selena-71096 Reviews

Fonogramma strasti (2009)

Excellent.

[7/10 · 7 July 2017]

There are many Russian films that deserve world wide audience. In my opinion this is one of them. It is on a par with the best Hollywood thrillers and would keep you on the edge until the very end. The movie has a unique, quite interesting and realistic story line; excellent performances by the leading actors, great directing and editing. The movie made me care deeply for the characters. I might have changed the ending, but then again it is tied to the beginning. I recommend to watch.

Youth in Oregon (2016)

I do not recommend

[2/10 · 15 February 2017]

Spoiler alert. Here is a 80 years old man who is depressed because he is not "competent", " his candle can no longer stand, and is mournfully laid to rest in the hope of a blessed resurrection which is never to come ( I quoted Mark Twain here). His 68 years old wife "wants that candle -- yearns for it, longs for it, hankers after it", at least this is what filmmakers want us to believe, to the point that she because an alcoholic out of deprivation...LOL. This 80yo man seems to be obsessed with sex, talks about it, sees it everywhere he looks- his young granddaughter, college youth, his wife allegedly looking for sex everywhere... So he can't handle it any longer and decides to die by legal euthanasia in Oregon. His heart stenosis while restricts his life, but nowhere near the agony of people who are true candidates for euthanasia. His suffering is mostly mental. Add to this the never ending family bickering which comes, as expected, to end when grandpa decides to die and you get the picture what this movie is about. Meantime the dying grandpa throws away his walking cane and settles in a lounge chair and starts observing wild birds with a binocular. What message this movie was supposed to deliver? Please let me know, because I missed it.

The Other Man (2008)

Atrocious

[1/10 · 1 January 2017]

I may be biased because I can' t stand Liam Neeson and Laura Linney as actors. Something about them both rubs me the wrong way. Nothing personal, but I find Linnney's smile nauseating and Neeson's face expression reminds me a frozen mask and his voice is like nails scraping down a blackboard. Neeson's acting in this film was terrible. Antonio Bandera was also exceptionally bad to the point that I felt embarrassed for him. Linney was her own self , just like in every movie she plays. The movie itself is a pretentious and fake piece of crap. It is so poorly made and is so boring that it gave me a gag reflex. Not sure why I have finished watching it.

Cash Only (2015)

Solid, but with flaws

[6/10 · 11 June 2016]

I have not seen any movies with Nickola Shreli before. He is certainly an overlooked actor. American cinema is in dire need of fresh faces who are not overexposed by media and possess great acting skills. I would suggest any actor to stay away from the limelight of mass media to maintain an appeal and mystery. Now back to the movie. It held my interest as an intelligent movie with a good story almost to the end. There were clearly some flaws in the story when I tough and quick-witted guy would do stupid things such as leave his daughter alone after he got a warning call. The rescue scenes are not believable and leave unanswered questions. How did the dim-witted "rescue" guys figure out the location so fast? The level of violence in the ending scenes was not warranted and added little to the story. As a female, I had to skip those scenes as they are damaging to any psyche. If this movie was intended to be a drama, not a horror film, then they should have stick to the drama genre. But overall this movie is watchable and the story is original.

The Confirmation (2016)

Bland at best

[1/10 · 12 May 2016]

The Confirmation, the movie about stolen tools, is a very boring and bland with a plot full of cliché of any sorts and needless dialogues. The very beginning when mother of the boy was lecturing her ex-husband clearly indicated that it was going to be a drab. And it sure was. Honestly I don't get Jaeden Lieberher as a young actor. HIs performance in Midnight Special was non-existent and it was no different in this movie- the same one dimensional facial expression with few forced smiles here and there. It puzzles me how and why he was selected for this and other movies, he appears to have no acting talent. It was not best Clive Owen's performance, and two of them had zero on screen chemistry. The movie is neither a comedy nor a drama. I did not get why church and religion was brought into this film either.

The Moving Forest (2015)

Awful

[1/10 · 8 April 2016]

I don't know how to come up with 10 lines about this movie, but will try my best. I watched it on pirate site that shows the latest movies before they even released officially. There is noting to write about it other than it is SO BAD. The story seems to be written by an 11 year old kid who is into crime novels. The absurdity of the story is beyond belief. Sometime meaning and understanding of a film is lost in translation, however this is not that kid of film. Now the acting. saying it is bad would not describe it accurately. It is dismal. All actors seem to be frozen in time unable to convey any emotions. The only positive about this film is the natural beauty of the actress Ana Paula Arósio. She is stunning. So male audience might find this as a reason to watch it. The contemporary design of the buildings and its interiors might catch your attention as well. Just one fragment of the movie I found interesting was when a crime investigator was sitting in a the abandoned car and looking in the back view mirror to arrive to a not a very obvious discovery.

Brecha (2009)

Excellent.

