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The Victim (2019)

Captivating drama with a perfect title

The first episode really plays with the viewers' stereotypes.

I like how each part of the puzzle is added progressively and how the pace of the story accelerates. Suspense is guaranteed until the end.

I give it an 8 instead of 9 because I personally found the side plot of the daughter's boyfriend not fully worked up. I wish there had been flashbacks of the mixed couple as they navigated through their relationship prior to the main event.

Cuerdas (2014)

So happy I stumbled on this movie on YouTube!

I cried! Thank you for producing such a beautiful short movie. The little friend I watched it with ran to her mum (who hadn't watched it) in the end and begged her to watch it again with her!

Adieu les cons (2020)

Stilted, caricatural, improbable, stupid ending

This movie is a great example of the misused talent available in the French cinema industry. Subsidies are used to produce movies with no substance.

The characters (including the police) are very caricatural and the story is very improbable, making it very hard to connect/relate to it.

After a first laugh with the attempted video, I spent the rest of the film searching for real emotions.

The main characters don't seem to have a home, don't sleep, eat or drink. No sense of time either.

Who is the movie for? Given the lack of imagination in the lines/simple personality of the characters, I'd say the primary audience would be teenagers? Then, why would you have such an inappropriate ending to trivialise a serious topic?

I watched this movie at the cinema and the disappointment was general. People were rushing out to go home.

So, this one doesn't deserve a Cesar for me, regardless of how stylised it is. A movie is a story/an experience that needs to be more meaningful than this.

Still Alice (2014)

A call to enjoy the beauty in our fragile existence

I wish I didn't know about the topic of the movie prior to watching it to be caught by surprise.

Alice is an accomplished intelligent woman every woman would envy. She keeps on top of every aspect of her life and is the backbone of her family.

The perfect picture starts cracking almost imperceptibly and the upcoming birth of her grandchildren serve as a great way to keep track of how quickly her life veers off track. Despite all this, her resourcefulness and her intelligence shines even more in her attempts to stay at the helm of her life and guide her future self.

While the movie could get really dark, it has kept some lightness, particularly with the outside scenes at the beach and the love and understanding of one of her daughters.

Through the husband, the movie painted very well how frustrated rich and highly educated people can be when they are caught up by something they cannot change.

While many movies annoyingly lack the subtleties of life, I found myself replaying a couple of scenes to appreciate them fully.

I was so engrossed by the movie that I didn't actually pay any attention to the music.

I highly recommend planning a group activity after watching this movie to shake if off a bit from your head.

La famille Bélier (2014)

Beautiful refreshing jewel

The cast is excellent. I was very impressed with the family and the music teacher is just remarkable. J'ai pleuré comme une madeleine à la fin. It's a movie that makes me proud of being French.

Match Point (2005)

Yes to the plot, more character texture please!!

I have read some good and bad review and found them all very pertinent. The concepts of luck, social climbing, love and lust are clearly well articulated with beautiful imagery. This is something that most movies today lack and for this reason I think Match Point is a 'must-see movie.

However, the characters, despite being played by good actors, are not given enough material for us to believe that they are real people.

Chris is too polished from the very start for a person coming from a poor socio-economic background. His explanation for his love of opera seemed to be an afterthought, particularly as he is never seen speaking about this passion after/before the performances. Where are his friends and relatives? Not a single phone call to them or flashback.No one he could have invited to his wedding? The casual encounter with a tennis player is just not enough to place him and explain who he really is.

Woody Allen, can you please develop female characters that are less stereotypical?? The scene where Nola and Tim start having sex at a party, or the breakfast talk about having sex with a thermometer are not believable at all!

Overall the dynamics are badly explained between the parents-in-law and their children, between Tom and Nola and so on. The film needed more intimate/everyday dialogues instead of constant dining, opera, and museum scenes.

Woody Allen, people are harsh with you because they know you can do much better!

Schitt$ Creek (2015)

Refreshing! We need more comedy like this. Well done!

