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O Ilias tou 16ou (1959)
One of the best movies of Kostas Hatzihristos!
This is one of the best movies of Kostas Hatzihristos (Greek actor)... and probably one of the top-10 of ALL times of the good old Greek cinema!
Everybody (actors) are playing fantastic, the casting is great (for each character), but the most amazing are these characters (and the plot) - especially these two poor fellas (Kostas Hatzihristos & Thanasis Veggos)!
The scenario is something simple, not too complicated story, but the interesting (and funny) is how this story "opens" and "runs" - very clever and funny.
These two characters (roles) are SUPER amazing, fantastic "build-up" from the story, and really really SUPER FUNNY moments!
VERY recommended!
Epidemiya (2019)
The idea was great... the result was "average".
I don't mind about non-English speaking tv shows or films. Actually I super love the Skandinavian cinema, the Spanish, French, etc.
So, I started watching it - I finished (eventually) both 2 seasons. The tv show starts like a weird pandemy situation and in at a point... we thought there is something much much bigger (the Chinese soldiers & the Chinese fighter pilot into the deep of Russia's territory)!!!
Therefore, I was very curious and I was expecting something more, a possible biological world war, something...
...Eventually, the entire show (2 seasons) ran like... turtle (extremelly VERY SLOW action/story) and we end up watching this group of people trying to find... what? A secure place, a safe place... where?... And from WHAT excatly???
I've watched SO MANY episodes without the plot getting somewhere, just a huge long endless journey of that group of people... okay, I get it, they are the heroes of the story... but I wanted to WATCH THE D@MN STORY itself too!!!
What happen?
What is this virus?
WHY the hell these Chinese troops end up into Russia???
And more...
So... the story/scenario has HUGE "holes" and it missing the point - the point is not the JOURNEY of those people, but to show us WHAT'S GOING ON!
I was expecting much much more!
But... at least... I enjoyed the SUPERB score (soundtrack) of this tv show! AMAZING! I found that "Gem & Deadhead" group, they are amazing!
La sociedad de la nieve (2023)
Rarely REAL stories told as they happened... like this movie!
"Alive" was a great movie, back then (1993).
But, the director was not Latin American, all the cast wasn't Latin American (not speaking Spanish), was mentioned only the survivors and didn't mentioned the dead, the special effects were so old (than our present), the survived ending has been changed...
...and more.
This movie here is BY FAR, REALLY FAR ...MUCH MUCH better than "Alive"!!! If the old movie touched me and I was emotinal, with this movie I was crying almost every minute of it!!!
As I wrote, the TRUE survivors (now elders, grand-daddies), they SUPER accepted this new film, they got VERY emotional when they watched it (some said "was like a time-machine, like I went back in time and I lived those dramatic moments again"!)...
...and they even said about the director, THAT THEY THINKING HIM AS THEIR OWN, his part of their society!!!!
So... if the TRUE survivors of such TRAGIC & DRAMATIC incident... they super-loved the film... they believe the film was SUPER realistic... the film TOTALLY RESPECTED ALL people (especially the dead)...
...so, how not LOVE THIS masterpiece???
The Passion of the Christ (2004)
One of the TOP movies ever made for Jesus Christ!
Seriously, I don't understand why a lot people don't like this movie, or even hate it!
They do love "Jesus from Nazareth" (that super old - great - mini tv series), but they don't have the same love for this MASTERPIECE!
Gibson tried to show us (in his movie) the "HUMAN" PASSION of Jesus Christ, His tortures, His suffering as "human", before He died on the cross (for Humankind).
Gibson didn't want to show us Jesus' remarkable human life, His journeys, His speeches, etc. We all know these, we've watched many films like that, tv series, a lot documentaries, etc.
But actually VERY FEW ("Jesus of Nazareth" was quite brutal) showing the INCREDIBLE BRUTALITY of His suffering, His torture, etc.!
That's what Gibson wanted to show us.
And oh boy... he did it!!! I personally turned my vision away many times during these brutal scenes, not only because they were so brutal for a HUMAN, but because I realized This Person Who was suffering... was God's Son!!!!!!
Also... I super-loved Gibson made the actors playing the Jews speaking Aramaic... the actors playing the Romans speaking Latin... etc! I LOVED that! Also, the costumes were quite historical accurate, not like these "Hollywood" fancy NON-accurate costumes we mostly watching in such similar movies!
The actors acting were amazing.
The CASTING was amazing! The guy who played Jesus was superb... the actress who played Mother of God was also fantastic... and I wouldn't imagine BETTER actress for Maria Magdalena (Monica Bellucci)!!!
Overal... A SUPERB movie from Gibson!
Apocalypto (2006)
I never understood why many people don't like this movie!
Okay, I understand if we'll rate this movie about historical accuracy, it's not doing super-well. Gibson hired a historian with experience in Latin American civilizations, but of course with lot "poetic licence" Gibson changed a lot things for his movie.
First of all, Aztecs were more brutal and they did mostly human sacrifices. Instead Mayas (which supposed to be portraited in the movie). But, there are many historical evidences Mayas ALSO did too; not that much as Aztecs, but they did too.
So, what's the problem?
People complained about the brutality of the movie. So? Around 16th century, those Latin American civilizations were EXTREMELY BRUTAL (each other!). Even European nations were brutal each other!!!
Therefore, why not showing this brutality if Gibson wanted to make his film looks hard & realistic (not historical accurate, but realistic)?
I personally found this film AMAZING.
Gibson used local actors (and standmen) and he made them speaking a "modern form" of that ancient language of Mayas, which I super loved it - it would be so silly watching Maya warriors speaking... British or US american language!
The costumes were great... the tattoos were great... their weapons, jewlry, whatever, were great.
I know... Gibson made a "combination" of many eras (for the architectonism, the clothes, etc), but THE DO LOOKS LIKE "Maya" or "Aztec" or whatever from this part of the world, of those civilizations.
