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andredejongh
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The Perfect Couple (2024)
Such a good production and Kidman's best performance!
This is such a good, well made and directed series. I was really pleasantly surprised. After the success of Hollywood predecessors Only Murders in The Building and White Lotus, The Perfect Couple hits a home-run. It is so well directed, such a beautiful thing to watch. And during all episodes there are hilariously funny moments: so well written, funny, strong, smart dialogues. The acting: everyone so smooth, strong and really good. You can sense there was a real unity at work. And Nicole Kidman. I recently wrote how miscast she was in that romcom: A Family Affair. But here she is so so good. I am sure she will get nominated many times over for this role and win some awards. She displays such a real an believable Greer Garrison Winbury. Without exaggerating I really think this is one of her top performances of her whole career. I hope she will repeat this role many times over. If not we will miss out on this strong character. Such a joy to watch good acting. From A to Z this series is perfection. And that little dance at the beginning of every episode, with the whole cast dancing. It gives off such a good vibe. This is really on par with White Lotus and Only Murders in The Building. Susanne Bier did a superb job as director. And the script: so rich with all these characters the viewers can bite their teeth in. All dialogues serve the story so smoothly. Beautiful, I can't say anything else. And Nicole Kidman is still growing as an actor. She created this whole new fresh persona. She became Greer. And until the end I was still guessing who could have done it. I thoroughly enjoyed this series. Well done, people!
Trap (2024)
Some missed direction opportunities...
M. Night Shyamalan is losing his touch? I mean, every film buff can see the missed directing opportunities and a script that should have been a little better. Just a little bit of fine tuning. Some jumps in the plot, behaviour by the characters, were a little bit rough. It could work, in some cases, but here it made the film a bit weak. But the biggest missed opportunity, which could have made the film and probably would have given M. Night Shyamalan some nominations for directing was the kitchen scene at the end of the film, between Josh Hartnett and Alison Pill. Shyamalan should have given this scene fully to Alison Pill. He should have given her the stage, put her full in the spotlight. By keeping an intimate close-up of her face most of the time. The audience would have felt her tension. For minutes on end. With the threatening silent voice of Hartnett outside of the frame. Just her face and his voice! It would have made the film! Really. I even think he should do a re-edit this way. There was too much editing back and forth between the Hartnett character and Pill's character. He undressing himself, it all distracted from the tension. And even showing the viewers the husband's bag Alison Pill's character found wasn't necessary at all. Just keep her face in close-up all the time! We understand what a bag looks like and what might be in there. We don't have to be shown what the bag looks like to believe her. And also this female profiler character, in the stadium. Played by Hayley Mills. Also in the stadium scenes he should have zoomed in into her face way more often: her gaze in that stadium had to be the center of attention. This film should have been centered around the two female supporting roles. Their faces in close-up. Their emotions. Their eyes. How on earth did M. Night Shyamalan not see this himself. It also makes sense in understanding Josh Hartnett's character. This film could have been so much more intense by this kind of directing. The tension got lost too often because of these bad directing decisions. Next time hire me to assist! P. S. That scene with that kid's bike is so unbelievable: would never be allowed by a SWAT-team.
Love Again (2023)
Sofia Barclay should have played the lead!
Tedious film, without real chemistry between the two lead actors: Priyanka Chopra-Jonas and Sam Heughan. Chopra isn't suited for this film. She is posing and not acting. I mean, her legs with synthetic socks, and her make-up-ed face and styled hair were supposed to do the trick. But they didn't. The woman stays too sterile, too aloof, too emotionally distanced. I believed her for a few seconds: when she got angry at one point. Sofia Barclay on the other hand is vibrant, fresh, full with emotions. And I could believe that Barclay's character would be able to draw and be artistic. I do not believe for one moment that Chopra-Jonas is able to do this as her character. Sofia Barclay and Sam Heughan had real chemistry, the right energy for a romcom like this. Priyanka Chopra-Jonas is out of place here. And what is up with the British characters playing Americans? Sam Heughan plays a Brit at a British publishing company, and is allowed to keep his natural accent. But then we see other British actors in this film who all had to lose their British accents? Strange move by the producers. They were afraid it would sound like a British film and not an American one? It contributed to the overall disingenuous feeling we got, with Mrs. Chopra-Jonas as the miscast disingenuous lead. Besides the big mistake of not casting Sofia Barclay as the lead actress (It is the first time I saw her in a film, to be honest) the dialogues and the overall script also lack some adult depth. Céline Dion did a better job translating emotions while acting, than Priyanka Chopra-Jonas was able to do. As someone else wrote in here: I won't be rewatching this film, other romcoms I do regularly like to see again.
No Hard Feelings (2023)
Really Good! Jennifer Lawrence owns this, excellent typecasting!
