Skipfishh Reviews

Poor Things (2023)

Cinematographically beautiful and conceptually complex

[8/10 · 5 March 2024]

This isn't an easy film to watch and capture everything it tries to convey, on the contrary, it's quite complex.

I'm not a deep connoisseur of Freud, on the contrary, I studied some of his texts when I went to journalism school, but I remember very little, I'm actually unfamiliar with the subject, but clearly "Poor Things" seems to me to work with some points of psychosexual development human developed by Freud.

I may be talking nonsense, but it seems to me that the sexual phases of children described by Freud (oral, anal, genital, etc.) are shown in Bella's development during the projection, as well as her total independence and freedom in relation to the world and in the passage of each of those phases, without being repressed, allowing her to reach the superego.

While working with complex concepts of the development of the human psyche, the film also flirts wonderfully with the frustrations of love, and social, political and human issues, and I honestly couldn't capture everything the work was offering me, a lot of details must have escaped my attention.

So much content, so much complexity, inserted in a spectacular, wonderful cinematography, with exuberant sets, elaborated down to the smallest details, with perfect use of vivid colors and black and white, actors shining on the screen, all of them without exception, incredible direction, and a soundtrack very strange that fits like a glove.

I rate it 8 out of 10 because my ignorance really didn't allow me to capture everything that was being offered to me, and at some moments I felt a little tired from demanding so much of my brain, but it's a great film in all aspects. It's just not for everyone, as it's not what you would call popcorn entertainment cinema, on the contrary, it's the opposite, and perhaps the trailer could mislead certain types of audiences.

Jesus Revolution (2023)

The manipulated path

[6/10 · 2 January 2024]

First, I'd like to say that I love God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

Having said that, on the other hand, I cannot stand much of the hypocritical and bigoted religious preaching and narratives. And this is the problem with most films with God, Christ or religious themes, they always fall into the same trap of the corny and manipulated way of telling a story, because religion itself, unlike God and Jesus Christ, tends to be hypocritical and prejudiced, and this film, even though it's a true story, prefers to be religious than Christian.

Cinematically is excellent, from the photography and editing, to the direction, filters and production, everything is impeccable, the only things that fluctuate a little are the soundtrack (excellent songs from the 60s and 70, but terrible original score) and some actors, where we have great performances by Jonathan Roumie, Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Kelsey Grammer against very weak by Joel Courtney, Anna Grace Barlow and Ally Ioannides.

If cinematographically it's in a high level (which justifies me not giving it a very low rating), conceptually it's more of the same among religious films, hypocritical, corny and empty, which is a shame, because as a Christian I'd like to watch higher content in terms of true human nature and spirituality.

Starting with the characters, 99% white and 100% heterosexual, and ending with the true story itself, which omits that Lonnie Frisbee was homosexual and drug user and that Greg Laurie was an anti-LGBT radical, the film opts for a vaseline and superficial script, which once again tries to convert people into the concepts of social hypocrisy, typical of the vast majority of the churches of the world.

I may be wrong, but my way of seeing God and Christ is very far from this proposal, much more focused on the concepts of love, truth and spirit than religious dogmas and social prejudices, even though I have often admired some specific ceremonies and religious texts, as well as I really like sacred art and music.

8 out of 10 for the cinematographic quality itself and also for the courage to make a film involving God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit at a time when mankind is increasingly distancing itself from spirituality and treating spiritual things as crap, and 1 out of 10 unfortunately for choosing the manipulated and hypocritical regiligious/church path once again. Trying to strengthen the pros more than the cons: a final 6 out of 10.

The Holiday (2006)

A piece of crap disguised as a good thing thanks to the cast

[5/10 · 2 January 2024]

Practically everything here is bad, but the quartet of main actors are top notch and save some of the total catastrophe.

