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Il divo (2008)
Utterly uninteresting
30 minutes into the film you think: when are they done with the scene-setting and the couleur locale, and when does the story start? Well: never.
If you watch this movie without knowing beforehand the history and happenings that it is about, you will know nothing more by the end of the movie except that you have just thrown away nearly two hours of your life that would have been spent better even cleaning windows or walking the dog.
If you did know beforehand what it is about, this movie will have added nothing to that knowledge nor wll it have given you a new perspective or a surprising angle.
I rate it 3 stars out of 10: 1 for the trouble of making it, 1 for production design and 1 for including Trio's Da Da Da I Don't Love You You Don't Love Me Aha Aha Aha in the soundtrack.
Dave Chappelle: The Closer (2021)
Meant to be both funny and serious, it is neither
There are jokes. Some are nearly funny, most not even that.
There are opinions. Some are nearly interesting, most not even that.
And that's a bummer. It's not that Chappelle is insincere, or aiming low, or below par. This is his genuine level and it is just not very good.
I had never seen a full show of Chappelle before (I will, because I want to compare this one to other shows of his) and expected something way sharper and smarter.
The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun (2021)
Bad writing makes a bad movie, in spite of all that is great about it (which is a lot)
No need to say here how stellar-fantastic the actors in this movie are. Or how incredibly creative and inspirational Wes Anderson is. Or how stunningly beautiful the whole thing is dressed, photographed and filmed. Even the most extra of extras is performing super top notch. And that goes for every aspect of this film.
That is, every aspect but the senario. None of the writing makes sense. None of the stories in this frame story is gripping, compelling, moving, interesting. You are never driven to the edge of your seat, notwithstanding the occasional smile or surprise. It is so bad and sometimes so silly even that it drags the whole movie to a level unworthy of Anderson's immense talents.
That makes this film a very expensive slideshow. It is heartbreaking, because Anderson is such a fantastic filmmaker and storyteller, but something went horribly wrong here.
The White Tiger (2021)
Boring and without direction
Nice poor man kills un-nice rich man, runs off with the money and becomes a nice rich man.
In the meantime all kinds of stuff happens, none of which is elaborated well enough or impressive enough to make it interesting.
The 'social commentary' one might see or taste in the movie consists of some rather vulgar thoughts on life, morals and the human condition.
Don't watch it. It is boring, unimpressive and will leave you wishing you had spent your time in a more satisfying way.
Zoon van Mokum (2019)
Finely crafted documentary about an exceptional man in exceptional times.
Salomon Rodrigues de Miranda, best known as Monne de Miranda, in 1919 became the first Jewish alderman in Amsterdam. De Miranda feels above all a socialist and in that capacity struggled all his life to improve the living conditions of the Amsterdam workers.
De Miranda is born in a poor environment in a dilapidated Amsterdam neighborhood. When he is eleven, he is forced to work in a diamond factory. With only five years of primary education, the ambitious Monne eventually becomes one of the most influential administrators of Amsterdam to date. He has tens of thousands of workers' homes built, promotes good food supply and provides public baths and swimming pools. In 1939, the passionate socialist councilor is accused by newspaper De Telegraaf of fraud in the issue of building land. The accusations are false but not even from his own party protects him. His career is over.
One year later, the Germans invade the Netherlands. It heralds the last chapter of De Miranda's life. Fearlessly opposing the ruthless occupier, he stands up for the oppressed. His sense of justice will ultimately be fatal to him.
Historical footage, family interviews, background isights - this documentary has it all. The makers are never in the way of their subject or his story. Modest yet valuable additions in the shape of animation and music emphasize the stories of interviewed family members. The only drawback is that his dramatic political downfall is not worked out in more detail.
Emotional but never sentimental, informative but never scholastic, factual but never dry. This is a near-perfect film.
The Long River Slides (2019)
Magically uplifting tales of sadness
Everything about this movie is great. The inconspicuous styling, the natural light, the shrewd editing, the perfect pace. Most importantly: the fantastic balance between sincere and beautiful dialogues and hauntingly appropriate as well as out-of-the-ordinary music. This may well have started as a collaboration of film and music, but it turned out to be a symbiosis of mind and image, of atmosphere and earth.
This is not an ode to sadness, this is an ode to life.
Roy Orbison: Love Hurts (2017)
No surprises except one and that's not even a nice one
Biopic with all the usual stuff: family pictures, lots of TV footage, Roy singing, Roy laughing, Roy in the studio, Roy in the papers, Roy with the wife, Roy with the kids, etc. etc. His sons tell the story, sometimes in a moving way but on the whole rather helpless. That gives the film a bit of an amateur feel which you may like or not.
However, by the end the sons quite prominently market the current project of having the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing to existing recordings, thus making the 'new' album A Love So Beautiful.
In the end, that gave it the bitter taste of not having watched a movie about a famous and noteworthy singer with a remarkable life, but a 58 minute commercial for an album that doesn't add anything to his fame and reputation.