bopperbopper Reviews

At Eternity's Gate (2018)

Visually Stunning, but the Dialog?

[6/10 · 7 November 2018]

The visuals were stunning...this movie gives a glimpse of Van Gogh from his point of view, which the other many movies on Van Gogh have not done. Read any critic's review and they will describe it.

However, I have some issues: 1) The hand held camera is used to show his troubled mind...but it was so shaky at points I had to close my eyes

2) Dafoe's dialogue is in Contemporary American English. The producer said that it was conceivable that Van Gogh spoke English. But the movie did not give Van Gogh a dutch accent nor did he speak in 1880's English.

3) The dialog seemed like it was from a text book...actually more like a sophomore college essay about Van Gogh. The dialog was based on letters by Van Gogh...but it was distracting because it did not sound of the period or the time.

4) this movie dragged onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Meet Me in Montenegro (2014)

Stunning Visuals, Tepid Dialog

[5/10 · 6 May 2015]

I felt this movie had stunning visuals which is not surprising because the visuals were shot first, and then a movie, loosely based on the main characters' real life, was written later. The dialog was mediocre and clichéd, e.g., when the main character, Anderson, is jumping off a cliff he exclaims that he have never felt so alive. Another example is when Anderson's friend or agent asks him "if he got laid". The editing was instrumental in defining the mood of a scene, for example, when they were in a club the quick cuts showed the energy of the scene.The plot was somewhat predictable for the main couple but I was not sure what would happen with the secondary characters of Steve and Friederike. Alex Holdridge's acting leaves something to be desired...but he was the writer/director/editor and felt it easiest to tell his story himself.