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Oppenheimer (I) (2023)
6/10
Balancing Historical Grandeur and Character Introspection
13 August 2023
The cinematic exposition of Oppenheimer's narrative is characterized by an intricate interplay of endless details pertaining to personal political entanglements and acquisitive power aspirations. This preoccupation with details seemingly engendered a dissipation of the potential emotional impact inherent in a grander narrative centering on Oppenheimer's pivotal choice to lead the Manhattan Project, thus becoming "the destroyer of worlds." Although the film's trajectory was competently executed and aptly elucidated Oppenheimer's intricate interpersonal dynamics, it served as a prelude to the ensuing psychological trauma and moral quandaries that the protagonist grappled with.

Nonetheless, a pivotal juncture within the narrative catalyzed a divergence, culminating in an ostensible abandonment of the overarching thematic thrust. This trajectory redirection appears markedly less compelling in contrast to the broader narrative focal point: the development of the atomic bomb and Oppenheimer's involvement therein. The rationale for maintaining primacy upon this narrative facet is inherently linked to the central quandary faced by storytellers when presented with a comprehensive historical figure. Here, the illustration of "Lincoln" by Spielberg can be seen as an illustrative paradigm. Spielberg's endeavor inherently acknowledges the impossibility of encompassing the entirety of Lincoln's life within the confines of a single cinematic presentation. Instead, the creators discerningly elected to spotlight a crucial epoch - the 13th Amendment - yielding a succinct yet resonant portrayal that, despite potential reservations pertaining to biographical fidelity, effectively encapsulated a significant period within Lincoln's lifetime.

Parallel to this, analogous considerations pervaded my initial engagement with Oppenheimer's cinematic portrayal. As the narrative unfolded, a foretelling climax was discernible, poised to culminate in the anticipated zenith: the essential tests and atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Regrettably, the narrative trajectory was interspersed with a proliferation of peripheral details interwoven into Oppenheimer's life, alongside the role of Lewis Strauss. The cumulative effect of these secondary nuances lead to a dilution of the narrative's climactic focal point, impeding the projected emotional impact of the aftermath of the bombings, particularly upon Oppenheimer. The scene when Oppenheimer gave his speech after the bombings, meticulously crafted to evoke his potential emotional state, emerged as a masterstroke in Nolan's directorial expertise. However, the subsequent course of actions devolved into a profusion of discussions encompassing political machinations, betrayal, and inquisition. It is imperative to note that cinema, while may be rooted in factual events, is not documentary; it exists within the realm of narrative storytelling. Thus, were Nolan's intention to craft a documentary, such a trajectory would have been more suitable.

Moreover, the broader thematic underpinning of the film appears entangled with a conspicuous assertion of Oppenheimer's historical significance. It becomes evident that Nolan endeavors to imbue Oppenheimer with a sense of unparalleled importance, juxtaposing his unblemished honesty against a backdrop of malevolent counterparts consumed by personal ambitions. This portrayal strives to evidence Oppenheimer's innocence, even as he grapples with his culpability in the project's catastrophic aftermath. This endeavor, regrettably, manifests overtly, lacking the persuasive potency required to render it authentic. To fortify this construct, a more palpable exposition of the internal conflict that engulfs Oppenheimer, and an intensified exploration of the character's psychological trauma, would have proven indispensable. Although Nolan does employ astute techniques to convey Oppenheimer's emotional state, the narrative impetus is periodically eclipsed by a superfluity of inessential intricacies and character dynamics, thereby compromising the film's pacing and overarching tension.

With regard to the ethical dimension, it is imperative to acknowledge the susceptibility of any artistic endeavor to being co-opted as a medium of political messaging. In the context of weighty subjects such as the present one, the artist assumes a responsibility to possess a judicious comprehension of the causal dynamics and ramifications of political quandaries, and in "Oppenheimer," potential harnessing of science as an instrument of warfare. Particularly for a cinematic work centered upon a historical epoch of this significance, a pronounced assertion of modernity's shortcomings and affiliations should have been evident. This does not mean to advocate for propagandist inclinations; rather, it is about the necessity to encapsulate the severity of the incident. The film's preoccupation with individual moral dilemmas and political aspirations, while not unwarranted, appears to overshadow the broader contextual resonance, thus weakening a comprehensive understanding of the era's significance.
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High and Low (1963)
8/10
Navigating Moral Terrain in a Postmodern Cinematic Landscape
12 August 2023
Arguably not among the pinnacle of Akira Kurosawa's works, this movie evoked a sentiment within me, reminiscent of prevailing contemporary audience inclinations, notably amplified subsequent to the rise of postmodernism and its reverberations within cinema. Upon concluding the movie, a discernible yearning for an element of astonishment surfaced in my experience. This inclination, I apprehended, germinates from the contemporary cinematic milieu, characterized by a propensity for narratives to surprise, catering primarily to the consumable facet of filmmaking. Following a protracted intermission from Kurosawa's cinematic repertoire, I engaged with "Tengoku to jigoku," culminating in a realization necessitating a regression to my practice of seeing foreign films, diverging from their American counterparts.

