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Garbura (2022)
A bite of Dalmatian suburbia
I didn't have much expecatation going into this at the Zagreb Film Festival, however Garbura still fell flat, for the large part.
Plot is rather all over the place, very much feeding of the traditional stereotypes built around the low to mid income Dalmatian suburbia, which results in a film that is tonally disconnected and hard to gauge. Also through it all, the plot was also way too predictable and overlong.
Another problem I have with this one is a heavy dose of HRT (Croatian national television) product placement. It's no secret that HRT always insist on "casually" inserting themselves into the movies they help produce, but in Garbura it really goes off the charts and turns off putting. I counted no less than 5 (!) times a television with HRT on was shown and heard in this film. This includes their New Years show program which was very conveniently shown in both households. Enough is enough. Stop it already.
The Anthrax Attacks (2022)
This was LONG
The Anthrax Attacks is pretty average as far as Netflix documentaries go. It is long, fairly dragged out, sometimes tedious (in particular during the dramatized parts) documentary on The Anthrax Attacks that happened soon after the 9/11.
And despite its length, the documentary is really not that compelling, or even comprehensive. Main motive of the prime suspect, i.e. The anthrax vaccine program which rejuvenated after the attacks, is not even mentioned until the very end of the documentary. And even then it was like in one sentence.
Dramatized parts were overlong like the rest of the documentary and featured some mediocre acting with only a couple of exceptions. It really didn't do anything for me and the documentary would be better off without them.
Not Okay (2022)
Insensitive take on mental health. Shame on you.
The filmmakers went out of their way to suggest that, if you are not an anti-gun activist or a "survivor", then your mental health does not matter. You just have to deal with it and move on. Apparently it's that easy? What qualifications do the filmmakers have to pass this kind of judgement? Shame on them.
"Not Okay" lost all sense of reality once they decided to make Danni the most hated person on planet for what she did. It makes no sense. Her actions were really not *that* despicable. If anything, it was an obvious cry for help more than anything else.
But that's not enough. The filmmakers also had to accuse her of being a "white woman" who sees herself "as the main character in her life". Excuse me? This is what exactly what the so-called underserved groups are consistently making the point out of. Has the concept of equality really gone that far off the cliff?
P.s. The way Danni's fake story got found out was just so bad. Not even worthy of a first draft. Would have been better if the coworkers connected with Danni and then got her drunk/drugged in order to confirm their suspicions, for example. But of course, for it to be believeable, it would require having coworkers who are not hating Danni based on her identity.
Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
Failed project...
I mean this film is not bad, per se, but I do think it failed to accomplish what it intended to do. They tried to portray the protagonist, aka the time machine inventor, to be a flawed but relatable character. Honestly they failed. He was too creepy and untrustworthy by the end, making the part where he sails into the sunset with the Aubrey Plaza character feel unearned.
Not the only issue though. Side plots in this film were kind of lame, unnecessary really, and with too much heavy-handed story-telling.
Pretty Little Liars: Kingdom of the Blind (2012)
Aria is annoying...
I get that main characters should not always be likeable, that's fine, but Aria is becoming really annoying by this point... It's about time the show addressed her and Ezra's relationship for what it really is, instead of glorying it.
Passing (2021)
Oh the shame...
Miss Hall publicly denounces Woody Allen, but is all too happy to copy his work up to the plagiarism level. Please do avoid this derivative and unoriginal piece.
Pretty Little Liars: There's No Place Like Homecoming (2010)
So much drama... I love it!
Nothing makes any sense, but I love it. I was kind of skeptical about this show, but ended up appreciating it by S01E06 for its all-drama, zero-sense approach.
NDH (2021)
Disconnected
Watching this from episode to episode, it all feels very disconnected... So much information is presented, but pretty much without ANY narrative structure or even a timeline (?). They are just jumping from one subject to another, and throwing everything at the kitchen wall to see if it sticks.
A great example of this mess would be the film Lisinski. Created during the NDH in 1944, it was the first ever feature, sound film created in Croatia. And yet this interesting bit of information is never actually mentioned, not even in the episode 8 which explores the culture of NDH. Lisinski (1944) is just casually mentioned once, seemingly with an assumption that everyone is familiar with it, while in reality few people have even heard of it.
Overall, the poor editing and incomprehensible narration make up for a very boring series. Maybe that was the point? To strip this Nazi puppet state of any glamour? Fine by me. But still I would much rather watch something more polished, with a narrative structure that holds, and just with some proper editing, which was preferrably not done by someone who took a 2-hour online course.
