Reviews

A beauty. What a lovely, charming and clever film. 'Klaus' took my interest and then some, I was locked in from the start. It's terrific, with some excellent hand-drawn animation. The cast, led by Jason Schwartzman, do very good jobs, also. I loved seeing it connect all the dots of Santa, Christmas et al. If you think about it, it's actually rather simple but it's done in a smart and pleasant way. The ending is particularly sweet. Away from the heart, it also has humour and the pacing is absolutely spot on. Schwartzman is entertaining as Jesper, with J. K. Simmons doing a very solid job as Klaus. I also enjoyed Joan Cusack as Tammy. The cast are probably down the pecking order of this film's pluses, but that's only due to its other, more noticeable positives. Always pleasing to see a great animated film away from Disney, if only to create important competition for the latter.

Another banger from Tarantino. Christoph Waltz is such an amazing actor in this one.

It's obviously Tarantino, creating tension with long dialogues and containing short bursts of violence, although some scenes could have been shortened or omitted. Great to see the lineup of French and German actors, where the terrific Waltz takes the cake. 8/10

Second time seeing this since it was released on Blu-ray in 2009 and still is a solid war-thriller with Tarantino's flair with dialogue and of course, feet. But seriously, despite being 2.5 hours, the time flew by thanks to the brisk pace and great performances from all around. Not my favorite Tarantino film but it's up there. 4.5/5

Refreshingly different alternative WW2 drama/adventure RELEASED IN 2009 and directed by Quentin Tarantino, "Inglourious Basterds" takes place during the German occupation of France in WW2 and revolves around a ruthless “Jew Hunter” Nazi (Christoph Waltz), a beautiful young theater owner dripping with vengeance, a German war hero who pesters her and a brutal team of Jewish-American guerrilla soldiers led by Lt. Aldo Raine. This was my first taste of the popular director's eccentric repertoire, although I've since seen all of his movies. The first time I tried to watch "Basterds" I gave up around the 50-minute mark. Don't get me wrong, the dialogue-driven opening sequence is great but the film seemed to bog down with its focus on a French theater during the German occupation and the accompanying interminable dialogue (mostly in subtitles). I just wasn't ready for this because I was...

This one sort of slipped through the cracks didn't it? I mean, it has a very good, very heartwarming story that helps define a character's growth over the length of the plot. It has a story about hope and sacrifice and struggle. It is a good movie. How does a movie this good get made today? Isn't this sort of the opposite of everything that current Hollywood stands for? Where is the strong female lead replacing Puss in Boots as the hero? Where are the identity politics? Where is the nonstop shaming of Straight White Men? Where is the depiction of half the country as absolute evil? How can they make a western movie that doesn't shame the west at every possible turn? I have absolutely no idea how this could have been made, but what I can say is that it is fantastic, it is moving, it is fun for the whole family and it has a decent nonpolitical message. The main character is...

I can't think for a minute that this would have worked at all, had it not for been for the entertainingly over-the-top voice talents of Antonio Banderas in the title roll. His cat is a sort of combination of Cyrano de Bergerac and Casanova - full of flair, dashing and adept with his flourishing blade. Until, that is, he has a run-in with a church bell that brings him face to face with his mortality. He has only one of his nine lives left, and death is poised to come claim him! Shattered, he seeks refuge in a home for cats where he encounters "Perrito" - a small, naive and lost little dog who is determined to befriend him. Meantime, the not so little "Jack Horner" and "Goldilocks" and her three bears are looking for a map that will guide them to a wishing star that, well, it does what it says on the tin. The bears decide to track down our eponymous hero to help them procure it, but he and...

