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magdalenastampfer
Reviews
The Boy from Medellín (2020)
Another view
It was very interesting, but also somewhat painful to watch. As a J Balvin fan I would love to see him happy, but you see how many struggles he has (and you ask yourself why he puts himself through them, being very strict to himself). I think it was intentional to show, that being a star is not what many people would think it is. The title is well chosen - J Balvin is still a boy from Medellin, a star on the outside, but still insecure and very vulnerable on the inside.
Being a star helps with your bank account but it can make life´s lessons harder to learn. On the one hand the ego is flattered by all these fans, on the other hand there is this deep longing to be loved - but it can only come from the inside, and you can clearly see how lost J Balvin sometimes is. So very very brave to show this to the world to see.
The Edge of Seventeen (2016)
deeply disappointed...
Lured by the good reviews we watched it - actually I was looking forward to it very much, but I was left deeply disappointed. The movie is well made, the story might be a little bit foreseeable, but it is in most "teenage movies", but the main character is so difficult to relate to, it's horrible. Every other character is more likable, it somehow hurts to watch and ruins the whole movie. The teacher played by Woody Harrelson is great and that's what earned the three points. You somehow want to make it stop, but still obviously due to some masochistic tendencies we endured it till the end. It could have been great but it simply isn't, as much as it hurts.
Captain Fantastic (2016)
Deeply disappointed...
I've been looking forward to this movie very much, because the storyline was promising - but I was deeply disappointed. I was wondering if I should watch to the end of it, actually I wanted to stop but somehow couldn't because unbelievably the movie kept getting worse and worse. So there was a masochistic part of me which kept me watching. I couldn't really relate to any of the characters and the "escape from society" as it is was pictured in a very extreme and negative way. Horrible to watch and in many parts very difficult to believe. So the mother is in hospital for three months with a mental illness and the father decides to leave her there alone, without any help and stay with his six children in the jungle? No contact with her whatsoever?? Their choice to leave society and live in the woods - OK, this was plausible, even if they overdid it. But with the father's daily training and education programme, which seemed over the top and very stressful it became incoherent - you leave today's society so your children have a peaceful life and then you stress the XXXX out of them? Really? The actors did a fine job, but you can't really relate to any of the figures because it is so exaggerated. It seemed to me someone wanted to make a point at all costs that any alternative lifestyle is not live-able, stressful, extreme, horrible. And the family was indeed not very likable. So two hours of cultural torture...