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Eternal Beauty (2019)
Mis-Genred
I almost shut this down more than once. The beginning and most of the rest of the film were very disjointed, making it harder to "get into" the story. It was depressing and manic and for a moment, looked like it would turn into a horror film.
This is a very, very sad tale of mental illness and I found no comedy in it. Drama, yes but no comedy. A family of broken people and even the sister who had it together with husband and son, deluded herself that all was well, until one day she caught her husband red-handed with his tartlet.
Very painful to watch the main protagonist having flashbacks that simply showed that she never had peace of mind. When she finds a mate who accepts her and shares her state of mind, he cheats on her with her sister, the beautiful one, who envies Plain Jane's mental illness, to get money from the government.
The mother is positively brutal in every sense, to the very end. Sad, so sad, really.
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
Cinematic Gold
This film, from start to finish, was riveting. The subject matter was gripping and the script on point. The actors were top level and the directing inspired.
This true story, depicted in 2D, could not leave any viewer emotionless. It gets you, from start to finish.
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Self Serving
The title and movie poster featuring Rami Malek are deceiving. The movie is more about the other musicians who obviously have some ax to grind. I felt it should have portrayed much more about Freddie Mercury's life and though it grazed on certain aspects, it failed to deliver what it implied, just to draw a huge audience.
Rami Malek's portrayal of legendary Freddie Mercury is undeniable and he truly chameleonized himself into that role, channeling the late, great, creative genius. However, that being said, much more could have come to light if the surviving members of Queen didn't pivot the story to show that they felt cheated.
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
Retro Magic
Quentin Tarantino shines here where many others would fail. He captured the very flavor of 1960's Hollywood, down to the opening Columbia Pictures' projection opening of that time. He also channeled the slower pace of that period.
Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and other screen icons make for a flawless portrayal of aging talents, compromising on work they would ordinarily turn down, just to stay in the game.
The memorial of Sharon Tate was tasteful, keeping her character as a minor, supporting role and Margot Robbie hit that ball out of the park with her haunting portrayal. Julia Butters was a precocious as ever Trudi Fraser and a refreshing character among the older actors.
Tarantino's thirst for blood seemed to be under control, until the last scenes, where he wrote an ending that many would have preferred to what actually did happen.
An American Pickle (2020)
Great Work
I enjoyed the movie for its clarity. Peppered with just enough old world "charm" and backstory to help viewers understand, it shows the shortcomings of our modern age, where political correctness and electronics have turned people physically soft and passive aggressive. Modern lifestyle is certainly scrutinized here and mocked.
Seth Rogen's portrayal of both Herschel and Ben was masterful and seamless. The scenes were very well done and kudos to Brandon Trost on his directorial debut. Well done,, overall!
La La Land (2016)
Masterful
Ryan Gosling, as always, fills his role with attention to the minutest detail. His dancing, singing and emoting are bigger than life and Emma Stone is his perfect partner, with her arsenal of performance talent.
An enjoyable film that gives a nod to when television musicals were at their very best. On Point!
Resistance (2020)
Weak Presentation
I can't imagine a young viewer making much sense out of most of the scenes. A lot of hugging but not much in the script to really penetrate or make a difference to a neutral audience.
Jesse Eisenberg is perhaps more suited to a light and farcical subject. This role, even though the portrayal is of a young Marcel Marceau, demands more maturity. The close ups of Eisenberg add nothing. Okay, so Marceau might not have been the most remarkable figure of that time but even the mime performance of Eisenberg is disappointing.
In every scene, Eisenberg is upstaged by anyone and everyone else.
Over two hours of great scenery and costumes that definitely transported me to those places and time but the male lead did not carry it, as he should have.
Judy (2019)
Bravissima!
Renee Zellweger chameleonized into the role and channeled the legendary Judy Garland in this pivotal role in her career. I saw Judy throughout, complete with tics and expressions. Renee nailed all the mimicry and body language throughout and brought the unseen life of her character to us.
This stayed with me for a long time after seeing the movie. The imagery and songs were piercing.
The Lost City of Z (2016)
Huh? What Was That?
The lighting was too, too dark and the sound too quiet; so quiet that I had to add subtitles, so as not to miss the dialog. And then, the dialog was so shallow, it was incredulous. This was a total snooze fest.
The most animation was when Percy Fawcett's wife wanted to go with him and asserted that they were equal - very progressive for that era, in fact, too progressive to be believable. When, years later, he took his son with him, I again expected something to happen and it didn't then, either.
The acting was good. The director seriously failed here.
I waited over a year to see this and was so excited, since it was based on a true story but it should have gone deeper and wasted less time. Two and a half hours, hardly worth the time. The actors were great but the whole story very, very dry and a great disappointment.
Waiting for Anya (2020)
Good Job
While the seasoned actors give an absolutely convincing performance, the script doesn't delve too much into melodrama or emotions.
Having read the book, I couldn't help but notice some details missing but in no way did they detract from the story-line presented.
Bravo to the cast and crew for presenting a perspective of simple townsfolk and very common, very human situations, where Europeans who intermarried as far as religion, were not immune from persecution.
Noah Schnapp fit perfectly into his role and Anjelica Huston is a force. She has a presence nobody can ignore. Frederick Schmidt, in the role of Benjamin, played the character perfectly, as one who was essentially displaced from life in the big city to living in hiding at his mother-in-law's home. With Schmidt's towering height and strong features, this takes great acting to pull off.
The film is great for viewers of any age, save for the blood. Good work.
Abe (2019)
Unequal Billing
The movie gives more voice to the Palestinians than the Israelis. For one thing, the Israeli grandmother (savta) is dying, so she is never to be seen. For another, there is much more dialog and passion for the Palestinian side of the family.
The parents are always tense, from the beginning, as though they're always planning "what next" for their son, like he's some kind of experiment. The boy is a pawn in a sea of headstrong grandparents and clueless parents, who claim to be atheists or non-religious, while sacrificing their only child to his ravenous grandparents who want to push their own agendas, regardless of anything their children say.
Noah Schnapp is ingenuous in his portrayal and frankly, carries the entire movie. Casting Dagmara Dominczyk in the mother's role was a bad call; not only was she not convincing, she looked much older than Arian Moayed and the same age as her mother-in-law, IMHO.