Mad Max: Fury Road Review

"If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die historic on a fury road!"

That quote covers so much about this film in such a small amount of words. The death toll elevates, the action is furious and my goodness the movie feels historic. Now hold on, don't roll your eyes at me. Yes you did, I could see you. I know what you are thinking, here he comes with some of that instant reaction hyperbole bullshit, using a word like historic, so let me be clear: no, Mad Max: Fury Road is not one of the greatest films of all time. 

One of the greatest action films of all time though? Yep, I can and will say that without even a fraction of doubt in my body. This is easily one of my favorite genre films ever made. I was battered, bruised and pummeled into submission by the relentless lunacy on display, all while sitting in a leather recliner and sipping a giant soda. I felt physically exhausted by the end of a two hour cinematic experience, and yet that only represents a fraction of why I loved the picture so much. 

George Miller has created an post apocalyptic punk rock masterpiece that left me in awe on numerous occasions. It isn't merely the general concept of the action being cool or non-stop, it's the way the material was handled. The frenzy is directed with such silky smooth confidence that even when the chaos seems completely out of hand, we are able to follow exactly what is happening as clear as day. The set pieces are extraordinary and as imaginative as I have ever seen. I literally said the single word "Wow" aloud to myself on multiple occasions, all while flashing a giant, shit eatin' grin on my face throughout every damn minute. Seriously, when I buy this on Blu-ray, and that's a when, not an if, I may break the player with how many times I am going to give it a spin. Just the thought of being able to dig into some special features regarding how the hell Miller filmed some of these sequences makes me excited for future me.

Despite the praise I laid out above, had it merely been just an action extravaganza I wouldn't be busting out a word like masterpiece. While the intensity of Mad Max: Fury Road is what people will show up for (and I don't blame them one bit), where this films truly excels are those quiet sequences that give us a breather, showcasing some of the finest character development I have seen based on the very small amount of words actually used to achieve it. Charlize Theron deserves an honorary Oscar for her eyes alone, the type of award that would have been handed out long ago during the silent era of cinema, which is rather ironic considering just how modern and loud this puppy is. Her character is named Furiosa and she is a bad ass force to be reckoned with, but in her eyes we get to know her pain. We get to witness her passion. We get to see her soul.

Actually, I can't write this review without addressing another pile of praise that deserves to be heaped towards Mr. Miller and his expert craft of this film. Bless him for truly making a picture that shows how much ass women can kick. She may be too young now, but someday I would be proud to sit my daughter down and allow her to soak in the carnage on display as females are depicted as not just strong, but capable of killing every last mother fucker that gets in their way. Far too often the action genre depicts a woman as a damsel in distress, needing a man to swoop in and save her as she appears weak and fragile rather than courageous and tough. Mad Max: Fury Road gives us women who make us believe they can drop our asses if we try to stop them, and I applaud the hell out of George Miller, Brendan McCarthy and Nick Lathouris for penning a screenplay that subverts the traditional misguided tropes. 

If you are like me, you saw the overwhelmingly positive critical response to this film and couldn't believe your eyes. I wondered how an action film could be so universally praised, as usually the genre is deemed derivative. I no longer wonder. It is worthy of the accolades. With a musical score that blasts through your body, a brilliantly subtle screenplay that achieves so much by doing so little and quite possibly the greatest action ever put to celluloid, Mad Max: Fury Road is a roaring, thunderous achievement. 

5/5 

Au Hasard Balthazar Review

It's one thing to create something masterful and compelling from material that feels designed to entertain an audience, and I don't begrudge any filmmaker from doing it. I love the feeling when I read a premise and I can literally feel the excitement building inside me with each word, and by the time I am done reading even just a brief synopsis I am ready to hand over my money for a ticket instantly even if the release date is still years away. 

It's just as fascinating to go backwards in time though, to explore cinema released decades before I was even born. These pictures were often times landmarks of the medium before I even took my first steps, and though I may be seeing the work through fresh eyes it still feels different, like I am under pressure and scrutiny to comprehend why the movies are so highly regarded and agree with the consensus. Instead of a feeling of wonder when considering what the future may hold, it's like I am invited into the past and the best I can ever hope for is to find the same magic so many others saw back then and continue to see today.

On paper, I didn't exactly find Au Hasard Balthazar interesting. The film follows the existence of a donkey, from the moment it enters the world until the final heartbreaking breaths of life it takes before death. If I were to recommend this movie to others based solely on that sentence, pretty much everyone would roll their eyes at me and disregard it and yet this is arguably the crowning achievement from the master filmmaker Robert Bresson and considered by many to be one of the greatest films of all time. 

