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Große Freiheit (2021)
The most miserable lgbt-themed movie that everyone should watch.
Remember how much pain you were in after watching Brokeback Mountain? Well with this one it's going to feel 100x worse.
In my opinion everyone should consider watching this movie. To my knowledge it is the first movie (not documentary) about how lgbt people were treated in Nazi and post-war Germany. And so in a way it's a bit of an educational movie for people who are unaware about those parts of history. The acting is pretty good and perfectly communicates tentative intimacy and affection in such a harsh environment. I hope the leading stars get to act in more movies.
In the screenings I attended there was no one under the age of 35 and my same-age peers expressed they did not want to see it because it sounded too miserable. I will not lie, it is miserable until the very end. But I believe it depicts a very important and part of lgbt history where the brutality should not be downplayed.
Aloys (2016)
A character study about connection and loneliness
I'll admit this movie is not for everyone. It can lack clarity at times. But the fact that it leaves you curious and wanting more is a sign it's done its job well. The best way I can describe this movie is a kind of character study loosely inspired by the movie 'Her'.
The movie follows Aloys Adorn, a distant and cold private investigator who's just lost his father after being ill for a few years. Vera, the woman who communicates with him through the phone, is intriguing, but in my opinion it is Aloys who truly carries the movie.
Aloys' story is a realistic and authentic look at loneliness and isolation. It is hinted throughout the movie that several factors probably contribute to his isolation, his awkwardness and disguised fear towards people, and always needing a barrier between him and the real world in the form of a camera or headphones. It seem he and his father were cast out from the rest of the family, as no one shows up to the funeral. And so Aloys probably had an isolated and lonely childhood in such a sparsely-populated town. The nature of his job passed down from his father probably worsened the problem.
All in all, the film is a very relatable and authentic look at the nature of loneliness, and there's also a lot of nice cinematography and metaphor with its minimalist style.
The King (2019)
It could have been better.
I will not be talking much about historical accuracy because I honestly don't think it matters. It's a film not a documentary. Going into this film I had little idea of what it was about and its historical context, so I will be judging it as an average viewer.
Simply put: it could have been better. And in my opinion it deserved better.
The events of the story are just too great and too long to be confined to a movie. A better mode of story-telling would have been a series.
I would have loved to see more of Henry's rivalry with his father. There was only about 10 minutes total of them on screen together. More talk of battle tactics would have also added to the awe, and why exactly you can't just go around a medieval castle to attack. The ending is especially the weakest point. So the king of France is a madman who believes he's made of glass, and you only show him for 3 minutes and it's not even a good 3 minutes? Besides that, the movie makes it look like taking over France was quite the piece of cake that only took a month. I also felt that Gascoigne's death was really underwhelming and hypocritical. No blood on screen then while we had to watch the brutal beheading of another character that barely mattered.
And being that everything had to be confined to a movie, a lot of great historical events that would have made an even greater story had to be cut out. Such as the time when Henry fought against France at age 16 and got an arrow to the face where new medical tools had to be created to pull it out. In general the theme of having to go to war at such a young age was ignored in the film. Then again I'm not sure what age Henry is supposed to be in the movie, because he was 26 when he became king.
Also, maybe it's just the style of the movie, but the colours are so dull. It is a misconception that everything was just black, grey and brown in the medieval period, especially in what people chose to wear.
Anyway, I'll just keep dreaming about a series of this.
Enola Holmes (2020)
A great detective story.....for middle schoolers.
I feel like there was very little reason for this film's existence except to reach a wide audience with the safe rating and to pull people in with the famous name of Holmes.
It involves a narrational style very reminiscent of a YA book, except the action and conflict is safe enough for ten year olds.
The branding of Sherlock Holmes just confuses me, and is the reason why I'm giving such a low rating. For a spinoff of SHERLOCK Holmes, it feels nothing like Sherlock Holmes. For one thing it violates Sherlock Holmes' sacred rule: there is no Sherlock Holmes without Watson. Watson is never seen or mentioned, and Mycroft ironically looks like Watson. Sherlock is barely in it, and does pretty much nothing except care a little for his sister.
The film also tries to set up a past conflict within the Holmes family, but it gets no resolution. An effect of this is a very black and white portrayal of Mycroft being an evil misogynist and Sherlock and Enola being saints. And both their apathy or hatred for their mother is never really explained.
I feel like the film could have had potential if it separated itself from Sherlock Holmes and filled the gaps with its own story. Bogging it down even further is its themes about women's empowerment, that fails because it tries to piggyback off of a famous piece of media instead of doing the work of creating an original and engaging story
Brahms: The Boy II (2020)
Somewhat intriguing but lacking in continuity.
