turnmaxw Reviews

Rome, Open City (1945)

Hope is a beautiful thing...

[10/10 · 30 April 2024]

At its core, this film is a story of hope. In Nazi-controlled Rome, it feels as if there is none. The war drags on and while one can hear Jazz from the American radio broadcasts, it feels as if they will never reach the city, and yet, despite the lack of any reason to hope, they do. The atheist communist resistance leader hopes even though his resistance makes no progress. The widowed mother, pregnant, and her fiancé, awaiting their marriage day hope and find love in each other, despite the struggle and pain that surrounds them. The children hope and fight for a better world, despite not knowing anything better for much of their lives. The parish priest, ever devout, hopes, even as he watches the world scorn his faith and God. It is hope (and a strong hatred for the Fascists) that unite these characters, and perhaps it is hope that sets them free.

To an Italian watching this film in 1945, it must have been a film that stirred mixed emotions. It is idealistic, yes, but it shows a film that celebrates the heroes of the war. It shows people with hope, who would do anything to see their city free. Seeing these heroes must have filled an Italian, perhaps with pride, but also with shame, for this is not a film released with the cushion of time, but with the sharp memory of the war front and center on the viewer's mind. To see this film, it's hope, it's grief, it's pain, put yourself there. Maybe hope is all we need.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

maybe everything, everywhere, all at once is fine

[8/10 · 7 April 2024]

There came a point in this film where I was worried that it would collapse in on itself, that it would decide that in all the meaninglessness and chaos nothing really mattered. I was worried that the film would step into the everything bagel and let the world collapse around it, but it didn't. It may have stepped into the bagel, but it did not allow the meaninglessness to win, instead it accepts that the world may never make sense, it accepts that we may go through our lives feeling like nothing matters, but it rejects that this means that the world never makes sense or that it has no meaning. Instead, we must search for those moments, however fleeting, when everything, everywhere, all at once feels okay.

This film is not perfect, it is at times slow, confusing, and difficult. It makes you laugh, but also makes you cringe. This artistry is excellent, but also over the top. I'm sure some love it, but it is easy for me to see why someone wouldn't. What I think they did have, was an excellent idea of how to express something everyone has felt at some point in their life and they executed on that wonderfully. This film is not perfect, but it was worth a watch.

The Conjuring (2013)

Baptize your damn children...

[9/10 · 24 March 2024]

I went into this film fully thinking that it may very well be scary (something which isn't always true for horror movies), and a scary movie is certainly something I got. Frankly, if that was all I got then I would've walked away a happy man. What I fully did not expect, was a film that managed to both be scary, but also tell a compelling and interesting story. There are plenty of little things I could bring up that detracted from the film for me, but I don't think these are universal and certainly didn't significantly impact my overall impression or enjoyment of the film.

If I had to compare it to anything, I would say it reminded me most of The Exorcist. Basing anything off demonic possession is going to naturally draw this comparison, but this one handles the "realness" subject matter well, certainly nowhere near as well as The Exorcist, and it isn't nearly as believable for that reason, but it was far better than I initially expected or what you get from most horror films. The liberties they took were also clearly moves to increase the horror of the film, which I can appreciate.

Overall, this is a movie that is certainly scary but also tells a pretty interesting a rewarding story that you don't always see in the horror genre. A great watch!

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

A quality watch.

[8/10 · 23 March 2024]

This film does a great job of building suspense, the acting is good, and the cinematography does what it intends, but what makes me hesitate to give it a higher review, is although it does exactly what it intends, it did not blow me away and did not stand out in my mind. I am fully sympathetic to the argument that you had to see it when it came out, and I do think the movie is hurt by the oversaturated amount of found footage film today. I did really appreciate that they did not try to turn it into a horror-action film and continued to build suspense throughout (without revealing the villain), and if you can get some people that you think would be able to buy into the film as something true, it could blow people away. Either way, it was a great film, not the best, but certainly one worth watching.

Marriage Story (2019)

Marriage Sucks...divorce sucks more.

[9/10 · 16 February 2024]

It's hard to watch, not because it is bad, but because it encapsulates the difficulty and chaos that is marriage and divorce. Two people who love each other deeply, struggling and fighting over the thing they love most in the world, their 8-year-old son. I don't like to give spoilers so I won't go any further, but this movie has everything. The acting is some of the best I have seen (Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver both probably deserve Oscars), the score (written by the same guy that did Toy Story and many other Pixar films) is excellent, the set design and environment are fantastic, but the best part of the film was no doubt the writing. Funny, serious, traumatic--it did everything and they picked the perfect people to deliver it. Worth a watch, you won't be disapointed.

Pig (I) (2021)

Fighting to be serious...

[7/10 · 9 February 2024]

Like a good Nic Cage film, this film takes a silly, dare I say stupid, premise (yes about a pig), and treats it with far more respect and seriousness than it is owed. Throughout the film, I found myself unable to not look at someone else I was watching the film with and say "PIIIIIGGGGG!" If my timing was good I would be met with an equally enthusiastic "PIIIIGGGGG!" back. Nic Cage does what he does best, and plays into the film, making it seem like it is something real, serious, and threatening when at its core it is a movie about a truffle hunter, his pig, and uncovering secrets you would never actualize on first glace.

BUT....

