Another portion of overdue reviews:
QUAND ON A 17 AN (BEING 17)
Watchable.
A gay film. It's not about adolescence as such. It's about young
homosexuals. The school and family motifs are fine, convincingly shot
and acted but the core topic is very niche.
45 YEARS
Walked
out. About a couple who have been with each other forever, know each
other inside out and keep talking about the obvious. The most boring
family ever.
EL ABRAZO DE LA SERPIENTE (EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT)
Watchable.
Black and white. Slow and drowsy yet about secluded settlements in the
Amazon and about how such little societies develop (in the most
distorted ways). About individual people's moral ambivalence too.
FAIR PLAY
Recommended.
About a sportsgirl whose closest family and social circle is so keen on
success they don't mind taking themselves or giving to her harmful
performance-enhancing drugs. Quite chilling.
A BIGGER SPLASH
Watchable.
Dakota Johnson is even hotter here than in the "Fifty Shades of Grey".
The island is beautiful. The drama between the people isn't, part of it
is plain weird. The immigrant invasion on the island forms the
background for no apparent reason.
VAN VALAMI FURCSA EN MEGMAGYARAZHATATLAN (FOR SOME INEXPLICABLE REASON)
Walked out. For some inexplicable reason someone made this movie about a lazy loser. I saw no reason to continue watching it.
10 CLOVERFIELD LANE
Watchable. The thriller part
about being locked up in a cellar by a psycho is great. The SF ending
with alien's mechanical-looking tentacles is lousy. Just the very final
scene of choosing the direction at a road fork is tongue-in-cheek.
AFRYKAMERA 2016
L'OEIL DU CYCLONE (EYE OF THE STORM)
Recommended.
A powerful courtroom drama tackling the issue of child soldiers. Makes
you understand the criminal in charge which doesn't mean you get
anywhere near being fond of him.
THE MODEL
Recommended.
It's so true about every young girl's life (love, friendship, intrigue,
sex abuse, awe at glamour) - this one is just more glamorous than
average as the girl is a 16 y.o. model in Paris.
AFRYKAMERA 2016
SEMBENE!
Watchable.
Funny to discover that Ousmane Sembene, who I knew as a writer, was
predominantly a film-maker. He even tackled the female circumcision
problem. While you learn such trivia, the film overall is quite dull.
A FORK, A SPOON AND A KNIGHT
Watchable. Nothing special or important but it's quite uplifting to see a community of teenage boys from disadvantaged backgrounds meeting to play chess.
LA BELLE AT THE MOVIES
Watchable. Dull yet heart-warming - about the history of cinema in the Congo. Kinshasa doesn't have any cinema venue now, yet several people remember their exact locations.
THE BOSS
Watchable.
A standard American comedy about a vicious boss. Some glamour in the
beginning. Very American about being tough in business. Acted well,
involving but not very funny.
AFRYKAMERA 2016
OBURONI
Recommended.
Hilarious (an infectiously giggling relative, a guy carrying a wiggling
armadillo etc.) about a Polish Ghanaian looking for his father back in
Africa. Ghana looks the same as 20 years ago. His journey, somewhere
between ourbursts of laughter, truly touches your heart. A sad ending is
made up for with some amusing comments at the very end.
MEMORY CARDS
Watchable.
Zanzibar is pure beauty but the film doesn't answer the question of how
and why the writer disappeared and doesn't even formulate it clearly.
No comments:
Post a Comment