Change Your Image
tlght
Reviews
Civil War (2024)
Fluff piece
Why does the US always has to be in crisis? Because it causes opportunities. So what is in need of saving then?
The invisible threat is what brings the fierce sense of patriotism. So would a calm nation, with confident citizens, bring a different state of being? Not advantageous for military, pharmaceutical or media corps, true. But good for the nervous system.
Nothing that comes out of this movie, adds value, to anything. It has no content, it has no meaning, it has no sustenance.
What was the point and the budget to bring this story, here and now?
Things really are a matter of perspective.
Maxton Hall - Die Welt zwischen uns (2024)
Non-verbal doesn't compute
You know those 180 twists between the main protagonists, that are polar opposites in 'every' way, but seem irresistible?
Only in lala land, of course. No wonder young people seem lost in societal tendencies. The common denominator doesn't understand integrity.
So the main girl and her best friend, talk about autonomy, but when it comes to actions, they fall short. I mean, they do the contrary that they speak about. What message does that do for the subconscious mind? It's confusing, is what it is.
So yes I still gave it a 5. The esthetics do speak to me (clothes, architecture). There is some effort, on some parts. It's a rainy day watch, while your busy with your real life occupations.
Gyeongseong Keuricheo (2023)
Is the story a message...
At this point in this series, I'm up to the 7th episode. It's been, in my opinion, going in circles since the 5th.
It's a slow burn that's left me frigid. I see where it's going, can the story move forward in a more engaging rhythm?
Too many inconsistencies that make the structure weak. The blood on the wall. The creature not killing all of a sudden. The overemotional reactions, shows an uneven writing, too focused on details and overlooking discrepancies when needs be.
It's a mash of Aliens, the great escape and looking for private Ryan without the wondering if they will be ok. I don't.
The backdrop for Korean and Japanese history is something else. The still lurking hidden monsters do carry the metaphor.
Wednesday (2022)
Cara mia!
The dancing, the cello, the soundtrack, the mythical communities, the mystery whodunnit style, what's not to like?
The cast did a great job and the design supported the scenes and did what it's supposed to do, add to the storyline.
The secondary characters are so good, family, friends, "muggles" and foe. Wednesday opening up progressively is well developed also, her caring for her roommate and classmates.
The soundtrack is pretty amazing and the remakes (nothing else matters and paint in black) are really decent, better than the original imo. I don't complement often (like it physically hurts or something) specially with Netflix.
Waitress (2007)
In essence...
I see an homage, through comedy, to celebrate the dark side of women.
Powerless, sacrificed, impressionable, even if it's difficult to accept, the dark sides of archetypes are real and need to be addressed. I mean, how can you be whole if you're canceling yourself?
So, 3 waitresses at a dinner, one single and two unhappily married. The maiden, mother and crone interact in each others lives through the dynamics of feelings, beliefs and personalities.
The pregnancy is the catalysts for all three women. The alchemy of transmuting lead into gold, to be courageous, to face her demons, inner demons, that resulted in manifesting as needy men. The outlet of creating pies (going in circles) is so interesting as a narrator (naughty pumpkin pie, hate husband pie, hold the banana).
Love isn't the final message in this story, it's self respect. Which is what makes the ending so liberating. She takes control of her world, instead of it controlling her.
Tampopo (1985)
You are what you eat
The cowboy truck driver and his companion enters Tampopo, a little ramen dinner that doesn't withhold it's full potential. Will he save the day through noodle wisdom?
The cook, a young hardworking mother that is very willing to learn, holds the fort that will carry a variety of themes for just under 2 hours. Will she overcome all the savory challenges that awaits her?
This visual festive container explores the sensual nature of food through many anecdotes, some funny, some sexy, some weird and some touching. Which does encompass the nuances and personal interest that goes with food through memories, feelings and socializing.
Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
Much ado about nothing?
Words, so few words and so much emotion that sets everything into motion...
Steve Carell is so touching in this movie. He represents the hidden heroes, the ordinary Joes looking out for their spouse and children, at their own expense.
Julianne Moore has her own journey of wanting to find herself through the wife/mom personas that she feels stuck in.
Ryan Gosling is the funniest and the saddest character, so well played...
The kids are more grounded than the adults, they set the tone of each scene they're in, while the adults are busy being emotional.
It's light, unrealistic, but the exchanges, the one liners, the sarcasm, the push/pull interaction makes the stupid-ness and the craziness work.
