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Lady Macbeth (2016)
missed adaptation
I have mixed feelings about this film. Though aesthetically brilliant, with subtle lighting à la Vermeer or in the style of Hammershoï, I don't understand the reasons for the changes from the original Russian novel by Nicolai Leskov. No problem for the change of country: at the end of the XIXth century, life for women in Russia or country England may have had a lot in common. But why so many black characters? To show that the oppression white women suffered from was worse for non-White women? And why the young boy who arrives later , who is a nephew in the novel, becomes a mixed-blood ward, the natural son of the husband? Everything suggested before that the husband had very low or non existent sexual performances. Why this unexpected twist? It brings only confusion. Unless it is made to satisfy some hackneyed norm of political correctness... The same with the conclusion: in the novel, the lovers are arrested and sent to prison where Katherine eventually continues her criminal career.
Summer in February (2013)
too dull and eventually boring
I knew nothing of this artistic group and was keen on discovering their story. But everything is so dull! You do not feel the passion and turmoil in the characters (Dan Stevens has one and a half expression throughout the film) or it takes the form of violent outbursts that seem unexplainable or just the result of neurotic impulses. You do not feel the connection of the painters with nature, apart for the omnipresence of horses (unescapable considering the type of paintings AJ became famous for). The scenes are overly repetitive (Dan Stevens fishing, filmed in the same way) and Florence taking poison twice with the same type of shots. Besides, everything is too heavily predictable. The beautiful scenery of Cornwall cannot make up for an utter lack of substance and conviction. Very boring, eventually.
Magic in the Moonlight (2014)
lazy and boring
I would have loved to love this film, considering the director and the very talented Colin Firth. But alas! It is very boring, much too talkative, with lines so long- though empty -, to deliver by the actors, with hardly any camera movements. Very much like a play being filmed while the director is taking a nap or died on the way. Almost always frontal camera, not getting closer to the actors from time to time, as if the camera was stuck on the 5th row of the theater. The love story is very lame, and poor Colin Firth not credible one second. What about the message? You don't have to quote Nietszche (not sure about the spelling...) extensively to suggest that rationality in life is not everything and that you need some magic and emotions to enjoy it. Woody Allen should retire. He becomes an embarrassment.
Dante's Cove (2004)
utterly ridiculous
I loved Queer As folk because the characters were complex: it was not simply about gay characters but about flesh and blood people. Besides, all the actors were excellent. But Dante's Cove is so ridiculous and funny, though not voluntarily...
The Gothic background is a caricature, with witches having red, glaring eyes when they curse their victims, and people turning into dust all of a sudden. Harry Potter sounds like Kierkegaard compared to that rubbish of hidden manuscripts, pentagrams and undead people... The acting is below awful, so much so that I couldn't help laughing most of the time. And the sex scenes so conventional, the men looking all more or less alike. A real waste of time! (and money if you have been unfortunate enough to buy this series)