ValDudka Reviews

Boston Strangler (2023)

We've seen it all before, but it's still worth watching

[7/10 · 21 March 2023]

It's an interesting movie with a frightening story, where by the title it may seem that the whole movie will be about Boston Strangler, but in reality, the main focus is on character of Keira Knightley who gave an excellent performance. Many people didn't like the "too dark" style of the film, but as for me, it gave the movie "feelings of fear and cold".

There are some moments that I didn't particularly like: little attention was paid to the relationship between the main character Loretta with her husband, and overall the frames with the family were inserted very chaotically. Also, the ending came out too crumble and confusing. But if you like movies such as Zodiac, Se7en, Prisoners, you should know these movies are certainly better :) But most likely you won't regret the time spent watching Boston Strangler.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Alloyed (2022) Season 1, Episode 8

When in doubt, Eleanor, always listen to your nose

[8/10 · 14 October 2022]

You can hate this tv-show claiming that the plot is weak, dialogues are poorly written and actors play unprofessional. It can be said that everything was much better under Peter Jackson's hand. But we live in a world where the Lord of the Rings trilogy has already been beautifully filmed (and I hope no one will think of making a remake). And the Rings of Power is a product that should be treated separately. I wish this tv-show was similar to Lord of the Rings, but it's different and I accept that fact. There are gaps, there are weaknesses, but we all set the bar too high and I would like to add a positive comment.

I wanted this tv-show to remember some nostalgic notes of the Lord of the Rings adventure and understand that you shouldn't 'judge the wrapper' by just the first couple of episodes. Yes, the beginning of this series may have been promising, raw and uncertain, but the spirit of Tolkien can be felt somewhere deep in the story.

On last episode we saw a twist, an unexpected turn of events, and most importantly, with the Magician and Nori I remembered what made me fall in love with the story of the Mediterranean - faith in light, in friendship and the strength with which obstacles are overcome, to remember that "if we didn't go away, we would never learn anything new ". That flavor of magic is still flying in the Rings of Power and I'm ready to give the second chance to a next season and believe in the magical story for which (let's be honest) we've all been waiting for so long.

Burning (2018)

It's burning not outside, but inside

[7/10 · 27 February 2019]

An amazingly graceful Korean story, exciting the viewer's attention and not letting go until the end. The film isn't for a wide audience, lasts 2 and a half hours, it goes slowly and asks a lot of questions. But the plot is built correctly, so that the viewer can understand the characters and start thinking about the questions that have arisen. The independent film seems to be divided into 2 parts: the first tells the story of a love triangle, and the second goes to a fascinating detective thriller. Director Lee Chang-dong wonderfully plays with the viewers' imagination who are trying to understand the thoughts of the main characters and their intentions. I liked very much the juxtaposition of the main characters - the writer Lee Jong-soo, who cannot see the hidden meaning and thus awakens a strong hunger inside himself, which doesn't allow him to sleep and to enjoy a life, to create; his opponent, Ben, a kind of rich Gatsby, quite the opposite one, he is filled with inspiration and understands the true beauty of all things, thus filling himself and everyone around him with a mysterious special flame. The narration is slow, during this time you can fully enjoy the visual component, excellent camera work. Scene setting, editing, actors' play - everything works for the picture and its success. No wonder that the film won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Disaster Artist (2017)

So bad that even good

[7/10 · 27 February 2019]

"The Room" is the worst film in cinematography history, which turned the entire industry of Hollywood filmmaking. Nobody expected that such a ridiculously absurd film would acquire the status of "cult" and that it will be remembered to this day. Therefore, in 2017, James Franco decides to make his Disaster Artist to show how the worst of the worst films were made. But maybe the movie is not so mediocre, since we still remember about it?) For me, this film was like a breath of fresh air. The story has a great humor, but the drama is also here. Brothers Franco coped perfectly well! The film doesn't present any major social problems, but simply shows the desire of an eccentric guy to shoot something of his own, not having acting / screenwriting skills, but having money and love for cinematography.

