luks93

First things first: ignore the overall rating of the film as well as the 10/10 reviews. It obviously ain't worth all that. Most people must be taking emotional catharsis for film quality. Yes, it will make you cry, but, curiously, you won't see yourself so connected with the story or identified with the characters.

That has one main reason to be: misguided and mistaken story structure. Memo is an absolutely passive protagonist. He does nothing all along the two playing hours to prove his innocence and escape his fate. All obstacles to his freedom are put far away from him, there's no progression through them, and they are not overthrown through the protagonist's actions, they just build up and later are absolutely ignored by a solution that, although planted and partially developed, still tastes like deus ex machina. Ironically, though, a resource that, if used, should come to magically turn the tables towards a satisfying ending, here plays an opposite role, spoiling any meanings that, at a big cost, the viewer would have sewn together and imprinted to the loose characters and the weak cause-effect relations established here. Things just feel apart. We go from a tragic first act to a cheesy ending. The film misses a huge opportunity to state a clear emotional, political, social and phylosophical theme.

We cry a lot not because we're empathize with Memo, but because we pity him. And, in my opinion, that's a huge no-no, my lingo-lingo. The tears you drop will soon dry, as you'll soon forget this weak and shabby story.

If you've played Sunset Overdrive (Xbox One), the first episode will make you feel at home: zombie apocalypse, ludricrous violence and edgy self-mocking humor. We have great characters (mainly Angelica), great production, great dialogues, great photography, a technically very sharp script and yet something happens by the first third of the season and suddenly this sarcastic and punky comedy becomes more a flashbacky drama with teenage romance that although add deepness to characters and conflicts, somehow betrays what the first episode makes us expect.

It is funny, it is fun, it is well written, but sort of loses the Scott-Pilgrim-Meets-Sunset-Overdrive style after the few first episodes to give space to an emotional approach that feels out of place. For a series that initially mocks screenwriting conventions and tools, it suddenly seems to take it itself more seriously than it was needed. Worth watching, nevertheless. But the general feeling was "they should have made a Sunset Overdrive based series".

Nosso Lar (seen yesterday) is an adaptation of a book written by André Luiz himself through spiritual medium Chico Xavier, hence it's a shortened version of what the book really represents. Also, we all know that book adaptations almost always fail to deliver to the fans the expected experience and hardly ever entertain the ones who haven't previously read the book that's being adapted. Nosso Lar is also kind of boring and confusing. In the beginning of the film the narrative will constantly change between different parts of the main character's life and his physical and spiritual state after his demise. There are several long speeches that break the pace of the film, but funny takes relieve the boredom making the film more watchable.

The film has directing, role cohesion and visual effects problems, but it does well in delivering to the spectator some more advanced notions of spirituality, an issue that's recently been brought up much in Brazil through films and soap operas. It may be entertaining and inspiring to those who have interest on spirituality but if you don't believe in those thoughts you probably shouldn't watch it, since it may be a not so good introduction to this wonderful subject.