alnu-930-982284 Reviews

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Why it took all of the past to reach this point

[10/10 · 14 May 2019]

The craft of this last story is almost perfect. I am a critic of all flaws and I found myself still looking for anything else but one concept flaw regarding a single character. Thanos is a fearsome foe even without the stones and credible at it. The whole in the souls of the survivors are showing in their eyes, passing through the screen, towards the audience. The acting is good, very good, despite this being a genre much widowed by real scrutiny in this respect. I even shed a tear for the eyes of the kid who never answered Antman's question and rode away on his bicycle. I smiled on some of the finger snapping being done at certain points. I actually lived the story and felt it reached a true and righteous ending. Thank you guys for bringing this story to us and our kids and remember us to cherish the presence of our loved ones each and every moment for each and every moment we spend hating others is a lost one on them.

Seventh Son (I) (2014)

Do not ...

[2/10 · 22 April 2015]

...watch this, do this again, think of it, talk of it, ask why ... S..t happens, even when taking 95 mil USD to occur. 95 million USD would have been better used on anything else ... really. A mock of the book , a mock of the characters. Julianne Moore is the old hag turned sexed vamp , Bridges is more of a beggar than the cynical cool hearted teacher, battling an non-descript made-up accent. It is a total mess. And under average for the genre as well. Full of stereotypes, boring if not idiotic sometimes and .... uffff I absolutely hate it when "noobs" get to play with big ideas or idiots get to thrash big ideas in order to recover their money. Stories like the story of Tom Ward and his teacher belong to all of us, stop stomping your muddy feet on them !!! There is a reason they were best-sellers ... cause we liked them as they were written !!!

Constantine (2014–2015)

Nice images ...

[6/10 · 19 November 2014]

I would like to mention that there is a certain lack of aura in the main character, a thing Keanu really put into his act. The acting is decent enough, but there is nothing of Keanu's nerve in his acting. Whereas Reeve's took his line breaks at the exact moment they were needed to emphasize the act, this Constantine is looking as if he were chased by a dozen monsters when trying to explain something or even having a casual talk. Moreover, the thick irish accent doesn't quite complement his voice and our expectancy of the mature all-knowing fatigue of his character. His act is somehow better suited for a teenager Constantine rather than the bad-arse evil-banning guy we all loved.

Dracula Untold (2014)

A most welcome turn of the story

[8/10 · 20 October 2014]

It took several dozens of movies to have a turn in the proper direction for this story. It is amazing how many ideas some people have about this story and comforting to see how you are all debating about Bram Stoker's and all those rubber figures of the past. The thing is ... the real story would make you hide under your beds. Vlad ( Tzapash ) - to have his name correctly pronounced by English speakers - was a ruthless leader and a just man. His justice was many times taken to extremes, fact of which some Islam supporters are very aware. Yet lying about his death and deeds is not something I or any of my countrymen like. Impaling was reserved for invaders and traitors. Thieves had their hands cut off from the wrists, which I believe was also heavily practiced in the Islamic countries. The thing with the blood and its sucking is Stoker's touch over the "Dracul" nickname Vlad was given and its meaning - "The Devil" and the cruelty he has shown in more than a few occasions. The boyars "boierii" have assassinated Vlad for having their rows decimated in several occasions as a punishment for their lack of support of the national cause and vile behaviour against common people. Some hearsay also says the sultan paid for his assassination. The common sense however says that you should look first into your own yard and he was one of those few true leaders who died for the sole reason that they loved their people. This is the first American movie taking a proper turn in the story. Prepare for the truth. There is much more gore in it yet also much more beauty. And do not judge with your civic sense. It was a time when people did not meet over a beer to discuss whether they should or should not make war upon one another. Stoker's was funny, this is amusing ... it's getting warmer. The funny thing is that the real story could produce several Academy Awards, but the price of that would be killing the franchise ... umm not gonna happen.

