(2016)ReviewsByTopher
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- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsRyan GoslingEmma StoneRosemarie DeWittWhile navigating their careers in Los Angeles, a pianist and an actress fall in love while attempting to reconcile their aspirations for the future.If "not too bad' is great, then what is great?
La La Land is a trip down memory lane, if Memory Lane was a show in modern-day 1950s. What?
Back when musicals were magicals, and movie magic was the only special effect, THIS flick is bigger than any CGI, more satisfying than any car chase, and more about music than any musical...and is it even a musical?
In the tradition of musicals, this flick is a rebel without a cause...a great cause, though. Nostalgia here, in the form of jazz.
"Great" is in sync, choreography is language, and chemistry is melody...but it really is all just La La Land...a fantasy, right? "For the dreamers."
Anyways, sense isn't what we're going for, but it's what gives us the tragic foundation.
"La La Land" is a happy movie, a feel-good movie, a movie for dreamers, and the pain of "what if?"
How is it happy if it's painful?
How does it make sense if it's "La La Land?"
The lyrics from "Imagine" (John Lennon) sum up the movie for me:
You may call me a dreamer/
But I'm not the only one/
I hope someday you'll join us/
And the world will be as one
And here are lyrics from the movie:
Mia: [singing] Here’s to the ones who dream, foolish as they may seem.
Here’s to the hearts that ache.
Here’s to the mess we make.
The burden of dreaming destroys love.
The music stops, the choreography stops, the camera shakes...without love, it's raw and real, and dreams are sold out for fame and money.
Can we dream and love? And have it all?
Midnight in Paris comes in, perhaps a reference to another film (dir. Woody Allen) which has nostalgia as a significant theme...nostalgia, a painful yearning for what was...
...and perhaps, what could be.
The feelings we seek are clouded by our dreams, distracting us from our true feelings...distracting us from what really is...even if what is...is in La La Land (the title references L.A.).
Does any of this make sense?
Go see it.
This is filmmaking, from the director of "Whiplash."
Take someone you love.
Best film of the year. - DirectorByron HowardRich MooreJared BushStarsGinnifer GoodwinJason BatemanIdris ElbaIn a city of anthropomorphic animals, a rookie bunny cop and a cynical con artist fox must work together to uncover a conspiracy."Zootopia" has all the answers. For the first flick in, hopefully, a series, we have a satire about *SPOILER ALERT* racism in the world.
Using fear, the species are turned against each other by making the suggestively monikered "predators" aggressive in the hope of creating a "prey"-only world. Making these animals aggressive creates an "us" vs "them" mentality that mirrors our own society. For a sequel, I want to see the rich vs poor animals like a real animal kingdom.
What's the ultimate message?
Unity.
We can all find common ground, but what creates uncommon ground? Fear. That theme could would stay true through my idea for a sequel, but it's amazing that these concepts can be delivered in a fun, atmospheric, and relatable movie for kids. How great would it be if these beautiful looking reflections of our world not only showed us how we look but taught us how to change?
This movie shows it's possible to be more than what society tells us we are. - DirectorTim MillerStarsRyan ReynoldsMorena BaccarinT.J. MillerA wisecracking mercenary gets experimented on and becomes immortal yet hideously scarred, and sets out to track down the man who ruined his looks.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreJohnny FancelliChristina FancelliTo learn what the USA can learn from other nations, Michael Moore playfully "invades" them to see what they have to offer.Where Socialism helps.
- DirectorRobert EggersStarsAnya Taylor-JoyRalph InesonKate DickieA family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
- DirectorZack SnyderStarsBen AffleckHenry CavillAmy AdamsBatman is manipulated by Lex Luthor to fear Superman. Superman´s existence is meanwhile dividing the world and he is framed for murder during an international crisis. The heroes clash and force the neutral Wonder Woman to reemerge."Batman: Dawn of Justice." Everything wrong with "Man of Steel" is brought back to bring down a Batman movie.
Sad, though it is...dull, though it may be...focus, though it may lack...time, though it may waste...an opportunity, though it may have had...
"Batman v Superman" ain't that bad.
This flick asks some big questions.
Superhero films are, philosophically, supposed to ask these questions. The "what ifs" and the "how it could be" questions everyone really asks when they pray are a therapy the world needs. Sadly, these films so prominent in our culture, and ...the sad fact is... this is because the world needs them now more than ever.
The world is, apparently, so full of evil that even the good will probably become corrupt. This movie challenges two of the most famous superheroes on their morality...or it tries. This is the film's biggest failure. The audiences knows too much, unfortunately.
