Change Your Image
altered-vlad
Reviews
A Simple Plan (1998)
It has snow so it must be Fargo 2
And of course it's not. This is a good example of what overwritten, overacted looks like. This in fact looks more like a soap opera than a thriller.
The director tries to be symbolic with fox and crow close ups and like everything else in the movie it ended up being forced and on the nose.
Don't believe the hype. This one is a stinker.
8 Million Ways to Die (1986)
Watch for Bridges and the unintentional comedy..
This is not a good movie. But why the ten stars you ask? Because i found myself enjoying every second of it.
The movie starts promissing. Jeff Bridges, man, what an actor. He portrays a recovering alcoholic ex cop who gets himself involved in some shady deals. You get hooked by his performance. You think to yourself that this is a really good movie. However, as the plot progresses you slowly realize that the movie doesn't know what to do with its premise. It becomes more apparent when Jeff Bridges gets into his first conversation with Andy Garcia. The whole scene seemed improvised and quirky. This is where the conviction that you're watching a silly movie suddenly hits you. And you know what? It's freaking hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing at every second of it. Andy Garcia lives in a freaking cake house. You can't make this stuff up.
The final showdown in the warehouse is some of the funniest unintended comedies out there and the whole thing is improvised again. By the time the cops descended and started shooting everybody, I was on the floor in a pool of my own tears.
Color Out of Space (2019)
Where is the director in all of this?
This movie is basically a montage of zoomed-in faces with focus. I hate this kind of crap. Only one thing is focused on during a shot and the rest is blurred. What is this, a demonstration of the auto focus function on the newest Iphone?
The director isn't directing anything. The pacing is all over the place. The character of the hydrologist is badly written. He seemed like he was forcibly inserted in this thing. His acting doesn't help either. He's like if you walked to someone randomly in the street and tell them they are a hydrologist and they have no idea what it means.
The film bizarrely portrays some outdated cliches that don't make sense considering it takes place in the recent years. Case in point is the nineties gothic girl who self mutilates and larps as a witch. Who still does that at this day and age?
The only redeeming moments here are some of Nic Cages performances.
Beoning (2018)
Enjoyable!
Let me just start by saying that Peppermint Candy is one of the best movies I've ever seen. If you haven't watched it, do yourself a favor.
It is through this standard and expectation that I view all of Lee Chang-Dong's movies. So far, all of his movies are great but to me, none of them have the impact Peppermint Candy had on me.
"Burning" is no different in that regard. Cinematography-wise, it is on par with his other movies. His style is recognizable here. Somewhat minimalist but not to the extreme, his camera work is never in the way. He let's his scenes breathe so that the actors can express themselves fully. The viewer connects the dots, interprets what's going on with the director eclipsing himself by not favoring any interpretation over the other.
With that been said, I feel that the protagonist was a bit undersold/underwritten as a character. He is void of charm, witt, and he is often inconsistent. I wish the "writer" side of him was a little bit explored. It is a very important aspect of his character that plays a great role in the plot as a whole. Instead we got your typical "observer" character which is unsuitable for the kind of role he shoulders throughout of the movie. Luckily, the rest of the characters carried the movie and made it quite an enjoyable watch. Dan, the rich guy was exceptionally well written and acted. There are many nuances to his character that makes the viewer guess even after the credits role.
All in all, apart from the issue with the protagonist, the movie was an enjoyable watch and deserves its place in Lee's respectable filmography.
Seriously though, go watch Peppermint Candy. You'll thank me for it.
No Such Thing (2001)
Juvenile
This whole movie reads like the fan fiction of an edgy teenager. Events happen to people without any rhyme, any reason and no consequences. The initial idea of the movie is a good one that could have been explored splendidly but the director never departed from it and instead turned it into a gimmick.
What a waste of my time.
Whispering Corridors: The Humming (2020)
What a mess.
Alright, another Whispering Corridors movie! My expectations: a ghost story set in a highschool with a decent atmosphere. I wasn't expecting for this to be an award winning effort. I was just in the mood for a ghost story. I enjoyed the previous entries in this series as good entertainment and sometimes with surprisingly great music and atmosphere.
This movie though was nothing like that.
The cinematography is great. Everything feels like a big budget project. The acting is also great, especially the protagonist. She did a great job with what she was handed.
And she wasn't handed a good script. The plot is all over the place. The director was too hasty baiting the audience before giving them something to stand on. He was already throwing build up scenes at us without establishing a rapport with the viewer. Why should I care about what's going to happen when I, as a viewer, don't know who these people are?
It is all a shame because later on he does that with his protagonist but it was at the end of the movie where nothing was at stake anymore.
The other characters are so underdeveloped that I keep confusing them with each other.