Hola, querido hiver.

Si alguien te nombra a Tim Bergling es muy probable que no sepas a quién se refieren. Sin embargo, habrás escuchado aunque solo sea una de sus composiciones en algún momento. Antes de comenzar te aviso de que esta reseña contiene spoilers, pues como documental biográfico que es resulta imposible comentarlo sin aportar datos.

Te invito a que les des al play al siguiente video y disfrutes con su música de fondo mientras continúas la lectura:

ttps://youtu.be/_ovdm2yX4MA?si=C96u5k20NYxHnJhZ

¿A que ahora sí que te resulta familiar? Avicii es el nombre artístico de este famoso DJ sueco que formó parte de la generación que contribuyó a sacar la música electrónica de las discotecas y a generalizar su consumo por las grandes masas.

Yo conocía su música y parte de su historia pero no la existencia de este documental. Llegué a él porque lo nombraba muchas veces el presentador de uno de mis podcasts favoritos. Siempre lo destacaba como ejemplo de las consecuencias nefastas que puede conllevar la fama cuando no estás bien asesorado y apoyado.

Esta película documental acompaña a Avicii desde sus inicios hasta su retirada de los escenarios en 2016. Es una sucesión de imágenes reales del artista en su trabajo combinadas con fragmentos de entrevistas a personas que compartieron su talento con él: Nile Rodgers, David Guetta, Tiësto, Chris Martin, Wyclef Jean.

Al inicio se aprecia claramente la inocencia de un joven Tim que con 18 años soñaba con alcanzar la fama a través de su música desconociendo por completo el funcionamiento real del negocio. Su enorme talento no pasó desapercibido y pronto se le pegaron verdaderas sanguijuelas a las que solo interesaba extraer de él cuanto más dinero mejor.

Porque eso es lo único que representaba para determinadas personas que debieron cuidar de él. Dinero. El éxito llegó pronto y con él las ansias de más beneficios para más gente.

La espiral es cada vez más difícil de parar. Avicii comienza a sufrir para cumplir con las expectativas de los demás, que hace suyas. Le organizan giras mundiales de vértigo en las que termina perdiendo la salud física y mental.

A pesar de caer enfermo la rueda no puede parar de girar. Hay escenas desgarradoras en las que se le ve que está completamente fuera del mundo debido a las sustancias y medicamentos que consumía para intentar mantener el ritmo, y aún así le presionan para que intervenga en programas en directo.

Solo cuando ya no pudo más tomó la drástica decisión de retirarse de los escenarios. En lo más alto de su carrera dijo basta, ofreciendo su último concierto en Ibiza en agosto de 2016.

El documental termina con Avicii volviendo a ser Tim, retomando su vida personal que en toda la película no existe (su familia no aparece), enfocándose de nuevo en él mismo y en sus propias necesidades.

Lo doloroso es saber que en abril de 2018 Tim se quitó la vida. A pesar de haber sido tan valiente. Salir de esa situación límite no fue suficiente y su sufrimiento continuó. Su tendencia a la obsesión y el perfeccionismo le encumbró a un éxito que no logró asumir bien nunca, ni siquiera cuando se alejó de todo. Porque él solo vivía para crear su música.

En cuanto a la experiencia del visionado, en mi opinión hay una parte del documental que resulta un poco pesada por lo repetitivo de los viajes y conciertos. Sentí que se podían haber recortado minutos de metraje ahí. Por lo demás, hay un buen dinamismo en la sucesión de recursos cinematográficos que la banda sonora unifica temporal y ambientalmente.

¿Recomendaría verlo? Sí, sin duda. No es necesario conocer la música de Avicii para reflexionar con su potente mensaje. Pero es que si además disfrutabas con ella como me pasaba a mí, llegarás a emocionarte. Su adiós representó el fin del artista y el comienzo del mito.

Créditos: Diseño de la portada en Canva. Todas las imágenes de la película obtenidas de IMDb. Video inicial Levels obtenido de YouTube Trailer oficial obtenido de YouTube

Hasta la próxima publicación. Mientras tanto, ¡cuídate!

Herramientas: Cámara iPhone 13 Pro, editor de fotos Mac. Mis publicaciones en Worldmappin pinchando aquí Si te gusta lo que publico, únete a mi Fanbase pinchando aquí

©️Copyright 2024 Paloma Peña Pérez. Todos los derechos reservados.

Hi, dear hiver.

If someone mentions Tim Bergling to you, chances are you don't know who they mean. However, you will have heard at least one of his compositions at some point. Before we begin, I warn you that this review contains spoilers, because as a biographical documentary it is impossible to comment on it without providing facts.

I invite you to press play on the following video and enjoy the music in the background while you continue reading:

ttps://youtu.be/_ovdm2yX4MA?si=C96u5k20NYxHnJhZ

Doesn't that sound familiar now? Avicii is the stage name of this famous Swedish DJ who was part of the generation that helped take electronic music out of the clubs and into the mainstream.

I knew about his music and part of his history, but not about the existence of this documentary. I came across it because it was mentioned many times by the host of one of my favourite podcasts. He always highlighted him as an example of the dire consequences that can come with fame when you are not well advised and supported.

This documentary film follows Avicii from his early days until his retirement from the stage in 2016. It is a succession of real images of the artist at work combined with fragments of interviews with people who shared their talent with him: Nile Rodgers, David Guetta, Tiësto, Chris Martin, Wyclef Jean.

At the beginning, the innocence of a young Tim who at the age of 18 dreamed of achieving fame through his music, completely unaware of the real workings of the business, is clear to see. His enormous talent didn't go unnoticed and soon real leeches got attached to him, who were only interested in extracting as much money as possible from him.

