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This is the best horror film of the year. It's scary, it's disturbing,and it is deep. The Babadook is a fantastic debut for Australian director Jennifer Kent,and surprisingly it's a modern horror film that just about scared the s*** out of me. You want to be scared don't go watch Ouija (A film I should see just for reference of a bad horror film) spend less than a movie ticket ($6.99 to be precise), and get this off Itunes, or the Google Play store. Just don't miss it. So The Babadook is about a mother who has lost something,and has to deal with her increasingly disobedient,and somewhat violent son while discovering that there is a creature that is causing the boys behavior. That's the quick explanation. What I really want to talk about is why The Babadook works so well,but also what keeps it from being perfect. So what makes The Babadook work so well is the fact that it doesn't use tiring jumpscares, and it also implies most of it's horror threw the insanity that one of it's characters drops into. See the mother Emily played fantastically by Essie Davis lost her husband near the time her son was born,and the monster almost represents the grief that is still attacking her. As she kind of falls into madness it represents something that is truly scary. The insanity that can come with grief. It's almost as if she has to accept The Babadook to get over the grief. It's actually kind of funny what happens at the ending of the film concerning this. However so with the grief,and all that I want to go back to the fact that The Babadook focusses on something really scary. Insanity. This of course I've been covered before (The Shining,is the best example), but the fact that insanity in the way it is portrayed here is possible,and quite real makes the entire thing scary. A loud noise,and something appearing quickly is not scary. The slow deterioration of the mind to the point of insanity is. Also the imagery is scary as well. There is a book,and yeah it's scary. Also the monster is scary and when the mother loses her marbles, it is really terrorizing. The film actually gives you time to get to know the characters,and allows the whole grief theme sink in. It just works. Why the film isn't quite effective as it could be. Yes the grief is scary and terrorizing,but you don't actually get all the satisfaction that you can get from this film. There is a shot that is very quick when you see the face of Mister Babadook. Yeah,and he's bleeping terrifying. That's all you really see him. Now that actually doesn't really hurt the film in any way really. However I was disappointed with it because I really wanted to see him again. He's scary. Get this film. You don't need to go to the theatre even just watch this it's great,and scary. I was disappointed a bit by not seeing the monster. Still see this. I give The Babadook a 9 out of 10. Whiplash: Written and Directed by Damien Chazelle, Starring: J.K. Simons,and Miles Teller11/28/2014 This film throughout most of it's runtime brought out one feeling. An anxiety that makes your chest tighten,and your adrenaline go. This is Whiplash's strength,and the fact that the actors keep it together throughout most of the film is impressive. I did say "most" though. Miles Teller plays Andrew a drummer who is trying to be the next great drummer. J.K. Simmons is an instructor that finds him one day practicing,and invites him to be part of the stageband. And then the film buckles down. This is a harsh film that is not afraid to mess with you. Miles Teller is not quite the best he's been (The Spectacular Now), but he hits all the right notes in his character going down in flames. Simmons is spot on as the instructor Fletcher,and is intimidating as hell. Throwing chairs,and yelling the word "F***" whenever he can. He's nice at first luring you in with his stories,and then he just blows up. His work does make him a great contender for Best Supporting Actor,and he doesn't miss a beat. You know I used the phrase "blow up" before,and that is just about the best word to describe this (or at least the first 2 acts). The film builds,and builds until in a moment that almost made my head explode Andrew explodes lashing out. It's a fantastic,and extremely satisfying scene full of tension in which you see the limit a young man wracked with anxiety can go. And then the title happens. The title as we know is Whiplash. This film as I've been saying is so intense,and fast that it's a rush. Well at this point suddenly the film slows down. And that's when we get some whiplash. The difference in tone at this point is so different from what we have come to expect from the film that it is a little jarring. Oh, but the film picks up,and there's a surprising twist concerning the actions of the characters. It's a slower burn,but it's not bad. I would like to mention that the drumming is fantastic. I