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Berlinale Day 2: Barrage (2017)
It’s not an exciting movie, in a sense. Yet there are moments where it manages to connect and resonate, which has the power to outdo mere excitement. So yes, there is some reward at the end of this particular winding road. Read more
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Berlinale Day 2: Django (2017)
Django would have been a much better experience, had it stuck to its music. As another survival movie from the war, it falls flat, especially compared to some of the previously released hard-hitting productions, be they grim or soulful representations of the horror. Read more
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Berlinale Day 1: The Wound (2017)
All things considered, The Wound stands as a film that, at its best, conveys a unique poetic restraint. It might not shine all the way through, yet it provides insight into a corner of the world that’s usually left in the dark, tackling some big themes on the way Read more
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Movies of the Week #5 (2017)
Then the Lord said ‘let this week be random’. And it was random. Read more
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Movies of the Week #4 (2017)
I’m slumping hard. Movie of the Week: The Edge of Seventeen Friday The Founder (2016): In a very by-the-book movie about Ray Kroc, the ‘founder’ of McDonald’s, we get a bit of everything – a great performance by Michael Keaton, a lesson in (adapted) history and a morality tale about the power of capitalism. What quite… Read more
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Movies of the Week #3 (2017)
Busy, busy week, so I’m left a bit behind on my movie targets. Buuut, on the upside, I’ve finally gone below the 1960s, with a lovely little classic. Movie of the Week: Sherlock Jr. (1924) Monday Sherlock Jr. (1924): I guess it’s more of a mental hassle to get used to the unfamiliar, than it actually… Read more
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Movies of the Week #2 (2017)
The second week is always the hardest. New year’s glow starts to fade, you’ve already failed several resolutions, the weather’s cold, yet the snow is melting. So it’s best not to strive for too much, just make sure you’ve found a rhythm and are in control. Or the illusion thereof. Read more
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Camera obscura (2016): Anachronistic Avantgarde
I do recommend Camera obscura, especially if you have an interest in film-making, because it provides some special moments along the way. It’s just unfortunate that a certain unwillingness to prod deeper and a lack of visionary discipline undermine it over the long run. Read more
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Movies of the Week #1 (2017)
Perhaps it’s as the protagonist herself quotes from Rousseau’s Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse: “We enjoy less what we obtain, than what we desire and are happy only before becoming so.” Read more
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Movies of the Week #52 (2016)
While some of the sad husbands who joined their beloveds would surely disagree with me, as they made gruntingly clear at each musical moment, La La Land puts together a musical narrative that’s at least as impressive as the accomplished aesthetic of the movie. Not that they would likely care about the aesthetic either, to… Read more
