Epic and stunning. A Citizen Kane for the forgotten everyman instead of the capitalist mogul.
Anxiety writ large in IMAX embodied by a towering performance from Joaquin Phoenix.
An immersive, thrilling, and harrowing opening chapter grips with its bombed out Beirut meets a corner of Times Square circa 1980’s. Where grabbing a item from the corner store is a dash through the front lines of an urban war zone mixed with a zombie apocalypse.
This leads to a second chapter with…
Picking my jaw off the floor now after being wowed by this exceptional indie thriller. Having been thoroughly enamoured with Daniel Goldhaber’s first feature Cam I was thrilled, quite literally, that his team in this sophomore effort have truly outdone themselves.
The film’s story follows three couples and two individuals from diverging backgrounds who come together to blow up a pipeline in Texas to disrupt the oil industry by driving up the cost of fossil fuel and to inspire others to do…
So grateful for these commentary tracks from Mann. He stays squarely focussed on his extensive research on character more than anything. He divulges the extensive research he’s done on incarcerated persons, and detectives alike. Demonstrating his deep mastery of character. Attention to detail such as the murals created to added authentic touches and impressionists moments to the film. The copious amount of takes. The thorough location work researched over years, leading to this pinnacle all put into one project. The…
Mann’s score and needle drops in this seriously kick ass. The man with grey hair and a grey suit that De Niro plays in Heat gets a younger minting here with the earlier one starting at the same subway stop this one has its terminus at. The digital approach, innovative for its time, pays dividend and looks as crisp as ever. The mercury vapour lighting is stunning with its use of greens in combo with the warm tones of the…
The visuals and the sound design definitely deliver in the back half. It’s a shame about the whole no story, no believable characters thing for the first half. It feels like nothing actually happens until we get into fulfilling the visual promise inherent in alien abduction. Even though there are very promising visuals and thrilling sequences that use IMAX cameras to their fullest potential, It’s a head-scratcher that character and story were not considered with any depth.
Kaluuya’s chip on his…
World premiere watched at TIFF Bell Lightbox
Full disclosure: I absolutely love the original and Tyrone Power's take on Stanton Carlisle to the point that Del Toro and company truly have an uphill battle to woe me over to this remake. Yet, initially I couldn't think of a better filmmaker to take this on. The result being unfortunately, that my expectations proved exceedingly high leading to my disappointment for what I feel was a lost opportunity to invest this film…
