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Doragon Bôru Zetto Kami to Kami (2013)
Yes, we are dbz fans, but we can't be so tolerant..
As for many others, dragon ball meant a great deal to me during my childhood and it means a lot to me now. It gave me an emotional attachment that will never go. Dragon ball was maybe the first series/movie that made me feel that special thrill, when you really get into character, and you see him doing something epic and passional. Now I feel that way with other characters in other movies.
Maybe it's because I grew up, maybe as a I child I would have enjoyed it, but I was extremely disappointed with Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods. Maybe the sole achievement is that it makes you laugh at times and it has some classical scenes.
But the ending... widely ridiculous and not very stimulating. The brief fight between Goku and Bills is far from being epic, as every other big battle in Dragon Ball. I understand it tries to promote an alternative form of ending. Different from what we have seen all along. But the movie doesn't provide those epic and thrilling moments that we dbz fans enjoy so much.
Those moments when everything else is lost, when there is almost no hope, and against all odds some Z-fighter comes along and manages to save the day.
This battle between gods was unique. However it was no different from any other normal dbz fight, in fact a lot less interesting. The idea was not bad, but it could have been done so much more with it.
In spite of everything, It's Akira Toriyama, he deserves the audience. If you are a dbz fan you should go and watch it, you will find it nostalgic and maybe the subjectivity allows you to enjoy this movie..
Killer's Kiss (1955)
Not a kubrick's masterpiece of course, but good still
Before judging "Killer's kiss" one has to take into account some considerations. It is Stanley's second feature film. With a very low- budget he achieved a decent film noir.
Unlike every other Kubrick film, the plot is quite plain and predictable. A classical criminal storyline together with a sensitive love story. The attempt of davey of rescuing her woman from the hands of her crazy boss who is in love with her.
I particularly enjoyed the chase and finally the fight between Davey and Rapallo. After a stimulating chase they end up in a creepy warehouse, inside a circle of maniquies and they fight, spear against axe. In a sort of circus-like battlefield, or maybe a colisseum of maniquies, Davey is victorious.
Maybe this movie doesn't fit the category of "unique" as his work of the following years would, but if you enjoy film noir then you should definitely watch it.
Rebelle (2012)
A presentation of a cruel reality
"War witch" delivers the story of a young girl who is kidnapped by rebels and is forced to join their fight against the government. The rituals needed to become a child-soldier and the fanaticism to their leader the "Great tiger". The rebels soon realize that there is something special in this little girl.
As an illustration of brutality and the madness of child-soldiering, the movie is a success. We are able to places ourselves in a reality that is very distanced from our own. But I believe the movie achieves no more than that. The film shows very shocking situations and it makes you feel angry and impotent, but so does any other story about child-soldiers.
The movie lacks something else. Something that can widely differentiate it from any other tale of this kind, because there are in fact a lot of movies that deal with this subject.
The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
If you've read the book, do not watch this film
The count of Monte Cristo by Dumas is with no doubt amongst the best books I've ever read. Edmond's tale teaches us so much, in such a beautiful way. It shows us the passion and the righteous that we all should aspire to.
It's true that you should never expect an adaptation to be the complete illustration of what the book delivers. But in this case there is too much distance between the two. I've been reading the reviews and most of the positive reviews come from people that have not read the book. I was very anxious to watch this movie after I finished reading it. But it turned out to be a complete disappointment.
The plot has more differences than similarities. There are some alterations to the original narrative that are just pointless and doesn't have anything to do with the book. The movie attempts to portray the most powerful and well written literary vengeance of all times, with a Hollywood cliché vengeance, delivering a drastically changed ending.
The movie also fails to provide one of the most appealing aspects of the book. The image of this mysterious, relentless and almost inhuman "Count of Monte Cristo" given by the book is not illustrated in the movie. Not even close!
If you've read the book and you are as disappointed as I am, watch the 1934 version, it is a better adaptation by far! This is a negative review of the movie's quality as an adaptation, maybe if you haven't read the book you are able to enjoy it.
21 & Over (2013)
Guilty Laughs
We should be able to tolerate some plot holes in this type of movies. Else, neither would get more than 5 stars. But come on, the central dilemma of this whole film is just idiotic. An unreal odyssey to get his unconscious friend back home just because they are not able to remember how to get to a place they have been to few hours before. And also maybe the dancing "Chief" should have been a little more revealing to them... Nevermind...
It seems "The Hangover" directors are running out of ideas. They may be good at getting their characters in uncomfortable and delirious situations with unexpected outcomes, but they fail at pretty much everything else. It may be time for them to realize that a successful comedy doesn't rely only "WTF moments".
However, some people are not getting tired of it, and I must admit, I laughed in this movie. I particularly enjoyed Miller. A sort of "Stifler" with a little more brains and eloquence together with more ingenious comments. But considering the other characters, the dialogues can be pretty obvious and cliché.
The film has a specific target audience I believe. The audience who might identify themselves with the characters and in some way, in an intrapolating manner, with the adventorous situations they get themselves into.
This movie follows the style of the American Pie movies, Hangover of course, and other comedies of this sort, and if you are into that, you will probably have a good time.
