Well, the movie is well crafted, it offers a well achieved climate of suspense and tension, and the performances of both Nicole Kidman and the two children are excellent. The problem, and it's not a minor one, is that the entire weight of the story relies on the final twist, and this twist is not only predictable but in fact it is because we've seen it many times in other movies, most of them little-known with one very notable exception in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, which despite being a comedic proposal, offers exactly the same twist. This predictability, which I insist is the key to the narrative, undermines the whole sense of the movie by depriving it of its greatest appeal.
Reviews
7 Reviews
Gravity
(2013)
Was that a movie?
3 March 2024
I give this a five because it breaks my heart rating it below that. The thing is that I just did not get the point of this thing. It is visually stunning but I take for granted a move should provide more than this.
If I just wanted amazing visuals even combined with facts about space, I would have picked a documentary.
Here there is no plot, no dialogues, nothing to justify a movie. It is just the chronicle of a space incident that would fit more as a short Seconds to Disaster chapter than as a movie.
Add to this (and I know that is a very personal opinion) that Clooney and Bullock just look silly.
If I just wanted amazing visuals even combined with facts about space, I would have picked a documentary.
Here there is no plot, no dialogues, nothing to justify a movie. It is just the chronicle of a space incident that would fit more as a short Seconds to Disaster chapter than as a movie.
Add to this (and I know that is a very personal opinion) that Clooney and Bullock just look silly.
Return to Paradise
(1998)
Makes me wonder.., makes me think about consequences...
12 February 2024
I like this movie. I like it a lot. Even knowing about its twists and of course its ending, I have watched it several times and I'd be fine watching it again any time.
It may not have the power of let's say "Midnight Express", but it is one of those movies you can watch and feel as if you were watching a documentary or a something based on true events.
And that is probably because in fact, despite being a fiction, the movie could well be based on real facts.
Being an avid traveller who mostly loves getting away from it all on my own, only ads to me loving this kind of stories.
My father, who travelled a lot (obviously before me) used to tell me something more or less like this: "Hey, listen, if you are ever going to make a mistake, do something wrong.., and you know what I mean, please, do it near home, in your country, but when you are abroad, please, avoid anything that could get you in trouble by all means".
It may not have the power of let's say "Midnight Express", but it is one of those movies you can watch and feel as if you were watching a documentary or a something based on true events.
And that is probably because in fact, despite being a fiction, the movie could well be based on real facts.
Being an avid traveller who mostly loves getting away from it all on my own, only ads to me loving this kind of stories.
My father, who travelled a lot (obviously before me) used to tell me something more or less like this: "Hey, listen, if you are ever going to make a mistake, do something wrong.., and you know what I mean, please, do it near home, in your country, but when you are abroad, please, avoid anything that could get you in trouble by all means".
Independence Day
(1996)
Oh Man, I wasn't expecting this!!
9 February 2024
Warning: Spoilers
For some reason I deliverately skipped that movie when it was released and it remained one of those titles you always have in mind saying "I must watch it some day".
And I finally did it... I watched it.., now in early 2024.
And well, I wasn't expecting this.
THE GOOD: Visual effects sill look great despite being almost 30 years since the movie came out.
THE BAD: All the rest.
Yes, I was ready to enjoy a simple but visually captivating popcorn blockbuster for all audiences. I was ready for some usual US patriotic references. I was ready for unbelievable, zero realistic heroic performances by a group of "mr nobodies". I was ready to contemplate WE humans kick some aliens out of our beautiful planet.
BUT, I wasn't ready for some things. I wasn't ready for:
-A guy smoking a cigar while dragging an alien through the desert.
-The President of the United States getting into a fighter jet to attack the mothership of some alien invaders.
-Area 51 (yet to be revealed at the time the movie was out) turned into a busy meeting place like a department store during the sales.
-Alien invaders boasting technology beyond our reach, acting like dumb asses (they can't even get their hands on an anti-virus. No Panda, no McAffee, no Kasperski).
-Mega advanced aliens landing on earth to destroy entire cities in minutes, BUT..., giving us earthlings all the time in the world to organise a counter-attack, based on a computer virus.
And above all, to me the problem with ID4 is that it is not dramatic, it is not fun and it is not thrilling. I am not going to say acting is bad, since it is just and simply silly!!
A movie too silly to take it seriously, and too ridiculous to at least have fun with it.
Maybe if I had seen it on cinemas when I was 10 years old, I would have seen the whole thing in it, but I can't see a way someone older than 10 or 11 years old could rank this thing higher than a 3 or 4.
And I finally did it... I watched it.., now in early 2024.
And well, I wasn't expecting this.
THE GOOD: Visual effects sill look great despite being almost 30 years since the movie came out.
THE BAD: All the rest.
Yes, I was ready to enjoy a simple but visually captivating popcorn blockbuster for all audiences. I was ready for some usual US patriotic references. I was ready for unbelievable, zero realistic heroic performances by a group of "mr nobodies". I was ready to contemplate WE humans kick some aliens out of our beautiful planet.
BUT, I wasn't ready for some things. I wasn't ready for:
-A guy smoking a cigar while dragging an alien through the desert.
-The President of the United States getting into a fighter jet to attack the mothership of some alien invaders.
-Area 51 (yet to be revealed at the time the movie was out) turned into a busy meeting place like a department store during the sales.
-Alien invaders boasting technology beyond our reach, acting like dumb asses (they can't even get their hands on an anti-virus. No Panda, no McAffee, no Kasperski).
