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Reviews
Tár (2022)
Missing the best bits!
I am all for some ambiguity. It keeps the audience thinking, allows for multiple interpretations not to mention adding a bit of artistic mystery. But Târ is filled with so much "Dark Matter" that the dramatic gravity is lost somewhere "Out there". I was left with the feeling that all the key moments of the story were kept out of the script and that we are left only with the consequences of those moments. The film however, is acted superbly by Cate Blanchett in the leading role and the supporting cast are a pleasure to observe. They all hold up the fragments of the story with such convincing skill, that they make up for what I see as a misguided decision to keep the "closet skeletons" locked up until near the end.
Still, if you can weather the story "Fog" and the "Adagio" pace, there is much to enjoy here.
True Spirit (2023)
Predicable feel good, feels bad!
I was really cheering for this movie to shake me or move me or both, especially knowing that it is based on a true story. But alas, I was deeply disappointed!
The story followed a predictable path, naively and clumsily! The characters, especially the leading lady was unconvincing as she plodded through cliche lines and scenes, seemingly more concerned with looking pretty for the camera than staying true to what must have been a gritty character. Supposedly she forgot to bring her hairbrush and had to use a fork Yet, her hair looks hairdryer perfect, even after nights of super storms.
I had also hoped that in our age of fancy CGI assisted effects, we would at least be treated to some impressive wet realism, but no such luck! The special effects of the storms, the boat, the waves and the starry night skies looked like bad B movie effects from the 50s!
A wasted good story, told badly! Avoid!
Run All Night (2015)
Solid performances, predictable story, diluted experience.
The actors are great, the characters believable, the story possible. Liam Neeson excels at this stereotype. Ex-Cop, down and out, seen too much, done too much, messed up family, divorced, alienated son, drinking problem, thrown in towel. But Lo and behold, his family is in trouble! Sound familiar? It is!
But I must say, he does it well and so does Ed Harris! Both of them are masters of the genre and their performances keep the film floating above water. Joel Kinnaman too, does a very decent job. But in the end, the predictable storyline keeps no one guessing and dilutes the experience. See it if you want a rollercoaster ride you've done before.
The Reader (2008)
Why didn't she? Why doesn't he? What?
This is a finely crafted film no doubt, with top notch performances all around. Key events in the lives of the characters leave lasting scars. A post WWII youth's first sexual encounter with an older woman. An emotional Nazi war crimes courtroom trial. A law student struggling with ideas of Guilt, Crime & Punishment. There is an insistent tension that is maintained throughout the film. A tension in the viewer's mind from unanswered questions; Why didn't she...? Why doesn't he..? What ...?
But the most interesting thing I found about this film was that, in every case, it's not about what the characters do but rather what they don't do. What they didn't do. The film suggests these questions repeatedly. So much so, that ultimately you cannot help pondering bigger questions, more troubling questions. Powerful stuff! And so, even though there are moments where one might feel the the script a bit contrived, the makeup a bit over done, I found this is a thoughtful and gripping film. Don't miss it.
The Stolen (2017)
Pitiful!
What a pity! All this effort from a full cast and crew with all the potential of a great little movie. Great locations, very good period costume design and set design. Mostly decent performances and above average production values. But they were all compromised by a very feeble script and clumsy direction. The movie has moments of good suspense to begin with, but gradually as the awful dialogue and the stumbling storyline unfolds, the suspension of disbelief is eroded and the flaws begin screaming out with the agony of mediocrity.