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It may be a simple plot, but I thought it had multiple layers of depth to it regardless. A simple story can still be a great one if executed appropriately, and that was the case of "You Were Never Really Here" in my eyes.
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Entre Nos (2009) by Gloria La Morte & Paola Mendoza
Let me just start out with what I thought the film did competently, because frankly, I believe everything else was executed poorly. Visually, the film looked pretty nice, with a few stand-out shots here and there...nothing extraordinary or exceptional though. Unfortunately, that's where my short-lived compliments must end.
My biggest problem with the film, is how seriously it took itself, while simultaneously providing nothing of substance to the issue of immigration, other than scratching it from the surface. Even if I take away all of my criticisms of the movie that are on a technical level, what's left is still a giant missed opportunity, that lacks power and strength in expression.
Out of everything, the aspect I absolutely despise and can't forgive about "Entre Nos", is the chosen music throughout the movie. I genuinely can't stand when film-makers heavily utilise a soundtrack or a score, in order to manipulate unearned emotions out of the viewer. This is the case of almost every single scene in the film, they all kept begging for an emotional reaction out of me, but instead, all they got was a shaking head and rolling eyes.
The irony of this situation is, we're featured with a helpless family in an unfortunate condition, accompanied by sad piano and guitar music wherever they go, only to make me as a viewer become very detached and careless of their circumstance. The tools that the director exploited in order to make the occurring happenings more effective, only made them seem fake and laughable. For example, a montage of scenes was slapped into the movie, which contained the family happily collecting cans off the streets, meanwhile, a happy go lucky instrumental was playing in the background. This generated so much laughter out of me, because it's an extremely clichéd thing to put in a film.
I'm not even going to go in depth about the acting that ranged from terrible to painfully mediocre, or the confusing change of audio levels during the latter half of the movie. Even though they're inexcusable, they're still overshadowed by other more insufferable aspects, such as the ending, which wraps everything up with a nicely colourful ribbon. The conclusion to the film avoids having a lasting impact, and prefers a safe, out of nowhere, clumsily put together, happy turnaround.
For an 80 minutes long film, my experience felt like an eternity. I was very surprised by how little I found in what's supposed to be an effective movie, only to come out of it very exhausted by the repeating chain of events, lack of depth, and overall poor presentation. What a disappointing 80 minutes of my life.
⭐1/2
My biggest problem with the film, is how seriously it took itself, while simultaneously providing nothing of substance to the issue of immigration, other than scratching it from the surface. Even if I take away all of my criticisms of the movie that are on a technical level, what's left is still a giant missed opportunity, that lacks power and strength in expression.
Out of everything, the aspect I absolutely despise and can't forgive about "Entre Nos", is the chosen music throughout the movie. I genuinely can't stand when film-makers heavily utilise a soundtrack or a score, in order to manipulate unearned emotions out of the viewer. This is the case of almost every single scene in the film, they all kept begging for an emotional reaction out of me, but instead, all they got was a shaking head and rolling eyes.
The irony of this situation is, we're featured with a helpless family in an unfortunate condition, accompanied by sad piano and guitar music wherever they go, only to make me as a viewer become very detached and careless of their circumstance. The tools that the director exploited in order to make the occurring happenings more effective, only made them seem fake and laughable. For example, a montage of scenes was slapped into the movie, which contained the family happily collecting cans off the streets, meanwhile, a happy go lucky instrumental was playing in the background. This generated so much laughter out of me, because it's an extremely clichéd thing to put in a film.
I'm not even going to go in depth about the acting that ranged from terrible to painfully mediocre, or the confusing change of audio levels during the latter half of the movie. Even though they're inexcusable, they're still overshadowed by other more insufferable aspects, such as the ending, which wraps everything up with a nicely colourful ribbon. The conclusion to the film avoids having a lasting impact, and prefers a safe, out of nowhere, clumsily put together, happy turnaround.
For an 80 minutes long film, my experience felt like an eternity. I was very surprised by how little I found in what's supposed to be an effective movie, only to come out of it very exhausted by the repeating chain of events, lack of depth, and overall poor presentation. What a disappointing 80 minutes of my life.
⭐1/2
Oh dear.
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Oh dear.
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"A film has to be a dialogue, not a monologue — a dialogue to provoke in the viewer his own thoughts, his own feelings. And if a film is a dialogue, then it’s a good film; if it’s not a dialogue, it’s a bad film."
"A film has to be a dialogue, not a monologue — a dialogue to provoke in the viewer his own thoughts, his own feelings. And if a film is a dialogue, then it’s a good film; if it’s not a dialogue, it’s a bad film."
- Michael "Gloomy Old Fart" Haneke
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Miller's Crossing (1990) by The Coen Brothers
What a fantastic film! It's so meticulously written, almost in an obsessive manner, to the point where one can rightfully believe the writers have some sort of OCD. While watching the movie, I very much so felt the amount of thought, time, and energy, that was put to build such a script, and make every line of dialogue as awesomely quotable and layered as it is. I'm only four films through the library of the Coen Brothers, and yet I'm convinced that not only are they my favourite American screenplay writers, but also quite possibly the best. How can I not, when they're so attentive and meditative when it comes to their work. I genuinely have close to no complaints about such a flick. It's a masterpiece, aesthetically and thematically. A genius genre film. A perfectionist's proud prodigy. Courtesy of the brothers rare ability, to visually manifest an already flawless screenplay, in the best possible way, by the most fitting fashion. Even writing about it now, tempts me to revisit the enthralling world they've managed to build...
