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mariaeleni_pntz
Reviews
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
Disturbing
I couldn't help thinking how all this violence and disrespect for human life, served to the audience as "really cool and sexy" via amazingly hot and stylish actors like Pitt and Jolie may affect people, especially younger ones. Killing is not just a job for Mr. & Mrs. Smith, it's also fun. They claim to sleep well at night and their babyfaces, healthy looks, perfect hair, expensive clothes and cars make it seem as though killing people can be a super cool game with no consequences, only benefits. The (endless) scene where they fight each other within their home and then have sex and happily make breakfast while dripping blood is too sick to be funny, an ode to sadomasochism. But I suppose the reality of what you are actually watching and what it means doesn't really hit you - or you don't even care - if you're only focused on Angelina's beauty and Brad's radiant smile. As long as the actors are sexy and as long as there's adrenaline I suppose anything goes for certain people, not even a decent dialogue or plot is required.
Away (2020)
A series that explores our shared humanity more than space
I gave it a generous 9 star review because I believe that the series examines some very deep issues in a very insightful and thought provoking way. I understand that if all someone was looking for was a sci-fi space movie with great effects they may feel disappointed. The problems the characters face are different than our own everyday challenges but still relatable, and the way the are dealt with are closer to human nature than we would perhaps like to see. No extraordinary abilities, no super powers, no superhuman resilience. Maybe that's what people didn't like, and that's why so many called the characters "drama queens" or unstable. We're so used to watching unflawed and super-strong characters in such movies that having access to the conflicting feelings and thoughts astronauts may have underneath a socially desirable and polished surface may come as a shock. We want to see impeccable, ideal people doing amazing things, not you and me struggling to conquer our fears in all our messy humanity. Family issues and unexpected technical problems may seem boring to someone who's expecting to see extraordinary problems related to mystery or to something like the unearthing of secrets about Mars and alien life. No, the people in Atlas are more like you and me, facing curveballs life throws at them in a different context (space) yet in the same non-super hero way all of us do. Even though they're brilliant in their area of expertise, they're still human. They're afraid, they cry, they struggle to process their emotions rationally. They have messed up in the past, they're trying to find their identity, and they don't have all the answers, like the rest of us. You won't see the ever serene and always in composure characters of Star Trek but real human beings, carrying all the mess and madness of humanity and trying to deal with it the best way they can.
What I really enjoyed was the idea of diversity and unity that was explored throughout the series. 5 different people with different backgrounds and skills come together to pursue a common goal. While everyone has something unique to offer,in the end of the day it's the common values of humanity (courage, honour, hope, camaraderie etc.) and their common struggles as human beings that unite them and help them succeed. It was also very interesting to see the series explore identity issues and the true reasons behind people's choices and dreams. All 5 of them had the same dream but for very different reasons. Reasons deeply rooted in their personal history and in the hope of surpassing some personal tragedy or challenge. The boy who lost his parents and found meaning in gardening and faith dreamt of planting a garden on Mars while the Chinese woman who in the eyes of her father should have been born a boy sets off to prove women can do as much as men, if not even more. And then the american girl born in poverty that has found in flying a way to escape her circumstance and become her own person. Some may call these clichés but that doesn't mean they are not true for everyone of us. If you want to see real humans, that's what you get, a whole package of past trauma, ideals, failures, fears and difficult choices. Some may object that real cosmonauts should look and behave more like robots in order to inspire the public but I prefer the complexities and challenges of our common human nature openly revealed. Finally, the idea of one human race undivided by concepts such as borders and patriotism was interestingly brought forth. The characters strive to overcome fear and personnel tragedies in themselves but also in the hope of the evolution of humanity as a whole.