Many people complained "Gibson didn't show much of those amazing achievements Mayas had found/created, he showing only their brutality, human sacrifices etc". Yes, because Gibson wanted to create an EPIC ACTION ADVENTURE "CHASING" movie, not a... cultural one! If you want to EDUCATE YOURSELVES about Mayas (amazing civilization), read some damn books, watch some great DOCUMENTARIES, etc! You wan't "educate yourselves" watching an ACTION-ADVENTURE movie, right?
Overal... this is one of the most fantastic films Gibson created - I love it, as I did with his movie about Jesus Christ!
Go ahead and watch this, you will enjoy it.
The Grey (2011)
One of the MOST misunderstood & underrated movies ever!
Most people they've watched this movie TOTALLY misunderstood & underrated it! They most think "it's a horror & survivor" movie... Well, that's how YOU THINK it starts, but turns to something SOOO much "deep", so POETIC, so incredible!
First of all... these seven guys DIDN'T survived from the plane crash!!! ALL died in the crash! The rest passengers simply were GOOD people and went straight to Heavens! These seven though, they were NOT good people, they had "their own DEMONS", "their own SINS"... the "WOLVES" you see in the movie keep chasing to kill them!!!
So... this surviving jurney... to NOWHERE actually (!)... is their LAST MOMENTS (before dying) trying to FIGHT their own "demons", their own "sins"... for the last, ultimate salvation!
Everything in the movies "gives" these secret "messages", even when Liam "talks to God" by the river bank, didn't undestood it at all???
The "wolves" are OUR OWN "DEMONS", their own "demons", that's all! That's why these "wolves" are SO "supernatural"!!! Wolves are not behaving like that, they don't reacting like that, ask anybody with experience in wolves! Wolves are NOT attacking humans, not even when they are hungry - they frighten terribly at the sight of humans, they UNDESTANDING how dangerous are humans (we can create easily fire - all animals frighten fire, we using "tools" - weapons - to killing them from distance, etc)!
This movie is INCREDIBLE, AMAZING, POETIC!
The ONLY thing I didn't like - that's why I gave 7 stars - is how they portraited the wolves. And I'm not talking about the "supernatural" thing, no. Even their VOICES weren't realistic! Wolves are not sound like that! Also, in some scenes, the wolves were "barking" (like dogs) - that was silly, wolves are not barking!
And NO... NO... the film didn't "needed" to have a "FINAL BATTLE" because "all audiance expecting that, the final battle with the Boss"!!!
Everybody complained about that, like stupid morons "why they didn't show the final battle?"...!
THAT WASN'T THE POINT! The point was THE POEM Liam was keep saying, these simple 4 lines:
"Once more into the fray.
Into the last good fight I'll ever know.
Live and die on this day
Live and die on this day!"
...Meaning... KEEP FIGHT, STAND AND FIGHT, no matter the cost, no matter the result!
Anyways... it's an incredibly FANTASTIC movie!
Jungle (2017)
Since YOSSI himself (the actual survivor) liked it, why not you too???
So, this is another "based on true events" movie.
Generally... the 90% of those films are... 50% accurated to the real events even if "they are based on true events"! That's because - like Yossi, the ACTUAL survivor of this story said - the real life is MUCH bigger and MUCH harder than a movie!
Also, it's "poetic licence" of each director, their limited (or not) budget, etc.
Anyways...
This IS A TRUE story of a... lunatic Israeli guy (Yossi) who he (and his two pals, Gale & Marcus) thought to... "play Indiana Jones" with MINIMUM experience in surviving - just experience in hiking, doesn't making you SURVIVOR to a so dangerous place like Amazon jungle!
If you read the BOOK of Yossi, you'll understand more the HORROR and the SCALE of this adventure. This movie had very low budget (just about 10 million dollars!) and couldn't portrait this incredible adventure as it really was.
(The river was HUGE, not that narrow as in movie... There were THOUSANDS of trees in and around the river banks, making the rafting even more dangerous!... Yossi was attacked by several creaturs, not just those termites... etc).
But, even so, THOSE FEW SCENES with THIS LOW BUDGET were very very VERY accurate to the true story - Yossi himself said that, he was very emotional when he watched the film for fist time.
What the movie SUPER-FAILS is to show us what happen to MARCUS and KARL. It skips A LOT their own story; also, Marcus was a very good friend of Yossi and the movie failes (or skips) to develop more Marcus' character - the director has limited budget, limited hrs of film, so he focused on the two survivors...
Anyways...
The film is ACCURATE... is INDEED based on a true event... and the very same true survivor (Yossi) approved the film, he liked it!
Young Woman and the Sea (2024)
Disney, stick to movies you're doing best, LIKE THIS ONE!
Obviously when you dealing with a TRUE STORY, it's a greater challenge; you need to make your story, your movie, very close, very accurate to the real story.
So... this girl... this AMAZING WOMAN, did exist! She was a REMARKABLE female athlete in swimming. And even if she lived in so old era (when women had almost no rights but... giving birth and raising children!), she did the most INCREDIBLE thing:
She crossed one of the most dangerous seas (English Channel) - when many men died in the process - and she MADE IT SOONER, TWO HOURS less than any other man who crossed the Channel!!!
This INCREDIBLE woman proved that women CAN DO ALL THINGS... AND BETTER!
The production is great, the direction is fantastic, the score (music) is also epic, the script is great, all actors are playing marvelous - obviously Daisy Ridley is ROCKING in the role!
Disney... please... stop ruin sagas like "StarWars"... and stick to what you're doing SO GREAT:
Like THIS movie!
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 (2024)
After "Dancing with the Wolves" I was expecting MUCH MORE better film than this!
From the man who created that MASTERPIECE called "Dancing with the Wolves", I was waiting so much to watch this 1st film of Costner's ambitious project to create a trilogy (or even 4 films) and "unfold" the conquest of the Wild West Saga.
Unfortunately... the result of this 1st movie was quite disappointing. Nothing to compare with the AMAZING "Dancing with the Wolves", not even close!!!
