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Johnny English Strikes Again (2018)
A Fantastic Comedy
This by far is the best movie of the Johnny English franchise and in fact of all Rowald Atkinson movies. I would even say this is one the best comedies I have seen during the past several years. The scene with the virtual reality test is an instant classic.
Boarding School (2018)
Very enjoyable and entertaining
This is a remarkably done and elegantly delivered thriller, which is distinguishable by superb acting, splendid directing and - most importantly - an intriguing story that keeps you captured till the very end. As if all of this is not enough, Boarding School offers numerous extras that add a nice flavor to the film such as the themes of parental hatred, child loneliness and alienation, and allusions to the Holocaust; artistic depiction of the duality of good and evil; as well as a charming La Cumparsita tango score. Very enjoyable and entertaining indeed. A bit of advice to all US movie makers: try to find for a part of a Jewish character someone who looks at least remotely Jewish (this applies both to the boy and his mother).
Wonder Wheel (2017)
A huge disappointment from Woody
This release could have been a success for someone else, but in terms of Woody Allen's art, it is nothing short of a failure. What could have been a fascinating and intriguing story turned out into 90 minutes of yelling and screaming, restlessly delivered by Kate Winslet (Ginny). The annoyance created by her overacting and overreacting is so powerful and negative that it precludes from appreciating the solid performance delivered by Jim Belushi (Humpty). I love dialogues in Woody Allen movies for their sophistication and humor, but this times the dialogues were monotonous and hopelessly shallow. Lastly, the movie has no ending. It looks like someone just cut off the finale, making me feel as if the box office attendant just shut down the window in front of me after I have waited in a long line for along time.
Mother! (2017)
Spectacular Failure!
The best part, incidental to watching this cinematographic disaster, is getting to read the reviews, including those posted on imdb. The imagination of the reviewers is immensurable. Some claim the movie is an allegory of the Bible. Writer is God, Mother is the nature, the ever-coughing intruder is Adam, his vulgar wife is Eva, their pathetic sons are Abel and Cain, and the mansion is the world. Did I miss anything? Oh, yes, the baby is supposedly Jesus Christ, and the poem is the Bible (this is cute: even theologists do not claim that the Old Testament, let alone the New one, was written by the God himself). By the way, what or whom does the black guy, who tries to paint the house, allegorize? Moses? King David? King Solomon? Nelson Mandela? I can clearly hear Darren Aronofsky's Homeric laughter when he read these "aspiring" reviews. It's easy to find a black cat in the dark room, after all - even if it's not in there.
So, are you telling me that Aronofsky intended to raise public awareness of the importance of some Biblical stories and adapted them to the present day realities? But why couldn't he just follow the Bible straight, without any allegories, as he did in Noah?
Or was it a cinematographic attempt to call public attention to environmental concerns and lack of respect for Mother Mature?
It's funny that no one seems to understand that this film is just another portrayal of the Poet and Muse theme. The sufferings caused by creative impotence; the search of inspiration in other people and other people's sufferings; the spiritual hunger; the neglect for the Muse and passion for the Muse; the success; the fatal danger of becoming an idol and being devoured by the fans - these are the things that Aronofsky wanted to share his insights in. He did not do a very good job, though. While the idea has a great potential, the movie ultimately fails to deliver, and watching the main character repeatedly wandering around the house, exploring - again and again - each of its numerous corners, is just boring. In all fairness, Aronofsky should have quit the movie industry after releasing Requiem for a Dream, for there is no point in regressing to failures such as Noah and Mother!
Relatos salvajes (2014)
The Pasternak Segment Is a Masterpiece
Yes, it is, indeed. It has it all: an Agatha Christie-style intrigue, peripeteia, remarkable dark humor, and psychological drama. This segment is so perfect that no continuation is really necessary, and the film should have ended with the last scene of Pasternak. Regrettably, it does not, and the remaining five shorts are no match to Pasternak, the last two parts being excessively long and merely intended to help the director to come up with a full-length feature. Nonetheless, the beauty of Pasternak justifies a solid 7.
Mute (2018)
Excellent piece of art
Remarkable production from the UK and Germany. Duncan Jones, the director, creates an astonishing portrayal of the near future with its high-tech gadgets, urban life hipe and details of daily routine, making you feel like you are in 2060s. If it were an American movie, it would win at least two Oscars: one for the Best Makeup and one for the Best Costume Design. All of that alone already makes Mute very entertaining, but on the top of this there is a powerful and dramatic story line, which fully unfolds only at the end of the movie. Thanks, Duncan Jones and the team.
Die dunkle Seite des Mondes (2015)
A Remarkable but Underappreciated Journey into the Depths of the Subconscious
It is amazing that these days there are still movie makers capable of creating true gems. Each scene, each minute of this movie is a little masterpiece: Beautiful cinematography, magnificent locations, a thrilling and engaging story, and - perhaps on the top of it all - a superb acting team with Moritz Bleibtreu as its leader. It is even more amazing and sad that this great piece of art has been so badly underappreciated and misunderstood - a brief look at the negative reviews on this website just confirms the trend. The annotation attached to all materials about this movie is partly responsible for this misunderstanding: "A psychedelic mushroom trip turns a successful lawyer into a wanted man." Mushrooms had nothing to do with the transformation the lawyer went through; rather, the inner and unknown side of his soul, which had been dormant for his entire life, suddenly revealed itself, took over his whole self and ultimately destroyed him.