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citywoman3105
Reviews
Invisible Heroes (2019)
Restrained, informative, dramatic and brilliantly conceived and acted.
I gave it 10 stars so that is pretty much an indication that I loved it. The very real events happened in my formative years and I watched them unfold not just on the news but also a work trip was cancelled because of the political turmoil Right from the start, the careful production design, colour grade and acting style of every cast member places the story exactly where it is supposed to be. The dialogue is realistic and husband and wife team Pelle and Sophia Heikkila carry the major load of the story. All characters are brilliant, even the popinjay styling of Ismael Huerta, on a power trip, which was par for the course of wannabe dictators who really have no clue. The casting was brilliant and all directors and writers have excelled. The music is stunning too, and I make mention here of the scene in the jail between the two guitarists - beautiful emotions in the acting and the music. Who knew that Chile and Finland could achieve such a brilliant series?! We hope that the team stays together and that they can provide more insight s into their worlds. I can't praise this series enough and highly recommend to everyone.
Bloodlands (2021)
Dreadful dialogue pushing the actors to the limit
The cliche-ridden script must have sorely tested the actors who were forced to do a lot of staring into space when they should have been hitting the phones and following up leads. I was disappointed in it and while James Nesbitt (a good and experienced actor) seems to come from the same gene pool as Titus Welliver, that's where the similarity ends. There's no urgency about solving the crime, no deep understanding of procedures, no shady sources to drip feed the viewers with intel and the father/daughter relationship is truly awful. Nice to see a bit of Belfast and it is well shot. More time on ripping the script to shreds in the office would have been beneficial before wasting valuable expert crew time.
Nobel (2016)
Gripping, neat tie-up of war, politics and accolades is completely bingeworthy.
I am surprised at how much I Liked this as I am not into war movies. Someone below has criticized the lack of camouflage by the snipers/spec ops guys but come on, it's a fictional story and not a documentary. Nobel's characters are well-rounded, interesting people with a variety of ethics and the casting is magical. Nobody is 100% pure as snow or evil. You can sympathize with everyone and then there is the young boy who acts as a kind of moral sounding board. Ticks every box for me in regard to structure and story with a few magical moment (people heal really, really fast in the Scandinavian air ...) and the time-line is just a bit muddled but getting that right is, in this case, a super challenging task. However, the acting is excellent (OK, please explain how they managed to show some of those injuries) and it is the quiet, simmering level-headedness of the lead character that binds everything together. Love the score particularly the opening titles sequence. I never had the desire to press the 'skip' button. Far better than Homeland/Hatufim. For us, it was a 'can't wait to watch another episode' and the ending, well, it delivers in spades. Just don't let big studios remake this and water it down.
Stressed to Kill (2016)
Savage's best film to date
Mark Savage is well-known world-wide as a genre director, a hat he is more than happy to wear. Yet, this does limit his image somewhat amongst mainstream cinema circles, both for funding and garnering audience. And that's a shame. 'Stressed to Kill' comes from a similar place as 'Falling Down'(Dir.: Joel Schumacher, 1993) but has been crafted to a very tight budget which occasionally shows on the screen. However, don't let that deter you from seeing it. Accept it for what it is - a film that sticks to its purpose with skill and care. There is discipline apparent in the acting and direction and that is applause-worthy. As a story, again, it is true to form and the acting of Bill Oberst is the star turn here as the unwell hero-anti-hero (depending on your POV). He makes this flawed, edgy chap very likable and credible with razor-sharp emotions and a build of tension that last through the narrative. Now I would like to see Mark Savage step out of the genre and for someone to give him a wad of $$$$ so that a wider audience can see his work which clearly is applicable to a very broad range of film languages and devices.