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Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot (2015)
Lo Chiamavano Jeeg Robot - Review
In the attempt of hiding from the police, Enzo Ceccotti, a small street criminal, jumps in the very polluted river Tevere; a few days after he'll discover to have acquired extraordinary powers.
I'm sure that it will not be easy to fully comprehend the beauty of this movie if you don't understand the complexity of the contemporary Italy. This movie depicts perfectly a country full of contradictions: a breath-taking city envied all over the world that hides a degraded outskirt deep inside; a generation of children stuck in their grown ups bodies with their vanilla puddings and their Japanese anime on local TV channels; a criminal class that fluctuates from the ridiculousness to the ruthlessness to whom money has the same importance than popularity and Youtube visualization numbers; and a criminal with no emotional bonds, values or reasons to do good (that would not inspire empathy in any other superhero movies), is saved from an unexpected "damsel in distress" and becomes the hero of a community that often looks hopeless to those who live here every day but that sometimes, unexpectedly, finds its superpowers in the common people, the real heroes of this crazy, misunderstood country.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Review.
The revelation of Superman to human beings for the first time brings hope but mainly a lot of questions: can a invincible-looking being be the Savior of mankind or will his apparent omnipotence mark its end? For an helpless Bruce Wayne who witnesses Superman's dangerousness in front of the deaths of his employees, the only solution is trying to stop the alien threat even if this means to challenge God.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is not the masterpiece nor the garbage, people want to believe so much. It's a good superhero movie with very original visual ideas and a story that goes beyond the classic fistfights of the genre but that gets lost in the vastness of the original comic books material and in a clumsy editing (maybe due to unfortunate scene cuts that make some points less fluent).
The most interesting parts are the ones related to the two main characters: the dream sequences and the anguish that now more than ever afflict Bruce Wayne are represented with a visual form that almost tends to poetry as well as the imposingness and the fear that Superman communicates to the population beneath him. The major issues can be found in the second part of the movie: a lack of drama in some crucial points as the Congress explosion and the resolution of the conflict between the two heroes (although I found the idea of the acknowledgment of Superman as a "human being" in the eyes of Batman quite brilliant and touching); the forced connections with future DC movies that slow down the rhythm and the final enemy that seems very rushed, poor handled and unrelated to the rest of the movie.
So, I wanted to love this movie, instead I can only like it. What a missed opportunity.
7.5/10
Legend (2015)
Legend - Review
In the '60, the Kray twins become the most famous gangsters in the story of England from their humble origins in the East End, to taking control of several nightclubs in London; but despite their identical appearance, their differences will bring to the ruin of their empire.
A double Tom Hardy (better at playing Ronnie than Reggie) is not enough to keep together a movie that lacks to go deep in the most interesting parts as the relationship between the two brothers or their business in favor of the conventional, already-seen-a-thousand-times, not even well written, gangster love story that is also accompanied by an awful voice-over that has nothing to do with the rest of the movie.
Batman: Assault on Arkham (2014)
Batman: Assault on Arkham (Review)
I'm a big fan of all the Batman universe since 1992: The Animated Series was my first approach to the Dark Knight and since then I got obsessed, trying to read/watch/play everything that I could reach.
This premise is just to say that I really would have liked that this movie was something slightly acceptable but actually, from my point of view, it's just wrong
from that sort of sitcom opening title introducing the characters to that horrid, inappropriate soundtrack.
It's not difficult to understand from the beginning, by the explicit contents, that this movie is clearly for a more adult audience but, in the end, it results more childish and ridiculous than any other Batman cartoon movie till now.
The plot (Amanda Waller recruits the Suicide Squad to break into Arkham and collect information from the Riddler) becomes more and more inconsistent as time goes by, to the point that the movie seems to be based more on the characters' lame jokes (some of those are really really bad) than the actual development of the story that often flows without any kind of logic up to the last part with the liberation of the Arkham inmates that it's a clear reference of the Arkham games
but if, in the games, the takeover of the prison by his residents takes more dilated times, the really short times (it takes like two seconds for Bane or Scarecrow to get their equipment) in this movie just don't make any sense and don't make justice to the games at all.
The characters are poorly written and too much stereotyped and their behaviours are often idiotic and, again, illogical (just one example: King Shark has fear of heights just in that particular moment? really?!? after jumping on a plane? really?!?)
