Change Your Image
Victor_daSilva_
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Lists
An error has ocurred. Please try againReviews
Poor Things (2023)
Little coisas, pobres things and all the tiny and amazing feelings
"Coisinhas", as I gently call the Yorgos Lanthimos's masterpiece Poor Things, is, as I just said, a freaking masterpiece. In 2021 I started a journey into Barry Keoghan's filmography, and the first movie I watched was The Killing of a Sacred Deer, directed by Lanthimos. I was stunned. The weirdest story and conduction I've ever watched was only the beginning of my passion for this greek director who reached his peak now, justifying his second nomination for achievement in direction by the Academy Awards.
Less about my love for Yorgos, more about the movie itself.
I absolutely love when the narrative perfectly conversates with the overall artistic composition, culminating in a brilliant journey of self-discovery and pursuit of knowledge, like the wise Et de Varginha said. The design production, costumes, hair and makeup, scenarios, visual effects, sound engineering, editing, cinematography and, above all, the terrific acting: Mark Ruffalo reaches his goal, making me hate Duncan Wedderburn and feel sick all the times when he jumps furiously on Bella Baxter, literally and figuratively; Hanna Schygulla and Jerrod Carmichael appropriately fit their narrative purpose of pushing Bella Baxter forward (jeez, those stairs in Alexandria...); Max McCandle is a perfect and terrible hypocrite, who calls for God everytime he sees or hears God doing his profane machinations, accepting the horror because, in his intimate, he's passionate for that horror, and because of all this passion, he becomes a monster, like Godwin, like Felicity, like the dog-chicken, like the general, but not like Bella Baxter. She's more human than all the other characters, just because her journey drove her out of the place of a poor thing. It's about dying and being reborn through the adversities, in a "coach language", but... I mean, she's really died and, against her will I think, she's brought back to life, not anymore as Victoria, but as Bella, her own mother and own child, a poor thing who became something more.
Speaking of, Emma Stone is the actress of the year. I can't imagine any other actor doing her Bella Baxter on her movie. She takes all the little things, all the tiny feelings and realizations and turns it all into something greater, expansive and heartbreaking.
I genuinely like a movie when I can feel angry, fearful and joyful along with the protagonist. That scene when Bella overhears the general plotting her dark future made me feel that, made me feel fear, and made me feel happy, because that's when I could attest how marvellous this movie is.
After the session, I had an awful headache and my back hurt really bad, but it was worth it. Then me and my boyfriend jumped furiously on the bed all night long, all that was amazing, and started with an(other) excellent movie made by Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone (The Favorite is amazing too, but I can't decide which is my favorite).
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Grandiosity, honesty and generosity
People expect grandeur, but I want honesty. However, in Killers of the Flower Moon, Scorsese delivered generosity - for better and for worse.
It is indisputable that Martin Scorsese's great rival in the 2023-24 awards season will be physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. In the film that could win the director his second Oscar for best director, his biggest rival is his generosity, but let's not fool ourselves, Scorsese wins over his "opponent" here (while in the duel against Nolan's grandeur... Not yet there is nothing defined).
The story presented throughout its 206 minutes of running time does not hide from its opening minutes that the fate of the Osage is destruction. Unlike the base book, the implosion of the indigenous people begins by being presented inconspicuously, gradually progressing to a long sequence of torture against the tribe, and then to a great conclusion of torture against the torturers. Scorsese is generous in explaining these long sequences in long acts, which makes the connection with the drama greater, at the same time as it makes it excruciating to see so much tragedy without mourning. Here the living cannot mourn their dead, because there is no time for that, the mourning denied to the characters is missing in the narrative of oppression.
It's good to see that the director and co-writer is fully aware that this film doesn't belong to him, and he does a lot to apologize for it (with an exceptional metalinguistic sequence, by the way), but he doesn't do enough, since he is so generous with his apologies that he naturally takes the direction of the story for himself, and transforms a story about grief into a drama, as explained previously, but the same difference is that in the narrative that Scorsese constructed, the lack of this element It is for the benefit of other themes, which precisely enhance the film.
