Reviews

The few improvements in this second entry of the next gen Oddworlds are better graphics, the crafting system and maybe the plot.

The graphics are actually impressive, especially during the cutscenes; the crafting adds depth to the game, even though some items are redundant are rarely used; finally the plot thickens, or better, promises to thicken. If you are a fan of the series and gladly withstand the slowness of the cutscenes, you'll be rewarded at the end with some hints to future developments in a possible sequel.

Unfortunately the game is quite frustrating due to clumsy controls and glitches here and there, which become infuriating if you are trying to get the platinum trophy.

Such a compelling courtroom & crime movie with solid direction and acting. This movie offers a very convincing, almost perfect glimpse behind the curtains of the legal system, throwing shade at every level involved: no heroes or evil is clearly defined, therefore justice is necessarily a compromise.

The main character is a lawyer and is also the one being probed, and this puts a twist to the genre. His defense and the solution of the crime are therefore connected, which keeps the tension quite high.

What I found particularly outstanding is how the ending is managed, quite surprising and memorable. Definitely among the best of its genre!

Generally speaking Disney animation tends to be great because it appeals to both the little ones and the grown ups, however I've found this movie to be prominently childish.

It is made of three segments, of which only the second had the right amount of silliness to make me laugh (Piglet always gets me). The first segment was just uninteresting, and in the third one I was rooting for grumpy Rabbit because Tigger is just obnoxious.

I will give credit to this movie anyway because of two reasons: first, for kids it is just an outstandingly positive and happy movie, so heartwarming and cozy. Second, that final scene just hits heavy in the guts. The nostalgia it triggers is bound to mellow the most bitter viewer, almost like...hunny?

The Watergate scandal is something I've always heard mentioned, but I never cared to inform myself about it, as it is something far from my country. But this movie made that event very compelling across the whole 2+ hours.

It is brilliantly acted and directed, and unlike the two previous entries of Pakula's paranoia trilogy, this one doesn't have plot holes, because everything is fundamentally true. Sure this comes at the price of reduced excitement, no murders or real mysteries to solve. Everything is clear from the very beginning, it's just a matter of finding a way to prove it. Everything feels at true as real as it can get, thanks to outstanding performances and great screenplay.

Recommended to anyone interested in the Watergate scandal or journalism properly done. But really I'd recommend it to anyone, it's pure entertainment. Too bad for the rather weak and abrupt ending.

Like many others, I was surprised to see the bad reviews on such a classic Disney, reminiscent of the entertainment I got from it as a kid. And I was equally surprised to notice that the movie indeed is rather dull and flawed.

The lack of an epic overarching plot hurts, but this isn't the first nor last movie not depending on a strong plot. What really ruins it for me is the huge laziness on display here. Everything feels (and actually is) recycled, most notably characters and animations. Baloo comes back as Little John, Kaa as Hiss. Laughing and dancing animations are very déjà vu, and even repeated within the film.

However, I still think this film deserves a spot among the classics, because of some hilarious moments involving King John and Sir Hiss, the basic yet sweet romance and THE SONGS. This is the department where Disney keeps nailing it, and Robin Hood is once again outstanding in that regard.

This movie sets the tone quite effectively, and was able to hold my attention almost until the end...almost. The paranoia is tangible and made enjoyable thanks to the sure acting of Beatty. Everything is embellished by some outstanding cinematography, with some memorable moments, such as the test screening sequence and some breathtaking architecture in certain locations.

However, most of the plot is not plausible, it is not clear how the main characters gets his intel, how or when the "foe" he's fighting gets a step ahead. And from the indoor parade I got a bit lost because my attention dropped. It is still a movie I'd recommend and probably rewatch to get a better grasp of it.

What a performance by Jane Fonda, I've rarely seen such a masterclass in acting. Convincing as a prostitute as much as a fragile girl scared of falling in love. Actually she's so good that sometimes she's overdoing it.

The movie is a thriller with some unconventional romance and a mistery that I've somewhat struggled to justify in its reasoning. Nonetheless I've totally enjoyed it: eerie music, shadowy cinematography, the slow but steady pace towards resolution. Most characters act in ways difficult to understand, but after all that's exactly how the world goes. Definitely recommended: where it fails, it does beautifully.

Strangely enough I couldn't remember much about this movie despite having seen it many times as a kid, so I thought it was about time to give it a watch. Maybe young me knew that it wasn't worth remembering.

It's cool to see the ninja turtles once again after so long, but besides that there is not much here to salvage. The plot is ridiculous, the joke lines are as abundant as weak, and the dialogues are stuffed with 90's slang that now seems just outdated. Out of the four turtles, only one and a half are actually characterized.

I was still able to get a slight warmth out of it because of nostalgia, but the truth is that it wasn't even enough to make me truly enjoy it. It's too cheesy, almost like that pizza.

I have no idea how they pulled it off, but this movie that is supposed be trash really entertained me. I'm not saying it is great cinema technically speaking: if the plot made any sense it would last 5 minutes at best. However, if you accept that this is Hollywood to the core, man it delivers two hours of carefree entertainment.