The Flowers of War (2011)

War is evil, defaming the human race

[8/10 · 27 February 2019]

The film shows the events of 1937 in Nanking without embellishment and very frankly. While watching you feel all the hopelessness and realism of the Sino-Japanese war. The war kills a person in a person - such a thought flies by while watching a movie; but still there are people ready to come to the rescue as Christian Bale's character. And those 12 women from Nanking really turned out to be wonderful flowers that blossomed in the midst of the war. I am a big fan of Hollywood war films, but this picture by the Chinese director Zhang Yimou has eclipsed many of them with its realism, colorfulness and honesty.

Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)

The parody film and satire on the modern people of the art sphere

[6/10 · 27 February 2019]

I read a lot of negative comments about the film (it's boring, the plot sags, the characters aren't interesting and there is very little horror), but I liked the movie. Of course, I agree that there were flaws in the film, I personally didn't like the rough editing in the second half of the film and the tightness of the moments. I really liked the aesthetics of the film - at the highest level, like the atmosphere of the film itself - a complete immersion in the story. Velvet Buzzsaw is a beautifully cut mystical thriller with an intriguing plot and a talented acting ensemble performed by Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Toni Collette and others.

Rescue Dawn (2006)

America gave me the opportunity ..

[7/10 · 27 February 2019]

The film is based on the story of the American pilot Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) and his crushing fall onto the territory of Vietnam. Active warfare during the Vietnam War will not be shown here, but you will see the inner side of the horror of the war - the brutal everyday life of the military captivity of American soldiers in the depths of the wild Vietnam jungle, where it is almost impossible to escape and stay alive. The script is very consistent and rich. Christian Bale, as almost as always, is incomparable and delightful in his role. You believe him and empathize. During the movie, he turns from a self-confident guy into a man who has understood, in his own skin, the difference between educational practice and the reality of war. Other actors also play with a high quality. The only drawback for me is how poorly was shown of the plane crash at the beginning of the film, there were obviously problems with the special effects during the shooting of the film ) Someone may decides that the film is tightened and there is little action, but behind such silence lies the deepest drama. You can feel the lack of budget and there are some drawbacks, but the message and the idea are much higher than commercial success. You should only feel a little stronger desire of the heroes to live, to fight for their lives, to overcome obstacles and not to despair, and you as a spectator will not remain indifferent.

What Happened to Monday (2017)

Go ahead to the "bright" future

[6/10 · 25 February 2019]

The film tells the story of 7 twin sisters who are forced to live in a world where overpopulation is a big problem and, as a result, the government is introducing the "one family - one child" program. Accordingly, the sisters are forced to live secretly from every one and go out into the streets one by one, so that no one suspects that something is wrong with their family. I understand that the main focus in the film was put on action and entertainment, but I didn't feel enough drama in the movie, and the gloomy world of the future was shown superficially. I liked Noomi Rapas, who played 7 sisters, she tried very hard to open up her characters as much as possible. If you look through fingers at some scenario gaps, then you may like the movie because of the original idea and quite good action scenes.

Green Book (2018)

Mood color - the green one

[8/10 · 25 February 2019]

Recently my father asked me "is this film about some book that is also green?". I replied with a smile, "Not exactly, dad." The book, of course, is present in the film and plays an important role (this is a collection of hotels and restaurants names where African-American travelers could stop), but the story revolves around two characters - a talented African-American pianist (Mahershala Ali) and his Italian-American bouncer driver (Viggo Mortenesen), who travel together around the states where one main character is supposed to give concerts and the second one monitors the safety of his boss. I really liked the atmosphere of the 60s, clothes, cars, music, characters in the film. The dialogues are written ironically and at the same time filled with meaning for the viewer. The film that you watch without stopping, although it is far from a blockbuster; the film, where behind a light comedy lies a deep meaning. The green book isn't a picture of slavery, although the theme of "racism" is acutely felt here. This is a film about honesty, humanity, true friendship and mutual help between people.