-Mega advanced aliens landing on earth to destroy entire cities in minutes, BUT..., giving us earthlings all the time in the world to organise a counter-attack, based on a computer virus.
And above all, to me the problem with ID4 is that it is not dramatic, it is not fun and it is not thrilling. I am not going to say acting is bad, since it is just and simply silly!!
A movie too silly to take it seriously, and too ridiculous to at least have fun with it.
Maybe if I had seen it on cinemas when I was 10 years old, I would have seen the whole thing in it, but I can't see a way someone older than 10 or 11 years old could rank this thing higher than a 3 or 4.
Deja Vu
(2006)
Boring... Yes I mean it...
5 February 2024
It often happens when you are having dinner with a group of good old friends that you all go on a roll throwing hilarious and surrealistic ideas. And the more ideas come, the more inconsistent and ridiculous they become.
That's probably the context where Tony Scott got what he needed for this film.
The first problem is that the whole story could have been told in roughly an hour.
Second problem is that thinking of combining a crime thriller with a sci fi story can sound applealing but the result here is inconsistent in the form of a movie that actors seem to take seriously as for the thriller part, while we the audience see it ridiculous as for the sci fi part.
Third problem is that the whole thing is so predictable, which I think is a huge failure. In a thriller that leaves itself such a great amount of allowances to the non sense, unexpected twists should be a must.
Lastly (and that is more than the other problems, a very personal opinion) Denzel likes himself more than I can handle. I just can't stand it when I get the feeling that an actor loves himself so much in front of a camera.
All in all, a great but clearly out of bounds idea that leads to an ok but predictable thriller with a non sense sci fi proposal or background, that takes you to a childish ending.
That's probably the context where Tony Scott got what he needed for this film.
The first problem is that the whole story could have been told in roughly an hour.
Second problem is that thinking of combining a crime thriller with a sci fi story can sound applealing but the result here is inconsistent in the form of a movie that actors seem to take seriously as for the thriller part, while we the audience see it ridiculous as for the sci fi part.
Third problem is that the whole thing is so predictable, which I think is a huge failure. In a thriller that leaves itself such a great amount of allowances to the non sense, unexpected twists should be a must.
Lastly (and that is more than the other problems, a very personal opinion) Denzel likes himself more than I can handle. I just can't stand it when I get the feeling that an actor loves himself so much in front of a camera.
All in all, a great but clearly out of bounds idea that leads to an ok but predictable thriller with a non sense sci fi proposal or background, that takes you to a childish ending.
Little Manhattan
(2005)
I have been there... You've been there... Who's not been there??
3 February 2024
Warning: Spoilers
A little movie aboout little people discovering the biggest of feelings.
The story is not about Gabe.., or at least not only about him but more about you, about me and about anyone who as a child faced for the first time those "butterflies".
A movie for all audiences, but especially of adults.., yes I mean adults. Because only as an adult you'll get the full perspective of all that goes in it.
And yes, the final reconciliation of Gabe's parents is silly, out of any logics, but it's not a flaw.., it is definetly needed to leave all lights on Gabe's love story.
What Gabe is still yet to discover while having dinner with his parents at the West Side Restaurant, is that Rosemary Telesco will remain there, in a small, secret but safe corner inside his heart for years and years.., maybe for a lifetime.
The story is not about Gabe.., or at least not only about him but more about you, about me and about anyone who as a child faced for the first time those "butterflies".
A movie for all audiences, but especially of adults.., yes I mean adults. Because only as an adult you'll get the full perspective of all that goes in it.
And yes, the final reconciliation of Gabe's parents is silly, out of any logics, but it's not a flaw.., it is definetly needed to leave all lights on Gabe's love story.
What Gabe is still yet to discover while having dinner with his parents at the West Side Restaurant, is that Rosemary Telesco will remain there, in a small, secret but safe corner inside his heart for years and years.., maybe for a lifetime.
Get the Gringo
(2012)
What was that?
3 February 2024
You have to be a hardcore Gibson fan to like this. You have to think Gibson is your father to love this. You probably think you are in fact Mel Gibson if you enjoyed this.
I still don't know if that was a comedy, a drama or an action movie. It was too boring to be an action movie, too funny to be a drama and not funny enough to be a comedy.
At times characters and situations are so ridicuous, you assume you are watching a comedy, but then you wonder why you're not laughing at all. Then a "near rape" scene or a highgly explicit shooting scene come and you reailze that was not meant to be funny.
I think Mel Gibson probably had some bills to pay when he decided to join this.., this.., this "movie"? And under that perspective I can understand him. I myself would accept to do or participate in such a silly project, so beneath my own average level.
I am going to give that movie a 5 only because I respect Gibson and also because I am sure there is something to value in it that I just have not been able to find.
I still don't know if that was a comedy, a drama or an action movie. It was too boring to be an action movie, too funny to be a drama and not funny enough to be a comedy.
At times characters and situations are so ridicuous, you assume you are watching a comedy, but then you wonder why you're not laughing at all. Then a "near rape" scene or a highgly explicit shooting scene come and you reailze that was not meant to be funny.
I think Mel Gibson probably had some bills to pay when he decided to join this.., this.., this "movie"? And under that perspective I can understand him. I myself would accept to do or participate in such a silly project, so beneath my own average level.
I am going to give that movie a 5 only because I respect Gibson and also because I am sure there is something to value in it that I just have not been able to find.
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