First of all, the direction/script/editing (montage), etc. Make you feel like you're watching an episode of a TV series and not a COMPLETE movie! Especially the montage "shooting" you from one scene to another, from one story to another (which until now, until the end of the 1st film, HAVE NO connection between them) and finally you "lost yourself" - not mention the SO FEW fight/combat scenes (for a 3+ hour movie)!
All the actors are playing relatively well - some better, some worse than expected - while in many scenes the film is somewhat "disjointed", it seems as if some scenes are missing (as if they were "cut" in the montage).
The music is "just good", nothing close to the MASTERPIECE music of "Dancing with the Wolves"!
The story is taking place in the lands of the Apaches. So, the actors who playing the Apaches are supposed to speak the Apache dialect. Well... they're not doing very well! In "Dancing with the Wolves", almost all the actors spoke the Sioux dialect WONDERFULLY - even Kevin Costner spoke it well!
Here in this movie, you see the actors DESPERATELY TRYING TO say the words, slurring, speaking very slowly (as if they forgot and trying to remember the words!), while several actors looks theyr'e not really Native Indians and they had make-up to "look like Indians" - I don't know, maybe most of the real Native Indian actors have either aged a lot or even died...
Also, the film ends "suddenly", as if it was an episode of a TV series - like I already wrote about it above.
Overall... I was very disappointed with this movie!
After "Dancing with the Wolves" and after so many years and so MUCH MORE EXPERIENCE, I expected to see an EPIC Western movie from Kevin Costner... and unfortunately it wasn't AT ALL an epic movie!
I hope the other (2-3) movies will "save" this "HORIZON"! I really do hope!
The Bikeriders (2023)
It could be much much better, but still enjoyable
Watching the storyline (whatever "story" the film has!), I assume the writer & director took the "Hell Angels M. C." story as inspiration and they've created these "Chicago Vandals".
I'm saying that, because the film shows how a small (at first) M. C. branch becoming huge, with many many "chapters" all over the US States. As fas as I know, ONLY "HAMC" have a similar story.
The movie is not bad; but I wanted a "scenario".
I mean, the entire movie is like you simply joined them or like the reporter character you went and found someone (Cathie) and you just asked questions about the branch, the bikers, etc.
There isn't ACTUALLY A PLOT.
So, that's why I'm giving just 7 stars. But it's enjoyable, nice movie.
Sniper. The White Raven (2022)
It's "funny"; even Ukraine guys DON'T KNOW HIM!!!
It's "funny" when I read the negative comments/rating about this movie. Most (if not all) of them, are talking about the "stereotype" kind of the story, how the script writer & director used a "silly-common" idea to develop their tale, bla-bla-bla...
...even Ukraine people they've watched this film and wrote negative comments about how "silly" and not "realistic" story is...
...and the "funny" fact is... IT IS A TRUE STORY!!!
That guy ACTUALLY EXISTS! I mean... he is STILL alive and fighting for Ukraine Forces! And HE WAS just a school-teacher, a "hippie" living in the wilds with his wife and when Russians invaded Dorbas (2014) the couple had NO phone, NO internet, NO tv and they didn't have a clue about the invasion, and eventually a group of Russians found them, they raped & killed his wife and he was found by Ukraine Forces and he joined them & trained as sniper!!!
Yes... perhaps it SOUNDS silly and stereotype... but "guess what", THAT HAPPEN! The guy IS real, in the film they even using his ACTUAL REAL name, he was a "hippie" teacher, they actually did raped & killed his wife, he actually became sniper and infact... he became the RUSSIANS' NIGHTMARE!!!
Okay, I get it.
Non-Ukraine people probably have no idea about this guy; but I so surprised that EVEN Ukraine people have NO IDEA 'bout him, about one of THEIR HEROES!
Devotion (2022)
A missing apportunity, but a nice film.
The truth is that this movie could have been a masterpiece, if it was written by a better scripter and directed by a better director.
The film is about a story of courage, brotherhood and sacrifice. The short series "Band of Brothers" had all these, in infinite doses! So, if Spielberg and his screenwriters had written and directed this film as well, we would be talking about a masterpiece... but unfortunately it is not.
It's the story of Jesse Brown, the first African-American pilot who killed in action during the Korean War and his White wingman Tom Hudner who deliberately crashed his plane next to his pal's plane and tried for many hours in 35-degree cold to safely extricate him but he failed; and for his heroic action & bravery, he received the Medal of Honor, the first American pilot to receive it in the Korean War!
What a great story! It actually features an African-American pilot from a poor family, who worked hard all his life to become a pilot! How many greate things the movie have to show... that didn't in the end???
It didn't show us at all how Jesse managed from being a poor kid, to overcome all the adversities and eventually become a pilot - we didn't watch that at all, a very important element of Jesse's story. We didn't watch (only a little) how completely devoted he was to his wife and his child, he didn't spending time by partying with his friends but he was spending every free minute he had with his family.
The movie was very slow... real slow!
And even though it's 2.5 hours, most of it is was spended on pointless stuff that could be totally left out from the movie - like going out to Cannes, the pilots endlessly walking around the city, meeting Liz Taylor, the endless scene in the casino etc. Pointless scenes, no reason for our story...
Too bad the movie isn't a masterpiece.
It's certainly not a war movie either - and rightly so, since Jesse and Tom went through a lot before they found themselves in the Korean War. And there, Jesse was killed relatively soon (early in the war), so it makes sense that the movie has not too many battle scenes. After all, the movie wasn't about that - it's a dramatic biography, but it failed to be a great movie.
Nevertheless, I personally enjoyed it, I liked it, I can't say I didn't have a good time, it's just... it's a shame it's not a masterpiece!
Civil War (2024)
Great war movie (scenes)... and nothing else!
It's a SUPERB idea/concept for someone to think "what if" an American Civil war could happen in our MODERN/PRESENT days!!!
