Series review: ELITE

Hi guys! Sorry for the absence... I have moved to Milan early this month because of university and since I have moved from one flat to another in a few days (crazy stuff, I swear), it  has been a little bit shaking. I have been without wi-fi for quite a lot, so, you, know, I haven't watched huge movies like "A Star is Born" or "Bad times at El Royale", yet. In the next days, though, you will find my #CiakMovies review of both of them. In the meantime, I leave you with some series review. I love series, I must say, and, after falling in love with awarded series such as Got, Oitnb, Breaking Bad, Narcos, House of Cards etc.  I went trough two shorts Netflix productions that I highly recommend to you. The first one is...

ELITE (2018) is a spanish teen-crime drama created and written by Carlos Montero and Dario Ladrona, directed by Ramon Salazar for Netflix. The series stars are Danna Paola, Maria Pedraza, Jaime Lorente and Miguel Herràn. Due to the huge success of the tv series, Netflix has renew it for a 2 season.

ODD FACT !!  If you look at Elite's poster, you may recognize some faces. Yes ! We have already seen Maria Pedraza, Jaime Lorente and Miguel Herran in "Money Heist" better known as "La casa de Papel". The decision to reclute almost all the cast of a previous successful Netflix series in order to produce a new one (completely different in the topic) was questionable. But, in my opinion, it worked to establish the true acting skills of these young chavales, that are young and may have a long career ahead.

THEME: The set is a Spanish private high school where rich youngsters go in order to become the "tomorrow elite". At the beginning, 3 new scholars arrive: Christian, Nadia and Samuel. These three, you aren't rich, have "won" a scholarship because their original school has been destroyed because of an earthquake (you will discover that Guzman and Marina's father is one of the responsible of the disaster, but, don't worry, this is not a spoiler.) Lately, some drama and romance arises. But I won't go into details.

SPOILER ALERT

                                   !! READ ONLY IF YOU HAVE ALREADY WATCH IT !!


POSITIVES ASPECTS:

• Elite is an entertaining series: nice to watch, for distract yourself from the stress of the day and to have some fun. Anthropologically, the distinction between the elite's members and the new ones is interesting to watch, in its development, because we know it is quite realistic. Why is so difficult to accept new members in an already-formed group? 
• I enjoyed the romance scenes between Samuel and Marina, but, at the end, I found Samuel's character a little bit too fictional and, most of all naive, whereas Marina, out of the blue, becomes the prototype of the rebel. 
• The rainbow relationship between Ander and Nadia's brother Omar is cute and in line with our times. 
• The sex affair between Christian e Marina was very hot. And Christian was the one who turns up the music of the show. 

NEGATIVE ASPECTS:

• Marina's illness, the way it is presented and how the girl deals with it. For me,  is the worst thing of the series.
• Nadia's family is the stereotype of the close-minded muslim family. The strong figure of the father, who is willing to control all the moves of Nadia and Omar, in reality doesn't know anything about his sons. I find this difficult to deal with, as a spectator. And I am against pre-judgements.
• Samuel's brother Nano is James Dean bad copy. Wherever it goes, he leaves behind him pain and broken hearts. Too much of a cliché for me.
• Guzman relationship with Nadia. How come that he is in love with Lu and then, after a joke, he falls for Nadia? I don't like the evolution of this character: from the rich-snob-smart young man, to the "subdued", frigile love-bird ? Let me be a little be sarcastic. 
• Polo or better known as Marina's toy-boy. And, some words let me wander how was their relationship before Christian arrived.  It would be an interesting topic to develop in season 2. 

⭐️CIAK MOVIE REVIEW ⭐️: 2.5/5

Micol Sartori

VENOM: why critics consider this movie bizzarre.

Venom (2018) is a fantasy movie based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Venom is the first movie in Sony’s Marvel Universe.Directed by Ruben Fleischer, screenplay by Scott Rosenberg, starringTom Hardyas Eddie Brock aliasVenom, alongside Michelle Williams,Riz Ahme, Scott Haze, and Reid Scott. 

THE PLOT: In Venom, journalist Brock gains superpowers after being bound to an alien symbiote whose species plans to invade Earth.

…And surprise, surpirse! When I came to the movie theatre to watch this movie with a couple of friends, I was thinking about having a good time and entertain myself. Which is the reason why, as opposed to my usual habits, I didn’t pay attention to most of the aspects I normally review in Ciak Movies: I’ve just pay the ticket, watch the movie being transportated by the plot and laugh. After this “mhystical/normal” experience, I read some critical reviews, that follows:

EMPIRE:

• The first act is ham-fisted, charmless and dull (…). Even more surprising is the lack of chemistry between TomHardy and Williams, two of the most charismatic actors on the planet. Hardy’s performance in particular is fidgety, muted and curiously unengaging; Williams also toils away in a nothingy fiancée-moving-on role. Completing the troika, Venom also has another collector’s item — a bland Riz Ahmed turn as an Elon Musky visionary saddled with dreadful dialogue 

INDIEWIRE:

• The world may have enough superheroes, but it doesn’t have enough good movies about them. “Venom” goes a small way toward changing that, even though it’s technically about a supervillain — or, if we’re being generous, an antihero. News that the fan-favorite Spider-Man antagonist was receiving a standalone film of his own starring Tom Hardywas greeted warmly (…).
• Apparent creative differences between Hardy and director Ruben Fleischer(“Zombieland,” “Gangster Squad”) aside, “Venom” leans closer toward the former — a potential franchise-starter whose bizarre incongruities ultimately feel more like a feature than a bug.

... And I though “Wow! It’s amazing how the normal audience watch movie without even realize those things.”So, i am very thankful for the experts that professionally review movies, because, if not, nobody will appreciate, or even notice, the work and the ART which lays beyond a movie. 

Micol Sartori