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Reviews
Touching the Void (2003)
A gripping documentary that tells a compelling story of adventure and survival better than any narrative film, and without the need for crazy stunts or special effects.
Touching the Void is a true story. It is all true. It is unbelievable, yet it is true nonetheless. It is a crazy story, and it is all true. It is told in a very straightforward documentary style. There is nothing groundbreaking about the visuals or the editing or anything like that. But it is told so skillfully as to instill such a sense of wonder and curiosity and suspense within the viewer. Yes, that's right, suspense! In a documentary? Well yes, as a matter of fact it is very suspenseful, more so than any Hitchcock film I might add. Even if you know the ending. And the filmmakers pull it off so brilliantly precisely because we are made to care about the subject of the documentary and his final outcome, because we know it is all true.
Le quattro volte (2010)
A slow film that tells a story in a unique way, succeeding in many area while failing in others, and falling just short of its apparent goal of achieving something meaningful.
The makers of this film took a worthy stab at telling a different kind of story which is apart from the mainstream. I believe it is a story about mankind and mother nature and being in harmony with all that is around us, but it is hard to tell. Unfortunately the filmmakers did not make that clear for us. Many viewers will undoubtedly find beauty in this film about goats and trees. I don't know if I found true beauty in it, but I did enjoy many moments. Others felt slow and tedious. It feels very "artistic." However I do believe this film has a purpose. For those who are interested in seeing what foreign cinema has to offer but are turned off by the idea of having to read burdensome subtitles the whole time, this is a film for you. There is no dialogue and nothing to read. So if you like slow films and don't like reading, perhaps you will find true beauty here. Or if you just want to zone out for an hour and a half or like looking at paintings, because this film is a lot like a painting in many ways.
Freedom State (2006)
An interesting experiment that raises more questions than it answers while frustrating the audience, yet it still manages to succeed in several areas, while failing in others.
Freedom State is a independent film about a special needs group who take a road trip in what is evidently some kind of happy post apocalyptic world. We do not get much backstory at all nor many of the facts. Was there indeed an apocalypse? And who are these people? In the end it does not matter. The film is quite short (just under an hour) and while many scenes are frustrating to say the least, there are some truly fun moments as well. The story almost does not matter. There is some truly wonderful camerawork and genuinely good acting. However there is some bad acting as well. It is not for all tastes, so you have been warned.
Lo imposible (2012)
A beautifully made disaster film with a wonderful story of family and hope that far surpasses in every way any other film that has previously tried accomplish the same thing.
This is a great international production with a great story and cast. I do believe that they put a great deal of effort into not only researching the facts of these kinds of disasters but then also implementing that research and making the film look totally accurate and strikingly beautiful, if that can be said of a disaster film. They finely honed their script and it payed off in bundles. The acting is absolutely perfect and the story is pitch perfect. It's captivating and sucks you in from the first frame to the last. This is a film everyone should watch it's that good. I took off points because there are other films that are better but I do believe that as far as the disaster genre goes, they did the maximum they could with it.
Beats (2019)
A great up-close and personal look into a piece of recent history that most of us know nothing about and never would have been able to appreciate had this film not been made.
You'd be doing yourself a favor not to read anything regarding the plot on this one. It might turn you off and then you'd miss out on a great movie. The subject matter is one that a lot of folks might have an interest in, but it's not exactly the mainstream, so the "topic" of this film, or what it appears to be in the synopsis, may only appeal to a select group. The film is for everyone, however. It's a wonderful and well-told story about people. The film is very well-made from every aspect and it is a very impressive work. It is very good and very enjoyable.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
An amazing and thought provoking film about so much more than the premise suggests that can teach us all something about life, respect, hope, and how all films should be made.
The Shawshank Redemption is without a doubt the greatest film that had ever been made I have viewed it multiple times over the years and it never gets old. It is the story of a man imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, and then he must try with all he can to escape from there. It is a story we've seen or heard a thousand times. It is nothing new. And that is the beauty of it. We think we're here to see the same old story yet again, however, it will shock and surprise you as it unfolds. It is a story of brotherhood behind bars, of an unlikely friendship that last a lifetime, and, of redemption.
The Tree of Life (2011)
A great example of pretentious, overlong drivel that serves no purpose except to depress and waste the valuable time and money of all who watched it; shouldn't have been made.
It feels like someone had a bad idea for a movie and everyone around them just went along with it because it was a respected filmmaker. No one bothered at any stage to point out the fact that the idea was terrible, and as a result they all wasted their time on it. And it looked like it took a long time to make it. The only things that made this movie even watchable were the good acting and the visuals, which were actually pretty good at certain points. That is the only reason I gave it a 4/10 stars instead of just a 1 star rating. It is very bad though, despite those things, which as good as they are still fail to save this sinking ship. It is not worth watching for any reason. Sorry.
Unsane (2018)
Another film shot on an iPhone trying to be something great for that reason, although it's been done so much already that it's no longer special, and usually it's done better.
Unsane is an interesting idea about a young woman who get committed to an insane asylum against her will. But that's about as far as the good stuff goes. You should just watch the trailer because the film itself doesn't offer much else. It gets very boring very fast. Despite a relatively short running time of an hour and a half this still feels long, more like three hours or more. Word to the wise: if your going to shoot a film on an iPhone maybe they're good enough that they'll still look all right, but you still need to have a good story and an idea that is interesting enough to last the whole running time.