Wow, I was NOT expecting this charming, meandering, largely improvised film to deliver such an emotional gut punch. It’s kind of a perfect streaming film. It doesn’t demand so much of you that you can’t do something else while it’s on, yet it engages you through out so you keep watching. And of course having a knockout cast like this, and a scintillating score that is signature Soderbergh adds the desired panache and style as always.
Meryl Streep shows yet…
It never occurred to me before that Fincher’s Zodiac is more a newspaper story in the tradition of All The President’s Men than a detective noir-type thriller. Fincher mentions in the commentary that casting was the most important aspect as this movie which is all about watching people talk. Staging is kept simple because he didn’t want any cinematic flourishes to distract from the behaviour of the actors. Fincher shows that more than anything else directing can simply be able discipline.
For…
Nolan re-imagines film noir tropes to create something entirely unique by reversing the narrative. Instead of a linear push from beginning to the end we embark on a looping spiral journey seemingly back to the beginning from the end. At its core is femme fatale Carrie-Anne Moss, manipulating our memory challenged sucker Guy Pearce with nonchalant ease. The brilliant conceit of structuring the narrative to mimic our protagonist’s “condition” pays off at every turn as we continually loop backwards grabbing…
Wow! Just wow! This was a sublime knock out punch for me. It won best Canadian feature at TIFF in 2019. And so well deserved. I hadn’t realized my cinematic soul had been so deprived of the genuine article. But here it is. Alive with a beating heart. I never thought siding with your family could be a radical choice, full of self-sacrifice, and yet, it is here. This movie fed my soul in a way very few films ever…
Re-watch with commentary track with steadicam operator and inventor Garrett Brown and biographer John Baxter. This commentary track is a huge revelation to any cinephile and also to DOPs and camera operators. Garrett Brown is so well spoken and his insights are a true asset. He pulls back the curtain on how just about everything in the film was achieved. So if you don't want the magic taken out of it, be sure to skip this track. I enjoyed the…
Super strange film. Cinematically thrilling. Toni Collette's Oscar worthy performance along with Alex Wolff's stunning supporting work makes this an unexpected treat for its acting. One of the slowest burns I've experienced. We're not even introduced to the main theme of the film, possession through seance until an hour into the picture. Features a gripping sound scape that deftly plays with eerie drone notes and silence. Some truly outstanding cinematic sequences. Though overall it leans towards the self-referential in its…
