TRAVEL TO MOVIES: HAND OF GOD

Director: Paolo Sorrentino

Cast: Filippo Scotti , Toni Servillo , Teresa Saponangelo , Marlon Joubert , Massimiliano Gallo , Renato Carpentieri , Betty Pedrazzi , Luisa Ranieri , Enzo Decaro , Lino Musella , Ciro Capano

Plot: From Academy Award-winning writer and director Paolo Sorrentino (Il Divo, The Great Beauty, The Young Pope) comes the story of a boy, Fabietto Schisa, set in the tumultuous Naples of the 1980s. The Hand of God is a story full of unexpected joys, such as the arrival of football legend Diego Maradona, and an equally unexpected tragedy. Fate plays its part, joy and tragedy intertwine, and Fabietto's future set in motion. Sorrentino returns to his hometown to tell his most personal story, a tale of fate and family, sports and cinema, love and loss so' on!

Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hand_of_god

My Movie Review: The movie is oddly real its excellent I loved this film, despite being too slow and melancholic at times for my personal liking it has enough mystery that keeps you looking! The biggest thing The Hand of God has going for it is the visuals how they capture it, this film is absolutely gorgeous obviously, the shots of the Italian countryside are exceptionally tasteful:) Paolo Sorrentino's autobiographical drama dazzles as much as it confounds it is a family full of daily dramas, laughter and love after a scattershot opening, Sorrentino's drama about growing up in 1980s Naples blossoms into a drama of real depth giving its an insight on their daily life! The arrival of soccer legend Diego Maradona to join the Napoli football club create a frenzy from fans a shift of energy inadvertently saves Fabietto's life with tragedy striking, Fabietto still has his whole future ahead of him and that make this great is the unknown- uncertainty of it all! The acting is out of this world and I believed every single character like Fabio's mother really looked and acted like his mother and same for his brother, everything felt authentic to the core! The Hand of God flip flops between gentle comedy and domestic tragedy deftly, and in that way feels a lot like life even love it when unafraid to show emotion plus here's an immersive quality to the look and sound of all' that suggests the ideal way to see this movie is in a theater!

Critics Consensus: Although The Hand of God isn't Sorrentino's best work, this beautifully filmed coming-of-age story sings in a beguiling, albeit minor, key. The Hand of God is filled with the kind of detail that could only have come from observation-and memory. That one family could contain so many unique and peculiar people is a reminder that truth is almost always stranger than fiction. This is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that doubles as a movie about the movies themselves. The film has the vividness of memory, but also the structure of memory, which is to say no real structure at all. Visually, though, the movie is of a piece; it's Sorrentino's eye that holds it together. Paolo Sorrentino’s new Netflix feature, The Hand of God, is an expectedly poetic coming-of-age drama set against a sun-kissed Neopolitan backdrop. Sorrentino uses the coming-of-age genre to turn his own personal tragedy into a beguiling fable of family and creativity lost and found. The Hand of God is a love letter to Italy and for Sorrentino, it becomes a form of escapism and a humane portrayal of a grief-stricken teenager as he enters a new world. Sorrentino has crafted a story even more personal within his canon, perhaps the most intimate and honest. A marvelous result-- nostalgic, and luminous! More than just a pretty European art film dazzling images and intimate storytelling converge in Sorrentino's most personal film, one where cinema not only mimic reality but offers redemption!

Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_hand_of_god

TRAVEL TO PLACES: SINGAPORE-- CAPITASPRING

My Personal Experience: I went to CapitaSpring Singapore last August 12, 2022, together with my sister to have some high tea and dessert on Sol and Luna located on the higher floor:) We went there after our lunch in Atlas at Parkview Square and visit in Capitol Theatre were we stroll around Raffles Place took awhile to find the CapitaSpring building it's such relief seeing it!