Still Alice (2014)
The most terrifying thing about the film was not the life Alice lost because of the disease but the superficial life she had built until then
I just read a couple of reviews and everyone was commenting on how the film does not show the truly horrifying dimensions of Alzheimer's which is true. However, what I found more horrifying was the total absence of love and human kindness in this movie. When I saw Alice telling herself in her suicide video that she had a great life and three beautiful children I thought to myself : what is her definition of a great life? A husband who only cared about his career and promotion when he found out his wife was ill? 3 children who just continued with their lives as if nothing had happened? Even Alice does not show any true love or compassion towards herself, she does not seek a therapist to deal with her own emotions or tries to spend the little time she has left after the diagnoses and before losing herself doing things she truly loves as a gift to herself from herself. When her husband refuses to take a year off she just accepts it and that's it, she doesn't love herself enough to offer herself the luxury of fulfilling some last personal wishes for herself and by herself even though she has the money to do it. She too just goes on with everyday life, like everybody else, trying to hide her symptoms so that no one gets uncomfortable. Nobody cares and she doesn't care either. They all just continue living their flat, dull alienated lives. What are the values promoted in this movie, that a successful life is a life revolving around a successful career and having no real and deep relationships with anyone, not even with yourself ? A life where family members treat each other like strangers ? No real conversations, no emotion, no kindness , no tenderness, no tears, no deep conversations, just people performing their everyday tasks like robots. A superficial life where the husband is more upset when they miss dinner with some acquaintances (who are not even close enough to know about Alice's condition) than with losing his wife. Where is the humanity in these people ? The most terrifying thing about the film was not the life Alice lost because of the disease but the life she had built before, the superficial husband she chose , the superficial bond they had and the selfish children they raised. No true love, no values, no real connections, no authenticity, no freedom but good jobs and good money. And all of this is served to the audience as the definition of success.
Ying xiong (2002)
Tyranny can not and should not be justified.
To give your life for a greater good is one thing. To give your life for a violent tyrant with delusions of grandeur is another. As noble as the idea "One under the sky" may be, it all depends on who unites the people and how. Because that was also Hitler's ideal, to create one big empire, never mind human casualties. Can we still justify the loss of even just one human soul as "necessary for the greater good" ? Can we still accept the barbaric idea that human souls are dispensable for the good of the cause ? And who defines the righteousness of the cause? These were cruel and savage times but we're supposed to understand better now. There is nothing truly wise or ethical or humble about the King of Qin, not even in the film. All he's after is power, as so many conquerers before him. He says at some point in this film that he does not intend to stop with China, his ultimate goal is to conquer the Earth. Just another megalomaniac , drunk with power, who justified his viciousness and lust for glory with a noble lie - we've seen so many of them in human history.
I went through a few reviews and I only found one that pointed out the obvious and clarified a few things. It is indeed shocking that so many viewers cared only for the spectacular effects and the beauty in the scenes and did not even care to examine the message of the film a little deeper. I thank the user by the name "potteries" for pointing out that : "the dynasty the king founded collapsed rapidly after his death as a result of the hatred for his regime". Of course it collapsed. Such regimes are unstable by nature. Tyrannies always collapse. The goal to "unify the people" can never be reached through tyranny. That's why democracy and human rights were invented.
Un beau soleil intérieur (2017)
Incoherent, meaningless and boring.
I must confess I didn't make it through the movie and this is something that rarely happens to me. It was so meaningless and boring that I felt like it was kicking the will to live out of me. The main character completely lacks a sense of self respect. I wondered why the movie is promoted as a woman's search for love when all she's doing (at least during the first half of the movie) is having sex with married men, some of whom she doesn't even like. She doesn't really communicate with anyone and there is no real exchange with any of the people in her life. The characters talk but they really say nothing to each other, they just think incoherent thoughts out loud. I felt so drained I just had to stop watching, I wasn't even curious to see what happens in the end.
Fifty Shades of Grey (2015)
An attempt to normalise perversion.
I find it extremely hard to believe that we live in a society that tolerates such films. Not only tolerates : people pay money to see them. What are the potential consequences? How many women's masochistic tendencies will be reinforced by films like these? Have we lost it, collectively ?
Jackie & Ryan (2014)
Live your life from moment to moment, blame the system, and everything will miraculously turn out fine.
I can't say that I liked this movie. The philosophy of the creators seemed way too superficial to me: live your life from moment to moment, don't worry about the past only look to the future, and blame "the system" for everything.
The underlying commentary on how poor struggling people are exploited and crushed by the system is recurrent : Ryan's friend "the Cowboy" has just had a baby with Virginia, who he abandons for a couple of days, just to "breathe a little" : he got angry and frustrated after the baby was born because there was not enough money (he felt small and powerless in front of something so much bigger than him, says Virginia, the mother of his child, who justifies his frustration). The song "Down on Penny's Farm" that Ryan and Jackie sing at various occasions (Jackie chooses this particular song to express her frustration about her rich husband threatening to claim full custody of her daughter) is clearly a song about exploitation. And Jackie has to sell all her jewelry and her house in order to fight her very rich husband whose money allow him to do whatever he wants. So the rich do what they want and crush down poor people- that's the theme of the movie. Somehow it's not convincing. Especially when the characters are not people who never had a choice or a chance in life, but independent, strong, talented and were capable to turn their lives any direction they wanted in many occasions in their past.