I have to say, the first 10 to 15 minutes or so I thought: Oh my goodness no, this is not gonna work ... I was invested in analysing Jennifer Lawerence's face instead. There was just something up with her face, I thought. But then , all of a sudden the film started to speed up! With really funny dialogues. Really funny. I mean I really had to laugh out loud, alone! That doesn't happen a lot. Jennifer Lawrence and Andrew Barth Feldman really have good chemistry. And Jennifer Lawrence is just showing us that she is one of the best actors of her generation. The type of humour fits her. This is what you call excellent type casting. There are no bad actors in this film. The overall casting is really well done. And the writing is excellent. It is funny, and has a couple of really good subtexts: a social commentary, a coming of age, rich vs poor, gentrification, Gen Z vs Millennials, Family units, small town living vs the big city. There's a lot into this script, which makes this film besides being hilariously funny also interesting to watch: it touches you and makes you think. Jennifer Lawrence did also a full frontal, for quite some time. But it felt free-ing, empowering. Of course she is a beautiful woman with a very good body, but still I think it is cool she did it. It didn't feel pornographic, nor was it soft porn. As I said: it felt empowering: being free, owning her body, her personality, not caring about what others think. Really sympathetic. And she didn't have Hollywood breasts! It made the scene: not only was it funny but it made the female protagonist appear stronger: she can handle the world around her at her most vulnerable state of being. The funny script and the great characters made me forget about Jennifer Lawrence's face. I hope her face just stays as free and natural as the rest of her body. Loved it. And trust me, this is funny. The tail end of this movie lacks just a little bit, following the excellent first 3/4th of the film. The dialogues at the closure part of this film are less than the rest of the film and some parts just feel a bit rushed. But I had a good time. And frankly, the ending asks for a sequel...
Sometimes I Think About Dying (2023)
Gorgeous 'grandchild' of Chantal Akerman's 1975 film: 'Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles'
Gorgeous 'grandchild' of Chantal Akerman's 1975 film: 'Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles'
Wow... I did not know what to expect when I was going to watch this film: is it going to be a horror? (at one point I was thinking she perhaps was getting what she all this time was fantasising about) A huge drama? Comedy? There is some comedy in this film but it is inferior to the overall feeling of the state of being of the main protagonist. She feels isolated from everyone, you could call it depression, but she is still functioning. She works, she has a clean tidy house and she takes care of herself and dresses well. Everyone at her office is really busy with themselves, their own lives, their jobs at the office and the office dynamics. Fran is good at what she does. She grew up in the quiet isolated part of town and this shaped her. She was probably quite isolated from other people, as we learn during a conversation she has at the house party. She probably felt so much isolated from the rest of the world, while growing up, that it became a part of her. Not enough life to stimulate her, not enough engagement with the big world out there. So she incorporated this lonely detachment towards the world and society around her. And no one seems to care or to notice her. Not even at her job, but they accept her. Until the new colleague comes in. They connect. He sees her. He feels for her. And she feels for him, This film isn't as heavy as 'Melancholia' (2011, Lars von Trier) Nor as emotional as 'Dancer in the Dark' (2000, also by Lars von Trier). The pace and the atmosphere, and the sensitivity and the introvertness of protagonist Fran are closely connected to Belgian director, Chantal Akerman's 1975 film 'Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles'. This film with the very long and unusual title from 1975 is about the monotonous, isolated life of a housewife who gets through her days in her clean and tidy apartment. Who turns to offering sex to men, inside that lonely apartment, contributing to her overall feeling of emptiness and isolation. Rachel Lambert's 'Sometimes I Think About Dying' has the same slow paced, voyeuristic, observant quality as Akerman's classic. Never before I have seen a successor to Akerman's masterly film. And here it is. Well done. Of course we are almost 50 years after 'Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles'. We are in the 21st century and Rachel Lambert set her film in rural USA, instead of in a mondaine big city like Brussels. But, it is a smart move, I think. In the 1970's Western societies were way more conservative and a woman, a housewife like Jeanne Dielman in Brussels could live and suffer way more isolated because she was a (divorced or widowed?) woman in a traditional society. The women's rights movement didn't achieve the results we are experiencing this day and age (although many right wing forces are trying to turn back the clock these days). In the 21st century you more likely tend to find women feeling isolated like this, in smaller isolated towns. Not saying that in the big Western metropoles women, and men for that matter, can't feel like detached from life and stuck in their jobs and their day to day routine while going through a depression. Anyway, this is a beautiful film. Gorgeously photographed and directed with a beautiful musical score. Superb cast, really. Everyone is so good. At times the cast feels like a cast from Woody Allen's heydays. You can feel and see that director Rachel Lambert studied the classics. This is a superb, masterly film. If I would pick out one flaw then it is the car scene: too much dialogue and expressed emotion. It is a bit out of tune with the rest of this film. That's why I don't give it 10 stars, but 9 stars in stead. Beautiful film, just beautiful.
Anyone But You (2023)
Sydney Sweeney is miscast
This could have been a nice film. They have a stellar cast but Sydney Sweeney is the odd one out. Her indirect, subtle acting may work in many genres but not in this romcom. She looked bored and it felt at times like she really didn't want to be there, making that film. All the other actors, also the supporting roles, are dynamic, full personalities. Even the very fit and photo-model type, Glen Powell. He becomes his character and you can feel his emotions. That is not what all actors are able to do. Sydney Sweeney stays too sterile, too distanced. As said, this may work in other genres but for a romcom you need to show other skills. Compared to all the other actors in this cast she seems aloof. You do not feel her character's emotions. I really do not understand why they chose her for this role. Photography and editing in this film are superb. It shows that when you make a film look well and edit it well you can make a mediocre film appear to be more than it actually is. I am not sure if the direction or the script is failing here. My guess is that the director was a bit too rigid when trying to shape this film. It should have been this loose, fun light romcom with a slightly serious subtext. Especially with all of these fabulous actors available. What could go wrong, you'd think? The actors were kept too rigidly in their places, is my idea about this. Not the right director for this film. And perhaps Sydney Sweeney needed a different director also to feel she could let go. But she didn't.
