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Leave the World Behind (2023)
Esmail did it again
Let me start by saying this review is biased, as "Mr. Robot" is my favorite show of all time. I was actually set for disappointment with this movie because I knew it couldn't have topped that, and it didn't. But oh yes if I did enjoy this film! I liked everything about it and this is a non-exhaustive list:
- the subtle racism that was never talked about but only alluded
- how the story makes the audience question what side one would pick: the white family, the black folks, the armed neighbor, the father leaving the latin woman behind
- The rich family that spent a fortune building a state-of-the-art shelter, but never made it to it, as they were possibly stack in traffic in the city and died there
- Despite the multitude of apocalyptic movies and shows already been made, Esmail still manages to tell a very original story
- The camera work, all those indoor-outdoor-and-viceversa transitions
- The very believable special effects
- The suspense throughout
- The references to real hacking attacks
- That the movie is about hackers, so as Mr Robot was, yet it's a completely different and original story
- The Teslas piling up
- The white daughter, who tells a moving story, seems to have grasped something meaningful and deep, but all she meant was "I can't wait" to watch the last episode of Friends (while the world is ending)
- The happy song as to a sad ending.
Holy Hell (2016)
It could have been so much more
This documentary had the potential to be so much more. With plenty of archival footage and a very interesting story, the filmmaker should have pushed more on the storytelling. Two main questions remain unanswered.. SPOILER ALERT
What was that God-encountering experience in the forest? The filmmaker makes us feel it was very real. What was that? Had they been secretly drugged, perhaps with magic mushrooms? It seems likely but there is no investigative work by the filmmaker.
Why those who left including the filmmaker did not sue or at least report him to the authorities? He is allegedly still abusing other people. They have a moral obligation to take that to the next level. Instead what they do? They fly all the way there to the Hawaii to confront him, except they end up not confronting him. Totally useless the use of a hidden camera. Put it to good use. Make him to confess something, or at a very minimal call him names.
Behind the Curve (2018)
Education on Many Levels
I didn't want to watch it as I thought it would be a waste of time. It was indeed but was also funny and educational. As matter of fact, many should watch it also among the "normal" people, as it does a great job at explaining what Science really is, nothing mysteriously complicated, but just a methodological approach to discover the truth, something that even flat-earthera could try to prove earth is flat. And in fact they do and the results are hilarious as they keep ending up proving Earth is not flat. The documentary is actually very good and clever. It lets flat-earthers open up and tell their stravagant theories, then a scientiest or a psicologiest kicks in and explain what's wrong with their approach or what's going on in their mind. My favorite part is when these cult members start splitting in different "religions", as of course they cannot come up with just one consistent theory of a flat Earth. And then they turn against each other, accusing one another to be paid by the government and faking their identity. Funny thing being they totally miss to see the irony of it. It would have been just hilarious if it wasn't for the sad part of a woman believing that the 9/11 and the Boston marathon attacks were faked, which is just sick and makes you wonder perhaps we should just stop giving them too much attention and amplify their voice. At the end, I don't know what to make up of all this, but one thing is certain: if you feel down and lacking confidence in yourself, just watch this doc and you will suddenly feel a better person and regain your self-esteem.
Formula 1: Drive to Survive (2019)
Restored My Passion in Formula1
I had stopped watching Formula 1 for many years, as I was bored of always same teams winning and very little action in terms of overtaking and too much strategy. Then, I bing-watched this documentary and now I cannot wait for the 2019 season to start. The things that I had found boring became the ones that this documentary has made me love: the midfield and slowest cars fighting to gain just a few points, the immense and dedicated work that goes into the preparation of each race, the strategies to try to be just a bit faster than the opponent drivers, and then the personal stories, which bring a lot of humanity to this sport and makes it enjoyable from a totally different perspective.
Please Netflix never stop producing this show.
The Boy (2016)
Pretty Solid Horror Movie
I enjoyed this movie a lot and here are my reasons:
1) It leads you to believe there is some sort of mystical presence, a spirit or ghost, but it all turns out very much "real", which is my kind of horror movies since I don't believe in the supernatural
2) The plot is solid and the female protagonist gets her revenge against abusive and violent men
3) Usually, when in a movie a character feels a "presence", they never manage to have a witness, but this time Greta finds a complice in Malcom
4) I had predicted that Malcom died because that's how usually these movies end, with a dole survivor and no "happy ending", but he seems pretty much surviving the attack
5) The final twist is totaly unuspected and surprising. One must not think enough to put the pieces of the puzzle together and understand what actually happened that night of the murder of the little Emily and afterward.
