Reviews

Fitzcarraldo, the protagonist, is a dreamer determined to build an opera house in the jungle, while Herzog’s obsession with dragging an enormous ship over a mountain visually symbolizes the film’s core themes. The 40-degree incline and 30-ton vessel make for an unforgettable spectacle.

The film’s success hinges on Kaufman’s originality and unique structuring, which avoids the obscurity of Synecdoche, New York. While packed with symbolism, understanding the plot and cinematic techniques only scratches the surface. Malkovich controls puppets onstage, while Craig controls Malkovich’s mind—a layered commentary on autonomy and identity.

The story progresses without relying on dialogue or supporting characters. Aguirre’s persona is defined primarily by Klaus Kinski’s expressions and physicality. The film shares a thematic connection with Herzog’s other works: humanity’s obsessive pursuit of ambition, no matter the cost.

The film explores women’s survival within marriage, granting the protagonist newfound autonomy by the end. Her sister-in-law mirrors Setsuko Hara’s journey, illustrating the societal constraints on women. The compositions emphasize the fractures and interdependence within familial structures, not unlike Yasujirō Ozu's approach.

Anna Torv’s performance doesn’t disappoint. The narrative skillfully incorporates flashbacks from decades earlier, creating a slow-burning suspense. The absence of clear villains makes the story even more unsettling. The breathtaking scenery is also a major highlight.

The romance in "Heart Eyes" felt contrived, and some conversations are so cringe. The twists were lackluster, and while the film initially made everyone seem like a suspect, the final reveal fell flat. The ending felt more rom-com than horror, and the attempts at humor didn’t quite land.

"One of Them Days" is a must-watch comedy for fans of urban friendship tales. It uses humor to reveal life’s frustrations and pressures, striking a chord with audiences. Amid the laughter, the film underscores the value of friendship, making for an entertaining and heartfelt experience.

The soundtrack is integral to the film’s emotional power. Music, being the least tangible art form, becomes a direct conduit for feeling. The use of Nuevo Tango, with Astor Piazzolla’s blend of classical and jazz, brings vitality and depth, enhancing the film’s visual poetry.

This is a gentle tale of spirits lingering until they can let go of their pasts, while the living find peace and move on. However, the story progresses slowly and becomes increasingly dull as it drags on. The film’s quiet charm becomes tedious by the end.

Director Paul King has given us some of the best family films with PADDINGTON and its sequel. Now taking the reins is first-time director Dougal Wilson with PADDINGTON IN PERU. This takes Paddington and the Brown family to where the bear came from, on a wild and madcap adventure, to find his Aunt Lucy. They have help from two hilarious characters, Reverand Mother (Olivia Coleman), a not-at-all suspicious nun who runs the Home for Retired Bears, and Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas), a very handsome river boat captain. This movie somehow has all of the charm, heart, and marmalade that the previous movies had. Ben Whishaw delivers another impeccable vocal performance as the titular bear. Olivia is having the time of her life, coming from WONKA and WICKED LITTLE LETTERS. Antonio is having a lot of fun with various aspects of this particular character. The story is full of homages to other movies based around a jungle environment. I’ve recently just realized that this franchise revolves around a story of immigration, and how hard it is to go to a new country and find a new home, being a bear or otherwise. This movie focuses on how you can have two homes, one where you’re from and one where you end up. The same concept applies with family. Each movie in this franchise feels like a warm hug and is the perfect escape from the problems of the real world. When the worst thing I can say about your movie is that it’s no PADDINGTON 2, you should still feel proud of what you’ve accomplished here. PADDINGTON IN PERU is the worst of the franchise, but it’s still a fantastic furry film for the whole family.

Set in confined spaces with a simple plot, the film lacks any clear thematic message. It doesn’t focus on redemption or patriotism, and action sequences are sparse, making the endless dialogue feel aimless.

Liverleaf (2018)

The Score: 8 out of 10

Where to watch: VOD

Nozaki Haruka is a new student who just transferred to a new school. Despite being bullied, she is still content with her life. One day her whole world is shattered by an unspeakable tragedy that leaves her broken and embarking on a quest for revenge.

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The Shortcut:

Liverleaf is small town trauma, abuse, and catharsis in a creative and slightly ironic uber-violent style. There’s disturbing content, emotionally heavy moments, and heavy doses of tragedy, all with as much impact as possible. The acting needed a bit of fine tuning, but everything else here makes it a recommendable movie to watch.

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The Long Route:

Liverleaf is quite an experience. Cruelty, abuse, trauma, and sadness abound in this revenge flick.

The story is relatively straightforward in the first half, but becomes much more layered and compact in the second half, with characters beginning to understand not only the consequences of their actions, but also the heavy weight of burden in the roles they play. Everything is written in such a way as to convey the most emotional impact, while also giving scenes of revenge a catharsis of sorts.

The acting could have been better, but it’s not a dealbreaker. Scenes of vengeance have full tilt madness to them thanks in part to the energy the cast puts into it, while the more emotional content occasionally falls flat due to actors not quite hitting the right notes in their performances. Still, it’s fine enough to not ruin the overall film.

