Fractured (2019)

După un accident la o oprire din timpul unei călătorii cu mașina tensionate, un soț își caută cu disperare soția și fiica disparute fără explicație de la secția de urgențe a unui spital.

Doar citind rezumatul deja crezi că știi la ce fel de deznodământ să te aștepți, și cumva te face să îți cobori nivelul așteptărilor. Dar printr-o coregrafie aproape fără greș și interpretările credibile ale protagoniștilor, începi să ierți ce crezi că ai ghicit deja și devii mai atent și mai apreciativ. Creatorii au reușit totuși să inlantuiasca evenimente perfect compatibile cu finalul efectiv dar care în momentul acțiunii sunt destul de ambigue încât te răzgândești de nenumărate ori și crezi tot ce îți este sugerat pe ecran. În genere, un thriller bun se măsoară în modul în care reușește sa își manipuleze audienta după voie. Nu e mereu adevărat dar este pentru filmul de față.

Regia: Brad Anderson 

Cu: Sam Worthington, Lily Rabe, Stephen Tobolowsky

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Fractured (2019)

After an accident at a stop during a tense road trip, a husband desperately seeks his wife and daughter  who go missing from the emergency department of a hospital with no explanation. 

Just by reading the film synopsis, you already feel like you know what kind of outcome to expect, and it somehow makes you lower your expectations. But with almost flawless choreography and believable performances from the protagonists, you begin to forgive what you think you've already guessed and you then become more attentive and appreciative. The creators, however, managed to chain events that are in fact perfectly compatible with the actual ending but which at the time of the action are ambiguous enough for you to change your mind countless times and believe everything that is suggested on screen. Typically, a good thriller is measured in how it manages to intentionally manipulate its audience. It's not always true, but it is for this movie.

Directed by: Brad Anderson
With: Sam Worthington, Lily Rabe, Stephen Tobolowsky

Glitch (2015-2019)

Six people from different times come back to life without explanation and no memory of how they died.

Intriguing and interesting up to a point, sometimes reminiscent of the style of the Lost series with its slow unraveling of the mystery while mostly focusing on the personal history of the characters. Mainly presented in a detective film style (especially since many characters find out that they are victims of murders), sprinkled with more or less small dramas, the main mystery is designed to be a bit SciFi, a bit mystical, but  it sometimes tries your patience with the intentional scarce details. I am glad that I persevered watching but I would have given up if it had only been available in a one episode a week regime.

Featuring: Patrick Brammall, Emma Booth, Genevieve O'Reilly, Hannah Monson, Ned Dennehy, Rodger Corser, Sean Keenan

Glitch (2015-2019)

Sase oameni din timpuri diferite revin la viata fara explicatie si fara nici o amintire legata de cum au murit.

Intrigant si interesant pana la un punct, amintind cateodata de stilul serialului Lost, prin dezvalurirea misterului foarte inceata si concentrarea atentiei intre timp asupra povestilor personale ale personajelor. In principal prezentat in stil detectiv (mai ales pentru ca multe personaje afla ca sunt victime ale unor omoruri), presarat cu drame mai mici sau mai mari, misterul de baza se vrea un pic SF, un pic mistic, dar iti incearca uneori rabdarea prin zgarcenia de detalii intentionata. Ma bucur ca am perseverat in a-l urmari dar as fi renuntat daca ar fi fost in regim de un episod pe saptamana.

Cu: Patrick Brammall, Emma Booth, Genevieve O'Reilly, Hannah Monson, Ned Dennehy, Rodger Corser, Sean Keenan

Warrior (2011)

Two estranged brothers try to solve their very different personal problems by participating in the same mixed martial arts contest.

A successful experiment in combining subtle drama with the very popular genre of sports action. With two charismatic protagonists and one high caliber veteran, the film attracts a very diverse audience and manages to please everyone. The most memorable is probably Tom Hardy who manages to say a lot with very few words and intense but subtle facial expressions.

Script: Gavin O'Connor and others
Directed by: Gavin O'Connor
With: Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Frank Grillo, Jennifer Morrison, Kevin Dunn

Warrior (2011)

Doi frati care au pierdut legatura incearca sa isi rezolve problemele personale foarte diferite participand la acelasi concurs de lupte martiale.