It is these apparent mistakes that the director makes himself king (but not the King Hale) of his territory, this mistake of transforming a Lily Gladstone film into a DiCaprio and De Niro film is where he activates his most frantic and careful level of commitment to his work. He is honest with his generosity, and honest with his mistakes, never failing to deliver the awesomeness that his films always deliver. Here, with a tremendous period setting, with such incredible performances, an extraordinary sound work and original soundtrack and an adequate script in its interventions, a great film emerges. Killers of the Flower Moon deserves to go far, and it deserves to be watched. Not that Scorcese should deserve anything, but honestly, here he does.
Gen V: Welcome to the Monster Club (2023)
Get some puppets and... wow, violence...
I like Gen V, after the third episode I was really excited to continue the story (and I'm following it weekly)
I liked this episode, even if the idea of making the story go in circles just to get a revelation at the end bothers me a little, but what bothered me most about this whole equation is something that bothers me a lot about managing this universe: "how to make a story adult? Let's be disruptive, take some childish things like puppets and make a brutal fight sequence"... Wow, violence...
This isn't the first time this has happened in the Voughtverse, we had a similar sequence with Black Noir in S3 (referenced in this episode), and in the previous episode there was that strange sequence with the guy talking to the puppet from The Deep, like... what's the fun in all this? What's the purpose? Shock? Be disruptive? Adult? For me it doesn't work.
The Flash (2023)
Years of uncertainty rewarded
Back there, reading the Wikipedia page of DCEU, I saw the first mention of The Flash movie, which was programmed to be released after Justice League (along with a Cyborg movie, which... whaaat?). And then the movie, originaled directed by Zack Snyder, was a disaster. Even with the many attempts to restore that cinematic universe, nothing concrete was reached (the Gunn anouncments are still far from see the light). But in the middle of all this chaos, The Flash continued in development, even with the massive tornado of chaos and crazyness called Ezra Miller remaining on the leading role. Came the hype, and I don't bought that hype (Tom Cruise watched the movie and loved? Marketing to me). After all this years of MCU, we are more than tired of knowing that the expectation is the mother of disappointing. And then the bad critics came out... Ahh, but I'm a person who likes to see to believe, to see to criticize with my own voice, and damn... Tom Cruise was right! The Flash is one of the best super-heroes movie ever, with a beginning that reminded me of a good episode of Justice League Unlimited focused on the Flash, and it developed spectacularly, and I hope to see Ezra Miller back on the role, they is amazing on the character. Ah! One more thing. A little spoiler... I REALLY WANT GEORGE AMAZING CLOONEY BACK ON THE NEW DC UNIVERSE! No more. Somebody get me Andy Muschietti's number, please?
O Rei da TV: Quem Quer Dinheiro? (2023)
Sorria!
I didn't grow up during Silvio Santos' golden age on television, unlike my parents, who lived through many of the events represented in this second season of O Rei da TV. For me, things like running for president, kidnapping, war for audiences and Pedro de Lara (a mythical figure) were incredible stories that my father told when we got home from church, Sunday night, and the long-lived Programa Silvio Santos. However, whenever my father talked about the freshman show and the very long duration of Silvio's program, he always ended with "now Silvio Santos is not the same anymore...".
It is incredible, however, that this series represents many of these spectacular things from the 1980s and 1990s in Brazil, and it represents it with surprising category. As a history fanatic, I recognize the creative and artistic liberties, and also feel that many details are omitted or even suppressed, after all, we are talking about a Brazilian television series for international streaming, not a Martin Scorsese film. Now, speaking as a fan of film, television and Martin Scorsese, I have nothing but praise for the production of O Rei da TV. Silvio Santos is not a tragic figure, he is not a heroic character, nor is he someone who conveys inspiration or has a life story free of commas and omitted details. Silvio Santos was a street vendor who won in life because he knew how to shake the right hands (as the reporter's article says at the very end of this episode). Silvio made mistakes, did nasty things, went over many people (including the law), all for the audience, at the same time that in his program he told people to smile (and he himself followed her advice, with his unmistakable laugh and smile). The choice to represent Silvio Santos in this way, without grimaces, and to transpose this personality into the production as a whole, in my opinion, makes O Rei da TV one of the biggest and best productions of Brazilian audiovisual.