Starting with the script, there isn't a single scene, dialogue or sequence that isn't completely cliché, it's awkward, the scenes where the main couples interact that say so, culminating in the final scene in the new year, the most cliché impossible. Direction and editing are weak, and for example, just remember the scene where Cameron Diaz is arriving at the house in England for the first time, walks through the snow all clumsy and collides with a tree, what was supposed to be a comical scene ends up being something embarrassing, so poorly done and dull.

In addition to being cliché and poorly done, everything is forced in the story, nothing conveys naturalness, I have rarely seen something written with so little creativity and talent, and I like some silly rom-coms, but this one has a script that is below critics.

What saves here is that, who knows how, four great actors accepted this script, and they manage to hold the wave of the bad film exclusively due to their talents, it's undoubtedly pleasant to see them acting together, even in the midst of so much nonsense. And to prove what I say, that only actors save this deception, I suggest an exercise of imagination: imagine this same film, strictly the same in all the scenes, script, dialogue, settings, direction and production, but with 4 of these modern young actors from Netflix in the places of Diaz, Winslet, Law and Black, the complete tragedy that would be.

I rate it 5 out of 10 due to the great interpretation work, otherwise it would be 1 out of 10.

Landscape with Invisible Hand (2023)

Very interesting film, but not for everyone

[7/10 · 2 January 2024]

Starting with the cinematographic part: very competent direction, the actors are very good, all of them, and the soundtrack has everything to do with the film's proposal, it's strange, futuristic and melancholic, it fits perfectly. The editing is also good, as is the script, and the narrative is a little slow at times, something I particularly like, but a lot of people don't like it and will find it a little tiring.

Still on cinematography, there are only two details that I didn't find perfect: the first concerns the filters and colors, which I felt was missing a little variation that would illustrate in a more melancholic way the moments of coldness of the domineering capitalist aliens and in a more colorful way the moments of art and humanity, the visual language of the film is all very similar and that bothered me a little. The second thing concerns the special effects, the aliens are very well done, impeccable, but the part about the ships and other transport in flight or movement I found very fake, they didn't maintain the good level and left something to be desired.

Leaving the cinematographic part and entering the conceptual proposal of the film, I have nothing but praise. It's a harsh, merciless and spectacular criticism of capitalism as an oppressive and segregating element, an ode to art and the expressions of human nature and feelings, and an acidic social satire on racism, self-interested behavior of human beings, pettiness in property and selfishness of material goods and the rotten emptiness of reality shows and video channels that transform some of the most precious human and personal values such as love, relationships and family into futile public market objects.

I rate it 7 out of 10 for the work as a whole, as it's slightly tiring and leaves a little to be desired in terms of effects and filters, but due to the important human and socioeconomic themes covered, I rate it 10 out of 10.

The Shepherd (I) (2023)

I liked it

[8/10 · 2 December 2023]

Beautiful short Christmas film, with impeccable production, direction, photography, effects and soundtrack, and great performance from the small cast.

A slightly enigmatic story, based on a Christmas tale published by Frederick Forsyth in 1975, with a beautiful proposal of Christmas spirit, good Samaritanism and faith in God.

Very well done production for a short film, with a beautiful message of faith and hope, and also a beautiful tribute to the shepherd pilots of World War II, as well as to anyone who works to save or help other people in difficulty or danger.

I liked. If you enjoy the Christmas spirit and want to see something different within this theme, it's a great option.

The Creator (2023)

Visually top, but the script...

[3/10 · 30 November 2023]

Impeccable effects, incredible ambience, breathtaking visuals and a very good soundtrack. Even the main actor, of whom I read some negative reviews here, I thought he was good in the role. In other words, the film has a lot of cool, well-made and interesting things, top-notch production.

Yay, it must be a great movie then! No, it's not, it's very bad.

The problem is that the script is one of the worst things written in a long time, it's B-movie level, with the added bonus that it tries to be serious. The story is stupid, the dialogues are kindergarten level, the forced coincidences and fake situations are amateurish and there isn't a single scene that is resolved with any intelligence or creativity, it's a festival of sudden cuts from moment X to moment Y without any development or coherence, you just have to jump to the next scene for the stupid story to continue and that's it.

