Café Society

It's a very Woody Allen-ish movie. The visuals are beautiful and stunning. There is a lot of gorgeous dresses, outfits and scenery. The setting and the time the film is set in is lovely. Aaand that's about the only thing I like. I'm not going to rate this one, because I feel that a lot of things I don't like about this film doesn't actually make it a bad film. I just don't like the characters. I find them impossible to relate as my tolerance to all things like cheating is very minimal and I don't really feel empathy for the characters. In my eyes they are all completely responsible for their own misery. The men are dreadful - pushy and they din't really seem considerate of women's feelings. They don't wait, They don't take no for an answer and what's even worse is that all the other characters encourage this sort of behavior. Maybe it fit the era, maybe it doesn't, but I don't like it.

Kristen Stewart's Vonnie has some potential to being a likable relatable character, but Kristen Stewart's "one expression fits all" approach makes it very hard to get her character. Especially because she portrays a character who is written in a way that you should be able to read loads of stuff just from her expression. But you can't. Does she genuinely likes this guy who says she wants to be with her and says so on the very day she was dumped? And when Vonnie says she never wants to love again the man she considers her friend only disregards her feelings by saying:"You just need time." It would make sense of Vonnie to feel unsure and not like him, but you can't really tell by her expression. You have to go by the narration.

Aaand that brings me to the narration. The famous film critique channel cinemasins always sins narration. Often unfairly I think. In this case through, the narration was annoying. It felt like there wasn't enough screen time to have the whole movie done and therefore what was happening needed to be told to the viewer as quickly as possible. Or maybe he was just too lazy to film more than a montage.

Jessie's character was okay. He has more versatile approach than Kristen, but I felt like maybe his character development could have been shown more clearly. Or maybe I just imagined there was meant to be any?

X-men apocalypse

★★★★☆

I like the X-men movies. They are exactly what they are - if you like x-men you will like this too and if you don't you won't. I have to admit I had forgotten some of the plot few weeks later, but it was enjoyable. I wouldn't say the plot was bad, it was actually good, just complex enough for me to forget some of it. I am still not very used to the younger x-men. I love Jennifer Lawrence, but I'm having trouble seeing her as Mystique.I love Charles through, in both of the versions. 

 

The soundtrack is a lot of fun. It's mostly old hits reused, but they're the sort of hits I personally really enjoy like "Sweet dreams are made of this". So yeah, a good, enjoyable, fun X-men film. 

High rise

★★★★★
It's a brilliant movie. The concept is the kind of inspiring idea that makes you feel like you could write tens and thousands of new stories within the movie's fascinating universe. Not to worry through, this isn't one of those Hollywood block-busters where countless sequels will instantly emerge at the slightest success of the original idea. This simply isn't the kind of movie to have sequels. It's one of those interesting artsy movies where the whole story is really a metaphor. I'll say it's a metaphor for the society. You'll have to figure out the rest.

Just on a sidenote - the basic idea itself might made a cool classic sci-fi film too. People living in a house where floors dictate your social status.


It's one of those films that requires a lot of thinking and attention and interpreting on viewers part. Not an easy ride, but a fun one none the less. At least - in my opinion. Gruesome and graphic at times, but not really heavy. Just deep and thoughtful. There is a lot of interesting really innovative camera angles and work and that says a lot at a time when it really seems that it has all been over and done.

I personally also really enjoyed the soundtrack. Especially the Portishead's cover of ABBA's "SOS". Brilliant.  Same can be said for Tom Hiddleston's acting. As always he brings a lot to the character and is generally great. I like the esthetic of the film too, although at times it oddly reminded me of those Estonian movies they make of Soviet times now. Well - the original novel was written in the 1970s. A novel which I would love to read if it was available in any of our libraries or even bookstores. I take ages deciding whether something is really worth ordering online...I'm sure it's worth it, but what if it comes on sale here with the DVD release?

Hail, Ceasar!

★★★★☆
This is one of those films you see for the atmosphere. It's a joy to watch, the plot is not boring, in fact it's rather interesting, but it lacks the highs and lows of classical film work, it doesn't obviously try it's hardest to climb up to the climax, but instead flows in a way that seems natural and life-like and makes watching it a relaxing pleasurable experience.

