bachi_2805's Reviews

The Zone of Interest (2023)

10/10

7 April 2024

Many times we've seen the fireworks, the mud, the tears. But when the subject matter is serious, are them respectful enough?

The whole film is a train of beautiful compositions. Of sounds that manage to escape.

There is a plot, the plot is you expect a plot and instead get an accurate depiction of the order of events. Because the boring minds of those that can adjust to horror and execute it with ease, will naturally lead boring lives, lacking the imagination for a life without envy and hate.

As a foreigner to the country, I've always wondered what the German mindset was during that time. This film achieves in showing what it would've been like. Though the director asks the viewer to infer certain aspects of the characters.

There's plenty of shots and scenes making the film worth watching.

Performances are on point. The two leads are great.

It's a slow burn.

5 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

10/10

Regarding mirrors

12 March 2024

Warning: Spoilers

I've watched it maybe four times, so there's probably things I've missed. But let me make a naked review of what I felt this last watch: It's all about the 'alpha male', criticising the concept. Making fun of him, humiliating him, humbling him, that is.

Since the alpha male is a real concept in our human society, what Kubrick gives us is a critique of any given concept that a certain society accepts as real.

I mean, he could have picked any other concept and it would have worked, because the meaning behind it is: distrust everything and take your own conclusions.

The humbling of the alpha male is designed to humble the viewer, male or not. It works as a mirror.

You might even rightfully go on a stretch and say Kubrick was humbling himself. Perhaps he was saying, let's all dial down our egos a hell of a lot now and see things clearly.

I guess it's a film designed as a mirror to meditate on. He gives us 'fear' and we analyse how we feel about it. He gives us 'love', and we analyse it too. 'Reality', 'right and wrong', 'ego', 'male', 'female', 'rainbow' as in dreams or as the appearing colours after the storm passes through.

You might find with each viewing you'll have a different response.

It is technically perfect. Everyone that worked on it made a perfect job.

Of course, his alpha male persona is the mask. He is in fact the only masked one and the only one having a nightmare about it.

And I just realised Alice planned the whole thing, and what we have is a bettered version of Fincher's The Game. She wanted to humble him, because she loves him. Fidelio. Which is as manipulative as it gets.

But I guess the moral of the story is the same one, humble yourself constantly, because otherwise they may be making a theatre of your own life. That is to say, YOU may be making a theatre of your own life.

I guess everything is left for interpretation...

0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Poor Things (2023)

9/10

Half of the audience left the theatre

29 January 2024

It's a 10 or 1 film, no in-between scores. You either laugh your ass off the whole of its running time or you get up, all annoyed and perfect, and walk away -probably to cry alone or to comment with your significant other/s about how outrageous comedy has gotten these days. You may also find yourself really invested but being dragged by a prude relative -I reckon that was the case of plenty around the world.

Luckily, the line I sat with all stayed, even an older couple that laughed their asses off too.

I think it's an instant classic. It's got the unique cinematography, incredibly stunning. The great acting, just read the names. Even Mark Ruffalo, who I like as a person, but have found most of his previous acting rather dull, here hits the spot. Though I liked him in the series with Hugh Laurie, I guess he's perfecting himself 👍.

The story is one not to be spoiled, but one can talk about the treatment of themes and about its final lasting preaching aftertaste.

I'd say, given its ways of showing it, that it succeeded way more than Barbie in its portrayal of feminism. Not saying the latter doesn't achieve anything (it does), but this one is just so bizarre that you can understand that some things the character takes as natural (Paris) are in reality much more different.

Music and sound production play a huge role, a different note or practical sound and the whole castle could crumble down.

To me it was absolutely hilarious, I was shaking in my seat laughing it up. Great comedy with good messages.

Kudos to Yorgos Lanthimos for directing it.

36 out of 51 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Boyhood (I) (2014)

9/10

Portrait of a millennial

29 July 2022

Taking into account the boldness of the endeavor, the fact that the film works and actually leaves a message is amazing.

It is stunning. It is realistic. It is reliving your childhood and adolescence, if you grew up in the 90s. It is an experiment. It is a must watch.

