MatiasLaurent Reviews

Handling the Undead (2024)

People, the slowness helps

[8/10 · 15 February 2024]

Many reviews on IMDb cannot move past the slow pace of this movie, which admittedly is understandable if they usually accompany themselves with scrolling on the daily - or plainly hates reflection.

These slow-paced scenes exist in the context of inviting you to actually feel what the characters are feeling - alone, quiet, simple and thoughtful. You don't always have to exit a theater with an ecstatic build-up, nor a dramatic ending sequence.

This film is a thought-provoking dystopia in the genre of zombies, though this is not the main focus. It is the families and loved ones reacting to it, and we get to explore this new world through their eyes and of course pace.

Amundsen (2019)

Dry sensations

[6/10 · 30 January 2024]

In a harsh and stark environment you only ever experience dry sensations, no matter where you look. Therefore, the creative decisions to make this film's style likewise suits it well and drives the tone further.

This film shows the eager and sometimes pitiless polar explorer Roald Amundsen diving into unknown terrain, despite death lingering in its wake. Despite hellish conditions at times, I never feel fully feared to explore its nature as the film otherwise would want me to, which sadly is disappointing. At times I was obviously engaged by its brutalities, but nothing made me jump out of my chair or cling harshly to my table.

Its magnificence however is captured in the films beautiful cinematography, supplemented with a wonderful score and editing. However, there is a narrative key-point which I would say degrades this film.

The pacing is ridiculous considering the loss of explored events, characters and relationships. For example, some characters are left forgotten, the relationship between Roald and Bess have no motivation and becoming the first of ANYTHING seems to have such a small impact when in the moment (certainly there are celebrations, but the emotions in those exact scenes of triumph are bland).

This is a recommendation for some interested in Amundsen, his life or polar explorations in general. Otherwise I would let you know this is a film you'd learn from if pursuing filmmaking.

6/10.

Bird Box: Barcelona (2023)

Dumb question-marks

[4/10 · 18 July 2023]

The introduction of the film begins with a question-mark. Who is the man and his kid? Then, why does he go away from her? I'm sure the director thought he/she were pulling great moves here, but when it goes a whole day before we see her again, it makes for a forgettable character.

Then another question-mark occurs, which is why the man wants so desperately to kill the people on the bus - he acts like a newbie, and that's the least we should expect from someone like him. Sure, it creates stakes, but it establishes him as a weak protagonist - and it doesn't even get better from there.

I have so many things to criticize in this film, sadly I didn't write notes - but one thing which does stand out is the great acting. I'd be satisfied watching any of these actors once more in another film, especially the people who lived under the fortress in the city.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

The process of an interesting search with no leads, anywhere

[10/10 · 17 July 2023]

I find this to be part of my list of 'pinacle' character development films. In an environment where no one learns by harassing, humiliating or hurting each other, it is when certain characters have been told to listen to reason after a great deal of damage have finally struck them that they take positive action. The police officer, the billboard-renter and the douche-police officer (which finally became less of a douche). Frances McDormand's character, Mildred definitely received the most damage. But in that process, she cooked up great moments - some which she set up (like the fire), others which she only reacted to (the scene where a creepy man and the police chief's wife appears, before Mildred opens up the letter). In both of those cases, scenarios for character development were created - through the letters after or before being more damaged. It's just great how symbolic of a character the police chief really was. He truly was a hero.

The music was a great addition to the storytelling, though it only stood in the background for most of the time. It wasn't powerful, but neither did it need to be. Usually I love myself some great soundtracks being used, but in this case "the lesser, the better" which is not to say the music wasn't good. This story just needed silences.

The cinematography in this film was great, and it sure looked beautiful on a big screen. This is a sort of movie which doesn't need intelligent cinematography, but it got a relatively good portion of it. I felt satisfied watching it with a 2:35.1 compared to a 21:9. It used great wides, great mids and great close-ups. I'd rewatch this again to sit in awe for the cinematography for sure. Reminds me a bit of the Green Book to be honest.

Casablanca (1942)

A never before-felt nostalgia

[9/10 · 14 July 2022]

Pure diamond writing. This is a beautiful story with well written characters, saying their beautiful lines perfectly. Though there aren't many different sets, the few presented make for an interesting world of Casablanca in Morocco.

The cinematography, camera movements and cuts were also done very smoothly. Loved the vibe it gave off.

Return to Space (2022)

I Want To Go To Space!

[8/10 · 11 April 2022]

If there's one message this documentary tells us, it's that they want the future of space exploration to continue with the coming generations - and I believe this is both a great documentary and era for the youth to delve deeper into it!