Arnold is just hilarious, and the kids ensemble adds so much comicality to him. The romance is sweet, and "mistery" is not blatantly thin as one would expect from such a movie.

Sometimes a person doesn't want to see the meaning of life in a movie. If you want to spend a fine couple hours, I think this works decently well.

This movie is undeniably well crafted but it didn't particularly click with me. Perhaps it requires a rewatch in order to hit the mark, but it was not striking enough to make want to revisit it.

A quiet family is upset by the arrival of an old acquaintance whose nasty personality slowly seeps throughout the household. I've found the acting generally solid, especially Glover who plays his character so naturally that it feels unintentionally evil.

It feels a bit too dragged towards the end, and the whole figurative thing of the mutual exclusion between father and acquaintance seems a bit of a stretch, but I wouldn't pan this film too much.

This is a movie you'll be talking about as soon as you realize that it tells a true story. I think it is unbelievable that most people ignore the facts told in this movie, but...people tend to forget, don't they?

What sets apart Chameleon Street, for better or worse, is its nervous stile. We follow abruptly the protagonist from one stunt to the other as he tries to flee from normality, but the wobbly editing struggles to create smooth transitions. Despite that, what happens on screen is baffling and entertaining with a great amount of style.

One might not enjoy the structure of the movie, but the story is going to stick around.

I agree with the criticism against this Disney classic: the plot line is not that original, the drawings are unpolished and some animations are recycled (all features of the era), the side characters are mostly filler that do not advance the story.

Then why is that I still remember most of these pointless and weak scenes from my childhood and I've slept on other Disney classics much more revered by critics? Charm. This is an asset that overflows in every scene of the Aristocats, where funny characters entertain the viewers (especially the younger) also thanks to some catchy songs, that throughout the movie evolve from a classical style to the signature jazzy groove.

As much as it's flawed, the Aristocats never ceases to amaze me. You just might not appreciate it fully if you only approach it rationally as a grownup.

I was not expecting much from an old and forgotten Soviet movie, but against all odds I was blown away by the unconventional story and the great acting.

From the opening credits we start to perceive an oppressive fuzziness thanks to an ominous filter. Indeed a symbolic representation of the pessimistic life in the final years of USSR (not that it is much better nowadays in Russia). Injustice reigns supreme when a young man goes berserk in a streak of evil deeds. The helplessness of the victims of such despicable acts is tragic, so much that this movie is bound to leave a mark.

It is quite an obscure movie but nonetheless unexpectedly memorable.

Bellocchio brings us into a lustful night in a museum, where the beauty locked in marble of Apollo and Daphne becomes alive through the characters of Lorenzo and Sandra. We are treading on mighty thin ice with this movie, which tries to investigate the power dynamics in sexual encounters. There is no black and white in life, but many shades of gray in between, and that applies also to sex and consent, or lack thereof.

The movie itself is gently crafted, nothing extraordinary but with some striking sequence shots. The infamous sexual encounter is one of the most articulated and multifaceted ones I've seen on screen, without ever being disturbing (and this tells which side I'm taking in court). A movie with psychological and philosophical depth that is bound to resonate in open minds.

The movie is about a woman who reached the age when she's supposed to behave like a grandma, but she doesn't want to give up on her identity yet, mainly because of her sexuality still thriving.

The movie is very Felliniesque, from the setting to the weird characters and the surreal shenanigans that happen on screen. Unfortunately I prefer the more grounded Fellini, therefore this is not a compliment, actually I didn't particularly enjoy the movie. It was disjointed enough to compromise my interest and in the long run I got bored.

The only things I was able to salvage from the film are the creativity of the director and some thinking about how we treat the elderly of many freedoms for our own ease.

This movie follows the trend of the era with raw drawings (not as much as the two previous films though), but the animation steps up with some marvelous work, mostly on humanoid characters, namely Mowgli and the apes. The apes showcase two other strong points of this film.

One is characters. The slightly unhappy episodic nature of the movie is lifted by the charming characters that populate the screen. With the exception of the vultures, all of them are memorable. And this is probably linked to the other big plus of the movie: music.

The Jungle Book is arguably the Disney feature most packed with hit songs, all thanks to the Sherman brothers. Every character comes with their song, with the exception of Shere Khan, a true villain too serious for that. And almost every song is a masterpiece, all but one: once again the vultures'.

I must add that the final encounter/song of the movie is rather sexist for today's standards. Forgivable if we think that it's a pre-1968 movie about an even more distant time and place.

It doesn't take long before the viewer understands that Ken Loach takes a clear political position with this film. At first it appears to be just about the Northern Ireland situation, but then it broadens into a larger conspiracy. It's up to the viewer to believe it or not, but it is never stated in the film that the facts depicted are real, because they can't be proven and are clearly partial.

