2 Years a Blog (Up, up, up)
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It's been two years. We have to talk.
Read MoreIt Follows (2014)
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(spoilers)
It Follows is an incredibly unique horror movie that almost never does what you expect it to do and constantly challenges and surprises you. It is slow but scary, beautifully filmed and plays with genre conventions while still following the traditions of classic horror movies. That it accomplishes both is impressive all by itself. It is simply amazing to me that this small movie manages to get everything right, astounding cinematography (almost every shot could be framed, not unlike the amazing work of Gregory Crewdson), a fitting score, great performances and a compelling story that is just ambiguous enough to neither be frustrating nor too expository. I also love the unspecified setting, its mix of futuristic and 80s-nostalgia tones. It is a horror masterpiece for which you have to be ready because it’s dreamlike atmosphere is not for everyone. But it’s really, really good. It’s one of those debut movies where you feel every second that someone put all their efforts and passion into making exactly the movie they wanted to make, which turns out to be a great movie.
Read MoreThe Revenant (2015)
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The Revenant is a breath-taking movie, a visceral experience that not many movies can provide and while it may not be super-deep (as some critics accuse it to be), it resonated deeply with me on a pure emotional and symbolic level. Leonardo DiCaprio gives a great performance, but then he always does, so a real surprise for me was Tom Hardy. His performance is impressive in the many layers he finds for his character and put him on my radar (where DiCaprio has been for a while already). But no review could ignore the director Alejandro González Iñárritu because the movie is really noteworthy for its amazing filming style. The incredible long takes, the beautiful shots of snow and forests and mountains and horizons, the savageness of many scenes and at the same time the courage to analyze how we depict others as savages. Emmanuel Lubezki must be one of the greatest cinematographers of our time and he would just with this movie and Children of Men alone (and I loved the similarities like the blood on the lenses). The score by Ryuichi Sakamoto (and many others) is great, even the visual effects work quite well for such a seemingly naturalistic movie. I loved it and wasn’t bored for a second of its 152 minutes, even if not that much happens.
Read MoreA Series of Series: Jessica Jones, Episode 7-9
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Maybe these three episodes are among the best in the whole series. Especially 8 and 9 are so intense and isolated, but also really different from each other. So, there is no doubt that the series is not getting any weaker, just the opposite. Let’s get into the specific episodes.
Read MoreBlow Out (1981) [1981 Week]
/![Blow Out (1981) [1981 Week]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54206d12e4b0e2c159748fd6/1442307280418-UKVT1OHQHLEXRI5H2HSE/image-asset.jpeg)
(spoilers ahead)
Blow Out is an incredibly cinematic movie but it never becomes just an exercise in moviemaking by actually having something to say. Still, director Brian de Palma uses every trick in the book to enhance this story and to (often) visually explore an aspect of moviemaking that is not visual: sound. That alone is fascinating to watch but the movie also works as a dark conspiracy thriller about a disillusioned generation that mourns the 60s and 70s. John Travolta delivers a great performance here with a wide range of hopelessness, excitement, anger and despair. But this is a director’s movie and I’m not the first to suggest that this might be de Palma’s finest moment both as a director and a writer. The use of split-screens, change of focus with special lenses, long takes and a circling camera (in one spectacular scene that doesn’t ever seem to stop) are impressive and effective at the same time. After watching so many movies from 1981, this one stands out so spectacularly that even weeks after seeing it, it makes me feel good to see so much passion on the screen.
Read MoreBook Report - 2004 Edition: Building Temples, Cheering and Getting to the Final Sentence [2004 Week]
/![Book Report - 2004 Edition: Building Temples, Cheering and Getting to the Final Sentence [2004 Week]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54206d12e4b0e2c159748fd6/1435988732890-VQVPVZPK5O9AGUE2BH7I/image-asset.jpeg)
I was tempted to write about music this week because the albums from this year were so important to me. But then I thought again about the books from 2004 and I wondered if I will ever have a year with at least three books that really mean a lot to me and that have something to say that fits here. So, welcome to the 2004 Book Report!
Read MoreKiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
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(no spoilers)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a really interesting movie, but also a very funny one. I had wanted to see it for a long time, due to both my love for Shane Black scripted movies when I was a teenager, but also because I enjoyed Iron Man 3 so much. And I had heard only good things about this one, so I was eager to see it. Overall, my expectations weren’t quite met as the plot is such a mess. But the dialogue is as great as you would expect from a 100% Shane Black movie, Robert Downey Jr. is really good and I laughed out loud several times, which not many movies achieve these days. There are some jokes that are so well done, not just the snappy dialogue, but also some physical comedy that is just great. Michelle Monaghan really surprised me in her role, too. If the plot was more coherent, this would have been a really amazing movie.
Read MorePoster of a Girl - 1988 Edition: Yes, It's Her [1988 Week]
/![Poster of a Girl - 1988 Edition: Yes, It's Her [1988 Week]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54206d12e4b0e2c159748fd6/1417981461094-EAMG69RM1KUF36WZSA5K/image-asset.jpeg)
Okay, for the grand finale I have to rush an article because time is running out. I’m always trying to do seven articles for theme weeks, which just shows how much the breaks between posts are necessary. But I did it again and am proud, so there you go. Anyway, here is a quick rundown of some posters from 1988, but it’s not a complete analysis like in the last theme weeks, but more a snapshot of mostly bad examples. So, this is not representative but exemplary.
