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Reviews
La passion de Dodin Bouffant (2023)
new clothes of the emperor
This movie is about as engaging as a root canal. Two hours and fifteen minutes of watching an excessive display of food preparation and overindulgence, i.e. Gluttony, masquerading under the guise of haute cuisine. But it's French, so it gets a pass as they are the supposed standard bearers of all things cultural. I went to this movie with my wife based on the stellar reviews and we wanted to like it. We both lived and worked in Europe in our younger years and have an appreciation for authentic European culture. I am giving it a 2 rather than a 1, because the acting was good-what there was of it- and it did manage to capture something of the French character as well as the spirit of the times in which it took place.
At the risk of being seen as Philistines, we must call the glowing reviews of this movie as they are: the new clothes of the emperor.
Unless you are training to be a chef, or you have a need to flaunt your taste in high culture to your peers, it might be prudent to bypass this offering or, at the very least, wait for the DVD release. Be forewarned: This is two hours and fifteen minutes of your life that you will never get back.
Past Lives (2023)
Don't listen to the hype-this film is mediocrity at best
I went to see this movie with my wife based on the stellar ratings. I imagined it might be something on the idea of "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and SpringI "-a Korean film from 2003 that was profound and moving. However, this was not the case. I wanted to like it, but this film is mediocrity at best. Acting lacks dimension. Tries to be profound, but just isn't- although the plot contains an intriguing idea. Just enough tension and character development to keep the viewer barely engaged. This film is a solid 5 out of 10.
I am starting to doubt the veracity of online reviews as this hyping of mediocre films is happening more where it didn't use to be so blatant. Are these rave reviews generated by AI? Something is not right here.