The Hunter (IV) (2011)

Intensely human

[9/10 · 15 September 2012]

I've always enjoyed the initiatic stories of lonely hunters and fighters. However there is more to this one. The human heart resonates to David's feelings and the movie gets to you from its early moments and keeps you chained while squeezing your inner self of sympathy with its characters stories.

It's been quite long since I last saw something of this magnitude of feelings. The nature and the hunter have a common story to tell, a story about loneliness, betrayal,fight and tiredness, all sad and cold and asking for the warmth of love.

And when there is no more gotten love to light the fire, the given love will do just fine.

A Walk to Remember (2002)

A punch in the stone hearts

[9/10 · 11 September 2012]

Intense, with the intensity of the teenager heart.

Emotional, with the purity of the untainted feelings.

I will miss the day I saw it for the first and last time, since I'm not usually watching any great impact movie again for years. 9 years have passed since then , and the image of the two leading characters is still fresh, my heart is still trembling of emotion and sympathy whenever I remember of this title. There are things that help us live and things we have no desire to live without.

This movie helps us remember that it's not all about the life's length, but of its quality as well.

Prometheus (I) (2012)

4/10 for the effects and image only

[7/10 · 10 September 2012]

Because the rest is just a sorry excuse for this art. It has nothing to do with the aliens series but some forced linking of images now and there, missing the big picture and the answer to the main question : WHY ?

Why are we getting this after 2 years of "brainstorming" and "cooking" ? Why has Charlize Theron agreed to play in this 2nd rate movie ? This is one hell of an example of how a franchise and image cannot substitute neither the NEED of a script, nor the quality of the acting. Frankly, after watching this, I can say that I'm no longer interested in watching any other possible sequel/prequel of this story.

The acting is extremely poor, the sex-oriented remarks/actions representing almost 50% of the available character builds. Then, after some action, with not one strong character yet portrayed, not even at 50%, we get to see some kamikaze heroic behaviour of several members of the crew.

The rate I've put for this movie is yet veeeerrryyy indulging. It stands for 1/10 on scenery, 2/10 on acting, 7/10 for effects and 8/10 for image. But the lack of scenery has such an impact that it actually levels down the whole movie. It then starts to be a hilarious run for cross-connecting visuals from different movies of this series. The problem is that in the end I was neither laughing, nor crying, but only furious on how much my expectancies were deceived.

D'artagnan and Three Musketeers (1979)

Classic

[8/10 · 4 September 2012]

It IS the best screening of Dumas's novel so far. Russians have a certain decency and respect to classic masterpieces and this piece of work does not fail this rule. A strong emphasis on the friendship between the musketeers and a strong sense of honor that bears the marks of pure hearts , both enough to provide the power to fight and the power to love. It is a must see, especially since I don't believe the Hollywood or any other cinema school for that matter is able to come with a better mise-en-scene.

I was somehow forced to write down this review as the latest one that I saw here was an insult to the art behind this movie. I'm sick and tired of watching the yearly laboring pains of classic stories depictions. This story has no need to be put into the present days , no need for gang dialogues, no need for the Hollywood cliché.

It is one of the few most screened stories of the history and anyone mocking its epic should feel that mockery turning against him a thousand times stronger.

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Bad but not horrible

[5/10 · 2 September 2012]

As we were accustomed to see a nice character depiction, this may come as a surprise , as the single well portrayed character is the evil queen. The rest of the characters are struggling throughout the whole movie to achieve a satisfactory percentage . Yet the only one coming close to that point is the huntsman, however incomplete in the end. The story lacks insight and the long walk from a kid's story to a movie scenery was left uncovered every here and there to be filled with Hollywood cliché. Good image, good costumes, well chosen distribution , yet a disappointing mixture in the end. Unfortunately there is no such thing as a sponge to erase whichever production fails to adequately screen a literature masterpiece. There is only the time to pass until the next production follows the same title.