300: Rise of an Empire (2014)
300: Try Not To Laugh
The first time I watched this movie, I was at my dad's temporary home, and I saw a sequel to one of my favorite childhood movies on a crappy little TV... And at the time I loved what I watched. Now, older and more critical (and with better television), I can see that 300: Rise of an Empire is nothing more than a big joke.
I mean, today I see that I really like the first 300 because of the men in thongs (and also because this was one of the films that made me, as a child, fall in love with history and films, and especially with historical films), but Zack Snyder's original movie still had something fun in the middle of a problematic speech that magnifies the violence of the war (and cast an effeminate man and a disabled man as villains and unreliable people)... The film delivered by Noam Murro doesn't even make up for the cute Greeks with the blue capes.
Eva Green's villain only knows how to strike a badass pose, the horrible CGI that dominates 95% of the cinematography looks like it was made by beginners who parachuted into a Hollywood production, Sullivan Stapleton's generic Leonidas is not convincing, the attempt to emulate the "visionary" style of Zack Snyder sounds more like a parody, the dialogues more crooked than the map of Greece, the exaggerated abuse of a ridiculous effect of digital blood, the feeling that the film gives that the whole time we are in a flashback within another flashback and so on, among other flaws that I could spend hours listing.
The film about the legendary warrior Themistocles fails in everything it sets out to do, but for a fourteen-year-old gay boy, a fan of "historical" films, it might be fun.
Babylon (2022)
"Complexo de Épico", by Tom Zé
I had high expectations for Babylon. At the beginning of 2022, I read that this film could be one of the big names at the 2023 Oscar, but I didn't imagine that today, with twenty days left until the Oscar ceremony, I would be hating this film so much.
In the first half hour I could already see that Babylon was a work full of histrionics, exaggerations, shouting, scatologies and unnecessary things. As it is my personal pleasure to watch all the Oscar nominees, I had to keep watching this film, and as the little over three hours of the film slowly ebbed away I just had to agree more and more with my initial opinion of Babylon . My God, what a terrible movie is this? There is no clear protagonist, there is no quality narrative, there are no reasons for this film to have such an exaggerated duration, there is no need for so much eschatology in a film that could indeed display the exaggerations of a Hollywood in transition, but not in the way that was done.
However, it stands to reason that Babylon shines in technicalities, and its three Oscar nominations are no less than fair. Now, as far as narrative is concerned, this film is far from good. Above all, Babylon is the epitome of pretentiousness... Alongside TÁR and All Quiet on the Western Front, Babylon is one of the films I most dislike this awards season.
Close (2022)
I want to be like a child
Everything Everywhere All At Once, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood and The World's a Little Blurry are the only three films that, to this day, made me cry like a child during the credits. Today, Close entered that select list after an hour and forty minutes of a lot of pain.
Pain is a very abstract feeling. I can refer to the pain of an injury, or the pain of an illness, as well as the pain of sadness, of constant lack, of losses and endless losses. Remi felt a pain so latent inside her that she ended up succumbing. What hurt that little boy so much that he couldn't take it anymore? The incomprehension of that pure feeling he had inside. The love, affection and affection he felt was too great to be treated the way he was treated by Leo. Best friends aren't meant to hurt...but Remi has been torn apart from the two "fights" he's had with Leo. The world is not for people who love too much, I'm sorry to say.
The world should be more like children. Pure, innocent, sincere, kind. It was really nice to burst into tears, like a child, throughout this film.