have been hearing that Miles Teller did all of the drumming in the film,and I am wildly impressed. This is an incredibly exciting film that should not be missed. I give Whiplash a 9 out of 10. The Theory of Everything: Directed by James Marsh, Starring: Freddie Redmayne, and Felicity Jones11/27/2014 Oh boy. The Theory of Everything is a good,but not great movie. See the film kind of reminded me what a C grade is. It's what is expected you by a school everything above it is really good. The Theory of Everything is exactly what I expected,and it's good at being that, and I enjoyed watching it. It just... well I'll get to that throughout the review. So The Theory of Everything is about the relationship between Stephen Hawking,and his wife,and how they (somewhat together,but then again that would spoil it all) make it through,and learn to except his disability. It does sound like a Hallmark films story, but even those van be decent if they have a special distinguishing thing. There's a hint of that, but it's not present in the whole film. Admittedly the film does get better as it goes on and some extremely dark,and emotional stuff pops up. The beginning is where the film is at it's worst pushing the characters into a love story that doesn't work because there is not enough working chemistry. The actors are giving it their all,but it just doesn't fit together. I didn't feel anything really. It all came off shallow. Then the illness comes in,and it's surprisingly devastating to hear about. It also brings in a wild amount of emotion through the dread that rises. And then it all goes back to the love story which seems back at the "C" grade. And then the film decides to add a lot of drama which is okay,but for reasons that I won't tell you comes off uncomfortable. It may have been tailored this way intentionally. Then it all kind of slips back. The good thing is that by this moment we have actually become quite invested in the characters. We should have been from the start, but what can you do. As it finishes the film though does reach it's highpoint. The events are hard hitting enough to cause tangible emotion, and the film ties everything up at the end. An emotional moment in which after the entire film it winds back the clock meshing everything. It's nice. To bad a lot of the movie is just flat. Now again a "C" means there is a lot of good work still there. The actors for one thing are Oscar worthy. Redmayne's interpretation of Hawking is incredible,and I would also commend the people who did the make up on him whoever that was. Also Felicity Jones is good. Her and the other cast members pale to Redmayne though. Actually that's what really keeps this film going. Redmayne. Throughout the good, the bad,and the downright shallow I was impressed. I give The Theory of Everything a "C" (which means a 7). I would compare my thoughts on John Wick to something that critics often say about James Bond movies. They often say that James Bond is more about showing the audience the world that he exists in while going on adventure. This is the same with John Wick. This movie by the end I found was much more about the awesome world that was created for the characters to live in. Yes I know if you've seen the trailer it looks stupid. John Wick gets a dog as a present from his recently passed away wife to love,and get over her death with. Then a Russian mob bosses son kills the dog, steals his car,and beats the shit out of him. But this man is John Wick the greatest hit man of all time,and now the Russian's are going to die for this. Yeah I know this sounds all kind of bad,but the actors are really game for everything that the film brings up that it all just works. I noticed that a lot of the villains spent a lot of time talking about how much of a badass,and how dangerous John Wick is. This ultimately works like gangbusters to the films advantage getting you wildly excited for the action that just might go down,and then watch it do so spectacularly. Keanu Reeves is a very good in this film. Sure he's playing his normal stone faced action hero,but it all works because of just how impressive some of the martial arts he does. He doesn't really say much,but as a performance physically it's really impressive. Michael Nyqvist plays the Russian mobster whose son John is after. This is a surprisingly funny role,and the timing that Nyqvist lays down is perfect. His introduction scene is so simple yet so impacting that you knew exactly what you were getting here. Then again that goes for the entire supporting cast. John Leguizamo, Ian Mcshane,and all of these people,are really great. They all have presence,and it just helps the movie. Each of them build the world by actions not words,and once I got to the hotel for hitmen I was on board. Then there is also the action. This film is directed by two stuntmen, and they are just pulling out all the stops. The action