Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

An actor and his stuntman close friend intersect with well-known events of 1969.

'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood' is a drama with comic accents signed by Quentin Tarantino. It's a  difficult to describe film without revealing its element of surprise, precisely because it makes sense and works as intended because of it. However, in short, the film is Tarantino's ode dedicated to Hollywood or at least the idea of ​​Hollywood as seen through the eyes of an imaginative cinephile. The two main actors have an incredible chemistry and manage to maintain the viewer's attention and the comic credibility of the film every and each moment.

Director:  Quentin Tarantino   

With: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch

Rating: 9/10

The Quick And The Dead (1995)

A mysterious woman signs up in a gunfighting contest in a typical small town in the Wild West.

'The Quick and The Dead' is a western thriller in the incomparable style of Sam Raimi, and is often reminiscent of The Evil Dead. With a top notch cast, a fairly generic story for the western genre, and a director who knows how to choreograph his scenes to perfection, this film has become a cult classic with a rewatch factor that's hard to match.

Director:  Sam Raimi    

With: Sharon Stone, Russell Crowe, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gene Hackman, Lance Henriksen, Gary Sinise, Tobin Bell

Rating: 8/10

Don't Look Up (2021)

Two obscure astronomers discover that a comet will hit Earth in 6 months and spend all their time trying to convince the world that it is something to take seriously.

'Don't Look Up' is a socio-political satire that is unfortunately a little too familiar to be entertaining. The humor of the absurd is still present, the team of actors is a dream, but the moments of frustration and doubt are too frequent and the attitudes of those with power of decision way too devastating.

Director:  Adam McKay     

With: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Rob Morgan

Rating: 7/10

The Great Gatsby (2013)

Versiune hiper stilizata si deloc necesara a binecunoscutului roman.

Leonardo DiCaprio, obisnuit cu repertorii violente in manifestare si generatoare de aclamatii, reuseste sa forteze luptele interne ale personajului prea mult in exterior in contrast cu imaginea mai subtila si dandy al lui Gatsby cu care fanii frumoasei povesti s-au obisnuit.

Nu neg abilitatea filmului de a-si intretine publicul, dar sincer am preferat varianta veche a filmului, cu un mult mai potrivit Robert Redford si chiar Mia Farrow. Avand in vedere ca aceea e o ecranizare mult criticata de...fanii cititori nu e deloc o bila alba pentru Baz Luhrman, care fusese fara pata pana acum.

Scenariu: Baz Luhrmann si Craig Pearce (scenariu); 
                F. Scott Fitzgerald (roman)
Regia: Baz Luhrmann
Cu: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher

Shutter Island (2010)

Turnura total neasteptata a atentiei unui regizor care ne-a obisnuit cu un anume gen cinematografic, sau cu obsesia pentru anumite paturi sociale si tipologii, cu foarte putine exceptii care intaresc regula (cum ar fi The Age Of Innocence, o la fel de suprinzatoare alegere la vremea ei). Desi prin originea personajului principal nu se indeparteaza intr-atat de stilul sau, derularea este complet la antipod, permitand o privire interna a psihicului personajului, lucru complet inabordabil pana acum in toate realizarile sale, cand privitorul era bombardat in general numai cu fapte si actiuni si manifestari vizibile cu foarte usoare si subtile intentii subiective de influenta, ramanand la latitudinea acestuia alegerea oricarei directii de interpretare. Poate tocmai de asta trebuie sa-i fie iertata usoara stangacie cu care manevreaza elementele din acest gen total nou pentru el, sugestia pe viu de psihic derutat, confuzie adanca, neincredere si paranoia. De departe de a fi un esec, filmul impresioneaza, atat prin poveste cat si prin realizare si as spune epicul imaginii, dar totusi Scorsese parca cel mai mult uimeste in bogatia de fapte intretaiata cu subtilitati ale trairilor interioare. A true gem!

Regie: Martin Scorsese
Scenariu: Laeta Kalogridis (adaptare), Dennis Lehane (roman)
Cu: Leopnardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Max Von Sydow, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson, Elias Koteas, Jackie Earle Haley, John Carroll Lynch