gerritbrand Reviews

Ferrari (2023)

Ferrari is a great movie

[9/10 · 27 January 2024]

I happened to see Ali on TV a few weeks ago, also by Michael Mann about Muhammad Ali. That's also a great film, with lots of action. Ferrari is also such an action-packed biopic. But really, Ferrari is all about the Italian automaker's love affairs. Very well done to make that element plus the Mille Miglia race with De Portago's terrible accident the centrepiece of the story. All based on Brock Yates' biography which I read years ago and was very impressed with.

Adam Driver plays the lead role very well. He portrays Ferrari exactly as you imagine him. Penelope Cruz is also fantastic. Doesn't try to be the glamougirl for a moment but portrays a powerful Laura Ferrari. Shailene Woodley is sympathetic as Lina Lardi. Well-cast roles.

Remember. After all this is fiction. Michael Mann tells a story.

A Lua Platz (2018)

Thought provoking

[8/10 · 30 May 2023]

Is not that easy to make such a documentary. The director has succeeded in creating a good picture of the misery in which Romanian workers and Roma live in France. The underside of society.

He does this through interviews, everyday images and old photos. I will say nothing about the political aspects here. It's about the cinematography. That's well put together. The film invites you to look further. Not a dull moment, and thought provoking.

The movie shows the difficulties which people from abroad, even when they are officially EU citizens have to go through, probably not only in France but in the whole of Europe.

The Great Gatsby (1974)

They're all sweating all the time

[8/10 · 13 July 2022]

Not a bad movie, but they're all sweating all the time. I know it is supposed to be hot there but still... The 2013 movie is quite exciting but this one I find good too. A pleasure to watch. Especially because of Robert Redford playing Gatsby.

But all this sweating all the time, these sweaty faces, a bit overdone.

Colette (I) (2018)

Interesting if you want to read a book by Colette

[7/10 · 17 December 2021]

Interesting if you want to read a book by Colette. You get an idea of Colette's life. Great acting by the way and a beautiful movie to watch. As a biopic it surpasses most movies in this genre.

The Barefoot Contessa (1954)

Great movie to watch but...

[7/10 · 17 December 2021]

Great movie to watch: the images, the dialogues in a way, the idea (a scriptwriter telling the story), etc - great fun - but a totally idiotic plot! Overblown. Kind of mix between reality and fairy tale.

Americano (2011)

A great mix of fiction and autobiography

[5 December 2014]

I saw the movie on TV5 and found it a great film. Why? Well, it's exactly the type of movie that I have lately been interested in. Like the movies of Michelangelo Antonioni, who was an inspiration for my latest novel, and like the movies of Sautet or Godard etc. The French movies from the sixties and seventies, in which not too much is happening (my wife always says, what the hell are you watching? Nothing's happening, there's no plot). Americano also reminded me of Paris Texas by Wim Wenders. Like Paris Texas it has this curious quality of a road movie mixed with certain story telling and autobiographical aspects. Anyway, who wants a straight story? I also liked the actors very much. Apart from that, the images are always fascinating. A star cast for a visual spectacle.

Lovin' Molly (1974)

Don't read the book first

[5/10 · 22 November 2014]

Maybe it's not such a bad movie if you haven't read the book. But after reading the book which has something muggy, something atmospheric around watching the movie is a boring and tedious business. Even the characters are miscast. How can you believe Anthony Perkins is Gid? Besides they should have made ONE story for the movie out of the three perspectives in the book. Following the book this closely for the movie was a mistake. Another thing is that the characters don't change age. They don't get visibly older. If you think that a movie like Chinatown was made around the same time you see what I mean with lack of quality. Lovin' Molly is too much a book filming in which they tried to stay faithful to the book. Anyway, maybe somebody who never read the book can enjoy it.

The Uninvited (1969)

They don't make them anymore like this

[9/10 · 21 October 2014]

What a great movie this is. I saw it on TV5. I liked the story, co-written by Tonino Guerra, the guy who also (co-)wrote a lot of Michelangelo Antonioni's movies and that is something you notice. The whole movie breaths the atmosphere of an Antonioni-movie. Strange that De Seta didn't make much more films for the cinema but started working for television. Anyway, I liked this movie. As I said the story but also the way it was put on the screen in that slow sixties manner. So you can really enjoy the beautiful images, cars, landscapes, people. This is cinema the way they don't make it anymore. Show don't tell. No psychology, just images and you as the spectator can draw your own conclusions about the characters on the screen.