is probably the best choreographed I've ever seen. There is a nightclub scene that is so thrilling, serendipitous,and just damn impressive that I would go as far as to say it is the best action scene I have seen in a film period. This is fun stuff,and while most films action has bored me this has been incredibly riveting. But again all films have at least one problem,and the one thing that hampers John Wick is that it runs a little too long. See I mean more of this stuff is a good thing, it's a really good movie. However when you reach the point where yes you all saw it coming don't yell at me for spoiling this John Wick kills the person who took his car,and kills his dog the film decides to continue on,and have him finish some more people off. Now that is awesome. There were parts in the finale that I really liked including a scene that puts a nice satisfying bow on the world building,but all of it after the boy was killed seemed like filler. John Wick is a really good action movie, and it's not boring,or slow even if the last 30 minutes does feel like a little much. It builds a rich and fantastic world, and I highly recommend it. I give John Wick a 9 out of 10. You know the most unfortunate thing about Die Welle (The Wave) is that the source material is so intense,and riveting. It's about a teacher who creates a dictatorship in his students while he is actually trying to teach them about the Nazi's. It get's out of control,and people started getting hurt. Now I actually haven't read the whole of the source material,but I have read a one act play dramatization which even in it's simplicity was actually quite intense in it's own way. It worked because you slowly figured out everything that was happening. It also brought in the reality of the characters that we connected to being attacked,and brutalized. What the story also had going for it was a really quite funny,and also very surprising ending that was a middle finger to any of the kids that took part in the assignment. The film has none of this. Now that's not to say that the film doesn't have good things in it. The acting for one thing is actually quite good. There's enough stuff in there to entice you, and no one does a particularly bad job in their roles. The teacher is quite compelling. This actually holds up the film, because there's actually not to much of a problem with the actors in the film. The screenplay that falls short. The film makes the big mistake in the screenplay by making The Wave a gang. They don't act like a terrifying uprising that is led by a powerful leader. This doesn't feel like a fascist government rising slowly in a school. This feels like a club that is getting more violent in a way that is boring,and uninteresting. There is nothing that seems wrong with the group. Everything in this film should be creepy,and it should all work like that, but the group just seems so innocent that it doesn't work. Now they aren't innocent they hurt some people,and graffiti there town up,but it feels childish. It feels shallow. I mean the end of the film is different then the book, and is not good at all taking away any of the hilarity that was there at the end. So yeah good actors in a bad movie. I give The Wave a 6 out of 10. Well after a very disappointing weekend the viewing of John Wick has for me been moved back to Sunday. Halfway through Nightcrawler I realized something. The film had washed over me,and ultimately engrossed me in was a wave of just adrenaline,and bliss. I also realized it would be to my fault to allow it to do that seeing how it may heavily alter my perceptions about what was good,and bad about the film. Then I thought "What the hell" the film put me here it'll have to take me out. It didn't. From the first shot Nightcrawler had me. The colorful neon of the L.A. skyline at night burned with intensity, and then the cut happened,and we all laid our eyes on Lou Bloom. Not Jake Gyllenhaal, Lou Bloom. He's a thin man who has a calm demeanor,and eyes that seem to bulge out of his head. He seems off,but seems just civil enough to be convincing, but no there is something very wrong with Lou Bloom. Lou comes across a crash,and realizes a job opportunity in filming the crash could make him money with local news stations. He creates a company,and recruits a person. The rest just flows. Jake Gyllenhaal is putting on career best work. I think he will win a Best Actor. Lou is as I said calm,but he's also very intense. When he starts to break the law on his job his excitement escalates,and it does for us as well. Nightcrawler almost seems like a ticking time bomb simply based on the character development of Lou Bloom. There's a scene where he films a house of people that were part of a lethal home invasion. He's quiet,and intense. He films the it with grace quietly. We slowly on the edge of our seats wait for him to pop to show any sign of disturbance. I don't