Predictable, though it may be...the audience apparently needed to know some things going in, (I now understand why trailers revealed the Wonder Woman appearance) since the focus relies on randomness so much. It makes more sense to spoil the appearance of "Doomsday" since it just shows up rather than being an interesting twist. Meanwhile, the film is mistakenly titled to suggest some big showdown, "Dawn of Justice" is more accurately suggestive. "More accurately" means nothing, really.
The film industry has become an advertising agency. "Leave you wanting more" is Hollywood's motto. These are installments to keep you coming back. They don't want audiences, they want regulars.
Failure, though it may be...
Hope, though it may lack...
Batman v Superman properly mirrors our society.
We are an angry, messed-up, incoherent bunch of life on this planet...
...in need of some aliens...
...in need of some God...
...in need of some heroes...
Good or powerful...can a hero be both?
Not according to evil.
...Honest, yes.
But true?
Just?
The answers are absent. Or, at least, unsatisfying.
The world is full of heroes, as this flick kinda forgets to say, however, evil is apparently required for them to be needed.
"Dawn of Justice" shows a dark world. - DirectorDavid AyerStarsWill SmithJared LetoMargot RobbieA secret government agency recruits some of the most dangerous incarcerated super-villains to form a defensive task force. Their first mission: save the world from the apocalypse.Add Facebook review
- DirectorAndrew StantonAngus MacLaneStarsEllen DeGeneresAlbert BrooksEd O'NeillFriendly but forgetful blue tang Dory begins a search for her long-lost parents and everyone learns a few things about the real meaning of family along the way.
- DirectorShane BlackStarsRussell CroweRyan GoslingAngourie RiceIn 1970s Los Angeles, a mismatched pair of private eyes investigate a missing girl and the mysterious death of a porn star.
- DirectorKevin ReynoldsStarsJoseph FiennesTom FeltonPeter FirthIn 33 AD, a Roman Tribune in Judea is tasked to find the missing body of Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead.
- DirectorGareth EdwardsStarsFelicity JonesDiego LunaAlan TudykIn a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction."Rogue One," I was afraid, would merely be a look into the universe that brought us the Star Wars saga, but is it more than visual references enough to inspire the nostalgia we seek?
The film is certainly keen on giving us a sense of familiarity that allows itself as a welcome addition, earning the "Star Wars" title. Much thanks to the musical arrangement by Michael Giacchino, who truly is the next John Williams, taking cues from the legendary composer (you can hardly tell he was absent).
Not to spoil the story, but "Rogue One" is a fitting title itself, as it serves as something of an escapee from the saga we know so well, being basically a piece of story that was laughably absent from the original in 1977. In what would be called "A New Hope," we had an epic finale that abruptly halted the Imperial terrorism brought on by the "planet killer" known as the Death Star. Easily, too easily, did the destruction of which occur by a seemingly poor design in construction. How was the Death Star so easily destroyed by one shot into the small "two meters wide thermal exhaust port?"
Now we know, and you will have to find out for yourself.
"Rogue One" is a filling of a plot hole in "Star Wars" (1977), but a fun return to the galaxy far, far away. My favorite character was a "strategic analyst" of a droid who happened to be a little too judgmental, perhaps proving that life is not dependent on probability. Much is unpredictable in this film, and "consistently surprising" (in quotes to reference a moment of description about the main character) also is the comic relief, which keeps coming.
Gareth Edwards is at the helm again after "Godzilla" (2014), another film I felt lacked connection from character development. When I shook the director's hand at a Godzilla (1954) screening, I told him "Monsters," the flick that brought him into the spotlight in Hollywood, would live forever. His first flick, famous for the realistic special effects on a small budget, relies on character development.
"Rogue One," while highly entertaining, is just an episodic advancement, and the first of a surely infinite amount. Significantly more complex than "The Force Awakens," we are thrown into different worlds and given a behind the scenes look into the war between the imperialists and the rebel alliance, complete with characters with which we've all grown up.
We will be Marvel-ized into the Star Wars universe, as I predicted. Thankfully, super heroes are absent (no Spider-Men or any Hulks, incredible or otherwise), and the force is strong with this one. - DirectorMatt RossStarsViggo MortensenGeorge MacKaySamantha IslerIn the forests of the Pacific Northwest, a father devoted to raising his six kids with a rigorous physical and intellectual education is forced to leave his paradise and enter the world, challenging his idea of what it means to be a parent.A utopian idealism without the utopia or the idealism.