I can't understand so much investment and production in a crap script like this, the world really is getting much worse in some aspects, never have so many bad films been so applauded, and the little good material that appears is called boring and left in limbo.

Blended (2014)

Bad from the beginning until probably the end.

[1/10 · 16 November 2023]

I say it's bad probably until the end because I couldn't get there, I stopped around halfway through. And as far as I've seen it, it's terrible, the worst film I've seen in a long time.

From the first scene in the diner things start badly, dull and rude jokes, stupid dialogues, forced acting, in short, nothing can be saved. As the film arrives at the hotel in Africa, there is no way around it, it's just cliché, bizarreness and rot. I don't understand how money is spent on a production like this, but there's an audience for everything, right, even that.

I don't recommend it to anyone, I just don't rate it at zero here on IMDB because the minimum is 1, but my official rating is zero.

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

Masterpiece

[9/10 · 15 November 2023]

For me, the best courtroom film of all time, with a spectacular plot, a brilliant script, and a story adapted from the incredible short story written by Agatha Christie for an American magazine in 1925.

Wilder's direction is impeccable, and features perfect performances by Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton. Tyrone Power is also very good, but at a level slightly below the first two.

A highly recommended film for any movie buff who hasn't seen it yet, remembering that the experience will be much better if you don't know anything about the story. Just grab the popcorn, turn off the light and enjoy this masterpiece.

Barbie (I) (2023)

It would be nice if Barbie wasn't a children's character

[4/10 · 14 November 2023]

I know they're going to curse me, but I didn't think this film was as good as the rating it has here (7.0).

The first 5 or 10 minutes (introduction) before the credits are wonderful, a very well thought out joke based on the introduction of "2001: a space odyssey", I got the feeling that a great film was coming. But it was pure illusion.

First, I'd like to praise Margot Robbie's performance, truly sublime, she carries the film alone, as the rest leaves a lot to be desired. It leaves something to be desired as comedy, romance and fantasy, as a political, social and existentialist content, and, above all, as a children's film.

I found the very inclusive cast excellent, but the ideological proposal of 90% adult fantasy, from the sarcastic jokes, through the existentialist issues of life and death, to the political and social themes, leaving the fantasy, lightness and romance in a plane below zero, everything in the film was made for a 14+ audience, well above Barbie's native audience. Not that I don't consider the themes interesting, yes, I like adult jokes and I value important gender and other agendas, and, yes, here in Barbie they should be included, but as subliminal themes to spark interest in a child, and not as an adult fantasy script.

And why do I say that? Because my 5-year-old daughter, like many girls between 4 and 10 years old, has always been a fan of Barbie, she has watched all the cartoons more than 20 times each one, and when for the first time a live action version of the beloved doll appears, it's not made for children brains. It's difficult, for example, to explain to my daughter the fun of a joke about plastic and real vaginas and penises, or why Barbie melancholically philosophizes about death, or so many other things on that adult level of sarcasm that the film proposes. Disappointing.

Far from the Madding Crowd (2015)

Expected much more

[4/10 · 13 November 2023]

I haven't read the book, but that doesn't really matter, I'm not one to complain about films being worse than the books that originated them, there have been several situations in which I liked the film much more (e.g.: "A clockwork orange", "The hunger games", "The hobbit") and others where I prefered the book (e.g.: "1984", "Papillon", "The lord of the rings"). So what matters is that the film is good as a film, regardless of whether or not it changes the original story, and "Far from the madding crowd" wasn't good for me for several reasons.

1st one was actually a surprise, Carey Mulligan's performance, as I'm a huge fan of her, basically her presence in the cast was the main reason for putting this film on the watchlist, and I was quite disappointed with Carey's forced smiles here. Without a doubt the only slightly below average performance I've seen from her to date.

2nd reason was the script, with extremely broken rhythm and narrative, developing the passages of time and the main character's relationships with the three suitors very poorly. So poorly that, even though it had an extremely predictable ending from the beginning, the final scene still didn't convey any chemistry or emotion.