Throughout the film, an internal rumination pervaded, propelling the conjecture that the malefactor was conceivably none other than Gondo himself, spurred by the impulse to ascertain a rationale or motivation underpinning the crime. This introspection led me to postulate that Gondo orchestrated this contrived incident as a vehicle for self-aggrandizement, enshrining himself as a paragon of virtue. However, a subsequent revelation dawned, exposing Kurosawa's detachment from such a narrative trajectory. The film, in its essence, revolved inexorably around matters of ethical rectitude and the ramifications of human conduct within the precincts of moral precepts.

My reservation towards embracing the film more ardently pertains, however, to its deficiency in delineating Takeuchi's impetus for his criminal act. Even though comprehensible that Kurosawa concluded the narrative with dilemmas evocative of Dostoyevsky's literary constructs, replete with characters grappling with moral quandaries, the film falters in delivering a comprehensive insight into the perpetrator's vantage and portrayal. Consequently, relegating Takeuchi to a mere narrative expedient, a vehicle facilitating the conveyance of the overarching thematic message. An inclination towards a more multifaceted and nuanced rendering appears exigent, transcending the constraints of a mere caricature.

Addressing the film's socioeconomic stratum allusions and Kurosawa's potential ideological nuances, discernment remains elusive. The depiction oscillates between a benevolent magnate guided by altruistic intentions, forsaking personal ambition, and a character reminiscent of Dostoyevsky's Smerdyakov, or characters sourced from political texts, denoting an estrangement from communal struggles culminating in entanglement with transgressive acts. Yet, whether this conclusion proffers insights into the predicaments of the lower classes remains equivocal, shrouded in Kurosawa's ambiguity, a neutrality or indecision evinced in delineating a definitive standpoint.

Regrettably, this ambivalence neither augments the narrative tension nor substantiates itself as a manifestation of authorial stance. Rather, it assumes the semblance of a deliberate evasion, contravening an overt manifestation of perspective. The quasi-zombic presence of the underprivileged substantiates a portrayal reflective of the human condition during that time in Japan. Nonetheless, the denouement furnishes an affluent bourgeois in the throes of a moral quandary oscillating between his wealth and the fate of his chauffeur's child.

In spite of these deliberations, the film, as aforementioned, imparts a gentle admonition concerning genuine human interactions embroiled in moral intricacies, diverging from the ludic undertones emblematic of postmodern narratives typified by productions such as "Usual Suspects." Through this characteristic, the film engenders a contemplative stance within its viewers, instigating an introspective contemplation encompassing both the realms of artistic representation and possible life quandaries. Therefore, reserving intervals to engage with Kurosawa's work becomes imperative, facilitating a respite from the trappings of postmodern irony and cynicism, thus cultivating a reflective space.
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9/10
An Authentic Depiction of the Tragic Hero Archetype
10 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Behzat Ç emerges as a remarkably authentic series that embodies the classical archetype of an Aristotelian "tragic hero." Despite drawing from conventional storylines rooted in Turkish culture, the series effectively presents a tragedy. Erdal Besikcioglu, a renowned stage actor, aptly portrays the journey of Behzat Ç., who epitomizes the tragic hero by exerting a commanding presence over his surroundings but remaining oblivious to that which is closest to him. In a twist of fate, his daughter Sule turns out to be the murderer of his other daughter, Berna. Furthermore, Behzat bears responsibility for this crime due to Sule's belief that his abandonment led to her mother's suicide. This ignorance echoes the classic tragic tradition epitomized by Sophocles's Oedipus, who remains unaware of the immediate realities in his life while presuming omniscience. Another revelation in Behzat's narrative unfolds as his mother emerges as the mastermind behind numerous major crimes he strives to solve, paralleling his old friend Tekin's involvement in a labyrinthine web of criminal activities. Throughout the series, Behzat Ç grapples with a profound lack of knowledge, following his greatest failure involving Sule.