This flick is about life itself minus an emphasis on living, as it deals with death without making a big deal about it. - DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsAndrew GarfieldAdam DriverLiam NeesonIn the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.Silence (an unfinished review)
This is only a formality.
The difficulty of "Silence" is the acceptance that there are no villains and there is no evil. There is only human nature.
The purpose of such torture and suffering is to establish doubt and, ultimately, denunciation. They will also favor Buddhism and "merciful" teachings of nature. The "son of God," who "rose on the third day," is replace by the Sun of God, which rises every day. Of course, this is merely to obliterate the teachings of the Bible, not as heretical but as dangerous. Sadly, it is man that is the true danger, human nature "cannot be moved" like mountains can.
I am curious to hear Scorsese's take on the whole thing, although we do know (based on his preface to the novel) that Judas was a major factor in his acceptance of the teachings of the bible and certainly there is an equivalent character in this film. If "keep religion to yourself" isn't the main message of Scorsese, I believe it is the main message of the source material if not merely the Japanese Buddhists. - DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsAmy AdamsJeremy RennerForest WhitakerA linguist works with the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world.Arrival
"What is your purpose here?"
In determining the language of film, and each film ultimately plays by its own rules, even if it is essentially following a leader, we come down to many questions. Hopefully, the film answers the questions it presents, but sometimes the best films present unanswerable questions.
This is one of those movies where you watch the interviews afterwards and the cast and crew claims "ah, this is really about a small story...it just so happens to be set in the midst of this grand event."
This is laziness, most of the time, and I'm not sure "Arrival" has arrived on new ground here, much like the alien pods, they are not so grounded. Eventually, when we do get down-to-earth, it is a small story, and luckily we have enough entertainment to keep us interested. While many films these days would show what happens on the day the earth stood still, here we actually get to experience the stillness. Within this realm, usually used towards the advantage of a small budget, we are able to learn communication, but communication takes time, much like raising a child. And within the realm of time, film is able to do some amazing things. Here, our main character is given the opportunity to experience time like the audience of a film.
"Interstellar" played with this idea as well, experiencing time from a character's point of view, but doing things only the movies themselves are able to do. In "Interstellar," the main character was able to change time...but here, it's almost a meditation on the limits of life and the bound by our own experience. It may very well be a film that just has different meanings for different people, but...
"What is our purpose here?"
Connection. And perhaps that's the theme. I guess the title "Contact" was taken...but more or less philosophical here. I hoping for Michael Bay to come in to show the downfalls of bad communication...the kind where there's a reward system...when communication establishes "victory...opposition...games...defeat..."
Then there's disconnection...and the limitations of human communication. We can only say so much...and the film feels so limited in this way, too. - DirectorDavid MackenzieStarsChris PineBen FosterJeff BridgesToby is a divorced father who's trying to make a better life. His brother is an ex-con with a short temper and a loose trigger finger. Together, they plan a series of heists against the bank that's about to foreclose on their family ranch."What the devil?" is the first line, coming out of the mouth of a woman walking in to work, met by two masked men. Two masked men there to do a bank job you'd see in a typical western, a job come "hell or high water," an expression of determination, of course. We learn the motivations through this rough and at times comical character study. A couple of brothers have to save a family farm, but motivations are beyond that...
So what makes this so special? Well, it's a modern-day western flick. Horses are only used out of necessity these days, and beat up cars are used in place of the getaway horses. The music uses a violin to take us out of the present day, but suggests the minds of the brothers may not be exactly present, either.
On the other end of the law, we have your typical sheriff-sitting-on-a-porch-type about-to-retire, and gets involved in one last job. Once the body count rises, this man claims to be haunted, even though the actor himself has worked a few times with the directors of "No Country for Old Men," so any spiritual carry-over into the character should have taken care of that, right?
The truth is, almost any audience can relate to these characters. The brothers, one being an outlaw, and the other being a devoted family-man (separated from his family, incidentally), are knocking off banks to the laughter of onlookers. Even a waitress acts as a sympathizer when she's given a seemingly generous tip by one of the brothers. She, of course, needs the money like they do. It's the bank itself, a background character with a sinister nature that we never get to really meet, that is the ultimate victim. The credit for the body count of the movie goes to the place that gives them something to rob. It isn't a capitalist venture, as they don't mind leaving a big tip to their waitress. It's capitalism that makes it necessary to become robbers. - DirectorFede AlvarezStarsStephen LangJane LevyDylan MinnetteHoping to walk away with a massive fortune, a trio of thieves break into the house of a blind man who isn't as helpless as he seems.