Change Your Image
annienew-47525
Reviews
Anatomie d'une chute (2023)
Psychological drama
An intense psychological drama with lots of twists and turns, but the end didn't leave me with a wow factor. All the performances were outstanding, but special props to the actor who played Daniel and the actor who played the prosecutor. Daniel's part was an emotionally complex one! Sandra Hüller played her role convincingly and bought this superb eeriness to it! The story could have been a lot crisper as I felt it dragged on unnecessarily during certain parts. I loved the courtroom drama cause it was so well done. No unnecessary yelling, no emotional outbursts during those scenes made the courtroom scenes a pleasure to watch. I don't understand what the hype was all about, but yeah, the movie is worth a watch at least once.
Baby Reindeer (2024)
Awful!
I'm not sure how are people rating this show so high? Reached episode 4 and the show just turned weird. Couldn't watch it any further. The jokes in the show didn't make me laugh. The only character I liked was Teri. To me the show didn't make much sense in the way it was going. It's awful that this a true story, but it wasn't engaging in any way. I felt like the show gives out a wrong message about how cowardly the main character is and how he didn't have the courage or the wisdom to report the incidents any sooner to the police. Again, I've only watched it upto mid episode 4, so my review is based on that.
The Elephant Whisperers (2022)
Cute little documentary!
This is a lovely little documentary about two baby elephants and the couple who raise them. I fell in love with baby Raghu and baby Ammu! Hats off to the couple who are raising these babies as their own. The documentary manages to capture the stunning wilderness of South India in a beautiful way. The documentary touches on various themes throughout its duration; namely - elephants as highly intelligent and sensitive beings, their childhood, the couple's motivation to bring these babies up as their own, loss and love and last but not the least resilience shown by the couple. This documentary is definitely Oscar worthy!
Harry & Meghan (2022)
An insightful series
I found the six episodes to be insightful. There were times during the episodes that I teared up, and that to me was powerful enough to reflect upon. I feelnthe episodes are well made and show the outsider what the royal life was really like. This six part series made me empathise with Harry and Meghan. However, Meghan did at certain times feel a bit boring to listen to but that was not the case with Harry. I also felt that none of the stuff they spoke about was made up by them in order to get more ratings or for popularity, they simply wanted their story to be told from their perspective and to clear things up as much as they could.
The Swimmers (2022)
A gem!
Discovered this little gem of a film on Netflix and I loved it! A heart-wrenching story of love, courage, resilience and motivation. The lead actress; Nathalie is simply wonderful and convincing in her role as an Olympic swimmer, so when I read that she had to undergo training before filming began, I couldn't believe my eyes! She came across as an extremely proficient swimmer and portrayed her role amazingly well. Manal (Sara Mardini) too portrayed her role as a protective yet encouraging sister quite well. I found myself getting teary-eyed multiple times during the movie. Great effort by the team!
Blaze (2022)
A good film with great potential!
*This review contains some spoilers*
Blaze is a story about many things; namely - trauma, mental health, childhood, single parenthood, courage and triumph. It's not an easy film to watch due to the bold subject matter it takes on, but the intent behind making this film seems to be positive. I really loved the intro music! I hope the soundtrack of this movie is released in the near future!
The protagonist - Blaze (Julia Savage) is introduced to us as an inquisitive child who seems to have a rich inner world. She is shown taking a known shortcut home from an ice-cream shop where she comes face-to-face with an unexpected situation. I loved the little symbolisms here - a puppy on the way that she stops to greet (symbolising innocence and normalcy) and wilted flowers that she passes by (could be symbolism for the danger that lies ahead). I feel this is a great teachable moment for parents to their kids on the importance of taking the safe way home even if it's a longer route.
The trauma that Blaze witnesses, leaves her traumatized. Julia Savage is impressive here as she is able to portray genuine terror on her face and is able to make us believe what her character is going through emotionally. I feel the makers of the film could introduce a warning before the movie begins as the trauma is quite difficult to watch. Huge props to Yael Stone for her portrayal of Hannah.
We meet Zephyr (the dragon) once Blaze manages to return home after the traumatic experience. My first reaction to when I saw the dragon was - it's so cute! The imaginary dragon is her friend so it's quite natural that it was made to look like a cute glittery friend rather than a monstrous thing! The little figurines and especially the doll puppet are very cute and it made me smile whenever they popped up on the screen.
The way we are introduced to Blaze's dad Luke (Simon Baker) left me with a warm feeling in my heart. The way he comes into her room, gently sits by her side whilst she's asleep, the way he gently lifts the comforter from which Blaze is sleeping under and finally the way in which he gently caresses his daughter's forehead, all this show the empathetic side of him and what a lovely, caring dad he is.
Julia's depiction of being in a catatonic state is highly impressive. Equally impressive is Luke's (Simon Baker) reaction when he realises that something is terribly wrong with his daughter.
The film further sheds a light on how broken the court system is. The court appointed psychiatrist comes across as strictly business-like whose main job is to get Blaze ready for the court hearing without really delving deep into the psychological state that Blaze is in.
It's here that we are introduced to the first psychedelic experience in the film. I'm not sure what it really means but after having watched the film a few times by now perhaps Blaze is trying to 'ground' herself while the psychiatrist talking in the background becomes like a white noise for her. (This is my interpretation and it could be wrong!)
The statement - "I didn't realize this was purely procedural support." hits you in the face depicting how cold the court system is.
The court scene where Blaze has to testify about what happened is so well performed by both Julia and Simon. Simon as the father who has to bear witness to his daughter being asked uncomfortable questions in the court & having to be in the same room as the perpetrator is heart-wrenching to watch.
Interestingly, there are some scenes in this film that are nearly identical with some scenes that appear in Simon Baker's movie - Not Forgotten! I was amused to find how similar those scenes were! If you've watched 'Not Forgotten' multiple times like I have, there's no way you'll miss the similarities between the scenes at different points during the film!
The film does a great job at showing the importance of having a supportive parent to whom a child can talk to without any apprehensions. It also serves as a reminder for parents to talk to them about personal safety; both physically as well as online. The film also depicts very subtly that learning self-defence is a very useful tool as much as it can be a constructive tool to release frustration and anger. Dance is a recurring tool used by the director to convey a release of pent-up emotions. It's a good thing, however some parts of those dance sequences didn't sit well with me.
That being said, there were plenty of memorable scenes and dialogues. I found the first half of the movie more well-defined and engaging than the second half. The puppetry, vfx and the make-up were all amazingly good! The transition between certain scenes was a bit abrupt at times but the strong performances by each and every cast member help deliver the story to its fullest.
Overall it's a good film with great potential. Highly recommended viewing for parents of teens and pre-teens and also for teens as well as young adults as there are wonderful life lessons in there!