gibson8

gibson8

Favorite films

  • A Gift from Nessus
  • Anatomy of a Fall

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  • High Heels

    ★★★

  • Parallel Mothers

    ★★★★

  • L'Argent

    ★★★

  • Beau Travail

    ★★★½

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  • High Heels

    High Heels

    ★★★

    Overlong, coming in the period where Pedro was still refining his work, this still has some moments.

    The ridiculous women's prison sequence reminded me of Spanish (particularly Basque) women's dress sense a few years hence.

    Unlike his more recent universally lauded work, the feel of a soap opera, or telenovela, is very prominent which makes proceedings seem a little uneven and some performances ( Juez, Lethal and Hugo) very indulgent. As their purpose was to outrage conservative Spanish audiences the silliness is allowable.

  • Parallel Mothers

    Parallel Mothers

    ★★★★

    Almodovar's first real attempt to address Spain's collective post traumatic disorder is well-directed, paced and acted.

    Penelope Cruz is an underrated actress, and it is an indictment of the superficiality and ignorance of the Academy that she got her statue for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

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  • Heat

    Heat

    ★★★★

    I have never fully understood awards for sound design and mixing. but the shoot-out on South Flower Street is the best argument for a total ban on assault weapon sales (to the general public) I have ever seen on film.

    In a period where every actor was going on boot camps to add veracity to their various projects, this must be the only time that the 'training' actually was manifested on screen.

    Brutal, crunchingly beautiful action which set the standard for such scenes, but has never yet been improved upon.

  • American Psycho

    American Psycho

    ★★★★½

    On rewatch I think I prefer the eggshell finish with the surname in lower case...Can you imagine DiCaprio in this role?