3rd thing, didn't like the presence of real animals in the production with a certain amount of disrespect towards them. The soldier runs after the ducks scaring them, sheep are thrown into the water and also seem to be sedated in some scenes, there's a bear in captivity, in short, several moments, even though I prefer to believe that they had the utmost care possible with the animals.

I rate it 4 because I managed to watch it until the end, I'm usually one to leave films that I don't like halfway through, and when it gets to this point I rate it 1 or 2, which wasn't the case here.

Charly (1968)

Good... but not excellent

[7/10 · 8 November 2023]

First I would like to say that I'm a fan of cinema and music from the period 1966-1974. For me, maybe it's the most fertile period in these two segments of art in the last 100 years or even a little more, a time when good and popular work was directly linked to quality, talent and creativity. From 1974 or 75 onwards, I think that the concept of quality began to shift directly towards to more commercial and formulaic productions, from disco, new wave and dance music to action, rom-com and laser beams sci-fi movies.

It's a shame that the time was very cruel with cinema dating some wonderful works, mainly due to technology, special effects and production resources. Some movies from that period today no longer has the same devastating effect that it once had, unlike music, where even today I think is more pleasurable the listening of Beatles, Dylan, Hendrix, Sabbath, Janis, Velvet Underground, Renaissance, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, etc., than the current artists.

Even though I've watched a huge number of films from that period throughout my life, "Charly" unfortunately went blank on this list, I watched it for the first time this week, and I was obviously influenced by the dated quality. I still thought it's a good film, but not excellent.

The entire 1st act while Charly (Cliff Robertson) suffers from cognitive impairment is brilliant. I was amazed this entire segment and thinking that I was watching another great film, but unfortunately the script didn't develop well Charly's change to a genius, it was extremely abrupt and empty, just as the construction of the romance between him and Alice (Claire Bloom) was devoid of any naturalness and involvement, going from a crude scene of almost rape to a vague sequence of love in bucolic landscapes from one moment to the next, it had an evident drop in pace and narrative from the 2nd act onwards and got lost a lot, not to mention that the ending, which clearly wanted to be impactful, didn't achieve its objective because it was already a bit noticeable. Cliff Robertson and beautiful Claire Bloom managed to maintain their work at a very high level during 140 minutes, but the script and direction didn't.

I rate it 10 for the actors, 7 for the film as a whole.

Saramandaia (1976)

Magnificent

[10/10 · 31 October 2023]

The best soap opera in the entire history of Brazilian TV, perhaps worldwide. Spectacular in every way, especially considering the time in which it was made. Brilliant and perfect actors in their roles, sublime direction, brilliant script and spectacular soundtrack in a crazy fantasy story, with a werewolf, a man who released ants through his nose, another who released his heart through his mouth, another who had wings, a woman who ate so much that she exploded, etc., etc., always with lightness and great humor.

It's a shame that all the chapters of this soap opera were lost in the fire at TV Globo (the TV station that produced and broadcast the soap opera in the 70s), two new versions of "Saramandaia" were made in the last two decades, but very weak, without even come close to the grace and charm of the original version.

Rating 10 out of 10.

Flashbacks of a Fool (2008)

Two films in one

[6/10 · 30 October 2023]

Following the formula of several films when telling a story (present and past), this one begins with a millionaire and bon vivant movie star (Daniel Craig) stopping to remember his past, which starts to be told in the form of flashbacks. That thing we've seen many times: the beginning and the end take place in the present, while the core takes place in the past, told in memories.

