Change Your Image
noirsenzacielo
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Still Alice (2014)
Julianne Moore show
I think that my esteem for Julienne Moore was born when I watched movies like "Children of men" or "Far from Heaven", and it reinforces thanks to movies like "The forgotten", "Chloe", "The kids are all right", "What Maise knew", "Don Jon", "Carrie" and "Maps to the star" in which, no matter the level of the film, Julianne Moore shows all her talent. But the movies that made me love this actress are "The great Lebowski" and "Still Alice". Yesterday, to the cinema, I felt in love again with Julianne Moore and her charm. She played a strong, fragile women affected by a premature Alzheimer. This kind of movie risk to show a forced portrait, trying to touch the spectators. "Still Alice" touch the spectator without pathetic scenes or excessive slush. And this thanks to Julianne Moore that perform in a incisive, truthfully way. This is surely the role of the life for this great actress, I hope not the only one.
Into the Woods (2014)
Good main idea, fragmented development
Meryl Streep, Musical and Disney are three of my favorite thinks in the world. In fact the announce of "Into the woods" made me happy and I just couldn't wait to watch it! In addiction I knew that Meryl Streep got her 19th nominations for the Academy Awards. I was out of my mind about watching this film! And yesterday I did
First thought: It starts singing, I love it. Anna Kendrick. Oh she is really cool. I like her. Even Little red riding hood is a type. Meryl
terrific like ever. Second thought: Let see how all of the stories fit together. The song are not very good but maybe they'll get better
but Meryl
Meryl is always perfect! Third thought: All seems to have a too much fast end. The character (Meryl a part) are not very well characterized. Still bad songs. Forth thought: I really like the metaphor of wood as life and witch as unexpected but
this cannot be a reason to a chaotic development of stories and characters. In the end this is a cute story with a good cast. The main theme of the wood is fascinating and the witch is great but it seems to not bear all the other choices and characters of the movie. The whole picture is fragmented and in the musical part there isn't nothing noteworthy but the song "The last midnight".
Nightcrawler (2014)
Brilliant!
"The nightcrawler" represents Dan Gilroy directing debut. He also wrote and produced this movie. This deserve a triple approval. In fact this movie is a cruel, truthful, brilliant portrait of society, that made a picture of the journalism world and the speculation related. A wonderful Jake Gyllenhaal play a cynic, careerist character with talent and credibility. He absolutely deserves at least an Academy Awards nomination! With "Duex jours, une nuit" one of the best movies of this Oscar. Both of this movie have only one nomination. They represent a different, brilliant way to portray a social-moral crisis. I cannot see the same spark in the other real life movie like "The imitation game", "The theory of everything" or "American Hustle".
American Sniper (2014)
Not only a patriotic story
I had very confused expectations about this movie: I adore Clint Eastwood but his late films (Hereafter and J. Edgar) didn't make me fully satisfied. I adore Bradley Cooper too, because I think that he was a surprise in this last years. Despite this the war is not my favorite theme for a movie. Technically "American sniper" is a beautiful movie: I appreciated the shoots, the close-up on the wonderful, expressive eyes of Cooper, the sound effects, the scene in the middle of the sandstorm. Knowing the political thinking of the director, my fear was to see an ode to the war. It isn't. It is a truthful portrait of a man with questionable values. Not a mere story of patriotic ideals.
The Judge (2014)
Good development, fragile ending
Something that upset me it's an actor playing the same type of character in different movies. This made me sometimes hate Johnny Depp because I think that lately he plays caricatures of success roles like Jack Sparrow. This was my idea when I watched the trailer of The judge: a trial version of Iron man! I cannot say that this isn't true, but I can say that this movie isn't only that. Deeply I liked the main character played by Robert Downey Jr. because he managed to represent a very badly covered fragility. The cynicism take plays but it's not the lead. Also enjoyable the second characters like the brothers and the ex girlfriend. Good performance for Robert Duvall, perfect playing of a iron man (the real one). I found very intense the scene of the two main characters in the bathroom and very truthful the relation between grandfather and granddaughter. Maybe the end is not very convincing, according to a movie of 140 mins with a good development. I think that from the last trail scene to the end the film is a bit fragile.
Deux jours, une nuit (2014)
Standing ovation for this masterpiece!
The Dardenne brothers direct a movie with Marion Cotillard that gain an Academy Awards nomination. I just couldn't wait to watch this movie! Despite I didn't watch many movies by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, I appreciate their style and their contribute to portray the reality in a movie. In addiction I have a crush on Marion Cotillard, I think she is full of class and talent. Despite my great expectations this movie was beyond all of them. I can say that "Deux jours, une nuit" is a masterpiece of modern realism. The spectator can touch with the eyes the story of a depressed woman risking to lose her job. A deep realism permeates the sequence in different levels: in a individual level there is a woman fighting against depression, looking at the light after a tunnel but not yet out of it. She still shows disease symptoms like devaluation, feeling of no existing, will of sleep all the time, but she have to stand up for herself and her job and do something hard and harder for a woman in that situation: ask for help. In a family level there are two little kids, the older one shows to recognize the disease of her mother and be afraid of a relapse. In addiction there is a wonderful husband that surely knows how to be supportive with a wife in distress
I loved this relationship! In a social level we have the colleagues of the woman and their different reaction to her questions. Someone is angry, someone else feels regret or compassion. They built alliances and conflicts. At the end the crisis can be an occasion to reborn stronger than before, happy
despite having less than before. Standing ovation for this truthful, wonderful movie.
