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Stay Awake (2022)
Great adult drama with great performances and script
Once in a while you watch a film not expecting much and get deeply involved and moved emotionally. Stay Awake relies heavily on the emotional journey of the young sons and both Wyatt Oleff and Fin Argus are terrific. Rarely is as much conveyed by the looks the two leads give each other, as the dialogue, which is both measured and honest.
The film avoids melodrama and gets under the skin of the two protagonists, so we, the audience, feel the pain and love of dealing with a parent who is hopelessly addicted to prescription drugs.
We don't learn much about the mother's broken relationship or her descent into addiction, we assume it is similar to the other stories told by similar addicts at a NA meeting.
Although the film could point the blame at the pharmaceutical industry, it decides instead to focus on the devastation and constant worry it leaves on the family, not to mention the difficult life choices and sacrifices it causes.
Whilst it is usually the case that a film dealing with these choices might have scenes of siblings screaming at each other, Stay Awake focuses instead on the bond between the brothers who provide the emotional support needed to each other rather than from their mother, who tries to maintain a false aura of normality when everything around is falling to pieces.
A great script, music score and the use of school, hospital and work locations is used to great effect to underscore the cycle both brothers have become trapped in.
Highly recommended.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a #@%! (2023)
Dreadful "Documentary"
This is the worst "Documentary" I have ever seen. Get an over-privileged American nitwit who has behaved abominably throughout his life towards women because his first girlfriend cheated on him (Boo Hoo!) as he uses this as an excuse to explain his atrocious behaviour over the next 10 years towards women. He gloats at the fact he spent the next 10 years traveling the world yet we never meet any locals who have ever met him and all the photos are of him are in a tourist bar with women on his arm or doing dumb ass holiday rubbish. What has this guy done to contribute to society? Nothing! Exactly.. yet he is worthy of a 90 minute film! This Idiot talks for an hour and a half like a guru about how to live your life ... I wouldn't take his advise where to buy a burger ... and Netflix deem this in some way important ... only the social media generation would buy into this nonsense!
Still (2023)
A good documentary .. just not as great as some state
This is yet another documentary focusing on a film actor post COVID - we have already seen Robert Downey Jnr and Val Kilmer go down similar territory ... actors fallen on bad times using the COVID break to tell their stories... this to me is less inspiring than both its predecessors ... party due to Michael J Fox carrying on without accepting his diagnosis.
It's not unusual for Hollywood stars to become obnoxious when stumbling across instant fame, in fact the Hollywood system actively encourages it.
What really comes across in this film is the love of his long-suffering wife and family .. why someone with a degenerate disease, wealthy and in a loving family would put his career first is quite dispicable really ... an excuse about drug dependancy and alcohol abuse obviously doesn't tell the whole story .. his wife is still with him when he can hardly walk ... still refusing a wheelchair and the obvious worry this causes to his family ... as an example of how not to behave in Hollywood this is a great film .. as an example of pity towards a selfish star this doesn't do so well although it tries it's hardest.
Hair-Trigger (2022)
Great soundtrack and music ... everything else predictable and badly directed
Watched this film after glowing user reviews ... oops ... the film was a low budget thriller harking back to Reservoir Dogs without the skill, acting abilities or suspense.
The first 5 mins introduces our unlikely female criminal element ... yep ... you guessed it .. she is the only one to survive!
Then we have a bunch of ridiculous scenes intended to both connect us with the central character and understand why she agrees to accept a robbery after just getting out of jail (sorry an awkward customer and a mum who puts the phone down doesn't count as decent excuses)
The "mastermind" of the heist is badly miscast ... as are the crew picked for their prowess and courage (none of which becomes apparent in the following scenes - quite the opposite)
Can't believe people are giving this 9/10 - watch some decent films pal!
For a low budget film with an amateur cast it is OK boosted by a decent score but still very generic
The central femaie character constantly pushing out her ample chest doesn't enhance her performance - a watchable low budget film but no classic.
The Fabelmans (2022)
Massively overrated
I sat down to watch this film with some trepidation. Although Spielberg's films in the 70's and 80's are classic he is not one of my favourite directors from the time, his films are popcorn flicks and have little to say about society at the time they were made.
For a start this film is 60 minutes too long .. why do we have to see home movies being made and then watch them being shown in front of an audience??
The 2 daughters in the film have nothing to do and are superfluous ... why include them if they are only 2 dimensional.
Despite the fact that the film is set in the 1950's, this period seems more like the opening credits to "Blue Velvet" where all the characters are perfect and everything is perfect in suburbia ... that doesn't even do justice to the characterisation of Jewish characters which is hackneyed and feels very false (considering how much time and effort Spielberg has spent on collecting Jewish histories of the holocaust this feels really unacceptable!)
Paul Dano is a great actor (see 12 Years a Slave) but in this film he is totally silenced ... we have no explanation of his actions despite the fact he is supposedly a early computer genius (doesn't feel true at all)
Seth Rogen is miscast as a "friend" who seduces the mother of the family ... the scene where the eldest kid edits/spices together the evidence and unveils his mothers infedelity borders on the ridiculous and we never have any scene that explains either her inner feelings, or the reason she reacts as she does.
The love scenes between the central character and her first girlfriend not only feel false but insulting, a glib comment about circumcision doesn't help!
A really poor film from a great director and so sad to see how well it has been received by supposed professional film critics ... how can you justify the ratings based on how many fresh and important films presumably you watch daily?
Nothing cinematic about it ... if you still want to watch wait until it comes to Netflix and spend your money seeing something decent and cinematic at the cinema.