lukemooreAASH Reviews

The Astronaut (2022)

GREAT CINEMA EXPERIENCE

[9/10 · 8 December 2022]

"Jim?"

I attended the film premiere at Cairo International Film Festival. Among genuinly engaged audience I had a great time. A straightforward challenge story by classic elements is put in a sublime narrative.

Very good cast and the acting was spot on. Great achievement in production design. I really liked the connections between Jim and everyone around him, family, friends and co-workers. It looked sincere and meaningful. All the tiwsts and turns came out the right way with very good directing.

The film had the biggest standing ovation I've witnessed in this round of the festival. Bravo Nicolas and all the crew.

Lift Like a Girl (2020)

Beautiful and Inspiring

[9/10 · 20 February 2022]

Pressured veins and heavy breaths mark those moments as Captain Ramadan watches Asmaa keeping her grips on the weight bar against her chest.

A relationship of love, hope and fulfilment. Lift Like a Girl is a beautiful Egyptian story with great challenges and compassion on and off screen for too many people.

El-Mashbooh (1981)

Further discovery of Adel Emam's greatness as an actor in an excellent script.

[8/10 · 15 February 2022]

I've loved all the characters of Adel Emam in his drama films, and aside from the writing quality of the characters or the plot which is essential, However I can't separate that from his existence and performance. And this requires more talk about these characters which mostly will apply to the main character of this film "Maher El Nemr"

A regular man with regular shape, looks like us and many people around us, filled with contradictions, but his important choices are emotionally moving, He's smart and adventurous, very loyal to the things he loves, He can see inside and beyond the things and people around him, He is in emotional and physical battles all the time, He wins and loses in different ways, but most importantly he moves on and continues his way, and that is the most inspiring aspect of this character.

The Suspect "Al-Mashboh" presents the character of "Maher El Nemr" in an appealing way, it shows many of the description mentioned earlier, and makes us take his side from the very beginning even knowing he is a thief. "Maher" makes an adventurous and bold choice yet it is very poetic, and that choice changes his life. Then the film puts an exponential pressure against that choice with the resistance of "Maher" and his new world from the other side, until the pressure reaches a peak that breaks him, "Maher" accepts that as he rediscovers himself and his family as they start all over again. I think this journey is a textbook example for a great story.

The film is well made and there is so much care about details that is very different than other films in the 80s. Souad Hosny was great and real, and the rest of the cast Saeid Saleh, Farouk El Feshawy, Naeima El Saghier, Fouad Ahmed and Aly El Sherif were excellent.

The soundtrack by "Hany Shenouda" is superb and all regards to "Samir Seif" for the directing of this beautiful film.

Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013)

La vie d'Adèle Exarchopoulos

[9/10 · 27 August 2021]

There are few good films where actors or actresses met their role with a near perfect match and delivered an outstanding performance, However Adèle Exarchopoulos was born to be in this film, and this film was made for her to live it, you call it destiny, chance or both, it just happened, and it defies her life outside the film, she or anyone else cannot be themselves more than what has happened in those three hours, and what do we call it? A f**kin masterpiece!

Another Round (2020)

What a beautiful, beautiful ride!

[9/10 · 21 March 2021]

Thomas Vinterberg with a sober mind leads a fine drama about alcohol. There are top tier films about alcoholism or addiction problems in general like, The Shining, Requiem For A Dream, Trainspotting, or 21 Grams, where we can see addiction is the villain. Another Round frames alcohol as a protagonist. It is vulnerable with its initial reputation but we just fall for it when we see it becoming a friend of lonely sad people, helping them become a fun version of themselves. Vinterberg makes sure that this contrast remains visible along the story with honest consequences, keeping this drama ride steady in an original plot away from naivety or cliches.

The cinematography, production design and costumes are elegant. The editing is just brilliant. Great casting, and there were many touching moments with different characters, but with much focus on "Martin" played by Mads Mikkelsen. If Mikkelsen were to be replaced by any other actor the film would still be good but with him being there he makes the film superb.

Vinterberg makes great use of Mads natural talent as an actor and a performer from the beginning to the very last scene when they pull one of the greatest performances of all time.

I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face (2020)

A Subtle Scream for Egyptian Filmmaking

[9/10 · 24 February 2021]

"Sixteen" or "I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face" has made its way on many prestigious podiums for cinema awards, but away from podiums, the film abstractly wins for cinema as an art form. A genuine and powerful portrayal of an Egyptian story that feels real and universally relatable with a high level of craft in filmmaking.

The Blue Elephant (2014)

Self-flagellation on Pause!

[8/10 · 3 August 2014]

Ahmed Mourad's The Blue Elephant novel has been a hit in Egypt and Arab world with a huge amount of controversy among readers from all levels of knowledge, culture and interest. Swinging between the spread success and all the criticism it faced due to the massive attraction of many readers, It managed to be always on headlines between people and of course at every book store and now it made it through to the big screen.

Marwan Hamed, one of Egypt finest directors made good choices of the actors and the settings of the scenes. The shooting seemed nice and smooth in most scenes, a bit fair and out of balance in few but mainly it went mostly good.

All actors Kareem, Nelly and the others were mostly on form giving their good performance except of Khaled El Sawy whose performance was exceptional.

The characters on screen appeared close to the author description in shape and behavior. The stylist must have studied and understood the characters well enough to apply that with such a success on their looks.

Until then the movie was going to be just Good, But it needed a sparkle to make it a Great movie according to the standards of Egyptian and Arab cinema production and driving it a step forward to the International standards.

The sparkle came from VFX team with the DOP who both did a great job reflecting Mourad's toughest scenes of the novel into a visual reality with professional touches by Hamed.

Some side notes about the dialogue, shooting and supporting characters cannot ruin the good work has been done by all the crew.

I have always had a big objection about the story ending, but for now I may leave that to myself and enjoy watching an Egyptian cinema production with such professionalism and high standards.

it's not perfect - like anything will never be - yet it's a big step forward that we should applaud and keep our Self-flagellation on Pause!