Good Time (2017)
(Ben and Joshua Safdie)
'Sense of urgency'. It's been a long time since I watched a film that in the end I was full of adrenaline and amazed by every single shot. This film has balls to really capture the low life thug! After COSMOPOLIS I was really looking to Rober Pattinson with another eyes. In this film the guy was really great. I really liked his performance. It's so good to see a film that doesn't follow the 'Hollywood main script' and go search his own soul. This film was a great exercice of frustration (in a good way). The mission of the main character goes mad and mad with time and in the end what's the meaning of all that running? I have so many friends that have gone to a way that lead them to a spiral of errors but in the end when I finally asked them "Why do you do that?" They used to say "Did what?". It's all normal after a while. Connie was duing the right thing right? Well, at least in his mind he was... One of my favorites of the year so far!
Black Mask (1996)
(Daniel Lee)
Imagine Jet Lee + Power Rangers. Yep, that's Black Mask. Unfortunately the film was pretty bad even comparing the film with Power Rangers. Daniel Lee doesn't see to know what he was doing during the action scenes. Such a waste of talent. Jet Lee was BIG back in the 90s. A damn shame Daniel Lee coudn't do a great thing with this formula.
O Matador - AKA The Killer (2017)
(Marcelo Galvão)
Now, this one was a big pile of s**t! First Netflix produced in my country, I was expecting at least something decent. Damn I was already disappointed with just the first five minutes. So predictable... The acting was bad, the direction was bad, the action and the violence was boring. So many plot holes... I really wanted to like this one. It's from my own country, and Brazil, at least lately are doing just forgettable movies. In the first shot you can predict the entire film. The only good thing was hear and see some real characters sometimes, like 'Maria Bonita' or 'Lampião'. Names that are rooted in the culture of my country. Well, who know next time?
Lola Rennt - AKA Run Lola Run (1998)
(Tom Tykwer)
The first 30 minutes of 'Lola Rennt' is one of the most great things that I've seen the whole year. Putting animation, with one incredible original soundtrack and of course, lots and lots of adrenaline. I was amazed, and thinking "Holy **** this will be amazing". A damn shame that after 30 minutes the film just get repetitive and more repetitive...and more repetitive and in the end the adrenaline was gone. If the film was 30 minutes long this would have been a masterpiece!
Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)
(S. Craig Zahler)
"Ok, so let's see this new film, I'm sure it will be a Shaky Cam festival (Vince Vaughn doing action? Come on...)" This was what I was thinking when I blindly watched this film. It was so good to be wrong. 40 minutes in and "Where's the prison?" S. Craig Zahler taked his time and contructed the bonds between the characters and when the action finally starts it's so damn good. Mr Vaughn gained my respect after this one. No fast cuts, no shaky cam, he was really there, acting (f**k you Matt Damon). The violence was the best of the year so far, I was really at the edge of my seat laughting and smiling at every single bone crushed. Just like Bone Tomahawk, S. Craig Zahler mix some genres and creates something diferent. His first film used western and horror. Now he mix Crime/Drama with Brutal Action. Surprise, surprise!
Ichi: The Killer (2001)(Takashi Miike)
The ultimate
black comedy film of the century!
Rape, realistic violence, cartoonish violence, torture, boobs and many politically incorrect things. Takashi Miike doesn't give a ****. Well, at least he used to not give a damn ...
Blade of the Immortal (2017)
(Takashi Miike)
Let me start saying that I'm a big fan of the manga and I was really excited to see that Miike was the director of this first live action adaptation. The manga was already adaptated for TV years ago but it was terrible... Now, this film... Oh no, it was good, or it was bad? I actually don't know exactly how I feel about it. I think I'm being to harsh with this film 'cause "It's different" or it's because it was so damn rushed! One thing I'm sure. Where the f**k is the swastika???
"The swastika is an ancient religious icon used in the Indian subcontinent, East Asia and Southeast Asia, where it has been and remains a sacred symbol of spiritual principles in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism." And them the nazis screwed with the symbol but that's not why it was used as a symbol for the main character. Manji used this exactly for the 'real' meaning of the thing. Miike of 10 years ago would have balls to use this in his films. Now he's a Mainstream bastard. I'm sure his next film will be "Transformers: Battle for Tokyo" Come on. It wasn't fun. The violence wasn't right. Some characters that are SOO great in the manga was so dumb in this adaptation. Even the violence was dumb down. Why the hell 3 stars them? Honestly I don't know...
Duel (1971) [S. Spielberg]
Onimasa: A Japanese Godfather (1982) [Hideo Gosha]}
O Homem do Ano - AKA The Man of the Year (2003) [José Henrique Fonseca]
Au Revoir les Enfants (1987) [Louis Malle]
Wind River (2017) [Taylor Sheridan]
Caché (2005) [Michael Haneke]
Island of Lost Souls (1932) [Erle C. Kenton]
Memoir of a Murderer (2017) [Won Shin-Yeon]
Sweet Virginia (2017) [Jamie M. Dagg]
Generation Um… (2012) [Mark Mann]
Vikram Vedha (2017) [Pushkar-Gayathri]
Children of Men (2006) [Alfonso Cuarón]
El abrazo de la serpiente (2015)
(Ciro Guerra)
When I watched "Z: The Lost City," I was so disappointed in all that stupid Amazon that they created for the film, with no cultural values, though the characters were on one of the most cultural landmarks in the world at the time. Indians who speak Spanish? Come on! f ** k you! This is an outrage to the history of my country! Still, the Colombian Ciro Guerra was able to recreate a rich, real Amazon with Indians who speak their real language, with natives who speak Portuguese and not Spanish (¬¬). Embrace of the Serpent is an incredible journey from the deep Amazonian forests down to the Amazon River. A rich cultural film, which respects all aspects, without choosing a side, the film really thrilled me by looking real, the choice of filming in black and white did so well! My only problem with the film was some scenes that could have been shorter, Ciro Guerra prolonged a lot of sequences. But that's nothing to take away the brilliance of this movie. Definitely a movie that I will rewatch many times during my life and I will show it to family and friends. A rich cultural film! Colombia made an incredible movie set in Amazon. Thing that Brazil never did!
In Hell (2003)
(Ringo Lam)
Best film of the duo: Ringo Lam + JCVD. This movie starts off so well, it holds up so well, as the character of Van Damme slowly indulges in the darkness that surrounds him, as he changes after surrendering to darkness. It's amazing how such a good movie can have such a cumbersome and bad ending. Too bad, it could have been much more ... But still a great entertainment with lots of action/violence and a lot of drama. If one day I could re-film a movie, that would be it, I would remake everything exactly as it was, except that ending!
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