Trailer for the movie "Such Poor People"/Forum Film
Four new and worthwhile films worth seeing
1. "Madame Web": whoever said this was the worst movie of the year was completely crazy
The superheroine film "Madame Web" was released a month and a week ago, crashed at the box office and received particularly terrible reviews.
What didn't they say about him?
We were assured that this is not just another failure in the world of contemporary comic films, but a work that will enter the pantheon of cinematic horrors, and for decades to come Stalins will sit and laugh in front of it.
This week, with great speed especially in light of its failure at the box office, the film went up on VOD, and guess what?
Of course the rumors about its quality were about as reliable as any other information currently floating around the web.
People are actively looking for materials for like-generating posts and videos on Tik-Tok, and this is the result.
So I'm sorry.
"Madame Webb" is not the "Ulysses" of the failed comic films, and you will not expect any psychedelic experience in front of him.
It's just another casual movie and anyone who says otherwise is looking for even more of a tsumi than Kirill.
Madman Web is a character from the Spider-Man Expanded Universe, who himself does not appear here due to rights issues that we will not go into.
The film, as is customary in the genre, describes her backstory.
Played by Dakota Johnson, she turns out to be the daughter of a researcher who died in the Amazon, works as a paramedic in New York after 9/11, and suddenly gains superpowers.
Fate will bring her together with three young women, one of whom is played by Sidney Sweeney, who has recently been seen everywhere - and they also have special powers.
In front of them stands an arch-villain played by Taher Rahim, who started his career in French indie films and has since made his way to Netflix series such as "The Snake" and now this film as well.
One of the leading criticisms against Madman Webb was that its bad guy was pale and lukewarm.
Why, do you have a problem with a Muslim in a leading role in a Hollywood movie?
Rahim is excellent as usual, sleazy and dark and yet also complex and vulnerable, and in fact he is one of the more successful arch-villains we have seen in recent years, not that the competition is difficult.
Beyond that, "Madame Webb" is not "Oppenheimer" but it is reasonable and certainly not worse than dozens of other films of its kind.
The effects don't reinvent the wheel, but to begin with the film's budget and pretensions are not in the sky.
The presence of Johnson and Sweeney is always welcome, and the film's preoccupation with biological and alternative motherhood and female sisterhood is beautiful and interesting.
Behind the camera was SJ Clarkson, a British TV director who is making her first feature film.
Sorry for the progressive trolling, but would the film have received such a wash if it had been called "Mr. Webb" and had been directed by a man?
I'm pretty sure not.
2. "Home": one of the best Israeli films of recent years
In one sentence: this is one of the best Israeli films of recent years.
It hits theaters this weekend, and I hope it becomes a blockbuster.
"Beit" was directed by Benny Fredman, an ultra-Orthodox who returned to Israel, and is based on his personal story.
Roy Nik portrays a young man from the ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem, who opens a computer store in the ultra-Orthodox Geula neighborhood and incurs the wrath of the "committee" that runs the community, and is presented here as corrupt, dark, violent and uncompromising.
The conflict between them turns into a collision that puts the hero in an unstoppable spiral and sets the neighborhood on fire.
It turns out to be a sharp indictment against fanaticism, corruption and blindness, and even though the focus here is on ultra-Orthodox society in Jerusalem, the film can be seen as a warning to Israel as a whole - this is the catastrophe that awaits us if we continue to let the extremists run things.
Roy Nick plays the hero.
Dror Keren, the director's good friend who also participated in writing the script, plays the head of the ultra-orthodox establishment.
Both are doing phenomenal work and have rightfully won Ophir Awards for their acting work.
Federman turns out to be one of the greatest talents currently working in Israeli cinema, and thanks to an incredibly eloquent script and an exciting directorial performance, a story about a guy who opens a computer store turns into a fascinating, engrossing, electrifying, emotional and simply great film.
Bravo.
3. "Such Poor People": Emma Stone's Oscar-winning hit
"Such poor people" was one of the biggest stars of the last Oscar ceremony.
It won four awards, more than any film except "Oppenheimer", and one of them was in one of the main categories of the evening - the leading actress.
