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eleanorordish
Reviews
Fabbricante di lacrime (2024)
Get into the style and you won't find it that bad...
So. You cannot compare something like this to your Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption or Schindler's List, but if you go in thinking "hey, you know what, I fancy some sort of simple angsty drama romance with a tad more depth", you will find it meets just that.
I'm reading other reviews and they mention it's based off of a book and, when I fancy a bit of light reading that doesn't require a huge amount of brainpower, I'll be there. It feels like one of those coin-buying app novels where every chapter is a cliffhanger designed to keep you reading and written by someone who does it to pass the time but knows what's required to earn the big bucks.
Everyone is very characterised; you've got your inside, sunglasses-wearing villain with a cane, you've got the chisel-jawed, talented heartthrob brother (who isn't really your brother) as the male protagonist, you've got your strong-ish but also damsel-in-distress-ish female protagonist and you then decide to throw in your 2-Dimensional best friends who are either "just ugly" or going through "unrequited love" and boom: we got ourselves a story. I'm not going into how it insults each party, otherwise we'd be here all day, but I do simply want to say that the 2D friends just really angered me in the way they were "used". They added literally nothing to the story, just thrown in there for the sake of it and maybe to seem "more edgy". Hence, insulting.
I'm glad I read the reviews first because then I knew what I was walking into. I'll be honest, I saw more chemistry between these two main characters than the actors who were the leads in "One Day". Shoot me, if you will, but that's my honest opinion. The music was actually top-notch. Again, very angsty, very teenage-drama, and it hit the nail on the head for what it was aiming to be. Whack in some moody lighting and some - actually, honestly - pretty well-filmed cinematography and you've got yourself a reasonable watch.
Others have compared it to Twilight and I can't help but agree. In fact, I'd go as far to say that the acting of the main protagonists was actually better (in this, there was more lip-biting from the guy than the gal in comparison).
Dissecting what the writer likely would label as the "deep and meaningful" part of their story regarding what they went through as children...it's a gentle subject for an awful lot of people, so this is where it's important to acknowledge the mark. Do I think it was highlighted as an important, deep and meaningful part of the storyline? No. The focus here was the romance and chemistry of our two protagonists. Then the rest of the issues were written around it to boost their relationship. If it meant to come across as the main point being victims finally standing up and calling out their abusers as the main subject, it fails. Because from what I saw, it's just about how two people came to love and support each other despite their awful upbringings.
Once you bring it down to that, I have to say, it was actually "alright". I won't be watching it again anytime soon, unless I'm wanting something on in the background as I paint my house's living room walls. I'm pleased, however, for those who found it particularly enjoyable because at the end of the day, each to their own and if you want to read further into the message (which is literally explained over and over again in a post-recorded narration because it presumes we're all stupid) then fair enough. Your passion is your passion.
I will say that it doesn't deserve below a 4 star review - even if you hated it, and I can empathise - because the casting, lighting, cinematography and (some of the) acting was actually not that bad.
Give it a shot if you're feeling poorly and taking a day off school or work.
Don't Hang Up (2016)
Classic Horror Inspired
I do understand the hate emanating from those of us who have "seen and heard it all before" but this is why I've tried to look at it with clean eyes.
Imagine you've never seen the likes of Scream before and instead you're watching this as one of your first horror flicks.
I for one am pleasantly surprised at the acting here- which goes a long way with a lot of recent horror films these days. Yes, a lot of people have complained that the two male protagonists are "too pretty" but then that's what TikTok and YouTube is all about these days so it's relevant. They're "good looking" guys who did well with the roles they were given.
The script...could have been better but it really had promise and I didn't get bored, I just wasn't as thrilled as I could have been. It opens with a well acted and well thought out scene that absolutely could happen to someone in real life. Going back to TikTok and YouTube, we certainly know people out there fully capable of being so vile as to prank someone like this- in fact I'm confident someone out there has pranked people like this in the past. So it's believable. Therefore the "villain" had good cause for revenge so his journey made perfect sense. Despite the random Michael Myers inspired mask ruining it a tad, I imagine some would find him unnerving. The plot twists will surprise people who don't try to predict everything and I don't think the writers should be hated on for finding inspiration from elsewhere especially when a lot of things these days are lacking originality.
However. Prepare for a rant. I hate the fact that the only female character (barring the mum who had her mouth taped or was shown dead the entire time) had no personality or character depth and the only scene she had with significant dialogue was unrealistic and badly acted; Peyton didn't seem real at all to me. She was a 2D character whose only purpose was to show one of the main lads was capable of other emotions and to be used as a tool for the "villain". She was useless when set free towards the end and she somehow ended up in the back garden of the house she was supposed to run away from. If she'd had more "life" to her then we would have been more invested in her; this would have added to the thrill of wanting her to survive and therefore more excitement for the crescendo of the film overall. But we didn't care when she was captured, we didn't care when she was found alive and we certainly didn't care when she was shot dead.
Also, what happened to the neighbours in this entire film? Did they not see or hear anything at all? At the end, why/how would the police link the killing of his best mate's parents to the kid? On the other hand, upon reflection, I am reminded that actually a lot of 80s horror film classics seem to have this in common as well which is why I don't drag down the entire film with these points. It would, after all, be boring if a neighbour heard the boys cry and fight and think to call the police.
Yes the plot twist turned out to be a revenge reveal but again, think of this as the first time ever seeing anything like this. It did get inspiration from better horror classics but the fact is, this takes the "old fashioned" horror genre and marries it with relevant topics of today. This could potentially blow the minds of the younger generation.
Listen to me acting like I'm ancient. I'm defending this film because it doesn't deserve a 2 out of 10 and it actually is worth a watch. It just isn't going to be particularly memorable to me in about a week's time.
Fractured (2019)
Predictable
Honestly, I admire how hard Sam Worthington tried hard with this one because it's so exhausting and awkward to play someone who is constantly fighting their mentality. I'm rating it a 5 based on the efforts of the cast overall and the writing.
However I unfortunately saw this as a lesser Shutter Island starring Leo Decaprio or Flightplan starring Jodie Foster which both contain very similar concepts in different ways.
As soon as I saw the dog with his daughter during that crucial scene I knew this would be a situation of a mental health mind trip. It was only confirmed more with the strange and unrealistic random laughing and jokes during the scenes with his wife. It also grated on me how the characters CONSTANTLY said how he's trying his best at being a good father/protector- it was all too predictable and obvious. If they hadn't repeated those lines and made the wife so weird and obviously disjointed then I would have questioned where the story was going. I feel if they'd gone down the line of a messed up hospital harbouring people's organs (which is what we're meant to originally wonder) then I'd have actually been more engaged.
I can't fault the overall wording of the script itself, the pretty cinematography and the performances of the cast and those who haven't seen films like this before will probably enjoy this and rate it higher. But for me it's just a digested version of a concept that has been done better.