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NoodleFromWithin
Reviews
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
A triple game of action, intrigue and hidden truths...
I believe this was the oldest movie I've ever seen and, considering my lack of cinematographic culture about old cinema, I wouldn't be surprised if my review doesn't contain proper elements to be defined as a good one, but I'll give it a try. "The Maltese Falcon" - it belongs to the modern American noir genre - is a movie that caught my attention from the very first frame because, as every worthy noir, it introduces the viewers with two typical characters: the private detective (here portrayed by the absolutely charming Humphrey Bogart) who gets entrapped by a dark lady (the femme fatale May Astor) in a web of lies, subterfuges and betrayal - the target? Finding a mysterious golden statue that got lost, precisely the "Maltese Falcon". I immediately noticed a couple of interesting things, completely different from the movie I'm used to watch nowadays: the prevalence of indoors scenes over outdoors, the recurring utilisation of shadows to cover much of the faces during close-ups, a lot of frames recorded from the bottom up, and the impossibility of finding only one final truth. The background, the screenplay and especially the soundtrack - with all those anxious little tunes - reminded me of something vaguely typical of the Nazi period. I've fallen in love with Humphrey Bogart: here, in the role of Sam Spade, he acts as a cynical, disillusioned and bitter man, wrapped in his own alcohol and tobacco fumes, but he also hides a very fragile and human side, masterfully disguised behind his manly composure. I discovered so many things by watching this movie, but I'm sure of one above the others: new generations should learn to appreciate more the old-fashioned cinema, because it was all about acting! No special effects, no magic, no tricks, just the real and hard truth, before our eyes, on a screen. Definitely a must see!
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Thought-provoking, with a sharp and dark sense of humor...
The first thing that struck me, after watching this movie a couple of days ago, is how thoroughly modern it still looks. Unlike many of its contemporaries, A Clockwork Orange can't be considered as "dated", and all those issues it addresses are as urgent today as they were five decades ago. How many other movies - from the early '70s - can actually make such a statement? Beware, this movie is not an easy one to digest, to absorb, to analyse, we can't be able to fully understand the genius behind it. I believe the film maker wants to target the ineffective and inhumane methods, too often contrived by our governments, to suppress the criminal behavior, asking what kind of sacrifices we are willing to make to live in relative security, regardless of the cost. Another important factor, highlighted in the plot, is the trickiness about wondering whether the removal of free will can destroy an individual's essential humanity. Then, there's the soundtrack - the music here keeps the viewers glued to the screen, with an alienating sense of anxiety perpetrated by a masterful mix of Beethoven's 9th Symphony, The William Tell Overture an Singin' in the Rain - is there anything else I need to add? Oh yes, those eyes - Alex (Malcolm McDowell) and his eyes are a perfect fit with the purpose of the whole movie. A dark and gloomy atmosphere, a dystopian scenario, a storyline deeply disturbing and provocative, a gritty and terrifying background, with several scenes of unprecedented violence: all of this collected inside a masterpiece, signed by Stanley Kubrick. An epic movie, bound to be watched by generations and generations in the future, whilst still carrying the same message. An experience far from comfortable, a movie that teaches an hard and unforgettable lesson: there are some monsters impossible to defeat!
Hook (1991)
There's no more difference between reality and imagination, between being a kid and an adult...
I've watched this movie countless times, since I was just a little child. It's always been one of my favourites, and this has never changed. After 30 years from its release, to celebrate its anniversary, I was able to watch it for the umpteenth time, but at a cinema! The emotions this movie can excite are uncountable, nobody can watch it and remain indifferent. For me it was like another trip down memory lane, it brought me back to my childhood, when I was innocent, happy, pure, eager to live a thousand new adventures, like every other kid! When I went to the cinema, I left the venue with joy in my heart and tears all over my face... Memories of my childhood were reappearing before my eyes, like a mix of light-heartedness and sadness. The wonders of this movie? Starting with an exceptional cast - Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Maggie Smith, Julia Roberts - and going all the way to one of the most loved tales of all times - Peter Pan: what else could we possibly ask for? This film focuses on an adult version of Peter Pan - here portrayed by the superb Robin Williams - who has forgotten all about his past days and needs to go on a mission to rescue his own children and retrieve those missing pieces of a broken memory. Every time I watch this movie, I can appreciate something new - the acting is superlative, the storyline is full of surprises and sweet moments, the dialogue (especially between Hoffman and Williams) is epic, the soundtrack is masterfully recorded with the aim of grabbing the viewer's attention and luring them to a world made of magic, mystery, and a pinch of fairy dust: Neverland! Let's face it: who hasn't thought about traveling to Neverland, at least once? I personally know a lot of grown-ups (including myself) who still keep, deep down, the desire to find their own Neverland, a place where everyone of us can always be happy and surrounded by people we love the most. Today we have forgotten that our world can be full of magic, in everything we touch, everywhere we go, every person we randomly meet, and "Hook" helps us to remember all of this, day after day - we just need to believe! Take your children to watch this movie: they will enjoy a memorable experience, they will learn important values like family, love, loyalty, friendship - values, nowadays, too often forgotten.