After witnessing it myself, I wouldn't rank it as my favorite Bresson, nor would I consider it among the absolute best that cinema has to offer, but I also wouldn't argue against it either. Au Hasard Balthazar is a powerful film bursting with so much depth and nuance that I know for a fact I didn't even come close to understanding everything I saw. What I am certain of is that Bresson is drawing a clear parallel here between Balthazar, the donkey, and his first owner, a girl named Marie. Both are subjected to cruelty, passed along from person to person who harm them physically and emotionally despite being peaceful and gentle themselves. One sequence specifically goes directly from Balthazar's new owner literally taking food away from him in the midst of his meal to the very same man attempting to stop Marie from eating despite the fact that she is clearly quite hungry. 

Au Hasard Balthazar doesn't quite reach the glorious heights of the first Bresson I ever saw, the absolutely sublime example of minimalism executed to perfection known as A Man Escaped, but it comes close. Very, very close. 

4.5/5

Wake in Fright Review

That single bead of sweat.

It's easy to see it roll down the side of John Grant's face and chalk it up to being induced by the balmy weather occupying the Australian outback, but I know that kind of sweat. It's the kind that would be there even on the coldest of days. It's the kind that I would wipe away while watching money exchange hands due to some sort of gambling taking place in my vicinity. When I was younger, still a teenager with no appreciation of the value of the dollar, the thrill of a wager would get my heart racing, my blood boiling, and my teeth chattering in excitement. As crazy as it sounds, whether I won or lost was irrelevant. Just having the opportunity to put my money on the line made me feel alive.

I know that single bead of sweat rolling down John Grant's face. I could practically feel it on my own as he fights the temptation to join a raucous game, one involving piles and piles of cash betting on the simplicity of heads or tails, a battle he would inevitably lose in more ways than one. His original plan was to stay for only one night with a plane to catch the next morning, but when the dust settles, when the wildlife are riddled with bullets and the booze finally stops flowing, it's safe to say things didn't exactly go according to plan.  

Wake in Fright, directed by Ted Kotchef, is one of the key pieces of Australian cinema and rightfully so, although this is a movie that hardly goes down smooth. A disturbing look at how tortured and unsettled the human psyche can be, the tone is set during the opening shot of the film when the camera is high above a land that can only be described as stark, barren and desolate. We circle around a few times and admire the bright, vibrant hues of a setting that is disarmingly warm in color and yet something about it feels so cold and lifeless. By the time his journey comes to an end, the mental state of John Grant had me replaying those initial frames all over again. By the time the film literally ends, that very same shot feels like a warm and welcome breeze, a chance to relax after a frenetic cinematic fever dream.

4.5/5

Dredd Review

When I was 11 years old, I got a little warm and fuzzy thinking about a man named Sylvester. He was Rocky, Rambo, a Demolition Man and a bit Over the Top, yet despite my NAMBLA level crush on the action movie star I couldn't get excited about his role in Judge Dredd. Even for my young, dumb mind, I wasn't buying what Sly was selling there. I literally saw that movie once and haven't really cared to ever revisit. Stallone has never been the Judge to me.

Now he never will be. Why? Because Karl damn Urban is Judge Dredd. This is one of those rare moments I can say this, but who needs the original when the remake kicks this much ass?

The music pulses. The bullets are piercing. The punches are vicious. The photography dazzles the senses.

Dredd is a blistering, blood soaked movie and I had a blast viewing it, although I was a bit distracted by how remarkably similar much of it felt to the Indonesian slice of action insanity released during the very same year in the United States, The Raid. The premise isn't literally exactly the same and the action is delivered differently, with far less trained martial arts and far more bodies free falling 50 floors to their death, but the concept is all there. The police stuck inside a building run by a drug lord. An offer to the residents to kill rather than comply. The frenzy of gun fire across an open foyer in the center of the complex. All of it felt very familiar, and to be clear, this isn't any sort of accusation of idea or straight up content stealing since I doubt very much that would have even been possible given the timetable of the two films releases. All I am saying is, when you have already fallen madly in love with a strikingly similar experience, it's challenging to do the same with the one that comes second.

This is only a slight dismissal though because really, what a treat Dredd is. If you are a fan of stylized action and hyper-violent fun, you will do no wrong with these 90 sexy minutes of carnage.

4/5

Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior Review

It had been far, far too long, my life without a revisit of The Road Warrior. I recall being a teenager and thinking this was one of the coolest films I had ever seen. George Miller showed some restraint with the original Mad Max and he should have, as it was merely building the world and the circumstances of a society on the brink of madness. A sequel, now that is where he had the opportunity to kick it into high gear, to go balls to the walls with mania and ridiculousness in the best possible ways. Mad Max is certainly entertaining, but The Road Warrior ramps it up into something far more memorable and special. 

