Barbie (2023)

Direction: Greta Gerwig
Country: USA

The pink bubble surrounding the world-famous 11-inch plastic doll Barbie, which made its first appearance in 1959 in New York by the hand of creator and Mattel co-founder Ruth Handel, is hard to recreate, even in modern cinema. Yet, and despite the dominant sense of goofiness, the talented filmmaker Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird, 2017; Little Women, 2019) demonstrates she’s capable of surprising the viewer with clever takes on several important topics - from patriarchy to identity to consumerism and capitalism. Fresh ideas co-orchestrated with partner Noah Baumbach transpire throughout a film that jolts with jubilant humor, music, dance, and a few truths about real-world men and women.

In this artificial Hollywood fantasy, Barbie (Margot Robbie, who also produced) struggles with thoughts of death, and inexplicably gets flat feet and cellulite. These malfunctions prompt her to see Weird Barbie (Kate McKinnon) for advice. The latter urges her to leave Barbieland and go to the real world where she will connect with the unsatisfied Mattel-designer Gloria (America Ferrera), and her brash daughter, Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt). Whereas Barbie becomes aware of her depressive state, her forever boyfriend, Beach Ken (Ryan Gosling), makes a move to transform Barbieland into a patriarchal Kenland by brainwashing the remaining versions of Barbie. A pink revolution, not devoid of sweet reasonableness, is needed to reestablish peace and justice.

Benefitting from Helen Mirren’s effective narration, this feminist film hovers over the topics with wittiness, enjoyment and critical thinking. The result is cheerily upbeat. Great energy and creativity went into the construction, production and direction of this movie, which, as good as it is at times, still misses the heart. With that said, that final scene was simply brilliant, leaving me no other option than surrender myself to Gerwig’s intelligent humor. This Barbie movie might be too candied and flamboyant but is certainly not silly.

First Man (2018)

Directed by Damien Chazelle
Country: USA

“First Man”, Damien Chazelle’s biographical drama film about the first man on the moon, is a must-see for its irrefutable dramatic quality and insightful account of the events before and after the launch of the spaceflight Apollo 11. Chazelle, whose short career holds “Whiplash” and “La La Land” as major achievements, worked from an effective screenplay by Josh Singer (“Spotlight”, “The Post”) and guides a fabulous pair of natural actors: Ryan Gosling and Claire Foy. The former is Neil Armstrong, the modest astronaut who would become a world-wide celebrity and national hero in 1969, and the latter is Janet Shearon, Armstrong’s wife, who plays a crucial role in the emotional side of the story. Steven Spielberg joined the film’s crew as an executive producer.

The film starts off with a thrilling landing on the Mojave Desert in 1961, when Armstrong’s X-15 rocket is pulled out of the atmosphere due to a ‘distraction’. At this time, the pilot lives in distress due to his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, who undergoes treatment for brain tumor. Despite being extremely cold in behavior, Armstrong sheds a river of tears when his beloved daughter dies. As a way to fight the grief, he applies to the Project Gemini, an advanced spatial program that aims to beat the Soviets in the race to the moon. He is accepted and moves with his family to Houston, Texas, where he befriends other astronauts and respective families.

It’s nothing less than brave that, although seeing other colleagues dying in accidents provoked by multiple failures, the resilient Armstrong has never hesitated when it comes to accomplishing such an important expedition. After a few technical setbacks, which he handles with both responsibility and dexterity, Armstrong finally lands his spacecraft and walks on the lunar surface. An exciting section of the movie indeed.

Nicely paced, the film focus on the sacrifices made for the sake of the human progress, including the ones related to Armstrong’s family. In one of the best scenes of the film, Janet forces her husband to have a serious conversation with their sons. He must explain to them that he is going away on a dangerous trip and might not come back. If Gosling’s performance is formidably low-key, then Foy’s is pure perfection, bringing the emotional stimulus to keep us wired.