Because that's all he represented for certain people who had to take care of him. Money. Success came soon and with it the desire for more profits for more people.

The spiral becomes harder and harder to stop. Avicii begins to suffer in order to meet the expectations of others, which he makes his own. They organise dizzying world tours in which he ends up losing his physical and mental health.

Despite falling ill, the wheel cannot stop turning. There are heartbreaking scenes in which he is seen to be completely out of the world due to the substances and drugs he was taking to try to keep up, and yet he is pressured to appear on live shows.

Only when he could take no more did he make the drastic decision to retire from the stage. At the height of his career he called it quits, giving his last concert in Ibiza in August 2016.

The documentary ends with Avicii going back to being Tim, resuming his personal life, which is absent throughout the film (his family does not appear), focusing again on himself and his own needs.

The painful thing is to know that in April 2018 Tim took his own life. Despite having been so brave. Getting out of that borderline situation was not enough and his suffering continued. His tendency to obsession and perfectionism led him to a success that he never managed to assume well, not even when he walked away from everything. Because he only lived to create his music.

As for the viewing experience, in my opinion there is a part of the documentary that is a bit heavy due to the repetitive nature of the trips and concerts. I felt that minutes of footage could have been cut there. Otherwise, there is a good dynamism in the succession of cinematographic resources that the soundtrack unifies temporally and atmospherically.

Would you recommend watching it? Yes, without a doubt. You don't need to know Avicii's music to reflect on its powerful message. But if you enjoyed it as much as I did, you will be moved by it. His farewell represented the end of the artist and the beginning of the myth.

Credits: Cover design in Canva. All images from the film obtained from IMDb Inicial video Levels obtained from YouTube Official trailer obtained from YouTube

See you next time. In the meantime, take care!

Tools: iPhone 13 Pro camera, Mac photo editor. Translated with DeepL My publications in Worldmappin by clicking here If you like my content, join my Fanbase clicking here

©️Copyright 2024 Paloma Peña Pérez. All rights reserved.

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Through the weekend I started to pick up a few recent TV series I wanted to watch and just go to the end of Netflix series Black Doves, and it’s a pretty good spy thriller that kept my attention for its six episodes, for sure I would recommend it but the story in my opinion was a bit messy. Keira Knightley makes a come back playing the role of Helen Webb; I just love her from movies like King Arthur and the Pirates of The Caribbean saga, this time around she is living a double life as a politician's wife and a secret agent for a shadowy organization known only as the Black Doves and the show is set against a chilly London Christmas, things kick start with Helen's lover Jason gets assassinated, set the start for serious and immediate danger, and conspiracies start to draw Helen in.

This series does a fantastic job of blending different genres, taking action, romance, a bit dark humor. Knightley really shines as the conflicted steely determination of this woman, who is also vulnerable for all the pressure she is under, not only she lost her lover but also the fact that she can't trust anyone with her true identity and who she works for, the spy life. She’s not your standard action hero but she can fight like any other guy she confronts, most impressive action scene of her is when she takes on an assassin in her garden shed, this is not a recap but a review so there might be a few spoilers although mostly my opinion and impression of the series. Second actor/character that stick with me is Sam, played by Ben Whishaw, Helen's old friend and Sam is also one of the highlights of the show, there is this back and forth, that feels natural even when they're in the middle of crazy situations.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27995113/
• Platform: NETFLIX

One thing that might be annoying but fascinating to others; like me, is how the show does backstories through flashback, giving us a bit of insight into how Helen became involved with the Black Doves in the first place, and this aspect of the series because even though it might be messy at times how they provide context through this flashbacks it does provide all the information necessary to build up the thread. The world of international espionage is also well built up on the show, with the UK, China and US, the appropriate backdrop of global intrigue, with sort of a whole subplot about the death of the Chinese ambassador that ties in with the main story in some pretty unexpected ways, even a bit childish.

The action scenes in Black Doves are well choreographed and intense, but what I liked even more was the quiet moments, the intimate moments between the characters. People focus a lot on the personal lives of these spies since the action and danger we already know it, its how work gets reflected in their relationships and in how they think, the constant internal battle of how far they can go with their personal relationships and decisions, in particular its the case of Sam’s story line with his ex boy friend Michael is pretty heartbreaking and makes the series pretty emotional, who would have tough but it is, fascinating how same sex romantic relationships can be moving now days, 30 years ago would be a total different reaction.

I’ll admit now, the show isn’t perfect, it sometimes feels like it has too many plot threads juggling, and not all of them are resolved satisfactorily, and not all of the them are so much interesting although they do connect with each other. Personally I like the personal story of Helen and Sam and find the political drama parts to be a bit under than developed but I have come to the conclusion that this might be in purpose if there is a second season, after all that is what Helen is initially working on as a Black Dove when she marry Wallace Web who is the Secretary of Defence who was on track to be the next Prime Minister, Helen was basically trying to get as much information out of Wallace that can work in favor of the organization she was working for. Politics and politicians were always the mission so getting everything sort out kind of puts a stop to the story. The show attempts to put up some humor to tone down the seriousness and there are a couple of times where this shifts feel a little out of place but none the less funny enough to crack a few laughs.

There performances are strong all round the series, some of them to mention, Sarah Lancashire as the puzzling Reed and Kathryn Hunter as the tough Lenny some of the ones that stand out. The Christmas setting looks great too, specially been a series happening around the same time close to the end of the year, gives a nice contrast to that dark side of been a spy, watching spies and assassins doing their business against the background of twinkling lights and holiday cheer is somehow satisfyingly odd.

