gabrielgiurca-39-500548 Reviews

Napoleon (2023)

"Hysterically" inaccurate movie

[5/10 · 25 November 2023]

It was a director's take on Napoleon who chose to pick as the main focus of the movie the relationship between Napoleon and his wife. A weird, awkward relationship that took most of the movie's time and was not the best choice at all.

Also, I think the actor that was cast for Napoleon did not fit with the real historical character.

Before seeing this movie I saw a quote by Ridley Scott something in the lines of: "If you weren't there shut up, it's like I say it is". That pretty much sums up the entire movie. Might as well been a movie about elves with a great leader Napoleon taking on orcs from various kingdoms, told by Ridley Scott with some weird and short resemblances with real history and an obsessive focus on his relationship at home, that did not do much for the rest of the movie.

As a side note I think the movie not only did not make the French look great but made the English look great. The life and accomplishments of Napoleon, his unification of France and revolutionary laws and all that did not matter at all for the director. Overall the domestic problems of Napoleon seemed much more important than his career.

I also have a lot of doubts about the way most characters behave in the movie as I really don't think people behaved like that in the 18th century, but hey, I wasn't there and Ridley Scott apparently was.

Guy Ritchie's the Covenant (I) (2023)

Best movie so far this year

[9/10 · 12 November 2023]

This was a big surprise for me as it was totally unexpected. I pictured yet another Afganistan war movie with pointless violence and bullets flying and so on.

And boy was I wrong, this masterpiece will take you up and down like an emotional rollercoaster, making you to like the main characters and root for them and wanting them to win.

It is in a way the story of Rambo, but with modern storyline, updated visuals and realism. It has something that many movies forgot about a long time ago, it has humanity at it's best. Humanity beyond words, borders or death.

It is about doing the right thing in the face of unforgiving odds, no matter the cost. It is about being a man and acting like one, for the people you love and for the people that deserve your love, something our transactional society has forgotten.

Get ready for a wild ride that goes beyond the battlefield, making "Covenant" a must watch that breaks the mold of typical war movies!

Schitt's Creek (2015–2020)

Fake show, fake problems

[3/10 · 1 November 2023]

There's a ton of fake problems in this show that goes nowhere. Basically you watch episode after episode of absolutely nothing happening, with some made up characters that are completely over the top.

I kept hoping for anything to actually happening, but no, it's just what it is, rich people dramas of having to cope with normal life.

While it might be a bit funny in the start it keeps dragging the same theme over and over into nothingness. All in all very repetitive, stereotypical and predictable.

There are some funny parts of this show, but they also get very repetitive so the entire snorefest continues relentlesly on and on.

Teambuilding (2022)

A mediocrity fest

[6/10 · 3 January 2023]

I don't think it was a very good comedy as it did not appeal to me personally but I can understand the appeal to other people. There is a lot of unnecessary violence and swearing for no particular reason, just because the producer thought it might be interesting.

There are also a lot and I mean a lot of clichees, like every other scene is a clichee. Every ethnicity in Romania is represented by yet another clichee, a thing that will appeal to simple minds. All in all I think they did a great job at making a commercial product that will be enjoyed by as many romanians as possible.

It is a mediocity fest that the majority of people will find true to life, which is a good thing from a business perspective. Therefore I hope for many more sequels. Not sequels I will watch, but sequels the people want. Long live romanian people and their lovely mediocrity!

Where the Crawdads Sing (2022)

Very long and boring and not very interesting subject overall.

[5/10 · 30 August 2022]

I'm not saying it's a very bad movie it's just that it takes forever and with a few exceptions the characters are shallow and their narrative doesn't make much sense.

The whole movie could've been 30mins and you wouldn't lose anything.

The main character has litterally nothing much to say and the end of movie plot twist is rather silly.

However some of the landscape shots are great, don't add much to the story, but they're good.

The family issues are well presented, even though not all make much sense. The overall feeling of old times is good and I appreciated it.

You cna watch this movie if you have nothing else to do just don't expect much from it.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Just another mediocre movie

[6/10 · 30 August 2022]

The main word for this movie is mediocre. While camera action is good and characters are somehow believable there's so many unreal military stuff in this movie that it is on par with Chuck Norris movies.

It's basically another superhero movie, but with jet fighter pilots. I can not tell the exact silly stuff that happens because of spoilers but boy, there is a ton of them in this movie.

Watch it only if you really really have nothing better to watch or in case you have zero knowledge of how planes fly, gravity and overall laws of physics work.

How this movie has a close to 9 rating is beyond understanding.

Raised by Wolves (2020–2022)

Good start but poor ending

[6/10 · 27 November 2020]

Now this is a sort of Westworld in space. The main problem is that it starts very well and becomes increasingly bad. Basically it's worth watching up to 4th episode, after that it degrades to oblivion.

You know it's going to turn bad when ghosts and voices appear and everybody is getting mad and running through the foggy forests. I am a huge fan of SF movies, but sorry, this one gets bad to the point of being unwatchable. I gave it a 6 because it had really good promise. Also kids and other actors don't play very well. They are saved by the impeccable play of the robot actors.