Getúlio (2014)
The Greatest (even if controversial) President of Brazil
I think the political figure of Getúlio Vargas is very unique and special. Ruling Brazil as a dictator during World War II, this man could not have led the country on the fine line of ambiguity between nazi-fascism and democracy if not for its unique abilities. The gaucho from São Borja, however, is not in his heyday as a dictator. As spoken and repeated in the film, Getúlio has already torn up two Constitutions, and he cannot do it again. Governing a country with Hitler on one side and Eisenhower on the other was easy given the challenge of governing with the fear of being overthrown, with no chance of defending oneself, running the risk of spending the last days of his life in jail, or even in a grave destined for the corpses of a new revolution. Getúlio would not admit a revolution against him - the revolutionary who changed Brazil - and, paraphrasing himself, he would only leave Catete dead, and that's what he did. The film is excellent, even if I have my reservations about the representation of Getúlio's opponent, journalist Carlos Lacerda. Anyway, just praise for Tony Ramos and Drica Moraes (Getúlio and Alzira in the film). By the way, it is worth mentioning how special it was that the production of the film was made in the Catete Palace itself, even using the same bed where Getúlio ended his life.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Janitor Always Mops Twice (2019)
The most irregular season
I don't know what's going on with It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. After two sensational seasons, this fourteenth is really being very difficult to follow. This episode, for example, used a formula that I love in this series, which is the mix/parody of genres, but... I don't know, it didn't work :( and it seems like every episode of this first half of the season has tried to do that, to use time-honored formulas, but few if any of them have worked for me. It seems that the creators' ideas, always very creative, have run out... I'm really sad to say this, but if the rest of this season doesn't do enough, I'm leaving the show.
House of the Dragon: The Green Council (2022)
Looks like they didn't have much to do...
Driftmark, one of the audience's favorite episodes (if I'm not mistaken, the highest rated here on IMDb), left me very upset, because a lot of important things in the story (in relation to the books) were compressed into a very rushed episode. The Green Council had only two things to show, but those two things alone weren't enough to fill the episode, so they invented a great show of randomness to fill the void between said green council and the coronation of Aegon II.
First they made up that story of pitting Alicent and Otto against each other in the contest who could find Aegon first, and then there was a stupid duel in front of the Sept between Ser Erryk and Ser Criston, with detail for Aemond holding Aegon so he doesn't run away (and then Aegon accepted to be taken by Criston, you'll understand...) That story of Aegon lost then? Jesus Christ, what's the need to spend half an episode on this? The WTF I gave when the solution was for Otto to go talk to Mysaria is not written. Nothing in that second act of the episode made sense, in fact, I have to say that Mysaria as a whole in the series is not making sense. They tried to layer the character who, in the books, is just a lover of Daemon, but... it's not working. And we also need to talk about the game's ace, Rhaenys Targaryen, who saved the end of this messed up episode (and who could have used a word to end this war before it even started). Eve, living up to her last name, was the best... And man, we can't forget about Olivia Cooke! That was her big episode, even though it was a weird episode, she took everything on her back.
Marte Um (2022)
More common than you think
Daniel Rezende, great Brazilian director and editor (Oscar nominee and BAFTA winner), in an interview with the Falando de Nada podcast, spoke a very impactful sentence that really fits in this text: "we need to value our culture", so it must be said that Mars One (Marte Um) could not be the best choice of the Brazilian Academy of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts as a candidate for a spot in the Best International Film award at the 2023 Oscars. Mars One is about the purest Brazil, lived by each of the families in the more than five thousand municipalities in our territory. Non-Brazilian viewer, did you notice how Tércia's birthday is celebrated? With beautiful people dancing pagode while eating a sausage straight from the skewer. All that was missing was that it all happened on a slab. I've lost count of how many birthdays of mine have been celebrated like this! This is the Brazil of everyday life, and this is precisely the basic story of Mars One: the daily life of Brazilians, the culture of Brazilians.
