been devoted to exploring their characters and backstories. I enjoyed the new cast (Stormfront in particular), but I am still waiting for that one character who will make me fall in love. Surprisingly enough, Homelander is still the most interesting of the bunch. It's just frustrating that the plot keeps going around in circles and resetting the status quo each time. The gore was fun at the beginning, but it's starting to get redundant.
The first season was nothing mind-blowing but at least had some potential. This time, there is really nothing worth watching: just childish anime chit-chat and cheap fanservice. Despite literally nothing happening for eight whole episodes, the ending is rushed and solved way too conveniently. The lack of effort is evident when you get entire story arcs summed up in slideshows and weird recap episodes in the middle of the season. Maybe they canceled the show or got budget cuts, even though that seems highly unlikely considering how popular it is in Japan.
A little mediocre and predictable but still a fun show to watch. It definitely came out at the right time if we consider the popularity of both superhero franchises and dark/gruesome TV shows. The premise of corrupt superheroes manipulated by an evil corporation as if they were a K-Pop group is more than intriguing, even though it could have used more nuance in its development. Starlight is too pure and innocent, while the Vought heroes are just walking (or flying) piles of shit with no ambiguity or relatable traits whatsoever, almost like a cartoon villain. There is hardly anyone in between at this point.
Season two definitely requires more patience and suspension of disbelief, but at the same time pays off with even more sophisticated visuals, a consistently intense atmosphere, and hours of wicked mind games. The first half had nothing significant going on but felt more eventful: Will Graham has to fight his way out of prison and at the same time work on a new series of murders. The last few episodes are mostly focused on Will’s new “therapy” and the introduction of Mason and Margot Verger. Dr. Lecter is always a charming character to watch, but at the same time, I got the feeling things were starting to get a little repetitive. Then the sumptuous finale kicks in and leaves you hanging for more.
Even though I found it a bit toothless and slow-paced at times, "The Promised Neverland" seems to be a quite promising series (no pun intended). After an uncertain beginning, the show unexpectedly morphs into some kind of psychological thriller with fantasy/horror elements. The main characters fall into the usual anime stereotypes, but their chess game with "Mom" definitely offered some interesting moments. The writers seem to like throwing in continuous plot twists and cliffhangers: some work, some don't, some are mere ass pulls. There is still some work to do, but it's clear that they are aiming at making something complex and original (for Japanese animation standards).
