nikola-borissov Reviews

The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)

Perfection.

[10/10 · 16 April 2021]

Now. Good cinema is, well, good. Memorable, impressive, solid, the works. Great cinema, however, is, in my humble amateurish opinion, *subtle*. That's the keyword, subtle. Everything is in the right place, in the right amount, everything is juuust right. No more, no less. No flashy stuff. No director going all "look Ma, no hands". No overzealousness from actors, DP, anyone. No showing off. Nonchalant restraint is the greatest form of pure mastery of any craft, including cinema. (With St. Wong Kar-wai obviously being the living proof. I said *obviously*.)

And this, ladies and gentleman, is what we have the rare opportunity of contemplating here. I wish I had appreciated it as much the first time.

Flawlessness.

The Undoing (2020)

Her face. No.

[1/10 · 21 March 2021]

I was looking forward to seeing this, and I tried, I really did. I endured a couple of episodes. And I would have watched all of it, probably even enjoyed it too, but I just couldn't stand watching Nicole Kidman's botched face. It looks completely unnatural, weird, revolting, *obviously* the result of decades of multiple plastic surgeries. It's basically what a Donatella Versace doll at Madame Tussaud's would look like. Not to mention her complete inability of *any* facial movement or expression, it's extremely unnerving. It's such a pity, I've always liked her elegant and classy beauty. Which is no more - instead of aging with grace, she preferred to look like a real-life plastic doll. The funny thing is that next to her Hugh Grant looks like a walnut, proudly sporting a ton of wrinkles, like a normal human being. Why do women do that?? It's easy to blame society for the pressure, but is that really the case? Also: wtf were the producers thinking? That we *will not* notice? That it looks okay? IT DOESN'T. And you, producers, should feel ashamed of yourselves, because you are contributing to making this deviated horrible cyborg look the new "normal".

Lost in Translation (2003)

Poetry.

[10/10 · 18 December 2015]

You have probably seen this film, if you are reading this. There isn't much to say - if you love cinema, you are going to love this masterpiece. Pure poetry, haiku in cinematographic form. Flawless. Simple. Real. Right up there with the work of Maestro Wong Kar-Wai and some of Malick's better stuff, as far as elegy films go.

As everyone else, I do have films that I come back to every now and then. "Lost in Translation" is one of them, I have probably seen it about ten times over the past ten years. Each time I take away different things from it. It's that special.

And to think that I don't even like any single one of Sofia Coppola's other films.

Lifetime Top10 material. If you haven't seen it - please do so.

Suburra (2015)

Yes. YES. More, please!

[9/10 · 14 December 2015]

Boy, was that a good film. Italian. Neo-noir. Dark. Masterfully shot. Omnipresent debauchery and depravity of all sorts have rarely looked this good on screen. What's not to love?! I have a soft spot for Italian cinema of the good kind, and that leaves me constantly hungry for more, considering the fact that except for Maestro Tornatore's magnificent opus the last few decades have been... Well, disappointing to say the least. Enter Sorrentino (I firmly believe "La grande bellezza" is one of the top 5 Italian films ever made, with "Youth" not so far behind), and now Sollima too. The only reason to give "Suburra" 9 stars instead of 10 is the microscopically imperfect acting in a few instances, but other than that the film is practically perfect. No need for a wordy review, just go see it. It grips you by the innards and doesn't let go. If you happen to be fluent in Italian and especially the Roman dialect, that adds at least 30% more enjoyment. A big, heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who worked on this fantastic film!

47 Ronin (2013)

A new level of bad.

[1/10 · 18 March 2014]

I wouldn't have wasted time writing about this, errr, "movie" but I was scandalized at seeing the positive reviews (who writes this stuff?!) and the impossibly high score on IMDb, so I felt that my duty as a responsible human being is to warn the unsuspecting victims.

This "movie" is a textbook example of how not to shoot films. Horrible on every conceivable level. Horrible is too weak of a word. It's WAY beyond horrible, a new word is needed. The acting is ridiculously bad, which is of course to be expected from Mr. Stoneface Mumble Reeves. (His previous abomination, "Man of Tai Chi", has to be seen to be believed). The bad guy was even worse, as impossible as it sounds. The love interest and the bad witch - almost at the same level. Masterfully bad. It takes serious dedication to get THAT bad, I **** you not. The dialogue was the dumbest, flattest, emptiest random bunch of words ever. It works as a comedy, though, but somehow I vaguely suspect that this wasn't intentional. The director should be banned from making films ever again. Dude, just... don't, please. The people who wrote the "screenplay" should be sent to work the land somewhere in Texas and never be let near a computer again. Or a pen. Or a sandpit and a stick. Horrible editing, too. Surprisingly enough, the DP was probably the only guy on set who knew what was he doing. A couple of mildly interesting shots shine like pearls in dung.

