Category Archives: movies

viewers brains are still used at 10% capacity … or less (Film: ‘Lucy’ – Luc Besson, Scarlett Johansson, 2014)

Lucy was supposed to be a film I should highly enjoy. I love Scarlett Johansson not only for the way she looks but also for daring to undertake complex and different roles that put at work her acting talent. Science … Continue reading

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news scavengers (Film: Nightcrawler – Jake Gyllenhaal, 2014)

It’s really amazing that ‘Nightcrawler‘ is the first directing achievement of Dan Gilroy – whose record only includes a few scripts (one of the Bourne series movies among them). It’s a real catchy, witty, brutal and realistic story about the … Continue reading

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the quiet exterminator (Film: The Equalizer – Denzel Washington, 2014)

Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) should be a super-hero. After all only a super-hero can destroy in 28 seconds the US East Coast  command center of the Russian mafia (actually exceeding by 9 seconds his plans), can survive an army of … Continue reading

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vampire games (Film: Dark Shadows – Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, 2012)

When Tim Burton and Johnny Depp come together one already knows what to expect. Dark Shadows is the 8th film directed by Burton with Depp in the cast, the first one being Edward Scissorhands from 1990, maybe the most famous … Continue reading

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a cinematograhic exercise with no substance (Film: Când se lasa seara peste Bucuresti sau Metabolism – Corneliu Porumboiu, 2013)

I am following quite closely the development of the Romanian cinema, and Corneliu Porumboiu is one of the directors whose previous work I enjoyed a lot, especially ’12:08 East of Bucharest’ which was a story about the 1989 events of … Continue reading

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justice and family (Film: The Judge – Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, 2014)

The Judge is a rather classical combination of family drama and court drama, enjoying a couple of fine actors in lead roles that will land them some place in or close to the area of the Academy Awards candidacies. It’s … Continue reading

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Tarantino in the Cold (Film: In Order of Disappearance – Hans Petter Moland, 2014)

Quentin Tarantino or the Coen brothers would have loved to make this film. It is  filled with characters from their world, transplanted in the hellish cold landscape of Scandinavia. If I am to compare it with experiences that are familiar … Continue reading

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the comet and the star (Film: My Week with Marilyn – Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, 2011)

Films about film making, about famous actors and directors were very much en vogue a few years ago, and “My Week with Marilyn” belongs to this wave. About that time two (good) movies about the master of suspense were made, … Continue reading

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almost underrated (Film: The Rum Diary – Johnny Depp, 2011)

Watching Johnny Depp in action is always a holiday for movie fans. Depp is one of these actors who can hold a film by himself, and in fact he does exactly this in many cases, included here. The problem starts … Continue reading

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Dangerous Species (Film: Under the Skin – Scarlett Johansson, 2013)

‘Under the Skin’  is directed by Jonathan Glazer whose best known previous achievement is ‘Sexy Beast’– a violent thriller made in 2000, which has allowed Ben Kingsley to make one of his most ferocious appearances grabbing on his way an … Continue reading

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