I did not expect the sequel to a decent spin-off Dreamworks film from over a decade ago to be one of the most poignant, introspective, genuinely hilarious, and heartwarming films of the year. But here we are. After an overly cheesy, somewhat clunky opening sequence, The Last Wish very quickly begins developing its zany assortment of characters into distinct quirky personalities with sympathetic desires and clear goals. The film juggles several character arcs and it's almost miraculous how it successfully handled all of them with proper set up and satisfying, emotionally weighty payoffs. The screenplay is wacky, witty, and also bursting with heart as it deals with weighty themes of trusting others and finding purpose in any circumstances. And it tackles these themes in ways that are always understandable to all ages but never insultingly oversimplified. What I also didn't expect was...

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish had a lot to live up to as most of my critic and casual friends have been praising the film, and for the most part the film delivers. From the opening frames, the unique art style fills the screen and is incredibly captivating. There is some excellent combination of 3D animation with 2D styles that I have not seen before. The combat frame rate shift was also a nice touch that worked better than I was expecting. Action was top notch with some incredible set pieces and superb choreography. The Last Wish deals with some pretty heavy themes for an animated children's movie. Death is something that all humans will have to face which was handled in such a nuanced and mature way here. From panic attacks to haunting imagery, death looms large throughout the entire film and serves as a menacing villain. The journey our heroes take to confront this fear is very...

*Woman in the Dunes* is a haunting psychological drama that explores freedom, isolation, and human resilience through compelling character development, striking black-and-white cinematography, and an immersive atmosphere. While its limited setting and restrained character backstories create some emotional distance, the film's powerful symbolism and thoughtful storytelling leave a lasting impression. Overall, it is a timeless classic that is highly rewarding for viewers who appreciate slow-burning, philosophical cinema. BY ALUNAUWIE

Yikes, but for a film almost entirely set outdoors it’s remarkably claustrophobic! It’s about the exploring bug hunter “Jumpei” (Eiji Okada) who finds himself a bit lost out in the sand dunes after he misses the last bus of the day. A friendly villager offers him some shelter for the night, buy boy is he ill-prepared for quite what that man, and his entire village, has in store. He is placed with a widow, but when he wakes in the morning discovers that her home is deep within a sand well and the only way out is the ladder he climbed down to enter - and that’s gone! It’s a precarious existence for this women (Kyôko Kishida) for if she doesn’t keep the sand levels down, they will swamp her home and swallow her up. The villagers assist in so far as they help dispose of the collected sand and they provide her - and now him - with some weekly rations, but she has no inclination to leave her...

- to me utterly & completely incomprehensable that this movie has been so neglected , Not included in - more 'popular' -watchlists ( or 'best movie' -lists ... ) - it is a Grand Feast for the eyes and the mind : the story , the acting , the photography is of such superb level !!! - i would hot hesitate to rate it ( - actually with many movie-'professionals' ... ) as among the top twenty best ( cinema-proper ) films ever made .

*A white streetwise bouncer and an articulate black pianist tour the Deep South in 1962* A tough, working class Italian New Yawker (Viggo Mortensen) is forced to take a gig driving a refined African-American concert pianist (Mahershala Ali) through the Midwest and Deep South in 1962. Linda Cardellini plays the wife of the Italian. “Green Book” (2018) was inspired by the real-life story and written by the son of Tony Lip (Mortensen). Like all great dramas, it’s compelling from the get-go and the road movie approach provides an entertaining and revelatory string of episodes, not to mention occasionally amusing. While the movie’s been accused of reverse racism, it’s actually balanced, showing plenty of poor, inarticulate blacks and vice versa. The message is to base your perceptions on the individual rather than ignorant generalizations. The film runs 2 hours, 10 minutes,...

"Frequently, when someone tries to portray the overwhelming decade of the 1960s, they usually misuse the concept of discrimination towards African Americans, which is accurate to describe this social issue. Nevertheless, the way Peter Farrelly and staff go into detail about this social wretchedness embodying the psychological impact it has in the main character makes the film an outstanding one". The year is 1962, and the film begins inside Copacabana restaurant where we get introduced the imposing personality of Tony Lip, an Italian descendant whose family came from a lower middle class coping with some financial difficulties. The way Viggo Mortensen performs the character is a proper model of then American racism; therefore he attempted to keep them out until the occasion arrived and Don Shirley appeared in his path, offering him a two-month lifetime opportunity. We all need to bear...

