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TotallyBlunt
Reviews
Eat Pray Love (2010)
Sincere...
I really don't know what all the negative reviews are about. I quite liked the film and it left me with a good feeling. I found the spacial and inner journey of Liz quite sincere. In real life inner strife and the solutions one finds about them are never very well rounded and perfect as is, apparently, expected from modern cinema. I do think one can find clues of what to enjoy in life, what to strive for. You don't have to go to Italy to enjoy good, healthy food. You don't have to be India to try to find some kind of inner silence in the noisy chaos that is the brain. And you don't have to be in Bali to find your own personal Javier Bardem. No, this film doesn't give you an a-ha moment that will solve all your problems. And yes, it is very enjoyable.
The American (2010)
I don't understand why this film was made...
I found it difficult to follow the story. I am not sure there was a story, because a story isn't just about a series of events, it is also how people take them. Normally, when a film is slow, it gives you time to understand the characters, the mood, the thoughts and feelings associated with the events. This film was slow, but it gave me precious few of those. I didn't see why I should be interested in the Jack character. I didn't see what was going on in his inner world that makes his story worth telling. The "friendly" pastor, handing out trivialities, was quite annoying at times. The secretive customer was too striking to avoid notice in a small town. The feelings that Jack and Clara conveyed were pale, and didn't move me as a watcher. The only things I was left with, I suppose, were memories of nice Italian small-town scenery and a longing for good French cognac. Pointless. I should have read the book instead.
Going the Distance (2010)
Cute and Smart
I love romantic comedies and what's more, I'm in a long distance relationship. So I watched this film both laughing and with twinges of the heart.The feelings and most of the situations described are realistic. That is what I really like about this film. It is light entertainment, but it doesn't fall into the trap of the unlikely, it doesn't use easy solutions to make the story line work.
What really got my attention was how fast some situations were presented and then ended. The interesting thing was, however fast they were told, you still got what it was saying, be it the event described or the feelings associated. I am not sure this was intended or was an accident because all of those scenes were being crammed into a 102 minute film. Whatever the reason, it worked by way of story telling. My only objection would be, the way we, real people experience things differently. When events arise we have associated feelings and even when the events are resolved quickly, associated feelings stay for some length of time because of related hormones released into the bloodstream. I know this sounds very picky and too smart for this review's own good, but I believe a good story reflects how we react to situations rather than just present events one after the other.
All in all, I recommend this film.
Die Tür (2009)
Drama to Suspense to Spooky...
First I want to say that I have a couple of problems with the plot, some points that have got snagged in my mind and made me wonder, "But why didn't the writer...?". This is one of those times when I wish I had read the book (if there was a book) before watching the film to see if those points arise from the story or how the story was translated into film, but that would obviously defeat the purpose and kill the suspense, so I am better off having seen the film first. Let me say, seeing the film from beginning to end, I forgive those snags.
I will not repeat what the plot summary says. I just want to add that I liked the light world/dark world division, the secrets the supposedly light world hides and perhaps its reflections unto real world. I like the acting in general, the relatively slow pace of a thriller and how that slowness, without actually pacing up, makes the heart pace up and pulls the watcher into it. It's a make believe that you get lost in.
I wonder why there isn't a poster submitted to this web site, why the actors don't have photographs and why there isn't much buzz about the film. I wish the worldwide movie producers made use of a popular web site like this.
Inception (2010)
It was fun, but not Matrix...
I had come across reviews that compare this film to Matrix. Notwithstanding all its bluster, the first Matrix was built around a very basic and ancient philosophical argument: which is real, the physical around us or the world in our minds, i.e. our perception of the world? Which is worth preserving, the perception or the physical? In other words, should we take the juicy steak our mind tells us we are having, or should we make do with the muck? Even the action was wrapped around this basic argument and it lent its strength to the film, the first at least.
Inception is action packed. It doesn't exactly take your breath away, but it takes you to the end. The images are good, the acting is alright, you are left with a feeling of satisfaction at the end. But Inception doesn't give you arguments about the nature of dreams or the human mind. You can find some parallels in a few of the action sequences, but it doesn't give you the same kind of mind-tickling Matrix gave.
Watch it. You will enjoy it for what it is.
Anadolu'nun Kayip Sarkilari (2008)
Lost Songs of Anatolia
This is IMDb. But forget the glamour of popular cinema. This is Turkey. But forget the images fed to you about popular sun-and-sea tourism. Forget popular history, forget popular politics. This is a documentary, but forget National Geographic.
There is a land whose known history extends 12,000 years back. A land that has seen the rise of mankind. A land that has given birth to so many civilizations, that has seen the birth and sometimes the demise of so many religions. A land ruled by many, coveted by many and claimed by many as theirs.
Nezih Ünen and his crew has traveled Anatolia for eight years to film songs and dances of various regions, various ethnicities and religions that have existed on this land from time immemorial. After a sample of the naked form of these pieces, he adds to the music his own arrangement and weaves it into very real and very dramatic images of the land.
Transfixed to the extraordinary display, one cannot help but remember all known history of the land and find the images of the living people on stone reliefs that can be found in museums and historical sites now.
This documentary gives you a glimpse of all the colours in that tapestry of history, peoples and cultures. This is what remains when you strip the thin veneer of the flitting popular off Anatolia. And this is indeed just a glimpse of each of them; you are left to wonder what was behind all the songs, all the rituals, the life, of which you were given just a taste.
I find it difficult to express my impression of this film. It is a must see for anyone with a little sense of music and history.