By centering its story on this classical narrative framework, Behzat Ç achieves tremendous success by reimagining the tragic hero as a modern-day police officer leading the homicide bureau. While embodying the essence of an Aristotelian tragic hero, the series maintains its focus on a man ensnared within an unresolved cycle of events in his life. It skillfully showcases the dark facets of Behzat's character through a bleak atmosphere and evocative scenes that delve into his internal struggles. This distinctive flavor is lacking in subsequent attempts to continue the series across different platforms, rendering the first three seasons particularly noteworthy in comparison.
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Cunk on Earth (2022)
8/10
A Must-Watch on Netflix
10 June 2023
Philomena Cunk appears to be adopting a narrative style reminiscent of Ali G, a character whose older episodes still resonate with audiences. Ali G, as a persona, achieved legendary status. Philomena Cunk's trajectory has brought her close to attaining a similar level of success. However, what sets Cunk apart ironically is the inclusion of some accurate historical facts, in contrast to Ali G's direct satirical approach featuring guests in a series of interviews. While the experts featured on Cunk on Earth possess knowledge of the show's purpose, they are unaware of the intentionally ludicrous nature of the questions posed to them. Consequently, their genuine reactions contribute to the show's humor. Diane Morgan skillfully exhibits her wit through social commentary and clever wordplay. As a whole, Cunk on Earth stands as one of the most exceptional contemporary shows available for seeing on Netflix.
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Coma (I) (2019)
5/10
"Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark"
19 May 2020
At the very beginning of the movie, I felt the urge to remind myself of this famous line from Shakespeare's Hamlet, as I know Shakespeare does not actually talk about Denmark, but England. I thought that Koma would present a political metaphor of what is being localized within its narrative as it documents Russia. I have seen some symbols, the famous hammer and sickle, even the Russian flag at some point in the story as one of the characters seem to have forgotten what country the flag he sees represents, but as the story has evolved with different connotations, I convinced myself that Denmark within the movie is more like the universe and the ways in which we conceptualize it with religious, historical, and cultural reminiscences.

By presenting a universe close to that of Matrix's, Koma puts forward its arguments about the reality and the conception of what is seen as real as opposed to the world we live in, and it uses a very suitable central character in its narrative components, an architect. Science fiction films' relation to architectural designs and constructions within different spatial dimensions can be always seen through the use of different structures. The movie, like many other science fiction films, does create both a visual and a conceptual dimension with the spatial designs it presents. The architect in the movie endeavors to create his own version of architectural designs remonstrating against modernist structures with their concerns about sufficiency and efficiency, without any inclination to the aesthetic codes of design. His creation turns out to be someone else's heaven in mind, namely Yan, who captures people who are in a coma, and presents a model town for them to live apart from the real-life they have.

Yan's projection reminds many other narratives as he poses as someone who defies reality and creates a place of his own. His disposition to discover and recreate what is unknown to people's perception comes from his belief that reality is something hard to overcome and handle, and it does not offer a serene place to live in. At that point, the apprehension observed in many other science fiction films also makes itself prominent here with the feeling that interfering in reality, and predestination connected to that, by reshaping a time conception which projects a heaven-like place to live in might cause some problems for people. This uneasiness derives from an understanding of the world which can be closely associated with religion and faith.

So, my commentary on the movie which, at first I thought to be more political with localized concerns about a country, has turned out to be something more common and universal with a timeless discussion. Then, I remembered Christopher Marlowe's famous play, Doctor Faustus. Both Hamlet and Doctor Faustus are the titles and the main characters in the plays as they follow a tragic flaw about their characters by putting forward what they stand for. Koma, similarly, follows what humans try to recapture with a reconceptualization of their world. Just like Doctor Faustus, the reality that is projected within the movie is presented with a presentiment that there is something eerie about creating another dimension of reality. Faustus signs the contract with the devil, which gives him all the pleasures he looks for, but in the end, it leads him to his eternal damnation. That tragic flaw as presented with characters like Yan in the movie is also about the conceptions like free will and predestination as the narrative contrasts the world projection it presents with a religious tone. The religion Yan uses for his own ambition is like the reminder of the second commandment, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."

With this highly religious frame behind its narrative, Koma may well be evaluated as a reproduction of a threatening and alarming future that is visible in many other science fiction films. The idea of using architecture as the center of the narrative with a more prominent presentation can be called inventive in the sense that the protagonist, as an architect, is the subject of another self-validated tyrannical figure, but the ways the movie creates the story with a very average tension and rhythm, not reinvigorating a cinematic taste or philosophical questioning with the ways in which the ideas are presented, vitiate the possibility of an exceptional film.
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Æon Flux (2005)
2/10
Science "Fictitious" at Its Best
7 March 2020
Well, I have not seen the original 1991 animated version of this story. I have come across some reviews presenting its innovative and peculiar way of production. But after I have seen the movie, without an effort to refer to the animation, I felt that the composition of the story within the movie is kind of incomplete missing some key elements. It did make me laugh at some points without intending to do so. When an action-based fantasy movie with a touch a of science fiction in it fails to find an authentic way of presentation of its characters and their struggles, it naturally turns into a charade of funny demonstration. To put it simply, this is not even a bad movie, but a summary of it.
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8/10
"I am a Turk, honest, hardworking."
28 October 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Hüseyin Tabak's effort to create a monument for a great man with a cause in the shape of a documentary is a work that is exceeding its purpose as a natural consequence with its political arguments having the power to revive every decision and problem that people in Turkey see as incidents of a bygone period. Time has changed, a nation's political arguments and primary efforts have changed, religious people find a place of security and freedom in a country which has been secular for a long time with artificial endeavors of individuals far from the realities of a country's own cultural background. Yet, what we face in this country for every period, religious or secular, is an obvious absence of citizens who try to understand "the other". This process of understanding the other is something that takes a long time for a person to realize what it takes to understand one another, because, in this country, when someone faces with the reality itself, with a claim of empathy in advance, he or she fails everytime as it is not easy as it seems to compromise on something just like that, as if it has no sociological background, it has no cultural code in it whatsoever.

