Movie nights on Sundays!

MAD MAX

In the near future, bikers clash with the police on vast highways. A police officer resigns from the force, but returns to the roads as a vigilante after a gang kills his wife and child.

George Miller directs, and a very young Mel Gibson stars in the 1979 film that would later write its own history: Mad Max. The 1973 oil crisis served as the inspiration for this adventure which, although it has pacing and plot issues in the first half, becomes particularly engaging as the film progresses.

A post apocalyptic western filled with motorcycles and cars, a style that would flourish throughout the 1980s. From a directing standpoint, Miller does an excellent job, especially considering the era in which it was made. At its core, Mad Max is a film about social collapse that avoids over explaining its universe, yet this never becomes distracting for the viewer.

Mel Gibson, a newcomer at the time, wins you over with his angry and cold gaze, although I would not consider it his best performance.

Criminals bordering on sadism, morally questionable police officers, and an overall world building with a raw intensity that draws you in as a viewer.

The carefully chosen camera angles and the editing also strengthen the film’s suspense, often without relying on heavy narrative explanations.

THE SMASHING MACHINE

During the peak of his career in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, pioneering mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr struggles with addiction, victory, and love. There has been a lot of buzz about the transformation of Dwayne Johnson. But is it really worth it?

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• Emily Blunt is excellent, as she (almost) always is.
• Visually, Dwayne Johnson’s transformation is quite convincing.
• The film explores in an interesting way the weaknesses of a character dealing with defeats at a championship level.
• Directing by Benny Safdie is quite good.
• The conflicts and intense confrontations with his wife are portrayed very effectively on the big screen.
• Nice editing.

🔴🔴🔴🔴

• Performance wise, unfortunately Dwayne Johnson did not give me what I expected considering the hype. Yes, it is his best performance, but not at an Oscar level.
• The biggest problem with the film is that thematically it is not very engaging 🤷‍♂️.
• I think Emily Blunt is not used as much as she should have been in the film.
• The slow pacing becomes tiring at certain points.
• The sports aspect is not very intense, with more focus placed on the athlete’s emotional background.
• I missed the intensity.