Category Archives: movies

sorry, not a masterpiece (Film: La La Land – Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, 2016)

The buzz is high, the prizes started to accumulate. They tell however more about the status of the industry and the longing of the public for escapist entertainment combined with a high dose of nostalgia for the musical successes that … Continue reading

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slow building crime drama (Film: The Girl on the Train – Emily Blunt, 2016)

There are a few missed opportunities in The Girl on the Train directed by Tate Taylor bringing to screen Paula Hawkins‘s successful novel. The story starts like a voyeuristic drama involving three women (two of them resembling each other), two houses … Continue reading

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underrated, almost a masterpiece (film: Clouds of Sils Maria – Juliette Binoche, 2014)

There are so many reasons to like this film. First, the cast includes two of the lead actresses of two different generations – the priceless and prize covered Juliette Binoche and one of the top performers of the younger generation … Continue reading

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Clint’s Heroes A-changin’ (Film: Sully – Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, 2016)

It’s interesting to watch the evolution of the heroes that Clint Eastwood brought to screen in his acting and directing career. His first serious impact was with the spaghetti western style heroes of the 60s, followed by the sometimes rotten, sometimes … Continue reading

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melodramatic immigration story (The Immigrant: Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix – 2013)

Director James Gray returns in his 2013 production of The Immigrant to one of his recurrent themes – the one that made him known in the first long feature film he made Little Odessa – immigration, and to his preferred … Continue reading

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war-on-terror thriller (Film: London Has Fallen – Babak Najafi, 2016)

The character played by  Morgan Freeman  in  London Has Fallen (who happens to be on this screen the vice-president of the USA) says at one moment about the master-terrorist that plans the 9/11 like events described in this film: ‘This man has … Continue reading

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ecological and moral dillemas before history begun (Film: Noah – Darren Aronofsky, 2014)

I have a hard time placing this film. On one side it’s so typically hollywoodish – it’s a super-production with Bible-related content that would make it probably to many Christian films festivals. It’s very conventional in its ecological message and … Continue reading

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Ben Affleck shining (Film: The Accountant – Ben Affleck, 2016)

It took me a very long time to get convinced about the acting skills of Ben Affleck. I could not distinguish him in the movies he acted, or between the roles in different movies he acted in the first years of … Continue reading

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a melodrama about the making of a melodrama (Film: Saving Mr. Banks – Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, 2013)

Here is an interesting situation. I love cinema and I like the ‘movies about movies’ genre which I believe has provided some of the best films in the history of the seventh art. Saving Mr. Banks is however a film about … Continue reading

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the most beautiful end of the world (film: Melancholia – Lars von Trier, 2011)

When he is not making provocative statements at news conferences Lars von Trier makes movies. Some of them are shocking. Some of them are stunning. I did not like all his films (Dogville was too dry an experiment for me) and … Continue reading

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