The nerve-racking, high-pulse and even tearful moments I felt through the series made me really connect with the emotions of the individuals involved in the development of these projects. I really wish I was part of the first rocket launches, or even had interest in them when they launched - memories for life I know I missed. However, this documentary captured the moments with brilliance! (Since I felt all of this!) For the next NASA/SpaceX launches I will make sure I witness them digitally or...in real life!!

The Martian (2015)

Reasonably cramped

[7/10 · 26 January 2022]

To start off, the book this film was based on was made up of 384 pages. That makes the approximately 500-day story easier to tell with more in-depth and nice details.

This film goes for only 2 hours and 22 minutes (end credits taking up about the last 10 minutes), which isn't as much time to tell the original 'The Martian' story. It's a shame...but I wouldn't have adapted it into a series either. It would felt too dragged out and boring. Sometimes book stories are just made for books.

The film felt too fast-paced, rushing through a lot in the time it has. That however killed a lot of the interesting plot-points. For one, being alone on a planet far away didn't feel that far away, and it certainly didn't feel like it took long until he made contact again. The Pathfinder mission also didn't seem like a difficulty, which in the book was both a high stress and relief moment - aswell as the RTG. The Iris probe also didn't seem as huge as it should have. It was supposed to be this massively important supply to a stranded man who desperately needed it. The launch scene just made it feel so small. In the book I felt so immeresed and invested even in this probe, and once it exploded in orbit I felt devastated, understanding all of the people in mission control. The movie took that off in just a few seconds, felt nothing.

Also!: The mission to the MAV felt too easy...way too easy. There was barely any difference in the feel from the Pathfinder mission's distance to the MAV's. In the book it was a long, long, long ride. Mark went through many struggles of both loneliness, cramped space, restricted amounts of food supply and even crashing the rover (which after several days was somewhat fixed).

Long before the MAV mission started, there was also a problem with Pathfinder, which rendered contacting NASA impossible. So on his way to the MAV, a storm was ahead of him. This storm couldn't NASA say anything of (because the communication broke). He therefore had to manually find his way which was intense, tedious and stressful. But in the end felt way more rewarding when finding the MAV than in the movie.

But as I stated before, the book was long and films tend to not go beyond the 2-3 hour mark to not bore the audience. So these scenes and plot lines were probably cut for "the better". Idk...7/10 seems fair. 9.5/10 for the book!

Blade Runner (1982)

A Unique Style

[8/10 · 10 August 2021]

Whilst hyped up during the watch of this movie I was amazed by the scenery and cinematography - and EVEN MORE when I remembered this was made back in 1984.

The script written for this movie was ridiculously impressive. The beginning of each scene gave the viewer so many questions they wanted to get answered, gripping the audience in an intense desire. I felt so myself and couldn't get more satisfied with the potrayal of them. The characters could seem flat and overall boring - but it is the words they say that give so much meaning to the film that is truly important, and the Director knew this.

Oh and the score fit in sooo smoothly, I felt I the original style was becoming even more original with this.

All the compliments aside however, the original filmstyle did not cling as emotionally wishful to me as I wanted. In itself it seems near perfection, but I miss something that truly makes me attached to the film. Could it be the characters and relating to them? Possibly, but I'll leave that question for the next rewatch.

Black Widow (2021)

"Don't judge a movie by its poster"

[6/10 · 7 August 2021]

A respectably decent Marvel movie worth the watch for some past-psychological emotional experience (since this movie takes place in 2016).

The chemestry of is "widow" family converts nicely in what I'd believe is a realistic reunion. I loved the portrayal of the father (Red Guardian) and sister (Yelena). The comedy was pretty much on point where it was needed - and usually Marvel movies are too messy with this.

However, the action scenes removed too much off the topping... As another IMDb reviewer wrote; the editor(s) struggled too much with covering the stunt-double from the camera, making the sequences giving headaches...this is probably one of the most unsatisfying movies when it comes to that; action. Though I at least have to give them credit for the "intro sequence"...loved that, very iconic.

But they overdid the music...as if they had to use every song on the soundtrack in order to not piss off the composer. Empty and slow sequences are often the build-up an emotional scene needs, but here they went all out trying to fill in as much as possible.

But when it comes to the villain..? Where is the intimidation! Where is the build-up we as an audience expected? It was so lousily portrayed I felt like he was inevitably going to lose. With Thanos for example; we had no idea. He was so terrifying because his goals were so clearly set with meaning, I felt my jaw dropping.

Yet, with all these psychological pasts of the main characters that felt like had to be redeemed in some way, this villain removes this satisfaction.

