My favourites of the #Berlinale14 festival in reverse order: 10. IF YOU DON'T, I WILL 9. STATIONS OF THE CROSS 8. '71 7. PRAIA DO FUTURO 6. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS 5. THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL 4. IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE 3. BOYHOOD 2. CALVARY 1. SNOWPIERCER MACONDO ★★★☆☆ Solid and engaging growing pains immigration drama. Character interactions are the standout. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST ★★☆☆☆ Vincent Cassel-Léa Seydoux How could the director of BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF make something so lame? THE LITTLE HOUSE ★½☆☆☆ Utterly bland period melodrama. Hugely disappointing from director Yoji Yamada. CALVARY ★★★★★ Wow. Language use extraordinary. Is there a film more obsessed with death since Bergman's THE SEVENTH SEAL? NO MAN'S LAND ★★½☆☆ Elements of other movies (KEKEXILI; U TURN) in an entertaining chase flick, which doesn't add up to much. The moral of NO MAN'S LAND seems to be: If you're a criminal lawyer, don't defend murderous, falcon-stealing douche bags. BOYHOOD ★★★★★ Anyone making a coming-of-age movie must be weeping to follow this. Linklater's most melancholy-tinged work. WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS ★★★★½ Hilarious vampire mockumentary, from the FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS team. Asked why vampires like drinking virgins' blood, Vladislav (Jemaine Clement) deadpan replies, "Would you eat a sandwich someone had fucked?" THE THIRD SIDE OF THE RIVER ★★★☆☆ Unnecessary obfuscation. Great ideas, but not quite coherent. Climax is as if from another movie. ALOFT ★☆☆☆☆ Connelly - Murphy - Laurent - Chaplin. Imagine KES with magical mystic bits, and without social commentary. Dross. BLACK COAL, THIN ICE ★★★☆☆ Truth & murder. Funny-sinister-bizarre. Will have to dig to find a point, other than as an entertainment. INBETWEEN WORLDS ★½☆☆☆ Yawn. Another war flick that offers too little new about the theatre of combat, or the human condition. PRAIA DO FUTURO ★★★★★ Excellent! Futility and fragility. Lifeguards and motocross bikers. Directed with confident skill. STRATOS ★★☆☆☆ By the numbers gangster/hitman flick. Would be half as long, but every character has to constantly repeat lines. CESAR CHAVEZ ★★★☆☆ Peña-Malkovich-Ferrera-Dawson-Bentley Important but artless. A step back for Luna as director after ABEL. BLIND MASSAGE Great intentions & compelling start. But shifts to melodrama. Is no BLACK SUN. IN ORDER OF DISAPPEARANCE [stars embargo till world prem] Revenge, revenge, revenge. GET CARTER meets HEADHUNTERS. Hilarious. LIFE OF RILEY ★½☆☆☆ Alain Resnais takes tediousness to a level beyond last project, YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET. Weak theatrical stylistics. #Berlinale IN THE COURTYARD Catherine Deneuve comedy concerning mental illness, which does not demean the subject. Funny, with a melancholic sting. The magnificent HER, directed by Spike Jonze, and starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson, is out in the UK this Friday.
My review: http://www.filmaluation.com/her.html Crummy dance comedy CUBAN FURY is out on Friday.
My take on it: http://www.filmaluation.com/cuban-fury.html CARRIE ➡️ BREAKING THE WAVES ➡️ STATIONS OF THE CROSS ★★★★½ Composed evisceration of religious oppression. NYMPHOMANIAC: VOLUME I [long version] ★★★½☆ The first part of Lars von Trier's sex opus played uncut yesterday. Surprisingly playful. Stellan Skarsgård is the essential element. Loquacious erudition, but nagging sense of lack of depth. HISTORY OF FEAR ★½☆☆☆ Not close to being an epitome of such a bold title. Sub-sub-Michael Haneke THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY [stars embargo until world premier] Mildly disappointing directorial debut of Hossein Amini (DRIVE, THE WINGS OF THE DOVE). Viggo Mortensen and Oscar Isaac fight over underused Kirsten Dunst. |
This website is written by Hemanth Kissoon.
Filmaluation is dedicated to arts culture, with a particular focus on film. I care about intelligence, quality and entertainment. Need some movie and TV show recommendations? See the drop down to the right of the Home tab. Enjoy. The vital ambitions of art and entertainment: - Perceptiveness - Illumination - The unexpected - Innovation Brains and soul are key; but adrenaline junkies do not fret, there is also much love for an experience that delivers a sucker-punch to the guts via stunningly delivered thrills. Noun, “filmaluation”: The evaluation of a film Verb, "to filmaluate”: To evaluate a film I am well aware how difficult it is to make a film, put on a stage play, create a television show, write a novel, let alone make something of note. (That appreciation doesn’t stop me from having high standards though.) This online magazine is edited by Hemanth Kissoon. Filmaluation is owned by Filmaluation Limited (Company number 8549302. Registered in England and Wales) Archives
February 2024
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