Reviews

Perfect Stranger is a film about a group of friends gather around to dinner, which they play a game of they should answer every call they'll receive on speaker, and the story takes you on its road...

Alright it is a remake of the original Perfect Stranger, but it not really a remake it only took the key to start it's own story. The performances in this film are great, especially Georges Khabbaz and Nadine Labaki and Fouad Yamine and Adel Karam ... they are all great, they never go overboard they keep it simple and the greatest acting is not to act, because acting is reacting.

Now as a directorial debut it is not a perfect film it is flawed but you can ignore them, and it can be better in camera wise, I am not saying that they should the camera work like Gaspar Noe, it doesn't fit the film, it is simple and it's good but the cinematography is to simple and that is a good and bad thing. The music score is incredible.

Spoiler alert (watch the film before you read it because it is better experienced as a surprise)

If you didn't watch the original perfect stranger you will enjoy this new version a lot, it play with your mind it begin as a chill out movie and jokes all around, and you think this is great I can watch 10 hours of this, and when the game began the film take step by step into a breaking point that can't and will not be repaired.

The message: This film tells us that how our lives is getting worse and worse and we can't do a thing, because one hand alone can't clap. We are in a world of social media and technology, some people think that this is a good thing, of course it was some positives, like fun and information. But the negative are so high that we arrived at a point that we're seeing it anymore. The way we talk to each other, the lies hwe lie without even noticing that they're lies in the first place, the secrets that we keep from other and from ourself, we think to much about the others and what others think, even if it's the closest friends that want to listen, we don't confront ourselves, we lock our true self and pretend to that it becomes our nature. After all these years we are still a close mind universe.

The film ends at a positive point that they didn't play the game and everyone keep living their own life with the secrets they have, but you don't know if it is real or not. To me the happy ending is when everything is revealed, that they're is not a wall anymore to hide behind. But they all are sad because they want to understand and accept the truth of each others but they can't, because the world is broken and can't be fixed, and they can't do a thing about it, they just have to expect and pretend on their lives even if it's wrong.

Life should not have consequences because it has the biggest punishment that it will end, and we only want to live in what we have and have fun, and to not judge each other, but live through one another. And be all united in one hand even if it can't clap.

Less is more. It's a 27 shots film, that takes its time by breathing from one scene to another. By the long take you can't make the viewer blink or loose concentration, if you think like a regular movie, you'll see that nothing happen, but if you think deep and see the meaning not the substance you'll be mesmerised.

This film shows the absurdity of a woman's life, and how they are many women like her. She believes in a fancy life that she caged herself in a woman of no feeling. From one woman to another she tells the same story, and observe with curiosity the people she visits because she lost the meaning of life and she's filling out her moments by the story of others. While the other doesn't like her so much but in the act of kindness they let her interfere. When she saw a life in a film she saw first she didn't give it attention and ate while the film was rolling she seeing only the picture and she saids "nice", but while she's living she stopped and returned to watch the same film, because it is the only key hope for her change and return to her real self.

This film is very inspiring, very calm, it really reminds me why movies are made, and give me hope that we are still to this day making great films, I really felt that I was watching a film by Robert Bresson, but the director of this film is filled with unlimited passion, and showed me that you don't need to much money to make a film, you just has to believe in it, and make it, don't wait, and don't cage yourself like this women, do what you always want to do, and don't pretend to life no more.

The road of life in every person will come to an end someday. But the important thing is to see our life. Did we live a happy live? Did we do the things that we wanted to do? Did we love and still with the people we love or we were just pretending? The thing is we were always far from the love ones until the last day we reunite, it will be too late, why didn't we always been together? What a person can do in his last days, the knowledge of death will appreciate life more, or rushed by been scared.

The heavy deal that The Farewell is enormously deep. The secret that we keep away from the dying ones is shameful to the wasted time we have been away. The marriage arrangement made her happy, it doesn't matter how small or ridiculous things are, the important if it make us happy that's life. We should stay with others, not regretting not saying goodbye. To really spend the fun because life doesn't last.

