If you haven't ever seen David Lynch's Mulholland Dr. be prepared for two and a half hours of what I can only describe as a twisted nightmarish tale inside Lynch's mind. They film leaves a lot to be desired, well at least as the average movie-goer is concerned. I'm not sure if the version I had was defective but I found the sound editing to be a little off, for instance during a scene of heightened intensity the audience has a calm high pitch note lingering until a corpse is revealed, next it cuts to outside said set to another character walking towards their own house and finally we have a very loud and almost obnoxious burst of sound that I'm pretty sure was intended for a good ten seconds before (when the corpse was first discovered). Also it seemed liked they switched on and off from voice overs and actually using a boom to capture sound. While the cinematography had some interesting cuts (flashes of extreme close ups and other infamous Lynch shots) it appears that they shot entirely too much film and left the rest up to the editor, who did their damnest to make a cohesive story line which structure is about as solid as a nightmare. If you have the time and energy to sit and examine the film I'm sure it is laced with hundreds of little clues to lead you to some marvelous discovery but upon your first viewing you will be left saying WTF?
Reviews
6 Reviews
Hard Candy
(2005)
Splendid!
29 February 2012
Hard Candy is the story of a 14 year old girl (Ellen Page) and a 32 male photographer (Patrick Wilson) who meet online and about after 3 1/2 weeks decide to meet face to face. Besides having a suspenseful twisting plot the film displays a large plethora of outstanding thematic elements. This first thing I noticed was surprisingly enough the costume design choice for Ellen Page's character (costumes are typically the last thing I care to notice), however I thought that the red hoodie to resemble little red riding hood was fantastic and does quite a bit for the film as a whole. The next thing that caught my attention was the sublime work of Cinematographer Jo Willems, his use of extreme close ups and high and low angle shots place viewers in the exact mood conveyed through-out the film , which of course being unease and complete and utter disgust with a slight tinge of misplaced empathy. Director David Slade has definitely left audiences cringing and gripping their seats in this disturbing story of misguided justice.
The Tree of Life
(2011)
Fantastic symbolism and matching visuals!
15 February 2012
Malick's The Tree of life is a stunning look into the mind of a man named Jack O'Brien (played by Sean Penn) with a tortured childhood due to an over-bearing and slightly misogynistic father (played by Brad Pitt) and the death of his younger brother R.L. Malick doesn't disappoint with intricate symbolism consisting of a montage taking audience through "creation" sequences including birth of cosmos to compassionate dinosaurs and all the way to sea creatures with limbs climbing onto land. The camera work is absolutely phenomenal, cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki uses a plethora of odd angles and motions creating an almost transcendental feel throughout the film. Although the plot can be a little tricky to maneuver the first time around, it is brimmed with implicit meaning that might take a second or third viewing, however the film is more than worth the time for those looking to uncover some of life's most existential themes.
Lucky Number Slevin
(2006)
Excellent Mystery Noir!
8 February 2012
Lucky Number Slevin is a fantastic mystery thriller starring Josh Hartnett who plays the unfortunate Slevin Kelevra, an enigmatic smug yet lovable protagonist, who gets mixed into a colossal misunderstanding of identity placing him in debt with to rival gang lords for a combined $129,000 or an alternative of 1 gang land murder and $33,000. This leads Slevin on a brutal journey laced with dark wit from one plot twist to the next. Cinematographer Peter Sova really captured the essence of the 1950's mystery noir with the use of granulated filters during flashback sequences as an almost homage to past films. To add to this effect Screenwriter Jason Smilovic peppers in some clever back and forth between characters that keep the audience intrigued as they unveil plot twist after another which is actually addressed to as a "Kansas city shuffle." The film has a powerhouse cast (Josh Hartnett, Lucy Lu, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Sir Ben Kingsley and even Stanley Tucci) that really bring this project together. Also pay attention for Director's Paul McGuigan use of juxtapositions throughout the film. This was truly a triumph for all those involved!