Smagen af sult (2021)
Not perfect, but well rounded
Smagen af sult is a decent film. I went in with little expectations and came out satisfied having seen a nicely presented picture. The only other Michelin-star-level cooking film that I remember watching is Burnt, which was a TOTAL train-wreck, so the bar was set pretty low.
The plot perhaps lacks some substance, but in other respects the film delivered. It was nicely framed, the performances were good all around, and the characters felt real. This especially goes for Frederik. A character that would commonly get downgraded to one-dimensional home-wrecker, in this film he gets just enough spotlight to show how he also was yet another victim of the ambition to get that coveted Michelin star.
Riverdale: Chapter Ninety-Four: Next to Normal (2021)
Oh dear...
This episode could have actually been passable, even as a musical, had it only focused solely on Betty and Alice.
But it turned out to be a disaster... Jughead once again performed even if it makes zero sense for his character to do so. Tabitha might be the WORST singer I have ever heard... And poor old Britta. She has now been dumped into the hands of the most narcissistic person out there. Cheryl is a not a fit guardian... At all.
Free Guy (2021)
Insuferrable protagonists
I am not the one to root for villains, but for this film I ended up making an exception. It felt so weird. And yet, as unlikable and one-dimensional as the villain was, he was still leaps and bounds more tolerable than those "heroes". Basically the Guy, and especially Millie and Keys were heroes just because the writers said so. There was not a single moment that made me like them.
The Atomic Cafe (1982)
History repeats itself
Much like during the atom age, the history repeats itself during the COVID pandemic, with governments around the world downplaying and overplaying their hands at the same time.
This documentary stands out for its impartiality. There are no narrators, or the overwhelming truth presented. It's just archive footage with an implied hindsight. It makes for a beautifully presented picture.
Riverdale: Chapter Ninety-Two: Band of Brothers (2021)
Quintessential filler episode
Archie, somehow, read about the general's honorable retirement in the papers, went to the general's office to give him an ultimatum, contacted all the families upon Eric's request, and had an entire military tribunal resolved in his favor ALL WITHIN ONE WEEK (or maybe the episodes are now suddenly covering the events of two years or something?) The whole military tribunal, aka the climax of the story-line, was held entirely off-screen... So, yeah.
Chadwick, meanwhile, gasped: "And now we will be even richer men!" Dear writers of Riverdale, nobody talks like this. Please stop shoving us with cartoon villains.
Murina (2021)
Lacks chatacter development
I enjoyed this film. The picture and scenery looked stunning. The acting was pretty good overall.
But at the same time, I felt this film lacked proper character development, given its subject. The story is about a controlling father and his relationship with his daughter and our main hero Julija. But here is the thing - Julija is shown as very much her own person right from the start. She has a no-nonsense attitude and is happy to tell-off anyone (including her father) whenever she feels like it. If anything, at times it felt like her mother was actually the controlling parent with her constant remarks ("please wear this dress", "please don't speak" and so on).
Since Julija was in command from the start, the whole climax of the film felt rather pointless, or at least disengaging. We already knew she was independent.
Srbenka (2018)
Made to get exposure
It seems to me that the film Srbenka (and probably the corresponding play "Aleksandra Zec") got made with an aim to get the maximum media exposure for dealing with, at this point, a traditionally sensitive issue, rather than to provide an insightful look at the violence-based-on-nationality, or to offer any workable solution for the issue at hand.
For example, here we meet a 12-year-old girl Nina, who in real life is constantly getting teased and/or bullied due to her Serbian ethnicity. That is unfortunate, for sure, but the film here goes out of its way to say that her whole elementary school experience got ruined by this fact, and that it would have been completely different if she was not a minority. Excuse me? Did the people behind this film ever went to school? Children are constantly and since forever getting teased by their peers for being different, whether it is for their ethnicity, religion, looks, smarts, clothes, or any of the other 6723 reasons. In fact, this film actually shows (at one point) how direct and judgemental schoolchildren can be, but those remarks are only met with the uncomfortable laughter from the crew. Hence, I believe they never cared about peer violence here. They just wanted stir up a big buck.
Locked Down (2021)
High-risk, high-stakes?
More like low-risk, irrelevant-stakes. This movie has the most dull heist sequence I have ever seen.
And it is still more engaging then the other 90 minutes of this film.
Riverdale: Chapter Eighty: Purgatorio (2021)
Love this season for far!
Except for the Episode 2, which was there just to tie-up all loose ends and write-off recurring cast, this season is going very well so far! It's not just the writing that has improved, but also the technical stuff (camera work, lighting, art direction) is visibly more appealing as well. Best since Season 1.