1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

A Fantastic Woman (2017)

9/10

Love/hate reviews show the film works

13 June 2022

I don't get why some call the film 'slow' or 'boring' or 'the main character lacks personality'... Y'all need to see more/better films. It's a drama about love, loss and violence and the main character is battling all sorts of dragons during a time so painful most of us wouldn't be able cope with.

Camera angles and shots are pretty stunning, you don't feel you're watching actors (you get into it). It's not revolutionary regarding cinema devices, which is what the cynical reviewer craves, but it also being a flag waved for human rights, it does a fantastic job at portraying a human life. You don't always need to change the game to make a great film. In this case I think it would have been a distraction from the simple -yet deep- portrait it is.

I think it is worth the watch.

1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The Beatles: Get Back (2021)

10/10

Heavenly, solid gold

28 November 2021

If you're a musician and a Beatles fan, then this film is heavenly, solid gold.

Even how it's paced into three distinct parts that form a stairway to the roof and beyond...

More than a documentary about a TV special-film-live show-recording (which it is) it's also an eye on a particular moment of culture as its artists reflect on it and react appropriately, with all of their human emotions being expressed and captured on a 16mm footage (now in 4K) that will be studied by archaeology students a thousand years from now.

10 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Vanilla Sky (2001)

8/10

Great movie

22 October 2021

Forgive me for pointing out that they kinda ripped off Philip Dick's Ubik, however, the book is not love centered and this movie is, so I'd say it's a great one.

Well shot and cut, the viewers slowly learn what they're getting into.

Watch it.

3 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The Art of Self-Defense (2019)

8/10

Hilarious and witty dark comedy

6 September 2021

Watched it with my brother and had a lot of fun. Great performances by everyone, well paced and overall great direction to walk that fine line between deep social commentary and ridiculous comedy.

1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Dune (1984)

8/10

Actually good

5 September 2021

I've read many sci-fi books, but not the Dune series. I went in to watch it knowing it had failed the box office and that some characters were too repugnant.

Firstly, they're not repugnant, they bear little touches that make them feel real.

The film is slow paced and just goes on presenting new stuff to the viewer without much explanation (which was refreshingly non patronizing to me).

It does have that odd aura Lynch's pictures have, so, however slow and unexplained it does get a hold of you for the duration of it, which is all that matters in the end.

3 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

I Care a Lot (2020)

8/10

Fun film, not a f* documentary

5 August 2021

This is actually a great film that carries you along the whole ride. Amazing acting and casting, Pike has without a doubt mastered the villain character. Dostoyevsky would be proud of writer/director.

It's not a Kubrick or a Fellini, but definitely worth the watch to see how much great acting can elevate any given script.

7 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Call Me by Your Name (2017)

8/10

The angel is in the detail

8 February 2021

When you care about something, you pay attention to every last, in this case, frame and sound, so that it is presented in such a way that the viewer or listener is able to be in heaven while experiencing it. This is such case.

It is not uncommon to see films where cinematography, acting, directing, costume, screenplay and etc. go separate ways. This is not such case.

I'd say this film is as beautiful as Michelangelo's David, if one such film viewer was not able to see that, then, in such a case, I've nothing more than pity for my fellow human being.

2 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)

8/10

I guess it's for grownups...

9 January 2021

Having seen many reviews where people didn't understand the film and its plot, my only assumption would be "I guess it's for grownups". Having said that, however, I think it could definitely be shown and analyzed in high schools (not American, they wouldn't get it either) or even colleges for the technical aspects.

Acting was on spot, cinematography gave us oil paintings that could have been hanging on museum walls. I found no plot-holes, that is, I understood the point of the bloody movie. And it fulfilled the wasteful need for a genre in 'horror', but in the way Brando described it in that other great one.

Much work was put into the language of the time, the robes, the housing, the lifestyle and, more importantly, the way of thinking of the time and the place.

I won't give it a 10/10 cause it's a theme we've seen far too many times already (it didn't teach me anything new) but it definitely is the best movie I've seen about that time and place and deserving of your sitting on a couch and unnerving yourself as it unfolds...

5 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Mother! (2017)

10/10

Feast, critics...

12 March 2020

Take the burning body of this mother! Drink her tears! Eat every metaphor! Let the actors overcrowd the stage and tear it down! Let the eye of the beholder do the old trick! But don't think for a second this book hasn't got words washed upon its pages...

