Reviews

Just because one is a fan of the director (Saulnier), or the actors, does not mean that you have to force yourself to like a mediocre movie.

There were a lot of people who did not like the novel because of its violence and open ending, but if they would watch the movie, they would have loved the book! There are so many explanations given in the novel that the violence never feels gratuitous by juxtaposing man vs nature, underlining incest, how the Natives keep together, their myths, sins.... Medora and Vernon are actually twins, and there father killed himself because he could not heal Vernon's "unnatural" state, whose death also explains the many senseless murders he is perpetrating. Medora is angry that Vernon left her although promising that he would never do so, so she avenges herself by killing their son, whose "sickness" is due to his bloodline.. So many explanations left out, also the ending which tells how the Slones live in the wilderniss in an hidden igloo, Medora again pregnant.

The movie suffers from the poor editing, simple narrative and absurd dialogues. I wished someone else, maybe from Alaska or Canada would have directed this movie with respect to the Natives, and the strange couple who should have been in the foreground of the movie, and not Core or Det. Marium. (Thinking of Kim Nguyen, e.g.) There is actually so much mysticism, folklore, forbidden sins and telepathic bond in this old, and desolate village. The book also discloses why Medora got the wolf mask, and how it changed her. In the movie, the only scene between the couple is at the end, and they absolutely have no chemistry... which is a real shame. Slone's animalistic nature was told many times in the novel, as in the inn when he sleeps in the bed where Medora slept. He smells and licks the bed, then masturbates. In the end, they also have animalistic and nude sex in the hot spring while Core lies there in pain. All of that was left out... the first half of the movie could have been shortened so that the second half could focus on the relationship and the mystery surrounding the village and the couple.

Also, there was absolutely no need to show te rape scene in the beginning in Iraq. It is an artistic and stylistic decision how to proceed this scene, but one could have shown how the soldier chases the girl, but showing the rape in a close shot should have been left out, it is traumatizng and totally takes the attention from the next scene where Slone gets injured, as it is hard at that moment to care for him.

I love slow-paced indie movies, especially when it has beautiful landscape or animal shots, however this movie suffers enormously from the lack of character motivation and development, no intense scenes (besides the shootout) and no facial expressions of the characters. The emphasis should have been on the Slones, their family, Cheeon (Julian Black Antelope IS SUCH A GREAT ACTOR!!!!), and the shaman Illanaq (Tantoo Cardinal awesomeness). Shame.

I have watched two Q&A videos on youtube after the premieres of that movie, and Saulnier states that they left many things unexplained but he himself was puzzled, and added that he wanted to show realism but also kept the mystery of what the characters believe, and that he just wanted to direct and not really focused on the plot... basically, style over substance! Well, that's not how you approach a movie with a 30+million budget. Netflix,really, should not allow so much creative freedom to directors. Not everyone is Dee Rees.

All in all, I don't give the movie less than a 6/10 seeing the effort, good acting, beautiful cinematography of the cold, god-forsaken winter landscapes (of Alberta, Canada, not Alaska!).

Can Jessica Chastain do any wrong? Every project she chooses has beauty and sophistication.

I'm saddened by the ignorant and imprudent reviews which I read this week. Especially someone calling it "listless". The ongoing hype on action movies and the many dialogues in movies have seemingly numbed the senses of the average moviegoers as they cannot anymore feel without touch, hear without words and see without movement.. The movie contains so many touching moments, relatable characters, an emotional bond between the leads, a sensitive approach to a dark material and a stunning cinematography which will make me watch the movie again on the big screen.

Since the topic on Native American rights, Standing Rock and pipelines is as relevant as ever, this movie is of great importance and should not be treated as a forgettable indie film - Shame on the so-called critics.

The Native Americans are treated and depicted respectfully by giving them character traits, letting them speak in their own language and showing their bond with nature and their understanding of life. In all movies about Native Americans which I watched, there has always been strong violence, humiliation and vulgarism. Noteworthily is the final shot of a white horse dancing upon hearing a gun shot accompanied by Jessica Chastain's painting-like suffering on the ground - with her loose and long hair which emphasises her long-awaited freedom ! So happy to finally watch a female Western about Native Americans, which is as beautiful as a Romantic painting and as touching as an elegy.