Well, an American Civil War DID happen 163 years ago! It was the worst thing happen in USA, it caused SO MANY casualties, but also some possitive things came up - the Human Rights for the Black folks.
The American Civil War happen... because "SOME THINGS", there were serious BACKGROUND that led to that civil war - the Southern States didn't "woke up" one day and said "hey, we tired to be part of USA, let's depart from them"!!!
...
So, in another similar MODERN version of an American Civil War, the audience, the people will watch this movie here, they WOULD LIKE TO UNDERSTAND & SEE what happen! What caused this new modern civil war? How that happen?
Isn't LOGICAL to wondering "how the hell that happen in modern USA"???
Well... the script writters and the director DIDN'T CARE A BIT to show us that! From the very first minutes of the film to the last ones, the movie is simply a WAR SCENES film - really good to be honest - and we're following a group of journalist to USA's capitol (DC) to find... what? What did happen? And WHY that (whatever) happen?
Why these "Western Forces of America" rioted against the real USA government and fought their way to the capitol, to capture or kill the President of USA?
NOBODY show us or told us ANYTHING!!!
It's like... that scenario (of modern USA civil war) is real... we ALL know from our schools what happen and why... so, the director & script writter didn't bother to say anything about it.
But, it's an hypothetical/fiction story.
So, WE DO WANT to know the damn background of this story, what happen, how happen, who was involved and why, etc...!
So...
As WAR SCENES movie, it's a fantastic film.
And... nothing really else!!!
12 Strong (2018)
Can't understand the negative rates!
I assume most of you didn't even hear about this TRUE STORY exactly after the "9/11" Disaster in NY.
USA secretly gave the "green light" to instant response and the goal was to give a major blow to "Al Kaida" in Afganistan. The plot/plan was a massive military operation that would took place TWO YEARS in Afganistan - but President Bush wanted something faster/sooner. So the Pentagon had a SUICIDE mission plan - to send a tiny attack force of Special Forces to Afganistan and join the local warlords against "Al Kaida". They chose the notorious "ODA 595", the "5th Special Forces Group" (the most decorated Special Forces unit of USA).
So, just a dozen "Green Beret" men, left to Afganistan and remained there for almost a month, to give this fast blow to the Talibans.
It was a suicide mission; nobody thought just 12 guys (even Special Forces) they can do what... a TWO YEARS plan was about to do!
But... against all odds, they did it!
What's most funny or odd or hillarious... is watching these Special Forces men ...attacking/charging ON HORSES, like... cavalry!
"Hollywood did it again", right? NOPE!
THEY ACTUALLY RIDING HORSES AND CHARGING WITH THEM... AGAINST SOVIET T-55s TANKS!!!!!
I have no idea HOW they survived (all of them) AND SUCCEED... but they did it!
So, the movie is very good.
Good action play, quite REALISTIC MILITARY tactics (okay, it's Hollywood, they did it more "dramatic" than actual "Green Beret" would), the sould effects are gorgous, SOME few errors here and there...
...but generally it was/is a GOOD war movie!
Btw...
If you go to "Ground Zero" in NY, there is a 1,5 hize statue of a Special Forces man ON horse, a tribute to these Special Forces men and the "PAYBACK" they gave to "Al Kaida"...
Shogun (2024)
Rare MASTERPIECE!... FINALY, REALISTIC "Shinobi no mono"!
Usually a remake hardly is equal good with the original one - a film, a tv show, a song, etc...
But sometimes, rarely... the remake is YEARS OF LIGHT MUCH BETTER than the original! That happen to me once, with the remake of "Battlestar Galactica" - "SO SAY WE ALL!"
...And now... with this rare MASTERPIECE!
Obviously I have read the novel!
And OBVIOUSLY I have watched the original short tv show. Yes, the original was also very gorgeous, amazing casting (all actors were magnificent), superb screenplay, battles, swords-fighting, etc.
But this here, this new remake... is "out of this planet"!!! If you have study the Japanese culture and History or at least if you LOVE them (as I do), you'll be enchanted!!!
It has them all, as the original - and even far more better!!! The casting is great (okay, the original tv show had SUPERB actors of that era), the screenplay is very nice, the costume are gorgeous, the CGIs are fantastic, the scenes (landscape etc) are amazing, but the VERY STORY (scenario) is MUCH better than the original!
In the original tv show, the English pilot "Blackthorn" ("Anjin") was instantly adopted the Japanese ways, he was extremelly polite, the Japanese also accepted him very fast, etc.
Here... the English pilot is... ENGLISHMAN! He cares for himself (mostly)! He has his own agenda, he wants to achieve his OWN PLANS, not simply "obeying" a foreign lord (Toronaga) just because he was unlucky and got shipless there!
I LOVE how they portraited "Blackthorn", much much more better as it was in the original show.
And... I was waiting... I was SUPER WAITING... to watch what I love (and study) more in Japanese History: "SHINOBI NO MONO"!!!
In the original tv show, we had TWO such scenes; one (very early) try to kill "Anjin" and another to kill Mariko. They were good, really good scenes in the original show.
But here... oh boy! THEY NAILED IT!
In the first try (attack) to "Anjin", they CHANGED it now and they had A FEMALE "SHINOBI" ("Kunoichi"!) - how many times have you ever actually watched a FEMALE "Shinobi" agent in action????? And most important, in 17th century's Japan (not modern "Kunoichi")!
The second attack... the EPISODE #9... probably THE BEST of the entire season... was great till the last 15 minutes...
...and the last 15 minutes was SUPERNATURAL AMAZING!!! I had multiple... orgasms, by watching a (supposed, we never been there in 17th century's Japan) AMAZING REALISTIC infiltration of a large group of "Shinobi no mono" to a castle!