CapitaSpring

CapitaSpring is a skyscraper in Downtown Core, Singapore. The building was designed by architectural firm BIG and architect Carlo Ratti. With a height of 280 m (920 ft), as of 2022, the building is the joint second-tallest in Singapore, with One Raffles Place, United Overseas Bank Plaza One, and Republic Plaza. The building is primarily devoted to conventional office space, although about ten percent of the building will contain coworking space. The building contains a food centre on the second and third floors, including  hawker centre similar to the Golden Shoe Car Park, food and retail options, including Japanese restaurant, Oumi on the 51st floor:)

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CapitaSpring

TRAVEL TO MOVIES: UNFORGIVABLE

Director: Nora Fingscheidt

Cast: Sandra Bullock , Jon Bernthal , Vincent D'Onofrio, Viola Davis , Tom Guiry , Will Pullen , Aisling Franciosi , Richard Thomas , Linda Emond , Rob Morgan , Jess McLeod , Jude Wilson

Plot: Released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime, Ruth Slater (Sandra Bullock) re-enters a society that refuses to forgive her past. Facing severe judgment from the place she once called home, her only hope for redemption is finding the estranged younger sister she was forced to leave behind.

Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_unforgivable

My Movie Review: The movie is very powerful I strongly recommend through some critics may disagree cause of some part, it is slow burning and Sandra Bullock as always plays beautifully! It feels very real and I liked the way they made Bullock unlikable and violent when in reality she sacrificed herself to protect her sister as she struggles to reacclimate to the often-unforgiving outside world after being released from prison after serving sentence for the past violent crime! The Unforgivable tells a story on facing severe judgment from the place she once called home, her only hope for redemption is finding the estranged younger sister she was forced to leave behind as the reunion happens after flashbacks reveal the twist hat it was actually 5-year-old Katie who had accidentally shot the sheriff in a moment of distress, not Ruth, and that Ruth had taken the blame and gone to prison then with her younger sister Katie (Aisling Franciosi) whom she raised and brought up after her mom died at childbirth, and later after their father's suicide! Sandra Bullock, a true-crime junkie decided to do this, signed on to produce as well as star in “The Unforgivable” after she was captivated by the script, which is based on the original 2009 British miniseries of the same name. Vincent D'Onofrio plays John Ingram is a corporate lawyer who decides to help Ruth in her family law case pro bono, he's married to his wife Liz and the pair have two sons, he another strong character that you can root for in serving justice!

Critics Consensus: The Unforgivable proves Sandra Bullock is more than capable of playing against type, but her performance is wasted on a contrived and unrelentingly grim story. In the 1970s, this would have been a film with Jimmy Caan directed by John Cassavetes, and it would have seemed much more true. This is awfully contrived, melodramatic, and nonsensical. The original allows for variations in mood, while also giving its characters lives outside the narrow constraints of the main game. The film, in contrast, is all business and a bit of a plod. It's time for Bullock to cheer up. This story of redemption, pain and regret could have been a maudlin slog with a lesser actress inhabiting Ruth Slater, but in the hands of Bullock, it’s simply a must-see. The Unforgivable is just that, in almost every way. While the ending undermines much of the gritty authenticity from earlier in the film, Bullock’s performance keeps us centered reminding us of how good she can be with the right material. By the time The Unforgivable is over, you won't be pondering the real-world implications of the film's themes so much as shaking your head and muttering, "Only in the movies." "Far-fetched and forgettable - wit a concluding plot twist that turns out to be too little too late. The film’s dull beige color palette and overly trite string score help only to underscore the largely one-note performances from what should have been promising ensemble cast. A muddled, dire film that feels chopped to pieces:(

Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_unforgivable/reviews

TRAVEL TO PLACES: SINGAPORE-- CAPITOL THEATRE

My Personal Experience: I went to Capitol Theatre Singapore last August 12, 2022, together with my sister. We went there after going to the restaurants- Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski:) The blue moon in front of Capitol Theatre attract us to come and take photos there's something magical about it that make our pictures pop and a mystic vibe I get that transcends my energy:)

Capitol Theatre

Capitol Theatre is an architectural and lifestyle gem in the heart of Singapore civic and cultural district. A historical, neo-classical icon, Capitol Theatre remains vibrant destination, its historic construction as glorious in its current incarnation it was when it was first built by M.A. Namazie, an early Singapore pioneer of Persian origin 1929. From concerts, conventions and weddings, to your wildest imagination, Capitol Theatre is suitable for a wide range of events. If you can think of it our team make it happen! Contact our team stage your next event at Capitol Theatre!

