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Winter War (2017)
If Truth be Told
The title of this movie in ROKU was Winter War. The title I needed to use to find it in IMDB was The Frozen Front. The title used in this review's window is Winter War. Then when it was published, The Frozen Front. Go figure.
I immediately recognized the format of this movie. It was French. French cinematography relies heavily on this monolog philosophical rant about the topic at hand. Each character will have their time in expressing their position on the topic, and usually its noir. It isn't something I like personally, but the French (France) love it. The Italians to a lesser degree.
And there are times when the plot justifies it for my enjoyment. There aren't too many American films that do this. However, one that come close to mind is Taxi Driver. To a much lesser degree, Mike Hammer detective stories.
What rubbed me the wrong way was the script's attempt to paint the harsh and deadly reality of war this French unit had to endure. It gave the impression that they were the only ones, and this was the ultimate hell on earth. To an individual in any theatre of war, it is true, however, the script spent way too much time on it, and it was too simplistic riddled with American cliches. Those of us who have knowledge of harsher conditions, we may begin to feel annoyed as the dialog carries on. One military unit that dealt successfully with hardships and death and were quite successful in WWII was the First Special Service Force. A combination of American and Canadian commandos.
Which leads me to think that maybe it was the translation form French to English. Often, a cliche in one language has no direct corresponding cliché in the other. I notice this quite often in Italian cinematography. When dealing with light humour, this isn't a big deal. When dealing with a serous plot/dialog, this may become torture. A cliche will summarize the emotions and ideas in few words for that language and culture. That is its strength and popularity. Another similar cliche in another language will not convey the same qualities, hence, the script dialog is broken, and the thought process limps and struggles resulting in very negative reviews from Anglophones and positive reviews for Francophones.
As an Anglophone and Italophone, I'm torn between a low rating or higher. I decided to give it three because it was presented in English and the more care should have been given in the English dubbing. But given that the script relied enormously on the style mentioned above, I can't see how it could have been done.
In closing.... it's a war movie focussed on the hardships a small group of men had to endure, both psychologically and physically, in the last days of WWII.
4 metà (2022)
My Italian wife and I (also) Loved it and here is why. .
Has the reader ever been to Italy? Besides the tourist traps, has the reader actually lived life in Italy? My wife and I are Italian, living in Canada and the United States. Between the two of us, we have thousands of relatives in Italia. We found Canadians more sophisticated in their movie tastes than Americans. Especially Quebec where we live part of the time. We were not surprised when we read "confusing" in the critiques, and we actually expected it.
Europeans find Americans emotionally dull. And I'm afraid that the movie reviews testify to that. Italian/European cinematography often explores the human experience from many focal points inviting the viewer to experience the emotions it evokes, even if it is uncomfortable. In American cinematography, Americans are spoon-fed.
After the movie, my wife and I shared our experiences with the film. Who we thought was better suited for the other and why. What-ifs were asked. We commented on the scenarios throughout the film, and often, we changed our minds. We understood the film's format within the first thirty minutes and were very excited at the prospects. And because we are so familiar with life in Italy, little needed to be explained. From the start of the film, we know the doctor had an interest in Chiara, and somehow, it would weave itself into the plot. We laughed at the pizza ingredients when Giulia was announcing her pregnancy. And relished the continued change from Giulia and Chiara when the bride exited the wedding limo at the church to marry Matteo.... who was the soul mate?
Who should we marry in real life? Who is the perfect mate for you? However, few ask if you are the ideal mate for them. Why? You are afraid of the answer. And in this film.... how much truth will you share with your mate as you both view it? What if?
A brilliant film. It should be viewed with friends. Vorrei scusarmi se ho messo a disagio qualcuno con le mie critiche al cinema americano. Tuttavia, è la verità.
Amazing Winter Romance (2020)
Feel Good Movie
This is a good feel-good Hallmark movie. Hallmark movies are feel-good movies with low drama, sometimes spiritual, happy ending movies. If you need drama, action (world coming to an end), mystery, sexy love scenes, Hallmark movies are not for you. This is a sugary warm apple fritter with coffee in a good ole Canadian coffee shop feel good, picker upper movie.