The good points: I liked the mystery and intrigue surrounding the doll (again), and Christopher Convery does a great job acting as the innocent but troubled Jude. There was also a good build-up of tension and dread and I found the doll and its influence on Jude disturbing.
Otherwise it's a bit average. And this is just a personal opinion but I don't like it how the story cut out the actual Brahms. He was still alive by the end of the last movie and there was room to include him effectively. He's arguably the best part of the first movie and they left him out.
L'amica geniale (2018)
A great series about so much more than friendship.
Don't be put off by the foreign language, it's a must see.
For one thing, this series is beautifully shot in the backdrop of the 1950s and the changing decades that follow. Every detail of those eras is done just right.
And second, this series is about so much more than friendship. In fact some might hesitate to call it a friendship. Elena Ferrante's writing is interwoven beautifully into the series to portray the secret thoughts about relationships that people don't dare say out loud.
It is also about poverty, emancipation of not just women but of everyone. It's about crime, the Camorra mafia. And it portrays the mafia in a very different but real light. And finally, it is about changing times.
Snowpiercer (2020)
A unique post-apocalyptic series.
If you're sick of zombies and a bit bored with dystopian sci-fi settings, then hop onto Snowpiercer!
It's very well-acted, I got attached to the characters. As exemplified on the series' subreddit, people tend to have two opposing views about the actions and morality of the two main characters. So there's definitely some stuff to ponder about in this series.
Of course I do have some complaints. I agree with many other watchers that the murder subplot could have been handled better. Personally I really didn't like it that a certain character seemed to be more concerned about sex than rightfully reflecting on their horrible situation.
I find the setting to be pretty horrifying and eerie, and I wish they had put more focus on what is outside the train and the memories of the past. Heck I wouldn't have minded if a few more people got killed via the cold. And for a series about a train carrying the last remnants of humanity, it could use more cool outside shots of the train.
Second season looks promising. I hope this series continues for as long as it needs to and that they'll keep improving with each season.
Swallow (2019)
Cool concept, but something's missing.
I loved the originality of this movie and the topic it handled. The acting was great too. But I felt that it ended too abruptly and that there was more to tell. I definitely expected and looked forward to Hunter standing up to her emotionally abusive husband or her crazy-sounding family.
Patrick Melrose (2018)
First episode is great, but it all goes downhill from there.
First episode was great, full of dark humor and Cumberbatch at his best. The best parts were undoubtedly when he was drunk or high. Gives you a real incite into the mind of a drug-addict.
But it all went downhill from there. While the rest of the episodes did communicate the themes of childhood trauma and how difficult it is to overcome it, most of the time was filled with minutes upon minutes of pointless conversations about frivolous things. Or maybe it's just not my taste, as one of the core themes described in the books is the decay of the British elite.
Cloverfield (2008)
A lot of things dragged it down.
My biggest complaint is that the introduction where everything's calm and you're supposed to bond with the characters goes on for WAY TOO LONG. For a whole quarter of the movie this guy with a camera goes around talking to the party guests and it's clear we're supposed to be bonding with the characters, but it just doesn't work because there's too many of them and it's too casual apart from a stereotypical cheating partner sub-plot. It could have been bearable if there was some dread buildup, something to show that things weren't quite right.
Other than that, the monster itself isn't particularly unique. It's parasites are unexpected and make the film a bit more interesting. But I was severely disappointed when the consequences of their bite/disease just ended with the person exploding. Like really? That's the writing of a child. From other reviews I was expecting more talk on the origins of the monster and how it and its parasites function, but either I didn't catch it all or maybe there's some interviews or content explaining it that I don't know about.
The only saving grace is the great acting, the way the film was shot and the realistic scenes of panic and destruction. Unfortunately the bad points weigh this film down too much.
The Tunnel (2011)
One of the best horror films I've seen.
What I really found great about this movie, that other horror movies often miss, is an excellent buildup of dread. There's also the very relatable fear of getting lost in underground structures. Personally I find that very frightening. Add a monster or serial killer on the loose and you have a really effective horror movie.
But there was something missing about this movie that kept it from being better, even more suspenseful, maybe even great. I know maybe you're not supposed to think too deeply about it, but I would have liked more information about what the monster is, what is it's goal, how did it originate?
The Current War (2017)
The Current War is plain boring!
I felt like sleeping when watching this movie. The dialogue was pedestrian, flat and filled with too much technical terms. Even the camera angles and framing somehow managed to seem flat. There is no room to connect to the characters, the story felt disjointed and confusing. The worst hyped-up film I have ever watched.