During the session, I found myself wondering what was the problem with the film, what would be the driving force that would make this story move throughout its almost two hours of duration. It turns out that one of the first sentences of the film is a voice over from a radio announcing that Jair Bolsonaro was elected president of the country, in November 2018, and that in itself is already the biggest problem that a family like Deivinho's, that a family has. Family like mine could face. On the eve of yet another presidential election (the first round takes place in 26 days counting from today, September 6), it is impossible not to look at that period of 2018/19, which is portrayed in the film, without thinking that many of the problems we are experiencing is due to this election that is the start of the film. Deivinho, whose dream is to be an astrophysicist, is unfortunately located in a society that does not encourage studies, and his father, trapped in the estates of slavery revised in his work as a doorman, only sees a possible future for his son through football. After that night at the end of the movie, where everyone sleeps under the stars, how many problems did Deivinho face and still face today, in 2022, to pursue his dream career?
With the problem in mind, what obstacles will the characters face? Nothing too fancy or Hollywood, because believe me when I say that living in Brazil is enough of an obstacle. Nobody knows when they will be the victim of a TV prank, I myself have always been terrified of finding Ivo Holanda in the middle of the street (anyone who knows Ivo Holanda knows!). The issue of the daughter leaving home is a pain that no family wants to face. You may ask yourself "ah, but all families in the world go through the story of their children leaving home", and I reply saying that in Brazil it is different, and the way the film portrays it is exquisite.
I imagine that Mars One may not be nominated for an Oscar, and if nominated, he may not win, but this movie deserves you to see it, whether you are Brazilian or not. We need to value our culture, and this film is the best showcase of its culture that Brazil in 2022 can offer the world.
A Viagem de Pedro (2021)
Past, present, future and 2022: the revised bicentennial
Released on the commercial circuit just under a week from the bicentennial of Brazil's independence, Pedro Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (A Viagem de Pedro) explains nothing less than the voyage that the Emperor of Brazil made after abdicating the throne he himself created on September 7, 1822, this to fight a war in Portugal against his brother, Miguel, for the throne that rightfully belongs to Pedro's eldest daughter, Maria.
The film's narrative, which begins with the image of a statue of Napoleon and the voice over of Leopoldina, the emperor's first wife, discusses a lot about what Pedro represents and wants to represent to the world and to his children, as he mentions at one point to the his current wife, Amélia, saying something like: "how will my children remember me? Like a painting or like a caricature?". Pedro only wants to know about his future, so he rejects at all costs his past, which comes back to haunt him through the emperor's delusions, caused by what looks like syphilis. Throughout several sequences, Pedro finds himself arguing with Miguel and remembering some emblematic passages in his memory, such as when he was a child in Portugal, when his father, João, decides to flee the country towards Brazil, avoiding a confrontation with Napoleon. Pedro still remembers his mother, Carlota, telling her husband that he was weak to run away from the problem, the same thing that many now think of Pedro, who left Brazil on the run.
The emperor's delusions so afflicted him that, at a certain point in the story, he no longer knew how to distinguish the real from the imaginary, and it is in one of those sequences in which, in my opinion, one of the most brilliant moments of the film takes place, which that's when Pedro delights (or remembers) with a dinner, where a woman at the table begins to sing in a mocking tone the melody of the National Anthem of Brazil (currently known as the Anthem of Independence), which was composed by Pedro. Everyone laughs, and with good reason. The one who once brought freedom to the horizon of Brazil threw everything into the air. He was weakened, humiliated and emasculated. Pedro had become a real joke, and he knew it, for his present was but a shadow of what his past once was, but in a way, he also knew that he was the same old man. By declaring Brazil's independence on the banks of the Ipiranga, at its most celebrated moment, Pedro was betraying Portugal, and now, by abdicating the Brazilian throne to go fight in Portugal, he was betraying Brazil. In view of this, what is the difference between Peter's past and present?
