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Clean (2021)
a waste of time , and a waste of Adrian Brody's talent . its vibing a little like a john wick replica.
Nothing feels right in this movie . The characters don't have a cinematic bond or too much of a personal charm to them . They are all capable actors , but when you mix them in a fogged tale which just doesn't feel true , it comes out a mess .
The worst thing about the movie is Adrian Brody as an ex-junky / ex- family man raising a daughter alone while doing hard drugs at night (whaaatt?) / kinda weird satanic type ruthless hit man . I really appreciate Adrian Brody . One of the best actors . But he just doesn't fit the criminal depicted in Clean . Maybe he could have fitted a hit man's role , but not like the one depicted here . They took the assassin character too much far out without adapting this exaggeration to his environment , his overall look and behavior .
I don't think a hit man mainly using a pipe wrench would get very far in real life . Its really heavy you know , and he's using a big one too .after swinging that thing 1 time even Arnold Schwarzenegger would need a 5 minutes brake and a glass of water to catch his breath . Further more the fight scenes just don't look authentic or special in any way .
And a word about the john wick popularity thing . I liked the first john wick . The ones after were ok for a production that rich and high value . But with that been said , I don't even think john wick wants to be john wick for other reasons beyond money . I don't understand why Brody would even try this unreal , one dude killing a thousand with one gun , wrench and a screwdriver stuff . Of course john wick has a kinda real feeling to it . It's the best depiction maybe of a god-mode unreal killer like that , but it doesn't even come close on Clean . And just why ? John wick movies are detailed , but don't have too much depth to them , 80% of the time wick is killing people in horrendous ways just to keep the thing going because there isn't any story really, mainly talking about the second and 3rd movies . That's why I liked the first one , if some idiot would kill your dog in vein I would consider that a good reason to go after him and his entire crime syndicate family . But the second ? And the third ? Is this about the dog anymore ? You killed like 10000 people man . I consider the dog avenged for way before that . Use one of those coins to go to south America and have some peace , or pronounce yourself batman dude .
Sorry about this runt , but these kind of movies make me believe modern cinema is going in bad directions . Its just about the violence in this movies , like killing someone with a screwdriver is cool or something ? The story is a lot less important , at least make the story feel real and detailed .
Adrian Brody has a nice and a bit naïve demeanor to him , and in the parts of Clean when he's a good guy , it looks natural . But when he starts killing in unnecessary ways , it loses any realness . He's in a house with 10 mafia guys , and 3 of the guys have just knifes ? Also the use of a shotgun inside a house for so long ....aeeww.... not very believable . He even calls them ahead because it doesn't matter how many mafia guys are there , 10 or a 100 , he's gonna take them all out . So sure of himself .
Best actors in Clean is Chandler DuPont (Dianda) and RZA as the pawn shop guy . The connection between them and Brody seems real . With the rest of the characters Brody just doesn't seem to have a good or bad connection .
Into the Abyss (2011)
Sincere , direct and important documentary , researching about a horrible triple murder committed by two felons , its aftermath , and all those affected
The interviewer asks sincere questions and pushing towards the deepest emotional depths of all involved . We have gotten used to many documentaries and reality shows now days , that show the interview as if there is no interviewer . I think that's to make a point of objectiveness , as if the interviewer has no importance .
This is a meth , in my opinion . The interviewer is a person too , and follows and escorts his topic , sometimes to very deep levels . I really liked the fact the interviewer's questions are filmed and heard . He is as objective as you can get , with still staying awake, emotional and affected by the answer's he is getting . His views are visible to the viewer at times , but in a way that doesn't lead or change the answers . He is deeply affected by all this , as any human would.
This documentary poses a deep and truthful testimony and accounting of poverty , crime , incarceration , lack of basic education , gun control , drug & alcohol epidemic use affects , the victims of heinous crimes and the death penalty .
There are many "documentaries" and different reality shows showing life of incarcerated people , their day to day life's and even some showing the "jungle of crime" mentality going on there where the strong eat the weak . These shows seems like they don't really care about understanding criminals and very bad life choices , their outcome and destruction they cause to everything around them ,but seem only to try and exploit them .