No "fancy" clothes, no "eccentric" weapons, no "bizzare choreography"... no. We watched PURE REALISTIC "Shinobi" agents, wearing DARK BROWN (!!!!!!!) simple clothing (with ribbons around their limbs), a SIMPLE piece of cloth covering their head and face (not "fancy" mask and cr@p!), they were holding USUAL AND SIMPLE weapons ("Katanas", "Kusarigama", "Shuriken", etc) and they WERE NOT "invulnerable" (like Hollywood think about those agents) - several agents died in the proccess of the attack!!!
...AMAZING tv show, AMAZING remake!
Can't wait for the 2nd season - obviously those you haven't read the novel, you don't really think this is the end of it, right?
The story is hardly in the MIDDLE of the novel!!!
So of course it will be AT LEAST ONE MORE season!
Renegade Nell (2024)
Could be a SUPERB show... but they've done it again!
The concept is great.
We have England at 18th century (nice period to represent it) and we have a girl trying to get justice and revenge. Okay, the plot is not so "unique", but we have something to work with, right?
So, the 1st episode is quite good (with flaws)... and when you continue watching the rest episodes the thing's getting from bad to worst.
Why? Again... once again... our modern "plague", the "political correct" issue! Therefore, we have a TOTALLY ORDINARY girl (without a SINGLE THING to making her different from the others), she's not even good looking (her younger sister is!), she's acting like a boy/man (so it's a bit "binary" character!) while the rest male characters are "not that important"...
The funny thing is... the main female character ALSO IS NOT THAT MUCH important!!! All characters are boring, dull, they don't have much of character, you're not getting involved with them much - so you don't really CARE for them, even for the main (ordinary) character!
Then, you have the "supernatural" element, a male (!!!!) fairy who he's "tranforming" our main female character to combo of... Hulk, DeadPool & Wolverine... together!!!! I mean, okay, I want to she her kicking buts... but she's UNTOUCHABLE, IMMORTAL, she can't get hurt at all!!!
And we have the "supposed REALISTIC HISTORICAL" element; the 18th century England! It's so obvious this tv-show is been written, produced and directed by AMERICANS, not even Europeans!!!... The landscape "looks like" England, the clothing "looks like" English, but generally NOTHING convincing that this is ACTUALLY ENGLAND of 18th century!
So... bottom line is, it could be AMAZING show.
Now, is just a "so 'n so" show, and it's getting repeated and boring after few episodes.
Damsel (2024)
Hahaha... It was so silly, that I actually enjoyed it a bit!
I'm a full-ultra fanatic supporter of "fantasy-epic" movies/games. So, when I've learned about this movie I was excited...
...till I found that it was a NETFLIX production.
Meaning? All the "cliche" and stereotypes "political correct" Netflix fanatically serving!
The very bad/evil MEN who unprovoked were responsible for tha "curse"/doom... the innocent FEMALE BEAST who lost (THEY killed) her three FEMALE DAUGHTERS... the innocent FEMALE victims brides to be sacrificed to calm the beast... and of course our main hero character, A FEMALE (obviously!) innocent princess who turned to... "DOVAHKIIN" (lol!) and she was able to kill the incredibly UNBEATABLE beast!!!
Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!
It was almost a... parody, a comedy!!!
My rating (4 stars) are for the superb costumes and armors/weapons, for the AMAZING fantasy landscapes and of course... for the DRAGON itself!
FINALLY... for once... a REAL 4-limb dragon and NOT a "classic" wyvern (as most movies/games have)!!!
...Netflix... give us break and go and make a deal with BETHESDA and create a movie (or small tv show) about "SKYRIM", about the REAL "DOVAHKIIN"!!! Then... we'll watch a SERIOUS fantasy-epic movie with dragons!
1883 (2021)
COULD be a great tv show, but it's not THAT good.
I always liked the "Western" films; but, unfortunatelly, the old American Western films were too unrealistic, the people were dressed like were from fashion show (even the coy-boys), too much "noble speeches", the gunfights were too "dramatic", etc.
So, I liked more the "Spaghetti Westerns"; these films were more "rough", more realistic, the people were dirty, tough, their characters were rough, etc.
(Of course, SOME modern American Westers - for example "Silverado" or others - started to look more real, almost like the "Spaghetti" ones...)
Now... this tv show here COULD be a superb one, but in the end it isn't. Let me write you down first the good (pros) and then the bad (cons)
So, it show us EXACTLY how the immigrants settlers were trying to find/establish a new life in "the New World" - and infact, in the true WILD West. In most of films, we just watching FEW MINUTES of SOME daily incidents of their lives.
Here, we watching from the very first day they starting their tough jurney to their last one. It's very UNIQUE, never happen before. You watching everything, their daily relationship between them, their contact with dangers (bandits, plains Indians. Wild animals, enviroment, weather, etc), tough uncivilized other settlers/cowboys, etc... I understand, this is a "somehow" prequel of "Yellowstone" tv show, but I wish there were a couple more season for this great "1883" show. Could be, I guess. They could have spread more the story and having a couple more seasons for it...
So, basically the story is fine, there is realism, it's quite very good overal...
Then, how come just 6 stars?
Let's see the negatives:
"Of course"... in our modern lunatic times... the "political corect" not missing from the show.
We have a White ex-"Yankee" old man, former Union captain who served in a regular company/regiment (we watching flashbacks when he fought in the Civil War), but HIS PARTNER (a former Union sergeant) "just happening" and he's a BLACK fellow!!! Well... Black folks fought indeed in Civil War (some of them, even in CSA Army among with their "masters"), but in Union Army the Black soldiers were enlisted in ONLY-FULL-BLACK regiments!!! So, since we watching the old-guy (WHITE) his flashback from Civil War and we're watching he's commanding a REGULAR WHITE folks regiment... how the Black sergeant was beside him, they were partners??? Also, we have European immigrants (Germans, Dutch, etc) but "we must had" also a GIPSY person - and not just as "extra" actor BUT PLAYING A STARING ROLE!
Now... it started "okay" with elsa as narrative, but after 2-3 episodes this is getting really super-annoying! I mean... the show is getting kinda like "Elsa... and some other fellas, in the wild West"!!!
