Malarkey

The Romanians made a big misstep. An extremely unmemorable drama where neither the cast nor emotions convince you. The only positive aspect of the movie is its poster, which looks very Hollywood-like.

Of course… who else should star in this movie if not Nicolas Cage. He is currently the only Hollywood actor who turned acting into a completely extravagant experience. If he is in pain, physically or mentally, you’ll simply feel it too. And since he keeps appearing in films which are outside the norm, you can count on Nicolas Cage being in complete mental and physical pain. When it came to the execution of the movie, I was quite upset. The first half was mostly for show. The director played with purple filters and half the time I couldn’t even see what was going on in a scene. But the important thing is that it is glamorous. The second half of the movie was hardcore, though. That’s actually when the dark side of Nicolas comes to life together in a surreal ride full of such shit you won’t believe your eyes. An unbelievable crazy trip. Again, one of those films that try to shock you creatively and it is pretty successful in doing that.

For some a three-star mediocre affair, for me a very well done biopic, which is so inconspicuous and so “small-scale” that nobody could do this TV movie better than HBO. Hervé Villechaize actually isn’t the most likable actor in the world and his story isn’t one of the most original ones in Hollywood. On the other hand, there is the duo of Peter Dinklage and Jamie Dornan. And they put a lot of hard work into this, thanks to which the film really entertained me.

Denis Villeneuve kept the film pretty true to its source material. He prepared a sequel to the legendary techno sci-fi, which deserves praise. He forgot about any emotions and thus made the film into a cold doll, but on the other hand, he played beautifully with Los Angeles of the future and he harmonized it perfectly with the amazing synthwave music. You won’t find orgies like this in just any movie. After viewing I actually realized that I actually ended up with the same impression of the sequel as I had of the original movie. So, to save myself from a three-star review, I gave it four stars straight away. The visuals in combination with the music simply forced me to. Even though I haven’t seen a colder movie in a long time.

Two gays… That in and of itself can mean anything. If you, however, realize that Paul Rudd and Steve Coogan are starring in this, you can be sure that this comedy will be fine and it definitely won’t be pointing out or referring to situations which other directors literally relish when it comes to this topic. Quite the opposite, the director turned both of them into quite cute dorks; there is nothing wrong with them and everything works. Comedically, it’s just right and so the movie deserves three stars without any misgivings.

The Americans took their time with the premise. I fell for it hook, line and sinker. And the then still awkward Ben Affleck truly didn’t offend me. The romance in the movie, however, is not that great. In this case, it’s actually completely missing.

A typically crazy affair from Finland, where the main hero is a “real” hero. He actually euthanizes animals that had sad lives and their time to die is approaching. Or at least that’s the way he sees it. He helps them a little, speeds up their ordeal, and every now and then cashes in some money. But since he is a loner, and a bit of a freak, it’s only a matter of time before a group of Finnish assholes starts holding a grudge against him. So, what appeared in the beginning as a loner drama which isn’t for everybody evolves into an unexpected murder spree. It is definitely a movie that isn’t for everyone, though, and the Finns once again show that their cinematography is the strangest in Scandinavia and once again it goes to a bit different direction than the European mainstream would allow.

You probably have to be an IT nerd to get why this funny 6-episode series is called Dimension 404. Personally, I must say that every episode was entertaining, crazy, absurd, interesting, original, and definitely very well made. They are actually short stories in the style of The Outer Limits, like the user M.a.t.t. already mentioned. And well, truthfully, I was pretty happy about that. I wouldn’t concern myself too much with the reviews on this site. Don’t necessarily expect an absolute quality, but rather a quality absurdity. It's not a bad idea to sometimes relax in front of the TV and have fun at the same time.

I have probably seen too many of these music dramas already, since I cannot give this movie five stars. However, I completely understand why the overall score is so high. It has quite a few surprises up its sleeve. Only, the whole time I was waiting for the finale and it didn’t manage to shock me as much as I’d wished. The first surprise was Bradley Cooper. Who would have thought that a comedy actor who became famous with the Hangover trilogy will eventually star in such a romantic epic and in addition will show everyone that he can sing and write pretty solid Southern rock? Well, another surprise was, of course, Lady Gaga. I accept her music, I respect her as a pop star, and I acknowledge that her pop music is original. Acting-wise, she wiped the floor with the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, who were recently laughing at her at the Golden Globe awards. Hats off. A regular girl, who worked as a waitress, turned into a world-class star. Some of the movie scenes are literally legendary. It’s a shame, then, that the finale wasn’t as epic. Other than that, I must add that if you like music and follow the behind the scenes, you’ll be able to find a whole array of seemingly inconspicuous moments, which will however say a lot about the given scene. That’s what I really liked about it. After viewing I debated, pondered, and debated once again. Bradley and Lady Gaga blowed that cinematic universe into such dimmensions as if they were real music stars. Beautiful.

An interestingly grasped movie consisting of short stories, which is absolutely perfectly guided by John Malkovich. He, in the role of a lecturer, spouts one pearl of wisdom after another, and during his lecture, the filmmakers show us life stories connected to the love of some of the participants of the lecture. Everything is then finished with a tale that is acted out by Malkovich himself. The movie is seemingly built on him, but the stories also work on their own. I can’t say I wasn’t entertained.