Into the Abyss is one of the only films that goes deeper then ever on this topics , by just talking frankly and sincerely with everyone involved , in a caring way . Not because interest , curiosity , or any affection to these hard topics , but for understanding and caring about all . Not all questions raised by the film are answered , as it is in life . Many things are deemed to be this way , especially when talking about these very sensitive , sad and hurtful events and subjects.
The depth of the interviews are multi generational and broads to investigators , friends , family , people that met and know well all the effected , and even the priest and person preforming the sentence . Because this profound insight , the viewer can get a deep understanding of all of the involved across an era of many decades . From childhood , to their family members and friends , to their parents talking about the life choices and circumstances they think affected and caused these events .
Into the Abyss is a perfect documentary , referring to the simplicity and directness the interviews and insights are made . The creators and interviewer film everything of importance , ask the questions anyone would have had , and just stand aside and let the camera and those affected make the documentary .
As "simple" as that sounds , I haven't seen any documentary letting the viewer really dive that deep head first into these issues of American society , and the world . To some extent I think everywhere in the world will become like America one day . The issues there are important and relevant to anywhere in the world . And are shared to different extents by everyone. I think This world is interconnected in a deep way , and the documentary shows that and feels personal like that , even if you are not from the USA , that is of no importance.
In my opinion one of the best documentaries ever made . Its a hard topic as hard topics get . Watching it from start to finish is hard . It stays with you forever and spins in your head with thoughts , sadness and contemplation of everything that happened and talked about in Into the Abyss .
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
One of the best and unforgettable films ever , an amazing cinematic feat that takes one of the highest places of cinema , a must watch !
This review is probably redundant given this is an all-time classic . I'm no cinema expert , but do consider cinema created between 1975 - to about the late 90's the gold era of cinema . Once Upon a Time in America is no doubt one of the greatest films of that era .
This film has it all . Distorted childhood , crime & violence , love , corruption , friendship , patriarchal America (and world) to borderline and direct abuse of woman abundant at those times , to old romance , and evolving characters which the film accompanies from childhood to old age . The film achieves all that in about 3 hours , a feat hard enough that even TV series's features today with many seasons don't deepen to .
The film jumps from the character's life's in the 30's , to the 50's ( just guessing ) and to the 80's with beautiful and unique visual appearance of both place and character , which makes it one of the most authentic feeling films ever . Those times are presented at times in a shocking unapologetic way , which only contributes to the film's realness . Once upon a time shoves the old poverty , crime and those cruel and confused , but still beautiful times in the viewers face in the most direct way . The criminals , the violent ,the rich & corrupt , the rapists , and those caught in between are presented without hesitation and without deviation , in a bustle of a city of colliding interests both cruel , criminal and humane .
In contrary , with some characters the film does present a lot of gray lines and margins for the viewer . Can a criminal killing , stealing and raping be somewhat good ? Is his actions more understandable because of the time , place or the people involved ? Once upon a time has the viewer jumping from love , to hate , to pity , to understanding them . By the time the film is finished , you will be pondering for days about the special characters , and your affection & hate and understanding towards them . It says allot about life at that time , maybe you can feel all of those towards the characters ? And maybe after days you have a headache from overthinking about it , and feel little of all of those feelings ? In the end , I think personally I just accepted the story , the characters and the good and bad they went trough as it is , like they were real .
To sum it all , the acting by all is epic , all aspects of the film are detailed to an uncompromising level . The characters involved feel real , deep , and the film leaves you with a very high level of perceived acquaintanceship with the time and characters , to an extant you find yourself missing an era , place and people you never knew , lived or experienced .
Yes , it's a must watch , no doubt about it .
Fury (2014)
American might ,power and perseverance in WWII trough the eyes of a tank crew pushed to the corners of war
Fury is a very decent war film , full of detail , suspense and a very talented cast . As you would expect from a high production like that , it looks visually accurate and impressive . From the weapons to the clothes , and especially in the violent and gruesome depiction of that war , as body parts , blood and death are featured in almost every scene .
The main event of the film in the final part , although suspenseful and full of action and heroism , its the only thing that kinda ruins it for Fury to be fully complete and sound . Although its beautifully preformed , from the plot perspective and judging by the whole film , it represents a change of mind set for the film which turns more actiony then truly only about the war .