6) there is a twist of the twist at the very end. We are left wondering whose old hands are to put the Bhrams' pieces together recomposing the doll. I suspect it was the mother. The father was depicted as the more rational of the two, so my guess is that the wife changes her mind and resurface from the water. I might have seen a ring on the hand, not sure, so would be curious to go back to the still image and compare with mother's hand.
3% (2016)
People Prefer Superheroes Shows
I was uncertain whether to watch this TV series or not. I kept looking at the IMDb rating and thought to myself, "Well, 7.6, must be OK, nothing extraordinary." But then I started having a suspect, "Why are all these TV shows about superheroes rated so high from 8.5 to 9.2? That's odd because encouraged by the high rating, I have tried watching all of them but got bored after 5 minutes."
The thing is I have understood that the majority of people are not too keen to put too much thoughts into what they are watching, but rather interested in pure entertainment. Amazing special effects, great acting, and even interesting stories but personally I like to watch shows that leave me something and keeps me thinking.
"3%" does just that. Every moment of the show results in an original outcome. It kept me wondering all the time what I would do if I were in one of those situations, and the answers I came up with in my mind were never what I was expecting but always surprised me (with some exceptions, of course, like when Michelle betrays Bruna). The audience has to put a lot of thoughts in why a situation evolved that way and I understand most of the people do not like to do that exercise.
Of course the show has its plot holes, but who cares. Ultimately, it is not about the future, science fiction, or the story line, but rather about questioning some cardinal points of our worldwide societies.
The TV show made me continuously wonder whether I was leaning towards the Cause or the Offshore and I flipped my position many times. After all, I well think this must be the ultimate goal of the show, remark that the line between what's right and wrong is very blurry and ideologies may generally have noble intentions but fail along the process.
Viaggio sola (2013)
A Feminist Manifesto
The movie was excellent. Deeper than I had expected, philosophical and sociological. It might well be a good manifesto for feminism, which is the aspect I enjoyed the most.
There were scenes that felt almost like a documentary to me, as I was taken by learning what a hotel inspector does and how.
I also loved the questions she would then start asking herself (out loud for the audience) about the meaning of her life in the same way she had conducted inspections in the 5 star hotels.
The conversation between a wife and her husband not feeling attraction anymore to make love after many years of marriage was very realistic. There, it was clear be a woman writing/directing the movie.
Not a masterpiece but well done Maria Sole T.
Hitting the Apex (2015)
Turned my Opinions on the Riders Upside Down
Let me start with a premise: I am an Italian and a huge fan of Valentino Rossi (will get back to this later).
It is not easy to make a film with six protagonists, but the attempt was absolutely successful, and indeed a more-than-2-hour long film was needed in order to cover their stories thoroughly.
This film is so good that in my opinion it deserves an Oscar. It is unfair, though, that just because of the subject (racing) this documentary will probably not even receive a nomination. I bet technically horrible documentaries, but with a more popular subject, will make the nominees. "Amy", for instance, which is interesting obviously because of Amy Whinehouse, who I love as an artist, but the documentary is just a collection of footage edited with no meaning or apparent order and without conveying any message. "Hitting the Apex", instead, is film writing at its best, interesting as a watching a fiction movie. The first and last parts of the film are pure poetry. Music is a killing and builds up the tension in tremendous ways. Great is the idea of having an actor (Brad Pitt) narrating the movie. It makes a huge difference.
The brilliant idea of this documentary of focusing on these six pilots made me grow huge respect for all of them indistinctly.
I have seen the fights between them, the many times they sent each other to hell, but I have also seen tremendous respect for one another. A couple of examples: Pedrosa sincerely pay tribute to Simoncelli, Rossi tipping the hat for Marquez and saying he is a hell of a pilot (in very positive terms).
These are men that love what they do. They do it despite the risks that racing such fast bikes may bring. They do it because it's passion that drives them, reason why I totally respect Stoner's retire decision. He made very valid points and we should really reflect on the fact that though more TV appearances, more camera view angles, and press coverage, made this show more enjoyable to us, they are also taking away something from them and their life beyond riding their bike.
