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Reviews
Bully (2001)
I was glad to find this on Blu-ray
I was eager to revisit Larry Clark's film "Bully" since I first saw it after its release, as it profoundly impacted me. I was pleased to find a release from Australia.
However, upon watching it again, I wasn't as impressed. It hasn't aged well, with many of its aesthetics feeling stereotypical for independent films from that era.
The film leaves much to interpretation, which appealed to my younger self, but upon rewatching, I realized much of it was my imagination.
While films that provoke thought and reflection on characters are valuable, "Bully" falls short with shallow characters and a fragmented narrative, leaving too much room for interpretation.
Despite its flaws, the film has potential. If it were made today, it would probably tell this complex story in a different manner, which would still make the audience reflect on the story, not letting our minds fill all the plot holes.
My Life with the Walter Boys (2023)
I am not a child psychologist...
I am not a child psychologist but if a young girl would go through such trauma where she lost her entire family, wouldn't that girl be better of in an environment she knew well with people she felt safe with?
Not with a friend to her mother that she didn't met before the funeral and just heard about. And that would also be a mother's wish for her kid?
Why couldn't the uncle travel less in his work? That seem to be the adult she had best contact with and she could have stayed in New York in an environment she knew and with her friends. I am no expert, but I have the feeling that would have been important.
But don't worry, being in a new house surrounded by boys seems to help her process to grief miraculously, cause soon when she seemed to forget her past and are all wrapped up in a love triangle...
I don't require that things are super realistic, but it most be believable in the drama. This show fails miserable with that. It's a shame cause it's a topic I think we should be explored more often.
Great Expectations (2023)
It's the third adaption BBC does since 2011
Okay, Great Expectations is one of my favorite novels by Dickens that has been, but seeing this, I just wondered, "Why?".
BBC did a miniseries in 2011 and a film in 2012, both very faithful to the source material. So why do a third adaption of it? It starts okay, but the further the show goes, the less Dickens it feels.
I don't mind that creators does an adaptation with their own interpretation of the story. I even liked the movie from 1997 cause at least it understood the corn of Dickens novel Great Expectations and had the right atmosphere.
But it can't be easy to make an adaption of this film since David Lean made not only one of the best, that also is considered one of the best films ever made.
But again, both the miniserie and film from 2012 did a better job than this adaption. Then it is almost six hours long, has high production values and great actors. But the writers and the director doesn't seem to understood the source material.
The ending is so bad that fans of Dickens should go Game of Thrones-angry at the producer of this show for the ending that is an insult to the original story.
I might don't get why BBC feels they need to remake Great Expectations over anf over again, but at least I understand Dickens and this show doesn't.
Bros (2022)
This film was marketing the completely wrong way
Yes, it's a rom-com, but they make fun of the whole concept (they basically say out loud that it is a parody of You got mail). It shouldn't be marketed as the first major blockbuster about a gay couple. If it had been marketed as an indie comedy, the film would reach another audience.
I liked Billy better in Difficult People, that show is more cynical, and it fits his always complaining character, that Bobby is some alternation on. (If you liked that show, you will probably like this film. If you never watched it, do so, and if you don't like it, you probably won't like this film either.) In this film he is sometimes over the top. But I think one big spoiler is in the beginning of the film where Billy's character turns down to make a film, cause love isn't love...
Luke McFarlane's character is more down to earth, but he still makes fun of the Hallmark movies he has been in. This kind of meta jokes are common in the movie.
Yes, the film uses a lot of stereotypes, but they also make fun of them, and they are aware of it. The jokes are really "internal" and they have no interest in making it easier for the audience watching it. If you don't have knowledge about gay culture, you won't get them.
Nothing in this film is a mainstream rom-com that just happens to be about a gay couple. On the surface, it is, but when you watch it, you get it is a parody of the genre. So why did anyone on the marketing theme think this was an excellent decision to market it as a rom-com?
That means that people who would like this film will avoid it, and the people who sees it will be disappointed cause they get a whole other movie than they expected.
Enfant Terrible (2020)
This could been handled so much better
Fassbinder was a really productive director, and there has already been several books about him. This is probably the first film. The format is bad suited, I don't feel that I get a portrait of Fassbinder and neither his work as a director. He just jumps from one bad relationship to the next, uses drugs and acts like a douchbag to everyone else.
Everything in the film takes place inside what obviously is a studio and the backgrounds are painted, if Fassbinder ever worked in a German expressionist way this could have explained it as an artistic choice but it just feels cheap.
The film takes place between 1976 to 1982, they have casted an actor born 1968. He is perfect as the older Fassbinder but when he is supposed to be 22 and he is 30 years older in real life, it was just cringe.
It felt more like they didn't have the money to have a younger cast.
If I didn't know anything about Fassbinder or his films I think I wouldn't been able to follow the story.