In a way, leaving the past behind, ignoring the present and looking to the future was the best choice the emperor could make, after all, the bitter present becomes a forgettable past, while the future can still become a pleasant present. After his journey across the Atlantic Ocean, Pedro manages, as Leopoldina again narrates in a voice-over, to win the war against Miguel, securing his daughter's position as Maria II of Portugal. Pedro would once again be celebrated as a hero, winning a statue, which made him remembered in the future as the liberating soldier he was. With the image of Pedro and Amélia taking their first steps in Portugal, Leopoldina's voice asks: "Do you understand that you turned into a rough stone in the middle of the square?".
With his future image preserved, Pedro could rest in peace after dying in 1834, but it is curious and important for us to turn to today, 2022, when Brazil will celebrate its 200 years of independence. For the celebrations, the heart preserved in formaldehyde of Pedro was brought from Portugal. Just under a month before a general election, the incumbent seeking re-election poses in the government palace next to the organ jug as the National Anthem is orchestrated. The image still has the presence of the Dragons of Independence and the waving of the green and yellow flag. I say with great indulgence that Jair Bolsonaro flirts with Brazil's dictatorial past, his truculence and mismanagement of the country are some of the things that characterize his term and make his reelection campaign dangerous, where he bitterly takes second place in the polls, running the risk of being the first president not to be reelected in the country since reelection was instituted in 1997. Before going back to the image of August 23 that I described earlier, let's quickly go back to 1972, during the dictatorial government of the president Garrastazu Médici, where the bones of Dom Pedro I were brought to commemorate 150 years of independence. It is not impossible to notice the similarity between the ways in which the respective governments celebrated the date, so it is up to us to return to Pedro's thoughts throughout the film with regard to his future: what has that hero who fought to maintain his idealized image become these days?
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (2022)
Reconnect
The MCU started out as a niche. Films like Iron Man (2008) and Thor (2011) catered to two audiences: the comic book fan and the casual viewer looking for uncompromising fun. From The Avengers (2012) and Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014), the MCU audience became larger, fleeing only that fan/occasional scope, something that was lost a lot in Phase 4 of the studio. Avengers: Endgame (2019) was a climax that pleased everyone, but after this great movie, Marvel's situation became very irregular, very much in the "Ame-o ou Deixe-o" style (the slogan of the Brazilian dictatorship that literally means love him or leave him), where much of the occasional was lost, and even fans began to doubt the studio's ability, delivering mediocre films and series and some forgettable productions. In my view, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law is serving as a reconnection point. It's simple, uncompromising and silly, but well done, and that matters a lot. The occasional viewer can sit in front of the television and enjoy a fun series, and the comic book fan will find the essence of the character in this production starring Tatiana Maslany. Returning to Marvel with this series is a good door for the general public, who eagerly await the conclusion of this complicated Phase 4 with none other than Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in November.
Giant Little Ones (2018)
The end of all things in the world
Occasionally things like what happened to Franky in this movie happen to us in real life. We're never prepared for the blows we'll take on the wrong corner, sometimes it's not even the wrong corner, but still we're there, lying on the ground, counting on your fingers all that was left after the tragedy. My favorite book, The Fifth Mountain, says something very interesting about tragedies that happen in our lives, It's something like "tragedies happen, we can grieve, look for the culprit for them, or we can get up, pick up what's left in the wreckage and move on". I found this book at the exact moment when I was suffering as the movie's protagonist, and I'm grateful to say that I survived. I survived and I'm glad that Franky managed to survive too, because just like him I chose to pick up the wreckage and move on. Using another quote from The Fifth Mountain, Franky's final dialogue with his father is exactly like what it says in the book: "don't question why things happen, but what they happen for". Without certain bumps in our lives we will never get out of the status quo so comfortable. And he's very comfortable, and it hurts a lot to lose him. And here's another quote, this time from a song, Monstros by singer Jão: "It's clear now, I wish I could tell that kid who can't see, it's so clear now, I know it's going to hurt, but this is necessary for who you're going to be."
