I probably identify with the protagonist a little too much. I was very much like her, before I met my wife. For lonely, socially awkward people, vacations and holidays can be the worst part. You so want to have something special happening to you, but as the days pass, you become more and more mired in your solitude, more desperate to find someone, and more offputting and weird, in a vicious circle. The movie captures that sense of helpless frustration pretty well. And that is exactly why it can be hard to watch sometimes.
If you go watching this "blind", you'd be forgiven for assuming that it's a realistic (albeit art-house style) movie about an iconoclast 18th-century intellectual that is somewhat hedonistic.
Then, about 2/3 of the movie in, you realize that the main character is Casanova. And then the movie makes a transition from satiric drama to horror movie. And then you realize it's Casanova vs. Dracula.
This is a enjoyable and competent superhero movie. Not a masterpiece, not horrible either.
That such a harmlessly fun superhero romp became yet another batteground for the culture wars just makes me tired of said wars.
The movie's feminist themes, anticipated by some folks, dreaded by other folks, are there more to show how Carol Danvers has true Heroic Spirit, and how she never gives up (as shown in a rather heartwarming montage), the same way you'd get in a Spider-Man movie with Parker as the determined hero, for instance.
In other words, it's basic Marvel fun, not a political treatise.
Part 1, the attack on Neocolonialism, is the best part of the movie, pretty engrossing, even if you disagree with the politics of the movie.
Parts 2 and 3, less so. They start pretty interesting, with a lecture on Argentine's history (very biased in favor of Peronism, though).
But soon it becomes a call to arms for violent leftist revolution, and not a particularly riveting one. More like, lots of people saying the same thing over and over again.
The right didn't like it because it isn't jingoistic enough and celebratory of war. The left didn't like it because it didn't celebrate women and soldiers of color. It seems like one of the symptoms of political radicalism is the inability of enjoying awesome war thrillers.
Many classic comedies have aged a little bit, particularly the ones that are so referenced and copied. But this one is not just funny, it also feels pretty fresh, almost 80 years later.
The Mexico sequences are as trippy as anything in "Fantasia". Perhaps even more crazy and weird.
Also, it's quite a shock to watch this in 2018 and see Donald Duck as a sex-crazy horndog in a wholesome cartoon for the whole family. :)
And oh yeah, as stereotypical as the depictions of Latin America are here, it still makes one nostalgic for a time when the USA had a policy of good neighboorhood with Mexico...
Right now, I'm at 40% completion of this list, and I think I will probably stay there.
I dunno, it's easy to hate on it, and I personally find the thought of watching all these blockbusters soul-deadening. To me, watching these movies would feel more like a chore.
Then again, I have a weak spot for Marvel movies, as a comic book fan of longstanding, and it would be hypocritical of me to bash people who are crazy about other franchises.
Most of the actors do a pretty good job, but this is ultimately a very disappointing movie.
The first one was a scary deconstruction of Godzilla, the second one was a surprisingly effective psychological thriller, this one is just blah. Hope the next one will be better.
An exceptional movie. As visually stunning and poetic as Malick's later works, but considerably more grounded and less taken with ponderous philosophy.
A very good movie, but also almost unbearable to watch. The painful realities of death, aimlessness, lack of prospects, etc. are presented in a very direct, unfiltered way.
Vin Diesel disappears so completely and perfectly in the role that I only knew it was him afterwards.
This is a movie that, from a moral standpoint, I shouldn't have liked, because it asks us to root for the Mafia against the judicial system in a pretty blatant fashion, but I found myself liking it anyway.
This is one of the best examples of "cinema of invention", a type of Brazilian movie that came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I'd describe it as Jean-Luc Godard meets John Waters.
I didn't hate the movie, but I was unimpressed by it. I think the weak link is that the two child actors portraying the kids do a very mediocre work, particularly the youngest one.
There are some strange inclusions, indeed. I am particularly intrigued by Gattaca and Brazil being read as "conservative movies".
I think many (if not most) liberals would be disgusted by a deeply unequal and discriminatory society as the one depicted in Gattaca. And there are a few strains of right-wing politics that are supportive of the extreme eugenics and materialism of Gattaca.
Brazil, like Dar Leben der Anderen, George Orwell's 1984 and countless books and movies lampooning and criticizing old Soviet-bloc countries (like Ucho, for instance) is also a hit with Liberal audiences. Showcasing how horrible an omnipotent bureaucracy with totalitarian control over people's lives can be does not make a movie necessarily "conservative", IMO. These works would only be conservative if they posited a traditionalist or capitalistic society as a good alternative to these dystopias. And I just don't think that that is the intent of most of these works.
