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The Unbelievers (2013)
A review about The Unbelievers, and why other reviewers are wrong.
This film is a documentary that captures a road trip of two prominent spokesmen of atheism around the world. It does not try to convince non-atheists to become atheists or try to argue anything (or even make a point), it merely shows the road trip these guys made and the growing interest in atheism.
That said, I see a lot of reviews here which are just blatant attempts from religious people to rate this movie as low as possible, and take cheap shots at atheists in the process. I've seen people argue that atheism is a mental disease, supposedly actually written down in the DSM. Don't take these clowns seriously. They probably mean that sometimes atheism is seen as a symptom. People with autism, for example, are more convinced by things they can see and touch than invisible beings like God. Therefore, a lot of them don't believe in God.
The film itself is pretty entertaining. If you're a fan of Dawkins and/or Krauss, this is a fun to watch experience that shows them basically on a road trip. If you're not, this might not interest you that much.
Man of Steel (2013)
Most Disappointing Movie of 2013
Producer Nolan and director Snyder set out to make the story of Superman work on the silver screen once more. With Nolan's more adult take on the Dark Knight trilogy and Snyders excellent reputation for action direction, this had to be a hit. Unfortunately, it wasn't.
Let me start of by saying that it wasn't a bad action movie. But that's as deep as it gets. Nolan's influence can't be found at all and Snyder's previous films were a lot better.
The Bad: The characters in Man of Steel are incredibly stupid and/or shallow. I didn't care for most of them and was frequently face-palming at some of the dumber decisions they made. The only character that really gets explored is Kal-El himself. With Nolan involved I expected more.
Then there's the running time. This was a really long watch and it wasn't necessary at all. I'll give one example without resorting to spoilers: the first scene. We have to watch this long scene all the way through and later in the film it's explained again for no apparent reason. There are plenty of scenes that add nothing to the film and it's a shame.
Continuity wise there were also some obvious errors, again I won't spoil anything but just pay attention and you will find these mistakes without even trying. All in all it's just a sloppy film.
Also, when the first fight between Superman and his enemies breaks out, it's actually superman who starts tearing up buildings and blowing things up. Not very heroic.
The Good: The camera work is very nice and some of the action scenes are spectacular, if you can get past the unnecessary destruction caused by our so called hero.
Conclusion: This was one of my most anticipated films for some time now. Being an admirer of both Snyder and Nolan's works AND avid superhero movie fan, this had to be great. Unfortunately it was far from that. Just a blank action film with no depth at all. Such a shame...
Weekend (2011)
A Good Film, not spectacular though
Let me say first of all that I saw this film in a theatre full of college students. I do not recommend it. Apparently gay people having sex are too much for shallow minded youngsters, making them feel like it's necessary to make puking sounds and disgusted "aw's and ew's" throughout all the sex and kissing scenes.
That being said, the film was good. I'm not saying, like a lot of other reviewers, that it's a perfect piece of cinema that reminds you of how good film can be. Cause it's not. It has it's flaws. For example, the dialog is sometimes superb and sometimes just plain useless and not even entertaining or meaningful. Then there's the camera work.
Because you see, even though there are some wonderful shots in Weekend, there's a lot of shots that could have been shorter to keep the film going at a more pleasant, steady speed. Also the camera operator felt he could let go of some of the basics of film-making, which just doesn't work at times. Poor choices in camera angles and unnecessary and obvious wannabe-artsy framing makes some parts of the film seem cheap and made me feel like they were trying too hard to appear clever or original.
Of course, now I'm making it sound like the film is rubbish, but it's really good. Just pointing out why I don't think it's THAT good.
With all the technicalities out of the way, let's talk about the story. Which was excellent. It constantly subconsciously and consciously makes you think about the way gay people are viewed by society. Even the long sex scene's, which some would perceive as rather awkward, make a point. Especially because they are males. If this was about lesbians, I don't think it would have made it's point. Which is also something to think about.
So there you have the REAL point of the story, because the obvious on-screen events just depict a love story between two gay men. Weekend is a really good film, but not great like many say. Deserves a 7.5 but since I can't give that and it doesn't quite deserve an 8 I'm giving it a 7.
Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Exploring the limits of Comedy... oh, and zombie films!
When I was browsing my local DVD-store for other films, I saw the cover for "Shaun of the Dead." At first, I looked at the cover for a while but decided not to buy it. Then it started to haunt me. Something told me I had to buy it. So two weeks later, I did.
I had never heard of the film at the time, so I didn't expect much. There is no better mindstate than not expecting much when you watch this film, because it blew me away.
The comedy part of this film is so ingenious, I would compare it to the cleverness of say, Monthy Python, combined with more conventional comedy types. I have watched this film many times now, and still I discover new details that are sometimes hard to notice, but are so clever you have to smirk when you see them. It actually challenges you to look for "easter eggs." The zombie part was gory enough to please Romero fans and horror junkies, but it never gets cheap. The zombies are convincing enough and, thank god, slow moving moaners, as I really don't like running zombies.
The following is not meant to be insulting or anything, but you have to be somewhat of a "thinker" to watch this and enjoy it. Some of my friends didn't like this film at all, because they didn't get some of the jokes. With that said, if you haven't seen it, go watch it a.s.a.p.