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Film reviews

Bardo: False Chronicle of A Handful of Truths Review

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Alejandro G. Inarritu is a revolutionary director. On top of making numerous award-winning films, he can also direct a masterpiece about a filmmaker. Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is dazzling. It contains many inner emotions of one person that explodes with visuals and all kinds of excitement. The film is like Inarritu’s Birdman (2014) meets Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004). This comparison is because Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths portrays a filmmaker in sporadic stressful moments that lead in exhilarating directions.

Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths has many of the common themes that Inarritu tends to explore in his projects. Issues regarding the past, present, and future are the big ones. With Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, he makes their climax more figuratively classical, and then transitions it to darkness. Still, Inarritu knows how to find clever pieces of joy in spite of the darkness.

Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truthsgears on Silverio Gacho (played by Daniel Gimenez Cacho), a journalist and documentary filmmaker with a lot on his mind. At the start of the film, the story dives into his life. His issues range from dealing with family problems to facing his identity to acknowledging the reality in which he presently lives. Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is a mosaic of thoughts for Gacho, most of which are intriguing and shocking. Its direction takes the cake due to the complex world of problems that keep resulting in revolutionary resolutions.

The concepts of accomplishment and curiosity are what makes this movie spellbinding in both its writing and directing. It is honest in terms of why topics are being revisited and why the challenges are a struggle to be tackled by Gacho. As a fan of Inarritu, my appreciation for his directing is because of the realism he presents in Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths. He exposes the mental struggles of Gacho in his narrative. The journey of Gacho’s conflicts immerse viewers in a world of success and failure with many difficult questions.

Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is one where I found myself thinking about how mindful adventures can create surreal experiences that can be vivid, dark, and engrossing. The performance by Cacho is unbelievably good, as is the film itself. Inarritu’s level of artistic directing goes above and beyond. Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths is not missed. Four stars.

Film reviews

Violent Night Review

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It’s the Christmas season, a time when movies at the theater are popular and fun for holiday cheer. It’s also a time when thriller and action films gain a lot of attention. I would define Violent Night as a comedy thriller with Santa Claus fun thrown in. It’s basically Bad Santa meets Die Hard, topped off with Home Alone.

In Violent Night, David Harbour plays Santa Claus. A wealthy family is together for Christmas and they are being held hostage by mercenaries, including a man, played by John Leguizamo, who refers to himself as Scrooge. In addition to delivering all the Christmas gifts, Santa has the additional task of trying to save the family, despite being drunk most of the time. So does Santa have what it takes to be a savior with also getting all the Christmas presents dropped off? The Christmas spirit is powerful, but is it enough for Santa Claus to save the family and Christmas?

There are lots of twists in this bonkers Christmas Eve adventure. As the tension and violence between Santa Claus and Scrooge increases, Santa needs his naughty and nice list to decide who to take down. It makes for a wild ride with Christmas magic, loaded machine guns, and lots of explosions.

Violent Night may focus on action and violence, but Harbour’s performance does bring holiday cheer in a fun, yet explosive way. The many twists and excitement of Violent Night will have audiences laughing out loud.

I have not had this much fun with a Christmas adventure in a long time. Harbour makes one heck of a Santa Clause. Violent Night is a grown-up Christmas comedy for adults. Be prepared for some Christmas fatalities that happen in magical and amusing ways. This is a film where the fun never ends. I found it to be creative and clever, with more twists than expected. Three stars for Violent Night.

Film reviews

Bones And All Review

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There are many films in which creatures want to live normal lives. There are ones in which they wish they were not what they were born to be. Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All involves a gruesome trail that is harrowing, but mesmerizing. With Taylor Russell and Timothee Chalamet as the creatures, Bones and All is a poetic journey dealing with society and irreparable consequences. The film portrays many grotesque situations and Guadagnino delivers fragments of difficult questions. In Bones and All, the film’s premise speaks for itself.

Bones and All starts with Maren (Russell), a young and lovely lady who cannot resist her urges. She is a cannibal. The time frame the film is set in is Ronald Reagan’s America. Maren’s father has left her to fend for herself. She goes on the road in hopes of starting a new life. She first meets another individual named Sully (played by Mark Rylance) and he is also a cannibal. She does not click with him. Then she meets Lee (Chalamet), another cannibal, but they are both looking for the same thing, a life that is normal. They team-up and drive thousands of miles through Ohio, Kentucky, Iowa, and many other states. They are two cannibals falling in love, but do not want to live the rest of their lives as cannibals. Their journey together makes them want to reconcile with their pasts. They also meet Jake (played by Michael Stuhlbarg) who is a shady guy. All the characters in Bones and All make the audience curious about whether Maren and Lee can find love or acceptance in the rough journey they embark upon. The movie is quite graphic in the beginning, but its overall landscape is rich in feeling for all its characters.

I love Bones and All because of how Guadagnino knows how to blend emotions in the film. He tones down the moments with sad sound effects and captures his characters’ emotions. Bones and All is a story of redemption, but with horrific creatures. However, the director makes it clear that Maren and Lee wish they did not have their cannibalistic urges. Their journey slowly disregards the Hannibal factor and makes love and society the more important elements in Bones and All.

Bones and All has many of the same loving themes as Guadagnino’s Call Me by Your Name (2017). Chalamet and Stuhlbarg both starred in that film as well. Guadagnino transitions Chalamet’s performance from one questioning who he loves to someone wanting love. The only difference is he wants love as a cannibal. Bones and All is strong in the heavy emotional scenarios. Guadagnino can incorporate love and feelings into his films, no matter how obscure the subject matter.

Will Maren and Lee start a new life? Will their urges come back to haunt them? Can they do good for the world? Bones and All is a ride of curiosities on a bizarre level. While repulsive at first, ultimately effective in terms of its message. Three and a half stars for Bones and All.