A Haunting in Venice (2023)
Branagh looses the Christie...
The author's writing ritual was a unique one. She would write her story in a dry linear format, then divide segments of her story and write them on cards, then would play with the order. She did this with all her books. It gave a labyrinth aspect to her writing, her signature well-crafted style.
In this third installment, there's a structure that just doesn't flow. It's a tricky line between suspense and sensationalism, one engages the audience and the second makes the audience detach from the story while questioning the producers' overzealous choices.
Seemed more in the making of a bad horror film than the quality storytelling, that goes with Christies books. I get the Halloween vibe, but it's imbalanced to the detective story genre.
The actors and the story in itself are good, the rendering not so much.
Warrior (2019)
Be like water, unless you're family...
The show embodies the era well, about strangers adapting in a merciless land, knowing when to be strong, by fighting or surviving (or living to fight another day).
The 2 first seasons are pretty epic, between the Tons, the bulls, the Irish, the politicians, the businesspeople and the inner politics. The writers are efficient and thorough with the period, the storylines and the characters, they make it mesh well.
The third season losses, gains and drags some of the remaining characters; the freshness is gone, but not all of its potential is lost. The 'why' in the beginning of the first season comes full circle at the end of the third. I'm just not sure if it adds anything to the original storyline and if it will help with where the show is going...
Being adapted from one of Bruce Lee's written show ideas, the fighting scenes give rhythm to the story and adds to each of the main characters. The sets, the colors, their design captures and defines each 'group' with their own style of fighting in each 'choreograph' scene. Esthetically speaking, this show is clever.
8/10 stars (third season just isn't as good as the two first)
The Nanny (1993)
Love hate dichotomy
The fool that fools everybody and gets away with, well, anything.
She's whiny, trashy, a bad influence for any one, yet alone capable of being a nanny. She depicts a flaky lonely woman, looking desperately for a husband, without wanting to grow in any way, whatsoever.
It's so degrading and insulting to show this character in a 'lovable' way. To be honest, she's everything you don't want to be, if you want to be an intelligent, strong independent individual.
Maxwell is an empty shell. I can't stand Fran's mother, but the character is accurate in understanding Fran's trashiness.
The butler is Frans echo chamber and the continuous comments on CC are just continuing the misogynists' dynamics.
I like the grandmother and the youngest child, she's interesting and well cast. 2 stars
The only thing interesting about Fran Fine is her wardrobe. 1 star.
Daisy Jones & The Six (2023)
Groovy rehashing of sex drugs and rock'n roll
There's a potpourri of inspiration of 60s musicians. Each band member reminds me of musicians from that period, Daisy reminds me of Stevie Nicks, Warren of Ringo Starr. L. A. (meaning the strip) was effervescent, Chateau Marmont was the equivalent of Warhol's Factory. There's so much material to choose from, a rich period indeed.
The cosmic twins (Billy and Daisy), have childhood abandonment issues, trying to construct a home/family through connecting with likeminded artists. They end up lonely after going through personal deceptions (Rehab/Billy and Simone leaving/Daisy), feeling lost but still motivated by their music.
Then boy meets girl, boy tries to keep distance from her but she's just too fascinating... Then he manipulate her and himself into believing scenarios through music, after making a pack with a handsome devil named Teddy, who knows about the creative intertwining's of egos and loneliness. These violent delights have violent ends... or everything in between and with time, peace settles in...
The music making process is wonderful to observe. Not sure about Billy's continual restraint, it's cruel to witness. Anybody who has dealt will addiction, understands. I would say there's a voyeuristic aspect to it. Daisy is the freedom to his blue "collard-ness" need to control.
The narrative layers gives maturity and depths to the story. It's a fun watch, but near the end of the series, the music becomes repetitive, to show the progressiveness of Daisy's downfall. It could have been portrayed in a variety of ways. The finale is the grand emancipation and reveals the true fiber of each persona/characters.
The culmination is definitely a slow burn, imo. Well most (song) ending are :)
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Are we talking about the same movie?!?
Lets summarize: reckless maneuver, last minute order levels up playing field, macho group dynamics and cheesy music in bar, pissing competition in class room, aerial sensationalism, funeral, hero complex and glorifying military, predictable (fairytale) ending. Now, am I talking about Top gun or Top gun maverick?
They are made in the same format (it's the same movie, with a few nuances). Even, many of the frames are the same in both movies (the teacher enters...).