The location is Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The maze is located in a small town just minutes away from Winnipeg in the upper northeast area. That maze is real. It really happens. The main street shots with the beautiful buildings and bridge over a river thing are Winnipeg. And there's much more to the city. Skyscrapers, anyone?
Jessy Schram did an amazing thing; she had very little makeup on. Did you notice? She's one of those, hmm, not-so-knockout beauty at first site kind of girl. Without the aid of makeup, her beauty slowly penetrates your mind, and before you know it, she hooks you. Suddenly, you find yourself looking forward to close-ups... and for myself, I wished I was thirty years younger.
The chemistry between Julia Miller and Nate Perry was not over the top; you've got mail, impossible to find in real-life connections. The chemistry was simply natural. And that makes it easy for you, the viewer, to put yourself in their snowshoes. Typically, Hallmark has a tough time with chemistry, but this was acceptable.
Julia Miller and Nate Perry's acting was natural. In movies, one person completes a sentence and then the other starts theirs. One sentence here.... and another there.... and another. But in real life, we often start a sentence in the middle of someone's sentence. It's like, we get the gist, now for the next point. In several scenes, this movie did just that. And that's unusual. And refreshing. Once again, it's real enough that the viewer can imagine being there.
One thing I like, as a born Canadian naturalized American, is the phrases that popped up here and there by the Canadian cast. Nate Perry, in one scene, used the phrase, "Hometime." That's a phrase I grew up within Toronto and haven't heard since my move to the States (Chicago, Boston, Orlando). That's not surprising. One of the writers was from Montreal. So, for Canadians viewing, it comes off as a bit of a kick. While we're on the subject, Jessy Schram has a Chicago accent. Most of the cast have a Canadian accent. See if you can hear it.
The supporting cast was superb. Came across as natural and unforced. And they did what was needed, support the main characters without trying to steal the show.
Often, especially with Hallmark, you expect the shoe to drop two-thirds in. In this movie, it didn't happen. What did happen was character development. Julia Miller slowly fell in love with Nate, overcoming fear, and Nate's character developed to overcome rejection. The crescendo was typical Hallmark.
Which reminds me... I suddenly have a craving for an apple fritter and coffee... in a Canadian coffee shop.
Travelling Salesman (2012)
What would you do?
Taking a deep breath... I need to tell you all what I saw.
First, the science behind it. We have problems, solutions to problems and verification to the solutions to the problem. More often than not, the solution to a problem takes more time than the verification of the solution. For example.... a crossword puzzle. The hints may seem vague at the start, and it does take some time. But once finished, you can verify the solution against the hints and suddenly those hints don't look as vague and as a result it took very little time to check.
Another popular example is Sudoku. The game, as with the crossword puzzle, is populated with a few solutions. In this game, there are a set of rules as to how to solve the remaining spaces. It takes time because of the many combinations. Eventually, you are finished. The time it takes to check the solution against the rules is relatively very short.
Wouldn't it be nice to find a way to solve the initial problem as quickly as how we verified it. Wouldn't it be nice to come up with a piece of logic that will peek into the future to see the verification phase and use that to solve the problem initially?
Parallelism, in an argument, is used to explain something in a fashion familiar to another person. I was used in the movie. If I place an object, a coin, in the desert filled with sand, how long would it take to find that coin? Obviously, it would take a good deal of time... years. But let's say I change the sand, through applied heat, into glass. How long would it now take to find that coin? Not too long... days. We changed something to match a simple verification.
Imagine using this piece of logic to break into a company network to steal their data, bank and intellectual theft? Imagine breaking into the military defence grid, national security? Imagine breaking into an Apple iPhone, personal privacy? Imagine discovering the drug to cure cancer, humankind?
Another parallelism briefly brought up in the film was the Manhattan Project and Robert Oppenheimer. All too late, the scientists discovered that this new science and the application they verified was horrible. It can kill far more than they had believed possible with terrible consequences. One country alone could rule the world and worse, use it. Oppenheimer wanted to share this discovery with the rest of the world. If everyone had the technology, no one country would dare to use it. And, there were great benefits..... endless supply of electricity without polluting the world. Please look up Molten Salt Reactors. Instead.... Truman kept it secret and used it on two Japanese cities with no military targets. Today, new evidence reveals that the Japanese were prepared to surrender, and it was the Russians in Manchuria that convinced the Japanese that they would get a better deal with the Americans. Truman used the bomb to show Stalin that American had the resolve to use it. These series of poor judgement eventually led to the Cold War. (Oliver Stone, The Untold History of the United States)
This movie rehashes what happened in New Mexico and how deceitful a government perceived to be the good guys can be. "I own YOU!"