I wasn't captivated by the first episode but ended up binging the 6 seasons in one month. As explained by others, this show really goes from strenghts to strengths. I believe making a comedy series is extremely hard and I really want to thank the whole team for putting such a great show together. Yes, the characters are caricatural but they are very endearing and funny! It's also very accessible comedy where you're never left wondering. Accepting everyone's weirdness and taking people for who they are would definitely be the main message of the show. I cried a few times too.

I loved watching the interviews with the crew members at the very end.

Three Identical Strangers (2018)

The art of documentary at its best

This documentary moved me more than I expected. Here's why I think it's such a great doco: -the re-enactments were done superbly

• the energy of the start conveyed by the various interviewees was invigorated. Despite having read about the story a few years earlier I felt like I was hearing about it for the first time. I felt I was there and wanted to share the great news with my friends
• the video and photo archives were well used, not overwhelming
• there was a good pace with the interviews clips, which were never long and managed to hide well the fact that one voice was missing.
• I particularly liked how the filmmakers captured the ethics of the research assistants with their mannerisms, postures, and interests. I would have pushed the interview a bit further and ask them about their relationship with their siblings to create some discomfort.
• there was no finger pointing with the parents or the brothers. People 'don't necessarily fit together' and it kept it all so human and tragic.
• last but not least, the doco itself acts as a positive intervention as it provides more answers to those who have been looking for some for such a long time.

Athlete A (2020)

How long and how many does it take to bring down one person?

Great documentary. I liked how they recounted the editorial strategy of the newspaper. I wish they had spent a bit of time on the 1997 report to Michigan State University. Left in tears at the end because of the sheer number of girls assaulted over the years. It just indicates how much crime still goes completely unpunished.

Helium (2013)

A beautiful imaginary world enters a very dim reality

This movie undeniably shows the power of storytelling. The animation used to depict the imaginary world of 'helium' is just superb.

However, I feel like the 'real world' could have been better crafted. For example:

• show the cleaner apply for the job and lie on his experience as a cleaner
• get the cleaner to interact with other sick people, who are boring compared to the main child character
• the coffee scene with the colleague: why is the cleaner not in his uniform?Why would he have a jug of coffee for himself?
• the child character seems like a pretty down-to-earth logical child. Yet it looks like all of a sudden he throws away all his critical mindset as soon as he hears the new cleaner. He could have said in a sign of disbelief: 'I was never told this. How come you know and not my parents?'

The Silent Child (2017)

Heartbreaking jewel!

I knew nothing about the movie when I started watching it. As a viewer, we're slowly discovering the family, the 'helper', and then Libby's world with the sound mute. The statistics at the end of the movie felt like a cold shower. I hope it's a wake-up call to become a more inclusive society.

Skin (2018)

Good plot but was the very end necessary?

As a viewer, we cannot not be confused from seeing parents behaving lovingly with their child but cruelty with a complete black stranger, who casually interacted with their child. This is great characterisation.

The price paid for this outrageous behaviour was very unexpected. I wish this new skin identity had been explored more instead of cutting it short with the child.

Negative Space (2017)

A quirky universe for a very simple story told with the reserve of its narrators

Beautiful animation. Sometimes death just leaves behind some weird trademarks from the person who is no longer with us. I completely identify with this little story. Its emotion is in its simplicity. The negative space for me is also the negative space in the heart of this little boy who has grown up and could never connect more with his dad.

The Phone Call (2013)

A beautifully told short film

This short film was so beautifully told. The acting and the cinematography is superb. I wish they were more short films like these. The end in the house is surprising but could not be told any better. Well done.

Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont (2016)

A refreshing comedy

A great family movie to depict a very difficult start for this family. Great writing to describe humble pride, lightness and forgiveness. The lead character is excellent. The build-up of his emotions is very well built. I just shouted of rage at the same as he did in complete symbiosis with his struggles! Haha

Mommy (2014)

Everyone deals with their lives their own ways

But I found this movie was just like life and that's maybe why I liked it so much. Some people were disappointed with the lack of depth in the characters but people don't always show much depth and are just who they are.