I just hope things don't revert back to usual quickly. These new characters and storylines deserve better than that!
Lada Kamenski (2018)
I Can Only Recommend!
Lada Kamenski is usually the first film that comes to my mind when someone mentions the word "metafilm". Very well made, with an engaging story structure which works on several levels. It's rather fitting that the director is the one getting confused by the end! Acting is also top-notch.
Turns out I catch up with this film whenever possible. First it was at the Zagreb Film Festival, then during the short distribution period last year, and now for the TV premiere.
How It Ends (2018)
Reviewers don't get it, but still it's not a very good film
A lot of reviewers complained about this film not having an ending. What this tells me is that people are too dependent on traditional film structure, which of course includes a neat, spelled-out ending.
While this film is no masterpiece, I did appreciate its ending. It was refreshing for a disaster movie to end with a (literal!) cloud of uncertainty. Characters didn't know what would happen next, and neither did the audience, for once.
Riverdale: Chapter Seventy-Five: Lynchian (2020)
"There is some hard cash in the tickling business."
Do I need to say any more? Total garbage. Writers are brain-dead at this point.
Riverdale: Chapter Sixty-Nine: Men of Honor (2020)
Another (Lazy) Filler
I thought that duel was going to be the ridiculous gem of this episode. But once again I overestimated the Riverdale writers. Real gems were Betty and Alice, breaking, entering and stealing from the "secret" room, and then in the next scene watching the chess match with everyone, literally as if nothing has happened.
1917 (2019)
"Sometimes our best efforts are just not good enough."
I feel like this film captures the essence of such statement much more so than many other films of the action/war genre. Together with our hero, we realize that all our plans and desires are fragile. Quite often, in fact, it's our own physical limitations as human beings that prevent us from fulfilling set goals. Intentions however not only count for getting war medals, but they do make a difference. I just love this half-full vs half-empty undertone that the film sets from start to finish.
Speaking of this film from the technical standpoint, it is as good as they say. While initially I was unsure about using long takes (not the biggest fan of such gimmicks), I felt in this case its use did not detract anything from the plot. It actually made it appear more personal in places.
p.s. Special mention goes to some of the best foreshadowing moments I have witnessed so far.
Dnevnik Diane Budisavljevic (2019)
Bland
First of all, this film should be praised for bringing up a tragic event from not so distant history, which today remains somewhat forgotten due to various political influences. However, the way this picture deals with the said historical event is rather bland, in both the technical and, indeed, the story-telling sense.
There were only a few interesting shots in the entire film, mostly during the documentary parts when the surviving victims were interviewed. As far as the played parts go, interior scenes looked rather unauthentic, while exterior scenes were few and far in between, strongly suggesting the limited budget of this picture.
However, the greatest letdown of the film is undoubtedly the character development. To be precise, we did not witness any character development, not even from the main character Diana Budisavljevic. I believe she actually said the word "children" in literally every scene. All right, we get it, her kind efforts have saved the lives of many children, but that could not have been her one and only character trait. Dialogues were another disappointment. They regularly featured repetitive lines, while the conflicts were often resolved in a matter of seconds.
When Duty Calls (2015)
Could have been better
It is a decent idea overall. Young married couple are chasing their professional dreams while at the same time attempting to make ends meet. Lead actors did reasonably well regarding the material they were given. I just felt the material could have been much better. A lot of scenes looked forced, and the sidestories of Ellie's parents were completely unnecessary and hardly added anything to the main plot.
7 for the idea, 3 for the execution.
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Worse Than Mockumentary
The title of my review is not supposed to be a derogatory statement about this film, but rather a comparison to 1984 mockumentary about Queen-alike rock band named Spinal Tap. Bohemian Rhapsody does not come close to This Is Spinal Tap's wit and charm. It comes of as a glorified Queen concert which has very little to offer to an unbiased audience.
I came to the cinema with very little expectations about this film. I was never a particular Queen fan, even though I listen to their stuff occasionally. And even so, the film left me with a lukewarm feeling afterwards. For all its length, it managed to be all style, and no substance. Characters are very one-dimensional, while the overall band dynamics is presented as a highly naive instant success story. Also the few characters who disregarded Queen, or were unsure about it were presented as villains, of course. While Rami Malek delivered a nice performance as Mercury, and the re-creation of Live Aid concert offered its perks, it was not enough to turn around otherwise poor storytelling.
So to sum up: if you are a die-hard Queen fan, then this is a film for you. If you'd rather like to see a rock band film with more substance, then consider titles like This Is Spinal Tap or That Thing You Do! instead.