All Forms of Art

  Don't Look Up is a new movie on the Netflix catalog starring big names such as Leonardo DiCaprio , Jennifer Lawrence , and Meryl Streep . A group of "not that important" scientists from a university finds that a massive asteroid - an extinction-level event - is coming towards Earth. They must warn the world, but does the world want to be warned?  Great Cast and Dark Humor With a great cast, Don't Look Up is an unexpected comedy, full of dark humor and I laughed a lot.  Yet, and most importantly, this movie is a clever critique of modern society - absurd and ridiculous. Perfect Analogy  The concerns about Climate Changes were the inspiration for this movie, and they found the perfect analogy to develop the story. The movie has it all — it shows the inverted values we are living through, where power and politics are way more important than lives. The reaction of the President (Meryl Streep) either makes you laugh, or you'll get extremely angry. Does she remin...

  Finally, here it is, the first Portuguese show on Netflix ! Did I like it? Yes. Am I impartial? No. Glória tells us an intense story of espionage during the Cold War . It is not the kind of synopsis that would make me watch a show, but I gave it a try since it was our first. I was not disappointed. No one is who they claim to be Typical of any good spies’ movies, no one is who they claim to be or who they seem to be. And most characters are entirely aware of that. As a result, there is no safe place, not even inside the family. It builds a whole environment where everyone mistrusts everyone, creating lots of suspense and... It works! After a couple of episodes, I was slightly nervous. Portuguese history as well The plot is clever, and the writers had to do a lot of research, for sure. Elements of the Cold War were well connected with what was happening in Portugal at the time - the dictatorship, the PIDE (political police), the colonial war in Africa. It had an interesting psyc...

  Although I watched the first part of season 5 when it was released, I waited for the second part to do this review. I wanted to be sure they wouldn't ruin the show last minute, as happened in many others before. They didn't. When the 5th season came out, I wasn't that willing to watch it. I was tired of the concept. It was time to finish the story. I gave it a try, and fortunately, it was a good ending. Nerve-racking as always When I started watching this season, I thought, "Oh, I knew it, this is terrible." I didn't like the first couple of episodes: too much shooting and fake blood. Things got better, though.   Around the third episode, Money Heist becomes the nerve-racking, full of emotion show we were used to. Impossible to look away from the screen. Alicia This character grew into one of my favorites. She evolved wonderfully throughout the story and ended up as a magnificent character. I loved it, but she has her flaws as well, right?  Let's face i...

  The Unforgivable is a movie from Netflix with Sandra Bullock as Ruth Slater. She just came back to civilian life, after being 20 years in jail, for homicide. However, the struggle of her life is about to begin.    How…? This movie presents us with two important questions: “How far would you go to protect someone you love?” and “How long have you to pay for your mistakes?” None of them is new, and, none has an answer. Instead, they are simply two topics repeatedly explored in an infinity of movies and shows.  The narrative The story focuses on two main points: Ruth’s reintegration into society and her search for her little sister. Simple and full of potential. Yet, the final result is not as promising. These two premises had so many things to explore and so many ways of doing it. Yet, their choices were poor - languid rhythm, with too long plans. The use of flashbacks was a little too much as well. It gets the audience a bit tired. Emotions It is supposed to be an...

  How do you start over when everything is against you? Alex has an alcoholic husband who tends to become violent and has no help from anyone. Not even her mom and dad. So, she sees herself completely alone. Yet, she is a brave woman. She takes the most challenging decision for any domestic abuse victim: she leaves. She picks her daughter and leaves home. Yet, now, she has no job, no house, and no money. She left with only 18 dollars in her pocket.  You may cry The bravest of decisions has the most difficult of consequences. It always does, right? That’s why she is so brave. But, as a viewer, it breaks your heart to watch some of the scenes. At the beginning of the story, Alex doesn’t understand that she is a victim. He never actually hit her. With time and the right help, she comprehends what happened to her, but it doesn’t matter. Not for court, not even for her family. She has no bruises after all. How do you prove psychological abuse? Her partner says he loves her. He seem...