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The After (2023)
Very rewarding
A very well written and superbly acted short that traces the arc of grief of a businessman Dayo (Oyelowo) who suffers an unspeakably traumatic loss, and then must carry on with his life in the aftermath. To keep this spoiler-free I won't reveal specifics, but what made The After a rewarding watch for me was that despite the trauma that is at the story's center, its conclusion left me feeling optimistic for the future of Oyelomo's character. To navigate a path of such extremes in an 18-minute span while maintaining believable and relatable character reactions and emotions speaks volumes to the quality of the screenplay and to the acting performances. Very well done to all involved in the making of The After. Very well done indeed.
Sky Rojo (2021)
A wild, watchable ride
I watched all 3 seasons of Sky Rojo (24 episodes at a half-hour each give or take a minute) in a week, which is quick for me. The story of 3 prostitutes in a Tenerife brothel who go on the run after stealing their pimp boss's money zips by, each episode ending on a mini-cliffhanger which makes it almost impossible not to want to immediately watch the next one. Veronica Sanchez, Lali Esposito and Yany Prado are crazy good as the 3 hookers on the lam, and Asier Etxeandia plays the wonderfully irredeemable brothel boss Romeo. A word of warning - some scenes are particularly violent, gory even, so watcher beware. That said, a definite a thrill-a-minute watch.
Sin huellas (2023)
Fast paced, action filled, leads with chemistry to burn - a great watch if you appreciate mixed genre
No Traces seems to have divided opinion among the critics. Perusal of naysayer comments, however, suggests the primary source of dislike for many to be the mixed genre nature of the show. If you don't appreciate having your belly laughs mixed in with your violent murders then this won't be for you. If like me, however, you thrill to fast-paced storylines, action a plenty, and leads with romantic chemistry to burn, then the creators of No Traces hit the bulls-eye for us. Carolina Yuste is magnetically watchable as the always underestimated gypsy Desi, Camila Sodi is zany and beautiful as Desi's sidekick Cata, and Silvia Alonso complicates the shipping with a pitch perfect turn as the conflicted cop who also happens to be Desi's ex. A word too for Leonardo Ortizgris and the easily overlooked element of nuance he brings to the character of Ubaldo, Cata's ex-husband. All in all, particularly for the mixed genre appreciators, No Traces is a really good watch.
Aprimi il cuore (2002)
Good lead performances, passable story, low production values
I think I said it all in my review title but - starting with the positive - I thought the lead performances by Giada Colagrande as Caterina and Natalie Cristiani as her older sister Maria were really quite good. Caterina's almost total subservience to Maria in the beginning and the arc by which she gradually establishes herself in the relationship is well written and well portrayed by both actresses. Unfortunately the movie is dragged down by the low production values and the seeming lack of attention given to any part of the story falling outside of the interactions between Caterina and Maria. The dialogue between the two leads, for example, is tight, measured and very effective in advancing the gradual transformation of the relationship between them. Dialogue involving the supporting cast members, by contrast, often seems stilted and on-the nose. The clear budget limitations under which this movie was made impacted other areas such as the camera work and uninspiring location choices (did that really look like a ballet school that Caterina was attending? It seemed more like the girls were walking in and out of someone's French windows), but these are more forgivable than the aforementioned dialogue issues. Overall, though, anytime someone puts time and effort into creative production there should be some kudos sent their way along with hope that any lessons learnt result in future productions of increasingly high quality, so I do that now - good effort, guys, particularly to Giada and Natalie on your performances - well done!
Så jävla easy going (2022)
So Damn Good
It's often little things that take a screenplay, an acting performance, or both to the next level. In So Damn Easy Going, there's a moment when the movie's teenage protagonist Joanna - already reeling emotionally from a day navigated without her ADHD medication - is hit between the eyes with the epiphany that she has feelings for the new girl in school, Audrey. Nikki Hanseblad, in a magnetically charismatic screen debut surely portending of great things to come, so perfectly conveys a mix of charged realization and stubborn confusion. All with a simple look.
As someone diagnosed with ADHD myself, I can empathize by experience with anyone suffering from a condition that basically strips away your ability to filter, prioritize or organize in any way the myriad issues, tasks and problems that come your way in an average day. It can cause others to think of you as scatterbrained, disorganized, incapable, even uncaring (or YOU THINK it is causing others to think of you this way).