Un experiment reusit de a imbina drama subtila cu foarte popularul gen de actiune sportiva. Cu doi protagonisti principali populari si un veteran de calibru mare, filmul atrage un public divers si reuseste sa multumeasca pe toata lumea. Cel mai memorabil e probabil rolul Tom Hardy care reuseste sa spuna foarte multe in cuvinte putine si expresii faciale intense.

Scenariu: Gavin O'Connor si altii

Regia: Gavin O'Connor

Cu: Joel Edgerton, Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte, Frank Grillo, Jennifer Morrison, Kevin Dunn

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The Beguiled (2017)

Un soldat al Nordului, ranit in Razboiul de Secesiune American, gaseste refugiu intr-o scoala pentru fete din Sud. Elementul nou masculin are astfel efecte neasteptate.

Fiind vorba de Sofia Coppola, ma asteptam la un film subtil dar intens si sentimental, si desi bifeaza toate 3 nu ma asteptam la un nivel atat de ridicat de dark. Ma asteptam la un efect gen Marie Antoinette si m-am delectat cu The Virgin Suicides. In plan principal este dualitatea umana, mai ales feminina, chiar si la varste foarte fragede, dar este o demonstratie in forta a efectului izolarii  si idealismului moral care nu rezoneaza perfect cu realitatea, un efect ce duce la decizii gresite atunci cand victimele izolarii sunt puse fata in fata cu o situatie un pic gri.

Cu performante subtile si de laudat de la toti cei implicati, The Beguiled a un film captivant si istet. Si este a doua oara cand o femeie regizor a castigat premiul de regie la Cannes (dupa Jane Campion in 1993 pentru The Piano).

Regia: Sofia Coppola
Scenariu: Sofia Coppola si altii, dupa un roman de Thomas Cullinan
Cu: Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning

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The Beguiled (2017)

A Yankee soldier, injured in the American Civil War, finds refuge in a girls' school in the South. The new masculine element thus has unexpected effects.

As always when it comes to Sofia Coppola, I was expecting a subtle but intense and sentimental film, and while this is ticking all 3, I wasn't expecting it to be so dark. I was expecting a Marie Antoinette-like effect and I delightedly got The Virgin Suicides instead. The main focus is human duality, especially female, even at very young ages, but it is a strong demonstration of the effect moral isolation and idealism - which does not perfectly resonate with reality - have, an effect that leads to wrong decisions when the victims of said isolation are forced to face a slightly grey situation.

With great subtle performances from everyone involved, The Beguiled is a captivating and clever film. And this marks the second time a female director has won the directorial award at Cannes (after Jane Campion in 1993 for The Piano).

Directed by: Sofia Coppola
Written by: Sofia Coppola and others, based on a novel by Thomas Cullinan
With: Nicole Kidman, Colin Farrell, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning

It (2017)

In a provincial town with a record death rate, a group of old (and new) friends decide to find an explanation for the unusual way in which some  of the local children disappeared.

Another film based on a Stephen King book, this one is actually a remake of a now cult movie (the first half only actually, the sequel was just released this year). Far superior to the original,  it has the advantage of the times and the budget of big studios (the original was a TV miniseries produced long before the changes brought by Lost, Game of Thrones and Netflix).

It's labelled as a horror flick and it is really, but it's missing some of the necessary elements. It's more like a trip to a horror theme park, with much better special effects, but where you are so bombarded with beautifully choreographed "boo"s that you just don't have time to build up fear and mystery and be effectively scared. It works much better as an adventure movie, much like other classics like The Goonies or Stand By Me.

Screenplay: Chase Palmer, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman, Stephen King
Directed by: Andy Muschietti
Featuring: Bill Skarsgård, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard

It (2017)

Intr-un orasel de provincie cu o rata a mortalitatii record, un grup de prieteni vechi (si noi) se hotarasc sa gaseasca explicatia pentru modul neobisnuit in care au disparut cativa copii mai mult sau mai putin aproape de cercul lor.