A sentimental film that cannot be described in words. We began by a close-up shot of the protagonist to make the viewer to look harder like you are seeing this man for the last before he departs life, he is shown early on underwater, the answer was given, but you can expect that this can be a nightmare (the fear of death) to make the line between the reality and dream to be blur later in the film.

You are dealing with a director that understands this situation very well and makes it as quietly as profound as possible with the low budget that he have, he pulled out one of the greatest most unique films of Lebanon.

Maybe some people will watch it and think it's boring, because they are used to action, brain off movies. But those who understand the art form you will see the passion in every frame, we see every moment in his day, wake up, take a bath, arguing with parents because of money and lost job, even the last words to his mother were shouting, to how life is hard and we forgot how to live and be happy because of all the problems that block our life to become like animals just surviving in a dark tragedy, and no one will know when his death will come and we still act to ourselves and lock of hearts that is full with innocent emotions.

You can see this film and speculate if you're dead what will happen, will you be remembered, or you can watch this movie and feel the of someone you love or lived with. Not because I am Lebanese that I'm saying that, I hate all the series and comedy that Lebanon makes, but we are proofing ourselves in drama art films (films like: Capernaum, The Insult, Ghadi ...), Me as a christian I really loved this film because it let me know how the other religious behave on this kind of a situation. I am really proud of this masterpiece that came from Lebanon, to show that we are capable of doing a Bresson and Bergman and Kubrick film caliber. What ever happen to this country the art of film will live forever.

It's about a day of a shooting of a high school, now a when you hear this you will think that the movie will be normal if I watched, but you're wrong if you watch this movie you will not get it out of your even if you tried.

Spoiler

When I first watched this movie in summer 2020 I like it but I was taking the story and the information to make a compelling sense, when I finished it I thought then that it was okay, but there something in this film I didn't know what that kept me thinking about it, I tried to analyse it but I couldn't like a beautiful blur came into my head.

When I watched it for the second time in February 2021, I understood every single thing about this movie, it's like you've known all the pieces of the puzzle and now you are putting it together and see everything in your own mind and thoughts.

Analysis

• the killer that is wearing black is the hero of the film, because at first when you are introduced to him you see him that he is not fitting up with the rest, he is lonely, and gets bullied by everyone who thinks of. So the hate for the society and the high school (as he thinks of it's a prison that his parents obligated him to enter), like one moment when a group of students talk about the gayness of people and what make people to be gays, he sees that because of them and because you're leaving me alone I cannot hold it to become gay, the hate grows and grows against all people (or society) and the sadness grows in him like a dark cloud spreading on a pure sky), he could not say what he feels because no one will understand him or listen to him but you can see a glimpse of his sadness when he plays the piano. And because of the society even putting the bad ideas themselves in his head by (killing games, violence movies like Hitler films, putting online guns to sell. If like the society is making his plan and because of his mind can't resist it he will execute everything that makes him unhappy to make himself happy for a moment), he is a hero (if like the director one day dreamt of this day and makes it come true by a motion picture)

• some of you will think how is he a hero if he kills innocents people. I will explain, like we said the high school is a prison and everyone from students to workers are obligated by it, so some people are used to school and become fine in their head some hated it but can't say but the sadness rage in their eyes. So when the director makes you follow the students (he lets you follow someone who is far from society, someone is trying to leave society, someone who is trying to fits with society, some who believe themselves as the perfect people for society) that's why he lets the yellow shirt man leave because he knows that he hate society and want to get away from it. But everyone who has something with society must die in the mind of the hero (the killer)

There is many and many analysis in every shot but I explained the very important things. I am very ashamed of myself that I didn't know about this film until 2020, it's like someone not watch 2001: a Space Odyssey, or the Godfather. Lus Van Sant plays with his masterpiece in every artistic way you can imagine, he stays on a long take and in the long take he do the impossible with the camera ( from static to panning to tracking ) to shot sizes and how he mixed many lenses and frames, it is a true work of an artist, I wish I could say more of this unforgettable Masterpiece, and I wish you understand what I was trying to say in my analysis.