For the last decade, this problem of facing with the reality of a compromise has made itself prominent in Turkey with reforms of AKP(Justice and Development Party). Their understanding of "the other" is something rather naive and politically discharged without a presence of an intimate communication with a side that is ready to take risks and steps into an area which can be comprehended with education only. Without education and a sincere attempt to understand people having serious problems in a country that has always been far from democracy and human rights, reforms mean nothing. By 2018, AKP's political stance has come to a place which can be described as totally nationalist and nearly fascist with its excessive discourse using patriotic images and symbols whenever possible. As it turns out they only changed their source for a nationalistic stance from republican ideals to religious and monarchical phantasms. When AKP tried to embrace symbols of different ideologies, such as Nazim Hikmet -his books and poems have been included in series that Turkish Ministry of National Education recommends in the first years of AKP government after a very long time- or Cem Karaca, the party did not particularly compromise with them, it was rather a reaction to the republic itself which is secular, harsh against religion, so against AKP's ideals.

Following these kinds of reforms, there comes the "Solution process" which includes a series of reforms concerning Kurdish citizens. That process, just like other attempts, had failed as AKP and its radical supporters could not comprehend the situation, their slogans were of certain platitudes. Their way of handling the subject with expressions like "our Kurdish brothers" was of the same source that of nationalist Turks. It was neither an attempt for a government to confront its own history nor an endeavor to understand a historical and cultural problem. Certain figures like Sirri Sureyya Onder from Kurdish side tried hard on this matter, but the other side, maybe "the Turkish side" could not proceed from their base, their patriotic ports, since it was not an actual confrontation or compromise in any sense.

These lines in the title up there from the Turkish school oath, or Student Oath, heard in the movie as well in a part near the ending, are like the concrete evidence of what I was trying to explain. Now there is no oath anymore -that was a decision made by AKP government- but recently it is being discussed whether we shall have it back or not, and a great majority of citizens agrees to have it back. Another reform made without a certain thought process or education and explanation, just like an Erdogan's prophecy, "it would be good whatever it means if he does that" policy of Turkey, it failed at a grassroots level, which is the worst part of it, because common people of a country can alter any ideology of a certain government in time, AKP's actions do not matter that much, but if it is grassroots, then it indicates even a bigger problem.

As I have pointed out in the beginning, this documentary puts an emphasis on these subjects naturally, because Yilmaz Guney was a character of actual politics with a radical stance. His actions needed an ending with only a revolution that he sought for, he did not hide his political identity, he was ready for a genuine compromise, that's why he was imprisoned and banished. He was one of those examples of Turkey to reveal our lack of comprehension, empathy, courage. Tabak's composition reminds me of our country's harsh realities even more than Guney's own portrait as a biography. Maybe it is because he does not only portray Yilmaz Guney's life, he actually demonstrates his own documentary, as a Kurd, a search for his own identity. He tells the story of Guney's lifetime, he makes allusions to some certain points of Guney's life with others that are close to Guney as well, but he actually makes a movie of himself trying to produce a documentary of Yilmaz Guney with an exploration of himself as an active subject. Therefore, while doing the work of a documentary, he does not subside, on the contrary, he does emanate.

Tabak's way of ending the documentary is an intentional attempt to make us behold what Guney beholds, he, himself, beholds as well, what makes an individual an imperishable memory, faces close to the legend of Guney, faces beholding him and his life in essence. It adds the movie a dramatic flavor but this choice is not bad at all, it completes this great life with the human touch, with faces of intimacy which are the actual necessities of solving political problems as I put forward. I, personally, appreciate Tabak's effort, and thank him as well.
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Time to Love (1965)
8/10
Meeting at the Same Place from Different Points to Start Off
18 October 2018
Erksan's usage of objects and symbols to create a contrast between Halil and Meral leads people to comment on these characters generally on the basis of their way of life in accordance with their cultural background and origin representing West and East. However, I think the very core of the different sights of these characters comes not from the set of cultural codes but from the unique sense of world-views appearing in their stances whenever there is an act of contact between two.