Is entertainment so sh... bad, that past successful clichéd movies (safe predictability) are now viewed as great? That would explain all the positive reviews...
I Am Groot (2022)
Disappointing to say the least...
This is when we realize that the content is more important than the container. Groot is a fascinating character. The series does not do him justice. In this case, the content is wasted opportunity and resources.
The Princess (2022)
Great British Theatre
How authentic, when prepared and approved by multiple people, can footage truly represent someone who is continuously in the eye of the public? Or in other words, what mediatic approach (total collaboration) would help said medias to sell more papers and magazines? The royal protocols about clothing alone is endless, so that would reflect on all other maters as well...
Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)
Homage to the 80s Wonder Woman
Looks to me like many reviewers were putting so much of their expectations on what they think they were going to see, that there was no room for the nostagia to come through.
You need to have watched the original WW with Linda Carter to understand WW 1984. I remember the sound effect of her transforming into wonder woman, her lasso of truth or the sounds of her super jumps, so good! Not meant to be heavy or serious (like the latest DC movies), but entertaining and uplifting.
So what went wrong with WW 1984? There is a lot is going on with the deconstruction of timelines and the chaos of it all, trying to coexist.
So the director missed the mark, he was too ambitious. When you need explanations to that extent, it's kind of obvious that a rewriting is needed. The movie could have been done on a smaller scale (less wishes), with more breathing room to give the story a better flow and deeper character development.
We Were Once Kids (2021)
Wolfs can't skateboard...
I remember a friend of mine telling me I had to see this movie. An eyeopener on todays youth (in 1995). The movie unsettled me for multiple reasons. Mostly for seeing kids that were left to themselves in 90s NY.
I did not like the initial movie at all and seeing this documentary puts the 1995 movie even more into that perspective (manipulative toxic sensational piece of polarize gar...). The shock value was the big effect on the audience, with giving the impression that, that the younger generation, was going into a bad direction. The 1995 movie looks so much like a documentary. It feels like we are in those kids intimacy, instead of the directors/writers perspective and intellectual property overreach.
I'm happy I saw the documentary, it rectifies what was implied about that group of individuals. Showing a more transparent background and what those kids were trying to build, a pseudo-family, is so much more inspiring and interesting.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Madness... or just badness...
I like Wanda, but not enough to see a movie about that character when Doctor Strange is supposed to be the main attraction... . It feels like it changed producers many times in the making. Or the one was trying too hard to be original. Lets face it the comic book industry covered everything that had potential. Good movie making is about empathy, it's about connection and engaging the audience, the base of the Marvel experience. Identifying with the characters is the glue that keeps your interest in the storyline. This was an explosions of characters shoved together, with a overzealous plot. Disney's management is so disappointing lately, it's just sad.
Tenet (2020)
See it for what it is.
First, it's Christopher Nolan. So you know that you will have to watch the movie twice. Second, it's Christopher Nolan, so there's Easter eggs. Third, it's (yeah you know it) Christopher Nolan, so if your looking for the predictable format in entertainment, don't watch Nolan movies...
That being said, I enjoyed the architecture of it. Understanding the scenes from both perspectives, The logic of going through the motions, to assure the outcome. Very mathematic in it's form of thinking, once you get it, you see the originality.
To respect the format, it couldn't have been done any other way and to enjoy the movie, you have to be in a cerebral, who's done it, kind of mood.
The Sandman (2022)
I devoured the comics 15 years ago...
If you know the comics, the tinted woke influence might get on your nerves. But, if not, the atmosphere and depiction of Dream is truly captured. It's a nice homage to Gaiman universe, but no cigar.
Elvis (2022)
So bad it isn't even funny
An early Christmas gift for you, I will save you 2h30 of grueling sap. Do not waste your time, it's a long, bad, depressing NA advertisement. It doesn't construct the characters in any empathic sense, you don't care what happens to them. The era representation is off, it looks like an LSD version of it. T. Hanks was so bad. I wanted to run forest run out of there...
Prey (2022)
Anachronisms galore
So many anachronisms, I could not believe the nonsense of it. Natives didn't kill for fun. They didn't use trees as bullseyes (death wood yes). There's so much white man military murk, it's seriously annoying! The highlight of the movie was that the dog survived (the one star). The only believable writing was about the French, the woods runners, and of course what happened to them in the movie, was predictable too.