Something that personally throw me off is how much of the show is obsessed with the romantic relationships of the characters, there are a lot of the character’s motivations tied up in the fact that a lot of the characters have complicated love stories, for example there is Helen’s affair with Jason is a major plot point, this was something I thought was interesting personally, even for hardened spies it can make you susceptible to the heart because she does eventually break down and reveal her true self out of love, her job, her feelings, but I can see why some people might have a different opinion to this and be more attracted to the drama rather than the action and some will get distracted by it, but I don’t think it’s distracting from the main espionage plot but does take out of it, do you see why I have mix opinion about it? sorry but not sorry jajaja.

Black Doves ends with some good cliffhangers, while still leaving the door open for a possible second season, we also learn that Jason was actually an MI5 agent and that his relationship to Helen is something else aside from been the spy he is. Learning that Trent Clark was responsible for both Jason's death and killing the Chinese ambassador with an accidental bullet from recoil of the tiger puts up together a good chunk of plot threads. I think one of the final prove of Sam trust and friendship for Helen is when he comes in to take out the Clark family so Helen didn’t have to do it herself, it gave a lot away about their relationship, and Sam’s protective nature, all this while Helen was pregnant so he probably felt she had to be protected and only he could at the moment. There is a lot from the main characters that makes you wonder why they do things and how they think about their action and consequences.

We don't know who called Sam after he killed the Clarks and told him to kill himself, big wtf situation. Finally there is Helen’s babysitter in the final scene with Reed at her house, makes me interested to know if Helen’s work with The Black Doves will change at all once Wallace becomes a potential Prime Minister, politics keep pushing forward this story, reason why its not resolved.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #blackdoves, #netflix, #spies, #espionage, #london, #christmas, #assassins, #conspiracy, #romance, #thriller, #murder, #secrets, #knightley, #whishaw, #politics, #china, #revenge, #family, #loyalty, #betrayal, #undercover, #action, #violence, #government, #love, #flixfinder

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Didi is such a trip down memory lane back to 2008, perfect capture of the weird in between time when we were moving from analog to digital life, the early days of social media and all the awkwardness of being a teenager in that era hit me right in the face. For anyone who is from 35 to 40 at the moment this movie will bring so many memories and now I realize why technology was so special back then than now, its because it was slow and not mobile, that been the case it was harder to enjoy and mostly real geeks were into it, I was part of a group of friends who were always online when at home, learning about computers, software, sharing hardware, going to LAN parties when it was a big deal. The movie is from an era that bring all those memories.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30319503/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Rottentomatoes Rating

Directed by Sean Wang, the story develops Chris Wang, a 13 year old Taiwanese American kid in his last summer before high school in Fremont, California. That specific moment in time when Facebook was absolutely taking over MySpace, YouTube was trying to figure out what it was doing, and we spent hours crafting the perfect AIM message to our crushes, in my opinion the movie does that perfectly. It's crazy how much the movie nailed all these small little details that were our digital lives back then, Chris doing all these things to impress his crush Madi on Facebook and those cringey statuses that we all used to post.

Not that I know anything about been Asian or I'm from the Bay, but I think the movie pulls off the perfect balance of the experience of being a teenager and the specific cultural experience of being Asian American kid. The story isn’t trying to be preachy or something big on identity, it just tells life as it was, messy and complicated and sometimes really stupid, but always real and raw as it use to be. Chris and his mom Chungsing lives with his college bound sister Vivian and his grandmother Nai Nai and his dad works in Taiwan to support the family.

The whole vibe of the movie makes you feel like you were all trying to figure out who we are online and offline as we were back then, makes me remember when we thought having the right song on MySpace profile would make us look cool? Or spending hours on picking the perfect profile picture. Didi brings all that and then the real world family drama, friend group stuff and how not to look like a complete moron in front of your crush.

Chris is this perfect mix of trying too hard and not trying at all, lie about being half Asian to seem cooler, pretend to know about movies he's never seen and trying to be a skateboarding videographer, while he hasn't a clue what he's doing. The movie doesn’t judge him for all his mess ups and bad decisions and I guess at that point in life we all did similarly cringe stuff, we all had those moments and without knowing better well things just sort of happen, its called getting experience in life.

Izaac Wang who played the role of Chris Wang brings a lot of authenticity as he seem so natural, during the movie there will be moments where you’ll both want to high five him and then slap him to smack some sense into him. Another highlight of the movie is Joan Chen as his mom Chungsing is just incredible in these quiet moments where you can she is trying to connect with Chris, I'm a parent with two kids about to become teenagers soon and I can only imagine how hard it must be to be in her position, when talking is just not enough then what do you do?. I think Chris and Chungsing have such good chemistry, especially in their arguments which are so real because they are not extreme but do get to that point to hit memories when a lot of viewers connect, remember when as teenager arguing with their parents.

What I personally like the most about the movie is how natural Chris mess up looks and feel, specially with his friends and relation with everyone else around him, for example those moments when they all hanging together saying and doing stupid things, but then in contrast when things don't go as Chris plan he feels like he might need better friends, other friends. The movie also highlight his relationship with his sister Vivian who is annoying and obnoxious for him but latter on down the road she becomes very close to him, someone he can be with, someone he can relate to, specially when things get rough at home.