There is, however, a certain difference between these two as Meral's reaction to an emotion is something rather prepared and ordinary compared to Halil's point to make a beginning. Meral is nearly a stereotype from the life of a woman who is rich but depressed, having a relationship from her own circle but without the affection of an idealized love, looking for a way out, an adventure. With this kind of a state of mind, she never commences with the romance itself when she meets Halil, it is only a prepared starting point, a railway instead of a junction. She simply finds her reason to live, a story that is known from the beginning with no intention of a subjective initiative. I think this is the very reason that she is seen with her two friends in the beginning, three women, copies of a same kind.

Her picture, on the other hand, is something else. Her picture is Halil himself, his all reason, affection, story of a different origin. Halil starts off with this picture itself unlike Meral, as far as we know at least, because Meral's situation is given with her own statements when she talks to Basar as she explains that she already did not love him anyway and she was not thinking that people can love actually, and besides all these, her whole situation coming to existence only as a reaction, not as a construction. This difference creates the possible conflict expected between two characters which is later destroyed by the movie's melodramatic tendencies, unfortunately.

Halil's stance and perspective differ greatly from that of Meral's and many people as well. He reveals an awareness of a certain progress presenting a blurred sense of inanimation filling the space for an irrationalized status of an emotional story that which we call love as inanimation creates a necessity for a subject to be aware of his own effort leading to a progress as opposed to the animate circumstance of two subjects inside the same story. By creating and constructing his own story Halil has a unique sense of authority of his life collecting emotions from an unprecedented source unlike a ubiquitous presence of a romance.

Apart from all these, Halil's well-established stance towards love and life and the movie's originality, in the time of a melodramatic madness in Turkish cinema, cannot escape from that fictitious and synthetic atmosphere. That destruction vitiates the movie beyond measure. It may be about the production problems for Metin Erksan, but without a doubt that melodramatic sense of storytelling debases the movie.
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2/10
The Movie Itself Should Have Gone With the Wind
22 September 2018
I did not read the book, so I do not know how the original story begins and ends exactly, but for one thing, I checked the novel, I wanted to see if the novel has a first-person narration style and I did see that it has not.

Throughout the movie I thought that there could only be one rescue for the novel to escape a type of harsh criticism, if it has a first-person narrator, we, as readers, can shape our comment with the sight of a Southern lady I figured. Yet, as I indicated before, it is presented without the first person narrator, and that's why it is irritating enough as the movie itself. I am actually bewildered by people's reviews on this movie as many cannot realize its one-sided and politically biased perspective on Civil War. It has disturbing scenes filled with folks from South who treat their slaves with such "eloquence", "courtesy", and "consideration" and how Unionists let these "slaves of their own" have property and such. Those were the times of collapse for them.. I do not even comment on characters who are akin to their sisters from Queen Victoria's Kingdom like they are thrown into this world from there, and Melanie... Oh, Melanie... What a type. No need to elucidate more as it may well be a verbose setting for a simple comment on this picture; one of the most overrated movies of all time.
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Lincoln (2012)
7/10
Spielberg Knows Exactly What He Wants to Display
22 June 2018
There are some weird reviews of the movie that I come across every now and then claiming that the movie actually portrays Lincoln as a saint and it would be better to present him with his mistakes and such. These sights are clearly presented with claims disproving themselves with that kind of perspective as Spielberg tries to demonstrate the exact opposite of that view. It may not be the best effort, but it is, in sharp contrast with this kind of reviews, an effort to portray a man, rather than a saint or a hero without a humane presentation.

By portraying such a man, Spielberg takes a great risk of course. But, he does it with the only way that a director should lay his endeavors, he presents a small part of a grand narrative. That is the key to the movie. People complain about the movie's title or the presentation of a short period of Lincoln's lifetime, they have no idea about cinema in my opinion. Recently, I have watched one of the adaptations of "Germinal" by Emile Zola, such a grand narrative for me. Claude Berri tried to adapt the novel in that 1993 version. That was one of the worst adaptations I think, just because of the movie's incomprehensible endeavor to recapitulate the whole novel in nearly three hours. The only thing that could be recollected from the movie as a good feature was its language, which was French. If, by any chance, Claude Berri tried to recapture the last part of the novel, last ten days, even ten hours of three main characters of the novel when they are stuck in the mine after the accident, it might well be a nicely presented exhibition without the haste and tumultuousness of a very long novel narration in three hours which seemed to lose the influence of the story stored in a format that which we call a book, a novel. Why I gave that example, just to remind people that grand narratives equal grand lifetimes or biographies and Spielberg knows it. He also knows that 13th Amendment was the most important point to depict on screen about Abraham Lincoln. Some other director may think that it was not, it was some other thing from his earlier times worth to demonstrate, and that director may create a great demonstration as well, it is not my point. The point is that a director should capture a moment, a thing to present from a narrative rather than recapitulating all of it, and Spielberg does that.