The worst thing is the complete lack of respect for Japanese culture and tradition. Sincere and heartfelt condolences to any Japanese person reading this. You know how Americans usually portray non-Americans? Well, it's way worse than that this time.

Pretty much the only entertaining moments were when, out of mind-numbing boredom, I started making farting sounds in the middle of the tons of meaningful-intense-long-gaze situations. After that I slept for 20 minutes, missing (according to my gf) the final fight scene and waking up just in time for the grand finale. And I NEVER sleep during a movie, out of respect for the people who put so much effort in it. Couldn't care less this time, I just wish I could get these 2 hours of my life back somehow.

GOD, what a ****ty movie. Can't believe they spent so much money on a pile of utter and complete crap. Who greenlighted this?! Were they smoking crack or just stupid ?!

Go see it. Really. Motion pictures this horrible are a delightful rarity to be savoured, if you are into that kinda thing. I just know that my all-time TOP 5 WORST list has a new entry. Hell, it kicked down the door and burned the house down.

Now, having fulfilled my civil duty I will just erase this thing from my memory.

Out of the Furnace (2013)

Hardcore, honest, real, gritty. Phenomenal acting, overwhelming hopelessness.

[10/10 · 25 December 2013]

Defining pure epic-ness: Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker are steel-balled in the grittiest, most real, no- bullshit-dripping-red-neck-testosterone-hairy-chested film of the year, produced by Ridley Scott and Leonardo DiCaprio. Stuff doesn't get any cooler than this. Just saw it - a bit on the long side, but otherwise absolutely fantastic. Great directing, pace, photography, grading, acting, the lot. I understand why some of the reviewers might feel a bit let down - this is most definitely not an action movie for the masses, but a carefully crafted character study that just happens to have some violence thrown in. The deliberate slow pace is perfectly adequate in describing the tedious, depressing life in the small poor town, permeated by hopelessness. The photography is of the understated, unobtrusive-but-perfect kind, functional and in line with the story, which is pretty rare in an era of mass eye-candy without substance, or at best a Malick+Lubezki polished, fancy, pointless "exercices de style"-type of empty intellectualism. Screenwriter/director Scott Cooper did a solid, well developed and thought-out job, no flaws there, but where this film really, REALLY shines is the acting. And the acting is INCREDIBLY good. I knew I was to expect that from Christian Bale as per usual, but the guy is simply phenomenal. The rest of the cast is bang on, no exception, top shelf stuff. Can't even remember the last time I saw a movie with such a level of uniformly great performances. No glamorous fancy-shmancy and nicely coiffured and manicured, artificial human-like (from afar) creatures. People here are greasy, sweaty and real-life-like, well, ugly.

Bottom line: a perfectly crafted honest film, no bells n whistles. Absolutely recommended for people who appreciate fine cinema. And Christmas is the perfect time for it.

Don Jon (2013)

A rare and hilarious, multi-layered insight of the world of the little man

[9/10 · 17 December 2013]

Well, well, that was quite the surprise! Everything else being said by other reviewers, I'd like to add that it made me realize how rare movies like this are. That is, about the little man. The dumb man. Not the hero, not the intellectual, not the sociopath, not the victim of injustice or any other, you know, *interesting* type. Nothing glamorous, just a regular dumb-ass dude. Italian from Jersey, too. The leads are extremely good, Scarlett Johansson kills it in the part of the uber-stupid and annoying hot chick. The dad was brilliant, too. Beautifully shot, masterfully edited, great pace and structure, the constant cycling of elements beautifully reflects the routine of Jon's painfully ordinary life devoid of anything but satisfying the most basic animal needs.

All the imaginable clichés, all at once and way overdone - fantastic and hilarious! Way better than the trailer would make you think, a skilfully crafted piece of merciless, if light, social satire. Unfortunately, I believe that aspect of the film is being neglected by the audience in favor of the more attention-grabbing element of the porn-addiction, which (in my humble personal opinion) is not at all the leading motif.

Addendum: reading some of the negative reviews posted here made me shiver and remember why I opted to live in the much more liberal EU. I believe Americans have gone waaay too far in the way of obsessively trying to be politically correct. Oh yes, and religious and proper and tidy and non-smoking and all that, too. Not a "date movie"? What on Earth is a "date movie"? Offensive and vulgar?! Improper language? I found it as innocent and heart-warming as a little white bunny. Humping a ton of other bunnies, all right, but still :)