[10/10 · 22 December 2015]

This movie is a hidden gem. I just watched it last night and still under its impression. The movie kept my strong attention from the first minute. The little boy's quiet suffering and loneliness brought tears into my eyes. His father got out of jail, but we still don't know why he was in jail. We wonder what is going on. Why the father reject the boy so much. Why won't he allow him to help him to cook. The story unfolds slowly shifting from present to glimpses of past. The acting was superb. All three main characters-the boy,his father and grandma put out solid performances. They boy's character is the most complex and the child-actor did not fail. It is almost at the end of this movie we are given an explanation of this family tragedy. Freakish turn of events that could not possibly be foreseen by anyone. They are all victims. But no one is at fault. It is like fate had payed a cruel joke on this family.

Head Full of Honey (2014)

u have got to be kidding

[1/10 · 1 December 2015]

I totally agree with Meta Pomieske and other reviewers who gave this movie one star. I lasted 20 min, may be,just could not take it any longer. First of all nothing is realistic in this movie and it is on the edge of being an absurdous one. The girl was seriously overacting in my opinion,her father a talented actor, was underacting, they made an idiot of the senile grandpa. Everything looked and sounded faked and forced. The movie starts with an underage girl traveling by train with a senile old man hugging a soft toy and it is presented as nothing is wrong with it. Then she allegedly overlooks his absence. Give me a break.

The Weight of Elephants (2013)

Solid seven

[7/10 · 26 November 2015]

I really enjoyed watching this movie. The acting was superb and it always surprises me how talented children in foreign (non-USA) movies are, even the very little ones. I understand that we all have different perception of this movie but to call it "nothingness" and/or "boring" or "slow" just doesn't seem fair. This is not a mainstream film and won't find its audience among those who love Hollywood crap movies . This art-house movie is beautifully made and acted. The pace of it just right, it captured my attention from the start to the end. The heartbreaking story of a lonely and vulnerable boy abandoned by mother and leaving in fear of abandonment deeply touched me.

Ashby (2015)

Awful

[1/10 · 15 November 2015]

This movie is bad. Really bad. The story is such a nonsense and absurdous at times. Cliché after cliché. The high school football drama and "love" story are nauseating. The acting is really bad, except Mickey Rourke.

I mean, every single actor in this movie put out a dismal performance including Nat Wolff. Ed's character is so unlikable and annoying that I wanted to stop watching several times. I have not seen Nat Wolff before, but in this movie he was unbelievably bad.

Absolutely no chemistry between Ed and Ashby. The priest' and mother' characters are either a joke or insults to one's intelligence. The funeral scene in the end of the movie completed its awfulness. Mickey Rourke was the only reason I finished watching this movie. His acting was great. But he did not save this peace of crap.

Zipper (2015)

So boring. Lena Heady is beautiful.

[1/10 · 11 November 2015]

OK, I have read all seven posted reviews as of today. I disagree with all of them. The one comparing women to fruits is downright silly,to put it nicely. Women urge for other men no less, and you might be surprised that they usually fulfill their desires.They are more discreet and men, less suspicious by nature, might never know. I also don't think all men are pigs as I don't believe in monogamy. And it takes two, you know. OK, back to the film review. Steamy? it is not! It might look steamy only if one never experienced truly passionate, mind blowing sex himself. Good acting? It is not! I found Patric Wilson's performance rather weak. Good story? It is not! A mix of Bill Clinton, Franc Underwood and Tiger Woods stories. Smashing car windows with baseball bat looked downright forced and borrowed from Elen Nordegren; besides it was not justified by the previous scenes which looked more like acceptance for the sake of whatever than a rage. What was the purpose of this film? I am puzzled. If you want to watch a good movie about sex/porno addiction, I recommend Men,Women&Children, which is underrated in my opinion.

Ant-Man (2015)

Not for me

[4/10 · 7 November 2015]

It is interesting to see the polarity of this movie reviews. Love/hate. This is expected though as 15yo kid can't have the same opinion/perception as a 45 yo woman. Men and women see things differently to start with Here is mine (female 32). I only lasted 30min. or so when it became clear to me that it going to be sort of a Disney animated movie. I could have finished watching it, but Paul Rudd in my opinion was so bad that I just could not take it anymore. I have not seen other movies with Paul Rudd in it, so don't know if it is just this movie or he is just lacking acting skills and talent. I am surprised that others praise his performance. When he is without a costume, he is so blah, but when he is in a costume, anyone can do that, no acting skills required. Michael Douglass was great, as expected. I am giving it 4stars for the Michael Douglas performance and animation.

Medeas (2013)

A good one

[7/10 · 21 October 2015]

It is hard to review a movie like this one. Not much action, hardly few dialogues, or any dialogues for that matter. But you are glued to the screen. You care about the characters. You find the leading actress so young and beautiful. You don't know what to expect. Slowly paced development to its culmination moment. And the ending just breaks your heart. Everyone is a victim in this movie. Unfairness of life so to speak. The acting is very, including children. Well done. I love to see new faces in movies. All of the leading actors are unknown to me. I stopped watching movies with overexposed and overrated Hollywood actors and actresses . You can't connect with a character when actors are overexposed by media. And they are usually mediocre actors at best.