The ending of the movie is not your standard wrap everything up and everyone life happy for ever, things just get a bit easy for everyone. There is Chris still working out stuff starting high school, but now at least he knows who he is and what really matters after all his ups and downs. He finally stops trying to be someone he is not, especially with his new skater friends and you can see him start to accept himself more. But the way the movie handles his relationship with his mom at the end is one of the best aspects; I'm really bias into this movie probably because of my age, many things I like about and keep repeating. Its just great that Chris and Chungsing start learning to understand each other better even if they can't quite overcome the differences between them. Another important aspect is how finally he doesn’t reject everything about his Taiwanese heritage but embrace his heritage while still being his own person, it's not perfect and that’s the reason it feels so real.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #didi, #teenager, #comingofage, #nostalgia, #taiwanese, #family, #skateboarding, #youtube, #facebook, #myspace, #friendship, #identity, #culture, #siblings, #crush, #awkward, #adolescence, #summer, #highschool, #digital, #analog, #childhood, #california, #msn, #windows, #flixfinder

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When I heard that they were making a sequel to Gladiator, I was super excited about, content about it came out and I stay excited until last night when it finally slide into my Jellyfin and I watch it. Let me start by saying "THIS IS A GOOD MOVIE!, I RECOMMEND IT" but there are things that felt like its a carbon copy of the first movie. The original was perfect and ended how it was supposed to end, with Maximus joining his family in the afterlife, fast forward to 2024 and we are still here, just like with many other movies that never requested a sequel, we got one anyway. After watching Gladiator II I can tell you that it actually delivers solid entertainment value even if it follows many of the same aspects as it’s predecessor. We went form the Super Hero movie mania to now the Sequel Mania for movies that never ask for a sequel, mostly good 90s and early 2000s movies, this has to stop before they all start mutate into something bad for the industry, but mostly in the entertainment aspect for the audience.

I'm a sucker for ancient Rome theme movies, this time we got twin emperors rule that makes Commodus seem like a reasonable guy, Gladiator II felt bigger, the action is more intense and the gore definitely was turned up a notch. Director Ridley Scott knows how to make a movie look great and this one proves he hasn’t lost his touch. Massive Roman ships attack the shores of Numidia and the opening battle sequence hits you right away and the action only gets more spectacular from there, did felt similar to a battle out of 300.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt18177528/
• Platform: AppleTV+

Rottentomatoes Rating

The movie does a great job to create this balance between nostalgia for the original, with familiar themes and moments like hands running through wheat fields and testing soil before battle, but there’s also new additions like flooded coliseum battles with sharks; something I'm still not so sure how possible it could be, mostly the sharks part, and there are political twist classic of Rome theme movies making it a bit predictable but not to the point that is boring or make you roll your eyes so hard that they get stuck jajaja. During Gladiator II we get to a Rome that it's more corrupt, more decadent and much more unstable, just one step close to collapse. This change generate a drastic change in the visuals, which present us with a magnificent city and a rotten one from within, while having games every then and now but at the same time a lot of people living on the streets, mad enough to one day try to kill the emperors but the Praetorian Army is just too strong and keeps shutting the city down again and again.

This time we have the story of Lucius, who has grown up and lives in Numidia under the name Hanno, son of Lucilla he is the prince of Rome who never came back after this huge remorse build up over time because he felt his mother push him away and never ask for him back. After Rome invades his adopted homeland killing his wife, he is back in the city he ran from as a child, forced to fight as a gladiator, do we see the similarities with the original movie? becomes a slave, then gladiator, then the hero of the movie?? hhmm. Well, the story is basically the same but there are enough new elements and political intrigue to keep it interesting, if you are someone who didn't see the first movie or are not too much into movies so this is just vague entertainment for you.

Paul Mescal, who thankfully does not try to imitate Russell Crowe; Gladiator was Crowe peak performance so I doubt he could specially on this movie, plays the role of Lucius bringing his own kind of intensity to the character. Maximus was more commanding presence, but he's more of a slow burning rage type, who wants nothing to do with Rome except kill General Acacius who lead the raid in Numidia, eventually ending killing his wife Arishat. I think that is the reason his performance works, he isn't trying to be Maximus son, he's making a character who's different and has different reasons to be.

Denzel Washington does a magnificent job and absolute standout as Macrinus, he even pulls his classic laugh, like the one he did as Frank Lucas in American Gangster, whe he gets interrogated by Richie Roberts guess who? Russel Crowe, things do go in circles in life. The more Denzel is on screen, the more interesting the movie gets, he is the the star of the movie. He plays this wealthy merchant/gladiator owner who has more plans than you'd think, bringing this fascinating mixture of charm and menace to the role, you’re always on the lookout for his true motives. It is the way he carries himself, taking rings and robes off with a casual discussion of violence and power, the man shows off an entire clothing line jajaja so different between scenes, that makes this captivating character you can't look away from.

Pedro Pascal plays the role of General Acacius, a man of war weary but duty bound, who is tire of war and does see through the emperors tyranny. Pascal even though having an important role on the story in my opinion look tame down by the script but not by his acting skills, the man does great too. In the best possible way, the twin emperors played by Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger have fall into madness, one more than the other, they make Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus looks positively stable in comparison

The action sequences of the movie are wild, from the flooded coliseum battle is just an spectacle itself, did felt a bit short but its a tight space and Lucius dominated it very similar as his father Maximus, both acting like leaders in the field commanding a menace attack unit that had no fear to die fighting for their life every second. There is this terrifying fight with baboons that had me cringing, in both directions, carbon copy scene from when Maximus gets Gladiator Status, same happens with Lucious, sadly the CGI isn’t always the best and the animals especially aren’t perfect but its a very ambitious movie when it comes to animal scenes.

The movie has an extremely predictable and cliche way of getting everything together as Lucius embraces his heritage as the grandson of Marcus Aurelius and spiritual vibe to Maximus. After all the personal and political manipulation during the movie, he wins the brutal showdown against Macrinus that feels earned, he shows mercy and just as Commdus, the twin emperors didn't show mercy. During the movie we have different views of power with the corrupt twins, Macrinus's calculated play, this are factors that force Lucius to shift gears and move from just wanting to kill General Acacius to try to safe Rome. It shows that strength isn't only about being able to physically overpower or to control the political status of some people, but it's about fighting for things bigger than yourself.