Wrecked
(2010)
Well shot and acted but with a hint of wtf
25 January 2012
Imagine for a minute that you wake up bludgeoned, battered, bloody and bruised pinned in a steel death trap at the base of a mountain with no recollection of how or why you are there, with the only sign of humanity being an unknown corpse in the back seat. This "in medias res" beginning is how Director Michael Greenspan and Writer Christopher Dodd start off their debut feature film titled Wrecked.
Wrecked is a story of a man (played by Adrian Brody) that has just awoken in the after math of a major car accident in what appears to be a ravine with only a corpse (and his deteriorating mind) to accompanying him. After a days worth of struggle Brody finally frees himself from the constraints of the wreckage only to crawl through hellacious terrain while trying to ward off haunting hallucinations that have manifested from guilt of an incident he can't even remember.
Brody's performance is nothing short of spectacular especially considering the sheer screen time and lack of dialogue he has in the film, however this didn't stop him from portraying an ineffable range of emotion throughout. Brody isn't the only star on deck however, Cinematographer James Liston emphasizes this by employing juxtaposed high and low angle shot's to help shroud Brody's already enigmatic mind. The story however seem to have a couple "hiccups" that take away from the overall verisimilitude of the film which can be a deal breaker for some. This should not deter anyone from the film, it is well worth the time.
Wrecked is a story of a man (played by Adrian Brody) that has just awoken in the after math of a major car accident in what appears to be a ravine with only a corpse (and his deteriorating mind) to accompanying him. After a days worth of struggle Brody finally frees himself from the constraints of the wreckage only to crawl through hellacious terrain while trying to ward off haunting hallucinations that have manifested from guilt of an incident he can't even remember.
Brody's performance is nothing short of spectacular especially considering the sheer screen time and lack of dialogue he has in the film, however this didn't stop him from portraying an ineffable range of emotion throughout. Brody isn't the only star on deck however, Cinematographer James Liston emphasizes this by employing juxtaposed high and low angle shot's to help shroud Brody's already enigmatic mind. The story however seem to have a couple "hiccups" that take away from the overall verisimilitude of the film which can be a deal breaker for some. This should not deter anyone from the film, it is well worth the time.
Silent Hill
(2006)
Screw the narrative, enjoy the visuals.
17 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Coming into Silent Hill I had a small reserve for it considering most adaptations of games to film are typically poorly constructed, however I was met with surprise within the first couple minutes, more specifically when you first are introduced to the character Sharon (the daughter) who is precariously swaying on the edge of a cliff hallucinating a smoldering industrial chasm that seems to sink into a large cavern at the bottom of the cliff until she is tackled and saved from death by the main protagonist Rose. The movie is about a woman (Rose) who has adopted a child (Sharon) that seems to have some underlying psychological issues due to the fact that she frequently screams "Silent Hill" in her sleep. Against Rose's husband's (Christopher)will she tries to take Sharon to Silent Hill in attempts to resolve the problem but is met with a gaggle of new issues including finding Sharon after she has run off from a car accident. What made the movie is strictly the aesthetics, Cinematographer Dan Lausten and Production Designer Carol Spier truly flexed their own abilities in this film and Director Christopher Gans was definitely no slouch in keeping up with the original style, texture, and over-all theme that made the game such a success. I was also quite content that they left in a significant amount of the original composer's (Akira Yamaoka) work to help capture the essence Silent Hill while also adding some more popular and well placed songs as well (Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash.) Now of course for the bad. Unfortunately there are couple areas where the film fell short, mostly plot and dialogue. The Plot seem to have a few too many holes in it that might have been placed for interpretation, however they were clashed somewhere between crucial back stories and seemingly useless knowledge that lead to no where in the film which seems to have confused viewers that lack some background knowledge of the game. As for the dialogue, I personally wished they might have stuck to the title a little more in this regard because the dialogue is a mish-mash of non-sequiturs and pointless whining with very little substance filling lulls, so if they had say kept them a little more "silent" and let the visuals speak for them instead, the film might have had a better response.
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