kaprijoias Reviews

Solace (II) (2015)

A very enjoyable Thriller

[9/10 · 25 January 2016]

I don't agree with the bad reviews here, I liked this movie very much. The story keeps your attention focused up to the very end. I loved the filming, the editing and the music. If you like a good old fashioned thriller with surprising twists and an end that makes you think about matters of life and death, this is a film to watch. It has just enough body count, car chase and action to be all throughout interesting, without overdoing violence.

Anthony Hopkins' performance it stunning. I always enjoy watching him and here he delivers as well as ever. He can tell the story of his character only with the expression of his eyes and the director uses them well. Colin Farrell does a good job, the other characters are OK but not outstanding.

The Identical (2014)

A very likable movie!

[8/10 · 2 January 2015]

---SPOILER ALERT--- THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILER---------

This is the latest Elvis-movie, without ever mentioning his name. And that is so refreshing about it. The protagonist Blake Rayn has performed as Elvis impersonator, is tall, handsome and looks a almost like Elvis, he sings almost like Elvis. So the storyline is a new and wonderful idea: what if Elvis's twin brother Jessie Garon wasn't stillborn but given in adoption to another couple of parents after birth? What does it feel like to look exactly like the King of Rock and Roll and singing as good as he does? Having everybody in your small hometown saying how identical you are? And your father the preacher (Ray Liotta, great performance) wants you to be a man of God, but all you want to do is music? Working as an impersonator of your own twin brother without knowing who he is? Participating in a look-alike-contest with the King in the Jury pointing you out as the winner? But you are only a copy of the original and not allowed to sing your own songs and do your own music, to be a star of your own, because you already exist. Great script. And then, the untimely early death of the King leaves the Identical as the only one left. He learns the truth and has to make a decision: Tell the world who he really is or remain the impersonator? Find out for yourself, this movie is well worth watching.

The Interview (II) (2014)

This movie is great fun!

[9/10 · 27 December 2014]

With all the hype about a diplomatic accident with North Korea (and Cina), one has to watch this movie out of curiosity. Well, it is hilarious indeed. It is a comedy, the script is more stupid than meaningful, but the gags are great and ridiculous. This movie is not really a reason for political outrage, it makes the US look as stupid as North Korea, if not more so. As you already know, the story is about a talk show host, Dave Skylarke, played wonderfully silly by James Franco, who is going to Pyonyang to do an interview with the Dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong-un who is a great fan, and this interview is to be aired live. And the CIA wants the Dictator killed in that occasion, but things do not unfold as planned.... I had the greatest fun watching this. I'm going to tell you one of the gags and I don't think this is a spoiler: the Dictator (played superbly by Randall Park) shows Franco his collection of fancy cars, and in the garage is standing a Russian tank as well. He tells his guest: "This was a gift to my father from Stalin." Skylarke thinks for a moment and then replies: "Oh, that is really great, but we pronounce the name Stallone!" The entire script is that way: ridiculous but sophisticated. It's like having Monty Python back! A big thanks to Seth Rogen as well, great actor and writer. The ending and grand finale is as outrageous and over the top as had to be expected, and I left the movie theater with a big grin on my face. Well done!

Lucy (I) (2014)

Another masterpiece by Luc Besson

[10/10 · 14 November 2014]

Wow, I really enjoyed this picture. First of all, it is beautifully filmed and every shot is interesting to watch. The actors are great and the story is outrageous and entertaining. Think about it: what would we be capable of doing, if our brains could use not only the usual 10 % of capacity, but 30, 50, 80 or 100? This is what happens to Lucy after she accidentally absorbs a large quantity of a new drug she was supposed to deliver. As her brain gets more and more empowered, the story evolves with lots of action, one of the best car races ever seen on screen, a team of scientists dropping their yaws and Lucy setting everything straight and fighting the drug thugs. And then, her journey to knowledge begins and leads to a grand final that only Luc Besson could conceive. Must see!

Third Person (2013)

A story to watch very closely

[8/10 · 19 September 2014]

I enjoyed this movie. Beautifully filmed and always interesting, great actors with very good performances.

Three dramatic but entertaining stories in three different cities: Paris, Rome and New York, apparently without any connection. Apparently. That's why you have to watch closely.

I know all three cities well, so I had no confusion as to where we were in the rapidly intercut stories. But then it starts to get confusing indeed: a note scribbled on the desk in a hotel room in New York shows up on the desk in a hotel room in Paris. A sea of white roses delivered to a hotel room in Paris startles a maid walking into a hotel room in New York. The main character whose story takes place in Paris suddenly walks in the streets of Rome. And as the stories unfold, they are all about a lost child...

The clues are few and far apart, the end is almost mysterious, but if you pay attention you are going to watch a movie with great depth and insight into the human soul.

I recommend you read the spoiler review posted here earlier only AFTER watching the movie, see if you can figure it out by yourself, that's half the fun of this film.

Maps to the Stars (2014)

Another masterpiece by Cronenberg

[9/10 · 18 September 2014]

This film is a feast for Cronenberg-Fans and I loved it. Yeah, Hollywood. I worked there for a while and then I quit because I thought it was insane. David Cronenberg surely seems to feel the same way.

This is a good story with a fluid script, beautiful filming and great actors. Lots of industry-talk (yes, they really do talk that way) and all the stress, the pushing for success, the attention needed at all cost and the eagerness to do anything it takes to get there are greatly told. As well as all the bad things even a small success can do to people.

The story is mainly about a family in Cronenberg-condition, meaning they are really messed up and totally unpredictable, way beyond mental sanity. The irony is that in this insane Hollywood environment that appears to be quite normal, and inevitably it generates a great body-count.

Of course, Dad is a shrink and bestselling author. He doesn't seem to do a great job at home, though, as his 13 year old child-star-son is in drug rehab and his daughter was just released from a mental institution and is on a 12-steps-program. Mom is way out there and sometimes it gets hilarious indeed.

The end is almost poetic and a fitting conclusion to all the madness going on.

Applause to Julianne Moore for her outstanding performance.

The only thing that I found not necessary was the overly explicit sex- scene.

Red Lights (2012)

Bad filming for a good story

[4/10 · 23 August 2014]

This movie has an interesting and well told story and great actors, for that it's worth watching. Although the very end seems to be a hasty wrap-up with a twist that opens another story entirely and leaves the viewer wondering why the movie wasn't about this new plot in the first place?

The filming is just dreadful, though. Bad lightning, the externals all gray and there are no close-ups on details (or on the interesting faces). Sometimes you almost miss what's going on because you can't see it. The internals are dark yellow and that does no good for the actors. Cillian Murphy's piercing clear blue eyes can hardly be seen and they're really difficult to hide.

Low, low, low budget filming, this movie deserved better.