Other comments about Lincoln's stance against slavery, if it was fake or not what we see in the movie, are also centered around certain pieces of information about Lincoln's ideas, from some letters or deduced from political actions; however, they miss the point. Lincoln's notions are altering throughout the time just like all of the United States, he does not take a stance like an absolute abolitionist but one cannot claim that he does not actually care about slavery, he only uses that subject for his war policies. That is, to put it mildly, narrow-mindedness. Lincoln, as Eric Foner puts it, is part of a spectrum of thinking on slavery in that era believing that it would be a long process to get rid of slavery, but step by step he is, in some sense, evolving. Spielberg tries to portray that transition or evolution period with vague dialogues of Lincoln, he never takes a strong stance like Thaddeus Stevens, but it is a rather discursive evolution of a person with attitudes of a mediocre development.
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Häxan (1922)
10/10
A Demonstration to Show How any Form of Art can Function as a Type of Public Service
2 April 2018
That title, up there, is not a sentence to vitiate movie's artistic sense of creation or aesthetic concerns, as it puts this great narration into something creative and aesthetic naturally, that which we call art. What the title explains is simply the social assistive part of the movie as Christensen himself is aware of the fact that society needs explanations and corrections about some important matters still affecting people's lives negatively as shown with an exemplary scene describing old actress' fear and delusive visions.

Directing method is expressive and presentation of certain tools are very clear and explanatory visually; therefore, it is not hard to follow the scenes.The narration helps to compare scenes from past and present. For a time period like we have now some points could be seen repeated over and over with explanations, but for its own time, and for the great majority of today's audience I think, they are absolutely efficacious. One can feel Christensen's concerns and can easily empathize with him throughout the movie.

The most important part of this movie, which can be categorized as a documentary, is that it never loses it dramatic flavour even if it tries to serve a certain purpose which is providing knowledge about people's ignorance, narrow mindedness throughout the centuries and its fatal consequences. With this power art creates an influence to persuade people of its arguments with artistic, dramatic, and creative sense of demonstration unlike platitudes of other narrations like history, philosophy, or science.
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8/10
Visualized Sentiment
25 January 2018
Loving Vincent presents a way to escape from any critique by putting its visual effect forward and creating a mesmerizing compilation with paintings in style. It is filled with feeling, emotion; however, the way it impresses us is not like something called "affective fallacy", it may not remind us anything with its plot, it may not affect us with its story, its pure influence is about the art itself reminding the short story of O. Henry, "The Last Leaf". Art creates impressions making us appreciate, cry, and smile.

Even if I do not want to analyze the movie, some details can be referred to remind us about the movie. With paintings on the cinema screen, without realities of our senses, this movie absolutely feels alive. Characters' movements, reflections, expressions on faces, leaves moving with the effect of wind, every camera movements possible -tracking shot, zooming, panning etc.- are reflected with great paintings in the style of Van Gogh. Their composition is something that the audience can easily get used to, even with a feeling suggesting us it is something more than reality, it is something alive, for instance, the scenes reflecting the stillness of the night or the light and shadow usage. Anyone can appreciate the efforts behind every scene.

One of the most important problems about the movie is the expectation created by the movie from the beginning as it is so fascinating and impressive that the rest cannot follow it up with an average plot. A different directing style may have had the power to measure up to the effect of the movie's visuality, but undoubtedly it is worth seeing at the cinema.
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Friend (1974)
8/10
Reality with Contrasts
15 November 2017
Warning: Spoilers
The movie tries to achieve a plain and simple target with its depiction of society from the beginning to the end. It was obvious for informed audiences about Guney that the scenes from the beginning, depicting bourgeois society and its life style would later be compared to another class, another part of society to show contrasts and what is lost between them.

At first, I found that irritating how the dialogues are cut and the lack of any reason for loud laughter. It was like the writer is out of context to create any dialogue. But then I got used to that as the movie emphasizes that it is first a demonstration with its strong manifestation, seeing the difference can tell much about the situation, hearing a laughter can irritate enough without a certain irritation coming from a talk. So, the movie itself persuades us with its exhibition inviting everybody to see, I may even say that it loses its effect when I hear someone talking for its mannered and theatrical tone. Maybe that was the reason for Azem to refrain from a discussion among others discussing politics. Being the "director" as well, he chooses to show and thus he attends the discussion with, of course, an authoritarian sight.