1 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Uncut Gems (2019)

8/10

Mainstream, yet interesting

7 February 2020

I have to say that I fell asleep halfway through it, however, after I woke up, the movie started making sense. The only problem was that the plot was too obvious.

Don't care for the performances. Photography isn't groundbreaking but does the job. Music is mainstream yet serves the plot. Directing is interesting, it lets things happen. I have to say its biggest hit is the message.

Not a movie I'd watch many more times though. Which isn't necessarily something bad.

1 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Personal Shopper (2016)

8/10

Interesting

2 January 2020

I see reviews complaining about 'lack of genre' which I believe is the strongest thing about this movie. It's quite unique.

KS really made the tone of the movie. Cinematography and editing were pretty good I think. They did their jobs. Pacing was well directed.

Ending is up to interpretation. However, given the setting and the sources quoted, there can be a deeper philosophical meditation at stake. Even playing with the viewer.

0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

A Cure for Wellness (2016)

7/10

7.5

13 December 2019

The plot is not incredibly original. However, it is well executed. Don't get either the love or the hate for this movie... It's an average 7. I give it a 7.5 for its beauty and message.

Acting is approved. Photography is 10/10. I liked the meaning of the film though. Bourdieu would've liked it.

0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

E.T. (1982)

10/10

Best movie ever made

4 December 2019

Let me start by saying that I didn't get to see this film as a kid nor as a teenager. However... I've cried each and every time I saw it. No shame at all.

A piece of art, as this is, wonders us with the beauty of its shape. There's not a single shot in E. T. that isn't absolutely heavenly and unforgettable. The scene of the mother reading to the little sister is beyond this world. I'm holding back the tears as I write this.

Acting is unmatchable. The shots are pure art. Also, the little guy that came from space is perfect.

I'd also like to bring up that for me this is a movie about growing up. How the keys change to a loving passionate person. A change of perspective.

If you wanna know the difference between movies that were made for money and a movie that was made to stand as a human testament, this is it.

6 out of 9 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Cast Away (2000)

10/10

Seen it a thousand times, now I get it

29 October 2019

Warning: Spoilers

Caught it today on cable halfway. It draws you in. Picture composition is astonishing, I guess that's just nature untouched. Tom Hanks did a hell of a job going through all of the emotions of the character with nothing but his eyes and body language, not only on the island but back home too.

It is to expect that poor movie goers will fall flat on the surface of the coconut and lack the patience and effort to crack it open and delight themselves with its heavenly waters. That is to say, to not see the island as a metaphor. Isn't life an island, limited, physically? Is Chuck crying for a ball or for a friend? Isn't a friend someone who is the object of our hopes and joys?

The lose-lose monologue he has drinking with a friend, talking about his former girlfriend is perhaps the moment the character's deeper understanding of life occurs.

There's also a very tasteful (for its subtleness) criticism to the run-market-money-global-news-no time to think-way of life ("the dream"). "But it's a hell of an advertisement of FEx and Wilson!" Is it not mocking them?

I also really like the end. "Unknown this way. Unknown this way. Unknown this way. Home."

2 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Fractured (I) (2019)

7/10

Hitchcock meets Philip K. Dick

22 October 2019

"Ubik meets Vertigo, or The portrait of a broken person"

Maybe two possible outcomes prove to be too little for my taste (hence the 7 in my rating). But since this is quite a good portrait of a broken man, I really don't know how to think about it. Is it a thriller? Is it a bold clinical examination? As a thriller it works, however predictable. As a bold clinical examination, it works even better.

I do like that there is no "bad guy" in the end. I'd say, however, that I'm not adhering to the "just illness creates massacres" words from gun producers. As if the culture they've been installing for decades (the normalization of guns in film and tv and the heroism of puppets) wasn't necessary for their market. Not saying this film has anything to do with it, but the underlying metaphor of the not guilty crazy man could easily enter the subconscious of the anonymous manipulated citizen to approve of gun production as an innocent action.