even think he did. Also fantastic,and really making an impression is Rene Russo,and Riz Ahmed. Russo is debuting director Dan Gilroy's wife,and she is just great. Gilroy also wrote the screenplay,and it is super as well. Ahmed plays Bloom's employee, and gives quite a good starting performance. And that's not the only thing that helps the film flow is the fantastic stuff they do with a car here. Lou,and Richard (Riz) have to make it to crime scenes before the other news guys do. So they have to drive fast. The camera swoops with speed around the cars. It's all a rush. This is particularly well used in a chase that happens near the end of the film. This is incredibly intense. But then again Nightcrawler is just that wave flowing on with all it's good things intact. Then you get the ending. That was perfect. The film wraps up quickly,but is still incredibly effectively leaving you on a note of being so thrilled from the chase before,and so scared of Bloom himself. This is one of the best films of the year. I give Nightcrawler a 10 out of 10. Please comment below I would love to hear what you thought about the films that I reviewed. Thank you for visiting. This is a revelation. This is one of the most compelling films of the year. It's premise is so simple that it is both amazing that they made it interesting,and so simple that it almost seems impossible to screw up. This is a film that for 1 hour and 24 minutes has Tom Hardy in a car making phone calls. It is more intense than any action movie I have ever seen. It deals with human problems that have reached an ultimately good man. I find myself saddened by the entire film,but that helped push the film to the heights that it soars to. This is a rough film that is both hardened,and heartfelt. Seeing how the film is 1 hour and 24 minutes in a car it really sells just how good Tom Hardy is in this film. Ivan Locke is not a bad man,and yet this one night in this one car his life will be altered by actions that he brought onto himself. I immediately felt for him, and by the end of the film I felt that his life would change. It is a life changing film. I know this is a short review,but there is not much to say of Locke. It is a meaningful film. A film that is deeply effecting. It's great. This is a higher form of film. This is one of the "Best Movies." I give Locke a 10 out of 10. There is a moment whenever Jon Favreau's character yells at a food critic talking about he has no dignity for reviewing the food that Favreau cooks,and how hard he,and his team works at making it. If the food were this movie I would have a simple response. "I'm sorry it's colorful, and there are moments that I liked,but it just never popped." Chef has Jon Favreau playing Carl Casper a chef who works in a prestigious restaurant. When a food critic insults him in a review he is very angered,and lashes out losing his job,and having to build up his life again. Sounds fun right. Well not so much.This is a sad film for me. I like the work of Jon Favreau mainly the Iron Man films, and I always felt that in his performances as well as direction that he always had something fun to do or say. The trailer for this film got me into the idea of thinking "hey this looks fun." It was funny, quirky, and it seemed full of heart, but that was the trailer. After having watched the film I find the sad fact that it is just boring. I did say that the film "had it's moments though",and it does. There's a funny running gag about just how unaware Carl is about social media that is funny, but after a while it becomes a slightly amusing distraction. There's a side character who is played by John Leguizamo brings some heart to the film. Also the Latin inspired style of the entire thing somewhat drew my attention. There's also a kid who has good chemistry, but he isn't given anything that isn't trite to do. See Carl when he loses his job is fired he attempts to connect with his kid,and succeeds in getting a food truck,and running it with his son. This again should be fun, but it comes off trite. "The kid wants to connect with the dad,and the dad has trouble connecting" stuff can be done well it really can. Here it's just done with the same type of thing over,and over, and it just get's boring. The film is trying to make you feel good,but it doesn't. There are some subtle creative touches to the film,and they are nice,but they are just distractions. Actually you know what. Most of what is captured on the camera seems to be a distraction. It works sometimes though. This film puts food being cooked up in your face constantly,and I really wanted to eat some of it. There's a particularly appetizing scene where he makes a grilled cheese,and there's butter,and melting stuff. It looks good, but you can't just make a movie from this. The whole thing seems diluted because it would rather show you the food than the characters. I mean it's good to show