Reviews

In Italy, despite its five Academy nomination, its widely acclaimed reception and the debate has provoked all around the world Whiplash has been showed in 25 cinemas. In ALL Italy. For only one week. No jokes. That's why I had to hurry up yesterday night and go to see it before they took it away.

I think Whiplash is not exactly an innovation for cinema: there is a load of similar movies which have been made, about music competition, et cetera. But I think there are at least two point which are original for it and deserve a remarking. The first one is, naturally, the character of Terrence Fletcher. Modern projection of Hartman Sergeant in a conservatory, it provides the most inspiring occasions for the screenplay, and the most emotional (meaning both tears and laughs) moments. The other one is the direction approach to the music scenes. Such peculiarity is given by a claustrophobic editing and by inspiring close-cuts on details: sweat, ears, the drops of blood. It was an innovative way to make the audience feel the same feelings and fear the same fears than the musician.

I have a new champion to cheer for at the Academy Awards!

Noi e la Giulia is not what you'd call a masterpiece, nor what you'd call a very good movie, actually. Indeed, in order to analyze what is good in this movie you have to contextualize it in its real environment, which is the Italian comedy. And recently the Italian comedy has gone real bad. That's why I think it is possible to give some credit to the filmmakers which believe in projects like Noi e la Giulia.

As a matter of fact, the movie provides occasion for some real laugh. Talking about the screenplay, there are lines which are good and lines which are extremely banal, but both made the audience laugh, and I guess this is what a comedy aims to. Also, you would expect a poor direction by Edoardo Leo, which is both on its very first steps and such a good-looking fellow that a prejudiced would think he would never made it to a good direction (not me obviously), but all in all it could have been worst, and it's supported by an interesting photography.

I like to see this title more as a starting point than as an arrival, and moreover I think I'd like to see more movies like this in the Italian cinema and less like the ones of Christian De Sica.

I've seen this movie because I love the cinematographic saga of X-Men, I've loved basically every chapter has ever been made. But this movie went against my usual taste for several reasons.

I won't focus on the plot holes that have been widely pointed out (in almost every bad review) but I'm afraid they all have a point. This part is with no doubt one of the responsible for the bad achievements of the movie. Moreover, I think that one of the most interesting aspects of the X-Men saga was the orchestra of characters, which was the perfect expedient for plot-developing, personality building and even for the comic line. With the lack of every known X-Men here except for the Wolverine, it seems to me that we have lost the occasion for an interesting plot, for any analysis of Logan's character and for any comic line which is not lame.

An error rather than a lost occasion.

Julie Vignon has lost her husband and child in an accident. The film tells about the new history of her life after the accident, in the meeting of symbolic objects, people and places.

Probably I have quite of an enmity against slow-rhythm movies, and that's why I wasn't able to appreciate this at all. Then, if you do like pointless visual photography (by the way, what the hell did go wrong with Kieslowski and the cups of coffee?), illogical characters making illogical actions, please go ahead, this movie is perfect for you. Otherwise you should try something else.

In synthesis, I won't say that this movie is bad because a lot of people seem to have found it visionary, I will rather say is not the right movie for my personal taste.

It does not happen often. Just finished it and, farther the tears of commotion that, yes, contain also a taste of anger, I got a shake through my back, another one, one more. I lay here, with the feeling that some shake is still stuck inside, and is not going to leave me for days, as are not going to leave the images and the stories that this movie tells. And, obviously, the hate for the Englishmen (inconvenient, as I am living in Reading for two moths more). I am (shamefully) at my first Ken Loach movie, but I have the sensation of a great discover. A direction that may appear dry and detached, maybe because far away from the eccentric ones I'm used to, but detains actually the sober and precious role of the storyteller. For the ones that usually don't appreciate the kind, no worries: you are going to love this anyhow. The screenplay is a masterpiece itself, without dead zones, air pockets or forced dialogue. Actors performances are even too much realistic. One of the movies that allow you to forget that it is, making way for goose flash and to transporting bitterness of this stories that are great, but true.