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mike_21
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Mr Inbetween (2018)
The Aussie Ray Donovan
Well I don't know if writers inspired from Ray Donovan, but Mr. Inbetween is a thug with a broken family, powerful and competent. The show is a Crime-Comedy, with stunning cast understanding exactly their roles and the supporting actors are so funny. However sometimes the show gets boring or slow paced and the accent sometimes requires subtitles. Not fresh ideas TV series but very well executed with funny and violent thugs.
Turbo (2013)
Pure fun
The last 4 years I haven't missed an animation film in 3D, I go with my kids at all the animation movies in the big theaters. I think turbo is the best of the year so far, better than Ralf, and maybe better than previous year's animations, like brave, ice age 4, Madagascar 3 etc.
Visually it is stunning, the cars are amazing and the action is almost unparalleled. It doesn't have the deep meaning of the How to train your dragon, or Toy Story 3, however go and watch it for what it is: pure fun.
My kids were absolutely satisfied and my son, 7 years old, was amazed and I had a couple of hours of 3D entertainment.
8,5 out of 10
Justified (2010)
Simply put at the end of each episode Timothy will kill the bad guy.
Why it didn't work for me: Well although scenery, acting, camera work and production are on the great side, I really don't enjoy to see one guy kill every opponent that gets on his way. Can he really be faster than everyone else? Is this type of script really works on 2011? Probably yes, as too many happy reviewers floating around - BUT wouldn't you expect something that is unpredictable? This is of utmost importance to me: the unpredictability of the series, the thing that will keep me to go on and on (e.g. Breaking Bad).
Hey but not with justified, I wasn't hooked on my huge LED. Why? Because I for sure, knew that near the end of each episode, Timothy will kill the bad guy, Timothy will be faster, quicker and more accurate than his opponents cowboys or Neonazis.
I bought the whole first season, but didn't finish it.
Cyrus (2010)
Two top comedians in a drama.
First let me start with IMDb tags (Comedy, Drama, Romance). Well its just Drama and Romance, with just two or three smiling moments, not LOL moments - just smiling.
I have seen it before with Ben Stiller in Greenburg. Both Greenburg and Cyrus were not good for me. It is not that John Reilly and Jonah Hill cannot act . It is that they are funny as hell. You cannot take this out of them and try to focus them on a drama, like Ben Stiller in Greenburg. Apart from that, the movie is slow, very slow. Not the slowest but few things happen throughout the movie. You can say that this is common in dramas, but usually dramas build up slowly through characters, expressions, strong emotions etc. Not in this case, as I aforesaid the two leading actors are pure comedians (in my opinion always) and they do not form up a strong but slow drama pretty well. Marisa Tomei, on the other hand, is quite good in this movie, as she is more versatile as an actress.
The story is this of a typical mediocre drama. Nothing new, not surprises but in general well built, without being anything spectacular in any way, with a happy (and very predictable) end but not so happy to keep up with the drama nature of the movie. I vote five out of ten, as I had higher expectations, otherwise I would had given it a six.
Locked Down (2010)
Really nothing new
Nothing new or innovating here. I didn't like some performances, especially Tony Schiena's performance, who was not convincing at all when he was talking; a bit better when he was fighting though.
The whole movie was very predictable, like you seen it before and know what happens in each step. Because of the low budget, the fight scenes were mediocre at least, but overall I give it a five out of ten as it is still watchable, despite its faults.
I agree with one reviewer the undisputed 3 was way better, but I guess its budget was higher too. I would be interested to know if the make any profits out of this movie.
Animal Kingdom (2010)
Drugs, Criminals, Police, Vendetta, Dark Ambient and love revenge.
This is the best international movie of the year for me. A step ahead of the competition. The story is your typical crime story, but it is so well blended with the performances and the mesmerizing music, that sometimes I hold my breath.
Starring James Frecheville is so convincing and so calm, inside a family of criminals who have a vendetta with the local police. I dare to tag the music mainly as dark ambient, the typical drone music, that the charismatic director pick up for the tense moments, preparing the audience that the worst will follow.
It is a breath of fresh air, a crime movie with such a common plot that looked so fresh and unique. International cinema at its best, that was the first thing in my mind the morning after I saw it. I think I will follow the writer and director David Michôd. Greetings from Athens Greece.
Celda 211 (2009)
Unpredictable and Intense Prison Thriller
I believe there is a prison sub-genre of movies. This is the best I have seen in this sub-genre and is very close to the French "Un Prophete".
The action starts immediately and the characters are build through out the movie. There are a few flashbacks, just to cool off the action momentarily. Luis Tosar as the leading prisoner is just amazing, his voice is so unique. This thriller is so intense, but without a sea of blood or extremely violent scenes, just amazing dialogs, acting and especially plot. The prisoners are not presented as bodybuilders full of tattoos, but exactly as they are in real life.
Everything is happening so fast, just as needed to trap your eyes and mind, like only a handful Hollywood films. Only few scenes out of the jail, just to add to the intrigue and last a couple of minutes each.
Finally I want to write about unpredictability, which is my first concern when I watch modern cinema: no actions or dialogs can be predicted, so different with the typical Hollywood scheme. Carlos Bardem pretends that he is an inmate; one can say that he will be discovered at the very end; but even so, this happens so suddenly and at a moment that it doesn't make any difference.
10 out of 10 and highly recommended.
Ninja Assassin (2009)
The way of a Ninja!
This is an action movie that really worths 8 out of 10, provided that you do not have any odd expectations.
Lets starts with the fight scenes: they were amazing to watch, something between combat and dancing.
The blood was an innovation of the director as it was always computer generated, exactly like on video games. This is a nice addition.
The acting was "OKish" at best. You can't expect to have actors who have an excellent body, who can fight and play in ninja manic action scenes, with a nice aggressive face and additionally to act like Daniel Day Lweis. I guess this was a sacrifice for the fight/action scenes, EXCEPT Shô Kosugi who was really great for his part the tough trainer, a very experienced actor, staring in some eighties ninja movies.
The plot was the weakest part. Some of the talking between the police officers that revealed what is going on with assassinations from ninjas, simply did not make a lot of sense.
My conclusion: if you do not mind poor plot and average acting this movie is as good as the Ninja sub-genre has gone so far.