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
Footnote 2011 is a suprisingly good Israeli film
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/he/thumb/5/58/Footnote.jpg/250px-Footnote.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 14 ❤ 1 💬 99
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.
#footnote #הערתשוליים #JosephCedar #LiorAshkenazi #Israel #film #review #movies #cinemastodon #jews
Lethal Weapon is what happens when a good screenwriter writes his first script
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d9/Lethal_weapon1.jpg/250px-Lethal_weapon1.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 12
Directed by Richard Donner ( Superman, The Goonies ) from a script of Shane Black, Lethal Weapon is a film about cops. On the surface there is no concept to the movie what so ever. It is just simply a regular, straight forward police bromance. Yet somehow the movie moves.
#lethalweapon #film #review #movies #action #cinema #cinemastodon
13 Hours is Michael Bay at his most serious
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a2/13_Hours_poster.png/250px-13_Hours_poster.png)
Blender Dumbass
👁 12 ❤ 1 💬 6
There are two modes for Michael Bay: The playful mode of him having fun. This is the Bay of Bad Boys and Transformers. And a serious mode. That is the Michael Bay of films like Ambulance, Pearl Harbor and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. The latter of which is his most serious film ever.
#MichaelBay #13Hours #Benghazi #film #review #movies #cinemastodon #juliabutters
The Disappointing Impressiveness of The Sugarland Express 1974
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/97/The_Sugarland_Express_%28movie_poster%29.jpg/250px-The_Sugarland_Express_%28movie_poster%29.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 9 ❤ 3 🔄 1 💬 4
Steven Spielberg's first true theatrical feature film The Sugarland Express didn't make much money. It was a minor success since with the budget of just 3 million dollars it was able to gather 12 million in box office. But it is nothing like his next film Jaws, which on a budget of just 9 million made a whopping 495 million in box office. Yet with all that said The Sugarland Express is still a very interesting movie to try to take apart.
#theSugarlandExpress #sugarland #spielberg #stevenspielberg #film #review #movies #cinemastodon
Disclosure Day 2026 is quintessentially Spielberg
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c3/Disclosure_Day_poster.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 10 ❤ 3 🔄 1 💬 7
"Listen" is the message of Steven Spielberg's 2026's alien picture Disclosure Day. Why would Spielberg do this specific movie, about this specific subject matter? What should we listen to? What is the Disclosure of the Disclosure Day?
#disclosureday #stevenspielberg #spielberg #emilyblunt #et #movies #film #review #cinemastodon
Mindlocking Trickery of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes
![[thumbnail]](/pictures/user_upload/Troler/864W0G9NI8W9YPAI.jpg)
Troler
👁 14 ❤ 1 💬 3
Pairing a mystery, where each clue matters with a director behind Revolver, where the symbolic meaning of the film is hidden unless the viewer has pen and paper, and knowledge of gematria, and Hebrew. As such, a detective movie, of Sherlock Holmes nonetheless, is quite an invigorating blend.
#SherlockHolmes #GuyRitchie #HansZimmer #RobertDowney #film #review #movies #cinemastodon
Is "2001: A Space Odyssey" a comedy?
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/11/2001_A_Space_Odyssey_%281968%29.png/250px-2001_A_Space_Odyssey_%281968%29.png)
Blender Dumbass
👁 18 💬 3
Stanley Kubrick is known for making... well... he is known primarily for making 2001: A Space Odyssey... but most of his other films are black-comedies that poke fun at some rather dark aspects of the society. Full Metal Jacket is undeniably a comedy that pokes fun at the Vietnam war. Dr. Strangelove is a comedy that pokes fun at the absurdity of nuclear weapons. Hell even Lolita is a comedy. And a very funny one at that. So in the middle of all this, Kubrick decides to make a movie about space and stuff. And makes 2001: A Space Odyssey. So is it a comedy as well?