🌟🌟🌟🌟
🌟🌟🌟🌟
A History of Violence (2005) by David Cronenberg
I knew coming off of "Miller's Crossing", that it would be stupid to expect the same excellence from other films, writing wise, and the following movie is some very hard evidence of that. Just like in the other Cronenberg films I've seen, the same atrocious and awkward dialogue is still present, which lures me closer and closer to completely avoiding him as a film-maker. A lot of aspects of the film are so bad, to the point where I actually thought that I'm maybe seeing some sort of parody without realising it, or a statement on generic crime movies and their violence. The latter interpretation could still be valid, to a certain extent, even if it was poorly communicated. I personally would still consider the film a failure if that was the case, since it would have mistakenly became what it's supposedly critiquing.
Even when some sort of nuance starts to establish itself, like the relationship between the father and his wife during the second half of the movie, it is ultimately ruined by the execution. I'm constantly under the impression that I'm supposed to think of the dynamics in front of me as some deep and complex ones, when in reality, the execution holds them back from being anything close to such. I'm a bit saddened by the way my experience ended up, since I was very enthusiastic after that long-take opening sequence, only for the rest of the movie to become a mix of useless characters, cringe-worthy dialogue and delivery, clichéd story, and a hilarious sex scene in the middle of a fight. I guess I still have to watch "The Fly", "Videodrome", and maybe "Naked Lunch", before I officially call it quits on Cronenberg, but my history with him sure doesn't make me thrilled about eventually checking them out.
⭐⭐
Even when some sort of nuance starts to establish itself, like the relationship between the father and his wife during the second half of the movie, it is ultimately ruined by the execution. I'm constantly under the impression that I'm supposed to think of the dynamics in front of me as some deep and complex ones, when in reality, the execution holds them back from being anything close to such. I'm a bit saddened by the way my experience ended up, since I was very enthusiastic after that long-take opening sequence, only for the rest of the movie to become a mix of useless characters, cringe-worthy dialogue and delivery, clichéd story, and a hilarious sex scene in the middle of a fight. I guess I still have to watch "The Fly", "Videodrome", and maybe "Naked Lunch", before I officially call it quits on Cronenberg, but my history with him sure doesn't make me thrilled about eventually checking them out.
⭐⭐
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Yeah, watch his best - The Fly.
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Yeah, watch his best - The Fly.
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Yeah, watch his best - The Fly.
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Have you seen The Long Goodbye (1973)? What is your take on this. I was thoroughly impressed. Such a well written movie.
What do you think about Videodrome and Naked Lunch? They're the only ones (besides The Fly's reputation) from the rest of his filmography that sound remotely interesting to me.
I would actually guess that you would like Dead Ringers the best of his filmography, but i could be wrong.
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Videdrome is by far the best movie from Cronenberg in my opinion and the incarnation of bodyhorror, while The Fly might be his mainstream hit.
I would actually guess that you would like Dead Ringers the best of his filmography, but i could be wrong.
I would actually guess that you would like Dead Ringers the best of his filmography, but i could be wrong.
It's slightly better than A History of Violence, but that isn't saying much.
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Have you seen The Long Goodbye (1973)? What is your take on this. I was thoroughly impressed. Such a well written movie.
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I've seen Dead Ringers, and I didn't like it at all It's slightly better than A History of Violence, but that isn't saying much.
It's slightly better than A History of Violence, but that isn't saying much.I wrote a long essay in danish about Videodrome and the interconnection between man and Media, which also relate to other scifi movies.
I genuinely hope that you would like Videodrome. I still consider it as one of my favorite horrors.
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Haha i was dead wrong then. Naked Lunch is nothing special and Cosmopolis is utter garbage.
I wrote a long essay in danish about Videodrome and the interconnection between man and Media, which also relate to other scifi movies.
I genuinely hope that you would like Videodrome. I still consider it as one of my favorite horrors.
I wrote a long essay in danish about Videodrome and the interconnection between man and Media, which also relate to other scifi movies.
I genuinely hope that you would like Videodrome. I still consider it as one of my favorite horrors.
I'm sure I'll like Videodrome the most out of his filmography, I've seen some still shots from it before, and they looked extremely interesting.
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I’ll also throw my hat in the ring for Videodrome. I haven’t seen it in years but remember really liking it pretty vividly.
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In no particular order :-
1. The Fly
2. Eastern Promises
3. A History of Violence
4. Videodrome
5. Scanners
6. The Brood
7. Rabid
8. Shivers
9. Dead Ringers
10. Spider
I find Cronenberg hit and miss. I was going to post a top 5 but there's too many good to leave out so I extended it to 10.
Okay, you might like Spider (2002) which I think is very underrated.