After a while I so shick of this!!! Half of each episode is a narrative monologue of Elsa!!! I know, okay, the story is "from her eyes", got it... but NOT SO MUCH! I wanted to watch ACTION, not just listening a 18 years old girl monologues about her THOUGHTS!!!
Also, okay I got it, Elsa is a "wild girl" but... we met her as a regular girl in dresses and in FEW episodes she became MORE PRO "COW-GIRL" than the grown-up REAL cow-boys in her company/group!!! That reminded how RAY (in new StarWars trilogy) became the super-duper great master Jedi IN A WEEKEND, when Luke Skywalker needed... a life time training with Obi-wan and Yoda!!!! ANOTHER "potical corect" - women can do it much better than men!!!
I also was SOOOO BORED about her... lust!!!! The first boy (cowboy) she met, she "fell in love" and got almost instantly sex with him!!! The guy killed... she was sad... and the VERY NEXT GUY she met (an Indian), she ALSO fell in love (and sex!!!!) and she abandoned her own family for the guy!!!!!!!! And her parents ACCEPTED her choice "just like that"!!!!!
Not mention the Comanche Indians themselves!!! Except FEW (just few) actors (extras), all the rest were White actors with some silly costumes, trying to demostrate "a Comanche Indian"!!!
They all speaking PERFECT English and very rare speaking indian language, while THEIR OUTFITS & DECORATIONS has nothing to do with REAL COMANCHE folks!!! I'm wondering... the producers or directors, didn't google ANY REAL PIC of REAL Comanche, to see how these people looked like????
Anyways... This tv show COULD BE EPIC, AMAZING...
But, like most of the modern efforts, it failed. It's very good story (9-10 stars), but the overal result is 4-5 stars... so it's fair to give a 6-7 star MAX!
Utøya 22. juli (2018)
Can't understand the high rate of this movie.
I've first watched the other film (22 July) and then I've seen this film has higher rate; so I've watched this here too...
...Sorry, but I can't understand why this movie has so high rate. The movie is one of the MOST BORING movies of all times!!! I supposed I would see a thriller drama, with agony/suspense... Well, I think I slept on my couch 2-3 times during this movie!!!
They took the "old-school-Blair-Witch-Project" style of camera shooting (like the camera is actually "your eyes" and you are "inside the action") and ...that's it. That's all. The entire movie is following a group of teens (mostly ONE teen, a girl), like "you" (camera) happen and remained with that girl, and "you following her" when she's searching her sister, when she's running away (from the gun-shots), bla-bla-bla...
...you see from time to time some other teens running and screaming... and NOTHING ELSE, nothing else happening!!!
You simply HEARING gun-shots (from the Right-Wing assassin/killer of 22nd July murders)... and nothing else, no drama, no action, no agony & suspense, NOTHING AT ALL!
Even the gun-shots sounds like SHOTGUN - the actual killer was armed with military assault rifle, which obviously not sound like this!
Seriously...
This movie is SOOOOOO BORING!!!
I can't understand the high rate of it!
Okay, I get it, the actors (nobodies, not even one of them is a well known actor, they looks like they are actor-students, not pro) are doing the best they can, their screenplay is quite good and realistic.
But that's not the ONLY POINT of the movie!
On that island, happen the MOST BRUTAL MASSIVE MURDER in Norway's entire history! And we see... zero, nothing!
It supposed to be a DRAMA, a THRILLER.
I didn't scared at all, I didn't envolved emotionally AT ALL what's so ever with this film.
Sorry, but I liked the "22 July" MUCH more than this here.
The Siege of Jadotville (2016)
Real actual story, well portraited by this great film.
The events of this film are true; the story is real, actually happen in the '60s during the "Cold War".
Congo (Central Africa) has INCREDIBLE resourses in uranium, carper and other vailable goods that all needed (USSR, USA, etc).
The country had democracy and actual elected president, but he did the "mistake" to open "war" with many foreign companies (French, Belgian, etc), so these companies planned and executed a coup, they replaced the Congo president, got him in jail and finaly executed him!
The new "presiden" (a general) had perfect "connections" with these foreign companies and to keep his roule, he started a cruel leadership to his country, so eventually the UN had to reply and send peace-keeper troops.
They decided to send a small company of Irish troops. And during a large scale operation, they send just a handfull of 155 men to guard an outpost in the far southern corner of Congo.
These 155 men faced over 3,000 (some saying 5,000) African & French Legionaries (mercenaries) for 5 days, just with their own light weapons (rifles & machineguns), grenades and nothing more - waiting hopeless for aid (for reinforces) that never came. The "green" (without a single battle experience) Irish killed over 500-700 enemies, when they had NO CASUALTIES (just 5 wounded men)!
Eventually, after these 5 days the Irish brave soldiers decided to surrender. They've been kept in prison for a month and then they've been released back home to Ireland. Their state decided to FORGET the incident and these Irish folks never gained any respect... until many many years later (late of '90s), when the Irish State FINALY recognized their AMAZING "Last Stand" like modern Spartans in Congo!
The film is AMAZING! As far as I read the actual events from books and watched documentaries, the film is about 90% accurate to the actual story, the main charactar (Colonel Pat) is identical... well, except his VERY HEAVY Irish accent (lol)!
Generally, the film is remarkable and VERY underrated!
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)
From a FANATIC fan of Indiana... that was a GREAT finale!
If you wonna ask me "which are your TOP movie characters you MOST love?", I would replied "Darth Vader & Indiana Jones"!!!
Especially Indiana... was always the story, the film, the character I ALWAYS LOVED. The "Indiana Jones" films (well, "MOST" of them) having all I like in an adventure:
- supernatural element
- archeological elements & sites
- fast speed action
- erony & good humor
- evil NAZIs (MOST important)
- a lot travels around the world
...and more.
So, obviously, the first "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was A MASTERPIECE, had all the above.
