A Single Man

Director: Tom Ford

Cast: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult, Mathew Goode

Year: 2010

Genre: Drama

Rating:

Cinema-Reader – 8.0
IMDB – 8.0
FilmAffinity – 7.2

(Click picture for Trailer)

Cinema-Reader Synopsis:

George (Colin Firth) is being drowned in a life full of sorrows and loneliness since his lover Jim (Mathew Goode) passed away in a car accident.

For him, life is no longer worth living, and therefore he prepares himself to join his beloved boyfriend in the afterlife with a suicide.

However, when life couldn’t seem more pointless and dark; is when one of George’s students, Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), shows up changing radically his point of view about future and fate.

Cinema-Reader Review:

Technically a beauty for all senses, the very first raid into film industry of Tom Ford (fashion guru that boosted Gucci’s back in the 90’s placing its name once again within the Olympus of top fashion brands) left a work full of details that labels the viewer with a feeling of perfection in every frame that makes all candidatures on Academy Awards this year more than deserved. This perfection is clearly featured on the suits and clothes, and the obsession of Ford with the human beauty transmitted by the eyes, lips, gestures…

Plus, Colin Firth is on with his all time finest performance of a tormented medium age man seeking desperately for an exit of a world completely unbearable for him which dark and hopeless vision of future is changed by the appearance of a young, lively and adventurous Kenny (Hoult).

However, regular public has a division in opinions regarding the film. Although by moments a bit slow, I do believe this is the right speed for driving this esthetical master piece. An upper gear would have messed up the detailed way in which was shot that contains indeed the full beauty of this film.

The Wolfman

Director: Joe Johnston

Cast: Benicio de Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving

Year: 2010

Genre: Horror / Thriller

Rating:

Cinema-Reader – 6.3
IMDB – 6.6
FilmAffinity – 5.4

(Click picture for Trailer)

Cinema-Reader Synopsis:

Lawrence Talbot (Del Toro) is forced to be back in his hometown after immigrating to the United States for the fatal and upon uncertain reasons lose of his brother.

Determined to find out who’s the responsible for his brother brutal death and urged by some feeling that blossom towards his brother’s fiancée Gwen (Emily Blunt), he ends up being beaten by a strange creature and thereafter carrying with a curse that transforms him into a Wolf man during full moon nights. Hunter becomes hunted.


Cinema-Reader Review:

New approach to the horror classic that unfortunately doesn’t bring anything new to former films.
The main reason to be blame for is the script.
A screenplay too straightforward that flights over the characters without even dive within the complexity of a man hunted by his own nightmares due to a tough childhood (mother assassination included) or a father with more than a secret to hide played by the always enigmatic and more than suitable for dark characters Anthony Hopkins.

It’s difficult to get some good from a film that bases all the interest over the shoulders of the visual effects (a bit shoddy by the way) ruling out anything else.
After the advertising and marketing campaign launched in order to promote this film, after a promising trailer that I must confess got my attention; a sensation of something good (not even great) was about to come seems now a hoax.

Invictus

Director: Clint Eastwood


Cast: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon


Year: 2009


Genre: Drama


Rating:


Cinema-Reader – 8.3
IMDB – 7.6

FilmAffinity – 7.3

(Click picture for Trailer)

Cinema-Reader Synopsis:

Film that describes the struggle of Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) to gather together a nation fallen apart owing to the apartheid endured for decades through using the National Rugby Team and the World Cup which took place within South African soil in 1995.

After attending a match, he realises that black people supports other teams, no matter which country they are, whilst just white people are behind the national team.

Therefore, and in order to do that, Mandela supports his effort on Francois Pienaar’s shoulders (Matt Damon), captain of Springboks, that will uphold for Mandela’s fight as his, focusing their target on the Rugby World Cup Championship.


Cinema-Reader Review:

Supported on stunning performances (both Freeman and Damon harvested Academy nominations) and a solid script (also nominated) based upon John Carlin’s novel Playing the enemy: Nelson Mandela and the game that changed a Nation; Clint Eastwood runs a breathtaking story of fight and faith.

Taking a game as apex for the story, Eastwood greatly develops both Mandela’s and Pienaar’s fights for different goals underneath the same aim.

The technically beauty of the rugby game frames is worthy to be highlighted. Eastwood used real rugby players to add a dose of realism to the game itself (Off the record, this is the reason Matt Damon doesn’t appear tackling or being tackled, passing the ball or even in a scrum) standing out from many previous attempts that failed notoriously. Cause there isn’t anything as fake as a guy kicking a ball, shooting to basket or whatsoever without a fucking idea of how to play (i.e. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers in Bend it like Beckham or Madonna in A league of their Own).

Here, you can feel pain in every tackle as you were the one being tackled. The way in which the scrums were shot makes you feel within the middle of those huge animals rugby players are.

Despite has been panned by some critics that point out the fact that just Mandela’s life is barely touch instead of being squeezed deeply, is worth saying that the plot sets in the spotlight the game and develop all around (as secondary buy essential part) Mandela first years as South African first black president.