Saturday, March 26, 2016

Black Swan: The psychology of obsession

Probably the pinnacle of Natalie Portman's career, Black Swan shows an intense and fascinating conflict in her character, on all levels of oneself.

The only person standing in your way is you...
Click to show spoilers

In this beautifully written story, we see a ballerina, who after a life of overprotection and control from her mother, fights through the quest to high-profile ballet, perhaps a bit too intensely. [...]

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Following: Clever and intricate Neo-Noir

Christopher Nolan's debut feature, Following, is amazingly clever, and its creation, nearly miraculous. The film that, with it's excellence, would come to open the doors for Memento, was shot on an estimated and hugely impressive budget of $6,000.

You take it away... and show them what they had.

Following, tells the story of a masterfully intricate noir style setup, which is already being built from early on in the film, but is so incredibly clever that you can really not suspect anything close to the actual outcome, until the very end. The film alternates between three different moments in the story, throughout its development, showing that Nolan's appreciation for parallel and non-linear storytelling, later seen in such works as Memento and Inception, was already part of him from the get-go. [...]

Friday, March 11, 2016

Moonrise Kingdom: Exquisitely peculiar

One of the greatest pieces in Wes Anderson's work, Moonrise Kingdom tells a story about love, in the most unusual of ways, that is, both the love, and the story.

What kind of bird are YOU?

This movie, as the rest of Anderson's work, is unmistakably his. The unique style he has built over the years, together with cinematographer Robert Yeoman is absolutely visible, with the square framing, the prevalence of static and sideways tracking shots, and of course the heavy use of symmetry and the defining colors. Colors which are perhaps a bit more dull than the extremely vibrant colors in other of his works, like the more recent and, too, brilliant, The Grand Budapest Hotel. [...]

Monday, March 7, 2016

The end of the Monday reviews (for now)

In view of changes in my schedule, I will unfortunately no longer be able to produce the Monday reviews, for an indefinite amount of time.

But don't worry, the article frequency has just been slightly reduced to a weekly rate, the Friday reviews are still going.

See you Friday!

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Bridge of Spies: A solid movie with a few writing lapses

When you join Spielberg's direction with the touch of the Coen brothers on the script, great things are expected. Yet, although Bridge of Spies is a solid movie, it is a bit heavy on dramatic exaggerations, and is far from either's best work.

It doesn't matter what others think. You know what you did.
Click to show spoilers

Despite having originally been written by Matt Charman, the Coen brothers' influence on the script is noticeable, especially through its sporadic witty humor. Such, that gives the movie a more laid back feeling, breaking from the tensions of the cold war, and adding to its enjoyment. [...]