I watched "The Square" at the Helsinki Film Festival today. The cast sounded great to me and since it has won the Palme d'Or, I was sure of being up for a treat. However, I waited...waited and waited. 150 minutes passed by and I could not get what I craved for. The social satire felt incomplete and too forced in some scenes, as having too many scenes with beggars, baby cries, noises, dogs barking, phone ringing etc. There could have been so much more. It just repeats itself over and over again.

Moreover, I think it is a humiliation for local actors to be excluded from international posters and replaced by supporting actors like Elisabeth Moss and Dominic West. Also, their fans might be seeking ways to watch this movie although they do not have many scenes and would be thus disappointed. I surely wanted more scenes with Moss, I think she is a terrific actress and her character adds so much colour and vividness to the bleak movie. West is also great, as usual. Claes Bang is capable of leading the movie, he is quite interesting in his manners and glances and makes it easy to tirelessly follow him for 2 1/2 hrs. I like Scandinavian movies and I'm used to their black and bizarre humour, however, I perceived this movie as a modern action movie in comparison to the more calm, dialogue-driven, philosophical and satirical Scandinavian movies. Östlund did not convince me as a clever screenwriter, but his directing is good - as far as the poor screenplay allows it to be.

Going to the cinema with high expectations was surely not the right thing to do. After the director's marvellous masterpiece "The Lobster", I expected a bigger movie - bigger in direction, screenplay, actor ensemble, and budget - since The Lobster received many accolades and an Oscar nom for best screenplay!

However, his new movie seemed as if it was actually filmed before "The Lobster" - a dull, white and unappealing setting (mostly the hospital), not an ensemble cast or switching scenes + an unattractive and annoying young boy as the young protagonist.

I actually watched it till the end with enthusiasm because of Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman - I really like their work and acting and they never disappoint. Also, hail to Nicole for having such a great year ahead! They had some great scenes together which make the movie worth to watch.

The most annoying part must be the recurring unsettling & loud orchestral music to force the effect of: "Hey, you are not watching a slow-paced drama with no elements of thriller or action, it is going to be so exciting and spooky right now". ...and the "bloody violence" or scary, spooky scenes never came, actually.

Wished Nicole Kidman had more scenes, though. She was too passive. I wanted her to smack the boy or do the final act herself which I won't tell ya not to spoil the ending.

I hope we get more lobsters in the future than deer - they were not so tasty, after all!

I'm very much interested in human psychology, as I majored in psychology at university and it always fascinated me to learn that we as humans do not actually know our limits. Although some are sure of themselves of never being able to commit a crime, they still could end up committing it. And this movie shows exactly why this can happen. If you don't like the movie because of its intense and brutal depiction of the human existence, then you shouldn't rate this movie low, because that's the point of the movie and the experiment that is shown in it. If you hate the characters in the movie and are horrified by the actions they do - then you have to admit that the bloody cast did their job well! Eventually, it's a 9/10 for me! It doesn't have any scenes of gore or sex (except for one weird scene which is listed in the Parents Guide section here on IMDb)

The Stanford prison experiment represented in the movie is a real experiment conducted in 1971 and the depiction of that time is done well with the clothing, looks, etc. Billy Crudup, who plays Dr. Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University, the chief of the experiment, has done an excellent job. His cold and ruthless appearance fits perfectly for an intelligent and power-thirsty psychologist. Some say many psychologists are psychopaths themselves. Yeah, somehow approved. Thumbs up also for Michael Angarano and Tye Sheridan for giving solid and plausible performances. Ezra Miller's shaky voice disturbed me all the time, his acting was better than usual, though.

