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Showing posts with label Juliette Binoche. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Juliette Binoche. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 31, 2024

MOVIE REVIEW: THE RETURN

 






















After 20 years away, Odysseus washes up on the shores of Ithaca, haggard and unrecognizable. The king finds much has changed since he left to fight in the Trojan War. His beloved wife, Penelope, is a prisoner in her own home and hounded to choose a new husband. Their son faces death at the hands of suitors who see him as an obstacle in their pursuit of Penelope and the kingdom. Odysseus is no longer the mighty warrior his people remember, but he must face his past to save his family.

Director: Uberto Pasolini

Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche, Charlie Plummer, Marwan Kenzari, Claudio Santamaria, Tom Rhys Harries, Ángela Molina

Release Date: December 6, 2024

Genre: History

Rated R for violence, some sexual content, graphic nudity and language.

Runtime: 1h 56m

Review:

Uberto Pasolini's ultra grounded take on the back half of The Odyssey is powered by a pair of stellar performances from its central duo of Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche.  Pasolini strips away all the Greek gods from the original text, focusing more on the human toll taken by the hero's search for glory.  This naturalistic take on the material focuses more on the mental state of central characters of Odysseus, Penelope and Telemachus as opposed to action or intrigue.  It makes for a film that's decidedly light on frills with Pasolini setting up scenes for performers to shine.  Ralph Fiennes carrying an emaciated and battered frame delivers a powerful but understated performance as an Odysseus haunted by the specter of war and the choices that led him there.  Fiennes has an ability to communicate volumes worth of emotional information with a single look or mannerism.  It’s not a particularly dialogue heavy role but he proves more than capable of giving the audience a real sense of the death and remorse his character has experienced during his long journey home.  Juliette Binoche is equally impressive as the ever-dutiful Penelope whom she imbues with quiet intensity and strength.   When Binoche and Fiennes finally share the screen, she delivers an emotionally powerful monologue that she imbues with a Shakespearean sensibility.  It serves as one of the most powerful moments in the film and a solid payoff for investing its occasionally ponderous pacing.  Fiennes and Binoche are thoroughly engaging every time they are onscreen, unfortunately the supporting cast never manages to match their work.  Charlie Plummer's Telemachus lacks the depth or nuance of his onscreen parents which gives the character more of bratty quality that feels off.  Marwan Kenzari's Antinous is more intriguing, but he's never given enough screentime to flesh out his character and singular focus on becoming Penelope's new husband.  It’s a shame because it would have given the story an interesting angle from one of the suitors who isn't an outright barbarian.  It’s the kind of thing that would have added to the effectiveness of the film but stumbles aside The Return succeeds on the power of its two stars.  

B

Saturday, April 1, 2017

MOVIE REVIEW: GHOST IN THE SHELL







































In a future in which humanity and technology have begun to merge, a cybernetically enhanced policewoman (Scarlett Johansson) hunts a mysterious terrorist who can hack into his victims' minds and control their thoughts and memories. Her pursuit eventually leads her to discover the full truth about her traumatic past. Pilou Asbaek, Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, and Michael Pitt co-star. Directed by Rupert Sanders (Rupert Sanders), Ghost in the Shell is based on a popular Japanese manga series, which was already adapted into an iconic anime film of the same name. ~ Jack Rodgers, Rovi

Director: Rupert Sanders

Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Pilou Asbæk, Takeshi Kitano, Juliette Binoche, Michael Pitt

Release Date: Mar 31, 2017

Rated PG-13 for some Disturbing Images, Intense Sci-Fi Violence and Suggestive Content

Runtime: 1 hr. 42 min.

Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Review:

The 1995 Ghost in the Shell anime is a personal favorite of mine so the live action iteration had a lot to live up to.  Rupert Sanders nails the aesthetic, borrowing elements from Blade Runner and A.I., throughout.  Sanders seems most comfortable replicating iconic sequences from the classic anime and he does it well.  The action set pieces are impressive throughout.  It’s hard not to be impressed by some of the shots but it’s a shame that the story was neutered.  Ghost in the Shell was always a heady meditation on souls, “ghost”, and technology so it’s not unexpected that live action story would be made a bit more palpable.  Unfortunately, it’s stripped down to a Jason Borne meets Robocop plot.  Thankfully, Scarlett Johansson is excellent as the Major even if she’s not given much narrative meat to chew on.  Still, she is always the most interesting thing on screen.  That being said decidedly multicultural supporting cast is a spot on.  Pilou Asbæk is a solid Batou even if his voice leans closer to Sin City’s Marv than it should.  Sadly, Michael Pitt isn’t given much to do as the primary antagonist since he’s just there to move the plot along more than anything else.  The live action Ghost in the Shell is an origin story, so fans should hope that future installments have a bit more meat behind the glossy shell.

B-

Sunday, November 15, 2015

Cindy Prascik's Review of The 33










































Dearest Blog: today it was off to Marquee Cinemas for an uncommon treat: Lou Diamond Phillips on the big screen in The 33. Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers or the news. 
 
A mine in Chile collapses, trapping 33 miners underground for over two months. 
 
Dear reader(s), make no mistake: This is a fascinating, inspiring story that's more than worth hearing. 
 
Shame somebody couldn't do a better job of telling it. 
 
For The 33's purposes, it's not good enough that these men survived such extraordinary circumstances. 
 
Not good enough, the genuine angst of family and friends camped out waiting for any small bit of news. Not good enough, the folks whose great leaps of faith ensured hope was never abandoned. 
 
The melodrama is laid on so thick that connecting to any real emotion is...well...about as easy as finding a bunch of guys buried under thousands of feet of solid rock. The miners' personalities are so broadly-drawn they're little more than caricatures, and the dialogue is just plain cheesy. 
 
That's the bad news. The good news is, an excessive runtime doesn't really feel like it. Despite a well-known outcome, the movie still expertly maintains tension as the audience waits with the miners' loved ones for any positive sign. We West Virginians are no strangers to holding our collective breath through such events, and the painful experience is effectively portrayed onscreen. 
 
There's some strong work among the supporting cast, even if most of the headliners are quite over the top. Lou Diamond Phillips is amazing, because Lou Diamond Phillips is always amazing. (That's a scientific fact.) There are some good laughs and some cheap ones--the good ones lightening the mood at just the right moments--and James Horner's score is terrific. 
 
Overall, an imperfect exercise, but still worth a look. The 33 clocks in at 127 minutes and is rated PG13 for "a disaster sequence and some language." The 33 isn't a terrible movie, yet it's hard not to think such a great story deserves better. Of a possible nine Weasleys, The 33 gets five. Until next time...











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