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astrakhan

astrakhan
Member Since
06 Apr 2009
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TCI
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3762
ratings
3682
Films
77
Shorts
4
TV Series
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1
collections
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Recent ratings
2113
Minireviews
1123
Starred reviews
See all TCIs
3682
Films
77
Shorts
4
TV Series
See all ratings
0
Recent ratings
2113
Minireviews
1123
Starred reviews
Bio: Insatiable, omnivorous cinephile. For every film I watch, two more unwatched ones grow back in its place!
Featured Reviews
84 91%
Midnight in Paris
Midnight in Paris (2011) - Rated 14 May 2011
A fun escapist adventure in which Allen tries to catapult us and himself into an alluring bygone world of fantasy and romance, but every time he comes close to making magic he is let down by his urge for silliness and buffoonery. The film is propelled largely by jazz music, costumes and name-dropping, a gimmick which brings regular laughs. But it also feels lightweight with a lot of loose ends. More of a sketched idea, than polished prose. Still it's one of his most entertaining films in years.
82 85%
Shrew\
Shrew's Nest (2014) - Rated 24 Jan 2017
A superior psychological horror - that genre the Spanish seem to be so good at recently - which turns into a bloodbath. The story is a slow burner, but its elements fit very nicely together. Macarena Gómez carries the film tremendously - she steals every scene she's in. The mise-en-scène also deserves plaudits, with crisp cinematography, a well-chosen colour palette, period detail, and lots of religious imagery and intense facial close-ups. Suspenseful, terrifying, and good to look at too.
78 57%
I Am Love
I Am Love (2010) - Rated 18 Apr 2010
Guadagnino brings fantastic camerawork and strong visuals reminiscent of Paolo Sorrentino. I loved his use of soft-focus, shallow depth-of-field photography with an abundance of natural light to show the intimacy of the romantic scenes. However I found the grandiose music off-putting and the script's grandiloquent brush strokes a bit pretentious - under all the posh trimmings the main course is a love story which is meaty enough to be a meal in itself. The soap opera ending was a disaster.
87 95%
The Secret of My Success
The Secret of My Success (1987) - Rated 15 Apr 2009
This exciting caper flick mixes elements of Ferris Bueller, Working Girl and Back To The Future. Fox plays himself and the script offers up plenty of fun surprises and precarious escapades. Who doesn't like situations where a character has to change his clothes in an elevator every 5 minutes to play different identities? Another quality 80s family film which can sit on a par with John Hughes's best efforts of that decade. The only downer is the awful tacked-on deus ex machina ending.
79 66%
Greenberg
Greenberg (2010) - Rated 19 Jun 2010
At times Stiller's portrayal of the confused and directionless Greenberg left me cold. I could identify but not buy into or sympathise with his self-destructive eccentricities. Eventually, though, the film's characters did grow on me. Well, with Greta Gerwig it was not that difficult. I left fairly satisfied with the film's conclusions, but perhaps not with its journey there. The highlight was some of the relationships and dialogues, which were genuinely touching and real. More please, Baumbach.
30 0%
Synecdoche, New York
Synecdoche, New York (2008) - Rated 27 Dec 2009
Charlie Kaufman's head has disappeared so far up his own ass that it has re-emerged from his own mouth as a stinking, shit-smeared parody of itself. Evidently that was the inspiration for his latest movie, which is just awful, unintelligible, incoherent, meaningless drivel. One of the few films I have been unable to sit through to the end. Shades of the quirkiness that made BJM and Adaptation so good, but trying too hard, it vanishes into a puff of smoke that should set off anyone's BS detector.
82 85%
Palmetto
Palmetto (1998) - Rated 10 Apr 2009
This movie is underrated! I always enjoyed the idea of a modern take on a noir set in a very atypical tropical setting. There are some nice-looking locations and shots in this movie. The plot is ok, fairly original but with a silly ending. Harrelson and Sevigny put in good performances but Elisabeth Shue's femme fatale steals the show. Also the most accessible film by a difficult, inconsistent director.
88 96%
Le Premier jour du reste de ta vie
Le Premier jour du reste de ta vie (2008) - Rated 18 Aug 2009
This film deals in universal issues of love, life, death and family that anyone can relate to. The lives of the protagonists are painted in such vivid detail, and their escapades are so emotionally fulfilling, that it creates an immersive experience which seems almost hyper-real. Huge credit to Bezonçon and all the cast for making such a satisfying coming-of-age movie, in fact five movies in one. Finally a modern French family is portrayed on the big screen, no holds barred. Great music too.
92 98%
Living in Oblivion
Living in Oblivion (1995) - Rated 30 Mar 2010
Right from scene 1 I could tell this was going to be brilliant. The portrayal of the endless frustrations and compromises of a low-budget film shoot is caricaturish, but also gloriously true to some real life experiences I have had. Film world outsiders can learn just how hard it is to make a film by watching this, and us insiders can laugh about the process. The performances are also superb across the board, particularly Steve Buscemi and Dermot Mulroney. DiCillo is a very underrated director.
82 85%
Coldblooded
Coldblooded (1995) - Rated 10 Mar 2010
Likeable for the minimalism and directness of its script, and for the relentlessly logical and emotionless world view of its central character. The humour is essentially black but tends more towards the quirky or weird. Good casting. Decent direction and production values despite the small scale of the film, a good example to budding filmmakers. The ending was slightly weak; the film seems to chicken out of having a message, after suggesting for quite a while that it is going to have one.