Overall , a great suspenseful and visually stunning war film . Almost impossible to stop watching once you hit play . Further more , tanks and their crews are a very crucial part of any war , and tend to be forgotten and less "popular" among society and war films . Even In real armies , ground forces can forget how dependable they are on tanks , until a combat situation accrues , and they literally cant move without them . Because of that its an important film when you consider there isn't much movies about tank warfare in the war genre .
Spoilers from now on
The best and most accurate and special parts of the film :
1. The taking of a German town still occupied by German forces - in this part the tank commander takes the new tank recruit to relax and have a moment to himself in a "civilized" manner , in the apartment of a German woman and her young cousin . The most beautiful thing here is how detailed , humane and responsible the tank commander is depicted , trying to hold on to small human gestures and good will , although realizing this is all a small game soon to be shattered by the place , situation and mentality that he's surrounded by . Although probably a little naively depicted and with a gruesome ending . Its one of the best parts of the film and just feels real and unique .
2. Brad pit's performance , the detailed tank commander character and the inter-relationship between the tank crew - very detailed and well played by all the characters , from the arrival of the new recruit to the tank until he's changed and one of the guys . It's a very nice analogy to how people can change for different reasons by the situation , and mainly by care for their friends . They went a little far when he would rather die then kill an enemy soldier ( not very believable considering he's in Germany in this late stage of the war , but anything could have happened there , I guess ). This is of course one of the most important and great things about this film .
The downsides of the film :
1. The ending is too simple - the last tank gets to its destination , and soon after attacked by hundreds of soldiers . Although this maximizes the hero motive of few against many , something is missing from it . Cant put my finger on it , maybe the combat scenes , maybe the short period from silence to storm , not sure , but some realness was lost and the film felt like it transitioned to a somewhat fictional war film in that part . Also , the way Norman the new recruit gets to avoid death doesn't seem real . The German forces were considered very professional and ruthless . Considering this soldier has just seen most of his friends perish , he's reaction doesn't seem likely (also from fear of getting caught by his fellow soldiers) . Should have just make him cover himself in mud and play dead .
2. although they are cinematic gods and among some of my favorite actors , Jon Bernthal and Michael Pena didn't really fit in this film 100% . Not sure why , maybe because they played in so much features I have watched (some recently) , could be because their acting stayed close to their own character (not a bad thing and talking mostly in Fury ). And it could even be their hair cut and overall clothes and the way they talked in the film . But something didn't go 100% with this . Also plot-wise and unrelated to the way they act , it felt like the tank commander appreciated them , but was also used to them been around . His relationship with them didn't rise up to a true friendship and care like it looked with "Bible" and Norman , the new recruit . Of course this is also effected a lot by the scenes they were apart of and their lines , and also by the tank commander.
The Deer Hunter (1978)
A deep journey to the heroes in the frontlines , the unorganized and randomness of war , human tragedy , loss of sanity and giving up .
The deer hunter goes trough extreme lengths to make the viewer really get to know the heroes involved and the small industrial town they dwell in . It shows their life in great detail and realness , and although their life is relatively simple and on the outskirts of American society ( If one can ever say that about someone ) , The deer hunter succeeds to show the extreme beautifulness and complexity of their life's . Working in the factory , getting drunk in the bar after , getting married to one another and having these small fights and dilemmas with love and youthful naivety . Their lives are connected one with the other in a way even they don't realize and understand .
I think the reason this movie is a Hugh classic , is the realness of it all . Just watching the first part and getting to know the characters , No other way to say it , it feels so real , like they're not even acting .
More over, The dear hunter is a very different movie in the landscape of war cinema . Mainly because it shows the deepest depths of war , with minimal depiction of war . The combat and violence in the movie can get harsh in some scenes , but still , they achieve the movie's goal with showing only the violent scenes that changed the character's lives to the core . In my opinion , that in it self is a message . Its like the film itself is disgusted by war and suffers from PTSD. It shows only what it has to show , like its hard for the movie to talk about it . This film gets no joy from showing the viewers the violent events . But when it does the violence is presented as it is in life , sad , helpless and horrible .
It's a movie that makes you stop wishing for naïve heroism . It's a movie that shows there is no such thing as a "simple" or "boring" or "small" life .its about the fact that human complexity , love ,youthfulness , naivety and the search for love are shared by every human being and found anywhere . Its about amazing actors acting better then life . And most of all it's a true classic , way way ahead of its time , and still very relevant to this day .