Visuals are stylish, and yet take tragedy seriously. You feel the weight of the actions taken by bullies and by Haruka, but you also feel a certain glee during some of the ultra-violent parts as Haruka enacts gory and bloody vengeance. The camera work has a polish and skill that can only be described as expertly tasteful, always giving each scene the most impact it can.

There could have been more to the soundtrack. It’s an overall fine accompaniment to each scene, but never quite adds enough to become more than that. Sound effects, on the other hand, are the perfect balance of crunchy and squishy, especially when violence is on display.

If you want a revenge flick with more, then Liverleaf is definitely for you, and will fill that craving quite nicely.

The Score: 2 out of 10

Where to watch: VOD

A bank robber, civil war doctor, a midwife with a rifle, and a baby are trapped on cursed land, locked in a game of survival against hungry cannibals, a murderous outlaw gang, and the ancient curse of a Wendigo demon.

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The Shortcut:

Blood in Them Hills has an identity problem. It’s sometimes an awful spaghetti western, other times a mediocre supernatural horror, and always terribly executed.

That all said, this has a substantial budget for something so awfully made. I’d be impressed if it wasn’t almost two hours long.

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The Long Route:

There definitely is Blood in Them Hills, but this isn’t done well enough to make it worth watching.

At just a hair short of two hours, there’s still too much story packed in, with too many characters and too many ideas. Pacing is illogical, the characters are bad cliches that were out of date in the 1960’s, whoever wrote this film did the bare minimum of research into anything in the film, and the plot has lazy and predictable twists. Also this film hits my big pet peeve where characters explain what is happening while it’s visibly happening on screen.

The visuals are the most frustrating mixed bag of obvious good budget without a clue as to how to use the money. The cameras are great and everything looks high definition, but the camera work is sloppy and rough, and often way too close to faces and people. Everything is practical effects, but they all look awful and are applied terribly.

It feels like the actors weren’t to blame for their performances, and it was instead the writing that made them so awful. You can tell some of them were trying to enjoy the work they were doing, with emphasis on “trying”.

The music is painfully, insufferably, miserably generic. You can tell there was no money put into the music. Sound effects had effort put in, but also lacked the budget for any crisp detail.

Blood in Them Hills is a film without a clear identity, and a lot of wasted money.

Signal 100 (2019)

The Score: 5 out of 10

Where to watch: Tubi and VOD

A group of high school students are forced into a game where they are hypnotized to commit suìcíde on an unknown command. Where no one is safe from a sudden death, how can they avoid their fates?

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The Shortcut:

Signal 100 is an interesting idea, and it has a concept that goes the full crazy route, but it also unfortunately falls apart under its odd rules and their bizarre logic. It goes full on bonkers in a way that only Japanese films can, but that likely won’t be enough for even those looking for a popcorn horror flick with blood and gore.

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The Long Route:

Signal 100 goes full dark and disturbing, which is great, but a good movie needs much more than just that, even if it only runs at an hour and 30.

The writing starts off promising enough, with some of the main players established quickly, and others that give some odd foreshadowing. Unfortunately it unravels under its own philosophy and rules. The characters are decently grounded, and some of the events are believable under the logic of the movie, but the rest just seems thrown together in an attempt to quickly raise the body count.

Visually, this is quite gory, with quite a few scenes of violent death. The camera work is hit or miss though, with suspense and tension done fine enough, but other scenes filmed without a clear idea of what to get out of them.

The soundtrack is a bit too trashy and melodramatic, even for a high school setting. Several scenes would have been better without a composed piece, and others just needed something better to accompany it. Sound effects have plenty of detail, and add to the various deaths that occur.

The acting is fine, though nothing special, with performances that are just a touch too over the top, even for the disturbing scenario of the film.

Signal 100 isn’t nearly where it should have been as a bonkers horror film. That said, it’s free to watch on Tubi, so at least there’s that.

Esta película muestra que las mujeres mas tímida son las que más proyectan desafío hacia un hombre que nunca nadie le dice que hacer que siempre tiene el control absoluto , me gusta porque en realidad es ella quien lo termina dominando

Shinkai’s portrayal of a teacher-student romance is truly beautiful. The visuals and music is undeniably Shinkai. The rain scenes are especially mesmerizing—hyper-realistic yet more artistically evocative than real life.

The early scenes of the protagonist’s light-hearted time-leaps are charming and humorous. Yet, the climactic scenes feel tedious and uninspired. The romance is shallow, expressed only in words without any emotional weight. The causal logic behind the time-travel sequences feels forced and awkward.

In just 87 minutes, the film vividly brings to life a large family, with no shallow characters in sight. The detailed sets and meticulous framing reflect the strengths of many Japanese directors. The pacing is steady, and the familial conflicts are depicted with depth and originality. The director’s empathy for women and willingness to confront societal issues are also clear.

Though not without flaws, the film is intriguing. When the robot’s intelligence drops to 40%, it mirrors a hopeless romantic’s struggles, subtly highlighting the male lead’s insecurities. He doesn’t want a perfect companion—just someone weaker and more submissive.