Movie 43 (2013)
Tolerate the absurd!
What the hell did I just watch. That's what I first thought when I finished watching the movie. That was with no doubt the most absurd and senseless movie I have ever seen. There is not a second in which the movie attempts to portray any glimpse of sense.
Every aspect of this movie can be criticized. At a very few circumstances one may suspect that the movie twists into some form of coherence, but all of a sudden it goes back to the no-sense premise.
However, I honestly could not stop laughing throughout the entire film.
This is with no doubt, a ridiculous movie, but it's not bad made. It serves its purpose perfectly. At no time the movie tries to distance itself from the absurd. Beholding the greatness of this absurdity, one waits desperately for the movie to provide a coherent explanation. But this explanation never comes. This is why this delirious comedy is a success.
Most reviews are all-out mortifications of this movie that try to find sense and coherence, when the whole point is that there isn't any.
However, if you don't find this absurd delusions funny, then this movie will be hell for you, because that is all there is in it. In my case, I found it absolutely hilarious. And if you are into this kind of black- ironic-absurd humor, then this movie will blow your mind.
Parker (2013)
Plain simple
This is not a bad movie, but it's quite forgettable. This movie provides an extremely basic plot in an unoriginal way. It's a plain vengeance- among-thieves tale, and that's all there is to it.
That's why it's not transcendent, it doesn't stand out in any of it's elements. Take for example Kill Bill by Tarantino, it deals with vengeance in its purest form. It's the central motive of the movie. However, it presents this vengeance in an unique and unprecedented way.
The movie fails at the attempt of creating a relentless "Parker", a master in the craft of thievery and stealth, when he also ends up trusting his vengeance master plan to a random mansion sells-woman. I mean, we are talking about the same guy who switches car like 15 times in his runaway not get caught. One should be able to tolerate some holes in the plot of a movie, but there has to be a limit.
If you are a fan of Jason Statham, go ahead and watch it, you won't have a bad time, but to the ordinary man I would suggest to use his time in some other film.
Broken City (2013)
Russel wins still
I'm not so disappointed now that I've already seen the film, it's not one of those movies that at the end you realize: "Damn, I've really wasted the last one and a half hour of my life". But if you haven't watched it yet, don't do it, you are not missing anything.
The script is beyond predictable and simple, as well as the plot. One of the primary themes of this movie is deception. The detective is fooled once by the mayor. Then the detective tries to get his vengeance, but he looses again. In the end, the smartest is in fact the mayor, Crowe. The detective has to sacrifice himself to bring him down.
He doesn't bring down the bad guy out of cleverness and cunning as he should, he fails. Whalberg plays the anti-detective and the movie attempts to portray him as a hero.
All in all, there's wasted talent in light of this low-quality script. I give the movie four stars because the acting was not bad, Crowe's and Whalberg's appeal is one of the only elements of the movie that stops you from walking out of the cinema.
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Master performance of madness
Behold once again another wonder of our great Kubrick. A film that shows the poetic delirium of Alex DeLarge, a young boy in love with violence. Just for the sheer pleasure of its sole realization. Alex shares his story with relentless eloquence, telling his twisted tale. Alex's course in this world runs separately from the ordinary. Alex longs for and allows those emotions that he enjoys so much to rule him, and whose absence would leave him without purpose. He is a libertine who is not afraid to provide free rein to his madness, wreaking havoc on anyone who gets in his way. Some claim that "A Clockwork Orange" is meaningless and incoherent because this rebellion has no cause.
Nothing encourages Alex to do the things he does, just himself. And I believe that's the point. In a Display of Kubrick's existential style, the film exhibits a human state. Which is? Madness of course. He doesn't praise nor criticize it, he only provides an illustration. An exceptional madness,one could say, because its effectively senseless. Alex performs absurd and exaggerated violence. The ultra-violence. Just for the thrill of it. Not because society represses him or anything like that.
All this taking place in a world, aesthetically, psychedelic. The clothing and the environment. Not to mention the music, both give a tone of grace and irony among the midst of violent tragedy. Alex singing "I'm singing in the rain" while practicing the old "in-out, in-out" with a woman, amongst the maniac laughter of his friends, in front of her husband.The fight at the beginning of the film, two gangs massacrating each other at the sound of classical music. In this way, the brutality of these scenes is reduced. A derisive tone is predominant. The viewer does not focus on the brutality of the act itself, instead, the interest has its place in the thrill of the perpetuators. Alex also has good taste and an interesting eccentricity. He isn't just a mindless rebellious teenager, that would be typical and boring. He is a fan of Beethoven, he is a deranged poet who prefers not to conform with the imagination and fantasy that the music so profoundly provides him. He needs the action.
However, later in the movie there is a strike back. Alex is betrayed by his friends and goes to prison. Afterwards he is sent to a mental institution who practices experimental procedures. He is then returned to society, and she has her sweet revenge. Some would name it karma, the balance.
But what is the difference between Alex and society? Society transforms, it learns. Alex fantasies and delusions of violence, though reduced at some points, never stop. They are imprinted in Alex's essence and despite any attempt they will stay the same. Kubrick as always graces us with this trip, that shows the extraordinary, in an extraordinary way.