Anger Management (2003)

Awesome

[9/10 · 27 June 2012]

Entertaining, witty and therapeutically. The whole idea of this movie gets to the viewer and has a soothing effect on the nerves. Worths watching over and over again, as many of the good comedies do. Just make yourself a long long preferences list and parse it on an yearly cycle, or a biannual one. You'll end up more relaxed and perceptive to the beauty and strength of a healthy life. Nicholson is as usually, majestically. Marissa is as usually, sweet and warm like a home-baked pie and Sandler is as usually, melting to an ideal human form, his role. Nothing out of the ordinary there. But, in the years to come after watching this movie, one will always remember the "Goosfrabaaa" effect.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011)

Cheese and not only ... a long one

[4/10 · 1 February 2012]

I was pretty anxious to see this first part of the epilogue. Disappointment is not enough to portray the deja-vu sensation and the certitude of watching a diluted epic. However, it was a nice game of image , and that's the sole reason I gave this a 4/10. The expectations for the second part went somehow huge after this failure. It will have to compensate for the lack of "juice". The love scenes were OK, however, the soundtrack was left behind, as it required more energy and elements of wild joy.

Whenever there was a chance of a successful scene of cinematography, there was at least one glitch to ruin it for good. Yet I will watch the last part for sure ...

Immortals (2011)

Disaster

[3/10 · 25 January 2012]

Besides image, there is nothing to it. Bad acting, poor dress-up, huge inconsistencies with the real myth. I actually saw just Mickey Rourke doing his usual number as a bad guy. The rest was plastic. From the god's suits to the actors' performance.

And don't get me going on the titans portrayal ... cheap, demeaning, small. They were giants, with huge physical powers. One titan required more gods' united powers to be taken down. Bu then again, Zeus looks like the brother of these gods, not at all a father. Athena looks like some modeling figure instead of a wisdom goddess, while the crappy plastic head- gears Apollo and Poseidon are wearing need no comment.

The action is OK, the story and all of the rest is crap. It actually forced me to write a review as this movie requires several days of total " TV abstinence " in order to forget and heal the brains.

Game of Thrones (2011–2019)

Perfect

[10/10 · 20 July 2011]

Intrigue, action, perfect portrays of characters, vivid acting. It required all my attention since the dialogs were linked throughout the whole story and playback would have made me ruin the awesome epic flow of narration.

10 lines of review would be quite demanding in terms of praising possibilities to depict the hunger I had for watching the next episode during the whole of this 1st series. Watch this as it is not only meant to be a lesson in taste for viewers but also a masterpiece that probably won't be equaled for many years, a grindstone for film directors and aspiring movie stars. Do not watch it all at once as it requires your eyes and ears to be wide open.

I bow to the ART.

Inception (2010)

Masterpiece

[9/10 · 23 December 2010]

It has been so long since something has been put on screens having a vivacious mix of feelings, ideas and philosophy. The movie makes you think of things that probably have never passed your mind before. Consciousness falling and awakening, the shells of a deserted mind, what we wish for and what we know we can create and hold close as real, intelligence and beauty, selfishness and responsibility, light and darkness. It's a nine from me cause the end leaves room for speculation and my personal belief is that it shouldn't have. Otherwise a diamond. I had almost lost hope of ever seeing such a movie after years and years of violence and bad content. Always good to watch a display of sound conscience and human feelings.

Shinobi: Heart Under Blade (2005)

Could only have been made in Japan

[10/10 · 22 December 2010]

The poetry that lies within the image is vivid. This is not meant to be seen with the eyes of the critic, but with your own eyes. You cannot judge universal beauty and the purity of feelings as they are depicted here.

A metaphor, a statement of a culture's grindstone, a portrait of pure dedication. Oh, and yeah, something definitely worth watching. I think I could see this one every year without any regrets. Wish I could say the same about the action movies we're flooded with nowadays. But what am I saying ? I'm trying to find a comparable title ... it's hard. The Last Samurai left me with an American bombastic and plastic taste, so unlike this one.