Posts tagged: movies
One of my all-time faves. This was the first movie I went to in a theater with MaryAnn after we got married almost 10 years ago. I remember it vividly. It reminds me of her.
And this (especially as viewed in Tumblr’s new Photoset goodness) is just brilliant.
part 1 (on my phone, immediately after seeing it)
I want to write poetry and lay still and run fast and climb mountains and hold my children and laugh and growl and fight and breathe slowly and wander and sing and sleep and make love like a summer evening wind.
part 2 (just now, a few days later)
★★★★★
I’m gonna be real. Fuck cynicism. This film is art, and I found it to be profoundly beautiful on many levels. Malick is a master who does not play by any of the “rules” (of popular American cinema at least), and who truly has mastered a style that is unmistakably his own. Every shot—I think I can honestly say that without hyperbole—was photographically beautiful and loaded with imagery, story, and soul. Malick has a way of making a scene feel so real that it’s almost a bit uncomfortable at first. The marked lack of dialogue — the seeming lack of any sound at all for that matter — the camera angles, the pacing, the non-linear story-telling, the constant camera movement — it’s all classic Malick. And yet here it feels like he’s reaching a level of maturity in the way he does it that enables him to take chances and pull directorial rabbits out of his hat that honestly had me gasping at times. The soundtrack and sound design were astonishingly good. If they don’t win every conceivable award for sound, it will be a shame. The acting by all the main characters, especially the young boys, was pitch perfect throughout. In fact, it was so good that extra credit must be given to acclaimed cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. The fact that such realistic, honest, nuanced performances were achieved — in the way that they were achieved (I don’t think the camera was ever not moving throughout the entire film) — is a tribute to a true master. The abstractions, the nature scenes, the deep space scenes, the dream-sequence-like tone that is successfully carried without falter for 2 hours… it’s all incredibly surreal, incredibly subtle, and powerfully effective. And yet for all of its surreality, the relationships and emotions and imagery in it feel far more real than any non-documentary I’ve seen in recent memory. This is not for the popcorn-stuffing, event-movie Summer crowd. This is art. This belongs in an art museum. It is not going to just “make sense” for you if that’s what you want it to do. And it is nearly perfect because of it.
It may not be “accessible” to everyone. But frankly, if this film does not speak to you on some level, then you may be dead inside.
I left the theater feeling like I had just been truly surprised and delighted by a film. That does not happen very often.
…took a few screenshots last night…
Ok, yeah, so I took a screenshot of every shot in the trailer. I couldn’t help it. It’s just so beautiful. Terrence Malick is a god. I can’t wait to see this next masterpiece.
I love the way Ryan talks about movies. He gets it. It’s one thing to ‘like movies,’ it is another thing to understand the nuance of the art-form and appreciate the nature of it beyond simply being a great way to waste an evening on Netflix. This great summary/review actually made me all the more interested to see this film. I’m a huge fan of Aronofsky. To me, he seems a little under-appreciated — probably because he takes bigger risks than a lot of the “name” directors.
I bet some people may take issue with the comparison, but I think The Crazies is just about on par with movies like The Shining. Without a doubt one of the best movies I’ve seen in a while. The acting is solid (and then some), the “scary” moments are not gratuitous or silly—and genuinely scary. The premise, although extreme, is not entirely implausible. The visuals are gorgeous—particularly the scenes shot in the early morning twilight—so well done. And the sound design and foley are absolute perfection. If I were a sound designer I’d study this film. It was simply perfect.
I only have two real criticisms: At times it felt like they had to shorten things up to keep the overall length down. A few emotional transitions felt a bit too quick, and a couple parts of the story could have benefitted from a bit more beathing room. I would bet money that there is a three hour version on the director’s hard drive that really should have been the final cut. And I personally didn’t love the ending. I didn’t hate it either. I just didn’t love it. I think they got a tiny bit lazy right at the very end, which is unfortunate because all in all, this is a brilliant film. It’s riveting, expertly produced, and highly entertaining.
Very highly recommended.
Just finished watching The Reader (which I reluctantly put on, expecting to fall asleep, disinterested.)
Two thoughts: 1) It’s a phenomenal movie. Powerful and brilliant on many levels. And, 2) It really saddens me how Hollywood advertisers portray films a certain way just to attempt to make more money. This movie is absolutely NOT what I half-expected from the trailers, posters, and DVD cover. It’s not at all the steamy period-piece romance they make it look like. It’s a gut-wrenching masterpiece. One of the best I’ve seen in a long time.