I forgot to tell the most important thing the sound in this movie is transportable, like is the scene where the hero is in the caffeteria and writing his plans and one asks him what are you writing he says my plans but she didn't take him seriously, to see how stupid society is, my point is when he stops and starts listening, he first hear nothing just his thoughts but when he hears outside his head he hears the loudness of society, that makes a lonely sad teenager from a pure innocent man to a wild elephant.

Life is everything to a human being, he's living in it but he's not knowing what is life and what it contains from the single most small thing to the biggest, to how we live our life like a blind that will never see the full truth until that what we call it time will stop everything will be as before the creation.

It's the most inspiring film I have ever saw in my entire life, not just inspiring for animators but to all who loves film and want to make film to put their vision of life, their thoughts, their voice that was never been listened to. I really love this movie this is my first viewing and I put it in my favourite movies.

This movie tells us that life is so big and have many thoughts to it and we need to think, to see, to live, if I can just put the things that I feel in words but I can't, and I never will, because we can't say how we feel in words because words only takes 0.00001 percent of what we feel.

I can't believe that Don Hertzfeldt did this film on his own, his feelings I grasped, I've never felt this way in a movie before, I really thought for a moment that I was Bill and the world has ended and I've gone insane and I if I was in another world that I don't want to return to my own, it's really an escape to all, like me and other who knows to much that we began to see the world differently and don't to be with the people that are like robots in this world.

I will finish by saying a phrase once Roger Ebert said to Robert Bresson but I will say it to Don: "No one can make such a film without actually be filled with unlimited passion"

This is the second time I've this film, the first time it was 2012, It stuck in my head since then, I was shocked by the story and forgot everything else. Watching it the second time I saw how genius Hitchcock was. From the different camera setups, from blocking staging, and most of all his attention to colour.

We first meet Jimmy Stewart (which he was great in this picture) in red, his comfort zone, where his far girlfriend is, where everyone he knows in, but when we first meet Kim Novak the green appears glowing over the red taking all of our attention, so the green follows Stewart every time he meet her, but when she died the blue didn't leave him, even if the replacement wears a green she turns into the purple dress mixing his sadness blue with his routine zone red. In the end black desaturate everything and Hitchcock leaves you on edge. Watch this wonderful film to understand what I was trying to say in my theory of colour in this picture, of course everyone seen it by now but even so watch it again, Hitchcock was one of the best directors in the world, appreciate his vision, his talent, his masterpieces.

What a smart and genius film to made, you need to see it many times to notice all the small details that can shift or make more sense to the story, when you connect all the pieces together you will do like he did in the end. It's every filmmaker dream psycho film, the attention to detail and the cinematography that gives meaning without telling, and oh my God Christian Bale is a master actor, not just the weight, he act very realistic with his psycho non over the top performance, make you feel with him by his reactions and face expressions.

Spoiler warning

I really felt with this movie a lot, because I past a time when I lives in a reality that people thinks it's not, like if they are doing a prank on me. But the truth is that when someone thinks a lot and more than usual he will be lost in another world where he will finds that the reality that people are living in stinks. But I recovered from my happy reality to go back to the reality that stinks. This film really puts you inside of Christian Bale's head. You see what he sees, you know what he knows, and you learn more and more and try to put the pieces together like he is doing, but when the third act hits and explain everything, it will make all sense. Now it is not all fantasy or dream, no it a mind's reality in the real world and he cannot sleep for over a year because of the guilt of killing a child that he did not answer himself for. You need to watch this film, if you want to make movies or psychological films or to be blown away by a smart story and by a director's mind, and if you want to see how to by a great actor, you need to see this masterpiece.

