xmutee Reviews

Valley of the Gods (2019)

Arizona Dream without Goran Bregovic soundtrack

[5/10 · 1 August 2020]

Not bad, not memorable either. "Art nuveao" cinematography, form over substance. Like a splash of paint on a canvas that's supposed to mean whatever the viewer wants. Well acted and directed at times, clumsy at other. A better soundtrack would have helped such a project, but worth a watch.

The Roads Not Taken (2020)

Sally Potter is diabolical with this one!

[10/10 · 14 April 2020]

I should be giving this one a one star rating, for putting us through what it puts us... But then I would just be a neo-nazi ape, setting boundries on art. So it's a well deserved tenner! Warning: if you are slightly above monkey level brain-wise this will hit you right in the guts and it will take you quite a bit to catch your breath back... You'll relive and review your life from the very first piece of memory you can recall. Same idea in a totally different fashion as a screenplay I meant to write some 15 years ago, gave up after an amateur writer discouraged me. Thank you Sally for doing this and proving the naysayers wrong! The cast does not need my praise, they are all heavy hitters and they perform as such. This gem is a piece of intellectual delight, which I do not recommend to everyone.

The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)

This is not for the viewrs... It's for the producers.

[10/10 · 13 January 2020]

This is not for the viewers, it's for the producers, which I cannot address any other way. But perhaps Amazon can... It's a wonderful movie that I've watched countless times over the years. One of my desert island movies! The magnetism between the protagonists is amazing! So why not a sequel to it? They are all alive and well, little older of course, but a good writer could find a story that suited them in their current state. Performancewise they'd be all as good as new, for sure! Including Ms. Cañadas... I hope. Would be great to see a twist on an already fantastic story told so flawlessly the "second time"!

Pain and Glory (2019)

Go watch it! Or get it on Amazon. Or just "get it"...

[1/10 · 11 January 2020]

Just to see with your own eyes how terrible it is! I am an Almodovar fanboy, if I can say that at my age... But this is the worst Almodovar ever! Yes, it has a lot of red, his trademark, but nothing else. A waste of cast, brilliant and expensive! Never thought I could, with my own hand, give an Almodovar less than a 10-er. I now stand corrected. Don't want to include any spoilers, watch it on Amazon and make up your own mind. A disgrace for Almodovar's career!

A Rainy Day in New York (2019)

Watch it and laugh! Forget about the reviews (even mine)...

[9/10 · 5 December 2019]

It's the Maestro's "back to the grassroots". And this is what we love him for! I don't understand why this movie was censored, unless I just watched a heavily edited version of it... Like other reviewers said (sadly, in a negative way) there is nothing new here. It's what Mr. Allen has been taking the at all his life, human stupidity and duplicity! The weak link here is not Selina, she was edible in all her takes, but the male lead! Weak! This Timoth... what's his name, does not have the juice. This was a part written for Mr. Allen's "boy", Jesse Eisenberg. All alomg the movie I imagined how Eisenberg would have played this or that scene... Bringing a punch to it and spicing it up with the good'oll Woody Allen spastic-paranoia! He would have killed, given the material at hand! For the life of me I will not understand why this part wasn't given to him. This is the only reason it's getting a niner and not a tenner from me. Otherwise, beautiful directing, as expected, solid acting from all cast (appart from the male protagonist, like I said) and the funniest Woody Allen rides you've had in a long time!

Red Devil (2019)

No, no! Don't listen to the naysayers, watch it!

[9/10 · 1 December 2019]

They bash it because it doesn't fit in a genre? Why does art have to fit in anything? OK, I'll give them a genre, it's "fish&chips western"! Fresh and new! We've had "spagetti westerns" and they were successful, now somebody is brave enough to bring a new genre and that's what I call it. The script is very solid! Funny as hell at times (Pot growing junkie: "- What's wrong with my life? I'm a self-employed businessman. See, I'm one of this country's... interpreters." Imaginary friend: "You mean entrepreneur" Pot growing junkie: "Yeah, whatever"), bluntly realistic at others (depicting drug addiction at it's worst and the lengths an addict would go to get his hit). It hints at a lot and embraces multiple influences: "Natural Born Killers"- like lead characters, "Guy-Ritchie"- like philosophying underworld characters, Robert Rodriguez gore (and bombshell female lead!!!), "Ennio Morricone"- like score and I'm certain many more that I've missed on my first view. Acting is top notch! Upcoming talent and heavy-hitters alike. I mean, you have Steven Berkoff in it... 'Nuff said! Everybody did their job and made the characters believable. Photography was also good and speed was at junkie pace. Nothing wrong with this movie, got me from the first five minutes! Great "Fish&Chips Western"! Welcome a new genre!

Anna (II) (2019)

Come on peeps, can't take a bit of tongue-in-cheek?

[9/10 · 19 September 2019]

Yes, the tech mash-up was there, but it was obviously deliberate! You reckon Besson is not old enough to remember the 80'? He is! He knows there were no cell phones, no thin laptops, no 21st century Mercedes and H3C Chinese routrers or hard disks as we know them today (back then a hard disk unit was the size of a washing machine and the disk itself was a stack of platters weighing 10 pounds, with a handle on the top and the size of a birthday cake). USB? Forget about it (like Depp said...)! Not just in the USSR, anywhere!

But hey, it's OK for Spiderman to do the he does (not possible in our universe), but not OK for Besson to tackle a bit of sarcasm? Or you forgot what that means?

Actually, for what it is (a fantasy-action flick) it'a quite enjoyable and entertaining. Direction excellent, acting top notch (yes, the is not only a hot model turned actress, surprisingly she can act too) and the plot is super and airtight (if you care to follow it and not focus on the cell phones and such).

If you want historic accuracy, then watch a documentary. This is not for you. But if you're looking for Besson entertainment give it a watch. Worth it! Bet you didn't bash "Atomic Blonde" for all the historic innaccurracies cuz it had Bowie soundtrack (yeah, it got to me too...). But from that standpoint, it was just as "bad". Or was it?!

Get a grip, watch it for what it is and sod the naysayers. No, Besson should not retire, he should keep at it!

I give it a solid niner, just because the tenner always belongs to "Leon". Yes, another Besson flick, his best ever and a desert island movie.