Eat Pray Love (2010)

★½

Directed by RYAN MURPHY

Starring JULIA ROBERTS and JAVIER BARDEM

Going on a spiritual journey of self-discovery is not something one should ever judge. It's a personal choice and no one's concern. When Hollywood tries to make it a trend, many tend to criticize it for taking such a serious matter and turning it into a pseudo lifestyle. However, if we want do finger point here, maybe we should turn to the ones who buy it. 

After numerous moving interviews and words of encouragement, the best-seller Eat Pray Love reaches the big screen bringing to the theatre thousands who search for answers to fake questions, two hours of cheap entertainment, or maybe, like me, just thought a movie starring Javier Bardem, Julia Robert, James Franco and Richard Jenkins as cast members is unmissable. Yet in this case, maybe it's not. Let me be clear: the life and work of Elizabeth Gilbert are not the subject here - I never met Gilbert, and I never read the book, so I can't form an opinion on that. But, concerning the film's message - and not even mentioning the everything-looks-like-a-perfume-commercial aspect, let's just be honest - if you're trying to discover your true self, you won't do it through rituals that you can't understand. And this is, for me,  the bottom line. You can find India oh so gorgeous, but you can't think that you understand a culture that easily - and eating pasta won't most certainly solve all your problems. But despite the shallowness of it all - again, in the film - thousands of spineless minds devour all of this without questioning. So what's truly disturbing here, is how far off the tracks this section of the audience is, that they actually can't tell the difference between just another romantic comedy, and actual religious beliefs. Fortunately or not, like many theories absorbed - at times unconsciously - almost daily, this is nothing but fleeting trend.

imdb | trailer

Paranormal Activity (2007)

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★★★½

Directed by OREN PELI

Starring KATIE FEATHERSTON, MICAH SLOAT and MARK FREDRICHS 

The secret to every good thriller is how far can it invade the viewer's mind, unleashing its fears or even creating new ones. Once we are all so different from each other, movies like this affect us in different ways. So its reviews are in fact much more personal than usual. 

To me this is the best one since The Ring. The simplicity of the story makes it possible for any of us to relate to it: who hasn't heard a weird noise in the middle of night. Its straightforwardness and realistic shooting style (like a home video) its definitely a japanese influence, the true masters of thrillers. Mind games with sounds and invisible threats stimulate its audience imagination - the viewer creates his own version of a monster, making this a terrifying experience all by himself. The flaw is perhaps the special effects in the end - they just remind us that this is still a hollywood movie - but this is just a tiny detail, don't mind it. Everything else, truly terrifying.

imdb | trailer

Flare Artists: Elizabeth Taylor

Born in London, 1932, Elizabeth Taylor was one the first actresses to be considered a celebrity - she was the first true Diva. 

Part of show business since an early age, she later developed an exotic beauty and voluptuous figure as rare as her unique talent. Her personal life became as famous as her acting skills, with multiple marriages, peculiar personality and strong moral beliefs. Her husbands included Nicholas Hilton and Mike Todd, as well as Michael Wilding, Eddie Fisher, said to unleash her motherly side, and of course, Richard Burton. Friendships with actors Montgomery Clift and James Dean were, and unfortunately still are, a target for controversy.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?, Giant, Suddenly Last Summer and A Place In The Sun are amongst her most acclaimed performances, as well as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Butterfield 8 - movies that caused some fuss because she played respectively a nymphomaniac and a prostitute. Throughout her career, Elizabeth Taylor moved millions with her talent, charisma and beauty. But in 1963, she portrayed the woman many believe she was born to play - Cleopatra.

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Video Editing // 127 Hours

A little video I made using visuals from the film 127 Hours and a shorter version of a song from its soundtrack, Never Hear Surf Music Again, by Free Blood. It contains many, many spoilers. I'm still new to this video editing thing, so bear with me!

The Matrix (1999)

★★★★★

Directed by ANDY WACHOWSKI and LANA WACHOWSKI

Starring KEANU REEVES, LAURENCE FISHBURNE and CARRIE-ANNE MOSS

Twelve years after its premiere The Matrix is on the verge of becoming what many call a cult film. It won four Academy Awards for its technical achievements, and it got some bad reviews mostly for its script, believed to be messy, utopian and lacking a cohesive structure. However a deeper analysis and some Philosophy 101 reveal a pretty grounded plot. 