something that your viewers like,and I have nothing against watching delicious food being cooked,but it's all a cover for the fact that the story,and screenplay themselves are not that interesting. The ending of the film is also sappy, and just doesn't come off well. While I found some of it funny,and the fact that watching good food get cooked is always entertaining I found Chef ultimately boring,and uninteresting. I give Chef a 6 out of 10 REMEMBER TO COMMENT ON THE FILMS AND REVIEWS. I'D LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU THOUGHT. Interstellar: Directed by Christopher Nolan, Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway... etc.11/8/2014 At about 35 minutes, maybe 40 (I don't know) I was fearing for Interstellar. That's not to say that there wasn't stuff to like, there was. The acting was good, the world that had been presented was presented well, but it just hadn't popped... yet. Oh man. We've got another top ten list item here. Oh man. The plot of Interstellar goes much like this. The earth is dying, and the human race will not survive there very long. Cooper ( Matthew McConaughey) is a father of two who used to be a test pilot for NASA, and is now a farmer on Earth. He is soon convinced by an old friend (Michael Caine) to take part in a space mission to find the humans a new home. That's the basics of the plot. The beginning of Christopher Nolan's Interstellar as you may have noticed is not that great. Sure it's held up by the good performances, and the fact that we are dealing with so many good actors, but this wasn't enough to carry what I had seen up to that point. It just felt awkward. There was unexplained story elements,and all of it seemed off. I mean how are you supposed to find NASA that easily? (If you have seen the film you'll get that) Then we got to space, and truly I noticed the difference. I thought at first that the fact that the space stuff worked so much better than the earth stuff might be because Nolan is just so much better at the sequences of sheer awe, but no the movie had a lot more in store than that. Really that's as far as I can go in explaining what the films plot does. The plot details of this film have been meticulously hidden, and this is for good reason. The ending is big idea stuff,and most of the stuff that might not have made sense at the beginning of the film is cleared up by it (that's not to say it excuses the beginning. It doesn't it just explains a lot of it though). People out there are either going to hate it or love it. Yep it's one of those films, and I loved it, but I won't say anymore. As far as what already has been revealed in trailers, and everything of that sort I would like to speak about a few things. The trailer of this film predominately features a sequence where the spacecraft encounters a planet of water,and is faced with riding a wave on it. This first of all is just as awesome as you thought it would be. The sheer thrill of the scene is actually a good marker for what your in for throughout the rest of the film. And really the wave isn't the most sinister thing about the planet, but I won't say anything about that either. Just get this straight the action in the film is thrilling, and creative, and I enjoyed it throughout the entirety of the film. The space flight sequences are worth the price of admission. But that's not enough to carry a movie as well. You need drama, and this is delivered hand over fist. I was surprised just how touching,and sentimental Interstellar was, and unlike the other critics of the web I actually liked that more than I hated it. It brought heart to the film, and Nolan did a fantastic job at conveying it. So do the actors. Matthew McConaughey at first seemed odd to play this kind of role, but it turns out that he is perfect. His performance as Cooper is down to earth fantastic stuff and an argument on the water planet with Anne Hathaway (also quite good) is one of the many highlights of the film. Also a highlight is a robot named TARS who is well performed,and creates some comic relief for the film. All of the other supporting cast shines as well. Oh and there's an actor that I didn't even know was in this that turns up,and astonishes. I've heard complaints that is some of the dramatic scenes there is to much exposition explaining the way time,and space,and relativity is supposed to work, but actually I didn't mind, and this all helped me understand the film. This film has it all. Great effects, action, tragedy, comedy... etc. I haven't even begun to explain it all in this review. It would be perfect if only the first part of the film did not feel so awkward. It's a good thing that's mostly cleared up by the end. This is a beautiful,and thrilling film. I give Interstellar a 9 out of 10. Remember to comment on the movies I have reviewed. I want to hear your opinions. Hey everyone tomorrow I will see Interstellar. Review