blenderdumbass . org
Reviews
by Blender Dumbass
Aka: J.Y. Amihud. A Jewish by blood, multifaceted artist with experience in film-making, visual effects, programming, game development, music and more. A philosopher at heart. An activist for freedom and privacy. Anti-Paternalist. A user of Libre Software. Speaking at least 3 human languages. The writer and director of the 2023 film "Moria's Race" and the lead developer of it's game sequel "Dani's Race".
From 1 years ago.
Information or opinions might not be up to date.
6 Minute Read
Footnote originally הערת שוליים is an Israeli film written and directed by Joseph Cedar. The film is about a very strange dramatic bureaucratic situation, where two professors, a father and a son, are in the same field, and one of them gets a honorary award for his achievements. But the bureaucrats made a mistake and told about the award to the wrong one of them.
↩ Reply
This is kind of a dual character study. We have two professors obsessed with historic ancient Hebrew texts. The son Uriel ( Lior Ashkenazi ) finds in the ancient texts a sort of confirmation, to the contemporary orthodox teachings. While his father Eliezer ( Shlomo Bar-Aba ) sees the same texts as a sort confirmation that something along the way went wrong. And that the contemporary teachings are false as a result.
↩ Reply
It is not clearly stated, but there is a theme to Eliezer's character, suggesting that he might be autistic to some degree. He is annoyingly pedantic about every single word everywhere. He can't stand people that disregard certain words, or phrase themselves not precisely. This is, by the way, why he thinks the contemporary teachings are false. He was researching the field for many years with an incredible obsessive attention to every single word. And he just simply cannot hold the same opinions as religious Jews anymore.
↩ Reply
There is a sort of villain character ( if you want to call it that ) Yehuda Grossman ( Micah Lewensohn ) who is a kind of religious person in charge of the academia. Who due to, what seems like, ideological disagreements with Eliezer, denied Eliezer an ability to be recognized in any way. And on one occasion, personally, sabotaged Eliezer's own work.
↩ Reply
It seems like the film's thesis is something along the lines of: Religious Jews follow a broken telephone version of the real Jewish tradition. And therefor to be a proper Jew you have to be a different, better, person. As in, in a clever way, the film suggests a sort of denouncing of the orthodox way. But in another clever way, disguising itself as preaching the proper orthodox way. Which it doesn't actually seem to preach at all. Eliezer says that he thinks things are wrong. He says why thinks that way. But never tells the audience what is wrong specifically. So maybe the message is simply: Orthodox = wrong?
c:0 ↩ Reply
The movie ends strangely, as if to say, it fails to end properly. It could be said that whether Eliezer gets his price is not important as long as he knows the truth. Because the movie cuts before we know for sure. But then I think the real reason the movie ended this way is that Cedar, trying to make the film more realistic, wrote into the script the real names of the current Israeli politicians ( at the time ), which he teases, will be the ones handing the awards. But then he cuts. Because apparently he knew from the very beginning that he will not get the real politicians to participate in the movie. I was kind of waiting for Eliezer to get onto to the stage and do something stupid. There was a tension about it present in the whole ending. But then the movie just ends. What?
c:1 ↩ Reply
I do think Cedar tried to inject in that ending some profound ( or pretentious ) meaning. And it does feel like it is at the very least pretentious, teasing you, the audience, as being not smart enough to find it profound. It is not a kind of punch-line joke ending that I have in all of my films so far. It is not trying to entertain the audience. It is trying to make the audience stop and realize that they didn't get it. And then pretend to get it, out of fear of being found out as stupid.
↩ Reply
The film has very good cinematography by Yaron Scharf and a kick-ass musical score by Amit Poznansky that goes for a very Spielberg like John Williams like feel. And to top that off Cedar's direction is actually rather cool. There are shots in that film that I have never seen anywhere else, yet the shots work really well. For example the first time Eliezer tells his wife ( Alisa Rosen ) that he got the award, he leaves the room and the camera is on his headphones that he left. But then the camera flies on its own to that other room, where he talks to his wife, in a majestic camera move. Good stuff! And then toward the end as Eliezer comes into the ceremony building, everything just becomes so dreamy and surreal for a bit. Also good stuff!