As a Lebanese filmmaker, I admit that Capharnaüm is one of the best film from Lebanon, and if you like this film I recommend "The insult" "Ghadi" "And where do we go now" and my first film "Broken Truth" and many other good Lebanese films. The drama feature films that Lebanon are putting are outstanding, there is not a bad movie, I'm talking objectively, because everyone have their own opinion on a movie. Now when I first saw this movie in 2018, when it was released, I thought it was a good movie but I didn't connect with it. But when I rewatched it 2 days ago, I could not let it out of my mind, and I'm a one who watches 7 or 8 movies a day. So I wrote a conclusion of the film, and more I think about it, more it gets me sad. This film is about a life of a poor yet homeless child, and meets people in his homeless times and try everything to stay alive and survive life, while everything turns bad for him, and when something good happens it only last a moment or two. We see in the beginning how he's saying in his heart that why I've born like this why we are so poor like someone whipping us off in the ground. The message of Capharnaüm is that God don't leave anyone. That there is hope even when we are about to die. Teach us that you need to appreciate your life and gets satisfied with it because see how the homeless lives that they can't even guarantee to survive to another day. What scary is that could happen to anyone in Lebanon or other countries, that a kid poor or well can become and live like Zayn without even thinking about it, this is why in this hard life you need to work, to get money to live, because you don't know what can happen in life, sure God do everything even letting me write this review but he can do to you things that are very hard and sad to teach you and you will be able to do it on earth before you can join him in heaven. There is more that I want to talk about this wonderful film, that is directed so well by Nadine Labaki who has a great vision to movies, and you can tell by her two previous features. I wish I could talk more about this movie how it reflects the time that Lebanon are passing into, but we need to stay positive and increase the hope and thank God for EVERYTHING.

This film is about a group of soldiers whom were ordered to find private James Ryan, so while the searching the war knocks their doors on every block they enter, so the blood fled across the enemy line were unexpected things start to happen.

Spoiler warning

This is an art classic war film, not those silly shoot just to shoot movies. This is a well directed film, which every shot of Saving Private Ryan is wonderfully compelled with beauty and sadness and tragedy that you can't do nothing to change the past. The cinematography is handheld most of the time, and this put us right near them like we are part of this war and we are scared to lose our life too in a sudden unthinkable moment. The most emotional scene for me is when the scared translator who could save a lot of people including the commander , first time I saw it I was really angry of this moment, but watching it again the conclusion spoke to me telling that this man his fear beats the scared part of him to not lose his life but many other did, this is the tragedy of wars. You don't know at any given moment who will die among them, and everyone who dies you feel the empathy for him even if you met a while ago or don't know anything about him. The right side can always win, but can it?

This movie is about a ballet dancer who wants to become perfect, but to get she tries really hard until the insanity starts to grow till she became an unknown. Black Swan blew me away, my eyes and my mouth did not close the entire run time, my heart fell something I didn't feel it before and I can't describe it. The overwhelming story put in a place that I didn't know the exit but I didn't want to leave it. Darren Aranofsky really puts you in the head of Nina, you see what she sees, you feel and hear what she feels and hear, that she is always waiting for the big show to become perfect, and every step back and every heart break moment you feel the gain of them. Natalie Portman gives her best performance ever. But the unhinged cinematography and the over heavenly music puts everyone in a gray paradise and your mind decides if he goes white or black. This movie tells us that it's not necessary to go to perfection, you just need to be satisfied by your place and what you have. But personally I understand the character and made me to go to the perfection, because it's not necessary to live a long life without meaning, but live a short time with great pleasure and greatness and when you be gone they will remember your greatest work. The insanity comes because of people who laugh at as and don't support us, just because you're better then them but you just need a push and the word is yours.