Win the Wilderness: Alaska (2020)

OK-ish overall but makes no real sense

[7/10 · 23 June 2020]

Show is ok-ish, so called "competitions" are lame and in the spirit of "everybody wins first prize" generation. Nobody is in any danger whatsoever, chores are 3hrs long tops and everybody is nice and helpful. Bottom line, nobody of the so called competitors is really the type to have the house, simply because people who would actually live there are sociopaths, and none of the contestants is that even remotely.

Lost in Space (2018–2021)

Good CGI, not so good acting

[8/10 · 30 December 2019]

The first series is bad. There, I said it. Bad script, bad acting, annoying over the top smart kids. I gave it a 6, but, wait for it, there's a twist here because second series is actually much better, in the 8 range. After such a poor script in the first series I wasn't expecting much from series 2 but I said hey, these people had some great CGI, poured in a lot of money, let's waste some time seeing what they come up with. And come up they did. There's way less overly smart infatuated kids here, less running around fixing silly stuff and even couple good jokes pointing that there's always trouble finding the Robinsons. And most of all less bad decisions. It does get a bit corny in the final of series 2 unfortunately but hey, better than corny all the way. So, all in all I'm looking forward to see series 3 now, while after series 1 I was unmoved. So I guess it just became better, which is great, because this show actually has a lot of potential.

The Witcher (2019– )

Sort of mediocre medieval drama with wizards and spells.

[7/10 · 20 December 2019]

I don't get all the 10s out there, for me it was sort of mediocre. The plot has some holes in it and the first episode fails to explain all the details to a guy like me who never played the game or read the books. There's also lots of medieval violence and gory details that me personally am not keen to watch, but whatever. Also to me it seemed artificial and most of it is probably CGI, not bad CGI but you can tell it's mostly a render. Me personally I prefer watching some historic title if I am to watch a medieval drama, but I guess to each his own. That's not to say it's a bad movie, but still not a great one either. It's watchable I guess.

Do It or Shut Up (2019)

Why? Just why?

[4/10 · 24 September 2019]

Whomever directed this should take another job, I heard Uber is always hiring. Seriously dude, I could've done a better job and I have no idea how to direct. The plot has tons of holes, there is absolutely no comedy except for some scenes between the 2 office guys that somehow managed to be sort of funny.

The rest is one huge mess with pimps, spanish guy, and special trained girls that are put in harm's way for no particular reason since it would've been so much easier to just storm the place. (as some character even suggested)

Also characters are picked wrong, I mean the guy that supposedly was tough and trained the girls is small and funny looking, there's no way he is tough, he's the type you wanna get out and have a beer on a Friday night, not the guy who trains elite troops, (of girls?). All in all, terrible script, terrible play, terrible characters and non exiting director. I just hope one of the dudes playing was also shooting this on his phone in his spare time. All in all a total waste of time and probably a way for everybody to make some money from netflix for "content" if you can call it that.

And hey, placing a bunch of atttractive young woman in a movie does not automatically makes it good :) Less bad, not def not good.

The Wandering Earth (2019)

Wrong on so many levels but nice effects.

[5/10 · 12 May 2019]

I will give this 5 stars because the CGI is amazing, although mostly unnecessary. The plot is shallow and forced and characters bland, but man oh man the science behind this is incredibly bad, borderline hilarious. Major spoilers incoming... Let us review a little the "facts" from this movie. The jet engines used to propel earth through space somehow do not burn the entire atmosfere very quickly, there's wind, snow and so on. Jupiter's gravity somehow "MODIFIES" and so the earth is attracted to it. Man, that's incredibly silly, the gravity does not change, it will remain the same because mass&elementary physics. Earth looks as if it's an entirely different planet, with a geography like Antarctica or something, and buildings sitting comfy on top of mountains and so on just in the right places for the heroes to cross them. They say the sun is more powerful and they are still in the solar system and yet it's minus 80 degrees next to Jupiter.... well this one might be true, but still questionable. Soldiers have a ton of firepower that is basically useless as they don't fight anyone and there is no point to. The space station just blows at some point for no particular reason just in time to catch the heroes on the wrong foot. I might have missed something there, but I was so bored already. There's a guy who starts to shoot at Jupiter because why not, it makes sense. They say an ICBM can't reach orbit and detonate which is silly since it only needs to clear the atmosphere, and then being in space it can be propelled just by momentum to target. And yet, despite that, an engine burst just might do it. And when it does not, maybe a space station will help if it goes kamikaze, man what an escalation of clichees. A guy throws a bottle of votka in space and the bottle perfectly describes an arc, just like it would do on good ol mother earth, nope, sorry not happening. The orbit the Earth "wanders" after the explosion that allegedly propels Earth against Jupiter (really?) is completely outwards instead of being just corrected. That's pretty impossible from an astronomical point of view for such a large object. That being said I am fun at parties, but this movie is wrong, very wrong and very questionable at every step. I really don't understand how is it possible to make huge budget movies, pay a bazillion dolla' for special effects and yet you can't hire a few poor astronomers to read your silly script. This is beyond understanding. Also why all directors think their public is made only from 16 year olds who don't understand any astrophysics whatsoever? They should all be ashamed and take notes from Expanse, that show does it all right but it's the exception not the rule.

