Trial and Error

Having tried several TV shows and failing miserably each time (I’m looking at you, Bones, Fringe, The Mentalist, Supernatural, and so on), as well as trying the same move with different movies, most of them starring the current Mr. Jolie (Se7en and Fight Club being the most notable examples), I can conclude that I am a trier unwilling to let go and unwilling to accept defeat, indifferent of the form it takes.

By these means I am now ready to punish myself for wasting my time and years trying repeatedly to fill in some unwritten norms and failing miserably.

At the same time, I am ready to applaud my stoic manner of pursuing things out of my comfort zone, even though they made me gag or fall asleep each and every single time.

This rant has been cause by several articles per day, read by yours truly, articles which glorify some content products made for entertaining purposes only and not for self-torture, as I was (wrongly) using them.

Good news – new project

I promised some of you good news on October 1st, so here I am with a big sign over my head:

I started a new collaboration with this awesome website.

Yes, I already found employment in writing for other people, but somehow I find that writing about stuff that I care about is what keeps me awake and sane at the end of the day.

As some of you already noticed, I haven’t published a review for a movie in a long time, but I have the perfect explanation for this.

www.couch.ro

Check it out, if you want to read some of my opinions (because all of you know how opinion-prone I am) for new movies, old movies and full of suckage movies. Those are the best, people! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Review: Black’s Game (2012)

Missing good movies? Why not rewatch? Why not European movies?

In our first years we were taught that only Romanian films are good, with few American exceptions. Years have passed, and we discovered that films can be seen in the exact year they are released, through that magical thingy called cinema. Some more years have passed, and we discovered the internet and it’s power to deliver information in a second. I remember the first years of the internet, after the 00s, when CDs with films that became cult movies were passed between brothers and colleagues and neighbours.

Those were great movies, because we had easy access to them and because most of them were original scripts or good adaptations from other books and media.

Year have passed yet again, and after 2010 I don’t seem to recall that many titles of great movies. I sometimes watch European movies, because of their ingenuity and realism, because they don’t rely on special effects, because they want to tell a good story really, really well with great actors.

Last night I saw a good movie. After failed attempts with Rise of the Zombies, Horrible Bosses and few more titles, I watched Black’s Game.

Stereotypical as it sounds, the first thing I thought was „hmm, Icelandic, must be good”. I am a little bit judgemental and I am sure that, if I had the cance to see the same movie, made in USA, with the same action and title, I wouldn’t have made the effort.

So, on a Sunday night, after walking our handsome pouch, we hit the play button, expecting good cinematic experience.

Yes, it’s violent. It’s about drugs and sex and rape sometimes. It’s about the traps we set for ourselves, about our bad choices and consequences. It has great music, resembling the soundtrack of The Boondock Saints (but just at times, not always).

I loved the casting. All the actors were credible, especially Thor Kristjansson (Stebbi) and Damon Younger (Bruno). Even though the film was doubled in English, it was great. I usually preffer my movies in their native tongue (this is how I found out what a great language Swedish is), so I will check out the original version with English subtitles.

They said the story was inspired by true events and it felt real and cold. The editing and they way they filmed certain scenes were great.

Black’s Game is a crime thriller, not Reservoir Dogs good, but with a strong story, with believeable characters, a great director and a great soundtrack. It’s rating, of only 6.7, reflects the reality, it’s a good movie in a sea of really, really bad Hollywood work.

Django Unchained – a review of some sorts

I know I am late to the party, but I just saw Django Unchained and it exceeded my expectations.
In a fit of fury, I went to the cinema Saturday morning, at 11 am, to meet my beautiful Tarantino. At first, I thought I have the room all to myself, but in the end I found out that 3 is indeed a lucky number.

django-unchained-2012-movie-wallpaper-for-1920x1200-widescreen-11-488

Warning! This will not be a review per se, but I will list what I loved and what I didn’t about Django Unchained.

I loved the acting. I found Christoph Waltz a bit overrated, even though funny, but one-dimensional in his role as Dr. King Schultz.
I found Jamie Foxx‘s role as a taciturn, sensible and perseverant nigga, a man of great strengths with few weaknesses, very realistic, even though a bit exaggerated.
I found Kerry Washington unexpectedly good. I thought she was just pretty, but the whipping scene really made me cry.
I thought Leonardo DiCaprio was playing himself, an arrogant SOB with money, boredom and semen to spare.
I found Samuel L. Jackson amazing as a racist slave, but when is he not amazing?

I found the story believable. Love and slavery don’t go hand in hand (for practical reasons, of course), but sacrifice and love do.
It’s all about principles, whether you’re a dentist turned bounty hunter, or a slave turned bounty hunter, or a slave and that’s all, or a white rich boy without a soul.

I really loved the scenery. It looked almost vintage and so not-professional. I liked the rolling credits, rolling credits everywhere!

I loved the music and the costumes, but I must admit I loved the music more.
I loved the fights, and all the shooting.
I loved its pace, cause I knew there was something wrong with the pace in the second half of the movie (thank you, internet!), but I found no such nuisance.
I loved its ending, perfect for the story. I felt that everyone who needed to be dead (yeah, including Schulz) was dead. It did the whole movie justice.

What did I not love? Easy to say. Tarantino as a dead beat guy – he acted horribly and his belly was fat. Also, Jonah Hill playing himself: a big fat doofus.

All in all, a 10 from me. Best movie in years.

PS: I think, just think, that it was better than Pulp Fiction. I will re-watch them both to have an honest opinion.
PPS: I like it when Tarantino (re)writes history.

Pic from here.