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pasugarman
Reviews
Zeros and Ones (2021)
Not your normal movie, so 7/10
Intriguing, but without actual plotted intrigue
A series of cheaply-made and dingy scenes, shot in Rome, evoke modern paranoia in chaotic droves, pandemic, martial law, clash of cultures, corruption, gangsters, drugs, psychedelia, prostitution, paramilitaries, digital surveillance, terrorism, end times, hate, flippancy, religion, fanaticism, politics, sex, love, family, twins (doppelgangers), und so forth, ad nauseam, c'est la vie, and life and kids in the park and eating and drinking and then sunshine and blue skies
There is no storyline, logic, or much character backstory, it is darkness, cinematic atmosphere a la noir, with, did I mention, vertigo, drones, guns, nuclear war. Europe, America, Islam, exotica, profanity, more bombs. Life, depression, death, always on screen, somewhere, rhythmic, haunted soundtrack
Although well acted, with conviction, it cannot be recommended for neurotypicals, or anybody who needs to know WTF is actually going on, or anybody who likes to find in fiction a modicum of relief or escape
Look out for the jokes (just kidding), as Ethan Hawke bookends this petit dejeuner de chien, with philosophical commentary clips, in a amusingly and buttock-clenchingly flowerpowered monologue to camera.
Paris Police 1900 (2021)
Sumptuous, dark, and confused
Wonderful production values in this immersive crime and politics serial set in la belle epoque Paris. Scene after scene is perfectly conceived and performed. Gruesome violence and antiSemitic bile are just about contained in this gothic universe. Unfortunately there are just too many characters, whose motivations are lost in the misty streets, secret dealings, mad passions and cunning plans at hand. Ultimately we are excluded because it is hard to know or care what is going on. We are just left to wonder how such ugliness seems so beautiful.