By the way this movie has some, few, positive aspects: the initial idea of the Suicide Squad in charge and Batman as secondary character (even if his name is in the title (oh, well)); the clash between the Joker and Lawton, actually it was the best part of the movie; the references to other movies and games and, of course, the man himself, Batman.
In the end, I was expecting something more similar to the Arkham games (it would be nice even some little reminders of the original plot), not just some backgrounds and the design of few characters (by the way, Harley Quinn is much better in the games).
Transcendence (2014)
Transcendence review.
Wally Pfister directs an innovative and surely interesting idea, even if it isn't entirely original (I confess my first thought, at some point, was that it reminded me the episode "Benderama" of Futurama), with some fascinating premises that, unfortunately, tend to get lost along the duration of the movie. The artificial intelligence, its development and also the rising ethical problems are the strong points of a movie that, in the second part, is been reduced to an ordinary action movie with a final resolution too fast and too trivial for a sci-fi movie, and also not in line with the seriousness of the first part. Pfister's work as director of photography for Christopher Nolan gave him a prestigious cast (even some tertiary characters), but,however, he wasn't able to take full advantage of it because the characters are poorly developed or unnecessary (for example Morgan Freeman's and Cillian Murphy's). Good photography (does it need saying?) and directing. The soundtrack is good but too much "Inception-ish." Enjoyable movie but I expected a lot more.
About Time (2013)
About Time review
Tim lives an ordinary and happy life with his odd family until his 21st birthday, when his father reveals to him that all the male descendants of the family are able to travel back in time through the events of their own time line. Tim will use this unexpected power to find the right girl with whom to spend the rest of his life. "About Time" has positively surprised me. Basically unknown in Italy, I admit that I've seen it just because I've read that there were time travels in the plot but, by the appearance of Tim's weird family I understood that I would have loved this movie: the "rectangular, busy, unsentimental" mother, the always available father, the "free spirit" sister, the impeccable uncle Desmond aren't so different from the relatives I use to know very well. The meeting and the life with Mary are maybe too perfect to seem real (yeah, I know, if you leave out the time travel thing) but fit in with the rest of the story. The last part of the movie was very touching: the farewell to Tim's father, the advices for a happy life and the walk on the beach (sure one of many for them), the very last glance at the past before move on with life. It is everyone's dream, to own the ability to travel through time, to go back and fix all those little (or big) imperfections of our lives that create embarrassment when you think about them, even after many years, and, let's face it, we don't like Tim at first because of his ability that makes his life perfect, while we, mere mortals, have to do the long way, without ever being able to see the consequences of our actions. But in the end we realize, as well as Tim, that we don't need to go back in time to be happy, but we have to live each day by focusing our attention on the good things rather than on those that went wrong, by remembering the good times and giving the right perspective to the bad ones.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The Dark Knight Rises review
Plot: Eight years have passed since Harvey Dent's death, that has become the symbol of the rebirth of Gotham City, Batman has disappeared but he's still the most wanted man by the police and also Bruce Wayne, tired and bruised, has retired to his manor as a hermit ... Meanwhile, a new threat, the mercenary Bane and his loyal army, seem to loom over the city.
This last chapter of Nolan's Dark Knight is not only a conclusive one but also the one that binds together the trilogy, that gives a meaning to everything that has happened up to now, and I like to think, what gives meaning to everything that haunts the poor Bruce Wayne. Between the three movies, I think this is the one that revolves around Batman the most: you can perceive his presence all the time, but the scenes with the dark knight are very few; suffering, fear, madness, faith, guilt are what represent him when he is not physically there. But Batman isn't the only true character of The Dark Knight Rises: there are old and new friends and enemies, who were inspired by his deeds and, as never before, Gotham City and its inhabitants. The realism that features all Nolan's movies (despite some exaggerations) is the key to the greatness of the whole saga. The cast speaks for itself: on Bale, Caine, Oldman and Freeman there is nothing to add, Tom Hardy is amazing under that mask, Hathaway, for me, it was a revelation, Marion Cotillard gorgeous as ever and, oh well, Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be in my heart for a while. Directing, cinematography, editing, soundtrack, as usual, a masterpiece.