Change Your Image
dreyson
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
The Legend of Sarila (2013)
Charming Animation from Inuit Culture
I think a 5.3 rating here is completely undeserving. It's a wonderful re-imaging of Inuit traditions, myths and legends.
The animation is solid and it's true to its source material. The evil spirits could be a little too scary for under 6s, but this story aims for the 8 - 12 age anyhow, and for that age group it's a wonderful adventure tale with a rich respect for cultures.
A nice Sunday afternoon film for the family, so give it a go if it's on TV or rent it. Sure it's not a must own film, but its charming enough and definitely better than many of the animated sequels pumping in hundreds of million into studio pockets.
The Dark Knight (2008)
A New Mythology
'The Dark Knight', Christoper Nolan's second venture into the Batman universe has received deservedly rave reviews, popular consent and is climbing the all time blockbuster chart at such a staggering rate, you can imagine the franchise accountants tirelessly counting the millions coming in every day and rubbing their hands raw. The success of the film is partly due to the fact that it works on so many levels as a summer blockbuster, a crime epic, a superhero movie and a psychological thriller.
However, what the Nolan brothers have also created here is a post-modern mythology that touches upon the disillusioned Zeitgeist of clearly defined morality. The film can be summed up in the words of Heath Ledger's spellbinding Joker: "This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object". In this battle there are no winners, it is the perennial struggle of a precarious equilibrium that manifests itself though literature and film in simple terms as the fight between 'good vs. evil' the traditional ground of any hero story. But 'The Dark Knight' peels away this superficial layer revealing the twisted insides of this moral clockwork. Here, any shift in balance between chaos and order will trigger an equal and opposite reaction and that is why the dichotomy of the Joker on one hand and Batman on the other, as archetypes of these two sides, is so compelling. The clashing of such tremendous wills can only result in a storm that will sweep all bystanders into its destructive confrontation. No one remains untouched and the transformations forced on all affected characters penetrate the core of their being their values and beliefs. It challenges their commitment to ideals and principles, impersonal concepts which leave no room for personal considerations.
The Joker, who explicitly proclaims himself as 'an agent of Chaos', has shed any notion of personhood no name, no personal history (in the film anyhow even the origins of his disfigured face are never defined, an element repeatedly played with). He has completely given himself over to becoming an ideal, a mechanism of destruction. He fully comprehends what it means and moreover what it takes to 'become more than a man', which was after all the original intention behind Bruce Wayne's creation of his alter ego, and in 'The Dark Knight' he pushes Batman to finally step into this role. The Joker clearly realizes their interwoven destinies: 'You complete me,' he explains to Batman, and that they are the embodiment of the antagonistic forces that shape the moral universe. This insightful understanding of the Joker makes him such a compelling character, translated so breathtakingly onto the screen by Ledger's towering performance. He is not an irrational psychotic, but frighteningly convincing in his nihilistic reasoning, appealing to the chaotic subconscious desires of human nature in a way that the audience is disconcertingly attracted to him while being repelled at the same time.
That Nolan is able to present material of such gravitas and complexity in a thoroughly enjoyable summer blockbuster package filled with seriously 'cool' action scenes, exhilarating IMAX sequences and a gripping two and a half hour long plot is a stunning feat of film-making. He succeeds in capturing the essence of the great super hero story, the mythos created by individuals who are driven to perform deeds that exceed the conventional limits of human capability. It is too often forgotten that the heroism of these figures does not lie so much in their pyrotechnic fights with villains, but in the struggle to come to terms with their responsibilities and the consequences of taking up the mantle that binds them to being an incorruptible agent of principles at all costs. 'The Dark Knight' achieves this and then some.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
A Symphony of the Senses
One important thing to keep in mind when watching The Return of the King, is that like all the other Lord of the Rings theatrical releases, this is not quite the complete and finished product. The final part of the trilogy moves at a much faster pace than the previous two chapters and although it makes for exciting viewing, you somehow do feel there are some scenes ssing, especially if you're familiar with the story. Luckily, most of the people (myself included) who have come to care about the series have learnt to accept this fact about the theatrical versions and are able to enjoy them as a cinematic experience, which is definitely what you get with this finale. The Return of the King is like a three hour climax in which almost every scene is imbued with a sense of impending resolution for the better or worse of Middle Earth. `The board is set, the pieces are moving' Gandalf explains to Pippin, as the penultimate conflict for the fate of a world is about to begin in front of your eyes. The emotional intensity and drama witnessed on screen would not be out place in a Wagnerian opera, but it is complemented by some of the most epic sights ever beheld in cinema. The battle on the Pelennor Fields is like nothing seen before and even if many of the super wide shots of the armies are noticeably computer generated, they are nonetheless very impressive on the merit of their ambitiousness alone. It seems that when the heart and mind are not being engaged, the senses are being assaulted, so that not a moment of the 3h 12 min feels wasted.
All the main actors have by now confidently settled into their roles and their character's development is really embodied through their performance. It's remarkable how these protagonist have transformed over the ten and a half hour course of these movies, compared to when we first meet them in The Fellowship of the Ring. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens especially need to be commended for giving all the important characters that kind of substantiality, by paying attention to the personal journeys taken and showing the genuine growth undergone by each of them.
In technical terms The Return of the King is undeniably the most accomplished film in the trilogy. All the post production and art departments really present their best work of the series here, from the special effects, the costume designs, through to the breathtaking miniatures. The cinematography is especially noteworthy, experimenting with unconventional, exciting points of view and subtle colour grading that help to deliver even more memorable shots than in the first two movies. A word also has to be said about the music, because it has been the backbone of the trilogy in many ways. Howard Shore has brilliantly captured the depth and scope of Tolkien's world since the first soundtrack and has developed this vision from movie to movie creating a film score magnum opus. He has been particularly successful in rendering the operatic epic-ness of The Lord of the Rings and this characteristic truly comes to shine in the third instalment. It must be remembered, that an essential contributing factor for the success of this final part is the effectiveness of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers to generate the level of anticipation and narrative tension, that makes the climax so emotionally involving and rewarding. The sense of closure is in every respect satisfying and considered as one creative achievement from beginning to end, it becomes clear what a cinematic triumph the trilogy really is. It has become the film event of our generation, with all three among the top ten highest grossing movies of all time and the popular passion with which they all have been received. The Return of the King sets a new benchmark for the fantasy/adventure genre and The Lord of the Rings has given new meaning to the concept of epic filmmaking. It has arguably become the best trilogy of them all. A title it will deservedly keep for a very long time.