Of an Age (2022)
Gorgeous and melancholic
This is really a beautiful film. I can't say anything else. I am watching this film in 2024. I don't understand how this film was not known to me. This is level A film making. Thom Green and Elias Anton do a superb job. As is Hattie Hook by the way, as the self centered best friend and sister, who is going with the wrong people all the time, even her new husband isn't a good pick. Elias Anton transforms amazingly believable from a 17 year old to a 28 year old. He plays Kol and Ebony is really his only and also his best friend. Kol tends to be very loyal to Ebony. Adam, played by Thom Green, already warns for his sister and advices Kol to break with her as swiftly as possible. But Kol sees the good in Ebony. Ten years later when both Adam and Kol fly both back to their hometown they meet again at the airport. After their first meeting they didn't meet or talk for like 10 years. When they are at the ancestral home of Adam and Ebony, Kol learns that Ebony herself didn't think of inviting Kol to her wedding, it was her mother who suggested it, after Kol tried to call her when he was feeling emotional (it is the opening scene of the film). Kol also learns that Adam is married by now. Ebony apparently didn't think it was necessary to tell this to her 'bestie'. Kol feels disillusioned. Adam is the only one who notices this. The film ends with Adam and Kol hugging. But for me as a viewer it made me even more melancholic. They won't be together even though they both really love each other. It seems to be a trend in recent gay films. An international trend even to have gay men still suffer and not get their true love. Perhaps gay filmmakers do not believe in true love anymore. Or people are missing the good old days when gay characters in a film always had to die or suffer. I was so hopping for a beautiful end. Of course this was melancholically beautiful and not a lesser film because of the ending, on the contrary. This is a masterpiece. Thom Green as Adam was so good, with his sensitive, smart and understanding eyes towards Kol. As a viewer you can feel all his emotions. That's really superb acting. But also Elias Anton was so so good as this true and honest boy and later man. This should have been Australia's entry for the Oscars, with both Thom and Elias winning an Oscar, and Goran for Best Film. Beautiful, heartbreaking film.
In from the Side (2022)
Very skillful but I'm a bit sad
This is a very skillful film. At first I thought: my goodness, just over 2 hours long and this for a romantic drama. But I have to say this film is not too long. I got to know the protagonist, really believed him and travelled with him in his friendships, his rugby team, his relationship with his parents and with Warren. I was just rooting for Warren and Mark to be together. It seems to be a trend to not do a Hollywood ending. I recently saw the both Mascarpone films, from Italy. And also there the two love interests do not end up together. And although I really liked it with the Mascarpone films because I thought it was genuine and it felt real. It does also here, but ... as a viewer I really was rooting for them. Okay the rugby team is a substitute family for all these guys and it is more than just playing a game for them. But where is genuine love? Warren stays with his partner he is still willing to leave. But Mark refuses. And all because Warren froze up at New Year's Eve, when Warren didn't come to the rescue. But if such a small thing causes for Mark not to want to continue with Warren, was it real love then? It made me feel a bit sad. And I do really think that them coming together wouldn't make it a sugar sweet ending. It would mean that real love is out there. Mark had an open relationship with his partner, he didn't follow the rules though of this relationship and thus betrayed his partner. And Warren was hiding his love for Mark and was thus also betraying his partner. So we were just looking at a crush, a passionate crush based on lust? I mean, yes it happens in real life. But at the end of the day, Mark made his rugby team happy and proud but he is left alone and Warren is still ready to leave his partner. I was hoping for a bit more. I needed to see some real love and commitment. So it made me a bit sad. I mean, if I want to see real life I just have to look around. I was hoping for some real romance. I hope for a part two just like the two Italian Mascarpone films exist (And I expect a third Mascarpone film will follow also because of how the sequel ended: the titels of these two films are 1. Mascarpone (original title: Maschile Singolare) and 2. Mascarpone: The Rainbow Cake (original title: Maschile Plurale). So back to this one. I really think that director and writer Matt Carter delivers a beautiful skillful film. I really do hope he is gonna give us a sequel or two? If possible. And I hope Mark and Warren eventually find real love with each other. You can still create some drama where for example in part two Mark gets involved with someone, drama develops, perhaps some illness or whatever and then Mark is left on his own again, of course with support of his friends and his team. But then eventually he and Warren find each other again after some years and then part two or part three ends with them being a real couple celebrating Christmas with the parents again. Please Matt, give this to us. :-D.
Maschile singolare (2021)
Well done! Heartfelt, intelligent romantic film, avoiding cliché's
This is an excellent heartfelt film, directed by Alessandro Guida. We are looking at a coming of age film. Antonio is almost 30 and has been married since he was 19 years or so to Lorenzo. (I forgot if they tell this fact in this first film or in the sequel, because I am writing this review after I wrote the review for 'Mascarpone: The Rainbow Cake' (original title: Maschile Plurale). Normally a romcom has the 'and they lived happily ever after' ending. I mean, 'Mascarpone' (Maschile singolare) ends on a positive and on a hopeful empowered note, but it is not the happy two lovers going towards a sunny horizon. Antonio was in his marriage to Lorenzo the care taker. Always at home, always cooking and always planning their lives. But he forgot his own development, he forgot to open up to and relate with the outside world. In the end he finds passion, makes new friends, doesn't fall in love with the first guy who gave him in a new chance in life, by employing him in his own bakery (Luca). Normally a romcom ends with the protagonist falling for the love interest who is offering the start of a new life. But the filmmakers wanted Antonio to truly become independent. Find his own path. Not just passion but also focus and hard work. We have another gay character in this film: Denis. He eventually dies and Antonio needs to deal with this loss, and it makes him and us as viewers, realise that life can always end suddenly and that it is important to make conscious decisions. Antonio was about to follow another Alpha man: Thomas. Thomas is in charge of his own life, just like Lorenzo and Luca are. And again Antonio was almost prepared to drop everything and follow this new man to Milano. Denis' death makes him realise that he has to follow his own path and so he decides to stay in Rome, where he is finishing his bakery school, where he has his friends and where his future lies. I really like the fact that Denis is not dying from like HIV, suicide or homicide. That's what often tends to happen to homosexual characters. No, Denis just died during a car accident, he just was unfortunate to die this young. And we learn from meeting Denis' mother that Denis was also not living his true life and made up many fantasies to appear independent and free. Anyway, this is a beautiful, well made film with strong main actors but also the supporting actors do a superb job. I think there's a future for director Alessandro Guida in Hollywood also. Although I really would love to see him more Italian films also. Recently I watched romcoms like 'A family Affair' (with Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron) and 'The Idea of You' (with Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitizine) and they both didn't really succeed. They didn't have the depth and well written script of this Italian film and its successor. These Hollywood films were bland without heartfelt subtexts. We need more films like this: Smart, human and real. Without a sugar sweet ending, but still a positive and hopeful ending. 'Mascarpone: The Rainbow Cake' the sequel to this one ends in such a way that there is room for a 3rd film. I say: yes please. I wrote also about this in my review there. Make it a trilogy. And then later on when people are much older another trilogy. Please. These films are worth your while. I miss all the characters already and wished I was living in Rome amongst them.