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Gang Gets Trapped (2011)
My favorite
My God, I haven't laughed so hard with this series since S4,E8! What a sensational episode! It starts with a feeling of getting into a moving car and soon you get used to the driver's madness: simply amazing.
The Boys: Herogasm (2022)
It's not about Herogasm
I remember way back when showrunner Eric Kripike posted a photo of his reaction when he saw the script for this sixth episode of the third season of The Boys. Not only me, but I imagine that the entire public was thinking that this reaction was due to the controversial Herogasm (here in Brazil the event received the infamous translation of "Super Suruba"), but watching this episode I could see that this giant orgy wouldn't be in the series if it weren't for a clear narrative purpose. Gone are the days when sex, violence and drugs were in The Boys just for shock, and Herogasm masterfully proves that. The Love Sausage, the sperm bath and the naked extras are there to make that little joke, but the narrative focus is not only on these eschatologies, but on the entire plot that was being built this season. Every time the conversations about Herogasm appeared on the internet, I stopped to think "how are they going to include this in a cohesive way in this tightly tied story, without seeming forced or appealing?". Well, as I said, the script of Jessica Chou used this "big event" in favor of the events engineered over the last five episodes, also leaving a much higher expectation for the last two (at least on my part) than this episode was already getting.
I couldn't help but mention that the part of Frenchie and Kimiko seemed out of place, even if included in a way that didn't get in the way of Herogasm's leading role in this episode. Maybe omit the characters here to make them more prominent in the next one (kind of like Mike Ehrmantraut did in the last two episodes of Better Call Saul season 3) would be more interesting, but that's just annoying critic complaint (in this case, the annoying critic is me).
I finish writing very excited for the penultimate episode (of the season) of The Boys, I can't wait for next week.
The Boys: The Only Man in the Sky (2022)
Kimiko's plot really moved me
I've been thinking a little about these things that destroy our lives. Where did we go wrong? Is it our fault for being the way we are? Kimiko also thinks about it a lot in this episode, the need to live a life lost because of s*it that happened in the past. Even if I question the exposition that the script uses to make this feeling of the character explicit, I cannot deny that the phrase "I'll never be a normal girl who likes roller coasters. I've been destroyed, and I can't fix it" really moved me. It's not about liking roller coasters, it's about not being able to enjoy roller coasters at the right time.
Moon Knight: Summon the Suit (2022)
DAYMAN! FIGHTER OF THE NIGHTMAN!
This episode won me when Steven (with a V) became the Mr. Knight, only cause before I watch this episode I watched the S3,E9 from It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, and I was inevitably imagining Charlie Day as Mr. Knight. Oscar, all that was missing was singing the iconic song of the friendship master, because karate your character already knows.
Diabolical (2022)
JUST derivative stories
I loved Star Wars Visions for one reason: derivative stories that weren't afraid to be derivative stories.
I didn't like What If...? For a reason: derivative stories that in the end were never derivative stories.
Diabolical is sensational, because in addition to being technically excellent, it's a series that prides itself on creating derivative stories that are JUST derivative stories. Even with the half-baked episodes, like the one starring Awkafina, I was still very happy with this Prime Video production. My hype for the third season of the main series has only increased with this bunch of crazy, bloody and unconnected stories.
Wolf (2021)
Questionable
What was this movie meant to be? A discussion? An allegory? A simple hour-and-a-half drama? I really couldn't understand the idea behind this production.
(I need to make an honorable mention of the villain played by the Carlos Wizard doppelganger (aka Paddy Considine), because this guy was, in my view, an excellent one-dimensional cliché villain, and I always tend to dislike one-dimensional villains.)
Belfast (2021)
Stole my heart
My God, what a beautiful movie. The performances - especially the little one -, the sound, the photography... Belfast is the most beautiful thing at the Oscars 2022.