Thomas Anderson: programmer by day, hacker by night - and he's about to become The One, as Morpheus explains to him what is the matrix on that legendary red pill / blue pill scene. The bsae theory is that the world we live in - or the world we think we live in - is not real. 

In the sixteenth century the man who would change the way we perceive reality was born - René Descartes, the father of modern philosophy. In one of his most famous theories he argues that senses are often misleading, and therefore unworthy of our trust. For example: if we look at a railroad, the two rails appear to converge in one point on the horizon. We know that's not true, they're actually parallel, yet our eyes are telling us the exact opposite. So if our senses failed here, how can we be sure they aren't constantly wrong? We can't, so it seems only logical to agree with Descartes - they aren't trustworthy and quite possibly what we think it's real, it's actually not. At least not in our minds. Sounds familiar? The Matrix is not based on some cuckoo idea, but on a theory that still remains irrefutable.

The Wachowski brothers took this theory, turned it into a fact, and added their own: this world does not exist, it's a computer program implanted in our minds. From this point on, all the other pieces just complete this gigantic, perfectly conceived puzzle. No details are spared: from the obvious absurdness of trying to bend an actual spoon, to Neo's inability to swim from birth - all these little things make this a script with no loose ends. Behind innovative special effects, outstanding set design and all that 90's underground culture, we find a sci-fi movie that gives a completely different meaning to online.

imdb | trailer

Happy Birthday: Quentin Tarantino

La Môme (2007)

★★★★½

Directed by OLIVIER DAHAN

Starring MARION COTILLARD, SYLVIE TESTUD and PASCAL GREGGORY

Édith Piaf had her share of tragic events, and a broken body and mind from years of alcohol and morphine abuse. Because of it she past away too young, at 47 years old. Yet today we don't recall Piaf for her sins but for the exquisite talent she possessed. Her theatrical performances haunted by her dramatic life established an immediate connection with the audience - which when combined with a powerful voice became an unique experience. 

La Môme (or La Vie en Rose) ignores any chronological order going constantly back and forth in time - a highly criticized yet logic move when portraying a life that was deeply chaotic. In a perfect tribute to the french singer, Olivier Dahan chases her frenetically with dramatic camera angles and rich colors that create a surreal and dark atmosphere. But the one truly under pressure here is Marion Cotillard, for she's the one who's playing one of the most iconic figures of french culture. With deep passion and unmeasurable commitment, this academy award wining actress delivers a haunting performance.

imdb | trailer

The Mad-Team

SPOILERS IF DON DRAPER MEANS ANYTHING TO YOU

The A-Team is your average summer action movie, with big guns for men and dreamy actors for women. I never saw the original TV series so I can't really make any comparisons, but from what I heard those utopian action sequences are actually a trade mark for these guys. 

For those of us who aren't exactly fans of the genre there might be a reward at the end - if Don Draper means anything to you. In the much antecipated finale the true identity of one the male characters is finally revealed and - ding ding for us - the guy is Jon Hamm. His appearance was kept secret until the movie's premier and he isn't in the final credits - but I can assure you it's him. It's a pleasant surprise for Mad Men fans and makes you a little less frustrated about the 5€ you spent.

Inception (2010)

★★★★½

Directed by CHRISTOPHER NOLAN

Starring LEONARDO DICAPRIO, JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT and ELLEN PAGE

Inception was advertised as a summer blockbuster, meaning an action film usually with a simple script that therefore does not require its audience to actually think. Yet Inception has the complexity of a conspiracy theory, the emotional depth of a drama, and the sort of groundbreaking subject that we see in science fiction. The premise is what if we could access someone's mind, specifically their dreams - which leads many of us to promptly assume that this should be a movie with no boundaries of any kind, where its creator's imagination should flow, freely, in an effervescently insane tone. But this is not just fiction - it's science fiction. So boundaries and rules are crucial elements for the theory's credibility.

The idea first came to director Christopher Nolan several years ago, when he was still a student. Starting from the notion that in dreams, despite their strong surrealism, everything appears to be so real to the point that we actually feel pain, Nolan built a script that defies the rules of logic and yet, we take it without questioning it. In the film, dreams seem so real at times that it becomes difficult to set them apart from reality. From this uncertainty comes the element of surprise, one of the strongest aspects of Inception. Taking suspense to a whole new level, Inception creates a feeling of excitement that you can sense in the air, demanding its audience's full attention and making it much more than a film - it quickly becomes a thrilling experience. With all of this, there would certainly be enough fandoms - but what makes this an epic film is the key element to every good story - passion.