Maschile Plurale (2024)
Loved it as much as the first one, we now also need Part 3!
Again, a really beautiful, well developed and grown up film. The first film was a coming of age film where Antonio learned to be independent. In this second one he has to learn to not dwell on the past. Luca and Antonio both moved on for three years. Luca built a whole new life with a new important friends and family really. Antonio became very successful, but his heart is not in it. He followed the advice of his teacher from the first film: don't be passionate, be technically accurate, focused and precise. This is what he exactly did: he created a successful venture with national fame. The interview with the journalist made him realise that his heart is not in it and that he does not have anyone who he is passionate about and who inspires him. The last one who did this was Luca. So what does Antonio do? He tries to relive the past. But Luca created important relationships with people, he found love even. And of course the old Luca is still inside him also. He likes to be possessive, he is fond of Antonio and he can be very jealous also. But the old Luca got lost and Antonio is leading Luca away from the people he loves. One review in here was disappointed that Luca and Antonio didn't get together at the end. I understand it. I also really wanted them to be a real couple. But it is not how things go in life. The writers did a very good job. They have profound insight into the workings of the human heart, soul and people's daily lives and struggles. It is beautiful that in both films we do not get a Hollywood ending. For me this means that this needs to be a trilogy. A third installment where Antonio does find real love. Because we all want him to find real love. And as he grows older we can do a part 4, 5 and 6 even. To see how life develops when Antonio and the others are middle aged. Gay films and gay culture, gay public life is ruled by the 20- and 30-somethings. In the future I'd like to see an Antonio when he is 40, 50, 60 and even 70 and 80 years old. But for now, we need to know who came entered the 'The Denis' and thus we need to have a part 3. Thank you for the realness of the emotions. Wished I was part of these films. Unfortunately not. But thank you, Alessandro Guida: two beautiful films. Keep it up, please.
The Man with 1000 Kids (2024)
Commentators on here are the worst
Unbelievable how many commentators here on IMDB call these women the most nasty things possible. Who do these sanctimonious people think they are? Calling them unnatural, bad, disgusting etc etc. And some are supporting the sperm donor, Jonathan. These commentators are evil. The women in this documentary trusted Jonathan. And others trusted the fertility clinic or the website they found online. Then they are confronted with a defunct system. Fertility clinics not being in contact with each other. Not syncing their digital files. Jonathan lying to these women. Lying about that he just helped so and so much women. And then these women are considered selfish? Unnatural? If these women behave unnatural then going to a doctor to be cured from a pneumonia is unnatural also. The nerve of these commentators. I think IMDB has a duty to monitor these comments and to remove their comments. These people are insulting the women who participated. They are ideologically and politically biased. And probably religiously. And the misogyny of some of them. My goodness. Supporting or giving advice to spermdonor Jonathan, even. This documentary shows how we just can't trust fully the medical system around us. We always need to check and double check. When sperm donors promise on a piece of paper that they won't work with other fertility clinics or with other women or couples, it should be under supervision of a notary or within some other legal context, where when the donor is behaving against the agreement he risks jail time or he will be punished financially. It's 2024 and that this was recently possible in a well organised society, says a lot about how badly our societies still are organised.
The Last Thing He Told Me (2023)
Just not that good. Augusto Aguilera is a star though.
Excellent sets and locations. Beautiful camerawork. But ufff those dialogues ... This is a visual medium not a book. Text is used differently when you need to create a world in a written story, in a book. Writing scripts for series and films is a different craft. There's too much blah blah and more blah. I am often bored to death. And the director lets her actors stare too much into a distance. And Jennifer Garner just has one facial expression and my guess is that the director likes it like this. Or the director is afraid of Ganer and is scared to tell her what she wants. Augusto Aguilera is a star, he brings really something extra: the man can act and has charisma at the same time. Make him a leading man, I am telling you. He could play a romantic lead also, easily. So yes, Jennifer Garner is miscast or mis-directed. I read that Julia Roberts was supposed to play this part but that in the last moment she pulled out. Perhaps she would have shown a bit more expressions and emotions but she wouldn't be able to get rid of the awful dialogues. And what is up with treating a 16 year old like she is a small child? She is a young adolescent, intelligent and creative. At 16 you don't treat a daughter like she is some 10 year old. Again just bad writing. I was hoping everything would be explained in the last episode but no. Now we have to wait for season 2! My goodness. And please... that fake beard at the end: Jeez-Louise ...