Copshop (2021)
Oh, Butler - what have you done...
Ok, ok, I should just calm down... Everybody knows I'm not a big fan of this movie genre - what's it called? Action? Anyway, the real question is - despite the fact I didn't feel the vibe and the thrill people usually get from such movies - what was the whole point of this one? Let me try to be objective: I've just watched 1 hour and 48 minutes of something that really wasn't able to arouse any emotion in me. Not even the fact that the charming Gerard Butler starred in this movie - here undermined by the total lack of an interesting plot. There's nothing we can engage with, in order to make the passing of time more enjoyable. The film goes on by itself, the viewer is not particularly caught by any sudden change of scene, by any turn of events. The only - slightly - appreciable thing we witness is the "unexpected" human relationship (whatever that might be) that develops between the character portrayed by Gerard Butler and the police officer Valerie Young - sadly, this happens only near the very end of the movie. Generally speaking? The acting is not that good, the background is seen again and again, the storyline is poor and boring, the script has no point in its favor - how is a movie like this supposed to keep viewers interested? No wonder at the screening in central London, on a Friday evening, only a week after its original release date, it was completely empty...
Five Dances (2013)
When artistic gestures are worth more than words...
The opening scene sees a boy rehearsing all by himself, in front of a mirror, with a brooding and wounded look upon his face. That's how the first few minutes flow - in silence and accompanied only by the music, without any frame upheavals. Both dialogues and plot are quite skimpy during the whole story arc, but this didn't prevent the movie from being intense and well conceived. Chip is a young and talented boy who hides a soul in torment - he can't afford a flat, he needs to sleep in the rehearsal room, he's extremely shy at the beginning, he keeps his distance from the other team members (he'd rather use ventriloquism to communicate), he struggles to accept his sexuality, he can't choose between going back to his mother and staying in New York to pursue his dream. The entire story revolves around Chip and the other dancers rehearsing in this big room, while their relationships begin to develop. We have an interesting turning point with the sex scene between Chip and Theo, in the second half of the film - personally, I found it very sensual, by no means rude or vulgar: we can almost admire them dancing while they make love, accomplice the soundtrack in the background, always gentle and passionate. It's very peculiar - from the perspective of the viewers - to note how all the dancers acknowledge their skills and acquire more competence in what they do, while they also take different paths till the very end. The closing scene with the newborn couple is very cute and, with a certain logic, it comes full circle with the answers every viewer longed for: Chip doesn't go back to his mother, he choose love over fear, he choose ambition over ordinary, he choose to build his future and give his career a chance - he, genuinely, choose to stay. A movie that, with its simplicity, we can objectively define lovely!
Fin de siglo (2019)
If "Sliding Doors" was tinged with rainbow notes...
Do you think a one-night stand can become the kind of true love we all need to build a life together, even start your own family? That is what "End of The Century" (probably) is about. We are here faced with a bizzarre, interesting and brave narrative choice - the film maker introduces us to the two main characters by some sort of imbalance between past, present and future. The challenge is certainly bold, the viewer has to keep up with the continuous timeline change, but this is what makes the movie intriguing and appreciable. The idea is to turn the emerging love story of these two guys into a whole path of life, made with fading memories of what it was, uncertainties of what it will be, and a brisk concreteness of contemporary living. The two characters are well-defined, their lives converge and diverge during these different story arcs, and the whole plot can be considered cute, simple but wacky. Notwithstanding the appearance and facial features of the two guys seem not so suffer from the flowing of time (at all), we find an average result in our hands - a movie that is nice, unpretentious, genuine and quite pleasant to watch.