This is one of the most "eighties" movies ever made. But it's still very enjoyable. And yeah, Prince's charisma is what holds the whole thing together.
Amazingly, there was a time when you could have a satirical erotic thriller with bisexuality, rape accusations, and class differences. Today, you could only have this subject matter in utterly serious dramas (if you could have it at all).
This movie didn't do much for me when I was a teenager in 1991, but I like it a lot more after re-watching it as an adult.
There are still weak spots. The biggest one being the depiction of Neverland, that looks sort like an amusement park. I'm usually not one to complain about "dated" special effects and sets, but I think the problem lies not with the technical limitations of the time the movie was made, but with the choices Spielberg made, so I think the complaint is valid.
Back in the 1990s, this was one of my favorite movies. At the time, I was very burned out of action movies, and I loved how this movie skewered them and I didn't understand why most other folks didn't see the brilliance I saw.
25 years later, I still love this movie, but I can see the flaws now. This is a movie that has several very clever bits, but they never quite gel into one great whole. I think Pleasantville and The Purple Rose of Cairo do the whole "reality and fiction" converge far better and with more heart.
Last Action Hero sometimes is a satire, sometimes a straight action-fantasy movie, sometimes a drama about a kid without a father, but these disparate parts don't mesh well, IMO, and none of them runs very deep.
It's still a very interesting movie, but it could have been so much more.
Comments 1 - 25 of 38
Movie comment on The Hurricane
Rene Narciso
Compelling story, great perfomance, and timely subject matter where racism intersects with a flawed justice system.My one cricitism is more about the oddity of these IMBd lists. This is a "sports" movie only in the loosest of senses.
Movie comment on An Interesting Story
Rene Narciso
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTpwGXWvNIMMovie comment on Moscou sous la neige
Rene Narciso
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG-2rCl2BF4Movie comment on Le rayon vert
Rene Narciso
I probably identify with the protagonist a little too much. I was very much like her, before I met my wife. For lonely, socially awkward people, vacations and holidays can be the worst part. You so want to have something special happening to you, but as the days pass, you become more and more mired in your solitude, more desperate to find someone, and more offputting and weird, in a vicious circle. The movie captures that sense of helpless frustration pretty well. And that is exactly why it can be hard to watch sometimes.Movie comment on Història de la meva mort
Rene Narciso
Definitely should be in the Weird Movies list.If you go watching this "blind", you'd be forgiven for assuming that it's a realistic (albeit art-house style) movie about an iconoclast 18th-century intellectual that is somewhat hedonistic.
Movie comment on Captain Marvel
Rene Narciso
This is a enjoyable and competent superhero movie. Not a masterpiece, not horrible either.That such a harmlessly fun superhero romp became yet another batteground for the culture wars just makes me tired of said wars.
The movie's feminist themes, anticipated by some folks, dreaded by other folks, are there more to show how Carol Danvers has true Heroic Spirit, and how she never gives up (as shown in a rather heartwarming montage), the same way you'd get in a Spider-Man movie with Parker as the determined hero, for instance.
In other words, it's basic Marvel fun, not a political treatise.
Movie comment on La hora de los hornos: Notas y testimonios sobre el neocolonialismo, la violencia y la liberación
Rene Narciso
Part 1, the attack on Neocolonialism, is the best part of the movie, pretty engrossing, even if you disagree with the politics of the movie.Parts 2 and 3, less so. They start pretty interesting, with a lecture on Argentine's history (very biased in favor of Peronism, though).
But soon it becomes a call to arms for violent leftist revolution, and not a particularly riveting one. More like, lots of people saying the same thing over and over again.
Movie comment on Dunkirk
Rene Narciso
The right didn't like it because it isn't jingoistic enough and celebratory of war. The left didn't like it because it didn't celebrate women and soldiers of color. It seems like one of the symptoms of political radicalism is the inability of enjoying awesome war thrillers.Movie comment on Duck Soup
Rene Narciso
Many classic comedies have aged a little bit, particularly the ones that are so referenced and copied. But this one is not just funny, it also feels pretty fresh, almost 80 years later.Movie comment on The Three Caballeros
Rene Narciso
The Mexico sequences are as trippy as anything in "Fantasia". Perhaps even more crazy and weird.Also, it's quite a shock to watch this in 2018 and see Donald Duck as a sex-crazy horndog in a wholesome cartoon for the whole family. :)
And oh yeah, as stereotypical as the depictions of Latin America are here, it still makes one nostalgic for a time when the USA had a policy of good neighboorhood with Mexico...