#ASpaceOdyssey #StanleyKubrick #film #review #movies #cinemastodon
Dora and the Lost City of Gold ( 2019 ) shows that they should not have replaced Isabela Merced
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/29/Dora_and_the_Lost_City_of_Gold_poster.jpg/250px-Dora_and_the_Lost_City_of_Gold_poster.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 12 💬 3
Between Transformers 5 and Alien Romulus Isabela Merced played Dora the Explorer in a 2019 James Bobin film Dora and the Lost City of Gold. And just because I'm starting to become a fan of Isabela Merced ( or maybe a simp, IDK ), I decided to finally take a look at this movie. And I gonna tell you that, that reboot they did in 2025 with a different actress playing Dora, is not interesting me at all, because you can't replace Merced. She is just too perfect.
#doratheexplorer #doraandthelostcityofgold #isabelamerced #film #review #movies #cartoons #cinemastodon
Domino 2005 is Tony-Scott-hem!
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/10/Dominoposter.jpg/250px-Dominoposter.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 23 💬 1
Tony Scott appeared to be trying to outgrow Michael Bay in the 2000s. In 2001 he does Spy Game which is a kind of slightly bayhem-ish movie. Where Tony Scott is no longer trying to make pretty pictures, but is trying to go for ultimate intensity. His Enemy of the State before that, is still more of a classic Tony Scott. While making Spy Game his brother Ridley Scott was making Black Hawk Down while Michael Bay was making Pearl Harbor. While Pearl Harbor has the Bay's explosions and stuff, the colors of the film still look relatively normal. Only his next film ( 2003 Bay Boys II ) go crazy with colors. Spy Game, while being more energetic in directing and editing department, than even Enemy of the State still looks like a normal movie, albeit it is a little desaturated. But Black Hawk Down ( probably in attempt of messing with Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan ) is super moody, with extreme contrast and intense colors. A thing that Michael Bay tries to replicate right away for Bad Boys II and then Tony Scott also replicated for Man on Fire in 2004. And then on Domino in 2005, Tony Scott goes even harder with the style. While Bay is doing roughly the same thing in his own way in The Island.
#Domino #TonyScott #MichaelBay #movies #film #review #cinemastodon
Bad Boys 1995 is a Tarantino picture gone Bayhem!
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a8/Bad_Boys.jpg/250px-Bad_Boys.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 17 ❤ 1 💬 3
The first thing you notice when watching Michael Bay's directorial debut Bad Boys is that the movie is not trying to be a Michael Bay film. There was no Michael Bay films prior to it. Bay was doing music videos and commercials before this film. And while those do have some of the style Bay will eventually bring over to his cinema pictures, here it seems he is actually trying something else entirely. The best analogy for the movie would be Tony Scott's 1993 film True Romance written by Quentin Tarantino.
#badboys #michaelbay #willsmith #film #review #movies #cinemastodon
Dissecting Chernobyl 2019 episode 1
![[thumbnail]](/pictures/user_upload/Troler/J0QVIYWKZ8DDTSDQ.png)
Troler
👁 7
This is why I'm going to speak about the Nuclear Power Plant of V. I. Lenin 2019 historical drama television miniseries called Chernobyl. But It'll be done differently. There'll be no description of how the screenplay was adapted, only the plot and script itself.
#HildurGuðnadóttir #JohanRenck #JaredHarris #Chernobyl #HBO #miniseries #CraigMazin #screenplay #disection #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
Rebel Without a Cause is a very epic movie about teenagers
![[thumbnail]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/Rebel_Without_a_Cause_%281955_poster%29.jpg/250px-Rebel_Without_a_Cause_%281955_poster%29.jpg)
Blender Dumbass
👁 8 💬 2
If you know anything about Tommy Wiseau you know that his "You are tearing me apart, Lisa" line in The Room was directly inspired by the 1955 Nicholas Ray film Rebel Without a Cause starring James Dean. In which Dean actually pulls this line off.
#rebelwithoutacause #jamesdean #film #review #movies #cinemastodon
Powered with BDServer
Plugins
Themes
Analytics
Contact
Mastodon