My Week 02/09 - 02/15
My Week 02/09 - 02/15
Prisoners - 2013 - Denis Villeneuve
Brilliant mood piece. Technically proficient in every way; well-acted, scored, cut and shot. One of the best horror movies I have ever seen, not slasher bloody cathartic horror but real dark side of humanity kind of horror.
Summer Wars - 2009 - Mamoru Hosoda
Hosoda's second feature film shows that the subtle touch shown in 2006's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was no fluke. The plot of rogue A.I. takes over computer systems and threatens to destroy the world as a background for a family drama work but feels like a crutch. The sci-fi could be saved for another movie.
Woman on the Beach - 2006 - Sang-soo Hong
One of the uglier films I have watched. The cinematography is laughably bad consisting mostly of two shots followed by awkward push zoom on whomever is talking.
Whiplash - 2014 - Damien Chazelle
If you want to be great you need someone to sadistically push you past any breaking point you may have. Only then will you be able to dedicate everything you have to your craft allowing for a brief period of transcendence before inevitably burning out. Maybe not the most upbeat message to send but the best soundtrack in years.
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis - 2015 - Ethan Spaulding
I don't read comics so I have no idea why Namor the Sub-Mariner is a beloved figure while Aquaman is considered a joke. Maybe it is just branding, Aquaman is a terrible name for a hero but they are the same character in the two big time comic universes. This movie is fine but talking to fish is still a silly power.
The Wind Rises - 2013 - Hayao Miyazaki
Some of the Miyazaki hallmarks are here, the love of flight and the Europe on a pedestal, but he does not have the normal environmental message. Instead he brings a brand of old-school nationalism that makes a lot of people nervous. I doubt Miyazaki want to see the emperor back on the throne but he seems to have nostalgia for the good old pre-war year when Japan was advancing at a break-neck pace.
The Leopard - 1963 - Luchino Visconti
History changing from a time of disparate principalities to the rise of nationalism and the modern world as experienced but the patriarch of one formerly great family. Sometimes as a tired old man you still get one last dance with a beautiful young girl.
Gone Girl - 2014 - David Fincher
Everyone knows Fincher is a master craftsman. The only real detractions from the film is the Trent Reznor soundscape being overbearing at times. All the performances are good with Kim Dickens being a stand out.
I have two irrelevant takeaways from this move. First, Amy Dunne is far and away the sexiest character ever captured on film. Make her a redhead and you have my dream girl. And second is that Fox really dropped the ball when they did not cast Rosamund Pike as Emma Frost.
The Place Beyond the Pines – 2012 - Derek Cianfrance
Gosling and Cooper are both good but I was left wondering what the point was. Sins of the father and all that but I feel like the director was going for something deeper. Also thanks to Ray Liotta for stopping by from some other movie.
L'Atalante - 1934 - Jean Vigo
Good but not the all-time great that it is held up to be. I have a feeling that if Vigo would have lived to do more, this one would be considered more like a practice run for latter greatness. It is a shame he died so young.
Best of the Week: Prisoners - 2013 - Denis Villeneuve
Prisoners - 2013 - Denis Villeneuve
Brilliant mood piece. Technically proficient in every way; well-acted, scored, cut and shot. One of the best horror movies I have ever seen, not slasher bloody cathartic horror but real dark side of humanity kind of horror.
Summer Wars - 2009 - Mamoru Hosoda
Hosoda's second feature film shows that the subtle touch shown in 2006's The Girl Who Leapt Through Time was no fluke. The plot of rogue A.I. takes over computer systems and threatens to destroy the world as a background for a family drama work but feels like a crutch. The sci-fi could be saved for another movie.
Woman on the Beach - 2006 - Sang-soo Hong
One of the uglier films I have watched. The cinematography is laughably bad consisting mostly of two shots followed by awkward push zoom on whomever is talking.
Whiplash - 2014 - Damien Chazelle
If you want to be great you need someone to sadistically push you past any breaking point you may have. Only then will you be able to dedicate everything you have to your craft allowing for a brief period of transcendence before inevitably burning out. Maybe not the most upbeat message to send but the best soundtrack in years.
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis - 2015 - Ethan Spaulding
I don't read comics so I have no idea why Namor the Sub-Mariner is a beloved figure while Aquaman is considered a joke. Maybe it is just branding, Aquaman is a terrible name for a hero but they are the same character in the two big time comic universes. This movie is fine but talking to fish is still a silly power.
The Wind Rises - 2013 - Hayao Miyazaki
Some of the Miyazaki hallmarks are here, the love of flight and the Europe on a pedestal, but he does not have the normal environmental message. Instead he brings a brand of old-school nationalism that makes a lot of people nervous. I doubt Miyazaki want to see the emperor back on the throne but he seems to have nostalgia for the good old pre-war year when Japan was advancing at a break-neck pace.
The Leopard - 1963 - Luchino Visconti
History changing from a time of disparate principalities to the rise of nationalism and the modern world as experienced but the patriarch of one formerly great family. Sometimes as a tired old man you still get one last dance with a beautiful young girl.
Gone Girl - 2014 - David Fincher
Everyone knows Fincher is a master craftsman. The only real detractions from the film is the Trent Reznor soundscape being overbearing at times. All the performances are good with Kim Dickens being a stand out.
I have two irrelevant takeaways from this move. First, Amy Dunne is far and away the sexiest character ever captured on film. Make her a redhead and you have my dream girl. And second is that Fox really dropped the ball when they did not cast Rosamund Pike as Emma Frost.
The Place Beyond the Pines – 2012 - Derek Cianfrance
Gosling and Cooper are both good but I was left wondering what the point was. Sins of the father and all that but I feel like the director was going for something deeper. Also thanks to Ray Liotta for stopping by from some other movie.
L'Atalante - 1934 - Jean Vigo
Good but not the all-time great that it is held up to be. I have a feeling that if Vigo would have lived to do more, this one would be considered more like a practice run for latter greatness. It is a shame he died so young.
Best of the Week: Prisoners - 2013 - Denis Villeneuve
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