Without Cobb and Mal's moving story, Inception would be cold-hearted, incapable of establishing an emotional relationship with its viewers. Leonardo DiCaprio and Marion Cotillard take on the roles of these two tortured characters, capturing in few moments the emotion of a lifetime. Wether in tragic scenes that go beyond tears or moments of pure thrill, here the limits of these two grand actors are pushed in a scenario that goes beyond - yes - your wildest dreams.


On a final note, Inception is the kind of film everyone should see in a movie theater. It is really a great experience, and with a huge screen, that amazing Hans Zimmer soundtrack really loud, and lots of people around... I swear I could feel the excitement in the air. And during that final scene, I've never seen a room that quiet, it felt like everyone was leaning forward, whispering stop spinning, please stop spinning... As far as thrilling films go, it's the best.

imdb | trailer

An Education (2009)

★★★★

Directed by LONE SCHERFIG

Starring CAREY MULLIGAN and PETER SARSGAARD

At first sight, this may be perceived as a funny, easygoing film, but beware: the only funny and easygoing thing in this story is Jenny (Carey Mulligan) - a 16 year old teenager on her way to Oxford who on a fateful rainy day meets a charming older man, David. The theme is fairly common for as Jenny herself said, Silly schoolgirls are always getting seduced by glamorous older men. In these situations our experience advises caution - it most likely won't have a pleasant ending.

However, in An Education traditional rules don't apply as we're lead to believe that a tragic ending is not at all in the cards for this love story. For this accomplishment we must credit Peter Sarsgaard (David), who so cleverly shifts from villain to passionate hero, keeping us guessing which one he truly is until the very last minute. If at times we doubt the purity of his intentions towards Jenny we soon forget about it, blown away with his nice manners and kind heart, to which not even Jenny's dad was able to resist. Her father, Jack, is a british man of the 60's - a peculiar and hilarious character, wonderfully portrayed by Alfred Molina. Carey Mulligan is outstanding, with such spontaneity and maturity, rather uncommon at such a young age. I'm sure we can expect many more amazing performances from her in a near future. Coordinating all of these fine actors and plot, is Lone Scherfig, who with his crucial attention to detail and talent to create non-agressive environments makes us embrace this decade with ease, and most importantly makes it impossible to hate any of the characters no matter how flawed they may be. 


But An Education is much more that a doomed love affair - it's the portrait of a young girl that, despite being surrounded by peculiar times, struggles with some of the same issues that teenagers nowadays do: the eternal uncertainty of her youth makes her see herself as a woman before she actually becomes one; her hopeful innocence and imagination makes her blindly trust in the university of life that David and his friends (Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike) seem to live in. Ignoring reason and the advices of her teacher (Olivia Williams), Jenny lets herself go for a life filled with art auctions, jazz clubs and luxurious clothes, where the word consequence holds no place - the perfect start point to build the french-like lifestyle she so desperately dreams of. 

trailer | imdb 

Nine (2009)

★★

Directed by ROB MARSHALL

Starring DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, MARION COTILLARD and PENÉLOPE CRUZ

Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a movie director who lives an italian lifestyle of luxurious clichés, and wanders too often through his restless imagination - the refuge of a man trapped by his own lies. He's surrounded by seven charismatic and sublime women: his mother (Sophia Loren), his wife (Marion Cotillard), his mistress (Penélope Cruz), a prostitute (Fergie), a friend (Judi Dench), his muse (Nicole Kidman) and a reporter (Kate Hudson). He is also going through a crisis - he has nothing left to say.

With a cast like this, one would think that Rob Marshall (the director of the acclaimed musical Chicago) would allow these actors to do what they know best. However every time they try to act, an apparently random song forces its way into the scene, and through its pointlessness leaves no room for a good script. Nine does wonders to your senses but insults reason. Marshall managed to make a musical ignoring the basic principal of cinema - telling a story. In musicals, the songs are a way to communicate and help developing the storyline. Yet in Nine - apart from Guido and Luisa Contini's numbers - they come out of nowhere and proceed with no reason whatsoever in a visual and musical frenzy that lacks in relevance. Yes, the songs will stay with you for weeks, the actors' performances are flawless, and it is a visual feast. But there is nothing more to it. Rob Marshall's talent to create the most dashing spectacle makes watching Nine truly frustrating, for all its beauty is nothing but an empty shell that the actors seem to so desperately try to fill.

imdb | trailer

Happy Birthday: Jon Hamm