Instead, Gladiator II is a well made action movie that knows what made the original work and adds its own sauce. The violence and show are appropriately intense enough, the political side was kinda meh but action scenes keep the movie entertaining. A movie that in my opinion felt more like, what can we do to take the same story and upgrade it, this is Gladiagor 2.0, not a new movie, not a movie that is better than the original there for not the type of movie I was expecting and that is probably just my case, I'm bias since my favorite action movies are Rome based theme, main reason why this is not a special movie for me, giving it a 7 out of 10.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #gladiator, #sequel, #rome, #lucius, #maximus, #colosseum, #emperor, #revenge, #action, #spectacle, #legacy, #battle, #slavery, #corruption, #denzel, #mescal, #pascal, #ridleyscott, #violence, #politics, #arena, #vengeance, #honor, #power, #empire, #flixfinder

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La franquicia de "Transformers" debe ser una de las más extensas en el mundo del cine, personalmente la comparo con la de "Fast & Furious" por la cantidad de películas y por la buena calidad del primer film y lo decadente de las secuelas y por eso tenía esperanzas que con el reboot tendría una mejora en dónde por fin se enfocaría en los verdaderos protagonistas de la historia, pero lamentablemente en el último film se repitió los males de las anteriores películas y es por eso que con el estreno de "Transformers One", película netamente animada, esperaba que por fin se vería una película acorde a esta extensa franquicia de juguetes, comics y series animadas y vaya que si la tuvimos.

The "Transformers" franchise must be one of the most extensive in the world of cinema, personally I compare it with "Fast & Furious" by the number of films and the good quality of the first film and the decadent of the sequels and that's why I had hopes that with the reboot would have an improvement where it would finally focus on the real protagonists of the story, but unfortunately the last film repeated the evils of the previous films and that is why with the release of "Transformers One", a purely animated film, I was hoping that finally we would see a film according to this extensive franchise of toys, comics and animated series and boy, did we have it.

Este nuevo film animado basado en la línea de juguetes de "Hasbro", relata la historia del origen no solo de un héroe, sino también de su más acérrimo villano; una historia que comienza con la gran amistad entre "Orion Pax" y "D-16", ambos son robots mineros los cuales como muchos otros no poseen "transformation cogs", lo cual es un dispositivo que les permite transformarse como si lo hacen otros que son liderados por "Sentinel Prime", líder de Cybertron y que está en la misión de encontrar al "Matrix of Leadership" lo cual podrá hacer fluir nuevamente el energon que ahora robots deben minar; justamente ese destino frustra a Orion que sueña con la posibilidad de poder encontrar ese importante dispositivo para que su planeta regrese a la normalidad y así él junto a su mejor amigo y demás robots puedan tener una vida diferente, pero un grave secreto se relevará y el destino de todos cambiará para bien y mal, ya que revelará una gran amenaza que creara héroes y villanos.

This new animated film based on the "Hasbro" toy line, tells the story of the origin of not only a hero, but also his most bitter villain; a story that begins with the great friendship between "Orion Pax" and "D-16", both are mining robots which like many others do not possess "transformation cogs", which is a device that allows them to transform as if they do others who are led by "Sentinel Prime", leader of Cybertron and who is on a mission to find the "Matrix of Leadership" which can make the energon flow again that now robots must mine; just that fate frustrates Orion who dreams of the possibility of being able to find that important device so that his planet returns to normal and so he and his best friend and other robots can have a different life, but a serious secret will be revealed and the fate of all will change for better and for worse, as it will reveal a great threat that will create heroes and villains.

El encargado de la dirección fue Josh Cooley quien a pesar de tener una carrera extensa en el mundo de la animación, está es la segunda oportunidad en cumplir el rol de director y en esta oportunidad hace un excelente trabajo; este es un film muy entretenido y divertido a causa de lo fluido de la historia y por supuesto de la animación; los diseños de la ciudad y de los muchos personajes son geniales, se respeta el diseño original, pero a la vez con la necesaria modernización; me gusta como se siente que la historia sea una completa y divertida aventura y que las imágenes, las escenografías estén muy bien diseñadas, permiten esa fluidez en la historia, algo muy importante para su desarrollo en las muchas escenas de acción lo cual hace que sea de las películas más divertidas que he visto en el año.

La historia es sorprendente, creo que es de las mejores historias de origen que he visto; me gustó mucho la narrativa en dónde el origen de Cybertron, va acompañado de una lucha por controlar a un planeta rico de energía y en dónde la ambición castiga a generaciones de robots; esa base hace que sea relevante la historia tanto de "Orion Pax" y "D-16", ambos con puntos de vista diferente por la creencia de historias antiguas y de líderes actuales, los cuales podrán tener validez y lo que genera una búsqueda llena de aventuras, heroísmo y también decepción; todo eso hace que el guion escrito por Eric Pearson junto a Andrew Barrer y Gabriel Ferrari; sea inesperadamente una genialidad, porque no solo son los motivos de los dos principales protagonistas y el antagonista de esta historia, en este film se toma el tiempo en dar protagonismo a cada personaje que hace presencia, profundiza en mucho de ellos lo cual nos hace ver qué tan importantes son; es simplemente lo mejor del film.

The director was Josh Cooley who despite having an extensive career in the world of animation, this is the second opportunity to fulfill the role of director and this time he does an excellent job; this is a very entertaining and fun film because of the fluidity of the story and of course the animation; the designs of the city and the many characters are great, the original design is respected, but at the same time with the necessary modernization; I like how it feels that the story is a complete and fun adventure and that the images, the scenery are very well designed, allow that fluidity in the story, something very important for its development in the many action scenes which makes it one of the funniest movies I've seen this year.

