jude5420

Poignant, elegant, mature, masterful filmmaking. This is a film for adults about revelation, reflection, forgiveness and contemplation. Aging, artistic process, sexuality, childhood, careerism and unrequited love are only but a few of the secondary narratives. I can't say enough about the enduring artistry that is Almodovar. Banderas and Cruz are, as always, seamlessly invested in their roles. Thank you Pedro. THANK YOU.

It’s a love letter to Maria Callas, and there is a great deal to love, as Callas never loses her coquettish charm, vulnerability, and magnetism. No question, the film excuses and even negates her infamous spasms of hubris and foolish pride. But this blind adulation never gets tiresome, as “Maria by Callas” is anchored by La Divina’s most extraordinary performances, colorized and unedited, in all her glory. Because of her staggering artistry, Callas is endlessly watchable, and the film understands this idea implicitly. I think even Maria herself would approve of “Maria by Callas”, and that is saying something.

Obviously, the studio spent an enormous amount of money bribing critics and "posters" to sing the praises of this seriously flawed film. Aliens: Covenant starts off well: creepy, slow and suspenseful until the first violent death (a riff on the pacing of the first "Alien"), but from there the film simply collapses upon itself. There are real problems here: a script that makes no sense, numerous characters making senseless idiotic decisions, and hatchling Aliens that transition from real time models (effective) to CGI cartoons (intensely ineffective and fake looking....), in the blink of an eye..... Most disappointing is how two major character themes in Prometheus are handled here: The Engineers (who bizarrely seem miniaturized in stature and menace in Covenant than they did in Prometheus) and Dr Elizabeth Shaw, played with passion by Noomi Rapace. Both are simply dropped or aborted with little explanation or fanfare. Rapace is sincerely missed here. Prometheus was a visually stunning poorly written film, but the character of Dr. Shaw, (obsessed with the origins of life but barren), had enormous potential. The android, David, played by Fassbender, is the star of the show and totally pointless. Nothing that this character robot does makes sense. Nothing. I suppose some Alien nerd could concoct some storyline to explain the actions of this renegade android, but any narrative could be weakened by a counter point, because ultimately, the SCRIPT MAKES NO SENSE, and neither do the characters. The acting? Its fine. It isn't great because the script doesn't allow for character development. Everyone keeps lauding Waterson, McBride, and Fassbender, but the greatest acting in the film is early on, in the first hatchling sequence, by a young actress locked inside a medical bay facing certain death. Its the best scene in the film by far, the best acting, the truest most instinctual scare. The rest of the film spirals down a path of pontification, origin myth busting, and senseless fatalistic choices with equally predictable consequences..... The ending? Laughable, silly, dumb. The look on Waterson's face, dimwitted, says it all with unintentional irony.... This series should end. This is the fourth Alien film in a row on a sliding scale. Time to move on.