By the way, I was waiting for something to happen about the gun throughout the movie, and something happened. With an ambiguous smile and gunshot, an expected suicide probably, the movie completed my Chekhovian tendencies.
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5/10
Waving to the Future
15 November 2017
Lee Martin is fine, being a cowboy and all, but what strikes me first when I watch this movie is that the man waving his hand into the future instead of clapping like others around him. It really gives me the pleasure of having someone from 1890s, struggling to show himself with a bit of excitement and exertion. He seems to be trying to know us as well as he makes his own self prominent.

He waves to many generations before us, with us, and ahead of us. This is like the concrete source of demonstration about how cinema functions throughout ages. Many times we get to know someone from another time period with the help of cinema and its unforgettable characters. Even if there is no characterization here, that man is, for me, one of these characters. I get his greeting yet I cannot wave my hand to the past, and sadly, this is, on the other hand, like the concrete source of demonstration about how time functions throughout our lives.
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7/10
Surprisingly Progressive
14 November 2017
Progressive, as one of my lecturers majored in cinema still use the method that this short movie tries to use hundred years ago, cutting the scenes and reviving the image with the creation of moving pictures. "La maison ensorcelée" is probably more successful in that regardless of its lack about being scary..

Even so, I even felt something like fear in the beginning, with that picture turning into a scary woman. Also, the part they move camera to show the effect of the house being swayed is impressive.
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Dunkirk (2017)
2/10
Can compete with Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge, so with U.S.A, Here we have heroes as well.. You are welcome to it
26 July 2017
I even do not know why I rated this movie with 2 stars instead of 1. Maybe because of the effort put in with an apparent faith for the picture itself as the cast shows and as this is a war genre movie.

Yet, what did we learn, what did we sense after all? Let me help you with that. Now, we only see heroic British people who are called as "home" by Kenneth Branagh which is supposed to be an emotional statement I guess. But it is not. It only reminds me Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge which is another patriotic approach over cinema. There is no "Thin Red Line" or "Paths of Glory" before us, not at all. It is only another warning for the rising of nationalism around the world. Make a choice now, which was more effective about a nation's heroic display, U.K or U.S.A?

By the way, who felt sorry for George anyway? I know we are supposed to, but, you know, Nolan was kind of saying "you know these things happen, feel sorry, pity, empathize with, go on, what else do you expect? I demonstrated, you should interrelate yourself with it." But poor Chris, does he think it is only about demonstration, I wonder. No way to get in touch with any of these characters here. They all looked like stereotypes to me without any depth.
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Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
2/10
Did you just slap that grenade?
14 December 2016
What the hell did I watch? Was it some kind of an anti-war movie or, in a so called way, a real story conventionally narrated as a sentimental war-hero movie?

Someone must speak about that; it does not matter if you use a gun, or kill someone or not, if you have that kind of a mind, set to war, heroism, and nearly fascism with an unsurprisingly weird attitude towards Japanese.

You know what? This movie is just a way to arouse perilous feelings which are tamed by education and reason. It is filled with Christianity, bible, common scenes, and unbelievable, unreliable screen writing intermingled with Mel Gibson's directing.

By the way, it was not just a slap, he also kicked the grenade, didn't he?
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Bes Sehir (2009)
7/10
Every Departure Squares With Death, Yet, Some Intended, Some Unintended
21 August 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Onur Ünlü's type of drama manifests itself with touching parts of lives that are anywise connected. Cancer is the main character of this movie as usual, and the director's concerns about life are obvious with some objects that are both concrete and abstract like trains, poetry, tea, betrayal or disappointments.

Dilek is a character who represents modern way of love, yet, with more desperate and troubled sense. Her attitudes towards Şevket, who is more like an old-timer, superstitious, and recluse type, are so insensitive and soulless, even offending. The poetic sense that Şevket has with pure emotions at least vouchsafes him a suicide that he seeks for. But not everybody has an opportunity to sentence his or her own death. Dilek is, consequently, killed without having used her chance to die. That can be interpreted as poetic justice with an apparent metaphor.

Aydin is a hopeless police officer appointed to Istanbul, which is obviously much bigger city than he lived before. He struggles to adapt himself to this city life which is so difficult with his working hours that is 24 hours work and the next 24 hours rest. Solitude makes him worry about his existence, he cannot stand his own self, comforts himself with some external incidents. Yet, of course, they are never enough. He ends up without a chance to decide his own death just as Dilek.

Osman, apparently, symbolizes more obtrusive story. He is a child with all events around him, has nothing to fear, or feel happy for. Nevertheless, he, himself, uses his chance to kill someone else. By doing this terrible action, he justifies his state as he does it for an innocent desire. But again, he dies, maybe even fairly, as he dreams his innocent love.