Apart from blaming the system, the characters do not seem willing to reflect on the consequences of their own choices, and that is presented by the filmmakers as something rather positive. Jackie is tormented by questions about past choices, but Ryan convinces her she should only ask "where do I want to go next and how will I get there". Virginia never asks herself if they should have made sure they had enough money to raise the baby before having it.. There's no need to reflect on the past, or draw lessons from past experiences, because it's all the system's fault....
I really didn't like this irresponsible, adolescent approach to life. Live your life moment to moment and blame others for exploiting and crushing you... I'm not saying that people should punish themselves for their irresponsible past choices, but realizing how you contributed to finding yourself in your present situation can be useful. Plus, reflecting on the past does not exclude working on building the future. You can do both ! But as an adult, you need to realize which choices worked and which didn't.
Because in real life there are no miraculous solutions, as in this film. You don't just open the door to a stranger one day during a stressful divorce and fall madly in love with them, you don't get the super expensive guitar you're dreaming of as a gift from someone who wants nothing back, etc. Apart from defending irresponsibility and anger towards the rich and powerful, what this film also promotes is a belief in miraculous solutions that set everything straight out of the blue. Some sort of "deus ex machina" appears out of nowhere to deliver the characters and not their own wisdom and efforts based on lessons from past experience. If only it were so in real life....
Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994)
Unparalleled
I loved this movie from the first time I saw it, 20 years ago, even if I was too young to understand exactly what it was about. The trilogy (Blue-White-Red) explores the meaning of the tripartite french revolution motto : liberty, equality, fraternity. This one is about fraternity. The way Kieslowsky approaches the meaning of the term "fraternity" throughout this film is genius , poetic , discreet.... unparalleled. Near the end of the film Valentine and the retired judge come to the conclusion that believing that you know the truth about someone is nothing but vanity. It really makes you think..
The Intern (2015)
"The meaning of life is your career and your social ascension" - not my kind of film.
I can't say that I didn't like this film.I really like De Niro and Hathaway. But there was something about their characters and the values they promoted that I didn't like . As if everything in life revolves around work and success. De Niro's character had absolutely nothing to do with himself when retired (which indeed happens a lot in real life but this doesn't mean it's not sad). I mean do people get so alienated from themselves they have no idea who they are when they are not working? And they just can't stay in a room with themselves if they don't get some kind of social validation ? That is really sad. As for Hathaway's character, being so "private" and suspicious is almost insane. But the worst part was the heart to heart the two of them had near the end of the movie, where he tells her that her career is more important than everything else and if her husband can't cope it's time she let him go. Wow !!! I'm not saying cheating should be excused but the focus was not on her husband's cheating on her during this conversation. The focus was on her career and how that is the most important thing in a person's life and no one should be allowed to get in the way. This is why I say I didn't like the values promoted in this film. People reduced to financial and social achievement... not my cup of tee.
Another Year (2010)
The characters lacked the depth that would make them human and the scapegoating mentality of the writer make this film difficult to watch.
* may contain spoilers*
One of the most judgmental , black-and-white thinking, uncompassionate films I have ever seen. The characters are divided into 'good' and 'bad' - the capacity to investigate beyond appearances seems to be beyond the writers , who seem more interested in labeling than in any in depth understanding of human nature. I felt so sorry for Mary in this film. The Marys of this world can be annoying, yes, but things happen to people and they turn out like that. Sometimes people are not strong enough to carry their burdens , either because they were born weaker or they didn't find a steady hand when they needed it. Where is the compassion here? Mary is presented like some kind of scapegoat, the one who does everything wrong and the one that the viewers are INVITED to rally against.The couple is too perfect to exist- so that Mary's behavior is contrasted.If Tom and Gerri were authentic they would have gently confronted her and expressed how they felt.Instead they displayed polite indifference until she crossed the line - which was evident that she would at some point, since she was in a desperate fragile state. If they cared for Mary they would have helped her realize what she is doing to annoy them and set some boundaries.If they didn't care about her they should be honest and cut her off from the start.It was quite evident she was unstable - and for a professional therapist like Gerri it should be evident from the very beginning. They knew where they were getting into. She wasn't just a friend they met who appeared normal and happy in the beginning and then changed. The indifferent hypocrisy ,the lack of authenticity , the absence of any exchange of true feelings and honest thoughts (except behind Mary's back) made this film difficult to watch. The characters lacked the depth that would make them human and the scapegoating mentality of the writer really bothered me.