Reviews
The Babadook (2014)
Brilliant... if you know when to stop.
To be quite blunt and honest, I find the reviews for this movie unbelievable. Don't get me wrong, it is very original, the acting is awesome, and it manages to be disturbing and creepy. The problem is where it goes from there. I'm not going to bother explaining what the story is, you probably already read that. The movie is made in such a way that leaves you wondering if the Babadook is real or if the main character is going insane. That is definitely a plus, and the movie goes along this line almost all the way. Then there is that scene where the lady next door, knocks on the door at the middle of the night to ask if everything is OK. This is by no means a spoiler, it is just an alert that is when thing start going downhill. From then on, the story decays to the point of pure silliness. It is a train wreck. I've seen quite a few movies like this and it still mesmerizes me why and how do the directors manage to spoil everything so near the end. Obviously I can't detail to you what goes on towards the end, but I'll tell you that if the ending was decent I'd probably scored The Babadook with something like 7 or 8 stars. With how it went, 3 is all that it deserves. You can check it out for the novelty, but at least be aware that all things considered it is going to suck.
Stitches (2012)
Have anything better to do? Do it instead.
When you begin watching this movies trailer you see that it has been rated "Restricted: Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian"... Well, having seen this movie I definitely think that people over 17 are the ones who will actually be having a hard time watching Stitches.
When I looked this movie up I had in mind the clown character from Spawn. I was expecting blood, gore and some smart humour. Well, there's plenty of the first two, but none of the later.
All you'll get out of this movie is a couple of laughs, nothing more. Its really not all that funny. Very, very predictable and pretty much ridiculous. The plot is absurd and all that goes on serves as a poor excuse for blood, guts and gore.
I could have enjoyed this if I was in my teens, but I'm not. If you are not in your teens as well, this is not the worst movie you'll ever see, but you can definitely find a better thing to do with your time.
Linhas de Wellington (2012)
Watchable but quite disappointing.
If you think about the French Invasions of the 19th Century, you think about a time of war, tragedy, heroism, violence and excesses. It is the perfect plot for an epic movie. Unfortunately, in the case of "Linhas de Wellington", the movie is Portuguese. Don't get me wrong, I am Portuguese too. What I mean is that we, as a nation, have a very hard time dealing with our own heritage and heroes. I don't know, perhaps deep inside each of us knows how short we fell of living up to our forefathers extraordinary legacy. Anyway, regardless of the reason why, the fact is that we do not give enough praise to the best among us, and that reflects on our modern art in general and in this movie in particular. That being said, instead of all the drama, heroism and war, this movie shows the story of simple people, ordinary anonymous folks, leaving their land as the French Army advances. Unfortunately, there are too many characters, not shown long enough for the viewer too actually identify himself with any of them. That turns the movie into a tale about people you don't really care for. As for the Duque of Wellington, the way he is portrayed is nothing short of revolting... As you would expect from a Portuguese movie because of all I said above. As a conclusion, "Linhas de Wellington" is a big disappointment. It is watchable, but nothing more than that.
A.C.A.B. - All Cops Are Bastards (2012)
Honest, raw police portrait
I recently came across this movie. Looked it up, read some reviews and got more and more curious. Finally, this weekend, I actually watched A.C.A.B. and... well, I don't write much reviews, but decided to do so in this case. Why? Because while I was looking up this movie, I read really, really dumb, political oriented, crappy reviews. I guess left wing extremists love put down this movie, which is actually quite unfair. This is a small effort of mine in order to help the reader with a honest and simple review.
The movie is intended to be a slice of the lives of four Italian policemen, who belong to a special unit with the mission of controlling mobs. Three are veterans, one is a rookie. What we see are pieces of their lives, both on the job and at home. They all are have different experiences, and they all have serious personnel problems. The thing about showing the "slice of live" I mentioned is that the movie ends when it does, regardless of the stories reaching a conclusion. I say this because the movie could easily go on for quite longer, but the director ends it when he considers we have seen enough. Its fine, it adds to the realism, which it what is intended in the first place.
The cops portrayed in this film are sometimes excessive and tend to take matters into their own hands. What makes left wing extremists really mad is that, instead of showing cops as blood thirsty maniacs, the movie shows the context of their work and the environment they operate in. What the movie really shows is the deep, complex, problems hypocritical government policies produce.
It is an Italian film, the action goes on in Italy, but it could easily take place in most European countries with minor adjustments. Mine, Portugal, is a good example of that.
To make a long story short, it is a raw, honest portrait of police officers hard life, one that everyone with common sense ought to be able to understand and relate to. Not a big budget, not the best movie I've ever seen, but a hell of a nice one! I do recommend it!
Livide (2011)
Scary... not in a good way!
Sorry guys, I'll try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, but I don't think I can avoid a few.
Well, this movie has two very distinct parts.
The first part goes from the beginning until the main characters find Mrs. Jessel's daughter. The movie is quite nice that far. The house is great, very good mood, plenty of suggestions
In two words: well made.
The second part goes from the finding of Mrs. Jessel's daughter on, and let me tell you, the movie turns into something rather horrendous to watch (unless, of course, you are into teenage horror cheap movies). From them on, you have characters making crazy impossible assumptions, unsustainable with what they know; the suggestions I mentioned turning to strange creatures that we never get to know full well what they are; and the inevitable "coming back one more time when all seems over" of the bad guys.
The cherry on top, the spoiler that really illustrates what this movie is about, and that, had I known, that would spare me the time I lost watching Livide, is seeing the main character, Lucie Klavel, punching the
well, monster that haunts the house in the face, and throwing it/she over the stairs all the way to the ground floor.
And basically it comes to this: If you enjoy teenagers and monsters going at it, you might like this movie. If not, you'll probably find it terribly bad, as I have.
Chaimite (1952)
Between adventure film and history lesson!
The first thing to bear in mind if you are going to watch this film is that its a black and white 1953 movie. That being said, don't have any high hopes as technology and special effects go.
With that in mind, if you are into adventure movies, you should love this one. The background are the Portuguese campaigns in Moçambique in late 19th century, but other than that there's also the usual love story. Or course, the love story has all the cheesy moments adventure movies from back then had, but you'll also get lots of great action scenes with battles, fighting and shooting. If it was left to the adventure part, I'd think of it as a pretty nice movie, but I'd rate it with only something like 6 or 7 stars.
I gave it 10 because it is as a history lesson that this film really comes to life. The movie is beyond words as to the richness of historical details. The famous battles, the characters, the speeches... great care was put into that.
Probably foreign viewers and most Portuguese as well (who are not much into history) won't get the historical references, which is a shame, but nonetheless I believe this movie is worth watching for that audience as well.
To make a long story short, if you are into old adventure movies and come across "Chaimite", give it a try. You won't be sorry!