Going Away (2013)

I am puzzled

[1/10 · 21 October 2015]

Rarely do I feel puzzled after I had finished watching a movie. It is good, bad or in between, but rarely, or actually never I felt that I have been cheated on- i felt that it has not started yet. That 1 hour+ was just a prelude, the introduction and the promised entertainment have not began yet. It starts with a one plot line that develops into another seemingly foreign to the main idea of the film. Both plot lines are unbelievably weak, unrealistic, and boring, so cliché. The acting was not good either. The child actor could not deliver the performance. Neither did the 2 leading actors. Unpleasant surprise from a usually good French cinema.

Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies (2015)

Difficult to watch

[8/10 · 14 October 2015]

I have only watched episode 1 so far. It is educational, but difficult to watch. Not for the faint hearted. While I do understand that everything that was done to people with cancer in the past was considered "the best they could" at the time, I still see it as barbaric. Unfortunately the same continues these days, nothing really changed,just looks more sophisticated. We still have no idea how a human body works, let alone understand it on a cellular level. There are 2 modern day children cancer cases included in the episode 1. I wish I had not watched it. What we do to children in my opinion is a crime. No different than medical experiments that were conducted during WWII on prisoners. They too were powerless. We address our own emotions pushing all kind of experimental and extreme s called treatments on the innocent children who can't decide for themselves. While you do want your child to live happily ever after, your decision to subject them to inhumane suffering is beyond cruel. Let them die the most humaine way possible is the way to go. Instead they die in agony. And it is the parents who subject them to that. We must embrace that death is inevitable and don't prolong life at any cost. I just wanted to strangle all the doctors in this documentary. A friend of mine had said thank you,but NO to chemo,radiation and surgery. He lived 5 beautiful years controlling his cancer with his mind only. He would have been dead after his first chemo.

Knock Knock (I) (2015)

I liked it.

[7/10 · 12 October 2015]

I liked this film. And I liked Generation Um, which also received very low ratings. See, everyone has a different perception.There are age groups and gender groups and people with different cultural backgrounds,there are teenagers and there are middle agers. So everyone sees something others are unable to see. Americans don't get French or Japanese movies, Europeans hate Hollywood crap that American teenagers and dumb people love (J.Aniston movies anyone?). First of all the acting was great. The story realistic and believable. So saying don't waste your time is like saying I like vanilla ice cream so you don't eat a chocolate one. 9 out of 10 Hollywood movies of the last 10 years are utter crap. Argo or Gravity (7.9 ratings???? How in the world?) are awful all around in my opinion. In fact Gravity is an insult to one's intelligence.

In Lieu of Flowers (I) (2013)

Fake everything

[1/10 · 23 September 2015]

Well to start with, the performances are very bad. I have no idea why Spencer Grammar is an actress as it is appears she has zero acting skills. He face grimaces in this film were so revolting and fake that I wanted to quit watching several times, it literally drove me nuts. I also hated her character from the start, but may be it was Spencer Grammar lack of acting skills that was irritating me big deal. So she just met this guy, literally, for the first time, and she is already lecturing him about smoking? I am a woman myself, but hate this type of pretensions, know it all women. The empty dialogues in the cafe and everywhere else and forced humor added nothing to the story. The healing group scenes were dismal and fake.Too many sad songs. In short, Spencer Grammar has ruined any potential this movie might have had. I have to give a credit to Josh Pence though, his performance was mostly good.

The List of My Desires (2014)

One lifeless movie

[1/10 · 18 September 2015]

Let me start with performances. The leading actress performance was incredibly lifeless and boring. I don't remember ever seeing this actress in other movies therefore can't really conclude about her acting skills or talents or lack of it. The rest of the acting gang just followed her steps delivering very sad performances. The first part of the movie was just all OK. A seemingly intelligent woman had stayed with an abusive alcoholic for unknown reason. There was zero chemistry between 2 leading characters. 2 lifeless, emotionless and depressing zombies under one roof. The beach side lover story was just a joke. Pretty much every development in this film was boring, far-stretched and not believable. I could have written a better story about winning a lottery.

Dimensions (I) (2011)

Who and why made this piece of nothing.

[1/10 · 13 September 2015]

Just like someone had already said the first 15 min. were somewhat watchable, minus pretense of the "era" and sub-par performances including children. From 15 years forward it is all downhill. I stopped watching on 57th min. into the film, just could not take it any longer. An absurd in every boring sleepy scene. They aged a mother too much. She could not have looked totally gray and old just after 15 years when she was very young in the beginning. Did women go to bars in early 40s to drink alone? The "bartender" cracked me up, or was it a waitress that said "One of those days?". Yeah a woman stole some tools from University? Give me a break. In short, all you will see in this movie is a couple of guys and a woman with screwdrivers in a so called lab and some absurd characters and meaningless dialogues in between.