The story is amazing, I think it is one of the best origin stories I've seen; I really liked the narrative where the origin of Cybertron, is accompanied by a struggle to control a planet rich in energy and where ambition punishes generations of robots; that basis makes it relevant the story of both "Orion Pax" and "D-16", both with different points of view by the belief of ancient stories and current leaders, which may have validity and which generates a search full of adventure, heroism and also disappointment; all this makes the script written by Eric Pearson together with Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari; unexpectedly a genius, because not only are the motives of the two main protagonists and the antagonist of this story, in this film takes the time to give prominence to each character that makes presence, delves into many of them which makes us see how important they are; it is simply the best of the film.

En la actualidad, muy pocas veces decido ver una película animada doblada al español y en esta oportunidad después de leer críticas negativas a los "actores" o personalidades que prestaron sus voces para dar vida a estos personajes en su versión latina, no había duda que debería verla en dónde escucharía el audio original y más que nada por el buen casting en dónde actores como Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Jon Hamm, Keegan-Michael Key y Laurence Fishburne serían parte de esta producción; me enfocaré en el trabajo de los dos actores que dan vida a los dos principales protagonistas en una versión joven y por eso deben proyectar en su voz no liderazgo, pero si curiosidad y necesidad de ser algo más, eso se puede captar más que nada en la voz de Hemsworth quien da vida a "Orion Pax" el cual sabe que su destino está más allá de cumplir un trabajo y posiblemente sea eso lo que pueda convertirle en un líder porque está preparado para motivar a quien decida guiar, algo contrarió le sucede a "D-16" interpretado por Henry, ya que en el comienzo admira la imagen de los Prime y acepta su rol en el mundo, pero al descubrir una dura verdad, su frustración le hará perder la noción de todo y el odio junto al egoísmo será lo necesario para que su voz pase de ser leal y confiable a ser despiadado y vil; ambas actuaciones son magníficas, la química entre los dos actores es muy buena y eso hace creíble su amistad y su futuro enfrentamiento.

Nowadays, I rarely decide to see an animated movie dubbed into Spanish and this time after reading negative reviews of the "actors" or personalities who lent their voices to give life to these characters in their Latin version, there was no doubt that I should see it where I would hear the original audio and mostly because of the good casting where actors like Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Jon Hamm, Keegan-Michael Key and Laurence Fishburne would be part of this production; I will focus on the work of the two actors who give life to the two main protagonists in a young version and therefore must project in their voice not leadership, but curiosity and need to be something more, that can be captured more than anything in the voice of Hemsworth who gives life to "Orion Pax" who knows that his destiny is beyond fulfilling a job and possibly that is what can make him a leader because he is prepared to motivate whoever decides to lead, something contrary happens to "D-16" played by Henry, since in the beginning he admires the image of the Prime and accepts his role in the world, but when he discovers a hard truth, his frustration will make him lose track of everything and hatred together with selfishness will be what is necessary for his voice to change from being loyal and trustworthy to being ruthless and vile; both performances are magnificent, the chemistry between the two actors is very good and that makes their friendship and their future confrontation credible.

No tenía ninguna expectativa por Transformers One y después de verla solo pensaba que es de las mejores películas que he visto en este año y lamento que los encargados de su distribución y promoción le hayan fallado enormemente porque está película es un éxito total en todos los ámbitos que conforman un film; la animación es excelente, es natural, es divertido, es lo que espero ver en una producción basada en "Transformers", pero la historia es lo mejor, es práctica, directa, fácil de captar, con mucho sentimiento y con un excelente uso del humor y el necesario y nada molesto fanservice, justamente eso me gustó porque no se siente forzado; está película se merecía ser un éxito total y a causa de una horrenda promoción y poca recaudación posiblemente no se termine el relato de esta historia y se regrese nuevamente a la versión live-action la cual es más de lo mismo; solamente me queda decir que si no han visto este film, entonces recomendó hacerlo sin importar que tanto o no conocimiento tenga sobre esta franquicia, seguramente ese es otro punto positivo de esta excelente película.

I had no expectations for Transformers One and after watching it I just thought it was one of the best movies I've seen this year and I regret that those in charge of its distribution and promotion have failed enormously because this movie is a total success in all areas that make up a film; the animation is excellent, it's natural, it's fun, it's what I expect to see in a production based on "Transformers", but the story is the best, it's practical, direct, easy to grasp, with a lot of feeling and with an excellent use of humor and the necessary and not annoying fanservice, I just liked that because it doesn't feel forced; this movie deserved to be a total success and because of a horrendous promotion and low box office, it is possible that the story will not be finished and will go back to the live-action version which is more of the same; I can only say that if you have not seen this film, then you should do it no matter how much or not knowledge you have about this franchise, surely that is another positive point of this excellent movie.

Cover image edited in canva; the image was taken from the following source

Will you do the right thing or let it corrupt your heart?

¿Harás lo correcto o dejarás que corrompa tu corazón?