Have we changed? Could this happen again? What would you do?
Legion of Brothers (2017)
Not a Complete Picture
This documentary, and the brief synopsis offered here leaves the viewer/reader with the impression that military forces from the United States alone were involved.
As is often the case with American documentary/fictional cinematography, focus is placed almost entirely on the American element leaving the viewer to assume that no other country participated. This leads to embarrassing situations when historical fact is challenged. Therefore, keep in mind that this documentary is representative of the American forces, specifically, the units mentioned and the brave men who formed them.
Dimensions (2011)
The reality of enjoying a movie
Science fiction is a finicky thing. Depending on your approach and your tastes and background, this flick can either be 1 to 10. I encourage the reader to read the reviews as a form of entertainment in itself, I would also ask the reader to refrain from critiquing this movie as if it had a limitless budget and was hell bent on employing the best special effects possible. In other words, a Hollywood movie. Sadly, too many of our young are trapped there.
It has been my experience that the best SciFi allows you to use your imagination. You read SciFi and imagine great things that Hollywood couldn't begin to portray. "The Time Machine", 1960, must be one of the greatest movies in this subject. It has roots in H.G.Wells' 1895 "The Time Machine" novel. Interesting point, the character in the movie shares a similar name with the author of the book. The acting may not be the best, the special effects not out of this world and the script could use more "airing". Your imagination, however, takes over and fills in the blanks to make it a very interesting movie to this date. If the script and story line can allow your imagination to flourish, then at the end of the movie you find yourself thinking. Although the movie ended.... you're still going.
It's nice to see special effects to replace your imagination every now and then but I find it's best when it is left to the imagination. This is why most stories that try to make the transition from book to movie fail.
On acting.... you may have an idea how a soldier would reacted when facing a platoon of the enemy on his own. We can draw from our limited experience. But has anyone ever met an alien? How does one act when stepping into a time machine? How does one act when they fall in love with someone who wishes to step into a time machine. You can have a whole movie on that alone. Acting in this instance should allow some leeway for the viewer to fill in with their imagination. On the other hand, acting may be what saves the scene such as the end scene to Casablanca with a fake aircraft with little people or La Marseillaise scene sung in defiance to the Germans. In this movie, although the genre was SciFi, the secondary theme was love. Another, loss. Yet another, jealousy. This requires fine acting, not supper acting, and I think it was done adequately well. Not great but well. To tell you the truth, my heart broke for one of the characters.
Lets use our imagination on one angle of the movie.... sound. If you wish to employ frequencies in your experiment and need a fundamental series of frequencies, the piano is an interesting choice. And it's calibrated to some standard. Believe it or not, there are a few established standards in piano calibration and tuning. The piano can be a scientific instrument in every sense of the word. So it wasn't a screwball idea to use a piano. But a piano is also musical. It has Rhythm and beats and bars. Now, imagine an infinite number of future threads to an event. In a song, we may have four beats to a bar. Every four beats you repeat. And repeat. And repeat. Almost as if it is infinite. It generates a Rhythm that explores a theme, or event. Changing notes in one bar with just four beats (4/4 for example) could change the entire theme of the song. Mapping out the future of Victoria's event in the well and navigating it successfully with a sound signature (so may beats to a bar) is an interesting connection to the piano. We can now layer other life experiences to music, such as falling in love, as was the case when they danced through the time map to music, expanding the parallelism to a theme or song. Interesting? How about dancing to music when the old man removed their masks in the beginning of the movie? How about our young hero dancing with the blindfold on in front of the well after removing the welded well cap at the start?
In my experience, I have found that the best attributes to enjoying good SciFi is the person's ability to imagine. Overload the person with special effects and at the end of the movie the person may experience relief (and to beat the crowd out of the theater) instead of thought provocative mesmorization as your view the credits.
Enjoy this movie and see what happens to you at the end.