Tino85 Reviews

Veronika Decides to Die (2009)

Glorious!

[10/10 · 14 November 2009]

I just watched the movie at a film festival in Sofia, Bulgaria.

First of all the the music in the movie (especially when Veronika plays the piano) is very moving and really dragged me into the emotions of the scenes. It is so intense as if Veronika's inner world and feelings were my own.In my opinion Sarah Michelle Gellar did a great job conveying the personality of the character to the viewer.

Many people have read the book and I think that many will find the adaptation quite successful. As with other books made into movies, it is not as detailed as the original, but it is surely as intense and emotional.

As for criticism, somehow I find the role of the doctor somewhat secondary, there wasn't much interaction between the two of them. I was also a little surprised at how abrupt the movie ended at first, but as I think of it, a 30 minute ending would do more harm than good.

And the message is what is the most important part, it is something that all of us should be reminded about. And in contrast to other films with great messages, this one has a rich atmosphere that compels you to watch and watch and watch.

I guess more of Paulo Coelho's books will be made into movies, but I hope the adaptation is at least as good as this one.

Superman Returns (2006)

Is Hollywood so desperate?

[4/10 · 4 August 2006]

I just don't get it.How is it that you go to the cinema to watch an entertaining movie, and the only thing you get for your money is boredom? The main downside of the movie is the length. The genre is action/adventure/fantasy... but in 60% of the time nothing really happens. The action is mediocre, though the visual/audio effect are awesome. Lex Luthor is annoying(they've ruined the character), although Kevin Spacey did his acting superb. It's just like Chronicles of Narnia(which is neither movie for children, nor for grown-ups). You go to see some action, you get instead drama and some flying.

Actually if I weren't with company, I would've left the cinema in the first 10 to 15 minutes. I also tried to sleep through it, but the air conditioner was keeping the room too cold.

Bottom line: i seriously doubt that any non-die-hard fan would like it. If the movie was 110 minutes, it would be quite good.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

Great Idea, Poor implementation

[6/10 · 18 June 2005]

This movie starts powerful, but unfortunately, as the plot develops, the anticipation decreases. At the end the viewer is bored with 'brainless' action, that we have been seeing since the second Rambo movie (the first didn't have so much shooting).

The cast is good, Pitt and Jolie give life to their characters, but it takes much more than two good actors to create a good film.

The final shooting scene kept me asking, is there a gunfight, or am I watching someone playing Half-Life 2 with god mode on? This movie lacks balance. The bad guys look pathetic, they look as if they haven't held a gun before, much less used it. It's just the late Hollywood tendency, not to care about plausibility, but just brainless action, and the more, the better.

Bottom line : Mr. and Mrs. Smith is an entertaining movie. It has several ingenious moments, a good idea, great effects, nice camera-work, but come on, the bad guys are supposed to be pros :) . But don't expect to see something like "Face/Off", simply because you won't.