The movie is an answer to all the questions sane people ask when they watch TV or read the newspaper everyday. Why so much crime, why terrorism? The authority, whoever that may be, tells you that what you do is right and you end up doing it. You don't question it. You become a puppet. What distinguishes the humankind from animals and plants is rationality, but do we always think rational? Certainly not. When there is a dominant leader, then we tend to follow him, even if the task dissents with our norms and beliefs. You should definitely read the Milgram experiment and experiments from Muzafer Sheriff, a Turkish social psychologist who developed social judgment theory and realistic conflict theory and is known as the founder of modern social psychology. His experiments about social norms and social conflict show how important the milieu is in our decisions and in individual psychology.

Dr. Zimbardo summarizes this experiment in one decisive statement: "Most apparent thing that I noticed was how most of the people in this study derive their sense of identity and well-being from their immediate surroundings rather than from within themselves."

At first, many thanks to Alan Rickman for making a lavish film with a sublime cinematography and fabulous acting! The plot has its weak points and historical inaccuracy, but it is all in all a good and entertaining film: 8/10. I really liked the fact that Rickman created a very fictional female character from the 17th century who is a landscape architect (Kate Winslet) and is building a garden at Versailles for King Louis XIV (Alan Rickman). The imagination on doing so is huge! Rickman and Winslet reunite in this film after their marvellous romantic period film Sense and Sensibility which dates back to 1995 and they still have a great chemistry together. I really liked their shared scenes and dialogues, it gives a warm touch to the storyline.

Kate Winslet really shows here that no matter how many actresses want, or properly said, get to play roles in period dramas, she is still the number 1 in these kind of films. She shows great emotions in her eyes, her attitude, walking, looking, speaking and her abilities of crying like an old soul. It is a real delight to watch her and she is one of these women who will never get old, because her expression will always remain young and alive. There is a scene of desperate trauma which is an Oscar-worthy performance by her.

Period dramas actually present a great opportunity to be able to understand the situations and conflicts between people and history of old times better, IF it is truthfully made. These kind of films should respond to women as well as men and it shouldn't contain boring dialogues. à propos boring, if anyone has had the wish to watch the 2014 version of Madame Bovary, I really highly NOT recommend it. I will rescue you all by NOT recommending it for you to watch it, since it is inadvisable. It is such a wrongly made and terrible film with an extremely awful, untalented, pale and dull actress, you can't even imagine. I recommend you all instead to watch Far from the Madding Crowd (2015), which is also starring Matthias Schoenaerts and the great Michael Sheen.

Matthias Schoenaerts, who is playing here a landscape architect shares great chemistry with Winslet. He has the ability to look enamoured at a woman&makes the audience believe that he is in love with her. He has a calm appearance, which I like about him and although he looks too modern for period dramas, he fits to lovestruck character roles. Apart from Rickman's versatile acting, a huge thumbs up to Stanley Tucci who can pull off every role perfectly. He is an insanely good actor and deserves more lead roles! It's a pity that this film got limited release, so that I couldn't watch it at the cinema, but since I got the blu-ray, I could enjoy the wonderful colourful cinematography of it!

I've nearly watched all animations by Studio Ghibli (and many others other than from this studio) and I can with certainty say that this one is the best animated one! It's like a live-action film with great actors :) Every single emotion is magnificently drawn! When you watch this animation, you shouldn't expect a thriller or scenes of action.. the story is widely dramatic and heartbreaking. It has lots of suspenseful moments that make you want to watch it till the end and the ending is really worth the wait! The anime is about family problems and a young & ill girl's way of dealing with it. One could say that it is her coming of age story which is not easy for her, so she finds a "friend", a mysterious foreigner who helps to find herself and make her see the world with different eyes ;) People who think animations are just for children or for younger generation are completely wrong! If you have prejudices, go and watch one and see it for yourself! I can recommend Spirited Away & Grave of the Fireflies. And I really can't believe that Studio Ghibli will take a break from filmmaking now... or will maybe never come back to it again. It's a mess! After seeing so much untalented people doing so many films and earning much money (especially those cheesy Hollywood animations), although for not deserving it, I'm aware of the fact that real artists should be praised! BTW: I don't easily give a film 10/10 ;)