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Reviews
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
'Overrated' does not even get close
After watching this movie I visited IMDb to check for some photos and well - I was shocked to see a current rating of 8,2. I do not know how this could be true, I mean the same rating as masterpieces hold like "Heat", "Pan's Labyrinth" or "Die Hard". Either this world is about to face the apocalypse of morons or "taste" became something to chose in the McDonald's menu...
Nevertheless, this movie is not crap, you might watch it if you prefer a story full of plot holes big enough to hide at least a group of a hundred Hulks in them and characters as pale and static as the Terracotta Army in the famous Chinese grave. Besides, this film has SFX. And it is a hell of a thunderstorm of SFX... I stopped counting after the 10th SFX company listed in the credits. So if your age starts with a 1 and has no more than another digit to follow, you might be entertained and amused about all these effects, virtually in every single scene. But if you expect a little more from a movie, like well developed characters, a good story with a consistent plot and something to entertain your intellect, this would not become the best choice.
It's probably nice for watching it once, beer and popcorn at hand and forgetting about it the very next day again. However, if you expect a little more like described above, you will just waste your money on this film.
Valerie (2006)
One of the most depressing movies out there...
First of all, do not attempt to watch this film if you are feeling down or sad, it might render you in a very depressing mood...
It's a movie about disappointment, broken dreams and social decay. Seen through the eyes of a model at the end of her career. A world which is based on hopes and dreams, where you could be top notch one day and unemployed the next. It is an unforgiving life that can change so quickly that you do not want to see or accept it. As the protagonist attempts, trying to fool herself while the world around her breaks to pieces.
It's a movie which should be mandatory to all the contestants to all of the Top Model TV shows. Friends are somewhat party toys, good for amusement when you surf on the wave. But after all, the loneliness and lack of hope, as cold as a Christmas Eve in Berlin when you are totally alone out there... This picture makes you shiver.
The movie itself is no Academy Award winner, the directing is not state of the art, the story not as deep as it could be. But the main actor really gets it up going, absolutely authentic and disturbingly touching. I still give it a 10 as it made me think and feel sorry for this fate.
Shall you ever get a chance to watch that one, give it a try... It's worth your time for sure!
TimeScapes (2012)
a visual masterpiece - must see
There are movies and there is cinematography. First of both are made to entertain while the second is pure art. "Timescapes" surely belongs to the latter.
Until now there were two motion pictures of such a breathtaking visual power - Baraka and Home by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. While Baraka has the most complex story and Home delivers an ecological message, Timescapes now completes this trilogy being the artistic one of that bunch.
It's right, there is no clear story behind and the scenes seem to be some kind randomly cut but this does not really matter as each of them is a masterpiece of its own. It can be compared to an exhibition of pictures, all of them show the workmanship of a great master while each is independent and not an element of a series.
Time lapse photography is an artistic expression and it is pure joy to watch it put on a screen in brilliant perfection. However do not get lost in wrong expectations, TimeScapes has not been filmed to be an entertaining blockbuster, instead it wants to show you the beauty of motion pictures - either in slow-mo or time compressed views.
So if you liked Baraka or Home you will most likely also enjoy this work. From the technical point of view there is nothing to complain about, the BluRay version is of high quality, detail sharpness is outstanding and the soundtrack fits very well to the pictures.
It is my humble opinion that motion pictures like these are important, to set a contrast to all those movies made for commerce in order to entertain the crowd. It is a fascinating expression of art and for anyone interested in cinematographic art a must see - possibly one of the best works of 2012.
Wolf Town (2011)
Who's afraid of the big baaaa wolf??
Well, this movie does not offer any groundbreaking new story to the genre but it's worth to be seen.
You just should watch it with the right expectations. It's not a Spielberg Blockbuster but it also does not pretend to be.
What you will get is a nice claustrophobic wolf horror feature and people who are afraid of these animals will get scared by all means. The plot is pretty simple and straight forward, but you're not going to watch that for the story anyways. It's all about the very well trained animals who are the true starring actors in this film. Sure, the young "human" actors do their job quite well also. You have the shy loser type, a sweet hottie, the sarcastic fatso and the sporty cool guy and that's all to be known about the main cast. And of course the wolf pack, featuring some pretty nice animal shots.
If you're just looking for some fine animal horror title, playing with the basic fears of most people this might be the right kind of entertainment for you. I really enjoyed it!
Baraka (1992)
Illuminating and fascinating
Despite there being already so much written about this movie, it is yet quite hard to describe its fascination.
It is definitely no popcorn blockbuster with freaky SFX and a thrilling plot.
And I would not call it a documentary, because you expect something completely different when you hear that term.
It is something like a walk through a gallery of paintings, however paintings which are living and actually displaying the reality of our world. No fiction, no directed actors, no storyline.
Besides the gorgeous scenes in this film, it also lives of its cuts. The scene changes are very soft and subtle, but of great power. To offer an example, there is a scene where polish workers in some sort of a factory plant, maybe glass works, are shoveling sand into a big oven. This is pictured in slomo, you can really feel the heat, the exhausting labor of the men and the present smell of burning in the air. Then the image zooms slowly into the fire, still in slow motion until the burning heat takes up the whole picture. And suddenly the location changes to the crematory of Auschwitz, letting you shiver of horror.
After having watched the film you will realize that there indeed is a kind of a plot, the scenes are not randomly combined but in a meaningful order.
I saw this film on Bluray in a pro home theater. And I was really overwhelmed of the brilliant quality of the picture and the sound. This experience is SO intensive, touching and unforgettable. If you ever worried about spending some bucks for a bluray upgrade to your home entertainment system - get this film and you won't regret it.
This one is a timeless masterpiece. There is so much detail inside that you might watch it several times and still being left impressed.