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog :) Living in Portugal has a ton of pros, but regarding movies, it lacks serious advantages. The price of admission is expensive, there is only one film theater in my city (every time I want to watch a movie on IMAX or Dolby Atmos, it's a financial effort and time-consuming) and the worst of all, a whole bunch of films aren't released in their original date, especially November/December Oscar-bait movies. Only now I had the opportunity to see Green Book, and I am so mad I wasn't able to write its review in 2018 because this is undoubtedly the best comedy-drama of last year and one of the best overall! With the help of a terrific cast, Peter Farrelly and his writing crew (which counts with Vallelonga's son, Nick) deliver what I think is the best screenplay of 2018. I can't remember the last time I cried of so much...

Sadly, didn't end racism, but still very cute. Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go.

After seeing endless trailers for The Housemaid at recent cinema visits over the last few months I caved and purchased a ticket. And boy that was money well spent! Based on the 2022 novel by Frieda McFadden, this thriller is an absolute twist filled, psychological nightmare. Think Gone Girl for the Taylor Swift obsessed with some brutal scenes. We follow Millie (Sydney Sweeney), currently on parole and eager to move on with her life. She thinks she's found the perfect job after interviewing with bubbly, effervescent trophy wife Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried). She's offered a live-in position as a housemaid in the spectacular home Nina shares with her husband Andrew (Brendon Sklenar) and daughter Cece (Indiana Elle). But it's too good to be true. Millie's living in a tiny attic room with a deadbolt lock on the wrong side of the door, Cece goes out of her way to be difficult and...

This movie was genuinely exciting to watch. Millie is a bold and interesting character, and I liked the idea of her targeting creepy, psychologically disturbed men. There is something satisfying about how brave and calculated she is, and the way the film presents her at first makes you think you are watching a completely different kind of story. The movie feels very professional in terms of direction, atmosphere, and pacing. What I enjoyed most is how unpredictable it is. At the beginning, Millie comes off as cute and almost innocent, and it seems like Andrew and Nina are just part of a normal setup. I expected Nina to be the real problem, but the story flips and reveals Andrew as the true villain, which caught me off guard in a good way. Overall, the vibe of the movie is very mysterious and tense, and it keeps you guessing about who is actually dangerous and who is not. If you like...

“Millie” (Sydney Sweeney) is on parole and sleeping in her car when she applies for a job housekeeping for the wealthy “Wentworth” family. After her first meeting with the jovial “Nina” (Amanda Seyfried) she doesn’t hold out much hope, so imagine her surprise when she is back in their luxury kitchen with a centrally heated, if somewhat airtight, attic bedroom and a phone replete with a limitless credit card. At this stage, enter hunky husband “Andrew” (Brandon Skelnar) and her slightly stand-offish, ballet dancing, daughter “Cece” (Indiana Elle) and duly welcomed this newcomer is. Next morning, “Millie” discovers an entirely flakier side of her boss, though, and that’s just the start of some curious escapades that do, at this stage, send us into some fairly predictable territory. Thing is, we get to that stage with still an hour to go so we know there will have to be some twists. Twists...

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://movieswetextedabout.com/the-housemaid-movie-review-paul-feig-delivers-a-crowd-pleaser-driven-by-an-unhinged-amanda-seyfried/ "The Housemaid leans on the undeniable talent of an Amanda Seyfried in her prime and Paul Feig‘s ability to create a crowd-pleaser that knows its limitations. Although it doesn’t avoid clichés and occasionally gets lost in narrative redundancies, its vibrant aesthetics and explosive finale make up for the flaws along the way. A deliberately chaotic domestic thriller, where the power struggle and the deconstruction of social appearances reveal that the true terror lies in what we choose to ignore in broad daylight." Rating: B-