And that's where this film, more than any other that follows this formula, is divided into 2 distinct films. I say this because the entire initial and final parts set in the present are very weak, from the scenes to the actors, not even Daniel Craig (Joe) is good, the worst being Claire Forlani (Ruth), who stars in a soap opera-style scene corny at the end. On the other hand, the entire plot that takes place in the past is spectacular in every aspect, it even seems like other people wrote the script and directed it. From the brilliant work of actors Harry Eden (young Joe) and Felicity Jones (young Ruth), to the script full of quality musical and literary quotes and very beautiful photography, and concluding with a superb soundtrack with Roxy Music and David Bowie, everything is perfect. In fact, there's a scene in young Ruth's house to the sound of "If There Is Something" (a masterpiece from Roxy Music's first album) that is so magnificent that in itself it's worth the entire film.

My final rating is 6.5 out of 10. It would be 10 if it didn't have a long start and end in levels far below the intermediate block.

The 13th Day (2009)

70k witnesses give food for thought

[7/10 · 26 October 2023]

Yesterday I watched "Fatima" (2020), and even though really liked it, I felt the script confused, skipping several parts of the astonishing real story. So tonight I decided to watch "The 13th Day" and it was quite interesting. Even though it also skips parts of the story, it's reasonably complementary to the other one.

For anyone interested in this incredible true story, I recommend to watch both films and also read some text about it, the two films together didn't embrace everything that happened. Neither film, for example, portrays any informations of the penultimate meeting in september 13th.

What caught my attention in this one was the cinematography, with distressing black and white photography alternating with precise moments of color insertion. The cast is also fine, although I thought Lúcia's actress seemed very old compared to the real seer, even more so than in the film "Fatima", whose actress is also a little older.

Our Lady's face here I found more pure and angelic than in the other film, but the apparitions in the other film were more simple and convincing, here in "The 13th Day" they're more stylized according to church patterns.

Another thing that caught my attention was the soundtrack, there were moments that reminded me a lot of "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

Well, this movie tells a very beautiful and real story, witnessed by at least 70k people, which in itself makes it completely recommendable from me.

The Night Of (2016)

What a pilot

[6/10 · 24 October 2023]

First of all, I need to mention that the pilot episode is spectacular, superb. One of the best opening episodes I've watched in my entire life, on the same level as a good cinema film, with great performances by Riz Ahmed and Sofia Black-D'Elia, sublime soundtrack (the presence of "Into Dust", by Mazzy Star, as a backdrop for a key scene in the story sums it up), excellent direction, script and night photography. Flawless episode, rating 10.

If the first episode is wonderful, the same cannot be said for the others. It's not that they are bad, far from it, the problem is that the purpose of the series changes a lot, migrating from an impactful thriller to a drama about legal and prison systems plus racism and xenophobia, showing that the first episode is just a decoy to trap people pay attention to what comes next.

I have a habit of watching films and series without reading synopses or watching trailers, I just read some basic information to know if it's worth it, so as not to have access to spoilers, and 90 percent of the time this is effective. If a film/series is bad, I stop watching it after 30 minutes at most, and if it's good I'm always positively surprised by the plot precisely because I don't have much information. This series was one of the cases where I ended up being a little disappointed, as the script for the first episode gave me a completely opposite impression of what was to follow, but, I repeat, far from being a bad series.

Rating 10 for the pilot episode and 6 for the rest.

Fatima (2020)

Beautiful

[7/10 · 24 October 2023]

Honestly, I liked it, even though it wasn't perfect. One of the most beautiful and well-made religious films I've ever seen, mainly due to the quality of the actors, young Stephanie Gil is brilliant, and the children Alejandra Howard and Jorge Lamelas are also perfect, the adult cast also does a great job. Setting and ambience are realistic, it manages to portray place and time well, soundtrack is pleasant, direction and production have good quality, in short, a lot of good things. The only thing that slips is the script, which is confusing, it skips several moments of the real story, and anyone who doesn't know it will feel quite confused, especially in the last third, where there is an even greater void in the details of the real facts, leaving out a lot of things.

I think this is a movie where spoilers might be useful for those who don't know the real story. It's worth doing some search on the internet and reading a little about it, in order to watch the film knowing how everything happened, it's the only way to not get lost with the final part of the film and understand that a lot was excluded from the script.