Seinfeld: The Yada Yada (1997)
Yada yada yada
I went to watch this episode after a lot of positive publicity was given to me. As with every episode of Seinfeld, I expected nothing less than a lot of laughter, and yada yada yada a ten.
Scream (2022)
A smart film
I've thought of many ways to begin this assessment, especially since this film is remarkably smart.
Films that are aware of themselves and their genre are the new Hollywood fad. Looking inside this horror universe, A Classic Horror Story (2021) is an example of how metalanguage can go very wrong if used in a way that attacks the original material, the object of the tribute being paid.
Scream (2022) is not only aware of its existence as a horror film, revival and sequel, but also knows how to take advantage of all this to deliver good fun throughout its two hours. Fun I say, because if I got scared once it was a lot. I and the cinema even laughed in certain sequences, which, it is worth remembering, do not detract from the work as a whole, they only enrich the production, mainly because they are moments that show with excellence how well done the metalinguistic work was.
Another merit of this film is the ability to make us empathize with each of the characters, whether the old ones from the franchise or the newcomers (which bring great potential for a new sequel, this time without the "crutch" of the older characters). I can no longer say the same for the final twist, the self-referenced "third act". The identity of Ghostface was very obvious, since the first time he appears, by the way. The fact is that, even though it was very easy to unravel the mystery, the film didn't really lose me, but it left that bitter taste that, let's face it, comes out of my mouth with an ease that almost made me forget about this defect.
Using the new formula of the moment, Scream hits where others miss and promotes good entertainment and fun that doesn't underestimate the audience and doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, but entertains, instigates, criticizes and honors its genre, its past and its fans.
Hawkeye (2021)
So it's Christmas...
Here in Brazil we have great Christmas classics, ranging from the repeated concert tv by the singer Roberto Carlos to family discussions about putting raisins in rice or not. Without a shadow of a doubt, however, the biggest classic cliché in Brazilian Christmas is the song by singer Simone, called "Então é Natal".
I went all this way just to say that Hawkeye is far from becoming a Christmas classic (although it comes very close to cliché, by the way (I mean, what was that mid-credits scene from the last episode???).
Taking, for example, the brilliant Wandavision, which used the classics of American television to pay homage and promote an audiovisual show.
If Hawkeye has tried to emulate the same formula that secured the miniseries starring Elizabeth Olsen some Emmy nominations, I am sorry to say that the merits of one have not been repeated in the other.
This project seems to have a lot to deal with at once, wrapping it all up (with a gift wrap and red bow) in a frantic finale episode that sounded a lot more like a Black Friday store to me than a Christmas classic.
While the guest appearances (such as Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin and Florence Pugh's Yelena) and the grandiose performances of MCU newcomers Hailee Steinfeld and Alaqua Cox didn't make me drop this series halfway, I can't say that the amount of stuff woven through the six episodes (like Clint's past as Ronin, suspicions about Jack (suspicions that led the character to the position of comic relief in the last episode, is that serious, Marvel?!?!), etc.) , the lack of visual inspiration from the direction and the fact that the story wanted, at all costs, to shove Christmas canes down my throat, these things didn't please me very much.
Something that is also sad is when this was the moment for Jeremy Renner to shine with his Clint Barton, but here he remained untouched in his role as a supporting role of luxury. Although he is the protagonist of this story, it is Kate Bishop and her questions that move the plot, from beginning to end.
I'm not going to complain that Roberto Carlos's rerun is bad, and I'm not even going to say that rice and raisins doesn't have its merits (it has no merits, forget what I said!!!), just as I'm not going to say that Hawkeye is terrible, and it's not excellent either, just average. This is a series of an average Avenger, unfortunally.
And may the future of Kate Bishop, Maya Lopez, Yelena Belova and Pizza Dog come, as Simone said: "Então é Natal, e o que você fez?/O ano termina e nasce outra vez" ("So it's Christmas, and what did you do?/The year ends and it's born again").