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Civil War (2024)
Beyond the Battlefield: "Civil War" Asks the Hard Questions
Alex Garland's "Civil War" is a visceral, provocative gut punch. This stunningly immersive, character-driven war film subverts American exceptionalism while exploring the ethics of war journalism and the spectacle of conflict.
Garland's decision to omit backstory forces a fascinating universality. The U. S. becomes a familiar yet banal warzone, echoing countless others instead of glorifying its own conflict. This bold choice will surely be divisive, but its purpose is clear.
The performances here are exceptional. Dunst offers a career-best turn as the haunted war photographer Lee. Her expressive silence contrasts sharply with Moura's frenetic energy as the adrenaline-fueled Joel. The film's interrogation of their journalistic choices, plus the measured work of McKinley Henderson, leave a shattering impact.
"Civil War" is undeniably bleak. Its refusal to provide easy triumphalism reinforces a brutal anti-war message. The film's aesthetic, performances, and ambiguity ensure it stays with you for a long time, prompting viewers to examine their own complicity within the war reporting machine. It might not offer comfortable answers, but it's a masterful, unsettling work that demands reflection.
Dr. Caligari (1989)
A Surreal Spectacle of Psychosexual Perversion
Stephen Sayadian's "Dr. Caligari" (1989) is a phantasmagorical fever dream that plunges viewers into a world more disconcerting and distorted than the distorted sets of its silent film inspiration, "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari". This film is a testament to the enduring power of German Expressionism, a perverse pastiche of its visual and psychological hallmarks warped through a lens of '80s cult cinema sensibilities.
At the heart of this bizarre spectacle is the asylum of Dr. Caligari's granddaughter, a cold and clinical space saturated with lurid neon colors reminiscent of a warped Dick Tracy comic panel. Here, sexual deviance is not merely a pathology but the very subject of experimentation. The film's psychosexual explorations are brazen and exploitative, channeling a dark, camp energy that borders on the parodic.
Sayadian uses dialogue as a weapon of disorientation. Characters deliver absurdist, stilted lines with unnerving artificiality, their words less meaningful utterances than sonic textures adding to the film's unsettling atmosphere. This mockery of 'arty' pretension contributes to the film's blackly comedic tone, as does the gleeful revelry in its own exploitation.
While some might admire its visual boldness and thematic provocations, "Dr. Caligari" is undeniably a film of extremes. Its blend of jarring style, sexual explicitness, and absurdist humor isn't crafted for a broad audience. Those with stomachs for the bizarre, a taste for the transgressive, and a fondness for the stylistic legacy of German Expressionism will find this film an intoxicating, if deeply flawed, curiosity. It's a warped mirror reflecting both the anxieties and guilty pleasures of its era, a fever dream of psychosexual perversion that remains both repellent and oddly compelling.
The Whale (2022)
A journey through one of the most deepest yet common taboo in today's society
What an emotional ride it has been to watch Darren Aronofsky latest masterpiece. He nerver fails to surprise us with the beauty of human connections yet contrasted to our innermost demons hidden inside ourselves. He has never been afraid to tackle taboo subject like drugs, abandonment or mental illness. Now with brio, he dives into the depths of obesity with great compassion and delves deeper than ever before into his character's mindset. You will fall in love of Brendan Fraser's performance. The one of a lifetime. How many times my heart was pounding hard with a unpredictable flow of emotions because everything you're watching on the screen is so raw and pure leaving you constantly on the edge. You become a family member also trapped in this situation, trying to understand our hero's journey.
An intimate movie, a fable to life and death, to redemption, of brilliant kindness yet, to the hardest feeling a man can experience. A fight of love.
A must watch for everyone to understand one of the most deepest yet common taboo in today's society
My favorite of the year, no doubt.
The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021)
I never fit in, for lots of reasons. But movies were always there for me.
Today, we meet the Mitchells, an eccentric, over-the-top family ready to do anything to save the world when an AI takes over humans after being rejected by its creator.
Disney-Pixar Studios can begin to worry. Sony Pictures Animation and the duo of producers, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, is back after the excellent Spider-Man: New Generation, which already revolutionized animation by creating a new visual language of its own.
An apocalyptic comedy that skillfully mixes genres to play with current events and the place of technology in our lives and relationships. Non-stop action, a rare inventiveness, but it is especially its humor that makes this animated feature irresistible! The jokes hit the nail on the head and we soon find ourselves with a smile on our face as we enjoy the wacky adventures of these unusual heroes.
The second strength of the film comes from the emotion it gives off. Through its scenario, the story gives a lot of heart and this is felt in each scene. In particular those between Rick and his daughter, Katie, which shows how misunderstandings can create a wall despite an omnipresent love between them. A case in which many will be able to recognize themselves.
"The Mitchells vs. The Machines" beats its competitors to the punch and gets a head start by offering us a welcome revival in the world of animation.
Perhaps an "instant classic" in the making for new generations, at least I'm a fan and I want more!
Oxygène (2021)
Breathe in, breathe out
"OXYGEN" directed by Alexandre Aja and written by Christie Leblanc. Available on Netflix.
When a woman wakes up in a cryogenic chamber with no memory, she'll struggle to escape as the oxygen in her capsule begins to become critical. Her only means of communication is an onboard computer named MILO with which she must discover who she is, why she is there, and how to remedy her nightmare before time runs out.
The French director leaves the piranhas (Piranha 3D) and killer crocodiles (Crawl), to finally sign a high-concept thriller shot in claustrophobic atmosphere with a wonderful Melanie Laurent. The generous and involved French actress takes up the challenge with amazing interpretation. With her face and voice as her only means of expression, Laurent runs the gamut of emotions, from fear to anger to grief. She simply gives one of the best performances in an exercise where she was not particularly expected.
While claustrophobes will start to feel dizzy, the narrative finally gets out of this "jail" and allows us to escape and discover her memories at the same time as the heroine does. The flashbacks in the hospitals, with masked patients and doctors, make the tension rise even more strongly on these particular days of COVID.
Nevertheless, the film don't fall into weird conspiracy and remains on track avoiding even any resemblance with the thriller 'Buried' except for their concept of confinement. The script never ceases to surprise with its rich concept of thematic and narrative twists and turns, and feeds the curiosity of the viewer who constantly wonders about the resolution.
Alexandre Aja directs a thriller in a confined environment of a very different kind, but very effective. With current themes of isolation, loss and fear of an uncertain future, "Oxygen" has never lived up to its name. Thanks to solid direction in an incredibly confined space and the phenomenal work of Melanie Laurent, the film becomes a welcome breath of fresh air in today's world.