The magnificent score by Justin Hurwitz enhances the floating sensations of a different gravitational acceleration and combines in perfection with Lindus Sandgren’s detailed cinematography. Chazelle smartly avoided any type of artifice in the imagery as well as sentimentality in the drama. Hence, expect lucid space images and not fabricated spectacles, as well as emotions that feel humanely grounded and powerfully mature. “First Man” means a first-rate experience.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Country: USA

The most awaited sequel to the acclaimed science fiction thriller “Blade Runner”, dated from 1982, is now out by the hand of prodigious French Canadian director Denis Villeneuve. He had already shown a knack for the sci-fi genre with the understated yet magnetizing “Arrival”, and now managed to assure this new, well-told, and utterly satisfying “Blade Runner 2049”. The script was penned by Hampton Fancher, who was also co-responsible for the preexistent fictional account, and Michael Green, writer of “Logan” and “Alien: Covenant”.

The film starts quietly and finishes with a nerve-wracking excitement, using straightforward methods that distinguishably eschewed narrative obscurity or any type of sloppiness in its smallest detail.

32 years have passed since the happenings displayed in the first installment and the LAPD ‘Blade Runner’ named 'K' (Ryan Gosling), moved by an acute curiosity and inflexible sense of truth, digs in prohibited matters and unveils a secret that can lead to catastrophic consequences. As a very special Nexus-9 replicant, a bioengineered human, he enjoys the strong sensation of real life and human comfort felt in every interaction with Joi (Ana de Armas), his treasured holographic girlfriend. 

Tenacious in will and assertive when it comes to act, 'K' contests absolute truths, stalks explanations while wallowing in ruined cities, and uses vague memories from his childhood to track Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a former ‘blade runner’ whom he suspects to be his father. After a complicated first contact, the solitary ‘runners’ ultimately get along, enjoying the elucidative conversations and the company of each other. However, they will have the obnoxious Niander Wallace (Jared Leto), the super-weird CEO of the current leading manufacturer of replicants, hunting them down. The latter orders his loyal, unblinking, and highly efficient executioner, Luv (Sylvia Hoeks), to exterminate them from the face of this unilluminated Earth they live in.

Astute and functional in the way it was mounted, “Blade Runner 2049” shines with fantastic performances by Gosling, Hoeks, and Ford, and also impresses on the visual side, thanks to the incalculable efficiency of Roger Deakins, the British director of photography who has been working for the Coen brothers since the unparalleled Barton Fink.

Not being the astounding masterpiece that everybody wanted it to be, the film still rises to the occasion, producing moments of sheer fascination, maintaining high levels of consistency in its narrative, and creating excitement through gimmick-free action scenes which were carefully designed to prevent excesses.

La La Land (2016)

Directed by Damien Chazelle
Country: USA

Everyone who loves movies knows the value of Damien Chazelle, the writer/director of “Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench” and the three-Oscar-winning “Whiplash”. His passion for music is no secret, thus, it is not a surprise that his third feature film, “La La Land”, falls into a musical/comedy/romance that overflows with warmth and grace.

Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, teaming up for the third time (“Crazy Stupid Love” and “Gangster Squad”) in their careers, make an interesting couple that struggles in LA to follow their dreams. Gosling is Sebastian, a jazz pianist whose intention is to open his own club; Stone is Mia, a part-time barista and actress-wannabe who deserves more luck than she has in the castings.

A set of unexpected encounters will bring their lives together, and they’ll keep running after the right opportunity that could bring them success in their careers. With love and understanding spanning the four seasons of the year, Sebastian and Mia seem to be destined for each other.
However, life takes many turns, and disappointment makes part of it.
The film’s last section is an agreeable surprise that smartly reawakened the curiosity that had gradually lost.  

Lightly funny and imbued of a vital swinging jazz (the orchestration comes from Chazelle’s former classmate and regular collaborator, Justin Hurwitz), “La La Land” is a charming and entertaining romance that auspiciously borrows the looks and mood of Jacques Demy’s movies. It is not Chazelle’s best film because it doesn’t have the vibrancy of “Whiplash”. Notwithstanding, the film is nicely staged, musically exciting, and technically stainless.