Am I OK? (2022)
Cute Romantic film: Let's go to London for part 2!
Lovely film.... A nice coming of age film around this early 30's woman. There's quite the tension between Lucy and her best friend Jane. They have been best friends for many years and at first, as a viewer you think these two will become a pair. But at first Lucy is feeling attracted to her first co-worker with whom she experiments. When Lucy and Jane go out to a Lesbian bar, for the first time in Lucy's life, to get Lucy more acquainted with other women who feel the same like herself, Jane all of a sudden starts to make out with another woman. I like to think that subconsciously, or perhaps consciously Jane was showing Lucy that's she is not above experimenting. Again I am thinking: they will make the perfect couple. They are now on their way to London, and yes please, show me their lives in London in part 2: I am OK! (without the question mark and with an exclamation mark this time)....
A Family Affair (2024)
Again people trying to make a Nancy Meyers film without Nancy Meyers
Again people trying to make a Nancy Meyers film without Nancy Meyers. And they fail tremendously. You can have excellent actors but this film shows that if they fall into the wrong hands they appear to become mediocre actors. This film is not telling a coherent fun, uplifted story. It goes all places. Up and down from somewhere to nowhere and back again. At the start of the film there are some truly funny lines, which made me laugh out loud. I was ready for a fun romantic film. But quickly it all became so tedious, I could not be bothered to keep my focus. Boring, boring dialogues. No cohesive story arc. And the two protagonists stay so flat, so one dimensional. I don't understand why good actors can say yes to such an empty script. The emotions that are on display are also very childlike. We do not see fully developed adults with full personalities and emotions. Joey King is somehow the only one managing to make something out of her scenes and dialogues. But bad editing, bad direction, a script that haphazardly jumps up and down without real substance, is annihilating all her hard work. And then about Nicole Kidman. Yes, she is a recognised, good actress. But she looks frail, vulnerable. Not fit and virile. And yes even as such, a person is able to get into a passionate new love affair. But somehow I do not feel it. And to be honest this has mostly to do with the people behind the camera. An affair between Zac Efron's and Joey King's character would have made more sense. Let's be honest, Kidman was miscast in this film. I just saw the film 'May December', and I think that Julianne Moore, who by the way is older than Nicole Kidman, would have been a better fit for this film. Although I don't think it would have made the film much better. Because the script was lacking, the direction was lacking and the editing was lacking. I was mostly just bored. People need real adult characters with real adult emotions even when you try to create a romantic, at times a slapstick world. The world isn't a Children's Bible, so don't try to cater to those people who think it should be.
N. B. This film is set during Christmas, with Christmas tree and all. My guess this film was meant to premiere during the holiday season in December. Why they decided to put it out there now, in summer?
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (2023)
Effortless, self assured and truly artistic
After seeing this documentary I understand why this woman is such a huge world star. She out performs everyone you can think of. Why? It is all her. She's a real singer/songwriter. Every single fibre of her whole being is in this 3 hour long performance. She is in control, she's sharing her life's emotions and experience while being an excellent singer, musician, composer, lyricist and performer. The concert never gets boring. On the contrary I could keep on watching even after it finished. One of her last songs is the song 'Mastermind' in which she tells us that her success is not an accident. She planned to be loved, to get all the love she is getting now from these millions of fans. As a child no one wanted to play with her and thus she used her musical talent to create this masterplan. It's quite revealing I think, because it feels like she played every single one of us. Even I fell for her, while watching this concert registration. But she's like the piped piper, luring each and everyone of us in. But we don't feel played. Because this woman is real. I have never seen a performer be so confident on stage. So in control. So relaxed. So focused. She's in charge. With her great voice, her smart written lyrics. She's a modern day romantic, a 21st century successor of the Brontë sisters. She's good, really good.
Watcher (2022)
The film is skillfully made but there are some irritations
The film is skillfully made but there are some irritations ... First of all: level A actors, a really good director, wonderful sets, good co-stars, great lightning, wonderful costumes. We are watching a modern, independent young couple moving to Bukarest. I loved the fact that this film was set in a city we hardly get to see in Hollywood productions. So, we have this independent, fit, good looking young couple. The woman thinks she is getting followed by a man but then she is not looking at him, not talking to him and not verbally confronting him, while she is in safe public spaces. And then when she has the chance to go up to the apartment of the man she thinks is following her, she refuses to go. In heaven's name, why not?! She has a police officer and her own husband with her to go talk to this man and ask him questions. This is a big gap in the character development. I just don't buy it. And it irritated me when I was watching this. In the cinema, in the supermarket, at home with her husband and the police officer, she didn't do anything. There is no logic. She behaves weak and childlike. While before she told her husband not to treat her like a child because he had troubles believing what she was saying. So in short, this is a very well made film. It really is a beautiful production in all aspects. But just the behaviour of this woman: it frankly doesn't add up. As viewers, as the audience we understand it is necessary behaviour by the female protagonist so that the plot can develop towards its climax. But we should be made to believe the why of the behaviour of this woman. She should become a real human being and believable. I just didn't believe the why and the how of the behaviour of this woman. This film could have been perfect if we would have believed all of her decisions to not confront this person at moments when she was not in danger and perfectly safe. This film could have been a big fat 10 star film, because most aspects are perfect. The plot just lets us down at crucial moments.