Rating 7 out of 10, it could be an even higher rating if it weren't for the problem I mentioned above.

For All Mankind (2019– )

Starts off great, then gets lost

[4/10 · 23 October 2023]

First half of S1: excellent. Alternative reality mixes fictional and real-life characters, very little soap opera and a lot of delicacy. A story told in an extremely pleasurable way.

The few soap opera focus on themes such as gender, racism, sexual orientation and clandestine migration, and I like. I read reviews complaining that they're forced agendas, well, maybe they seem really forced, but they're relevant at a time when the fight for equal rights is advancing, I found myself really involved with the lives of those characters.

Well, if until ep 5 everything is pleasant, from there things start to rot, script changes direction abruptly to soap opera melodrama and tragic deaths, one of which stupid and unnecessary.

Honestly, a change in bad taste that demolished a show that was going well, 3 entire episodes of pure tragedy. There was even a quality improvement in the last episode, but the mess in the story had already been made, and to make matters worse, another death hunting tears in the homestretch, definitely the writers appealed to the GoT model of melodramatic deaths, but in a plot which did not match.

S2 dives into the soap opera once and for all. Ep 3, where the Baldwin family laments the pains of the past, is such a low level of cheesy melodramatic TV that it's embarrassing. Another problem is the overdose of american propaganda, with the glamorization of Reagan and the machiavellian stereotyping of russians, as opposed to a more balanced S1 in this sense. S2 is so bad I just finished it and don't even plan on getting into S3.

10 for production, soundtrack, effects and ambiance. 10 also for most of the cast: Shantel VanSanten and Michael Dorman are the highlights, Krys Marshall, Nate Corddry, Olivia Trujillo and Lenny Jacobson are also great. Joel Kinnaman is good when he's serious, but whenever he needs to show emotions he runs into the limitations of his talent.

I Dream of Jeannie: Jeannie-Go-Round (1969) Season 4, Episode 24

Power on

[10/10 · 5 October 2023]

Wonderful episode. Barbara Eden, in addition to being a great actress and comedian, was an excellent singer, and her performance in this episode singing "Power On", a song composed by Dean Martin, is spectacular. I was so fascinated when I saw it for the first time that I searched a lot for a recording on vinyl, CD, whatever, but I never found it, that is, I believe it was a take made just for TV.

But the episode isn't just based on this song, some scenes are hilarious, such as Major Nelson stripping down to his underwear during the performance of the song due to the magic of Jeannie's ill-intentioned sister.

Great episode of a great TV show, pure fun.

The Night Of: The Beach (2016) Season 1, Episode 1

Sublime

[10/10 · 4 October 2023]

Definitely one of the best opening episodes I've watched in my entire life. Sublime, on the same level as a good cinema film. Tense, melancholic, well directed, great night photography, impeccable script and the icing on the cake: "Into Dust", Mazzy Star's masterpiece as the background soundtrack for a key and spectacular scene for the entire story.

Riz Ahmed delivers a brilliant performance, in the exact measure that the character demands, without exaggerations and grimaces, just as Sofia Black-D'Elia's participation is perfect.

As interesting and good as the rest of the series is, it never reaches the level of this first episode, which is far above average.

Rating 10 out of 10 for a TV series episode.

People Like Us (2012)

Soap opera disguised as an indie film

[4/10 · 1 October 2023]

To start the conversation, I really like Elizabeth Banks, even though she is not in the hall of great movie actresses. And I think she doesn't disappoint here, the problem is that the direction doesn't help much, even less the script, which is full of clichés, and cliché is something that hinders any actor's performance.

The worst thing is that I found the premise good, very interesting, a more indie proposal in theory, dealing with loser characters, the universe of rock as a background theme, but which in fact has nothing to do with indie, it's just a disguise, the movie little by little reveals its true face, which is a corny and cheesy drama, very much a third-rate soap opera.

