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Blonde (2022)
A sufferable interminable affair
Joyce Carol Oates released the book "Blonde" (on which the film is based) in 2000, and has always asked that her work should never be considered as biographical, as she has, in fact, fictionalised a lot around the actress.
What bothered me the most about this adaptation is that both the director and Ana de Armas herself, sold the film as the "ultimate tale of Marilyn's life" and I think that's pretty unfair.
The film reduced Marilyn's life to sensationalistic chronicles (mostly fictional, like the book) of suffering, disappointment, and despair. The film doesn't give the her a breath, as if Marilyn hand't had any joy in her life.
The film portrays her only as a victim, almost dehumanising her, without celebrating neither her accomplishments nor determination - after all Marilyn even faced off with studio boss Daryl F. Zanuck, over better roles and salary.
Director Andrew Dominik's aesthetic choices are interesting, but inconsistent, alternating between color and black and white for no reason other than purely aesthetic. And the director is so heavy handed, sordidly portraying alleged rapes and abortions, turning the film unbearable to watch.
The part that refers to Marilyn's relationship with Kennedy was super forced and the unnecessary use of a narration of her supposed father even worse. And don't even get me started on the multiple takes of babies in the womb. Useless.
Ana de Armas - who does a spectacular job - deserves to be recognized for her extreme dedication to the role, but I believe that the subpar quality of the film will prevent any chance of an award.
An insult to the collective memory of Marilyn Monroe.
Uncoupled (2022)
Quick and cute, but nothing more than that.
Darren Star, creator of shows like "Sex and the City" and "Emily in Paris", now creates a series combining the elements of those series and finally placing a gay character in the lead. One cannot help but compare "Uncoupled" to those series, as it feels a bit rehashed.
I'm not going to say it's a complete copy, but there are so many similarities, it does feels like a sub-product. I'm not going to say the series is bad - far from it, it's actually very cute and sometimes funny - but once I finished it, I realised my favourite characters were the female characters, who are far more interesting and lively than the actual lead.
Neil Patrick Harris doesn't disappoint - even if he does resort to some unnecessary physical comedy - but Tisha Campbell as Suzane and the always great Marcia Gay Harden as Claire, definitely steal the show.
It's a quick and cute 8-episode series, but nothing more than that.
The Black Phone (2021)
Couple of missteps but a solid thriller
Director Scott Derrickson is no stranger to horror films, he directed a few - mostly not so good ones - such as "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" (2005) and "Sinister (2012), so I would definitely not check this film out for his horror film credentials.
For some reason the director got to direct "Doctor Strange" (2018), which I really enjoyed for its creativity and ambition, so I was curious to see what his next project could potentially look like - and I was really surprised by it.
"Black Phone" is gloomy, dramatic, Derrickson's compositions are elegant and artistic, the cinematography is pale and oppressive and the casting is on point, especially the young actress Madeline McGraw and Ethan Hawke as the sadistic villain.
The film is based of a short story by Joe Hill (Stephen King's son), so the film does fall short in bringing additional depth to the characters, but overall I really appreciated the supernatural tone to it.
A very solid and entertaining thriller.
Trainwreck: Woodstock '99 (2022)
Stress-inducing but definitely worth it.
What a fascinating three-part documentary. I've read about Woodstock '99, but I had no clue the nightmare it actually transpired.
I liked that each episode depicts a day of the 3 day festival, and how the bad organisation, poor location, absurd prices and the reckless and unconcerned behavior from the Woodstock producers progressively riled up the crowd into madness. The end of day 3 is something I never saw in my life.
The footage assembled and researched is absolutely fascinating, the filmmakers really dug deep and found fantastic images to depict this hell.
The interviews range from artists, still in awe of what happened, and concert goes, who share their experiences - some of them, regardless of the madness, still retain a positive sentiment towards the experience.
One particular interview, with Woodstock founder Michael Lang, is absolutely bonkers.
Definitely stress-inducing, but surely a super interesting and unmissable depiction of human nature gone wrong.
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Entertaining, but only to an extend.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017() was an improvement over its 2 predecessors, because while those films took themselves too seriously, Ragnarok (and director Taika Waititi's special type of humor) devised a very entertaining third film.
Unfortunately for this new film, Waititi, coming off of an Oscar win for "Jojo Rabbit" and the success of comedy series "What We Do in the Shadows", got even more creative freedom, but I feel he pushed too hard on the comedy and on the constant silliness.
The film loses momentum really quickly, and the jokes stop landing halfway through (the use of screaming goats is fun one time, but they are shown 10 times throughout the film).
Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman seem like they are on a bad SNL skit and their acting is too over the top.
On the other hand, one of the strongest elements is the villain played by Christian Bale, who seems menacing enough, but his screen time is relatively short.
Entertaining, but only to an extend.
Jigsaw (2017)
Jigsaw - Saw's reboot should've stayed buried.
The "Saw" franchise reigned absolute between 2004 and 2010. There were 7 films, which with each launch, worsened exponentially in quality. The last one, "Saw 3D" (it still goes beyond me why they did this one) was SO bad that they decided to bury the franchise.
But in Hollywood no material is discarded forever, so this year the franchise is back under other name (as if there was someone still interested).
The film has the exact same plot as ever: as a group of people die one by one in elaborate traps, the police tries to resolve the case.
Such a pity they did not leave this franchise buried - if the producers are not reinventing it and decide to bring the same plot, only worse, why even bother?
Score: D
Just do not a F for the inventiveness of some of the traps.
To Rome with Love (2012)
Poor Woody
There is a facet of Woody I quite enjoy, which I denominate Perky Woody, in which he is absolutely genius. From the intense drama and suspense of "Match Point", to the neurosis of "Annie Hall", "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and "Deconstructing Harry". In this category also applies the fantasy of "Midnight in Paris" and the limitless joy of "Small Time Crooks".
On the other hand, there is the facet of Woody I quite detest, in this case Poor Woody. The stupidity of "Anything Else", "Whatever Works" and "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" are beyond belief. Unfortunately "To Rome With Love" falls into this category. Even though not as terrible as the titles I mentioned, the film falls short in almost every aspect.
I believe Woody is spectacular when focused on a specific group of characters from start to finish. His study of character is unparalleled. In this case, without a subject to focus on, it seems the film was directed by Garry Marshall, in a New Year's Eve / Valentine's Day approach. Not as bad though.
I didn't feel exactly compelled by any of the stories - even Penelope, charming as ever, couldn't save the shallowness of her storyline. Some will say that he created a great farce, but for me, it just didn't work.