↩ Reply
Writing-wise it feels like there are some loose threads that are never explored beyond the superficial initial encounter. At one point in the movie, somebody steals a bag with stuff ( including documents ) of Uriel. Yet, all the movie does with it is, it uses it as an excuse for the filmmakers to push Uriel though a comedic sequence leading to something he sees. Which is then promptly forgotten about.
↩ Reply
The movie has a kick ass tight script with very much attention put to words people say and write. And it has a lot of good payoffs based on those kinds of things. Yet some things feel like setups to something, while they are never payed off. Which is weird. It doesn't break the film. It is still rather good despite some of the things feeling random. But I couldn't help myself and think of various things that could be done with those setups.
↩ Reply
I will review more films from Israel. I'm trying to learn what I'm dealing with, as an Israeli film-maker myself. This was a good film. I hope the others will be good too.
↩ Reply
Happy Hacking!!!
↩ Reply
1
Find this post on Mastodon
Mission: Impossible 2 ( 2000 ) is the best Mission: Impossible
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/48/Mission_Impossible_II.jpg/250px-Mission_Impossible_II.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 7 💬 4
A lot of people are big fans of the Christopher McQuarrie movies in the Mission: Impossible series. A lot of more sophisticated movie goers prefer the more serious first picture directed by Brian De Palma. Some are the fans of the Brad Bird and J. J. Abrams installments. But almost everybody unanimously loves to hate on the John Woo second film Mission: Impossible 2. I frankly, don't get it.
#missionimpossible #MI2 #tomcruise #film #review #movies #cinemastodon
Spontaneous 2020 invented a way to get horror fans to watch a teen drama.
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/fb/Spontaneous_%28film%29.jpg/250px-Spontaneous_%28film%29.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 12 💬 1
The premise of the directorial debut of Brian Duffield ( the director of an amazing horror film about aliens called No One Will Save You ) is, on paper, very Post Cringe. It is about a class of teenagers who spontaneously explode out of nowhere, and how little those same teenagers care about the fact that their friends blow up.
#spontaneous #film #review #movies #cinemastodon #BrianDuffield
Red Heat 1988 is unintentionally funny for those who speak Russian
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/af/Red_Heat.jpg/250px-Red_Heat.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 12 💬 3
Our main character Ivan Danko ( Arnold Schwarzenegger ) is introduced with a shot showing his magnificent muscular butt-cheeks, right before a fight breaks out between naked men in the snow, all trying to scream words and sentences in Russian, sounding utterly stupid doing so. That is how Red Heat, a 1988 Walter Hill movie, begins.
#RedHeat #WalterHill #ArnoldSchwarzenegger #film #review #movies #cinemastodon #action
Rush 2013 is not the same as F1 2025
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d0/Rush_UK_poster.jpeg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 11
After seeing a somewhat of a racing movie called American Graffiti starring Ron Howard, the next movie to watch was an obvious choice. A directed by Ron Howard 2013 racing film called Rush, which might feel like a predecessor of 2025's Joseph Kosinski film F1. But watching it I found this movie to be closer to Scorsese's The Wolf Of Wall Street rather than F1.
#rush #racing #ronhoward #film #review #movies #cinemastodon
Gone in 60 Seconds ( 1974 ) is an enjoyable mess
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0c/Gone_in_sixty_seconds_1974_movie_poster.jpg/250px-Gone_in_sixty_seconds_1974_movie_poster.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 14
Watching the Nicolas Cage and Jerry Bruckheimer remake made me extremely curious to see the original Gone in 60 Seconds. And let me tell you that, the film is impressive when it comes to the shier production value H. B. Halicki ( writer, producer, director and star ) put into this film. But on the other hand the film is very hard to follow.
#goneinsixtyseconds #hbhalicki #film #review #movies #cinemastodon
The Island 2005 is Michael Bay's Minority Report
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/56/The-island.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 13 💬 5
As far as my speculation goes, I think, it is safe to assume, the following happened: In 1994 ( before doing Bad Boys ) Michael Bay signed a 10 year contract with Jerry Bruckheimer which expired in 2004 ( after Bad Boys 2 ). Knowing that the contract is about to expire, 2 years prior ( in 2002 ) Steven Spielberg, in an attempt to get on good terms with Michael Bay, added a small reference to Bad Boys into his film Minority Report. And then took Bay under his supervision for the next 10 years. Starting with the 2005 film The Island. And through the Transformers franchise. Bay returned the favor by showing a concept car designed for Minority Report ( Lexus 2054 aka Lexus Minority ) multiple times in the background of The Island. Still that's just a theory. I don't actually know what happened. But it seems plausible.
