Upgrade (2018) Short Review

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I’ve recently watched the John Wick franchise’s first two movies again, and felt actually way more underwhelmed than the first time I watched them. I really like Keanu Reeves and I think he worked a lot to accomplish the action scenes on these movies.

But I noticed that the action on Wick‘s movies might sometimes comes across as pretty much just that – action. No actual depth of character.

Nevertheless, John Wick is a fun franchise. But while watching Upgrade, a fun little movie from Leigh Whannell, I identified some fresh takes on the genre that actually surprised me.

I could describe it as an action movie with a strong narrative concept, choreographed with beauty and featuring fresh perspectives on the craft of directing. Plus, there was some cool acting from Logan Marshall-Green (Grey).

Grey in Upgrade.

Us (2019) Short Review

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The latest movie from director Jordan Peele follows down the social thriller path once again. This time, though, it didn’t leave me so thrilled.

Of course I’d never bash a movie for not following up to its genre. I don’t think that’s noble or very hard to do, for that matter. But what I expected, from watching Us, was a brilliantly made metaphor with strong characters – much like Get Out, Peele’s previous success.

Little Adelaide in “Us”

Berberian Sound Studio (2012) Short Review

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This is my first review since 2018. Things have been busy. After watching Berberian Sound Studio (3 months ago), I’ve decided to come back to reviewing with a short reflection about this drama/mystery/thriller.

This is a rather curious film. Not necessarily following any genre trend, Berberian is somewhat a sensorial amalgamation. It confuses the watcher because the main character is confused – and that’s great narrative power right there.

Toby Jones in Berberian Sound Studio.

Unsane (2018) Short Review

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As soon as I watched it, it really made an impression on me, but after a while, it turned into a somewhat forgettable movie. Nevertheless, it’s a good narrative for an analysis.

Soderbergh made a point of filming Unsane with an iPhone, for extra-filmic reasons, and it made an impact on the overall reception of this narrative about (in)sanity, neglect and violence: the interesting framings and camera movements made possible a more direct dialogue with the theme, communicating the growing angst inside Sawyer and the increasingly dreadful situation, thus creating yet another narrative layer. I kept wondering, though, how would it be if a gritty, grainy film had been used ( it could’ve improved the technical latitude for the visuals. Something with the grand aesthetics of The Killing of a Sacred Deer is what comes to mind when I think about this).

Origin (2017) Short Review

Author: Dan Brown

Find it on Goodreads.

“Where do we come from? Where are we going?”

I read Origin in two days. Mind you, I’m a film student currently neck-deep in academic research, and yet, I could not put this one down.

Dan Brown is a favorite of mine since The Da Vinci Code, and he has arguably set a unique voice in contemporary literature by incorporating his love for the classics within an edgy and fast paced narrative, which still seems to be the core of his work with the Robert Langdon saga.