Inca o ecranizare dupa Stephen King, filmul de fata este un remake al unui It acum film cult (prima jumatate doar de fapt, urmarea a fost lansata anul acesta). Net superior originalului, are avantajul modernismului si bugetului studiourilor mari (originalul era o miniserie TV produsa cu mult inaintea schimbarilor aduse de Lost, Game of Thrones si Netflix). 

Se vrea film de groaza si este, dar fara toate elementele necesare. E mai mult ca o plimbare intr-un parc tematic de groaza, cu efecte speciale mult mai bune, dar unde esti atat de bombardat de "bau"-uri frumos coregrafiate ca nu ai timp sa aduni teama si mister si sa fii speriat eficient. Functioneaza mult mai bine ca film de aventuri, foarte asemanator cu alti clasici ca The Goonies sau Stand By Me (suprinzator scris tot the Stephen King).

Scenariu: Chase Palmer, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Gary Dauberman, Stephen King

Regia: Andy Muschietti

Cu: Bill Skarsgård, Sophia Lillis, Finn Wolfhard

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Swiss Army Man (2016)

Un om ratacit pe o insula parasita da peste un cadavru in care gaseste un camarad neobinsnuit si pentru care gaseste utilizari neasteptate.

O bijuterie de film, poezie pura. Plin de simboluri, ar trebui sa petreci ore incercand sa le descalcesti pe toate. O alegorie a singuratatii si a izolarii cauzate de probleme ale sanatatii mentale filmul reuseste sa mentina atentia si delectarea in ciuda contradictiilor si suprarealismului indelungate. 

Paul Dano e minunat ca personajul principal, un idealist si optimist de nelecuit iar Daniel Radcliffe are un rol atat de neobisnuit ca nu se poate spune decat ca unic si perfect in rolul sau static si aproape mut.

Iar muzica e divina si obsesiva, un al treilea camarad in poveste.

Scenariul: Daniel Scheinert, Dan Kwan

Regia: Daniel Scheinert, Dan Kwan

Cu: Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

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Swiss Army Man (2016)

A man lost on a deserted island stumbles upon  a corpse in which he finds an unusual comrade and for which he finds unexpected uses.

A movie gem, pure poetry. Filled with symbols, one would have to spend hours trying to break them all down. An allegory of loneliness and isolation caused by mental health problems, the film manages to maintain attention and delight despite its longstanding contradictions and surrealism.

Paul Dano is wonderful as the main character, an idealist and an optimist, and Daniel Radcliffe has such an unusual role that it can only be said he is unique and perfect in his static and almost silent role.

And the music is so divine and obsessive, a real third comrade in the story.

Screenplay: Daniel Scheinert, Dan Kwan
Directed by: Daniel Scheinert, Dan Kwan
With: Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Joker (2019)

A man with mental troubles, including pathological laughter, receives blow after blow from life/society, and this causes irreversible changes. The person in question is the one we all know as Arthur Fleck/Joker and we witness how he slowly but completely transforms his belief system.

The film is particularly well made, more surprisingly so considering the genre (based on comics) and the director's switch from making more or less successful comedies (The Hangover, Road Trip and others). If the character's identity was not in the title and in the minds of everyone long before it was released, the fans of the movie would be mostly of a different type. In fact, I wish the producers had done that.

It is a purely artistic film, and Mubi would be happy to host it. It presents a (very) slow process of decomposing/recomposing the Joker's mental component and the complete transposition of his personal indicator for what is good or bad and what are the right actions for each choice. The music acts like a silent witness of this transformation, enhancing the actor's expressiveness, accompanying him tirelessly and effectively and punctuating all the significant moments.

Joaquin Phoenix is ​​magnificent and magnetic in Joker's skin, something that shouldn't surprise anyone by now. Towards the end, you will feel guilty for the number of times you'd still be rooting for him, even as he commits repulsive acts.

There is an element of the story that I didn't like, but it pales in comparison to the full effect of the film, and for the sake of avoiding spoilers, I won't mention it. It involves manipulating the public's perception of the facts for a cheap-ish effect, but only for a brief moment really.