The background rock is also a farce, the soundtrack even starts well with James Gang and some appearances by Foghat and The Clash, but the truth is that even the music from the middle of the film turns into a real disgusting and tasteless music of steakhouse and soap opera, accompanying the real cloying and corny face that takes over the projection from the last 40 or 50 minutes onwards.

In short, a cheap melodrama with a script full of clichés, pretty little faces on the screen and mushyness direction/soundtrack that disguises itself as an indie film.

It's even strange that 7.0 rating on IMDB, but nothing surprises me anymore these days, people like every piece of crap... but it's not a zero rating movie either, I think 4.0 is a very generous rating on my part.

Ahsoka (2023– )

An opinion after 3 episodes

[5/10 · 30 September 2023]

I haven't watched everything and I don't know if it will get better or worse, but so far my rating is 6 out of 10.

Rosario Dawson is good in the role, nothing above average, but very convincing. Mary Elizabeth Winstead doesn't compromise either, she does a decent job, as does a good part of the cast, but the one who really stands out for me is Ivanna Sakhno, her Shin Hati is incredible, a mix of scary and melancholic character, very well played, without any exaggeration, in perfect measure, really impressive. On the other hand, Natasha Liu Bordizzo is completely exaggerated and ridiculous in an overacting festival, making faces and mouths all the time, a hammy school of acting, to the point of ruining every scene in which she appears, and she appears in 70 percent of the scenes so far.

The CGI needs no comment, spectacular as in practically all Star Wars series produced in recent years, impeccable. Very good soundtrack too, deserves praise. But the main of all the show's virtues is the Star Wars essence of the first films back in the 70s and 80s. It really has Star Wars spirit all the time, with many ships strafing lasers at each other, many fights with lightsabers, and many shots from laser pistols, all very similar to the old films, something that had been lost a little in the more recent projects.

But unfortunately not everything is good. Starting with Natasha Liu Bordizzo in such an important role, as I said above. Like Katee Sackhoff's terrible Bo-Katan Kryze in "The Mandalorian", she simply ruins the show. Another very bad thing is the costume work, it is far below the quality of the CGI and the high-level setting. The characters simply look like people dressed up and made up for street theater plays or children's parties, a zero rating in this regard, there is no effort and profissionalism in conveying any realism, something that in other Star Wars has very high quality. These aspects mentioned in this paragraph greatly hinder the possibility of a higher rating.

Anyway, it's not a series with the very high level of "Andor", but at least it rescues a lot of the original essence of Star Wars, wich is good.

* a small addendum here after watching the 8 episodes: my final rating drops from 6 to 5 (out of 10), even with some cool things still happening, some surprises and having a good closing episode (I don't want to give spoilers), the story was lost a lot between episodes 5 and 7.

The Little Mermaid (I) (2023)

Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy save the film from total tragedy

[5/10 · 28 September 2023]

First of all, my opinion is that of someone who isn't a big fan of cartoons, so I haven't watched the 1989 original. Obviously I've seen a few scenes here and there, as it's a Disney animation classic and things come to us by osmosis , whether in TV commercials, internet videos, our children watching on TV, whatever, but I can say that I didn't know the story or any major details of the plot, therefore, I watched this 2023 film without the influence of any comparative defect.

While I'm not a fan of cartoons, I love fantasy movies made with real actors (live actions), so yes, I like several Disney classics in this area, from older ones like "Mary Poppins" and "The Love Bug" to more recent ones, like "Enchanted", "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Dumbo", so I was excited to watch this remake of "The Little Marmaid".

Unfortunately it was a big disappointment. I mean, the performances of Melissa McCarthy and, especially, Halle Bailey, who is impeccable in every aspect as an actress, in a superb, spectacular performance, managed to keep me hooked until the end, but the rest is pure rubbish. The scenes at the bottom of the sea and of the marine characters have practically animated CGI, without any appearance of live action, the story is completely idiotic, without any emotional appeal, Jonah Hauer-King has no notable screen presence, he was a terrible choice, and Javier Bardem is very underutilized in a role that should be much stronger than it is. Not to mention the photography and production, which I found to be terrible, on a TV movie level.