Read MoreComics Are for Everyone: 1988 Edition [1988 Week]
/![Comics Are for Everyone: 1988 Edition [1988 Week]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54206d12e4b0e2c159748fd6/1417818401908-OJBQWX0O7MP9G4184ENH/image-asset.jpeg)
Because of the amazing comics that have been released in 1988, I decided to have another comics section in this theme week. Grant Morrison and Alan Moore are big enough names for this, I guess, but we shouldn’t forget Jamie Delano. I’ll just focus on the issues published in that year, since that’s enough already. Let’s go!
Read More21 Jump Street [2012 Week]
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21 Jump Street is the perfect movie for this week to me. It is very popular and successful (not necessarily the same thing), it encapsulates many things I’d consider representative for this year (or our time) and it’s actually quite good. I expected to find it okay, but I really liked it and was surprised by the wit and charm of it (with exceptions). Jonah Hill (who I have a soft spot for because of Wolf of Wall Street) and Channing Tatum (who I didn’t think could act) are really good in their roles, the writing is good and the movie has many ideas. It’s not deep or anything, but it is entertaining and a little bit more, which must count for something. Some of the jokes are too vulgar (especially in a scene towards the end, which is simply gratuitous and not funny) and Ice Cube is really bad. I mean, really, really bad. But apart from that, this is a very funny movie that makes me want to see the sequel.
Read MoreGuardians of the Galaxy (2014)
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Guardians of the Galaxy is the very definition of a fun movie. It’s extremely entertaining while you watch, exciting, funny and if you get into it even a little touching. It doesn’t completely hold up when it comes to its plot and all of its characters, but that’s not something you’re really aware of until after the movie. Most of the characters are brilliantly written, acted or animated, which is one of the best aspects of this movie. Rocket Raccoon and Groot alone would make a great movie, but in connection with the other characters, they work even better. Even Drax the Destroyer is surprisingly successful. The pop culture references are enjoyable and the jokes are really, really funny, which is not something you find often nowadays, where attempts at humor in a blockbuster movie are often cringe-inducing or infantile. But I couldn’t imagine another movie making a joke about Jackson Pollock and sex and getting away with it. The worst part of the movie is its boring villain, Ronan the Accuser and his scenes are the only parts of the movie that drag.
Read MoreThis 80s Movie: Cruising (1980)
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(spoilers ahead)
Cruising is a confused movie, confused about its intention, its story and ending, but also about what it wants to say about homosexuality. And, to get straight it, it should say something about homosexuality. Being one of the few movies to deal with the issue, it shouldn’t act like it doesn’t have an opinion on it. But the movie is so unfocused and messy that it shouldn’t be a real surprise. On the surface a crime mystery about a killer who kills gay men who indulge in the leather scene, the movie doesn’t do much but being grim, cold and dark, while having a protagonist that never allows us to know what happening inside of him. The movie got its attention only because it tackled homosexuality and supposedly showed gay sex in a graphic way before it had to be cut. Would this be a movie a killer in a heterosexual swinger scene, it probably would never have seen the light of day.
Read MoreOur Life Is a Movie: The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
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(spoilers ahead)
Cabin in the Woods is a very clever movie that seems innocent and surely will fly by many people. But it’s so many things at once. It’s a decent horror movie, a comedy, a great work of metafiction and, most importantly, an amazingly intriguing comment on our society. It’s extremely well made and acted, and all in all a really bold movie. Since it appears in this series, I obviously love it.
Read MoreLooper (2012) [Part 2]
/![Looper (2012) [Part 2]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54206d12e4b0e2c159748fd6/1412891753302-7B2O0O9156ALQJCMDRTP/image-asset.jpeg)
(spoilers ahead)
This is part 2, continued from part 1.
We stopped after the movie jumped ahead in time for 30 years. What happens then is astounding and simple. The movie just moves on and follows old Joe as he travels back 30 years to his past, where we then follow him as he follows young Joe doing all the things we saw already. So while structurally the movie shows us the same events from a different perspective, narratively it just keeps on moving along, without any actual jumps anymore. It does leave out some crucial information, though, but we don’t know that yet. What we feel is sympathy for old Joe as he tries to save his newfound happiness with his wife (Xu Qing). It’s a relatable motivation up till this point and it’s important to see that the movie takes us there, so we later have to ask ourselves how far we are willing to go along with this character. We get some fun moments where old Joe doesn’t understand young Joe’s actions, which is a clever way of showing how we distance ourselves from who we were the more we grow older.
Read MoreLady in the Water (2006)
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(spoilers ahead)
Lady in the Water is not a misunderstood movie. It bombed when it came out and Wikipedia says since then it has been more appreciated than critics did then, but seeing it for the first time now, it’s easy to see that it’s a big failure and the definitive tipping point for director M. Night Shyamalan. Sixth Sense was great, Unbreakable maybe even greater, Signs I still liked a lot (even if I was suddenly alone), The Village is not good but somewhat enjoyable, but Lady in the Water hit a new, very low level. It has its few moments, but overall it’s a complete mess. The opening is already confusing and goes on for too long, the movie then goes back and forth on the same ideas over and over again for what feels like forever only to end with one of the most absurd endings ever seen. The bad thing about the ending is that it is supposed to feel grand and spectacular, but you can only sit there and wonder if all of this really happened. The biggest reason for disbelief for the end is that the movie tries to be some kind of metaphor most of the time, but throws of all that out of the window for an effects-heavy fairytale ending that is just laughable.
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