The 2nd "Indiana" film was a BIG dissapointment, with the story in a SINGLE land (India) - he didn't travel elsewhere, with BORING enemies (those Kali worship evil Indians), without much of supernatural & archeological elements, etc.
The 3rd "Indiana" was a good one, because they thought it right - they placed all the above I wrote about a GOOD "Indiana" film; plus, they also took another GREAT actor (Sean Connery) and they developed more Indiana's character.
The 4th "Indiana" was also quite a dissapointment. They tried to place all the above elements, but they failed big time, it was a "fast-to-earn-money" project, they didn't paid much attention to the details, the supernatural element (aliens) was silly developed, the bad guys were ...Soviets now, etc.
So... we came to the 5th and last film.
Well... IT HAS THEM ALL, as the first "Raiders" film!!!
In fact... I think I liked this last 5th film EVEN MORE than "Raiders"!!!!
Why? Because, now in this film there was A LOT ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS!!! Lucas never gave attention to the details!
In "Raiders", he was simply gave a single plain "wonna be WW2 German" uniform to EVERY German and that's it. The Germans tried to take the Ark with a... futuristic plane and with just a "swastika" on it, it was a Nazi plane! Indiana Jones tried to threat the Germans by holding a... Soviet RPG rocket launcher!!!! And many more like those...
In this film, ALL the details were REMARKABLE!!! The film starts in the end of WW2, so the Nazis are using THEIR VERY LAST UPGRADED uniform styles, camo covers (on their helmets, on raincoats, etc), they have also modern assault rifles except the "usual" ones, the anti-aircraft gunners had LUFTWAFFE uniforms with their red colar rank symbols, the aircrafts were Historic IDENTICAL (Jungers Bomber), and many more!
Even in the end of the film with the travel back in time, the director paid so much attention to the details! The Sycilians had Greek "hoplon" shields with THE TRADITIONAL ANCIENT "Three-leg" symbol on their shields!!!!! And many more!
The ONLY BAD thing about the movie was, that even if they made great Harrison Ford with CGI to look young in the WW2 scenes, they failed to do the same WITH HIS VOICE!!!!! We were watching a 30-40 years old Indiana, but he was speaking the... 80 years old Harrison Ford!
Generally... this is a GREAT, A SUPERB film!
As a FANATIC fan of "Indiana" character, I wouldn't think a GREATEST finale!
Of course there are a lot not accurate things (especially about the "Kythira Computer", the main artifact) but it's a FICTION character with FICTION storyline...
Great finale, Indiana Jones!
The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
Very good effort to portait the original Dracula.
I really don't understand why this movie has so many negative reviews!
First of all, the movie is based on a single chapter of Stoker's novel "Dracula". From the entire book/novel, the movie took the one chapter that narratives the trip of Dracula from Roumania to England, via a ship - "Demeter". As in the book, Dracula "travels" in a dozen of crates with Roumanian soil, his coffin, etc. And he needs to "fed" himself due the crew etc.
Even in the famous Coppola's "Dracula" film with Reeves, Hopkins, Oldman etc, there is also the very same scene - but last too short, because the film is about the entire novel, not a single chapter.
So, I really don't understand why so many people don't like this film. If you have read the actual novel (I bet the 90% of you DIDN'T!!!), this film almost ALIKE that specific chapter of the book!
Of course there are some "political correct" changes, like the Black fella (hero) and his female partner, okay I got it - small details to let me down.
Also, many of you gave negative critic about the VISUAL APPEARANCE of Dracula; he looks like Gargoyle-bat creature. BUT HE HAD ALSO that appearance, in the book AND in the other Coppola's "Dracula" film! So, why you were so upset about it?
Seriously... the film is VERY good! It's dark, it's evil, it has the original "Dracula" elements! Why don't you like it? Can't understand.
Very good efford indeed.
Les trois mousquetaires: D'Artagnan (2023)
A good remake, but could be better.
The film is very good, really. You'll enjoy every minute of it. So, why I didn't rate it with better score?
Because the script writers wanted to give a different plot of the original book-novel/story. The film keeps more of the book's elements (the 3 main characters + the young D' Artagnan who wants to be Musketeer, the evil Cardinal, the fair between the queen and the English Duke, etc), but turned the entire plot to something different - a totaly fiction conspiracy from Protestants against the Catholic French Crown.
Also, many of the main characters haven't been worked too much. Some casting were perfect, other actors didn't fit much with their character.
But generally, overal, since I'm a HUGE FUN of this Alexandre Dumas' novel, I can say that I enjoyed the film and I can't wait to watch the second part.
It's a good film, but can't beat the previous movies of the same story.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Seriously? THAT, all of you, think it is a "D&D" film? It's a MODERN COMEDY!
Ok, I'm trying to figure out:
Am I just a "dinosaur" (I'm 52 years old) and I'm living in a totaly "other era" and I can't understand you people, or you're just used to "fed yourselves" by ANYTHING they "feeding" you in life general...
...and most of you consider this movie very good?!
Before I start watching a movie, I first see the film's poster, pictures from the movie and of course the trailer. From these, I already started to be skeptical about what I will see! The poster is full of gaudy colors, the characters are in silly poses, etc., while the trailer broke my heart...
And I started watching the movie.
First of all, the BIG mistake they make now, is to "throw on your face" the BEST SCENES of the project in the movie trailer - usually in the trailers they showing you SOMETHING from the movie, definitely not the BEST scenes!... Well, that's it! If you see the (plenty) trailers that have been released, it's like you saw the BEST scenes of the movie!
Also, they also making the mistake of "random throwing" EVERYTHING of a lore at your face, putting them into a blender... and whatever the result is, that's it! They should NOT have shown SOOOOO many characters SOOOOO fast, because the viewer doesn't have time to process SOOOOO much information - especially when they have NO IDEA of the ACTUAL D&D RPG games!
Then ALL of the characters were "shallow", "paper-made", "flat", without going deeper and showing you more fully WHO ALL these guys are.