Whiplash (2014)
A drumming movie!
My run to the Oscar continues with a movie not released yet in Italy, so I haven't heard about it before the nominations. The plot doesn't stimulate my curiosity and the main theme looks not very appropriate for a film with 5 nominations. So I started Whiplash without knowing what to expect to. I have to admit that this is the first candidate movie that awake something more than a cold appreciation in me. It is a fantastic mix of music and images, with a drumming rhythm that takes the spectator with the eyes on the screen for all the time. This dynamic rhythm is reflected also in the acting and in the psychological fight between the two main characters. I loved the meanness of J. K. Simmons remembering me the atmosphere of Full metal jacket. In conclusion I found Whiplash a brilliant movie, very entertaining and engaging.
The Theory of Everything (2014)
Another genius on the screen
This year is in fashion to show the hard story of the modern genius. After The imitation game, telling about the story of Alan Turing and his machine, I have watched "The theory of everything" and the comparison is absolutely inevitable. I start saying that I found both of the movies a bit overrated. I have already talked about the first one in the related review, so I'll talk only about the second. The theory of everything is an enjoyable film, with a very good cast. I found it more truthful than The imitation game, less ad hoc constructed: the acting is less superficial, the dialog are more natural. I liked very much the two main characters, inevitably the male one most. Some scenes are full of emotion but not many as I expect by a drama like this. It could be better but remains a good job.
Boyhood (2014)
A big realistic work
Yesterday my run to watch the nominees to the Academy Awards starts officially! I decided to see one of the most discussed film of this year: Boyhood. Richard Linklater and the cast have worked to this movie for 12 years: this is a big innovation in the silver screen. We don't see the succession of different actors to portray the development of a character in the time, or tricks to make the actors look younger or older. This dresses the movie of a untouchable trace of modern realism. And the realism, in my opinion, is the best weapon of this film: the creator choose of not showing a 12 year shocking tale, but simply a boy normal life. This can be appreciated or not, by makes this movie noteworthy objectively. And I think that the director deserves recognition at least. Regarding the cast I like very much Patricia Arquette, the most changed adult actress on the screen, playing a truthful character, active to fight for conciliate her life of women and mother. Another time I cannot say that I'm completely impressed by this movie, but I recognize that this is a big work by someone that have something to say and know how do his job.
The Imitation Game (2014)
Nomination. Nomination everywhere!
Nomination. Nomination everywhere for "The imitation game" and Benedict Cumberbatch! So I was very curious of watching one of the more discussed film of this season. This movie half-surprised me, and half-thrill me. I was quite bipolar indeed. For the first stage I thought I was looking a particularly dramatic episode of The big bang theory. The connotation of the character as a cold genius unrelated with social norms, without humor and so on
it's very in fashion in this period. Keira Knightley in addiction was very similar to herself: I like her but in my opinion there is a gap between her and a real star. She is always charming, and convincing but
something misses! The secondary character are not characterized very well: they seem to change behavior without a individual development. The second part of the movie is better than the first. The rhythm of the movie becomes faster and the focus move on the drama of the War. The theme of Turing homosexuality was what I like most, maybe because unexpected. This part of the character was debated very well, as one of the characteristics of the character, not the only one. At the end I appreciated this movie, despite I don't think it's a masterpiece, because it is a portrait of a great personality that the general public deserves to know.
The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009)
It didn't shake us so much!
I watched this movie because of the insane curiosity of a friend of mine that introduced the film as one of the most splatter ever. This created a big expectation in my group of friends – in both positive and negative way – as big as necessary to make a big boy faint at the 40th minute (when nothing was already happened). In addition to create a funny story to pass on posterity, The human centipede didn't shake me or my friends (fainted one apart) so much. I wouldn't call this movie a splatter, because the bloody scenes are not many. I think that what upset of this film is the general idea: a horrible, inhuman, insane mutilation with no reason. And this can be its strongest and the worst point at the same time. A part from this I found nothing of noteworthy in this movie: I saw better and worse horror movies.
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
Cold enthusiasm
Recently I have watched classic movies after a long period, adoring movies like "The apartment" or "Witness for the prosecution" by great directors like Billy Wilder. Despite this "The bad and the beautiful" by Vincente Minnelli didn't revive my enthusiasm for this kind of movie. I got the impression of understanding the main character after a few minutes from the beginning of the film: the three point of view, expressed by flashback , were only a repeating with no new elements or surprises. In my opinion this make the movie predictable and the three other character not very interesting. After all I cannot say that "The bad and the beautiful" is a bored film. The climate of that year is fascinating and the actors are very good. It remain a noteworthy work for being a truthful silver screen pictures of that years.