Mario Dhingsa's Blog

⭐⭐⭐

(1hr 40mins)

📣Mad Men: A traumatised widow escapes to the country, but has second thoughts after realising its in the Village of the Tory Party.
Less frustrating than Alex Garland's 'Annihilation', but nowhere near as good as 'Ex Machina'.

👍Country lanes:
Innovative plot, direction, and sound design (esp. all three in the 'harmonies in the tunnel' scene!).
Top acting by Jessie Buckley and Rory Kinnear!
(You'll leave the cinema wondering why Kinnear was squandered in 007 when he would have shone as one of their villians...)

👎Stabbing pains:
The start of a great metaphor on sexism and misogyny is let down by a third act that under-delivers on narrative, Buckley's character development, and a satisfying conclusion.
Imaginative body horror twarted by poor CGI.
Script issues = Men < Hereditary or The Babadook.

Twitter: @mariodhingsa

⭐⭐⭐⭐

(1hr 42mins)

📣The Seven Day Itch:
A biting black comedy that will surprise you as much as it will have you in stiches.
A pompous, useless playboy becomes penniless, and attempts to solve his cost-of-living crisis via marriage then murder, to a timid, accident-prone heiress.

👍Ferrari cool:
Elaine May wrote, directed and starred in this lost classic (despite only receiving $50,000 as a first-time female director).
Great chemistry from May and Matthau.
Credit to George Rose as the stressed butler/moral compass, and Doris Roberts ('Everyone Loves Raymond') as the ever-winking housekeeper.

🥇Best quote:
"Oh, Henrietta
[kneels to propose, crushes wine glass]
- Aah! Damn it to hell!"
"Did you hurt yourself?"
"No.
Kneeling on broken glass is my favourite pastime.
It keeps me from slouching."

Twitter: @mariodhingsa

⭐⭐⭐

(2hrs 17mins)

📣A History of Violence:
‘Hamlet’ meets ‘Licence to Kill’ via ‘Event Horizon’-levels of mutilation in this Viking revenge saga.
If you liked ‘The Green Knight’ (but felt it had all the bite of ‘A Knight’s Tale’), then start paddling your nearest longboat to see this!

👍Slavic spell:
The whole cast act (and freeze) their pants off!
Incredibly strong acting all round.
Credit to Björk's unsettling Seeress,
Tyrant-in-making Gustav Lindh (from ‘Riders of Justice'),
And Oscar Novak as young Amleth undertaking an extremely steep (and heart-wrenching) learning curve.

👎Gates of Hell:
Plot logic, dodgy accents and unsubtle direction may hobble your way to Valhalla.
And the hero’s day job is village raiding = murder, rape, slavery.
In another film, and from the uncle’s perspective, wouldn’t The Northman be the villain here?…

Twitter: @mariodhingsa

⭐⭐⭐⭐

(1hr 54mins)

📣Brummie Brasco:
An angry, gritty grenade of a film, that questions the ends, the means, and everything in between of UK drug laws.
An inspiring debut by Sheikh Shahnawaz - one of the best Midlands' directors since Shane Meadows.

👍Top cop:
Nolan-esque in all the right ways, and with a third act that'll hit you much harder than 'The Departed'.
Phenomenal score by Savfk.
The film's genius is the tangled ties between Gurj Gill's ambitious cop and Jason Adam's abandoned junkie.

🙁Best depressing quote:
"Do you want to know I how get rid of junkies?
One bullet in the UK costs £50.
But Fentanyl - it's 100 times more potent than heroin.
Just 2mg is enough to kill.
That's 22 pence per overdose.
And nobody, not even the police, bat an eyelid when a junkie overdoses."

Twitter: @mariodhingsa

⭐⭐⭐⭐

(2hrs 19mins)

📣Michelle Yeoh in the Multiverse of Madness: The coolest, deepest, surrealist, sci-fi, kung-fu action, comedy tear-jerker around!
If you only pick one imploding multiverse to be trapped in, close your eyes very hard and choose this one.

👍Alphaverse:
Michelle Yeoh and Jamie Lee Curtis at their career-best throughout.
Ke Huy Quan has all the best lines.
And Stephanie Hsu will show you a terror you've never known before.
What's more astonishing than the film's crescendo of inspired chaos, is its budget of only $25m.

🥇Best quote:
"Even though you have broken my heart yet again,
I wanted to say,
In another life,
I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you."

Twitter: @mariodhingsa

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(1hr 38mins)

📣Murder at the Revolution: A Ukrainian president's betrayal to join the EU sparks 'the largest pro-European rally in history', and the anger of a pro-Russian government.

👍Glory to the heroes:
Inspiring and harrowing, this highly-crafted documentary is film-making at its most accomplished and at its most relevant.
Unless your watching this from the Kremlin, you won't finish this film without feeling emotional, electrified and appalled.