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)

Good concept, mediocre movie, poor choices.

[6/10 · 1 January 2019]

Bandersnatch is not a new experience by any means, although it is new for Netflix. There have been games like this for many years. However, for this particular title the choices are rather uninteresting and there isn't really a "choice" when you are choosing between very close actions. Basically whatever you chose gets you to similar points so not really a choice based ending. I don't think the choices were very wise chosen and overall the plot of the movie was not very great. I mean it's interesting but nothing new or groundbreaking compared to other episodes from Black Mirror, that is, mind you, a darn good TV show. I think an interactive movie based on Juniper City or Metalheads episodes would've turned much much better. There is also some sort of disparity between what you chose, what the character does in the movie and what happens in the scene. Meaning that somehow you choose what the other characters are doing with your choices instead of the main character, and that's also a bit confusing and a bit of a drag for me. So overall I recommend this title for it's novelty, but not so much for the script and general idea. Worth your time though, just for the sake of it.

Westworld (2016–2022)

Series 2 is a drag

[6/10 · 20 September 2018]

Do yourself some good and don't watch series 2, it's absolute garbage. While first one was good, like a solid 9 good, the second one is broken beyond repair. Most of the stuff going on makes no sense and there is absolutely no reason to care for any of the main characters at all. It's just a bunch of loose people running around, being in the park just because they have to, and shooting each other to death for no good reason whatsoever. Also, the whole cliche stuff with characters discovering they are so much more than meets the eye, or you thought they were, is poorly implemented and repeated to death by all the main characters. I hope for season 3 but just because it's very hard to make it worse from here so whatever comes, can only be better.

Passengers (I) (2016)

This was an amazing piece of art that was also so truly romantic.

[10/10 · 26 December 2016]

This was an amazing piece of art that was also so truly romantic. While I understand it will not appeal to much of the audience who is looking for meaningless violence and bullets flying everywhere this movie has an incredibly deep touch of the human mind and soul, looking within ourselves and trying to define concepts that transcend time and distance all wrapped up in a space opera rendered in extraordinary colors.

I went into the theater with my girlfriend at my request and she was ready for a good nap while I was ready for yet another star wars like disappointment. And boy was I wrong... I was so surprised to see this type of movie that goes into the rich and amazing ideas of old giant sci-fi writers such as Stanislav Lem or Asimov. It all reminded me of a very old book from my childhood called "Magellanic cloud" by Stanislav Lem.

I have been connected with this movie on so many levels as this story depicts the human soul in all its loneliness, craving for companionship in the vast empty void of space. While the main story line is somehow predictable and not much is happening action-wise the true magic of the movie happens in the background, provided that your soul is sensible enough to cope with the very subtle nuances that question our very own existence.

The concepts unraveled here are so vast and deep that you simply end up thinking about it all days after you saw it. And this really is something in a day where most movies don't even require you to think but just to consume the provided content.

It more than exceeded my expectations and it's a solid 10 for me, absolutely no hesitations.

Across the Universe (2007)

See this movie with your heart and not with your brain.

[9/10 · 16 August 2011]

I feel very sorry for the people that gave this movie low scores and wrote bad reviews. My advice to them is that they should try to see life also with their heart and not only with the brain. The heart is what makes us human not the brain.

A movie does not need to be "historicaly accurate", or perfectly narrated, or with a perfect script or music. It has to touch you inside, and touch me it did. Yea, the music is not Beatles original, is sung by the actors, but they do a pretty decent job and i enjoyed some of the changed parts of the music. There are different interpretations sung by the actors which are not so bad. In fact it's pretty awesome the way they sing as they are mostly unknown actors.

No, I wasn't there to witness those times, and probably it wouldn't matter anyway because what most people here do not understand is that this is not a documentary, it is an interpretation of a historical time and events seen from director's point of view. This is his version of the reality, and it really does not matter if it was like this or not.

I bet there are lots of Beatles or Vietnam documentaries out there for you to watch, but they're not touching any spot, they just present facts. So go see them if that's what you really want. In fact the interesting fact is that most reviews are marks 1-2 or 9-10. So this movie clearly is a "love it/hate it" type. Therefore if you do not like the first 10 minutes of the movie you probably will hate it entirely.

I did saw some good resemblance with Forrest Gump in this movie. However the perspective is changed and this is good, or else it would've been just another re-edit of a great movie made bad. I am an architect and an artist inside, so i have appreciated very much the retro style, the crazy colors, the madness and cartoonish style mixed with dancing singing etc. I'd say that it's crazy but it is not. In fact for me it made a lot of sense and a needed change of style as today's movies tend to be all the same.

A 9 from me, because i felt I should raise a bit the unfair scores from the other users. In my opinion this movie is worth a decent 6,5 or even 7, and that is because at some parts it loses focus and has some unnecessary parts just for the music's sake. Also, it is very predictable, but that is less important as this is not really an action movie. For me it felt more like a collection of music videos binded together by a story which in this context is less important.

Cheers!