And not to mention the villain's powerful minion who is pretty much only used for the action sequences.

Felt like 7/10 was too generous...here you go Marvel (6/10).

Love the poster tho.

The King (I) (2019)

Holy cow I believe too much in critics

[6/10 · 28 July 2021]

What ought to be one of the most compelling stories of monarchs, this film crashed the landing.

I cannot describe how utterly dissapointed I am with a film so well shot, acted and edited with one of the most memorable scores I know of. It fails to deliver consistent character development/growth and sleeps on dead followers with less to no ideas of what's going on. However, some seem to know what is in their presence and what step to take next - but it is so boringly written I cannot feel as much invested in these characters as I want to (and that is not because of the Shakespearean language).

The pacing killed me. Though valuable for the film's style, it could've easily been shortened with more intriguing dialogue. I wasn't far off taking a nap several times...

All in all, a 6/10 mediocre film with interesting characteristics. Had potential, but lost it several times.

Halston (2021)

Definetly one of the best shows I've seen

[9/10 · 12 July 2021]

Not just through the perfection of directing, but the acting of Ewan McGregor aswell - this series clash together an interesting concept of the real Halston to a representation so grasping I'm mesmerised!

The years of writing went through for this show was definitely worth it, cause here we are now, able to enjoy an adaptation of Halston's real life through compelling writing, powerful acting, wonderful cinematography & soundtrack. This Netflix-crew cannot be better and definitely deserves to be in the top spots!

9.5/10 if only the .5 was possible.

Green Book (2018)

Shouldn't Have Missed The Theaters...

[8/10 · 12 July 2021]

An uncommon roadtrip through the southern part of America? Now that got me excited and heightened the expectations! - expectations that were executed perfectly!

During the introduction of the characters, I got so into Viggo Mortsensen's acting I knew I were in for a good ride. A good ride through the streets of the south with a fried chicken, not so salty, but elegantly with knives and forks.

Don Shirley's representation was indeed purposely made irritating for the viewer at first with his nit picking. However, this dragged on to be the best way to bond these two main characters together. With to different minds relatively open for new opportunities - in the long run.

And oh my I've got to mention how many times Peter Farrelly surprised me through his writing. There were several scenes I expected one thing and got something completely different. Some might come off unnecessary, but they do build up the tension of both your emotions as a viewer and the character-development/bonds. This guy just knows how to create a well-written story. And I love it!

Promising Young Woman (2020)

A Well Filmed & Edited Film!! just lacks the directing skills...

[5/10 · 14 June 2021]

### Cinematography ### A lot of the satisfaction I got from this movie was how beautifully the cinematography was. The wide and long shots just blew me away and made me in love with it - makes me now very intrigued to research more about the camera crew.

### Editing ### Same goes to the editor(s). The music, clipping and pacing was executed perfectly which gave the film an extremely nice flow.

### Fun-Fact? ### And I believe some of these factors were inspired by the Joker (2019)? I at least feel like a lot of these instrumental usages had the same somewhat creepy and toxic violin and dark-toned piano vibes...

### Dialogue and Directing ### Then comes the awful dialogue and oh god I found more than enough to say this drags down the whole movie by 3 stars. I understand that the characters are awkward or struggles socially, however the dialogue goes so far it becomes uninteresting and so that I as a viewer couldn't care less if a lot of these scenes were deleted. It destroyed the pacing ---yes, I know I said the pacing was done well but that goes for the cinematography ONLY--- so as I watched the movie I imagined the scene in my own version. However, this was close to impossible due to the lack of creativity within this film. The alternatives were slim as the characters weren't fleshed out enough - and at times they somewhat were, that was after the first half of the movie.

### Acting & Characters ### And about fleshing out the characters...this barely happened throughout the film. You see the protagonist feeling useless, has no dreams and no passion from the first scenes - she doesn't change in the end either, that's a massive problem!! Cause you want your protagonist to use their feelings and inner-self to grasp the attention of your audience. If you still want to make your audience intrigued but want a rather quiet/dull protagonist you should make them a mastermind, very wary of their situation, controllable and manipulative. This is what grasps the audience and makes their enjoyment thrilling.

And so the actors...no. I've got to agree they're all good but 80% of the cast just did not fit their role.

A few I can name is the protagonist's date, the protagonist's parents and the "rapists". None of them seemed to have acted geniuenly, sorry. A lot of the problems could've stemmed from the director's directing "skills".

### Conclusion ### It's just so sad how a movie with a message so strong ended up executed so bad, directing-wise. Yup, this is a harsh critic review, but I couldn't leave the 5-star on IMDb without a reasoning.