Now, going back to my premises and the title of this post... Needless to say I was very disappointed when Rossi lost the 2015 championship because Marquez decided that he had to attack him in all possible ways in that penultimate race. We were all very angry at Marquez here in Italy and easily dismissed his racing style as a deliberate act of helping Lorenzo win the championship. After watching this documentary, I feel I owe, not all, but at least some apologizes to Marquez. He is a very fast rider who goes at maximum speed regardless of the context or whether the points he earns make any difference. Marquez is a biker that runs very fast even when the practice session is over. A man that takes down even his own teammate. All this to say that, sure, his riding style is often outrageous and dangerous to the others, but he is young and does it all the time regardless. Therefore, I am certain there was no combine between the Spanish riders. And I am not even sure at this point, after seeing the friction between Lorenzo and Marquez, Pedrosa and Marquez, that Marquez would want Lorenzo to win just because they are both Spanish.
Therefore, I wish Marquez all the best for his career and hope he will be the next Valentino Rossi. Meantime, I have grown to be a huge fan of Lorenzo thanks to this documentary. He has appeared to me as a true professional of this sport. Meantime, however, I would like Rossi to win one more championship before his retirement.
Good luck to all of them (not just these 6 pilots) and thank you so much for all the fun they make us have every other Sunday.
Racing Extinction (2015)
A Completely Dishonest Documentary (as The Cove was BTW)
A documentary is supposed to document and inform but this film it is just the opposite of what a documentary should be.
Instead of focusing on one aspect, the documentary goes in circle presenting all the ways we as humans are managing to destroy the Earth's ecosystem. It presents points already made by several other documentaries but without stating anything new.
It presents some valid points about what's wrong with the way we treat animals, and how we have screwed up at a global scale, but when it comes to point fingers at actual people, they prefer to blame some remote village of Indonesia where people hunt manta rays in order to survive as they find it difficult to grow plants in there. The message seems to be: the world is screwed but let's start fixing it by ruining some countryside people's livelihood. Killing manta rays is wrong, they are cute, they are innocent, but leaving people starve and live in poor conditions, that's fine. Who cares?
In the same village, they show these fishermen going out fishing on their little boat, struggling to catch the manta, doing everything with their bare hands, and audience is supposed to feel sad? The commentator even tries to convince us that we should be disgusted by the fact that the fisherman kills the manta by sticking a long knife in its brain. Perhaps, for the wealthy western commentator, it is easier just to walk in the supermarket, buy his plastic-packaged minced meat of an animal that he never saw alive, doesn't know in what miserable conditions it lived and doesn't even know how it was killed. That hunting scene actually just makes one respecting more these fishermen.
Shall we talk about the white guy that saves a poor manta ray caught into a fishnet or something? Oh yes, he is the big hero. So cheesy. Cheesy as the director being interviewed and crying in front of the camera. Actually that's not cheesy, that's just dishonest. I don't doubt that he was crying for real, but you are the director of the film for god sake. You should be honest enough to leave that part out.
Why this kind of activist documentaries are always one sided? They find all the possible western people to interview to support their statement, but they cannot get some Asian experts to stand up for the poor people?
If killing whales and dolphins is wrong, why before traveling to the East, they don't travel within the USA (Alaska for example) or Northern Europe? Perhaps because they speak English, are well educated, and it is going to be more difficult to sell their dishonest activism?
When it comes to criticize the western society, they use some stock footage or they leave it to the commentator to describe how bad the western world is. But when it's about China or Indonesia, they use cheap tricks of hidden cameras to film poor and uneducated people that obviously don't have the ability to defend themselves with words as they are not able to debate and express their point of view with clarity. Why they don't go bother the big western corporations with hidden cameras and annoying interviews?
In fact, why they don't even bother dubbing the interviewed Asian people but leave it to unreadable white subtitles on white background?
Towards the end, the documentary turns out to be just an advertisement campaign for Tesla cars. And be clear, I support Tesla and would love to own one, but it just felt like Tesla came out of the blue. There was no point to put it in the film in my opinion.
Environmental activism is a good thing. Especially with the filmmaking support. But when one does it with intellectual dishonesty, it does more harm than good.