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Words on Bathroom Walls (2020)
Words on Bathroom Walls
I've already seen a few movies that deal with mental illness. However, I haven't seen schizophrenia portrayed very often.
"Words on Bathroom Walls" tells the tragic story of Adam (Charlie Plummer), who suffers from severe schizophrenia. Perceptual disturbances, voices and visions are depicted in various forms and determine his everyday life.
After problems at school, he has to transfer to a private Catholic school where he is supposed to complete his final year.
Taylor Russell, plays Maya, a self-confident young woman who appears in his life as his tutor.
The drama, which has horror and thriller elements, dares to show the depths of the illness and surprises in the final third with a suspense that is usually only seen in psychological thrillers. The visions that Adam regularly has to see and feel are sometimes hilarious. The recurring cuts in which Adam talks about his illness, on the other hand, are rather serious and also appeal to the audience.
The performances by Charlie Plummer, Taylor Russell and also Andy Garcia, who plays a priest, are solid and believable. The relationship between Adam and Maya is rather filled with cliches, but can convince with some really lovely moments.
Adam's character is given a nice depth by his mother and her boyfriend, which unfortunately can't be said for Maya, whose story is only briefly shown.
Words on Bathroom Walls is a typical Hollywood drama romance, but with a few surprises and good performances it is above average.
6.5/10.
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
More brutal!
The second part of the John Wick series picks up just a few days after the first part, in which John Wick took revenge for his wife and his dog.
This time, however, it's not about revenge, but about redeeming a debt he still owes to mobster Santino D'Antonio (played by Riccardo Scamarcio).
Keanu Reeves is supposed to kill his sister because he envies her seat in the high chamber.
After a few unexpected twists and turns, John Wick has to take on many contract killers again and the bloody battle against all of them begins once more.
John Wick: Chapter 2 goes one better than its predecessor in terms of creativity and the depiction of violence.
The action scenes are once again impressively well choreographed, which is of course due to the immense preparation of Keanu Reeves and Common, for example.
The duel between the two particularly impressed me and left a positive impression.
The sequel is around 20 minutes longer, which is particularly noticeable in the second third, where the movie loses a bit of its intensity.
The writing can also be overlooked, as the subdued atmosphere and the fictional, stylistically interesting world of the Continental Hotel exude an aura that is second to none.
Michael Nyqvist's performance in the predecessor made him a solid villain.
This can only be repeated to a limited extent by Riccardo Scamarcio and Common in the sequel.
Ruby Rose, who appears as the female counterpart, is also largely only convincing in choreography.
The 2017 action film can be celebrated as a successful sequel, in which intense, sometimes truly brutal moments crown the film.
7.5/10.
The Nest (2020)
Great Acting and charakters!
Director Sean Durkin's "The Iron Claw", which was released in 2023, is currently being showered with positive reviews.
That's why I was very excited about the movie "The Nest", which is about the O'hara family who move to London despite a good life in New York.
The main reason for the move is the very ambitious commodities broker Rory O'hara, played by Jude Law, who wants to return to his home country to further his career.
"The Nest" is initially a quiet drama with strong performances from Jude Law and Carrie Coon. As in "Martha Marcy May Marlene", Sean Durkin demonstrates the art of giving a drama a certain mysterious tension without turning it into a horror/thriller movie. And it works wonderfully! The O'haras have two children played by Oona Roche and Charlie Shotwell who thankfully aren't annoying which you might expect given their ages.
The movie switches back and forth frequently between Rory's day job and Carrie Coon's character Allison and manages to stay interesting throughout, even if the pacing isn't really fast.
Overall, the movie is a drama that is well worth watching due to authentic characters and a well-rounded ending.
Still, the movie lacks a bit of "drama" to keep the interest at the highest level.
Infidel (2019)
Jim Caviezel preaches in Kairo
First movie with controversial personality Jim Caviezel that I have seen.
I was actually put off by the average rating and the 08/15 story description, but before I go to see Sound of Freedom, I wanted to see where else Mr. Caviezel is involved.
I was also interested to see how many religion cliches were in the movie and I wasn't going to be disappointed.
Right at the beginning I am bombarded with the word "infidel" and I thought I was being seduced by a cult.
However, the sometimes really bad dialog can sometimes be dismissed as okay thanks to actors like Hal Ozsan or Jim Caviezel.
Fortunately, the pacing doesn't make the movie feel like an eternity, but tries to drive the story forward with a fast-paced narrative.
Still, the movie is nothing more than a sub-par experience which, due to poorly staged "action scenes" and (un)dramatic, emotional scenes, feels like a bad college movie that was required in a Christian school.
4.5/10 pt.
Moon Knight: The Tomb (2022)
What is going on? I love it!
I love how the most new shows from marvel have a weird but great midpoint. I'm thrilled about the last episodes.
Only thing to criticize is the CGI though.