1. The Fly
2. Eastern Promises
3. A History of Violence
4. Videodrome
5. Scanners
6. The Brood
7. Rabid
8. Shivers
9. Dead Ringers
10. Spider
I find Cronenberg hit and miss. I was going to post a top 5 but there's too many good to leave out so I extended it to 10.
Okay, you might like Spider (2002) which I think is very underrated.
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Gotta put in my 2 cents for Cronenberg.
Crash - want to see
The Fly probably the only of his films I don't like
Videodrome excellent, but not his best imo (and I'd be shocked if he felt it was), unarguably a cult classic
Dead Ringers - want to see
ExistenZ perhaps it's greatest tarnish is a one dimensional lead, Law. A. K. A. Videodrome 2, but he couldn't get the rights to the name Videodrome, or something... A decent entertaining thriller overal
Scanners one of my favorites. Is it the origin of telekinetics blowing up people'sheads? Perhaps on screen at least? It's certainly my favorite portrayal of that, a bit more toned down and realistic than a movie of this subject matter would likely be.
Naked Lunch I actually think this might be his best film. It's no surprise though that it did poorly commercially and is generally disliked by many. It's a weird movie, but I suspect a lot is lost on anyone who hasn't done drugs. It's the kind of movie that feels like your on drugs just watching it.
A History of Violence gritty and realistic
Eastern Promises realistic and gritty with more story, plot, and character development than A History of Violence which is a more subtle movie in those areas
Spider can't remember it too well though
Shivers not bad for a debut, sexy and violent though rough around the polish
Rabid underrated imo
The Dead Zone Okay, definitely his worst, there is some serious cringe in this film
M. Butterfly surprisingly good, tonally it's relaxed with an underlayer of suspense/mystery, and the pace is slow, very unlike his other films, though never lacking a touch of violence. Probably his most serious and least exciting film.
His others I have not seen.
So Okay, I think you should watch Videodrome, Scanners, and Naked Lunch. I think you'll probably like all three considering your taste from what I've seen you post.
Crash - want to see
The Fly probably the only of his films I don't like
Videodrome excellent, but not his best imo (and I'd be shocked if he felt it was), unarguably a cult classic
Dead Ringers - want to see
ExistenZ perhaps it's greatest tarnish is a one dimensional lead, Law. A. K. A. Videodrome 2, but he couldn't get the rights to the name Videodrome, or something... A decent entertaining thriller overal
Scanners one of my favorites. Is it the origin of telekinetics blowing up people'sheads? Perhaps on screen at least? It's certainly my favorite portrayal of that, a bit more toned down and realistic than a movie of this subject matter would likely be.
Naked Lunch I actually think this might be his best film. It's no surprise though that it did poorly commercially and is generally disliked by many. It's a weird movie, but I suspect a lot is lost on anyone who hasn't done drugs. It's the kind of movie that feels like your on drugs just watching it.
A History of Violence gritty and realistic
Eastern Promises realistic and gritty with more story, plot, and character development than A History of Violence which is a more subtle movie in those areas
Spider can't remember it too well though
Shivers not bad for a debut, sexy and violent though rough around the polish
Rabid underrated imo
The Dead Zone Okay, definitely his worst, there is some serious cringe in this film
M. Butterfly surprisingly good, tonally it's relaxed with an underlayer of suspense/mystery, and the pace is slow, very unlike his other films, though never lacking a touch of violence. Probably his most serious and least exciting film.
His others I have not seen.
So Okay, I think you should watch Videodrome, Scanners, and Naked Lunch. I think you'll probably like all three considering your taste from what I've seen you post.
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sex, lies and videotape (1989) by Steven Soderbergh
This film has made me realise once again, why I'm so in love with the medium. It's because of what it can potentially offer, portray, and emotionally convey, such as in the case of Steven Soderbergh's first feature film. My mind was happily twirling around the writing, not because it contained some revolutionary and interestingly complex story, but because of its profoundness in its simplicity. The dialogue is filled with so much depth, with each line having its own merit, while being spoken with absolute smoothness and naturalness. The acting was appropriately great, with James Spader being the most exceptional. He perfects his character, in a way that I've rarely ever seen. He brings so many subtleties to his performance, to the point where I felt as if every singly move, or even little change of expression he made, was purposeful and calculated. Those details were able to humanise his character, to a perfect degree.
Surprisingly, all of the four centre characters ranged from interesting to entrancing. I was so into their struggles, journeys and overall arcs, as they touched upon many subjects with meaningfulness. For example, coping with insecurities and sexual desires, as well as society's preconceived notions on many issues such as sex. There are many more aspects to the film that are glad to be digested, but for me, watching these people personally grow before my eyes, was an ultimate learning experience.
🌟🌟🌟🌟
Surprisingly, all of the four centre characters ranged from interesting to entrancing. I was so into their struggles, journeys and overall arcs, as they touched upon many subjects with meaningfulness. For example, coping with insecurities and sexual desires, as well as society's preconceived notions on many issues such as sex. There are many more aspects to the film that are glad to be digested, but for me, watching these people personally grow before my eyes, was an ultimate learning experience.
🌟🌟🌟🌟
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