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Reviews
Renegade Nell (2024)
An old-fashioned story told in a fresh, sparkling manner
I can confidently say that this is my favourite new show of the last 12 months. Set in the early18th century, it recounts the adventures of Nell Jackson, a young English girl of humble background without polished manners, but with courage and quasi supernatural powers. Overall, it feels as if we have seen this series before, and not just once but at least 10 times. However, a female (empowerment) angle, attractive visuals, efficient storytelling without frills, a modern soundtrack and a stellar performance from Lousia Harland combine for a highly entertaining experience that is unlike any other series we have had so far. "Renegade Nell" is neither dark - as is the case with most such shows - nor too far removed from reality, and the tone of the series is light throughout. The episodes are peppered with humor, witty dialogue and fresh ideas. The show's focus is clearly on the story itself, rather than on shock effects, CGI, twists, or a reinterpretation of history, but, yes, there are ahistorical elements alla Bridgerton. However, they don't feel too distracting, and at the very least don't strech the show's credibility. Fortunately, the violence is also kept in check. Superhero- and supernatural elements are supposed to make the show unique and attract viewers, but they do not overpower the story. They simply add to many other pleasing components, including the characters' accents and sociolects which make the interactions between the characters a lot of fun. Overall, I feel that this is the best series that they could have possibly produced. Think Dick Turpin and Rob Roy meet Elektra, with a touch of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell!
Turn in the Wound (2024)
This film will probably only be seen by a handful of people - which is definitely good news
I just saw 'Turn in the Wound' at the Berlin Film Festival where it received polite applause that lasted for about five seconds which is about five seconds more than it deserves. That is because Abel Ferrara's latest documentary comes pretty close to being a slap in the face not only of the film-consuming public, but also of the country of Ukraine.
It's easily the worst doc I have seen this millennium, and I write that without any anger or negative emotion, it's simply a matter of fact. To begin with, it lacks focus and is nearly impossible to summarise, apart from saying that it deals with the war in Ukraine. Even Ferrara himself admits as much in the film when he says that he actually had no plan or idea when he began filming, which is highly noticeable throughout this 76-minute long flick. During the entire film I got the impression that Ferrara turned up in Ukraine completely unprepared - alongside a crew - then hired some local help and looked for something to shoot.
The core of the documentary consists of a handful of interviews with various Ukrainians that are never identified and who talk about personal, war-related experiences. The interviews seem arbitrarily stitched together, but make for an interesting watch and are infinitely better than the film deserves.
This is due to the interviewees themselves who have all harrowing tales to tell and who tell them very well. However, Ferrarra manages to largely deprive these stories of their emotional heft, mainly through unbelievably shaky camera work (possibly the product of smart phones). Frequently, the camera also meanders from the subject to uninteresting details, or even shows Ferrarra and his crew saying meaningless or irrelevant things.
The filmmaker's disinterest in the subject of the film, the war, and in his interviewees is palpable throughout and the occasional questions that we hear from him border on the deeply embarassing, ranging from 'So, you were born in Crimea! Well do you feel Russian?' or 'Should the Dombas (SIC) be given to Russia?' to 'Oh, the Russsians were wearing civilian uniforms (SIC)?' On top of that, none of the interviews is contextualised which results in the viewer never really knowing what incident exactly is being talked about.
All of this is probably the consequence of Ferrara's indifference towards the war. In fact, he cares so little about Ukraine's struggle that in order to spice things up, he decided to intersperse the footage from Ukraine with footage from a poetry recital by Patti Smith in Paris that bears no connection to Ukraine or the war whatsoever.
Towards the end, the scenes from Paris even feel frivolous when the film cuts from deeply troubled Ukraine to Smith's well-to-do audience which doesn't seem to have a worry in the world. But don't mistake this for (misplaced) social critcism. It's simply the result of Ferrara not caring about the editing process.
Overall, 'Turn in the Wound' is a borderline offensive and completely superfluous experience that would have never gotten made if its director wasn't so well known.
Upgraded (2024)
Rather predictable, but also very charming and clever
Romantic comedies produced for streaming services almost never amount to much. They tend to have a paper-thin plot, are populated by stock characters and frequently resemble cheap romance novels. Up until five minutes into the film, "Upgraded", seems to fit perfectly into that mould as well. However, it then quickly turns into an intelligent and attractive popcorn flick filled with some quite quirky and charming ideas. The acting is often quite extraordinary and Marisa Tomei as an Anna-Wintour-like boss is an absolute blast. Camila Mendes offers a gentle and surprisingly realistic depiction of her character and is actually a bit of a revelation. Lena Olin and Anthony Head seemed to have a jolly good time filming this thing, and even the rest of the supporting cast is a pleasure to watch. What also makes the movie stand out is a surprisingly realistic depiction of the auction-house world and the fact that, in contrast to most other modern entries in the genre, its focus isn't on people trying to find true love. Overall, I strongly recommend this film if you are looking for something joyful, fast-paced and about as deep as a puddle.
Captain Fall (2023)
80's action thriller meets absurdist humor and basic animation
Jonathan Fall - the youngest member of an accomplished naval family, but not the brightest lighthouse on the coast - gets hired by a mysterious crime organisation to captain a cruise ship, which serves as a cover for various nefarious acitivities. Kind, naive, and completely ignorant of what is going on around him, Jonathan is the ideal fall guy, should something happen. This is the rather elaborate premise for an animated series filled with a simply stupendous amount of gore, a staggering body count, and other sorts of normally R-rated material. And it is exactly these elements that prevent the show from being more than just mildly entertaining. The frequent cruelty feels mostly unnecessary and pointless, its sole raison d'etre being to shock its viewers. The semi-explicit sex suffers from the same problem. "But what about the story, the characters, and the jokes?", you may ask. Well, the former is actually quite intriguing and filled with cool ideas and sub-plots. The characters, however, are unlikeable throughout, clichéd, and not very interesting either. The humor often revolves around violence and is absurdist in style, similar to Futurama or The Simpsons. In contrast to those two series, though, Captain Fall is neither particularly witty nor in any way insightful. The animation is simple but satisfying, the voice-acting does the job, but not more than that. The overall result is reminiscent of an 80's low-budget action thriller. However, it really lacks in emotional depth, and while I was watching it, I was actually wishing for something less heartless.