From a similar perspective I applaud the stroke of genius in using ADHD as one of the structural lynchpins from which to develop Joanna's story arc. Whether by design or not, So Damn Easy Going hints at a position some take on ADHD medication, namely that to fight the symptoms of the condition it must "dumb down" or desensitize the patient to external stimuli. In the context of the screenplay, one might ask perhaps whether it is only Joanna's forced vacation from her medication that allows her to start working through the issues she was facing in her home life. Confronting issues is hard, it's messy, it's awkward. If you never face them, though - if you desensitize yourself to them - they will bloat inside you, find fault lines, and one day break you into pieces. The off-her-meds Joanna is certainly awkward and messy, but she's moving forward, she's healing, she's learning the type of person she really wants to be.
The movie's highly accurate and insightful depiction of the world of an ADHD sufferer (the flashing lightbulbs, the respite provided by swimming - both brilliant) are buttressed by a tight story structure and some fine supporting performances, notably from Shanti Roney as Joanna's father and Melina Paukkonen (also in an impressive debut appearance) as Audrey. Hanseblad and Paukkonen have chemistry aplenty on screen and the development of their relationship, the ups and the downs, never seems forced, a testimony I suspect to much work behind the scenes and some fine directing work from Christoffer Sandler, who also wrote the screenplay.
Perhaps the greatest compliment I can pay to all those involved in the making of So Damn Easy Going is that watching the movie made me want to do my own due diligence "maintenance check" on whether I am being as open to all life's possibilities as I should be. I'm a lot older than Joanna but I'd like to think it's never too late to truly figure out what type of person you are, and to BE that person with all your heart. < Cue lightbulb flash >.
Clapper Board: Chariots of Fire (1981)
Great memories of this episode
Even though it's over 40 years ago (?!) I remember this episode of Clapper Board very well, particularly where Chris Kelly was talking about how the film set out to portray as authentic a picture as possible of what the 1924 Olympic Games would actually have looked like. Great memories! I believe The Oscars where Chariots of Fire won had already happened when this episode aired, so that wouldn't have been mentioned in the episode. I do know I hadn't watched the movie before seeing this episode, so I can't for the life of me remember when I actually saw it for the first time. What I do know is that over the 40 years since I've seen it many times, and it always gives me the same thrill when I hear the music!
Bonnie & Bonnie (2019)
Good chemistry
Decent enough spin on the familiar storyline with nice performances from, and good chemistry between, Emma Drogunova and Sarah Mahita in the lead roles. The development of the character backstories was weighted heavily to the younger of the "Bonnies" played by Drogunova with very little time spent on exploring why Mahita's Bonnie is the person she is today. It would have been nice to have evened this up a bit by having more time spent understanding the older Bonnie's story. Other than this, worth the watch.
Summerland (2020)
Enjoyable movie
I enjoyed this movie. A well written story, with a very nice character arc for the main character Alice, excellently played by Gemma Arterton. One of the main turns of the plot I did not see coming at all, which is always a nice surprise. A movie which successfully plays at your emotions, but not in a way that makes you feel manipulated. You'll just feel good after you've watched it.
Nude Area (2014)
Thoughtful and risk-taking
Risk-taking in the sense of attempting to convey storyline and character development without any dialogue, but through expressions and other non-verbal interactions between the 2 leads. I thought it was quite well done, although it does require some thinking and somewhat subjective assessment in some cases to decode the intent, so if that's not your bag when watching a movie then this might not be for you. If you are, then you'll find Nude Area quite rewarding. There's also a theme expressed in the movie around how we can be slave to certain paradigms of attractiveness and beauty and how these can set expectations in a cross-cultural sense. Again, this was very well done.
Spring (2021)
Very nicely done
Well done to all involved. A good example of how even on a modest budget (crowdfunded apparently), a tight script and good acting can deliver a very nice movie experience.
I really liked Alexandra Swarens and Emma Maddock.in the lead roles of Tyler and Rose. I also thought the immediate entry into the story without significant delivery of backstory or subsequent exposition worked VERY well. I wish more movies would do this - let the audience work on understanding why the characters are who they are - we becomes much more invested in them, plus it gives the actors so much more to work with. My only small quibble were the scenes with Rose and her mother - I just didn't feel they worked vey well and I wonder if what these scenes were trying to accomplish couldn't have been done another away. Again, just a small criticism, though - other than this the story moved very nicely.
Good job!
My First Summer (2020)
Glittering little gem of a movie
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. An excellent script from Katie Found, who also directed, and beautiful performances from leads Markella Kavenagh and Maiah Stewardson. The scenes between Claudia and Grace, both 16, were written and directed with a perfect balance of taste and authenticity.
Well done to all.
Girls Like Magic (2017)
Feelgood Movie
The title of my review says it all, really. I stumbled upon the movie by accident, then once I started it I had to watch it all. Super chemistry between leads Julia Eringer and Shantell Yasmine Abeydeera, and a nice turn by Dominic Adams as a rather self-absorbed Hollywood writer type.