Anyway, Sam was a good lead. Plot was plausible. Camera angles and movement really worked for the story. Music followed the steps of Hitchcock (stabbing in all the right places). And, most importantly, there was an atmosphere created, a little world of its own (which I think is the trademark of good art). In this picture, the feeling of "a little world of its own" proves to be more than just a feeling...

1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

10/10

The only superhero movie I'd buy

23 July 2019

Perhaps I'm writing this review in the time where there's too many blah blah superhero movies.

I remember when it first came out and I was young and went to the cinema. I can quote it as one of the highlights of my life.

Genres shouldn't define what an artist (in this case, filmmakers, actors and staff) wants to say. When you see this film you're not watching a superhero bang bang-die, evil-cash in blockbuster; you're watching a very human story with scenes that'll stay in your heart and mind forever.

2 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Captain Fantastic (2016)

9/10

Someday you'll get it (to low critics)

4 July 2019

I believe no one else could have played the lead, Viggo Mortensen is incredible in this film. Kathryn Hahn is an amazing actress and overall acting is on another level (including secondary characters). Sometimes, the actors save the movie. In this case, I think they shine pushed by the hand of a smart director.

What low critics don't get is that the movie is like a picture. A picture of something unique.

Any work of art should try to show something new to the world (otherwise why do it?).

Is it a unique story? I think so.

Also, imagine there's a picture of Hitler, you shouldn't judge the photographer or the quality of the shot simply by who or what the model is. A picture of a knife is not an eulogy of stabbing.

I bring this on the table because I think Ben, aka Captain Fantastic (a wink to the endless Captain America amount of movies) is also being heavily criticized in the script itself, in fact, if it weren't for the colors used, you'd say it's an eulogy of 'follow the law word by word till you die'.

I liked it because it is true to life. To those who disliked it, I say 'Someday you'll get it. Until then, keep shooting at monsters on your TV set.'

1 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Green Room (2015)

8/10

First song of their set...

6 April 2019

Is the script quite unrealistic? Yes, it is fiction. Are the actors and actresses any good? Yes, they rock. Is it a serious film? Yes, it's a mixture between thriller and comedy (subtle). Not every movie functions like Magnolia or Adaptation. I thought it was a good rush, smartly directed and edited.

2 out of 2 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Isn't It Romantic (2019)

8/10

How to get away with silly choreographies

3 March 2019

This is quite the clever film. It's an all-round satire.

Acting was on point. Sets were perfect. Photography too, with the subtle 'over showing' of New York City.

Now, seriously, if you wanna make a different type of satire, this film can serve perfectly as an example.

0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Chef's Table (2015–2019)

10/10

Best thing Netflix's ever done

3 February 2019

I don't even want to describe it (so I don't spoil it). I saw every episode (including the french season) and even rewatched some. I'd rewatch it all many more times.

Astonishing shots that softly, tastefully and masterfully serve the purpose of cutting into the body and heart of the artist in the kitchen.

In every one of them, every different (very different) chef is analized and is given the chance to speak through words and actions and the soul filling works of art and science and alchemy that we call 'dishes'.

This is a show in which each piece does its part in the fashion of a ballet rehearsed till exhaustion. A documentary where the person behind the camera stretches their open hand and is then greeted with the exquisit fruit of the sweat and tears and blood and fire and brains and faith of the simple person that, day after day, peels potatoes and slices onions and then lets go of their ephimerous creations, entrusting them on the hands of waiters, resting assured that their masterpieces are off to the sea of tables and will burn in the mouths of the people and lie to rest deep within the waves of our unconscious. One may come to realize chefs are the most political artists to ever step on this little grape we call Earth.

5 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Slow West (2015)

8/10

A film to enjoy many times

15 December 2018

Just because something is slow, it doesn't mean it isn't beautiful and full of harmony. If some folks were looking for a mindless bloodbath where a merciless hero spits on the villain's grave, they got the wrong ticket.

This picture is a beauty; stunning landscapes, good music and pretty realistic (if you compare it with the ton of cartoonish westerns out there).

It's not very often that you finish a western feeling uplifted, Slow West is a hell of a great movie, incredible that it is a first director's cut. Like the kinds of Spielberg or Kubrick, it's one you might consider adding to your shelf.

8 out of 16 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

bachi_2805

Reviews

Tell Your Friends

Recently Viewed