Dude Rates Movies

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Among their recent low-effort sequels, this original gem is welcome from Pixar, and it delivers. The stream of colorful visuals is stunning, the exploration of Mexican culture is original and interesting and it's sealed with the good old Pixar emotional hammer that makes you leave a few tears behind your 3D glasses. Truly good.

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Nolan finally gets back down to Earth (and to Sea, and to Sky). The impersonal subject of war is a perfectly suited canvas for his absolutely masterful directing, and isn't polluted by his usual i-am-very-smart ramblings. The result is a stubborn, simple, and efficient masterpiece.

Absolutely.

I spent the whole movie shaking with laughter. Jean-Pierre Bacri is an absolute unit of a comedian. This bought me joy and happiness.

It's about two girls. One of them is a sociopath and has no feelings. The other one is normal, but she happens to despise her step-dad. So the first one casually asks why she doesn't simply murder her step-dad. The story is clever in that the sociopath one is presented as so cold and pragmatic she achieves whatever she wants, but she has a big weakness: because of her inability to feel emotions, she assumes other people act rationally too (as in a cost/benefit analysis) and has a hard time processing how other people's emotions will interfere with her plans. The movie is very well-made, but it lacks some icing to make it truly excellent. In particular, there is no great scene that stands out, and the resolution fizzles out a bit. In any case, I'll keep an eye on the director, who makes an impressive directorial debut, and on the two lead actresses (Olivia Cooke, whom you may have seen in Ready Player One, and Anya Taylor-Joy, in Split), both definitely very good.

The surface-level narration breaks down in unison with the emotional meltdown of the lead character played by a marvelous Jennifer Lawrence. The film can be seen as the unreliable testimony of a woman in state of shock, each exaggeration and inconsistency being exploited to draw the very ambitious metaphor that lies beneath. The result is a spectacular and intensively emotional piece of cinema that leaves an indelible mark on the mind. Fascinating.

Margot Robbie produces an original movie on the very bankable subject of ice skating, where she plays the lead whose 80s' style of clothes and hairstyle showcase the latest sexy fashion, telling the story of a 80s' scandal few people remember. The movie, which is amazing, proceeds to win four times its budget, be nominated for multiple Oscars and is acclaimed by the critic. Beware Hollywood, because this woman is going places.

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Second movie in my J.C. Chandor streak, and an excellent one. There is one character and 4 or 5 lines of monologue in this movie, the well-crafted directing and poignant performance from Robert Redford doing all the heavy lifting, and lifting it up well.

Last movie in my J.C. Chandor streak, and again a very good one. Very interesting inside perspective of the onset of the 2007 financial crisis, more punchy and approachable than the long and analytic Big Short.

National Board of Review's best movie of 2014. I would put it just after Birdman.

My love for characters played by Lily James, such as Natasha in BBC's War and Peace, turns my sensibility into this of a little girl. Cinderella is no exception, and I'm not even mad about it.

2019-05-05

This movie is one dependable ally when you've caught a nasty cold. Just slip in under the cover and let you be taken away in this beautiful tale. Relish watching the delightful direction of Kenneth Brannagh and listening to the sweet music of Patrick Doyle. Jubilate as Cinderella and the Prince meet for the first time in the forrest and flirt like two loving souls. Remind yourself that everything will be alright as long as you have courage and be kind. Oh boy this movie is close to perfection.

The director wants to stand out and desperately tries to be original, most notably with the unusual aspect ratio and the weirdly-fitting pop songs. His talent at directing is well enough in its own right, as it captures so well how the brutality of the main character affects the lives of people around him, and his own. This is beautiful and tragically breathtaking.

Steve McQueen continues his one-word filmography, after the brilliant Shame. The usage of the long-take, including an unedited 15-minute dialogue on suicide, as well the glacial approach to violence and suffering, makes it, once again, an incredible cinematographic experience.

So I was just thinking, if I was tasked to chose a song to send to an alien civilization, I would probably chose the raw City of Stars duo by Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.

I like tragedy. This delivers.

I've found spiritual guidance in the “would it help” philosophy.

I always picture old people as sort of easily-shocked conservative ones, especially when they're respected, classy, artists. So I wonder how the discussion between Tarantino and Ennio Morricone went when they discussed the score for the flashback where Samuel L. Jackson is nasty with the general's son, which I found to be too-much myself. Asking important questions.

This movie tricked me with such power. Considering the mysterious setting of the first act, I assumed it belonged to an entirely different genre than it was, a more metaphorical one. The revelation came up to me with such sheer brutality, I felt weak in my inability to consider things through a rational eye. It's absolutely brilliant.

A 2 hours high-speed chase in the desert. Shut up and take my money.