marie_anette's Reviews

The Holdovers (2023)

10/10

Literally nothing negative I can say about this

25 February 2024

I watched this movie fully into it, and upon finishing, I realised how much I needed to just see a movie like this. It genuinely felt like a void was filled. In the chaos of today's movie world, it feels like there is almost no room for a movie like The Holdovers. And yet, it carved a space for itself with so much grace, with it's heartfelt, slice of life story.

The Holdovers doesn't try to push boundaries, it doesn't try to be edgy or convince you of anything - it doesn't need to. And that's what makes it stand out. Don't get me wrong, I have definire appreciation.for many of the crazy, amazing movies that have come out in recent years, but I truly missed a movie that doesn't raise my blood pressure.

7 out of 13 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Boss (I) (2023)

5/10

Sadly, waste of time

1 December 2023

Warning: Spoilers

After being a huge fan of Umbre I had much higher expectations from this. The actors are good, we saw their abilities before - but this movie does what I hoped it wouldn't. It makes everything dull, takes the spark out of every single actor and puts you to sleep.

What this movie does so wrong in my opinion is not hooking you in. Considering this is attempting to be a slow burn thriller, mysterious, atmospheric, etc, you need a hook - something to spark the interest at first and then keep it through the buildup of the subsequent slow-burn. This starts slow with nothing to keep you interested. It's just boring, muddling through, hoping to keep you there long enough to get to the point.

The dialogue is extremely weak and feels unrealistic - the scene when the main character walks into the girl's apartment and she tells him how "yet" is such a unpleasant word felt like it was written by a 16 year-old. It's the same with many other lines that feel pulled of out of a 2012 tumblr post.

Also, the typical terrible writing of women in romanian cinema is strong here. They're either hysterical mothers/wives, manic pixie dream girls, or "fallen" women. There is no dimension, no worthy personality, they are just there to support the male protagonist - which is frankly, very boring.

5 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Sisu (2022)

6/10

Kind of entertaining but...

17 May 2023

Someone else called this Finnish John Wick and yeah kind of accurate. There's very little talking and a lot of action, but - and I'm not one to have a problem with this - there's just a lot of very gratuitous and unnecessary scenes of close up violence and gore. Like... Not fun, not important, just because. I'm not super into that, because I don't think it provides any extra value. In a Tarantino movie I'm into it, because it's super fun and entertaining, but here it's a bit overdone.

Also, while I usually don't mind a bit of magical realism so to speak, people doing ridiculous things or surviving ridiculous situations, this was a bit much for me. I found myself rolling my eyes a lot because after a while it just isn't funny anymore and it takes you out of the story. I would've appreciated a bit more effort put into the writing in this respect.

All in all, I don't think I gained or lost anything by watching this movie. It's fine, it's kind of entertaining, but for me it just fell a little flat.

1 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Jane the Virgin (2014–2019)

9/10

I genuinely loved it

2 March 2023

I just finished this. When I first saw the title on Netflix I thought it would be some dumb, boring show about a chick who can't get any. But it was absolutely not that!

I don't normally subscribe to telenovela storytelling but I loved it here. After a few episodes I was definitely hooked and ended up binge watching it over a few weeks - which I almost felt bad about when I realised it aired for 5 years!

I love the narrator and the over the top twists and turns. I cried and laughed and felt all of the feels, and honestly that's what makes a good show. I got really attached to the characters and that's something many shows fail in doing - creating connection with the viewer.

There were definitely some things that didn't sit well with me (specifically in Jane's family dynamic with her mom and abuela), and some things that could've been done better, but overall they didn't cast a shadow on my experience.

The universe is very well constructed to receive all of the over the top dramatic moments and plot twists - it doesn't feel unnatural at any point, because you expect the unexpected.

I also really appreciated that the characters grow, learn and change throughout the story. At the end we feel they've become who they should be, and are ready to live on their own terms.

0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

His Dark Materials (2019–2022)

8/10

Good but has some plot holes

18 February 2023

I really loved the first two seasons. They had all the ingredients, especially the first one. Genuinely filled me with wonder.

But the third season just... What's going on? I haven't finished it yet but it's been kind of unenjoyable. It feels like it's missing important information so the characters motivation is unclear and confusing. It feels rushed. Lyra's parents especially, their actions just don't make sense half the time. They change their behaviour completely from what we initially learn about them and it's only brushed upon why... I still want to finish it but it feels really disappointing that it's so badly laid out.

There's 3 books and 3 seasons so I would think they had plenty of time to explain things.

3 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

marie_anette

Reviews

Tell Your Friends

Recently Viewed