sansay

Right... the general population didn't really care about this movie. Why then do I have to title my review "Masterpiece"? Is it because I really loved the ideas expressed in this movie? Or perhaps the accurate depiction of society and what it would do if such events actually occurred? It has occurred and it will occur again and again, I think that we, the human species, have become pretty predictable. So, yes, this movie is logical and fits very well with my predictive analysis. And then, the acting is very good, not over the top, subtle. I liked Romain Duris's performance as the father who is trying so hard against all odds to keep his family together. And his son, interpreted by an actor I had never seen, Paul Kircher, is very convincing as well.

As the story unravels one keeps looking for clues about people who might be already affected but trying to hide it. You can't help feeling sympathetic to their plight. But the most important question this movie raises is what to do about these people? The current solution is obviously not satisfactory and the alternative, well you will have to watch it to know what it is. I did and I had a great time. It left me wondering, which is one of the things I look for in movies.

I knew that views are widely divergent on the merits of Megalopolis, but that usually tells me that it's probably going to be something out of the ordinary. And that, it is. But I have to warn you: it is full of literary references. You will be more likely to appreciate if you have read a lot of books. Also, you will need to have a taste for wild imagination. Some references, aside from well-known classics from the Romans as well as Shakespeare, which are very important here: "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" both books were written by Russian-American writer Ayn Rand. She was a strong advocate of capitalism and of the importance of allowing people to keep control of their creations. Many of her ideas and of the events in the books are actually illustrated in this movie. That really surprised me because I had no idea Coppola was such an admirer of her work. I was at a time too, but I eventually read some criticisms of her work and got a bit more skeptic of some of her ideas.

Anyway, the storyline is actually much more straightforward than some reviewers seem to imply. It is a fable, as indicated right at the beginning. And, as such, it has interesting characters who want the best for humanity but don't agree on how to get there. And of course, all the struggles depicted in this fantasy, because let's face it, it is more of a fantasy than anything else, lead to consequences which the author conclude as he sees fit. And that is where I could see a lot of people having a hard time accepting them.

One thing that puzzles me is the ease with which a large percentage of the population can accept and enjoy fantasies such as Lord of the Rings, but would reject this kind of fantasy. Too close to home? Or too bizarre? I don't know.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was not so much on the emotional rather it was more on the intellectual level. I did not feel it was too long as some reviewers felt. I was curious, intrigued even, all along as to where it was going. The dreamlike imagery and the idiosyncrasies of the characters are what made this movie so fascinating to me. But I definitely can understand that it's not for everybody.

This Amazon TV show surprised me. I think it's a romantic drama-comedy in a futuristic world. The humor is all over the place, mixed in with the drama. It is also subtle at times, and after having read other reviews, realized I missed some. But, for me, the more important thing is the main line, the impossible love story. This show brought me to tears. I know one way it succeeded in accomplishing this: it took the time to develop the characters. At the beginning the budding couple is charming and amusing. Then, over the 10 episodes it evolves into a deep love story where you feel for this couple, you get engaged, you really want them to succeed, be together. And you feel so sorry when they hit some obstacles.

The ideas about a world where you can upload your mind into virtual reality have been explored many times over in science-fiction. Recently, Altered Carbon, a Netflix series based on the books by Richard K. Morgan, did a great job of extending this notion to uploading it straight into another body artificially created for this purpose. Upload has a different take. It shows us a world where it's only used to save your mind into a virtual reality, a computer construct. And it's not cheap. About that, I really liked how the inequality issues of society make it even into a virtual world. But, In retrospect, I think that the main topic is really the relationship between bios (still alive) with uploaded people. Just that fills so much of the show, as it raises so many questions. Watch it, it's a fun, wonderful show and it will gives you a few things to think about regarding your life and other's too.