I rate it 5 out of 10 due to Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy and the idea of an inclusive cast, 10 for these aspects. And zero for the film itself. The average is 5.

The Girl Next Door (2004)

I like it

[7/10 · 28 August 2023]

Ok, far from being the best movie in the world, it has many gaps in rhythm and narrative, especially in the second half of the script, which is confusing and poorly constructed. Let's just say the plot lacked ideas to resolve the story and pushed too hard to create a final rom-com solution in any way. Basically, the movie started with a very good premise, but got lost and invented some solution to end it.

Having said that, I still loved the movie. A great soundtrack, wonderful and handpicked songs, very well fitted in each scene, and a work of practically perfect actors. I can't really explain why Elisha Cuthbert didn't become a celebrity, she is simply beautiful and an excellent actress in the film, working in a measured way, without exaggeration and perfect in the role. The same can be said about practically the entire cast, all very well, the actors' direction is great.

My final rating is 7 out of 10 because it really lacks a solid story to follow up on the sympathetic initial idea of the first 30 to 40 minutes of the film.

Station Eleven (2021–2022)

Very good series, but at times it sins for forced intellectualism

[7/10 · 3 June 2023]

This series is very good, but it had everything to be wonderful and special and it doesn't reach this level because it sins for a little arrogance in wanting to be intellectual. It even has rich content, but it wants to show more than it really is.

Great story, very well stitched, excellent soundtrack, very good performances in general, a different proposal, fleeing the commonplace and the chewed up commercial, in short, several important aspects for a quality result, and with many captivating moments, but unfortunately sometimes wastes time trying to force art in an artificial way, that is, without looking natural. Starting with the frequent and exaggerated break in the temporal sequence, with uninterrupted comings and goings and flashbacks between the different years of the story, which sometimes ends up taking the spectator's concentration and leaving him dispersed, and ending with a pseudo-intellectual verbosity in some dialogues and scenes with no real purpose. The end result is a little excess of relatively empty philosophy and a few tiresome episodes in a very beautiful show that had everything to be a masterpiece. Different from the "Fargo" series, for example, which without forcing anything brings much richer content in culture, philosophy, sociology and other subliminal aspects.

Still, if the viewer has the patience to overcome some tiring episodes, like episodes 2 and 4, for example, it will take consistency over time and provide many captivating and engaging moments, especially in episodes that take place before or during the viral crisis, or in the first 2 years after, because Danielle Deadwyler, Himesh Patel, Julian Obradors and, mainly, the magnificent Matilda Lawler (what a perfect performance, in the exact measure) are very good in their roles. The same cannot be said of Mackenzie Davis starring in scenes in the post-apocalyptic period of the future (the present time in history), her performance made me a little uncomfortable, and I even liked the actress' work before watching this series. This detail ends up generating a non-standard situation, as usually in fiction stories and dystopias what tends to attract the most is the post-apocalyptic period of the future, contrary to what happens here, where the past is more involving due to the quality of the actors and characters. Even so, one of the most beautiful episodes of the journey for me was the eighth, and it takes place precisely in the post-apocalyptic period. By the way, the sequence of the final 3 episodes is quite captivating.

My final rating is 7,5 out of 10 and I think the experience is worth it if you're patient with a complex and sometimes tiring narrative at many points. For me it was worth it.

The Love Bug (1969)

10 out of 10

[10/10 · 30 May 2023]

A milestone in my childhood. I was passionate about cars and became passionate about Beetles because of this movie. I must have watched it all the times it was shown on cinemas and TV when I was a kid and got a battery-powered Beetle from my parents, which was my favorite toy.

As an adult, I already had four real Beetles, love this car with passion until today, it's a darling. And it all started with "The Love Bug", which is a sample of how much we carry things from our childhood throughout our lives, even without realizing it.

I've rewatched the movie after being an adult about 3 or 4 times and still think it's great fun, very well done for that time, and I recommend it to everyone.