In Time (2011)
Important story and thus an important film!
It's 2024 and I just only now have watched In Time. It's a revolutionary tale. It's about our capitalist society. People in the world of 'In Time' pay in life-years in stead of money. Working class citizens have like a few days on their wrists. They need to work in factories otherwise they'll die. The rich and powerful live in a different city zone with hundreds to thousands of life-years on their wrists. And those at the top have even millions of life-years in their safes. It's the same in our society. The more money you have, the more life you'll have. The better quality consumer you can be, with better housing, healthcare, educations, holiday houses, cars, quality clothing et cetera. Research shows that rich people live longer and healthier. It's a system. It's a game. That's what 'In Time' is telling us. And the film is right when one of the characters says that it's impossible for everyone to be that rich. So those in power keep rising the prices of food, of produce and products. So that always the majority of people will just get by. But the film also states that there's more than enough money for everyone. And the rich aren't even really happy because they don't have real freedom because they need to go around guarding their precious lives with gates and guards. This film is now 13 years old, and our societies are just the same. I even dare to say that inequality is growing ever since. People fall into the trap believing that 'foreigners' are to blame, that people with a different skin colour are to blame, that drag queens and transgenders are a problem. But who has the power and the money? They go freely and make everyone believe that indeed the other poor and average people who look different, dress differently, speak another language, eat different foods, pray to other gods, are to blame. The end of the film hints at a sequel. I just read that not too long ago Justin Timberlake tried to get a sequel produced. With no succes. Should this film have won many Oscars? No. Is it an important film though? Yes. This film should be shown in schools when kids are being taught about our capitalist societies. It's a game we are playing, folks. And we all play along. And we sit and watch human beings become billionaires. Billionaires! All that money taken from societies. Taken from people. And we look at them and do nothing. Unlike the two protagonists in this film, who deserve many sequels to continue their fight. But more than one of this kind of film will probably be too much for those in power. Tax the rich!
Brats (2024)
First and foremost 'Brats' shows that young actors in Hollywood are vulnerable
First and foremost 'Brats' shows that young actors in Hollywood are vulnerable. Andrew McCarthy tells us that the term 'Brat Pack' had a big impact on some of the young artists' minds, who were part of this pack. Understandbly as a young person you want to be taken seriously and when a journalist from a renowned newspaper all of a sudden calls you a brat, this can be hurtful and even traumatic for young sensitive artists. The art of an actor is to be sensitive so they can transcribe thoughts, feelings and emotions via their whole being, onto the screen or onto a stage. I very much also understand the journalist being proud of himself with this genius terminology 'Brat Pack'. Where it went wrong was with the guidance from agents and production companies who should have helped these young professionals. It is probably one of the sides of Hollywood that is being ignored: the lack of guidance, the lack of help to understand and define everything that is happening around them and to help them explain and help them to deal with all the turmoil that comes with becoming famous and successful in Hollywood. It sounds to me that the young actors were left tending to themselves on how to deal with all of this. So it is not where the journalist went wrong, but where the whole Hollywood industry failed them. Hollywood as an industry failed them, it failed to be there for their money making actors. Especially when teenagers and young adults are involved. But also when people are adults and experience a sudden succes and fame in Hollywood, there should be good professional help and guidance for a long period of time. I think it would prevent many addictions, many depressions and many stressful, negative feelings. I think this is a subject that should have been talked about, in this documentary. But it shows that even now, as middle aged people, these actors still need to figure out for themselves how to deal with these kinds of phenomenons. So, of course they should have been proud being called the Brat Pack. All of a sudden they were put on the same pedestal as the original Rat Pack. The journalist could have called them Rat Pack 2.0.. But let's face it: Brat Pack is a much better, literary title. It is a badge of honour. And of course they were seen as Brats, when all of a sudden these young actors are making money as never seen before in Hollywood, looking at young actors. And the older generation probably would have also called them Brats, out of jealousy and spite. But when you're in your early 20's without lots of life experience, this could prove to be too difficult to put into context. But everyone around the world wanted to be a Brat like them, have succes like them, be charismatic and communicatively able like them and yes to party like them and be respected like them. Because let's face it: being given such a huge badge of honour, being called the Brat Pack in direct reference to the influential Rat Pack, is a testimony to the succes and influence of these young people right there and then in the 1980's. It is a sign of huge respect, there just weren't professionals around these young people to explain this to them.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Wow ... deserved to have gotten the Oscar for Best Film ...
Who remembers 'Crash'? The year 'Revenge of the Sith' was rewarded an Oscar for best make-up. 'Crash' won best film ... why on earth can a sci-fi film not be nominated for best film? I'm watching the Star Wars films in chronological order. And after 'Revenge of the Sith' I'll be watching 'Solo' and then. 'Rogue One' and then continue with 'Episode IV' etc. Alone for the last 40 minutes this third episode deserves to get the Best Film Oscar ... from beginning to end this film is such a cinematic extraordinary jewel ... but also in a literary way ... this is Shakespeare, this is Greek Mythology, this is in the tradition of the Great Hollywood Film Spectacles, this is on par with a great dramatic theatrical Opera ... so yes lots of green screen but what extraordinary world could be created because of this? The rhythm of the backgrounds in sync with the music and the movements of the choreographed actors together with the editing. This is a Masterpiece. Or with an expensive German word: a true 'Gesamtkunstwerk'. Not just for sci-fi lovers. This is great cinema. The first two movies were good also but not like this one. It's a shame this was not lauded with the biggest Awards possible ... The Academy should create an Oscar for films that in hindsight should have gotten one. Beautiful, Masterly, impressive. Go watch this one.