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My bucket list keeps getting lower and lower as I'm just going through a list of movies I have wanted to watch for some time but for some reason I put the aside, its the case of Leave The World Behind and it's quite a ride, either you love it or hate it, I enjoy it but has some clear flaws, CGI guy should get fired. Sam Esmail’s apocalyptic thriller based on Rumaan Alam’s novel, as usual I haven't read it so my opinion is purely based on the Netflix movie release, its full 2 hours and 18 minutes, kinda of movie that makes you take a half time pit stop. It’s not perfect but it’s definitely worth a watch and especially if you are into movies that will make you think long after its over, this one the most probably since its ending is very inconclusive and ambiguous, for me it’s a solid 7.5 out of 10.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12747748/
• Platform: NETFLIX

Rottentomatoes Rating

The movie begins with Julia Roberts waking up one morning and deciding that she and her family are going to take a vacation, she plays the character of this high marketing exec just had enough of people, literally "I hate people. She packs her husband Clay played by Ethan Hawke and the two kids and heads off to this fancy rental house on Long Island. The works, all marble countertops, top shelf liquor but as expected things start going sideways pretty quick. There's the Wi Fi acting up, the TV takes a vacation too, an oil tanker crashes right on the beach in front of them. This was a vacation that went very wrong, wasn’t it?. I'm a bit sarcastic about the movie because obviously there is more than that but if we resume the movie there is all this unknown chaos and that's is the part that I love about it.

While they are at the house, two strangers show up at their door in the middle of the night, Myha’la and Mahershala Ali are G.H. Scott and his daughter Ruth, they say they own the house and that there's been a blackout in the city, Amanda isn't buying it at first. She rather think its a home invasion situation but it also meets the end of the world and you never know what is really going on, the movie can be very confusing, I had to watch it twice and look up for answers online so its not a movie that everyone is going to enjoy. Both families begin to see that whatever's going on is far bigger than some random blackout, it is a whole lot of possible cyberattacks, animals around acting weird and the world as they know it just not working anymore. Director Esmail gets the tension up there really well, not giving us too much too soon but just enough so we get hooked and keep wanting more from it.

The cast is what keeps the movie up float because the story and script not so good, Julia Roberts does a great job at playing Amand, slightly racist character you kind of want to dislike, she is just this very interesting person after all. Mahershala Ali as G.H. He has this air about him that he knows more than he is telling everyone else, but he is trying to keep everyone calm, the way he makes Amanda trust him at first is just a big achievement considering how she is. Clay Sandford is the easygoing husband, played by Ethan Hawke just wants to keep the peace, which he is doing. There is also Myha'la as Ruth, she is this angry character but also there is this deep loss for the world falling apart around her. As you can tell on both couples there is this balance and contrast that pulls the strings on every direction but still does not break apart.

I found this movie really interesting because it really explores the breakdown of society, not just the physical infrastructure falling apart, there's people turning on each other when things go south. It's a pretty clever case based on our current social situation of distrust this time between the two families, you always open your eyes trying for people not to fuck you over similar to the way they're all trying to figure out who's responsible for what's happening.

The movie handled the apocalypse theme really well, not like the most classic one been Zombies, but it is this slow burning, creeping dread that’s going to build and build and build. Also with how the director uses the camera to make you feel this unease and strange of the world in the air. Really getting you into those awkward angles and disorienting shots which makes you feel lost and confused. The one thing that didn't quite work for me and that was the CGI, especially with animals, for example there is this scene with a bunch of deer that just looked off and it sort of pulled me out of the moment and to make things worst it is a mayor deal in the movie, you see deer on every single advertisement of it.

The ending is the second aspect of the movie I didn't like as we are being tipped off what might be causing all this chaos through the movie. G.H. begins to put things together, he is this investment banker moving money for powerful people. He explains to Clay that he thinks it's a foreign attack and he lays out this three point strategy for destabilizing countries. Spread misinformation, disable information and transportation, the perfect recepy to make people turn on each other.

I can appreciate that the movie doesn't tell us that this is exactly what happened, because this opens the door for interpretation and discussion, although this time is like there is going to be a second part but so far there wont be. There is this scene close to the end with Amanda and Ruth in the forest, and they see explosions in the long distance, gunshots, screams, you just know it's bad.

We don’t know what will happen to these characters or the world they live in. Are they going to survive? Is society as it is now over? I think that it’s pretty bold to leave it open ended and probably why some people dislike it so much. It might be frustrating to some people, but I think it works, I'm more use to watch movies that are different and can take this open for interpretation ending better than others, leaving you thinking about the movie long after it’s over.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #apocalyptic, #thriller, #isolation, #technology, #paranoia, #society, #collapse, #survival, #cyberattack, #distrust, #family, #tension, #racism, #uncertainty, #breakdown, #chaos, #suspense, #adaptation, #nature, #conspiracy, #ambiguity, #civilization, #fear, #humanity, #communication, #flixfinder

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Heretic is the church scary movie A24 came up recently and its mental as many would say but has a few flaws, in fact I'm going to step down from an 8 to a 7 so people don't think I'm bias because I love psychological horror the most, it breaks from the typical possession/conjuring tales to an even more mental ground that test us where our faith begins and ends, while we’d doubtlessly question how far someone would go to prove their point, the idea that something like this can exist in real life is sick and terrifying, I truly hope no psycho watch this movie and make it happen in real life, just please don't. Going into this movie I expected another standard horror movie about the uprising psychological horror that has been the main horror sub genre from 2024, but what I got was a smart and well crafted story of two Mormon missionaries trapped in a house with someone who seems to know more about their religion than they do. The horror of the movie is built through conversations and debates that take their time before cheap scares, just the kind of horror that gets under my skin and into your brain.

• IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28015403/
• Platform: Amazon Prime Video

Rottentomatoes Rating

It was very much like movies like Saw movies where I think was the beginning of this trend where the subject didn't need to be possess all it need was to be tested to figure and find out how far humans would go depending on the situation, where the horror is having no control in something, having to be trapped with somebody that controls everything that's the key aspect of this movie. Where we differ here is that instead of physical torture, we get raw psychological manipulation that wears down the characters faith, slowly taking their belief away and braking them down, in my opinion this is something fresh from the religious horror genre that has been created by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, who previously gave us A Quiet Place, again something different from your typical Alien invasion action movies to mix it up with the fact that you cant make a sound because you are dead, even a new born, this is when the true horror is reborn from something as simple as a sound.