Here's the thing, it kind of works. I wanted to give this film a bad review (or at least a mediocre one) after I finished watching it. I walked away confused at what I saw: love for a pig, Nic Cage's refusal to clean himself, truffle cartels?, but the truth is I did enjoy the film. Good films make you set aside reality all the time, sure this one takes place in contemporary Portland, there is nothing magical or fantastic about it, but if you simply let yourself believe in the story it is trying to tell, believe in the world, it tells a compelling tale of love, family, and death, asks deep questions about what it means to be alive, and examines how our past affects our future. The cinematography is great, the music is good (although I think they were trying to be more clever with it than I picked up on), and the acting was, for lack of a better word, Nic Cage. It is not a masterpiece, but it is good and to the right person great.

There is still part of me that wants to give it at least a 6, but also a part of me that thinks if I assess my experience watching it, and not the time spent trying to rationalize it, it deserves an 8 or 9. I think a 7 will do it just fine.

Beautiful Boy (I) (2018)

Real...almost too real

[6/10 · 9 November 2023]

This movie is based on a true story, and from what I can tell not the "based on a true story" you see in front of a horror film that you know for a fact is fake, but a true story. This makes it feel real, which while on one hand the film's greatest asset, making you really understand and feel the depth of what the characters are struggling with and going through, also leads the film, like addiction to be repetitive and difficult. It doesn't ever feel surprising because there is no reason to expect surprising, and indeed it doesn't come. Shock, hope, fear, anxiety, these are all things the film makes you feel, but there isn't an arc, there isn't anything that makes this story exceptional. The acting is good. The soundtrack is amazing, but the plot does what it intends and treats addiction accurately. If that's what you want, watch the film. If you want something designed to entertain, this film is not it.

The Exorcist (1973)

A wonderful horror experience

[10/10 · 7 October 2023]

Maybe it's my Catholic bias, maybe it's that I have an affinity for horror movies that don't rely on jump scares to be scary, maybe it's that this movie really is just amazing, either way it deserves a 10/10. This movie felt real, it felt believable, and the horror didn't come across as tacky as you so Often get in horror films. The characters were believable and never once was there that moment when you just felt like they were going about things in an unbelievable way. I wish more films would aspire to be like the Exorcist, but I think this one will remain as a gem that will never be topped. Do watch, do enjoy, stay safe from the demons.

Lemonade Mouth (2011 TV Movie)

Good, but only if you watched as a kid

[7/10 · 27 September 2023]

I never realized how much of this movie stuck with me even years after I last saw it. It is clear it is a Disney channel movie, it has the expected amount of cringiness and plot holes (like who was putting the insane amount of lemonades they were consuming in the machine?), but was entertaining none the less. If you watched as a kid you will certainly find yourself singing along to at least Determinate if not half of the movie. Certainly an enjoyable experience and I would recommend. If you haven't seen it before and are above the age of 12, it probably isn't worth watching unless you really like bad Disney channel movies.

The Mark of Zorro (1920)

A wonderful piece of early cinema!

[9/10 · 15 September 2023]

This film combines action with comedy and a touch of romance in a beautiful way. Despite having no audio dialogue, the actors play their parts with such emotion and emphasis that it becomes easy to understand, even through text on the screen, how each character talks, acts, and thinks. The stunts (all done by the actors themselves) are compelling, but with just enough comedy to leave you laughing as you sit anxiously waiting Zorro's inevitable escape. The script makes you feel for the characters and root for the protagonist, there is no gray area or confusion as sometimes happens with silent films, but also preserves just enough room for levity that you will find yourself laughing throughout the entire piece. The romance is sweet and compelling and is a beautiful touch to this already robust and entertaining film, without being overbearing. One technical note, the use of colors was amazing considering the technical limitations. While it is in black and white, they play with filters (sepia, blue, green) in order to clearly change between the different times of day and setting. Clever and really added to the immersion of the film. I really want to think of a drawback for this film, but I think it achieved exactly what it intended. Is it the greatest film ever, no, and it certainly won't change your life, but if you want to take a lighthearted step back into the world of 1920s silent films and experience the start of Zorro, this would be an amazing film to choose.

Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

A Masterpiece

[10/10 · 7 September 2023]

This quality of this musical goes without saying. It tells a touching story that manages to make every theme come full circle by the end in a way that is nothing short of perfection, but I'm not here to talk about the musical itself, for its broadway success and continual showings says enough. What impresses me is that this is one of the few musicals designed for a stage that I can say definitively, that the film form is the best version. What they did was take an amazing musical, and simply used cinema to make the stage come to life. They didn't try to reinvent anything, to a close observer it is clear this was originally designed for a stage (there is even an intermission), they simply used what cinema gave them to make an even better form. The settings are immersive and realistic, and it makes you feel like you are in early 20th century Russia. Of course settings alone wouldn't make this necessary better than the stage, but the casting was also perfection. Topol is Reb Tevya, there is no doubt in my mind, and every other choice seemed perfect as well. This well deserves a 10/10.

Norbit (2007)

Entertaining I guess?

[5/10 · 3 September 2023]

If you are willing to accept the characters as what they are, shallow and silly stereotypes of stereotypes, if you are willing to embrace unoriginality as a choice intentionally made to generate humor that only works because it is expected, if you are willing to watch Eddie Murphy doing what Eddie Murphy does worst, then, and only then, will you find this movie making you laugh your ass off at the pure stupidity and unadulterated filth that appears before you. This is easier if you have a few like minded individuals to watch it with you. If instead you choose to watch it as a bad comedy, or worse as an actual movie, I'm sorry to say you are out of luck. Nothing will catch you off guard, the jokes will fall flat, and you will walk away wishing you hadn't spent 1:40 of your life watching literally nothing but cigarette butts on the street. Watch at your own risk and maybe you will find that this is the movie for you.