#theIsland #MichaelBay #film #review #movies #cinemastodon
Death Wish 1974 is a Superhero movie
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f0/Death_wish_movie_poster.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 11 💬 1
Who is this character, who's family suffered from the hands of lawless criminals, and who wanders the nights in search for some of those criminals, to have his revenge? Who is this character, who is a wealthy gentleman during the day, while the "vengeance" itself during the night? Batman? No... it is Paul Kersey played by Charles Bronson in a Michael Winner 1974 film Death Wish.
#deathwish #charlesbronson #film #review #movies #cinemastodon
Transformers 4 is a ballsy brave film
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0f/Transformers_Age_of_Extinction_poster.jpg/220px-Transformers_Age_of_Extinction_poster.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 42 ❤ 1 💬 6
So here is a movie from Paramount Pictures that was executive produced by Steven Spielberg with Stanley Tucci playing a villain and Mark Wahlberg playing a dad of a teenage girl. The movie touches on very hard emotional topics of sexual abuse and age discrimination. And Peter Jackson does a very good job... Oh... wait... it's not The Lovely Bones... ah... yeah... so... Transformers: Age of Extinction!!!
#transformers #MichaelBay #film #review #movies #cinemastodon #MarkWahlberg #StanleyTucci #VFX #CGI
Orphan left me in hopeful despair
![[thumbnail]](/pictures/user_upload/Troler/0MCWP17IB5D2UB4Z.jpg)
Troler
👁 8 ❤ 1 💬 6
Orphan by László Nemes is a bleak introspection into the psychology of a lonely adolescent Andor (Bojtorján Barábas), desperately searching for his father. Just like I am by Romas Lileikis, the focus is put more so on the atmosphere and the world rather than much the plot.
#Orphan #LaszloNemes #GregoryGadebois #BojtorjanBarabas #EvgueniGalperine #film #review #movies #cinemastodon
Anna 2019 is Luc Besson at war with Christopher Nolan
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f1/Anna_film_poster.jpg/250px-Anna_film_poster.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 46 💬 2
Christopher Nolan was developing his spy movie Tenet for decades before its release in 2020. In 2014 Nolan already was fully in the writing process on the script. While the general public didn't know much about the project, other filmmakers, including the French director Luc Besson probably could know something about it. And so trying to beat Nolan at his own game, Besson quickly wrote and directed his own spy movie with a palindrome title: Anna.
#Anna #LucBesson #SashaLuss #ChristopherNolan #CillianMurphy #film #review #movies #cinemastodon
The Rock 1996 is Michael Bay's James Bond movie
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/82/The_Rock_%28movie%29.jpg/250px-The_Rock_%28movie%29.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 16 ❤ 1 💬 4
The Rock by Michael Bay is about an FBI chemist agent ( Nicolas Cage ) who calls for help from an old retired British Intelligence Agent played by Sean Connery himself. No wander there are theories that this agent character could be James Bond, making this film a kind of unofficial Bayhem!ed sequel to Connery Bond films. It's not like he didn't play James Bond outside of the main franchise. He did play James Bond in Never Say Never Again which is a real James Bond film, which is not a part of the main franchise. So maybe, possibly, he did that again here too. We will never know.
#TheRock #MichaelBay #NicolasCage #JamesBond #SeanConnery #QuentinTarantino #film #review #movies #cinemastodon
June and John is Luc being Besson with a smartphone
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/49/June_and_John.jpg/250px-June_and_John.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 187 ❤ 1 💬 1
It was nice to take a short break from the grind of trying to make CGI stuff all day long and watch a movie. And who could be a better film-maker to casually enjoy, but Luc Besson, who after all these reviews I did of his films, I start to feel like I understand, similarly to how a therapist might understand his client? His 2025 low budget film June and John is undeniably Luc Besson, even if the fact that the film was largely shot on a smartphone makes it look kind of weird and slightly amateurish.
#JuneAndJohn #LucBesson #film #review #movies #cinemastodon
Powered with BDServer
Plugins
Themes
Analytics
Contact
Mastodon