👎Cowards in black:
Some may find it difficult to watch. You'll start the film thinking reason, compassion and sanity will prevail, but it won't. And just when you think the situation can't deteriorate any futher, it does again, and again, and again.
While Oscar-nom'd for Best Doc, WOF lost out to 'Amy' in 2015, in one of the most excruitating Oscar losses since 'Collective'.

In Quotes:
"We are not afraid to die for freedom.
Freedom is for us.
We will win,
and Ukraine will be part of Europe."

"My little daughter came to me and asked me not to go.
'Poppa, I'll grow up and bring them down myself.'
And I told her, 'If we don't take them down now, no one will ever be able to do it.'"

"I can't accept after all the wars we've had in the world, we are still resolving our problems by killing each other."

Twitter: @mariodhingsa

⭐⭐⭐⭐

(1hr 52mins)

📣Good Will Singing: A hearing teenager of deaf parents confronts the escalating tension of finding your own path and the survival of your family.

👍Liberating duet:
Comical and poignant, charming and tearful!
Incredibly well-acted all round, as several strong characters deal with a lifetime of fear, dependancy, alienation and bullying.
Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Eugenio Derbez, and Daniel Durant deserve every award going, and fans of Joni Mitchell will not be disappointed.

👎Livelihood threat:
Some may find the plotlines predictable, and the direction and editing in the first two acts to be uninspired; but an ethereal third act elevates this film into one you'll watch, love, and enjoy repeatedly!

Twitter: @mariodhingsa

⭐⭐1/2

(2hr 56mins)

📣Se7en Lies: The World's Greatest Detective/Brawler/Recluse discovers the depths of Gotham's horrors, and strives rescuing a city that can't be saved.

👍Nocturnal martyr:
Pattinson ≥ Bale
Wright ≥ Oldman
Giacchino ≥ Zimmer
Dano > Carrey
Kravitz < Pfeiffer
Farrell < De Vito
Batmobile = still cool!

👎Sins of the father:
It's not a perfect film (several miscasts, poor dialogue, contradictary character points, tenuous plot devices, ill-defined action scenes, so much wasted potential) but if you are a Bat fan (like me), then you may still want to see this...

🥇Best quote:
"If you are justice, please do not lie.
What is the price for your blind eye?"

🙁Best depressing quote:
"Do you know what being an orphan is?
It's 20 kids to a room.
And every winter,
One of the babies died because it's so cold."

👮‍♀️Best thank you to NZ Police:
"The city is scarred like me.
These scars can destroy us.
But if we survive them, they can transform us.
They can give us the power to endure,
And the strength to fight.
Vengence won’t change the past.
People need hope."
Stuff.co.nz (3/3/2022)

Twitter: @mariodhingsa

⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2

(1hr 57mins)

📣(Dis)Enchanted: Princess Diana is driven to breaking point for the last time amidst the strictness, surveillance, suspicion, and emotional hypothermia of Christmas with the Windsors.

👍My father's care:
Stewart shines as brightly as the original princess, and is effortlessly adept throughout; most notably with Diana's disintegration as she suffocates under an oppression masquerading as tradition.
Spall, Hawkins, Harris, Farthing and Jack Nielen (Prince William) are likewise mesmerising, and deeply impressive in their complexity.

👎My husband's affair:
Stunned that the film hasn't been Oscar-nominated for Best Director, Costume Design, Cinematography, Original Score or any of its gifted supporting cast.
And the film's complete BAFTA snub shows an industry and country still coming to terms with several of its own uncomfortable truths.

🥇Best quote:
"Hold on.
Fight them.
Be beautiful.
You are your own weapon.
Don't cut it to pieces."

🙁Best depressing quote:
"Why do we have to open our presents on Christmas Eve?"
"You know at school, you do tenses?
There's the past, the present, future.
Well here, there is only one tense.
There is no future.
The past and the present are the same thing."

💉Best vaccine quote:
"They asked me to suggest that you see a doctor.
Don't see conspiracy everywhere.
It is concern."

Twitter: @mariodhingsa

⭐⭐⭐⭐

(1hr 35mins, UK)

📣Never Let Me Go: A couple on the road discover how difficult it is to outrun the demons of dementia.

👍A loving soul:
Firth and Tucci deliver achingly incredible performances, as Tucci reconciles with the evaporation of his identity, and Firth rails against the slow abduction of his 20-year-long love.
Stunning scenery of the Lake District and a moving soundtrack add to an unforgettable watch.

👎Losing control:
Some may find the film's pace to be too slow, its ending a touch underwhelming, and the plot beats a little predictable; but watch this wonderful work of art on Valentine's Day and you'll never take your partner for granted again.

🥇Best quote:
"But being sad something is gone, just means it was great while it was there, right?"

🙁Best depressing quote:
"You know what the hard part is?
You're not supposed to mourn someone, while they're still alive."
"You're still you. You're still the guy he fell in love with."
"No I'm not. I just look like him."

💉Best vaccine quote:
"We will not starve from lack of wonders,
But from lack of wonder."

Twitter: @mariodhingsa