Anyway despite this controversy, I think that as a thriller it is really well crafted, with a great pace and progression. I was glued to the screen as the investigation unfolded the mistery. Great performances too from the main actors.

At the beginning I found this movie quite refreshing because it's not often that I watch an African movie, but I think the lack of a tradition in film-making is evident. With the exception of some interesting photography and lighting, everything is quite raw: acting, screenplay, plot. And despite the short runtime, the ending is quite sluggish.

Beyond that, there's a culture very hard to understand, where characters act in an almost absurd way, and that is why I found it interesting. A different time and land is depicted, with peculiar views on honor and family. I guess that when life expectancy is lower, the value of life is also lower.

A family is on the verge of breakdown because of infidelity, the consequences of which hit hard both the husband and the wife.

The cinematography is quite good and highlights the contrast between the characters. Some weird shots every now and then appear a bit too symbolic, almost nonsense, and the same applies to the dialogues. I guess this serves a purpose, because it is frustrating to see this couple failing to be direct in conversation and always hiding behind lies and tantrums.

The pace is quite slow but I've never been bored because there is a constant underlying tension and survival doesn't seem to be a priority for the characters.

Overall recommended to get a glimpse of marital life in a very traditional Japan.

One of my favorite classics of which I din't perceive the flaws until recently. It is true that the plot is very thin, the animation is lazy and the drawings aren't polished, but there's tons of charm. The characters are all amusing and hilarious, even though we don't get to know them too well, given the episodic nature of the movie. Despite that, they are sure to leave vivid memories in all viewers, especially the youngest.

Two other gripes I have concern the dubbing of Wart, which was performed by three different actors with very distinct voices, and the aspect ratio. The movie was shot with both fullscreen and widescreen in mind, but it is clear that the superior one is the former. Unfortunately Disney+ offers only widescreen, and it feels like you are watching a movie with the zoom on.

Here I am mentioning many flaws, but there is something about the movie that just delivers in a heartwarming way.

Jane Campion recreates the life of writer Janet Frame, a person with a difficult childhood and dramatic youth, chronically misunderstood by all, which creates a traumatized adult with a crippling coyness.

Campion is extremely gentle with her camera, and depicts with grace even the harshest moments, to the extent that it almost compromises the understanding of certain events. But after all we can't help but sympathize with poor Janet and feel relief with each of her smiles.

I think the movie is well made and acted, not boring despite its length, and visually inspired. It also manages to be uplifting in the end.

Zeffirelli's 4-part series on the life of Jesus is a standard that is hard not to recommend, despite its imperfection. It is the most neutral film adaptation, devoid of artistic or personal overlays.

What I particularly enjoyed is the stellar cast that was employed even for relatively minor roles. The quality of production led to a very dramatic climax that truly moved me. I was struck, not necessarily by the death of the Messiah, but the death of a man, beloved yet betrayed.

What I didn't like is the pace, mainly in the two central episodes which feel very slow and uneventful. I didn't like the way Jesus appears to be like a wizard, perhaps a more metaphorical approach would have been better, but I understand how controversial this might be. It was attempted with the ending, brave enough until the producers gave up to external pressures and showcased a clearly resurrected Jesus. Finally, I didn't particularly like Mary. I'd expect a much bigger role for her, but maybe because of the poor casting choice (only fit for her early sequences) her screen time was very low.

Tom Stoppard, with this movie adapted from his play, tells the story of two minor characters of the Hamlet, making them protagonists of a series of events where they are only meant to be secondary.

It is a movie about freedom and fate, about characters who become aware of their condition. Between meta-theatre and broken fourth walls, Oldman and Roth deliver their witty and funny remarks, crowned by a splendid Dreyfuss.

In my opinion sometimes the mark is missed, but when it his hit, it is done in style. Probably worth multiple watches for the Shakespearean lovers who want to go beyond the classic adaptations.

I must say that I have appreciated more this movie after a second watch, when I was able to better appreciate the great direction and acting, and also to reflect upon the themes of the story.

The scene is set on the backdrop of fascist Italy, which affects the bureaucracy and society in general (and with a good deal of corruption, a sin that is not commonly attributed to historical fascism). We can say that it is a courtroom drama centered around death penalty and its application in the most tempting cases. Being absolutely against it caused a lot of inner turmoil in the protagonist, and even more resistance from the outside. Highly recommended!

Pleasant little Disney, a notable entry in the Silver Age. But what first strikes me in this movie is the huge step back in terms of quality, even more so when compared to the previous, extremely expensive Sleeping Beauty: half of the screen size, ordinary setting and xeroxed. Disney was trying to cut corners and indeed it paid off, but the final result is clearly less impactful. One might advocate for the xeroxed style, which actually reminds me of newspaper vignettes, but the animation is hardly defendable, for example without much interaction between characters and environment.

Still, the story is sweet, the characters are easy to like (or despise when necessary, as Cruella is one of the most renown Disney villains), the story entertaining, the music modern and legendary. Honorable mention for the twilight bark sequence, still gives me chills of wholesomeness.