Woods and Beck have managed to build tension despite excluding every horror metaphors you can possibly think of, with the house it self becomes a character with its maze like structure and dimly lit rooms that contribute to the claustrophobia of the room, every corner is meant to generate a reaction. It’s even more disturbing because the blueberry pie smell from a candle, the chess like game Mr. Reed plays with his victims, very similar to the Saw movies and the way he has everything planned out, its terrifying and at the same time so satisfying when you are waiting for so long until all the planets align and the perfect moment becomes a reality, yes its sick to think about it but let it go, its just entertaining.

Movie starts during a snowstorm, Sister Barnes and Sister Paxton arrive at Mr. Reed's house in an effort to share their Mormon faith with someone who has actually asked for information about their church. They arrive to Mr. Reed's place, played brilliantly by Hugh Grant who welcomes them with charm, at first the man is dream, charming as fuck to be just as sick, claiming his wife is in the kitchen baking a pie. The rule of the missionaries not to enter into homes without another woman present, they decide to come in from the storm and suddenly a fascinating discussion about religion, slowly turning into something more sinister.

Mr. Reed also lets it slip that he knows a lot more about religions than just Mormonism, its just like that old saying "The Devil knows the bible better than nobody else" and it has to be that way, best layer existed. He asks pointed questions and observes their beliefs to challenge them in the form of intellectual debate, which becomes increasingly uncomfortable at every step. The missionaries soon find themselves trapped in a house with a man who has been planning this moment with meticulous detail and no Mrs. Reed isn't baking any pie in the kitchen.

The house is a full blown maze with rooms and the entry to this room doors labeled Belief and Disbelief, forcing the missionaries to make choices leading towards escape or death, forcing them to break up, leaving behind what ever hope in their religion or humanity they have, that is what Mr. Reed is all about, breaking them down and teaching or learning how far humans would go. They dive further into the house, eventually discovering Mr Reed's true intentions and the horrible truth that they're not his first victims. Mr. Reed played by Hugh Grant, is one of Grant’s funniest and scariest performances at the same damn time, as he shucks his romantic comedy face for a part that’s both charming and terrifying. Whatever he does he manage to switch from friendly intellectual to menacing villain and every scene he is part of remains uncomfortable to watch, he will make you sick to your stomach that someone like him might exist, even doing a Jar Jar Binks impression for a moment, making him more unsettling.

Sophie Thatcher as Sister Barnes, and Chloe East as Sister Paxton, men you have to feel for them, there is no other description to it, why on Earth they had to land on Mr. Reed's trap, sadly it was meant to be and that is sometimes who unfair life is. Sister Paxton is pure belief and Sister Barnes is the more worldly of the two, questioning things while she believes, both become a combination of an interesting contrast while facing Mr. Reed's psychological games. There are aspects to this movie to make it a challenge from filming on tight spaces to keep it close to very few little characters like just a few in this case, Grant's intellectual superiority constantly challenged the missionaries belief as they try to keep their cool and find another exit, their performances come off natural and unforced, so that the intellectual debates are exciting rather than preachy, not the type of telling you exactly why you are wrong or right but rather staying on a gray area, that's when the devil plays.

The ending of Heretic is a whole different kind and provides enough wiggle room to interpret it however you like. Sister Barnes confronts Mr. Reed about his manipulation of women, almost trying to exposing his real intentions, meaning it has nothing to do with religion rather than over power women, she comes back to rescue Sister Paxton from the claws of Mr. Reed, who has been wounded her.

Its clear that since the moment we had had the two choice, belief or disbelief, the ending plays with the contrast between belief and reality. All along during the movie Mr. Reed says that control is the only true religion, but at the end he loses control of his meticulously planned game, either they can watch the butterflies scene as a confirmation of faith, or they can see the butterflies scene as a hallucination from trauma, and what they should decide to believe, he is so sick and fixed on control over women specifically that this makes him loose control of himself.

I’d say Heretic was a more than interesting enough game play that I ended up in a conspiracy of what was going on through Mr. Reed's mind the hole time, this is what makes the movie so interesting and engaging, taking in how it built tension through talk rather than the cheap scare jumps, the man is the true Pied Piper of Hamelin, just this time around allure them to a bigger trap. The psychological horror aspect itself was done really well and I love it, reason why I think I'm bias, because it made me question not only things that the characters believed but also things I think about control.

The movie just hammer down on religious horror using the intellectual and psychological aspects over supernatural and I just love it, putting it against my horror queen of 2024 "The First Omen". There's a lot of what you might call traditional horror indicators at play, but the core themes of faith, control and the power of belief never leave the building, just the way the house became the character that fuck with their minds the most, exactly as Mr. Reed was looking from above on his model and the Sisters had no where to go was amazing.

Heretic gets a 7/10 from me, just because I know some people wont go as further into the what if? of the movie like me, I simply love the damn thing. Yes, I know part of the movie feel a little too predictable, but it’s nice to see a horror movie that isn’t shy to get a little heavy and be serious about real things while still giving you something heavier with the combination of intellectual horror and psychological manipulation is just brilliant, considering how the horror genre is changing.

#skiptvads, #inleo, #hive, #heretic, #mormon, #faith, #horror, #psychological, #belief, #manipulation, #control, #missionaries, #religion, #disbelief, #trapped, #cage, #blueberry, #butterfly, #prayer, #survival, #darkness, #torture, #escape, #resurrection, #basement, #doors, #experiment, #chessboard, #flixfinder

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