will be posted soon. Till then here's the trailer. Remember to comment on the website,and tell me what you thought of the films that I reviewed. I could applaud Bridman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) for simply it's wild creativity. The way that it's shot, and scripted,and acted is all creative, but that really would be selling the entire thing short. This movie has so many layers, so many things to say,and explore about it's characters that it has to be inherently interesting on it's own. But it does have the creative direction,and cinematography, and scripting,and so much more. Birdman could be the best film of the year if only for the fact that I think the best film ever made (I am talking about Richard Linklater's Boyhood) came out this year. Birdman tells the story of Riggan Thompson (Michael Keaton). He is a man who used to play a comic book hero called Birdman,but after years out of the spotlight is not much of a star. But he's trying to get back through a Broadway performance that he's writing,and directing. He will have to deal with stars clashing, and his own deteriorating mental state (There's a voice in his head that is Birdman talking to him) all the way up to the shocking conclusion. But that would only be skimming the surface of the entire thing. Do not expect to enjoy this film by just sitting,and watching it. That's not to say you couldn't it's just there is so much more to it than that. There's the way that the script of the play that Thompson is making especially the final scene describes the emotions felt by the character in real life. The way that time doesn't really change,and there is not cut's between the scenes,and the film just flows into the next part,and the way that the film is scripted in a way that shows,and doesn't tell. This list could go on,and on, and doesn't even begin to describe the depth that is found here. Really that's what I appreciated most about Birdman. The fact that after the film is over,and the funny dialogue,and beautiful imagery have gone away I can sit here,and still think about how it ties together. How I can dig my teeth into it still now,and still get something out of it. The film is quite odd though,but the cast carries it with as a critic on the play in the film writes "super realism." Michael Keaton is a very good actor, and I just didn't know that from watching him prance around in tights. He gives a great performance that fit's the film perfectly,and it's kind of funny how his own career is basically the same as Riggan's. Edward Norton reminds me of why he is one of my favorites in a role as an egotistical actor that is actually really funny. Naomi Watts, and Zach Galifianakis remind us of the great actors they can be. They all mesh perfectly to create a wonderful trip behind the stage. However if you are a person who wants to see spectacle,and is not a fan of anything weird don't go see this. It's good,but you have to think,and put together,and that might not make this the right experience for you. Birdman is deliciously complex,and deep. It also has highlight performances,and if you look the way it all ties together is spectacular.I wish it were for more people, but it's not. It's a fantastic film though, and will be on my top 10. I give Birdman a 10 out of 10. Please comment. Sorry I have not posted in a while,but I had a busy week. Anyway this is a summarization of films I watched in the week. Well at least whatever I remember. Oh yeah seeing BIRDMAN today so yeah you'll get a review.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: This is a disgusting though hilarious,and fantastic rush of a movie. I recommend it,but it is probably the craziest film I have ever seen. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010): Oh boy this was not good,but it wasn't bad either. It is way to over plotted,and it doesn't have the character the original one had,but what it has doesn't totally fall on it's face. Jakie Earle Haley is really awesome though. No really this is a BADDDD movie,but it's not the worst thing ever. Evil Dead (2013): Really violent, bloody,and quite intense this film has it's moments. The surprising thing is that for how bloody it is the film is boring. I didn't care about the characters, and while the ending was bad ass I can't forgive the film for being boring just because of that. Brazil: For the second time this film is a serial masterpiece. Fearless: What a nice movie this is. Jeff Bridges best performance after Rooter Cogburn in True Grit. O Brother Where Art Thou: Hands down the best of the quirky Coen movies just great. And that was what I did this week. In a few hours BIRDMAN. |
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December 2017
CategoriesAuthorHello welcome to FilmAnalyst. My name is Stephen Tronicek, and I really like movies. This is a way to get my opinions out to people. Thank you for visiting. |