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The Great Gatsby 2013
Luhrmann’s lack of taste becomes something of an asset, allowing him to create a first act here that's as shallow and misplaced as Gatsby’s delusion. DiCaprio’s is a top-notch performance (it’s a shame that only Elizabeth Debicki also registers). At least Baz is self-conscious... the last hour considerably clamps down on the literal fireworks. "Bad" usually wins out over "Dull" in my book...
66/100
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Leviathan 2013
The film seems to be charting out the actual experience of labor, although the fact that it's shot much like a horror film seems to somewhat disconnect our experience of watching from the workers' desensitized experience of doing. Repetition is crucial, as it even threatens to turn the many unprecedented moments of visual wonder on display here into mundane routine. Which way is up again?...
74/100
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Vertigo 1958
Hitchcock’s masterwork, better than any other, reminds us of two truisms of cinema: to look is to remember and to remember is to impose. The hypnotic spirals that haunt every facet of the visual design and even the trademark dolly zoom effect take us deeper into the image, to the point that it threatens to swallow us, much as the past threatens to engulf Scottie. Of course these geometrical chasms are metaphorically vaginal, making Vertigo the great masterpiece about sexual…
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Silver Linings Playbook 2012
It seemed for a while that this was making a Big Statement about America's insanity in the aftermath of the 2008 financial collapse, given that its plot pins its hopes on a mix of can-do spirit and outright gambling. Despite a lot of symbolism, though, a feel-good ending defuses any particular political impact, leaving one with the impression that this might have never had any intent beyond trying to charm us with mental illness. At every step, Russell's finely calibrated…
