Cinema and Popcorn

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TINY REVIEWS: "Wicked", "No Other Choice", "It Was Just an Accident", "Train Dreams" and "After the Hunt"

WICKED: FOR GOOD It suffers from the fact the second part plot isn't as interesting as the first one's and the songs are much less iconic, but WICKED: FOR GOOD still delivers an entertaining and engaging cinematic experience, mostly because of a duo made in Heaven (Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande doing even better than in the previous movie, specially Grande who gets the opportunity to explore her character deeply). Great costume and production design, an improvement in cinematography and some interesting editing (see "The Girl in the Bubble" scenes) sure compensate the pretty average VFX work, . John M. Chu proves once again he loves the material and it shows. Not as good as the first one (I found Michelle Yeoh particularly bad in this one to be honest), but it still good enough to enjoy and be amazed by some parts. Their rendition of "For Good" got me crying almost as much as Elphaba and Glinda. RATING: 6,5/10 NO OTHER CHOICE Led by a mesmerizing perform...

The 250 Best Performances of the Last 25 Years (2000-2024)

The year 2025 marks the beginning of a new quarter of the second millenium and I decided to make a little retrospective and analyse some of the best and most iconic performances of the last 25 years. Some earned their performer the recognition of a career, others aged like fine wine and there are some I feel that are yet to be discovered, little gems not every moviegoer knows. From 2000 to 2024 I tried to pick ONLY 250 (I know it seems a lot, but in such a vast and rich medium, I felt it was an hard task). First, my 12 honorable mentions and then I will start the countdown as I will be updating this post with the performances I picked, with a little review of each one. HONORABLE MENTIONS Sissy Spacek , In the Bedroom (2001) Audrey Tautou , Amélie (2001) Reese Witherspoon , Legally Blonde (2001) Nicole Kidman , The Hours (2002) Don Cheadle , Hotel Rwanda (2004) Carmen Maura , Volver (2006) Eddie Murphy , Dreamgirls (2006) Benicio Del Toro , Che (2008) Mickey Rourke , The Wrestl...

Tiny Reviews: "Frankenstein", "Eleanor the Great", "Black Phone 2" and "A House of Dynamite"

FRANKENSTEIN Guillermo Del Toro failed to amaze me with Frankenstein , but he still delivered a full cinematic meal: the crafts are amazing; Jacob Elordi is mesmerizing; and the director makes sure the Creature is no monster but a victim of a wicked mind. Still, some scenes felt sloppy and the movie took some time to catch my full attention, but I found peculiar how The Creature's point of view takes central stage and how it reflects Victor's own relationship with his father. A nice and noble film. Oscar Isaac and Mia Goth are nice but they can't match Elordi brilliance in this one - an extremely empathetic performance able to convey so much through his eyes and through the way he moves. Visually striking film from costume design to production design to Laustsen's cinematography! Not at the same level as Pan's Labyrinth or The Shape of Water , but it's a fine and noble film from Del Toro. RATING: 7/10 ELEANOR THE GREAT A tale about grieving and a study about lo...

Tiny Reviews: "Sinners", "Fantastic Four: First Steps", "Caught Stealing", "The Conjuring: Last Rites" and "The Long Walk"

SINNERS Ambitious, beautifully shot (and scored) and it features an impressive ensemble cast at the top of its game - Sinners is one of the most interesting films of the year so far. It's full of commentary about Black identity, the white appropriation of Black cultural elements (it's my take on Jack O'Connell's character wanting to "have" Samuel's music) and how Black people had to live and work together in a world that doesn't see them as equals. Sinners ' first two acts are superb, but Coogler lowers the bar a little for me during a more action-packed third act. Wunmi Mosaku delivers the best performance in the entire film (a soulful turn full of layers of grief), with Delroy Lindo, Miles Caton and Hailee Steinfeld also delivering high caliber turns. Michael B. Jordan gets the job done as a commanding leading man while Jack O'Connell makes for a chilling villain. The music and sound work are award caliber and the messy energy of the film j...

REVIEW: "One Battle After Another"

Genre: Drama; Thriller. Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti One Battle After Anohter might well be one of the most interesting films of the year: it explores extremely profound subjects in disguise of an action film. Immigration, racial issues, the craving for revolution and change, unconditional love, empathy, community values and courage... Paul Thomas Anderson delivers it all in what might well be his most entertaining cinematic ride and he executes beautifully - his latest film feels like a full package. The movie starts like a heist film: a group of revolutionaries take a militarized immigration enforcement center and it ignites the first act where characters meet and interact in ways that will influence the second one (which takes place 16 years after) in ways I can't describe (SPOILERS). It takes its time and we get to be amazed by Teyana Ta...

REVIEW: "The Secret Agent" / "O Agente Secreto"

Genre: Drama; Comedy; Thriller; Crime Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho Writer: Kleber Mendonça Filho Starring: Wagner Moura, Alice Carvalho, Gabriel Leone, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Isabél Zuaa, Udo Kier and Tânia Maria I was fortunate for having Kleber Mendonça Filho presenting the film himself in my session, because he recalled some aspects of the movie he wanted the audience to be aware of: this movie represents an act of resistance and an ode to the importance of the press and cultural spaces (like a theatre) as powerful weapons against authoritarian regimes. So, The Secret Agent is actually some kind of parable about acts of resistance in the form of a political thriller - it's a slow burning film that is smartly balanced with truly funny comedic scenes and some moments of pure human joy that show the movie's true heart beneath its disguise - it's more of a satire to a corrupt system than a manhunt film. It's some kind of cinematic marvel in its own right. The story ...