Osman's teacher, Tevfik, maybe the one who spoils the poetic justice, is a character who, verily, perfects his own story. As he is betrayed after his reluctant, and perhaps well-intentioned murder he uses his chance to commit suicide. His saying, "don't say so" is notable and screens his innocence before life. Hence, he possesses his judgment on his death eventually.

This movie can be called as a wordless poem, without using fancy objects and dashy, and as likely as not pretentious images, it offers genuineness, and trueness.
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The Road (1982)
9/10
A Vicissitude Inside, A Sameness Outside "The Road"
20 August 2014
The opening scene of a movie is one of the most important scenes, covering some elements of cinema. "Yol" opens with an expressive, intense sound harmony that is synthesizer, and its high volume, and the guardian's voice of notifying the prisoners about the letters sent to them. One can clearly feel the hope of all the prisoners with this shivery musical tone. Their losses, expectations, melancholy, and radically quailed struggles are revealed early; however, this earliness is what the movie needs, thereof, the dramatic theme finalizes itself right on time, rather, apropos.

Tolstoy's famous novel, "Resurrection", is one of best examples underlining the situation of political prisoners, and the laws. Yilmaz Güney's depiction of the prisoners situation with some scenes like the train voyage, recaptures the parts of Tolstoy's great book and its criticism. Rural area and the people of living dogmas, crime and marriage, are effectively connected. With a taste of authenticity, you feel the critical remarks behind. Having already won Palme d'Or in 1982, this movie deserves the prize of folk, and deserves to be announced as one of the best movies of Turkish Cinema.
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Samurai Jack (2001–2017)
9/10
A Simple Drawing Meets With Cinematography, Presented by Tartakovsky
20 August 2014
When you watch a movie like Shichinin no Samurai, Spartacus, or one of the contemporary ones, The Lord of the Rings, you get the feeling that is so genuine, so imposing that you sense the change of your heart rate, in the scene of Aragorn's Speech at the Black Gate for instance. Samurai Jack, simply gives you the same emotion, and thrill for every single episode of it.

Even in the episodes that the cartoon does not sustain any concerns about giving messages, the show excites you and makes you feel wonder about it. Scenes presenting a minimalist description with all details and the objects used intentionally are so realistic, and more than being realistic, so appropriate, and just. Basic elements like evil and good, justice and injustice, past and future, conventionalism or tradition and modernism or mechanization are presented so inventive, since you expect nothing more than originality from a cartoon, this show is exact and complete. Samurai Jack is also entertaining, as a cartoon should be, containing absurd comedy elements that are situational.

If I had a chance to turn a cartoon into movie, that cartoon would definitely be Samurai Jack, yet, maybe the perfection of the show is due to its type and drawings. So, just enjoying the show as it is, is the best chance to have.
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4/10
Religious Agitation
20 August 2014
At first, this movie cannot ensure a solid element of comedy, even if it tries to amuse you, somehow, with its dramatic theme inside, biographically, it cannot. Sandra Bullock's stance as Leigh Anne seems so false, pretended, and "studious" which makes an actress, simply, a character, not a part of authenticity that audience expects.

The story telling a real struggle is presented as a fine family portrait, and due to that weak description it loses its dramatic sense. Although the movie is based on a real story, the points it makes are so conventional that I thought I was watching a Boys Town type narration, roughly fictional and maybe more like a part of The Visual Bible: Acts with its excessive lines. If, again, we are to analyze the movie, as a movie, not a part of real life story, we most likely ponder on the moral values that the movie covers. Leigh Anne helps a boy, and it is a favor appearing sincere and disinterested. Yet, with a deep thinking on her change after doing this favor, one can clearly observe a sense of selfishness and egoism. As a result of this help, Leigh Anne, obviously, feel happy for herself and as for his husband's, Sean Tuohy, observation it seems like a satisfaction out of helping someone. This issue, which is perhaps something to debate philosophically, annoyed me throughout the film. Other than technical and reasonable causes for helping someone, this abstruse cause of relieving yourself with someone else's deprivation bothered me most. This is again a religious drop that can be interpreted as doing something good for the prize that relieves a vassal, heaven.

Yet, with the help of Quinton Aaron's performance, movie completes its biographical theme and story. Mediocrity makes this movie's possibly extraordinary story, so banal, and naturally ordinary.
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9/10
Illumination of variety
23 September 2013
Improbable relations between countries, streets, environment and all, of which we can think vaguely presenting us a constant stance. When I first saw "The Edge of Heaven", this picture had spontaneously penetrated into my sense.

Regional sites that we experience ostensibly as we exist inside this vita which is, virtually, so genuine possessing today's objects. Political and sexual involution offers a great coast of a life of togetherness that is ongoing even with possible endings with tragic background throughout the movie.

Just try to exist in some part of this edge of heaven presented with the film and contact to grief, reprieve, jolt, expectations and complexity.
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