Change Your Image
irina-firuti-985-778963
Reviews
The Good Doctor (2017)
A medical fantasia highly entertaining
If you're expecting realism you'll be disappointed: as an MD I can tell you that there is hardly any medical truth in this series and the list is long and has been accurately reviewed here.
But the characters are endearing, situations are frequently comic and you'll get some valuable insight into the human condition though.
Freddie Highmore created a coherent character - although autism isn't as charming as he succeeds in being.
People complain here that the seasons degenerate which doesn't come as a surprise to me: it's rarely not the case. Less is more apllies to cinema as well. I am still at Season 1 so maybe I'll go with the second and then stop.
One more note: the politically correct attitude is obnoxious though - I hope the public all along has been more intelligent than it's been expected. And kudos to the actors being able to deliver at high speed all those complicated medical pieces of terminology - this was a performance in performing! :))
Step Up (2006)
Channing Tatum's dancing makes the whole movie
I was drawn to this movie by the short and impressive scene of dancing between Tatum and Sandra Bullock in the 2023 movie, "The Lost City". But here, Tatum is even better and I was convinced he is an actor-turned-dancer, which I later found it is not the case. SO how can he move so good without a dancing personal history behind?! An immense talent for dancing, which I assume is not easy to embody with such a tall and built up figure as his :)
For everyone as enchanted by the dance world as me, I highly recommend this film. Also knowing the behind the scene story of the main characters adds authenticity.
Black Mirror: Men Against Fire (2016)
Resist the first half and you won't regret it!
I am no fan of combat and horror movies so the first half I thought I was watching one and I hardly resisted to stop. Oh, but am I glad I didn't! The twist worths it all! And no, this time it is NOT about technology, although it pretends it is: it's about propaganda - that implant is what they are forcing into our heads and millitary forces especially must get such "implants" in order to be capable of any atrocities. The movie is from 2016 but all the history afterwards complies to such a scenario - what we have been submitted to, this identification of some social "vilains" who have to be anihilated somehow "for the society good"and so on. I guess one knows what I am talking about.
La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano (1998)
An absolute jewel!
The depth and beauty of this film cannot be explained in just few words. It's a delightful spending of time and it haunts you after. It's such a masterpiece from so many points of view that it's difficult to describe it in detail.
Tornatore's genius combined with Morricone's music - what a piece of art! And the cast is just great -it's the first time I enjoyed Tim Roth in angelic character, what a surprise!
What a pitty cinema has degenerated to what's become nowadays!
A quarter of century later it still remains an absolute MUST see!
( I can only think about two other films that have passed the test of time: Amadeus and Cabaret)
Atypical (2017)
Engaging at first but disappointing till the end...
....in a way: got hooked in following the life of this family and seing what possibilities an autistic person has if lovingly supported ( I hope it's close to what real life offers even if my personal experience is not so great). But when it went awry with an LGBT agenda I got nauseated. Hollywood can't keep far from this nonsense?!
As a positive side-effect I retained the satisfaction of not having a daughter like Casey ( and I don't mean her sexual orientation here but her whole behaviour, especially towards her mother). I also wonder how suitable is this serie for a 13 years old....
Can't decide if it's worth watching it.
Angel Eyes (2001)
Beautiful story
A very good surprise for me was to find out J Lo can perform no less than other well-known actresses! Maybe it's time to do justice to performers and acknowledge that singers can be good actors as well as actors can be good singers. Ever since I learned about the wonderful voice of Marilyn Monroe I wondered why are we so one-sidedly looking to people on stage?!
If you'd liked the movie I recommend seeing it twice: I spendt ny first time wondering the whole time why is Jim Caviezel acting so bizzarrely and what is he hiding, so the second time, knewing the whole story I felt freer to enjoy the whole.
Man of God (2021)
An absolute must see!
I can only salute such release! This is not a popcorn movie, but a production that made me think of Lungin's Ostrov. Even though I am an Orthodox, I'm not sure it is about Orthodoxy here: the topic could apply to any holy man in any religion or even in any form of organised society. Saint Nectarie is held at great respect here in Romania, where I live, boys are given his name and we have his reliques in one of Bucharest's oldest churches, yet the movie is more about Faith and how is this lived in all its forms: humility, verticality, deep love for all humans, responsibility, patience, endurance and how this makes one transcend human nature.
I was happy to meet an almost all-European South-Eastern team and that's why I withdraw one point to the maximum score for the unnecessary casting of Mickey Rourke who's character (even though well-acted) should have been played by someone with the same background as all the others and not steal the casting and put at the top of the list. Another 2 points were withdrawn for the English language use and some gaps of the narrative in the plot.
Aside from these, a great Bravo for Yelena Popovic!
Manifest (2018)
Maybe for a 10 yo
...Maybe!
And still: is it a terrible acting or a terrible directing that is freezing THE SAME (worried) expression on Ben's face and the same rushing moves all over the movie?
The plot is a mess and then, in Season 3 & 4 comes the top of all, namely the warning that "The episode was "safely" filmed "adhering to covid protocols"! Oh how relieved I am! Nobody was harmed, no one suffered, the whole staff conformed and was politically correct! Oh, but how come that no one wore masks, social distances were not respected and we haven't been informed about the vaccination status of the whole casting?! How pathetic! I've seen some movies set in the last 3 years but this one is the only one streamed with this shameful notice!
How to Change Your Mind (2022)
Very interesting
...for the doctor I am, who regrets but don't wonder that so much misconception and disinformation has been thrown on these plants/substances.
A short search on the internet showed Peyote can be easily bought online, some sites are in UK ( don't know about taxes and legislation here, if you are not an US resident) so I wonder why Michael Pollan hasn't made appeal to these sources to complete his itinerary.
I would also liked not to see all these masks and people keeping weird distances when gathered - I know we've all gone through this insanity but the movie is about extending the boundaries of the mind and opening the mind and go against the mainstream of thought and then you see children with harmful masks on the street - it's like hairs in the soup.
Seules les bêtes (2019)
"Love is giving what you don't have. Giving what you have means having fun"
L'amour, c'est donner ce qu'on n'a pas. Donner ce qu'on a, c'est faire la fete. Mais l'amour, c'est donner ce qu'on n'a pas". I will long remember this line...
From the very first scene I fully enjoyed this film. I actually laughed minutes long from it. I love good quality subtle humour and this film has if fully. It's a caricature of human weaknesses, madness, a portrait of what contemporary society is, so much hypocrisy upon what is and is not acknowledged. Great acting by Guy Roger N'Drin.
House of Gucci (2021)
A shame. The most boring film ever!
If it wasn't for Jared Leto's remarquable contribution, I would have given a 0 (zero). What a shame to spill all those talents! Zero atmosphere, zero to gain. From March 2020 on it's as if Hollywood has devoted himself to make all sort of pittyful productions just to make us screen-bound and maybe forget the boredom and shame of all this period. Hollywood has simply stopped making something valuable and the actors obviously didn't put their hearts in.
The Guilty (2021)
Tastless
Gyllenhaal is great, again. That's what keeps one in their chair. And then a bit of curiosity and yes, the twist in the plot which makes you (once more) learn not to jump on judgements.
But then the movie in itself is stagnant and lacks the power to convey the emotional tension Jake is experiencing. You merely see other faces than Jake's throughout the whole movie, you'd also like to come to see those voices he is constantly speaking to but to no avail, and this is frustrating.
And then..."Gender neutral toilet", bleah!
The movie is but a faithful image of the impoverished, twisted world we have been thrown in.