Man on the Moon is about the life of Andy Kaufman, who is an very interesting guy, because he's not like the other but you can see yourself in him or in his shoes. I've this movie 10 times for now, and every once of a while I'll watch it again, movies like (Man on the moon) - (Edward Scissorhand) - (The Hunt) ... effect me a lot, those film talk about the tragedy that can come to any person if people start to talk about him, the people's talk can ruined somebody's life. In the example of Andy Kaufman the true story is that he want to live his life on his own terms and doesn't want to waste time with people because they are the problem of the world, so he wants to be happy and do what ever he wants and he doesn't want to do something like the other, because they are all like a group of sheep who all follow the same thing and that's right or wrong. Anyway when he want to live like he want with fun and pranks people didn't take him seriously and hates him, so when he got cancer no one believed him, so he spent his last remaining days with a dark sadness that the people created on him. (They didn't like the pranks that he's making, a doctor in philippine do a prank operation with anyone knowing but everyone believes that he can cure people, but when Andy was there to be cure and saw the doctor's prank, he laughed because people hates and don't believe Andy for his pranks but a doctor do a prank operation all around the world come for him -- who doesn't make prank ---). So when he died they start to love him because they saw how much they were evil on him but after all that Andy make a video rolled during his funeral says (((((( Thank you for this friendly world ))))))). Broke my heart to crying a lot because we are still living in the same way and people don't have mercy, millions of people around the world their life is ruined because of people's talk. Milos Forman did a wonderful job, and he created a lot as a director and think how hard it was for him to direct Jim Carrey who was Andy Kaufman behind the scenes. I'm not saying that Jim didn't do a good job, he did a great job portraying Andy Kaufman but he should respect the director who have a million pressure on his mind to do this movie. So how Milos Forman pulled it off and make a wonderful film, I wish I could ask him, but that's life, it doesn't stop. Love this movie, watch it if you feel alone and no one understand you.

This movie is not about wrestling, is about an faded man that lost his existence in the world around him, and how the loneliness that he's in kill him more than the heart attack. The movie starts after 20 years of famous wrestling life, that he is starting to get old and can't do it no more, and we see how he is forced to do it because he wants money to survive, but when the heart attack comes, his work can't be good for him, and the movie starts to make cry like baby to see that he knows that he will die soon and he doesn't want to be alone and want to find happiness even in the little things, he loves a strip club dancer but in the end even that she felt empathy for him but she left him. He tried to reunite with his daughter but she hated him even more, the real world and the people that lives in it are very mean and could destroy a person. It's also about that when a person want something a do it, it feel good for a few years than it is a hard sad thing. People who dream about wrestling and want to be one don't know how hard it is, and the people who watches them and get entertained about two people killing each other. They also don't know that they don't get paid much and it's very dangerous even though they fake it. This is the second time I've watch this movie, when I first saw it I didn't know who Darren Aronofsky was, but when I watch Requiem for a dream while blowing my mind when it ended I saw talent and an original voice in filmmaking, so I've watch the wrestler again knowing who he is, and it's wonderful, I've only watched these two movies for now, I will watch black sawn and Pi and fountain, I really have to see his other films to say officially he is one of the greatest director, but if I want to judge him from these 2 films, he's a master. The acting is incredible and very real, that's the thing and I don't know how he did it he keep his actors very real even in the exaggerated scenes, he did that in Requiem for a dream when the old lady is imagining but it's real. Watch this movie, you will have another point of you, or you will learn something else. Cinema at it's best. Empathy is when we relate or see ourselves.

Don't be a addict. This movie will not die and it will stay and affect people to 50 years from now. This movie tell us the truth like it is and the moral feeling that an addict will have. First the movie starts like everyone is normal, and they thought drugs was fun, but threw the runtime of this movie this fun becomes an obsession and the fun turns into self destruct horror, and how the desire drove us into madness and kill ourself to become a crazy person to the world that doesn't have mercy. The acting is unbelievably real and strong. The directions and the camera work and the music and the editing are outstanding, they put us right in their heads. Emotionally tearful because you feel the empathy and yourself if you go the same way they've go. Not for everyone but if you strong enough watch this movie, one of the best movie ever.