Man on Fire (2004) [2004 Week]

Man on Fire (2004) [2004 Week]

(spoilers ahead)

Man on Fire is a standard vigilante/revenge movie wrapped up in a redemption story coupled with a little girl likes killer story. Because it’s a Tony Scott film, all of it is mixed with nervous editing, shaky camera, color filters and a best of music cues from this and other movies (seriously, if you know film music, it’s really weird to see a big studio movie that simply uses music from other movies). It has a great and large cast and some interesting individual scenes, but overall it’s a bit of a mess. It seems unfair to say that because so much of it is simply Scott’s late-year style, but it works more for some movies than for others (Domino, for example, was slightly better). My main issue (besides the revenge aspect I’ll discuss in a second), is that the film is so off structurally. It’s too long and divided into two uneven halves. If you like these kinds of movies, it’s certainly okay, but the imbalance in tone and story really bothered me.

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Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Mad Max: Fury Road is such a force of a movie, it’s hard to not be blown away completely by it. It’s a movie I didn’t really have on my radar until the reviews came in and I had to go and see for myself. So, my expectations were high, but I didn’t really expect to be this amazed, this enchanted, this astonished by a movie like that. The acting is amazing as Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy have their roles down to perfection. The direction by (70-year-old!) George Miller is so flawless and confident, it should bring most other directors to shame. The screenplay is a brilliant mix of pathos and feminist propaganda. The production design, make-up, hair, costumes, the whole world that is created here in intricate detail is worth the ticket alone. I could go on and on about the breathtaking cinematography (72-year-old John Seale!), the relentless score, the brutal editing, the great mix of practical and computer effects, the action, the perfectly planted tiny bits of humor. This movie just has it all. I don’t know if you’ll like this movie, if you’re not really into dystopias or stunts, but I’d assure you that you’d still find enough to at least enjoy parts of it, because even if the movie is basically four giant action set pieces tied together, it still has more heart and brain than most movies coming out all year. It is a miracle it even got made by a major studio. This is an early contender for one of the best films I’ve seen this year.

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Source Code (2011)

Source Code (2011)

(spoilers ahead!)

Source Code is a clever thriller, that toys with its sci-fi elements without ever becoming too much of a geekout. It has an interesting premise that might be familiar, but not so familiar that it’s boring already. Jake Gyllenhaal is brilliant in the lead role, exactly the right actor for this part, showing us the confusion we would expect but also the determination to get out of it without becoming a cleancut hero. He makes mistakes and overreacts at times, making him all the more believable. The movie has fun with its premise and the direction and screenplay constantly keeps up the suspense and surprises.

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