Movie reviews

NIGHT FILM MARATHON - THE NIGHT OF ADAPTATIONS

I skipped "Divergent" which I had seen and hadn't been delighted with before.

INSURGENT

Watchable. Artisan make: quite good CGIs but not mind-blowing, involving action at a good pace but far-fetched and terribly PC plot.

THE HOST

Watchable. A good number of hot guys, involving plot, happy ending. It's just no longer funny or moving when seen for the second time.

IF I STAY

Walked out. If you stay (I didn't) you're likely to get frustrated by the silly plot heading nowhere.


CANIBAL

Watchable. Not as shocking as the title would imply. While it's still involving, for obviously morbid reasons, it's slow-paced and not very convincing.

BLUE LIPS

Watchable. A few stories in one film rarely work. Here you just watch a handful of peculiar characters who all happen to be in Pamplona at the time of the San Fermin Fiesta. From the safety of your cinema seat you follow their issues with accommodation or lost luggage. Nothing unusual.

THE GUNMAN

Watchable. A standard action fare - well made and acted but with sime obvious ridiculities of the plot and protracted shoot-outs.

ELLE L'ADORE

Watchable. An involving crime drama for an unknown reason advertised as a comedy. About how a mundane incident changes ordinary people into criminals. Keeps you hooked from the first quarter of the movie though not on the edge of your seat - you can relax and recline.

CHARLEEN MACHT SCHLUSS (ABOUT A GIRL)

Watchable. The main two characters are sort of weirdos but likeable ones. The story of teenage depression rang some bells to me so I found it easy to identify myself with the girl who suffered just with growing up, no particular reason to it.

PARTY GIRL

Watchable. The protagonists are simple minds but the whole story of a family reunion was touching.

OPTIMISTENE (THE OPTIMISTS)

Recommended. Finally two nations where over-60s don't act like old pricks. It's so uplifting it's a must-see.

DIE FRAU DES POLIZISTEN

Walked out. Everyday life of an average family is so mundane and average that when some violence starts the action doesn't get any more lively.

THE DUFF

Recommended. I laughed and cried. It's all very involving, sometimes emotional and with some situation humour here and there. Kept me glued to the screen.

JAK CALKOWICIE ZNIKNAC

Watchable. The lesbian night tour of Berlin, with its shabby clubs, streets, gutters and kebab joints, is not interesting but is hypnotic.

FAST&FURIOUS 7

Watchable. Let your brain rest. Stop thinking and admire the views (hot chicks, muscled guys, landscapes, flying cars, glamour, cliff-hangers, crashes) and the music (by David Guetta among others. It was shot on locations in Atlanta, Colorado, Abu Dhabi, California. Only Japan is fake.

DIFRET

Recommended. A 14-year-old girl is kidnapped, held captive, raped, beaten, has her arm broken. When escaping she kills her main oppressor. She gets arrested, expelled from her home village and is waiting for the trial which will most likely end in her getting the capital punishment. Well, it's rural Ethiopia. An in-depth portrayal of the conflict of customary law with state law and the clash of modern city vs. traditional village cultures. The Ethiopian film is, curiously, produced by Angelina Jolie.