I realize the fact that it might be slightly to late to make a best movies of last year list on this site,but here's one anyway. Also I have not seen every movie so this is out of what I saw.
1. Blue is the Warmest Color: There is no denying that the winner of the Palme'Dor is explicit,but it is also very watchable. The dialogue, the romance, and the tragedy are all done masterfully here. 2. 12 Years a Slave: A powerful film that will forever stay with me 12 Years a Slave is also good, because of compelling performances and just good film making. 3. Blue Jasmine: One of Woody Allen's new masterpieces Blue Jasmine is captivating and intelligent and has a good amount of blunt realism to it. 4. Inside Llywen Davis: This may not be the happiest of films,but it is a heart felt and funny one that could stand up to the Coen's best. 5. The Wolf of Wall Street: As unethical as it is this is a very funny and well acted dark comedy about some very bad people. 6. Captain Philips: Hanks is great, the pirates are great and the whole thing has a thick tension to it. 7. Philomena: Simple,sweet, and tragic as hell Philomena is wildly entertaining. 8.The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: This is the best fantasy film I've seen in a while. Great action, character and fun. 9.Her: It comes with the set of problems that a film with the story would but it's nice and sweet nonetheless. 10. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: An intense thriller and good character story Catching Fire excels over the first Hunger Games.
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If you were caught up in a stressful situation how would you react? I would say that most of us would be quite upset. Well what if suddenly in less than a week or so your entire life which you had made for yourself and been happy in fell apart? Well than you might go a little insane. I always found there to be a blunt realism to Woody Allen's films. Yes I know they are kind of like dreams and Midnight in Paris has something oddly supernatural going on, but seriously in his old masterpieces as well as Blue Jasmine each character possesses a quite a bit of realism. Mainly that nobody in his films are perfect and almost always have an flaw. That's what makes all of his films interesting. This is all,but much more present in this incredible entry into Allen's filmography. Blue Jasmine is about Jasmine (played by Cate Blanchett) a woman who at one time was rich,but her husband turned out to be a crook and she lost everything. She has walked out of it all supposedly fine, but that's not true. Jasmines fatal flaw is she just wants to leave the uphill battle of a life that she has now and go back to the way it used to be. This though is not easy seeing how she has lost everything and is now working and living with her sister to keep stuff together. Blanchett is doing the best work I have ever seen from her here and deserved every single award she won from it. The character is just so interesting. She has these moments where she trances and starts talking to herself as if she is back in her old life trying to recapture the happiness that she used to have but, she can't. As far as character development goes this is the best I've seen Allen do it since Annie Hall which me only being 15 watched about about a week ago. I think that Jasmine really is one of the more interesting characters that Allen has created. I said most of the characters have flaws,but actually having somebody who's insane and getting crushed by the weight of everything is a much more interesting character that a beefed up action hero. If there is one thing that Allen does better than anybody else is he makes the best talkie movies that mean something. The dialogue in his films. That's no exception here. The film is terrifically scripted switching between Jasmine's old and new lives slowly showing us how and why everything fell apart. Oh and unlike most drama the side-plots are given a lot of attention. Most action, comedy and drama movies cop out of on the side-plots,but not Blue Jasmine. The side-plot involving Jasmine's sister actually helps characterize Jasmine as well as the sister showing a meaner side of Jasmine. Oh and the same goes for supporting characters. Here we have an abundance of important character actors including Peter Sarsgard who I have not seen to much but is probably one of the better actors working today. Alec Baldwin has a small,but vital role, and even Louie C.K. pops up as a kind of funny asshole. It's all great work, however it is wildly overshadowed by Blanchett's. Also like other more recent Woody Allen films I found that Blue Jasmine is extremely colorful and lovely, but really that's a small side note. Really I feel like I should be apologizing for the fact that I don't rate a lot of bad movies on here. Whenever I'm in the theatre I could easily find a few,but at home I kind of have to force myself to. By the way don't watch After Earth just as bad as everyone says okay. Blue Jasmine really deserves a 10 out of 10 not anywhere near my just great movies, but still deserving of that rating. The problem with modern crime thrillers is the fact that when all is said and done there is not good character. The big ending of a crime thriller can only be exciting if you care and the mystery can only be engaging if the characters are good. This is the one problem I had with both versions of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. By the time the mystery ended I found myself not connected to the characters as much as I should be. Prisoners does not have this problem. It is a smart, well scripted and real feeling crime thriller. Sure you can figure it out before the end (You can with most of these films) but, it is an interesting and quite disturbing ride. The reason that I mentioned all of this earlier is that this is the best thing Prisoners has going for it. This film is more focussed on the characters than the mystery. The film has Hugh Jackman's and a neighbors daughters being abducted and the way the characters react to this traumatic situation. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Detective Loki the man on the case. The main kidnapping suspect is a man with the IQ of about a ten year old. This almost immediately causes problems the main one being that Jackman doesn't want to wait for the police. That's when some of the stuff the movie should be doing wrong is highlighted. It really does spend way to much time on the acts that Jackman inflects on this suspect mainly torturing him to the edge of his life. Sure you need something for the parents to do and this is fine,but the mystery is kind of shown up by these sections. These scenes kind highlight the fact that the mystery actually isn't that interesting. Yet as for those scenes there is also a very important benefit to them. The acting. I never really considered Hugh Jackman as a great actor. Sure he owns certain roles much like Wolverine and Jean Valjean,but those are very one note performances (Pun not intended). Prisoners is the first film that I've seen him sell the hell out of and his performance is a tour de force considering the fact that you still sympathize with him by the end of the film. Gyllenhaal is fine in his role,but I've come to expect this kind of thing from him. However these roles would be a waste without good scripting. Again the mystery not as engaging, but the script kind of knows this, and keeps going. The whole thing refuses to let up if only to keep the illusion going. Sure the film is really just jumping from twist to twist with the character moments, but the really well written script keeps it all interesting. This is one of those "the characters are getting driven to the edge and that's where all the tension comes from movies." The fact that the film feels like everything is about to fall apart at any moment means it has succeeded. The way everything comes to together is actually compelling. If there really is another complaint other than the mystery to be found with Prisoners I found it to be slightly long. It doesn't drag or anything during it's 153 minute runtime it's just some of it could have been trimmed a bit to better effect. So Prisoners: Really well written, has Hugh Jackman doing career best work, it's about the characters,but, a slight bit on the long side, and has a mystery that's not exactly compelling. I know this review came off as kind of negative,but that's not my intention. Prisoners gets an 8 out of 10. Spoilers but, nothing to important. |
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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. |