Emma Stone, who already won a statuette for "La La Land", added another Oscar to her trophy cabinet thanks to her spectacular role here.
She deserves fifty Oscars for him.
Now it's coming to VOD and Disney Plus.
The film was written and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, the Greek director who since "Teeth of the Dog" and "The Lobster" has become one of the hottest names in the world of cinema, and he once again collaborated with Emma Stone, who starred with him in the celebrated "The Favorite" as well.
The actress plays here a pregnant young woman who lived in the Victorian era and ended her life.
Style scientist Dr. Frankenstein, played by Willem Dafoe, picks her up, takes the brain of the fetus that was in her womb and implants it inside her.
And so, the heroine of the film comes back to life, but with the brain of a baby girl, so now she has to discover the world anew. She goes out For a cross-continental journey, during which she will learn the wonders of the body and the lust of the flesh, but also the dark side of the world - the injustice and inequality between classes and genders. The world will change her, but she will also change him.
Emma Stone with the Oscar for "Such Poor People"/GettyImages, Kevin Winter/Getty Images
As usual these days, the enthusiasm surrounding the film is a bit exaggerated, yet it cannot be denied that it is a cinematic event.
The artistic design requires viewing on a large screen, the cinematic expression is virtuosic, and the entire process is impressive and invested.
Emma Stone sinks her teeth into the bold role, which provides her and the rest of us with some of the wildest sex and nudity scenes we've seen in commercial cinema in recent years.
Unlike most Oscar movies, "Poor People Like That" also has a sense of humor, so you won't come out of it as poor - you'll probably enjoy it.
And if "Such Poor People" made you want to watch the previous collaboration between Stone and Nathymus - great, the film appeared this week in the Israeli catalog of Netflix and is available there.
And here's another bonus: our interview with Lanthimus about one of his first English-speaking films, "To Kill a Sacred Reindeer".
4. "Wonka": one of the biggest hits of the year
One of the biggest hits of the year came to the VOD of the various platforms.
Behind the film is a British team: director Paul King and producer David Heyman, a warm Jew with a family in Israel.
The two were responsible for the "Paddington" movies, which also broke the box office in Israel.
Like the hits about the talking bear, "Wonka" also presents a combination of a good-natured hero, an optimistic belief in the power of the masses, witty and sometimes grotesque British humor, a stylish and colorful production and an action that caresses the soft of age but also beckons to adults.
As the name suggests, the film follows the professional beginnings of Willy Wonka, the eccentric chocolate entrepreneur who starred in Roald Dahl's Charlie in the Chocolate Kingdom and their film adaptations.
Then he was played by Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp, and now it is Timothy Shalam.
With the help of songs, dances and smiles, "Wonka" describes how its hero tries to fulfill his dream - to multiply good in the world using the recipe for the best chocolate in the universe.
From "Wonka"/Tulip Media
Movies that you really don't want to see
5. "Arthur's Race": Mark Wahlberg in a cynical exploitation of a cute dog
Mark Wahlberg stars in the adaptation of the autobiographical book of Michael Lindenord, who managed a particularly challenging adventure in extreme conditions in the Dominican Republic, and did so accompanied by an abandoned terrier dog.
The movie hit theaters this weekend.
It combines two popular genres - inspiring stories about sporting achievements against all odds, and stories about dogs who have traveled a long way to find a home.
Basically, it's a lovable, harmless and fairly short film (about an hour and a half), which you can enjoy screening sections of in various motivational talks.
He gets the dubious spot because of the manipulativeness of the British director Simon Slan Jones.
Time after time he puts the dog in unpleasant and dangerous situations, and very sarcastically exploits one of our biggest fears as viewers - that the cute dog will die.
There is a site called doesthedogdie and you are invited to consult it to check what happens to the dog before you decide whether to watch "Arthur's Race", we will just tell you that the way there crosses the line of good taste.
More on the same topic:
Roy Nick
Horn sparrow
Emma Stone
Ophir Awards
Dakota Johnson
Sidney Sweeney
Timothy Shalama
Mark Wahlberg