Screenplay: Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
Directed by: Todd Phillips
With: Joaquin Phoenix, Frances Conroy, Robert De Niro, Zazie Betz, Shea Whigham

Joker (2019)

Un om cu tulburări mentale, inclusiv râs patologic, primește lovituri după lovituri de la viață/societate, și acest lucru provoacă schimbari ireversibile. Persoana în chestiune e cel pe care il cunoaștem toți ca Arthur Fleck/Joker și vedem ca prim martor cum își transformă încet dar complet sistemul de crezuri.

Filmul este deosebit de bine făcut mai ales pentru gen (bazat pe benzi desenate) și pentru un regizor convertit de la comedii mai mult sau mai puțin reușite (The Hangover, Road Trip și altele). Dacă identitatea personajului nu ar fi în titlu și în mințile tuturor cu mult înainte de a fi lansat, fanii filmului ar fi în majoritate de alt gen. De fapt mi-aș fi dorit ca producătorii să fi făcut asta.

Este un film artistic ca la carte, Mubi ar fi fericiți să îl găzduiască. Prezintă un proces (foarte) încet de descompunere/recompunere a componentei mentale a lui Joker și transpunerea completă a indicatorului său personal pentru ceea ce e bine sau rau și acțiunile potrivite pentru fiecare alegere. Muzica este ca un martor tăcut al transformării, oferind și mai multă expresivitate actorului însoțindu-l neobosit și punctând eficient momentele semnificative.

Joaquin Phoenix este magnific și magnetic în pielea lui Joker, lucru care nu ar trebui să mai surprindă pe nimeni de acum. În final, te vei urî pentru momentele în care deși comite acte repulsive, încă vei fi de partea lui.

Este un anume element al poveștii care nu mi-a plăcut, dar pălește în raport cu efectul total al filmului, și de dragul evitatului spoiler-elor, nu îl voi menționa.

Scenariu: Todd Phillips, Scott Silver

Regia: Todd Phillips

Cu: Joaquin Phoenix, Frances Conroy, Robert De Niro, Zazie Betz, Shea Whigham

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Scream Queens (2015-2016)

A group of linked characters are being terrorized by an unknown serial killer.

Built as a satire, it is a combination of Gossip Girl and Scream, with each element very exaggerated (not very different from its two sources of inspiration actually). The fashion is very pink, the negative characters have almost no shred of goodness left, the stereotypes (American college ones especially) are what you'd expect them to be and then some.

With only a handful of likeable characters, each with their own limitations of course, the series has its occasional effective humorous effects, forgiving nothing, but the show would have worked better as a miniseries, as the many exaggerated exaggerations tend to make everything seem a bit dragged.

PS: Interesting to note a few cameos from Nick Jonas and Ariana Grande, who don't seem afraid to laugh at themselves.

Unsurprisingly, two of the show creators are Brad Falchuk and Ryan Murphy who also gave life to American Horror Story, Glee and Nip/Tuck.

With: Emma Roberts, Abigail Breslin, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lea Michele, Keke Palmer, Oliver Hudson

Creators/writers: Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan

Scream Queens (2015-2016)

Un grup de personaje sunt terorizate de un criminal în serie.

Construit ca o satiră, e o combinație de Gossip Girl și Scream, cu fiecare element foarte exagerat (nu foarte diferit de cele doua surse de inspirație de fapt). Moda este foarte roz, personajele răutăcioase nu au aproape nici o rămășiță de bunătate, stereotipurile (de colegiu american mai ales) sunt ceea ce aștepți să fie dar și mai și. 

Cu doar o mână de personaje plăcute, fiecare cu propriile limitări desigur, serialul are din când în când efecte umoristice eficiente, neiertând nimic, dar ar fi funcționat mai bine ca miniserie, deoarece multele exagerări exagerate tind să facă totul să para un pic tărăgănat.

PS: Interesant de observat câteva cameo de la Nick Jonas și Ariana Grande, care se pare că nu se tem să râdă de ei înșiși.

Doi dintre creatori sunt Brad Falchuk și Ryan Murphy care au dat viață lui American Horror Story, Glee și Nip/Tuck.

Cu: Emma Roberts, Abigail Breslin, Jamie Lee Curtis, Lea Michele, Keke Palmer, Oliver Hudson

Creatori/scenaristi: Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan

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