Source: https://capitol-theatre.sg/ https://www.google.com/the+capitol+theatre+singapore

TRAVEL TO MOVIES: ASAKUSA KID

Director: Gekidan Hitori

Cast: Yuya Yagira , Hiroyuki Onoue , Mugi Kadowaki , Morio Kazama , Honami Suzuki , Nobuyuki Tsuchiya , Yô Ôizumi , Kurt Kanazawa , Keiko Agena , Feodor Chin , Harrison Xu (V)

Plot: A young man drops out of school to make a career in the arts. He quickly finds a gig by shadowing one of the most famous entertainers in Japan. Before he hit it big, Takeshi Kitano got his start apprenticing with comedy legend Fukami of Asakusa. But as his star rises, his mentor's declines:( Takeshi is taught to practice being an entertainer day and night, awake or sleeping. He should inhabit the persona. At the same time theatre is becoming less popular as people gravitate to their televisions!

Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/asakusa_kid_2021

My Movie Review: The movie is brighter than expected based on the Japanese comedian and filmmaker's memoir, affectionate portrait is lit up' by Yuya Yagira's transformative performance:) Asakusa Kid is a story about the wonderful people of the Asakusa France Za theatre which undoubtedly changed his life and this movie is a thank you to those a satisfyingly intimate view of his formative years Kurt's performance was so good that at the first scene I thought Takeshi himself was appearing, it was nostalgic and heart warming a journey worth taking comes alive when it steps away from all formulaic biography and lets loose with fantasy and magic realism:) Yuya Yagira is the main star of the movie portraying the film legend Takeshi Kitano's humble beginnings but Yagira is such a talented and charismatic actor that one almost forgot this was real life bittersweet biopic about Japanese filmmaker/ actor Kitano and his sensai comedian Fukami. It’s the typical tear-jerking Japanese drama though shot with sincerity and restraint by the director and brilliantly acted out by them that the emotions still feel so genuine and honest:) If this biopic does not relate his cinematic experience and mastery, nor explore his writing and painting talents, it has the singular merit of highlighting what is the basis of his life as an artist: laughter and irreverence, relentlessness and humility its a great movie I feel it hitting my heart:)

Critics Reviews: Asakusa Kid is not the sprawling account of Takeshi Kitano’s life you might expect, but instead is a satisfyingly intimate, focussed view of his formative years. A film definitely worth watching, not only for Kitano or Japanese cinema fans, but the afterthought it leaves is definitely that of a 'what if', particularly regarding the what the material could be in the hands of more experienced director. Beat Takeshi is a beloved figure, and seeing his formative years is informative even this film somewhat subdued almost in reverence to the man. Asakusa Kid makes for diverting entertainment as far as it goes, but brings down the curtain just as the real story is about to begin. The Asakusa Kid has many entertaining moments, but falls short in its characterization of Take. All Audience: A pleasure. You can feel, almost smell the Japanese entertainment district of the old days in this film, an era I was lucky enough to catch faded glimpses of in the 90s spending far too much time in izakayas and small bars. Superb acting, beautiful, but bittersweet nostalgia. The intimate scale of the film beautifully mirroring the lives of the characters, all just bit players in what made those entertainment quarters what they were. They were locked on their well worn paths, yet we are fortunate that one breaking free from the norm gave us reason to look back. Very sweet autobiography of the great Takeshi "Beat" Kitano! Very enjoyable if you are a fan of Takeshi Kitano' a part two that would be great:)

Source: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/asakusa_kid_2021