None of the characters (except maybe the bard, the warrior and the evil sorceress) "convinced" me - and especially the Paladin (who for 20+ years I played ONLY PALADIN, I was waiting so much to see this particular character)! Yes, ok, his behavior was "Chaotic Good", but "flat" & "shallow", he didn't DEEPLY introduce me to the character of Paladin. The same was for the other characters (mage, druid, etc.). It was a super fast "building" of those heroes without going deeper at all. As I wrote, the ONLY characters that somehow "convinced" me were the bard, the warrior, and MOSTLY the evil witch, but she wasn't the ULTIMATE "Boss" I was expecting (something like "Saoron" villain) that the heroes would "spit blood" to defeat her - which they finally defeated SO SILLY (again), with a COMEDY way!
But ok, lets accept all of these!
WHAT TOTALLY PISSED ME OFF was the "cuteness", the UNSTOPPABLE SATIRICAL style of the film, which was essentially COMEDY in a... fantasy world! And the point is not that the movie was consistently comical, but that the characters acted AS IF THEY WERE MODERN PEOPLE (of the 21st century) TELEPORTED into a fictional fantasy world and BEHAVIORED AS MODERN PEOPLE in that fantasy era!!! Ok... the trilogy "The Lord of the Rings" had ALSO A LOT HUMOR SCENES (Merry with Pippin, Gimli with Legolas, etc.), but they were WITHIN THE THE LORE of the movie, they were acting like THOSE fantasy RPG characters, they didn't behaved modern, they didn't acted sarcastic as modern people, with eronic silly jokes all the time, etc!
Here in this movie, it was like a bunch of 15-year-old kids in modern times were playing the D&D game and SOMEHOW MAGICALLY "teleported" into the fantasy world of the game and SOMEHOW trying to adapt to the needs of their NEW REALITY, but without much of success and showing their MODERN behavior...
Let's see the "atmosphere" of the project.
SUPPOSED to take place in the "FORGOTEN REALMS". Ok... it didn't give me the "Forgotten Realms" feeling. The shots of the "wilds" were nice, but neither the city "convinced" me, nor the elven forest "convinced" me (this scene was completely unacceptable), in general it didn't seem like the "Forgotten Realms" came to life in movie - it felt like a FESTIVAL of D&D FRIENDS (modern humans) and with whatever means they had trying to "bring" the lore to life, in a weekend where they all got together! The costumes and props were generally good, but there were other things that were completely invalid or ugly, such as the hot air balloon or the... "ship" (looked like a fantasy submarine with a sail)!
Shall we go to the CGI?...
Perhaps one of the WORST CGI I've seen! They reminded me of the AWFUL CGI that "Netflix Witcher" had, which I justified because it was a first attempt by Netflix to make Gerald's Lore and I didn't have many demands. But here? This is a big production! I expected GREAT CGI, which was not there!
The ONLY GOOD things the movie had were the action scenes, the battles, etc., the choreography of the actors which was PERFECT and I really liked it.
NOTHING ELSE, really, "convinced" me!
...Honestly, all of you who writing so much tributes about the movie, HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED this game (I'm talking about pen 'n paper Dungeons & Dragons)???... Or at least, have you played the ONLY ones (in my opinion) PC games that are ABSOLUTELY PERFECT in D&D lore, like the "NEVERWINTER NIGHTS" & "BALDUR'S GATE"??? Well... if you've played all of these, you'd agree with me - the movie has NOTHING to do with the D&D feeling!
Seriously... who said to you, that we (the old-school D&D gamers) were... laughing and doing silly things and saying stupid eronic quotes, while we were playing a DM's campaign????
We were VERY FOCUS, VERY serious about our role and the story and in fact, when we DIED (our character) in a campaign I remember ACTUALLY CRYING like we actually lost our real life - THAT MUCH "CLOSE" we were with our character!
Like I wrote, this movie looked to me like a FESTIVAL of D&D FRIENDS, who sat down and gathered in one area for a weekend, put on their costumes, and HAD A FUN, doing comedy stuff and having good time for a couple of days (before they return to their normal modern routine lives) - nothing else!
MERCIFULLY... for the sake of my 20+ years of playing D&D (from 1980 to 2000, Paladin class ONLY!)... I'm going to put a 6 rate on the movie - MERCIFULLY! If I waw HARD in my review, I wouldn't even give it 5 points!
(I love that I was hard for the WARCRAFT movie when it came out! In relation to this game, WARCRAFT film was an EPIC, after all! It seems to me that you are used to seeing mediocrity and considering them "great works"! )
Enough said...
Peninta-peninta (2005)
By far the BEST Greek comedy TV show off all times!
Well, if you're not Greeks you don't know how dramatic lives turned for some of the major stars of this TV show - one male key role character suddenly died (Sakis Boulas), the other is "loosing it" (Pavlos Haikalis) and the third (and most major role) accused for several rapes and his career ended (Petros Filippidis)...
...Regardless these very sad things for the THREE MAJOR roles of this show, we can't forget how INCREDIBLE and SUPERB comedy was!
These three male actors (also good friends as people, except their "friendship" in this scenario), had AMAZING "bound" and it was like each one were the 1/3 of the same person - that's how PERFECT match they had.
The story is about 3 male friends (and their wives & families), 3 male guys in their 50s (that's what the TV show title means "50-50" - their age) and how they can't stop acting like teenagers, doing stupid things, acting crazy and making the others around them crazy too.
Their wives can't standing them and they are good friends and they're allies against them - so it's the 3 male "50s" guys vs. The 3 female "50" ladies!...
Trully... if you know or understanding Greek language... you won't stop laughing with this TV show. There are quite some AMAZING funny Greek TV shows, but THIS HERE is to me the TOP-1 of all times!!!...
The story is PERFECT... the roles/characters are PERFECT... the acting is AMAZING... the directions is GREAT... the result is A RARE GEM!
Unforgetable TV show, that kind of shows they're stopped making any more!