Some people were also annoyed with how mental health was portrayed. Mental health can be portrayed in multiple ways and I don't think that any person with a critical mind would think that every ADHD teenager would be like Steve.

Some people criticised the frame. I think it's a great way to change it up and watch a movie differently. Cinema needs innovation and this was a welcomed one.

As for the end, it's not necessary what I expected but at the end of the day, it's also pretty realistic to me.

Some people hate how the person who said to love the most acted apparently with the least love and the fact that it teaches a 'bad lesson'.Movies don't need to be like fables and teach lessons. Again, life is life. We have to stop looking for specific lessons.

A good movie is an experience full of emotions. This movie is a good one. It's not perfect. For example it is hard to patch the mum's work life but I'd rather watch this than the polished boring crap our cinemas are full of.

The Receptionist (2016)

Great story to tell

Great story to tell. I wish more work had been done with the dialogues. Some scenes are a bit caricatural or difficult to piece together. Why did Anna become so deluded? I like the analogy with the worms. I wish we could see what happened with Sasa.

Au revoir là-haut (2017)

Good adaptation of the book but the book is way better!

I really liked the book and was looking forward to the movie. I find the pace is a bit fast and have had to pause the movie a few tines to explain things to my English speaking friend. I wish the character of the dad in the movie had a bit more depth, like in the book. There are a couple of departures from the book at the end,which are very good. There are some brilliant scenes that are both heart-breaking and funny. Well done.

Perfetti sconosciuti (2016)

Good theme and acting but the ending is too weird

The movie shows how futile our social interactions are and how little we reveal of ourselves. Great idea. The start of the phone game looks quite believable, however some other moments are hard to believe.

Lovers are supposed to be hating each other's at the end but for some reason it all looks like a dream and order is restored, just like the moon. Very random ending.

Charlie vs. Goliath (2017)

Realistic and idealistic gem

This story is well told. Great interactions and silent moments picked up, great sceneries, great music. Authentic.

Some parts were unnecessary long (e.g. part on the clothes for the debate night or Lin list of people constantly repeating that it's impossible to win without proper fundraising). It sometimes lacked of depth. I wish there were some proper conversations with working poors instead of very short grabs.

I also wish they had filmed a debrief of the campaigning team or the candidate himself (was there any?) and shown a bit more of the campaigning for the Congress elections. There was a bit more momentum built with additional volunteers (what was different?what did they learn?).

When They See Us (2019)

So outrageous!

The 1st episode was hard to watch...but it happened.

The story of how young people deal with 'being in and being 'out' ' is beautifully told, albeit not 100% true.

The mere fact that a miniseries creates so much interest in the full story is a great achievement in itself. There is a lot of value in movies 'based on true facts'.

I have read a few reviews slamming how biased the miniseries was. Yet, I've watched one of the actual confessions on YouTube and it's just mind-blowing. Check it out!

Biutiful (2010)

There's no good or bad people...just people

The story is just a gem. There's no good or bad people, just people trying to get ahead in life with what they have. Great acting.

I have given it a 9 instead of a 10 because the undeveloped gay story was unnecessary and I couldn't understand the spiritual medium activity.

Mongol (2007)

I surprisingly liked it!

I'm not into war like movies but the opening scene got me straight into it! The actors are excellent. Good pace and great lines!

A Single Man (2009)

Boring and slow

I'm so disappointed in this movie. I watched it for more than an hour trying to get into it. I eventually stopped watching. I just can't relate to the main character and the story seemed to be going nowhere. It's a collection of memories and short interactions. It's a real shame.

Une nouvelle amie (2014)

The right tone for a very complex subject

The main characters played brilliantly. I haven't put a better mark because 1) the beginning of the movie is very charictural in depicting the friendship between Laura and Claire, 2) Laura is not played well at all, and 3) the end is abrupt and the film should have continued to explore Claire's feelings and decisions and how her husband, Gilles, dealt with those. Skip the start, extend the end in summary.