Toplist comment on Box Office Mojo's All Time Worldwide Box Office
Rene Narciso
Right now, I'm at 40% completion of this list, and I think I will probably stay there.I dunno, it's easy to hate on it, and I personally find the thought of watching all these blockbusters soul-deadening. To me, watching these movies would feel more like a chore.
Then again, I have a weak spot for Marvel movies, as a comic book fan of longstanding, and it would be hypocritical of me to bash people who are crazy about other franchises.
Movie comment on The Cloverfield Paradox
Rene Narciso
Most of the actors do a pretty good job, but this is ultimately a very disappointing movie.The first one was a scary deconstruction of Godzilla, the second one was a surprisingly effective psychological thriller, this one is just blah. Hope the next one will be better.
Movie comment on Days of Heaven
Rene Narciso
An exceptional movie. As visually stunning and poetic as Malick's later works, but considerably more grounded and less taken with ponderous philosophy.Movie comment on James White
Rene Narciso
A very good movie, but also almost unbearable to watch. The painful realities of death, aimlessness, lack of prospects, etc. are presented in a very direct, unfiltered way.Movie comment on Find Me Guilty
Rene Narciso
Vin Diesel disappears so completely and perfectly in the role that I only knew it was him afterwards.This is a movie that, from a moral standpoint, I shouldn't have liked, because it asks us to root for the Mafia against the judicial system in a pretty blatant fashion, but I found myself liking it anyway.
Movie comment on Dersu Uzala
Rene Narciso
Probably the most touching movie ever made about friendship.Movie comment on Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
Rene Narciso
Magnificent.Really, this deserves a lot more checks.
Movie comment on O Bandido da Luz Vermelha
Rene Narciso
This is one of the best examples of "cinema of invention", a type of Brazilian movie that came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I'd describe it as Jean-Luc Godard meets John Waters.Movie comment on Zathura: A Space Adventure
Rene Narciso
I didn't hate the movie, but I was unimpressed by it. I think the weak link is that the two child actors portraying the kids do a very mediocre work, particularly the youngest one.Movie comment on Hannibal
Rene Narciso
I'm not too squeamish, but this one had a couple of scenes that were almost unwatchable.Toplist comment on National Review's The Best Conservative Movies
Rene Narciso
There are some strange inclusions, indeed. I am particularly intrigued by Gattaca and Brazil being read as "conservative movies".I think many (if not most) liberals would be disgusted by a deeply unequal and discriminatory society as the one depicted in Gattaca. And there are a few strains of right-wing politics that are supportive of the extreme eugenics and materialism of Gattaca.
Brazil, like Dar Leben der Anderen, George Orwell's 1984 and countless books and movies lampooning and criticizing old Soviet-bloc countries (like Ucho, for instance) is also a hit with Liberal audiences. Showcasing how horrible an omnipotent bureaucracy with totalitarian control over people's lives can be does not make a movie necessarily "conservative", IMO. These works would only be conservative if they posited a traditionalist or capitalistic society as a good alternative to these dystopias. And I just don't think that that is the intent of most of these works.
Movie comment on Purple Rain
Rene Narciso
This is one of the most "eighties" movies ever made. But it's still very enjoyable. And yeah, Prince's charisma is what holds the whole thing together.Movie comment on Wild Things
Rene Narciso
Amazingly, there was a time when you could have a satirical erotic thriller with bisexuality, rape accusations, and class differences. Today, you could only have this subject matter in utterly serious dramas (if you could have it at all).The past really is another country.
Movie comment on Hook
Rene Narciso
This movie didn't do much for me when I was a teenager in 1991, but I like it a lot more after re-watching it as an adult.There are still weak spots. The biggest one being the depiction of Neverland, that looks sort like an amusement park. I'm usually not one to complain about "dated" special effects and sets, but I think the problem lies not with the technical limitations of the time the movie was made, but with the choices Spielberg made, so I think the complaint is valid.
Movie comment on Last Action Hero
Rene Narciso
Back in the 1990s, this was one of my favorite movies. At the time, I was very burned out of action movies, and I loved how this movie skewered them and I didn't understand why most other folks didn't see the brilliance I saw.25 years later, I still love this movie, but I can see the flaws now. This is a movie that has several very clever bits, but they never quite gel into one great whole. I think Pleasantville and The Purple Rose of Cairo do the whole "reality and fiction" converge far better and with more heart.
Last Action Hero sometimes is a satire, sometimes a straight action-fantasy movie, sometimes a drama about a kid without a father, but these disparate parts don't mesh well, IMO, and none of them runs very deep.
It's still a very interesting movie, but it could have been so much more.
Showing items 1 – 25 of 38