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Vera (2022)
Realness in a (non)-fiction blend
I think the most interesting part of this film is the grey area between reality and fiction. The plot is fictional but the characters are real as protagonist Vera Gemma plays out a fictional version of her own life that appears to be deeply rooted in reality. It covers several themes such as the burden of living in the shadow of a famous parent, pressure to live up to unrealistic beauty standards and expectations of success, yearning to be loved for who you are whilst ultimately succumbing to relationships that are of a transactional nature. The film contains several poignant scenes such as a visit to the graveyard with a friend or a voice over of Vera and her sister Giuliana revisiting old reels of film and photographs of their early childhood. In these scenes you get the sense that you are watching the life story of a real person, and they are woven together with a fictional plot line about a young boy from a poor family to create an almost tragic portrait of Vera who could never really escape a life of being 'the daughter of'.
Hereditary (2018)
Paranormal Activity/Insidious without the scares
The story adds nothing to themes that were already explored in recent horror films such as PA/Insidious (spirits of the deceased, possession, yada yada). The first hour is incredibly slow and it feels like 80% of the plot development takes place in the last 30-45 minutes. The thing that made PA/Insidious and similar films entertaining for me were the suspense and the scares, which are few and far in between in this film, and they're not as scary. The acting was pretty good but I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone, even to friends who love the genre.
Frankly I was really surprised this movie is rated at 7.9.
Cinderella (2015)
Cringeworthy. I would not let my daughter watch this
I never wrote a review before, but felt like I needed to add something since I don't agree with the high rating (7.6) this film has at the moment. I caught this film on a whim so I did not have very many expectations, except those that come with the knowledge of it being a Disney film that features some great actors (Cate Blanchett, Richard Madden, Helena Bonham Carter). I certainly made the mistake of thinking it would have some entertainment value for adults, which was not really the case IMO.
The characters are extremely flat, mostly because the dialogue is full of (cringeworthy) clichés. Characters are either pure good or pure evil, and they'll make sure you know this the second they are introduced onto the screen. If they're smiling, it's always with obnoxiously toothy smiles which look very unnatural. Honestly, there's this Keira Knightley quote I think applies here: "I'm a total romantic- I love romantic films. But I don't like being raped by sugar."
I'm pretty sure this film was created for the sole purpose of creating a box office hit, and they didn't even try to hide it. It literally adds nothing to the original story everyone already knows, in fact it even fails to tell a complete story. Everybody's parents are fine at one moment and drop dead 5 minutes later, with no explanation whatsoever (besides Cinderella's father, who, we are being told, 'fell ill' during his travels). Little holes in the plot like that show the film doesn't really try to add anything to the story.
Most of all what bothers me about this film is its outdated portrayal of women. What baffled me was that the narrator at some point implied that Cinderella was happy just to have spent that one magical night with the prince, and that she would be content to never see him again because her memory of their time together that night would be 'enough to keep her warm for the rest of her life.' Honestly, I don't think that's sending the right message and if I had a daughter I wouldn't like the thought of her watching this film. Being 'courageous and kind' is a noble way to live your life, but do we really want kids to think that if they let other people walk over them and take advantage of them, they will be rewarded for it in the end? That women only have to wait to be saved by a quartet of mice and a handsome prince? I know the premise of Cinderella is that she does the dirty work for her stepmother and -sisters, but the way in which she does all this willingly and convinces herself that it's all for the best (I LOL'ed when it was suggested she take up quarters in the nasty attic and she gets there all like: 'Stepmother was right, it IS nice and quiet up here!') is just disturbing.
Even blessed with the eternal grace that is Cate Blanchett this film couldn't redeem itself for me. She does as well as can be expected with such a flat character. Couldn't say the same for Richard Madden, with his unrealistically smooth skin, white smile and constantly wearing the most revealing tights. I don't think he should really have accepted this role, I hope to see him play something more interesting next time. Helena Bonham Carter's short appearance was intended to be funny but I didn't really find it very funny at all. I think this is where it clearly shows it's not made to be watched by adults, but kids only (though Disney has shown before they don't have to be mutually exclusive).
All in all, I just felt very conflicted by the message of this film. Apparently Disney has decided enough time has passed for the old fairy tales to be remade again, since I've heard reports of an upcoming Beauty and the Beast remake starring Emma Watson as Belle. I just hope that film will be more woman-friendly and fitting for the 21st century, but after seeing Emma Watson in action at the UN, where she gave a good speech about gender equality, I trust she knows what she's doing.