Change Your Image
risti-irawan
Reviews
The Counselor (2013)
Vague Plot and Less Alive Dialogue
Opened by erotic scene by Counselor (Michael Fassbender) and Laura (Penelope Cruz) which is certainly intended to increase the audience's libido. Throughout the film, the philosophy of life, women, and sex are elaborated through many lengthy dialogs that require the audience to be patient in following.
Ridley Scott and Comac McCarthy seemed to forget that the audience needs information that can be digested through the screen. The film has very minimal information, such as : Counselor's real name was never mentioned, what was the real deal of Counselor-Reiner (Javier Bardem)-Westray (Brad Pitt), who is actually Malkina (Cameron Diaz) and for whom she work and what her motive, who's the boss of the motor driver, police in disguise, et all? Minimum information is sometimes done to create an interesting twist, but there are too many questions that are not answered in the Counselor. The film is forcing the audience to develop the story in their own mind and keep guessing what really happened. I found many scene that are not really important, and doesn't have a clear connection to the movie, like a counselor meetings with the diamond expert, Malkina's confession, angry stranger on the Counselor at the café.
Only the execution of the murder arguably good, because the prior information is told to the audience in the very clear dialog, for example : when Counselor receive the DVD says "Hola!", the audience already knows what's in it because Westray had told Counselor in earlier scene. (reinforced by the scene of body parts Laura in the trash). Including the murder of Westray, we know it from the dialog of Reiner-Counselor.
What annoying is the logical action of the character. When these people are dealing with illicit drug business and his life, is it not too obvious for them to have some bodyguards? Well, Counselor might be a new person, but wealthy figure like Reiner would like to go alone with only 2 leopards? Especially when it is supposed he shared with Malkina? Is it not too careless? Then would not be the counselor able to guess that his telephone was tapped? I hope that "Boise"-thing is just Counselor's trickery to distract the enemy, but it's just to prove that Counselor is stupid. Laura kidnapping also feels strange, she appears to have reached a certain place, and lowered his stuff, does not she should choose to use the services of valets? The last illogical thing is Westray simply get attracted to a beautiful women, and in a scene that is not shown, unexpectedly the beautiful women have gotten all the secret codes, is it not too easy?
The information provided at the end of the film is Malkina as the enemy in the blanket -- and that's not enough! NOTE also, that this movie is very love to behead people. It is unfortunate that the great acting of the cast, The Counselor fails to be a qualified film. Screwed by a vague plot and less alive dialog. My score is 6/10.
Hummingbird (2013)
How the good and evil influence each other.
Hummingbird - One more movie which sells Jason Statham as the main point.
Still the same with the other Jason Statham movie genre, which is action movie. This time he did not act as a good-hearted man, but rather a war criminal, named Joey Jones.
Someone killed his friend, then he wanted to demand justice or rather, revenge. He also has a friend, a nun named Christina, played by Agata Buzek ---- not a typical beauty as the main character the movie, but her acting is qualified. Among criminals like a devil with nun like an angel, who are more affected?
When escaping from renternir, he fell off into elite apartments. The apartment occupants were out of the country, so it is free to use any existing facilities to launch a revenge business and get a lot of money by working in the mafia. (What a very lucky incident!)
Overall, I think Steven Knight (the director) to bring tension (which should exist), and do not focus on establishing story lines, like "what exactly are you saying?" Many characters and side stories that are not deepened, so it just feels like "ornament" that cluttered.
If I may say, this movie has 3 stories focus:
1. The first focus is revenge. Difficult to understand the intensity of Joey in revenge if only for the sake of his "share of cardboard". Considering this is the final destination Joey, is supposed relationship Joey-Isabel given background stronger.
2. The second focus is Joey relationship with Christina. It is clear that the relationship between Joey and Christina became the highlight of the main portion of the film. Thank you for the superb acting of Agata Buzek. While the acting of Statham himself does not seem really interested in the nun.
3. The third focus is to get more money for his family. Why do so after a year of new Joey hiding? Yet look how he so longed for children (and for some reason is not his wife?!). Although it gives a lot of money, why Joey remains determined to be "waste", whereas he could be a mafia and do other dirty work? Roughly speaking, why he did not choose to die? If he is afraid of death, why he does not seem afraid to die during the movie?
The core of this film is how good and evil meet and influence each other. As Joey character who looks like man without integrity, where he chose to live as a vagrant than death by a court decision. How he was willing to demand justice, but at the same time as the perpetrators of injustice. The film's title was changed from "Hummingbird" to "Redemption".
Seeing the weakness of the story in this film, it is unlikely to get a positive critique of the critics.
For me, the score is 4/10.