It's artistic, not only in it's interesting aesthetics, but in a way that in certain parts the film seems a bit over-exaggerated. It's not a fantasy film of the supernatural genre, but the world portrayed here is not an accurate image of how Hollywood used to be or the world in that time in general. It's an idealized fantasy world that seems a bit naive, but you forgive that to the film, because it seems intentional. It's not an inaccurate portrayal of realism simply, because they didn't know how the world was back then, but because they wanted to make it like that.

It's artsy. And Tilda Swinton's role in it is worth a mention on it's own. It's fun and impressive and the outfits are great. It doesn't feel like she's doing a double-role, because of her huge ego, but because it fits the film. And she does it brilliantly.

It's a film that makes you feel good and when you write a review of it weeks later like I am right now, you might no longer remember all the plot, but you'll remember the way you felt and the thoughts you had about it and how cool the outfits looked.

The Huntsman: Winter's War

★★☆☆☆
Two sisters, princesses, the  one with icy powers flees her kingdom to build her own ice empire, because she doesn't need love or any of these feelings. In the end the kinder sister finds out she was horribly betrayed? Think I'm talking about Frozen? No, but I wish I were, Frozen was much better and with a far more original plot. Here, I was left wondering if they thought that a princess with icy powers is all takes to film a blockbuster.

Predictability is a big pet peeve of mine and man that film was so predictable that I could literally guess some of the lines actors were going to say and it wasn't even a very enjoyable plot line. You know, because sometimes there are films that you really enjoy none the less? I'm not mad that I saw it. It was okay, it wasn't bad in a sense that it didn't make me feel angry with the world or grossed out or vaguely sick, but perhaps even that might be better that what you're left with - which is, nothing. It's a bland, boring, predictable tale. It's only true really great aspect are the stunning outfits. If you're the kind of person who enjoys a film for a nice scenery and gorgeous costumes this might actually be something for. I suppose it's also a fairly enjoyable fairy-talesh tale for the lovers of the genre. Although I still personally would have loved a bit more originality from the "tale before Snow white".

Joy of Man's Desiring /Hitono nozomino yorokobiyo

Every now and then I'll see a movie and I can't write about it, because I'll feel like I'll ruin it, but I also want to write about it, because these are the films truly worth seeing. Japanese films are a tiny bit hard to come by, especially in cinemas in Europe, but if you can I recommend it very highly. It's a heavy piece, but it is also a truly moving and beautiful picture that's not such made sad and heavy for the sake of drawing tears out of the audience. I hate nothing more than cheap tricks used to play with the viewer's emotions.  This actually has a deeper meaning and perhaps this becomes much clearer to me having met the wonderful director Masakazu Suigita, but I like that for once a movie was made not just to make the audience weep, but because the topic had both a personal meaning to the author and that the author believed that his film could have social impact and help people understand feelings and grief perhaps a bit better. It feels like a rare thing to see a movie that wants to serve a social cause…
So to put my words in bit more context I should point out that the film is about two children who loose their parents in an Earthquake and about what happens in their lives after that. After having witnessed one Earthquake close by at a younger age and then another one bit further in 2011 Suigita decided to make a film both because of his own feelings and because he wanted to give something to the society to help them in long term. The outcome is stunning, emotional, powerful and utterly worth watching.

It's JAFF week here again so this movie screened here in the Japanese Animation Film Festival, despite not being an animation

Deadpool

★★★★★
I had incredibly high expectations for this movie and generally that tends to rather ruin things for me in the end, but in this case my high expectations were entirely - justified. I was perfectly happy with the movie I saw and there was practically nothing to complain about. I got both what I expected and a lot of things I didn't expect which is a marvelous thing.

So what I did expect was a movie with lots of funny jokes and puns and forth wall breaking all around. That did happen and rather well.

What I didn't expect was such a sad and rough and angsty backstory for Deadpool. I mean., I think the stories of superheros or anti-heros or - super-powered  people are usually rather light. They get bit by a radioactive spider and sure, maybe sometimes their loved ones die and there is some horrible over-the-top tragedy, but I think this particular story was more subtle and relatable in some ways. In others it was also a pretty horrific one with proper horrifying horror film elements.

I also might have not expected quite that much swearing, but I didn't mind. It was mostly puns and some of the swears were actually quite clever and not like the old worn out fuck, fuck, fuck spiced with a healthy doze of motherfucker.

I also liked the ending. It was nice, reasonable and happy, but not in a corny stupid way. Well... maybe a little, but I liked it none the less. The titles on their own were worth a see! So go see it!