The Idea of You (2024)
Well acted! Should have been directed by Nancy Meyers though
It's hard to believe this is made by the same director who made the excellent The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021) ... It starts of too clean ... too sterile. And somehow it doesn't let go of this. Which, if Nancy Meyers would have directed it, would have worked. From the hotel scene on there's some more umpf but it still stays sterile. Script wise there are some problems also. And it's not only the flow of this film, which is rather a disturbed flow. But also some dialogue, and character developments. The daughter and the new lover of the ex-husband are staying too one dimensional. There's talk about feminism in this film. But if you notice how director Michael Showalter's male gaze goes all over Anne Hathaway's body, the feminism flies out of the window. Of course Hathaway should be able to play adult sexuality and show nudity and real passion. She does it well, it's not about that. I think she should do more raw emotions like that. But director Showalter is objectifying Hathaway and not Nicholas Galitzine. Anne Hathaway's character is wearing a shoulderless top at one point. And it's filmed as such that it seems she's standing naked there in front of the camera. Again, this would not bother me at all if the artistic intention felt right. Like in a more realistic drama like how Jessica Lange is all sensual and lustfull in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), or again in the hands of Nancy Meyer where in her hands a clean stylised approach would work. Script wise I think you're not being a good mother when you break up with someone whom you really love so that your daughter doesn't have a difficult life at highschool because the people around her behave terribly. At 40 Hathaway's character most know that true love is hard to find. To just quit real love just because society around you is harassing you and your family, isn't a good move. There's real chemistry between Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galatzine. They both give a really good performance. But the script is lacking, the director is just objectifying too much, he's lacking emotional insight and there's too much perfect hair and make-up going on. Hathaway looks too perfectly groomed ... a bit less, a little bit more realism would have been much better. I would wish for a remake where Hathaway isn't being objectified in that one love making scene but still could be just as true to her character's sexual experience. It's not about showing nudity I'm bothered with. Not at all. II's about the intention, the idea behind it all. Director Michael Showalter isn't showing lots of depth. I loved the performance of the two main actors in this film, only they made it worth my while. I believed their emotions.
Savior Complex (2023)
(Evangelical) Savior Complex, times three
Very well produced documentary.... It is not sensational and tells the story calm and collected.... The three key players are three white evangelical American women: Renee, the one who founded Saving His Children, who has had a mediocre high school education via home schooling where her mum taught her (Renee hasn't got a clue about colonialism, never heard of the word, she can't even pronounce the word and doesn't probably even know the concept) at home and who is trying to save black children in Uganda via donations from predominantly white evangelicals whom she approaches and informs via social media. Then we have Kelsey who used to be like Renee but then changed course and tries to save black people from white saviors with donations from a mixed following, whom she informs via social media and then we have white savior number three: legal nurse Jackie who is just as evangelical and wants to save black Ugandan society from mal practice by the other white savior: Renee.... White American women, all from rural USA, all brainwashed their entire lives by Christian organised religion and all three of them continu the white christian tradition of going to African countries as missionaries to directly or indirectly teach the white christian gospel and pretending to help save the non-whites. When having watched all episodes I think all three women meant well, even Renee. Renee is medium literate and finally found her calling in life, she wants to do good (pushed to do so by her life long indoctrination with white christian organised religion in a rural, relatively isolated and privileged white American culture) and really thinks she's doing all she can. But of course she oversteps a line by behaving like a nurse or doctor due to her lack of education and lack of intellectual abilities. She should just have been organising and delegating and let all the trained nurses and doctors do the practical medical work. At first you think that Kelsey and Jackie are doing good to go after Renee, but then quickly you realise they are also fulfilling the role of the white savior and they are trying to tell the Ugandan people what and who is right or wrong... and the No White Saviors organisation is just angry and in stead of building organisations that really help the people of Uganda they are playing saviors who want to free Uganda from white people without any other structural support for a population in need.... which at first seems sympathetic until you realise that they are just being angry and not helping society, not helping the poor women and children of Uganda who are poor, poorly educated, mal nourished and who have, as women not many rights within Ugandan society.... No White Saviors also depends on gifts and funding to be able to exist.... In the end the poor aren't being served and everyone is just serving themselves... In the mean time, thanks to colonialism, Ugandans who are LGBTQi+ are in danger to end up in prison or to get capital punishment, before the Brits occupied Uganda it was not illegal and an integral part of society, but the Brits with their religious puritan colonisers changed Ugandan society for the worst... many of their white laws still are law in Uganda... White people to do good out of name of religion are a plague.... they are not there to really help, they are there to do their god's work to be better cult members (and to make a living in the mean time) and they want to convert the others into their believe system...
Lady Chatterley's Lover (2022)
Beautiful, solid execution!
