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Iron Man 3 2013
Oh, so, predictable, but I wasn't expecting anything more and you can cut the obviousness with a spoon. Seriously though, three Iron Man movies in now and they're very indistinguishable. There's some fun pulpiness to this one, most RDJ quirks that hit, some miss. They'll never get CG debris or ocean water to work. The kid was kinda lame, the Avengers callbacks were eye-rolling and easy but Kingsley was inspired with his limited screen time. Again, the pulp characterizations are…
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To the Wonder 2013
First, the obvious: Jaw-dropping photography. This is a constant. Terrence does not ever go the cheap route with his visuals. Even this late in the game, he is still showing you something new and eye-popping and organic and real.
As a film about lust, longing, passion and a gamut of emotions, it was to my dismay a rather dispassionate experience. Where Tree of Life formed a narrative with a kaleidoscope of childhood memories, To the Wonder is Malick's most detached…
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Upstream Color 2013
I'll need to see this again, and then again and then probably again before I can form an interpretation, but Carruth himself is straightforward with the structure of his film:
"So I came up with this life cycle where you have these three groups of people: the thief, the sampler, and the orchid harvesters. I wanted them separate, and I wanted them performing their little tricks in nature that somehow benefit them. But they don’t actually know or care about…
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The Place Beyond the Pines 2013
A sprawling crime drama about fathers and sons that is solid and unpredictable all the way through. Director Derek Cianfrance has now carved out an up-and-coming career that harkens back to the sweaty grit of the 70s, fleshing out an accomplished ensemble with grizzled character roles and lived in homes and locations that wear authenticity in every frame. Composed dissolve transitions move a jam-packed plot with tremendous ease and it's impossible to foresee where each sequence is going. This is…
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Room 237 2013
On rewatch it became obvious that I really do love this. The editing is an incredible wave of images, 90% of which are Stanely Kubrick images, meaning of course this is a fascinating watch! The music is oh so appropriate too. I dig it deep..... the face in the clouds bit was utter bullshit though.
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Wrong 2013
I wanted to enjoy this, but it still managed to disappoint to a mild degree. I was never offended like I was with Rubber. You could dissect all the developments that occur, but the invitation isn't very enticing. It's a good looking movie with an interesting face on its protagonist, it's just stuck in a kind of stalemate in progression. Scenes move along at a perplexing pace, drawing me in with weirdness until it begins stretching my patience. I think…
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Side Effects 2013
I didn't get to finish Side Effects. The lingering powers of the latest nor'easter managed to shut down the electricity at my theater and we were admitted free passes for another showing. This is a damn shame, for I was really digging the film. All the more frustrating, the power shut off at a turning point in the movie, and up to this point, my feelings were it was only getting better. This sucks because I won't be able to…
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Django Unchained 2012
"I am that nigger in ten thousand."
I got to watch this with my dad who hadn't seen it yet, so anticipating scene after scene after scene of scrumptious glee definitely added layers of freshness on top of existing layers of adoration that together concocted the best viewing yet. Moral is: watching a favorite film next to a pair of fresh eyes always makes that watch better even when it was already perfect.
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Django Unchained 2012
The sound design in a vacuum alone gives me goosebumps. The weight in the sound of Django whipping the one Brittle brother is heavenly cinema. A cathartic release. Add in the music, the cinematography, the acting and QT's dialogue and you have a new classic if ever there was one. Plain and simple.
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Django Unchained 2012
The experience of watching this film was a 5 out of 5. The haze of cinematic bliss I am left with deserves the whole hog. My face muscles were sore, my eyes were wet with joy and I was exhausted and exhilarated in the end. The coming and going of characters has always strengthened on Tarantino rewatches, and there are a bunch to wrap your head around this time. The arc of the titular hero is simple, subtle and genius in one. The most fun I've had at the movies in 2012.
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Jack Reacher 2012
Basically with this, Oblivion and another completed sci-fi flick on the docket, Tom Cruise has entered his middle-aged Charlton Heston phase. He is merely existing on screen as himself and nothing more is asked of him. This is is all fine and dandy, he even gets some chuckle-enducing Heston lines that just scream "I am a character, believe that I'm a badass". The film is neither bad nor a standout in any way. Jack Reacher is as flavorless as its vanilla title and like vanilla ice cream, I will eat it, I will be sated, but I will crave the chocolate/strawberry super-combo that simply isn't there.