I avoided seeing this film for a long time. I love for example 'Io Sono L'Amore' ('I am Love) by Luca Guadagnino, which has quite some Lady Chatterley's Lover theme going on. That film is perfection. I remember also seeing a kitschy film version of Lady Chatterley's Lover from like the 1970's which didn't work for me at all. But this 2022 version hits all the right spots. It is so much more than about the eroticism, it is about class society, industrialisation, a ruling class exploiting the classes below them and treating them like cattle, women being used as vessels to produce an heir, the disdain of the upper class for all the other classes below them. The book itself created a big scandal. It had to be produced in Florence, Italy and it could not be sold in bookshops. It was covered in a neutral cover and you had to order it. Anyway, this film is directed by a woman, the music is by a female composer and many other key positions were executed by women. Someone in here wrote in a review that the scene where they dance naked in the rain wasn't erotic. On the contrary. It was very erotic, and beautifully done at the same time. To be honest some scenes were almost soft porn. But the actors know how to make it about emotions and feelings and not about carnal lust. The love making scenes are not designed to arouse the audience, but to make them feel passion and desire. But, we are a 21st century audience, for us to like feel a bit of a 'oh la la' sensation we need to be pushed a little bit more than in the past. Most of us are used to getting and seeing shocking images or erotic arousing content, we are used to nudity and pornography being omnipresent. So the director needed to push the envelope a bit. This film is not a pornographic film though. But a modern general audience is used to so much more than they were used to in the past. And I was pleasantly surprised to see that the actors went full frontal. Because I think nudity isn't something bad or to be ashamed of. And above all it fits the romantic ideas in this film, being connected to nature, shedding of all your clothes and balast and being cleansed by nature, by the rain. And because I think it is a good antidote for the far right, extreme right, fascist forces which are trying to root into our modern societies. This film is a true romantic story, with beautiful intimacy of two young lovers, finding their true nature with each other, across class borders. The reviewer who said the rain scene wasn't erotic also said this film is a suburban adaptation of the book and that the Oliver character was not hairy, masculine or tough. Equaling the smooth skinned Oliver character to being effeminate. When you say this after seeing this film, you are so not getting the overall meaning of this story. Not sure who he or she saw but I saw a 'real man', an educated man with self pride and with agency. Calling this film suburban is hautain, it's snobbery, and doesn't show much real insight from the reviewer. I am glad I watched the film. Passionate, well paced, beautifully acted. A film with many layers and social critique. And most of all a story told and made by many women. Beautiful, moving, and hopeful. NB. I really love the costuming in this film. On par with the time around and after the First World War. Especially the upperclass women became more independent, more 'masculine' so you want, meaning more freedom, driving cars, being independent and more free. Just like how the upper-class started traveling the world as tourists early on for the masses to follow. It were also the upper-class women who had the means to take the risk of being more independent, more free. And you see this very well in this film. Connie's sister driving the car, supporting her sister but she is also sensitive still for the consequences of her actions on conservative society. And as another side-note (I am trying to type this review as quickly as possible) we see that the lower classes are accepting of the love story between the two lovers, they respect Connie and Oliver because they are honest and open. It is the upper-class friends who we see talking bad about it and who are even ignoring Connie.
And Just Like That... (2021)
It is good, it is really good... and perhaps better than Sex and the City
FIRST: DO ME A FAVOUR.... click on the profile names of the one star reviews telling us this is oh so bad. Many of those have just ONE REVIEW, and that is for this series! So it is safe to presume that these are people with an agenda. An Anti-Woke agenda.... Always click on profiel names to see if they are honest and true enthusiasts, reviewing a film or series out of passion, going back years of reviewing, here on IMDB. If you see profiles with just reviewing one or a few productions on the past like year then mostly they are here to write down negative (or positive for that matter) reviews because a production doesn't agree with their world views, or their politics. I didn't click all profile names of the reviewers here, but the first 5 bad ones, all had ONE REVIEW.... and that's the review for 'And Just Like That'. It is safe to say that these are extreme right conservatives who don't want others to exist, who are anti non-binary people, who are anti homosexual people, relationships, who are anti interracial relationships et cetera. They want to annihilate everyone who is not just like their small minded selves. I am telling you, this is really good.... all the characters, the story lines, the twists.... I see a production made by people who know and who love what they are doing... real emotions, real characters... with a bit of romance and fairytale when looking at fashion and the romanticised life in NY.... but they do the fashion so so good.... and we all fall in love with NY.... what Woody Allen started with his love songs on New York... Sex and the City and now 'And Just like that' continu this view... I say this is even better than Sex and the City because we see so much more real people, more diversity, more real life people.... and no, it is not woke... it is like life around me.... I hope on many more seasons.... and ideally this goes on for like another 10 years.... let's grow old together....
Dramarama (2020)
Beautiful with an excellent cast! Sequel needed!
Beautiful heartfelt, well acted and well directed film! The actors are exceptional to be honest. I'm sure the director had them practice and do a murder weekend or something before they started actually filming. The group of friends feel so real, the actors are one by one giving such good performances. The script naturally is very well written also giving the actors real people with rounded in depth personalities to play. I genuinely enjoyed this. And of course this calls for a sequel. Really, I insist. With such a superb cast it has to happen. And besides this I really am looking forward to see all the individual actors in other productions. Loved it, go see this film.
Faithfully Yours (2022)
Beautifully executed film...!
I recently also watched the Dutch film 'Mijn Vader is een Vliegtuig' by Antoinette Beumer, that film is all but a skillful film. 'Faithfully Yours' is the opposite: a very well made, well directed, beautifully photographed and well acted film. Really very good. Commercially and artistically a very solid film. At times the script is a bit weak, for example when the chief detective of the Belgian Police reacts in certain ways, but also the fact they don't have a body but still they act the way they are acting. And when you learn that one of the characters broke a foot, you already know where this is leading, if you watched some whodunnits in your life time. But, if you decide to go with the flow, then you have a really well crafted, entertaining film. All the actors deliver. From Bracha van Doesburgh, to Elise Schaap, Nasrdin Dchar, Gijs Naber and Hannah Hoekstra. But a special mention for Matteo Simoni: he has a small part in this film but you feel his character profoundly. His passion and instant love for the Bodil character (played by Bracha van Doesburgh), is impressive. This film is certainly worth your time.