While on a supporting character level The Road Warrior is a massive improvement over the original, as Max Rockatansky has some intriguing allies on his side this time around and his adversaries are far more menacing, the real reason we buy into this dystopian depravity is Mel Gibson in the lead role. The progression of his character is fascinating, as we remember him as the married father who doesn't turn mad into tragedy strikes his family. When we reconvene with him here, those strings that held him together in the past have been cut and his life is that of a lone nomad, finding ways to stay alive by any means necessary.

I now recall why, despite seeing both roughly the same amount of time ago, I remembered so little of Mad Max and so much of The Road Warrior. How the hell could you forget a picture like this?  The action, the set pieces and the costume design are remarkable, all making you feel a little bit grimy and uneasy but in an awesome way, like you want to feel that dust on your skin and you want a splash of that blood on your shoes. What really takes this movie to a new level though are those characters, all of them across the board.

George Miller, if you can match or even just come close to the intensity and fun of The Road Warrior with Mad Max: Fury Road, which I will be seeing this upcoming weekend, I will be a very happy man.

4.5/5

Welcome to Me Review

It's mildly amusing. It's mildly meaningful. It's mildly heartfelt. It's mildly interesting.

It's mostly bullshit.

Welcome to Me is the brand new film from director Shira Piven, wife of hit comedic filmmaker Adam McKay and sister of Jeremy Piven, and it stars former Saturday Night Live star and current pretty darn good actress Kristen Wiig. Wiig showcased her range in last years solid The Skeleton Twins, and she shows a bit of it here too, but not enough. For the most part, her performance here feels like an unsuccessful skit from SNL rather than any actual, real portrayal of mental illness.

She plays Alice Krieg, a woman who does not believe in luck because she has learned from Oprah Winfrey that success is a mindset. If you believe in success, you will find it, plain and simple, and one day her usual lottery ticket matches up number for number. With millions in her account, she quits taking her psychiatric meds and starts living her life the way she wants to, which includes paying for her own two hour television talk show.

Some of the comedic bits do enough to invoke a smile and maybe a slight chuckle, but nothing more. The dramatic sequences try so hard to hit hard but they rarely do. The attempts to have the story resonate emotionally miss the mark because frankly, I never once bought into the entire experience. When a film really works, my brain forgets that I am watching a film at all. I will connect with the characters, I will feel uneasy because of their struggles, I will root for their success and I will shed tears because of their pain. Absolutely none of that happened here. Welcome to Me does just enough to avoid being a total train wreck, because Wiig is pretty decent in parts and as I stated at the start, it does a some things mildly well, but for the most part it feels so damn phony. 

It's a shame because the general concept could have worked if handled better. There is a story here about the misconception that money heals all wounds when in reality there are far more important things than the amount of zeros at the end of your bank balance. Money can't buy real relationships, it can't build self esteem and it can't cure a mental illness. Winning the jackpot doesn't bring Alice the happiness most assume it would and that is an important message to tell, but Welcome to Me isn't a good enough film to take seriously. 

2/5

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters Review

I have had this documentary on my watchlist for quite some time but I kept pushing it off to the side mentally because frankly, how good could a non-fiction film about some dudes playing arcade games be?

Turns out it can not only be good, it can be really, really great.

What really makes The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters work is the fact that on its side is a prototypical Hollywood fictional narrative, just set inside the world of old school gaming. Billy Mitchell has been the king of arcade games for almost his entire life, setting numerous world records in the 1980's and he remains an icon of the gaming world in 2005. Mitchell is cocky, brash and sometimes rude, and he clearly doesn't want his records broken. He is the villain. Across the country in Washington, a man named Steve Wiebe has recently been laid off from his job and he sets his sights on the Donkey Kong record score set by Mitchell as an achievement he can aim for. Sure, it's a way to pass the time but it is so much more to Wiebe, who has come in second place in everything throughout his entire life. He needs a win. His wife knows it. His children know it. They may roll their eyes at the amount of time he spends playing the game, but they still support him and even shed tears for him during his quest to set the record. It is impossible not to root for Steve Wiebe. He is the hero.

This is a documentary that is funny, compelling, heartfelt, and is only 80 minutes long. Don't make the mistake of thinking this wouldn't be very interesting and ignoring the film like I did. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is terrific entertainment, and I'm betting you will be just as emotionally invested as I was.

4.5/5

Prisoners Review

Keller Dover is a family man, a husband and a father of two and there isn't a thing in this world he wouldn't do for those he loves. Keller Dover is a god fearing man, devout in his faith to a lord that watches over him and his. Keller Dover also lacks trust in humanity on a grand scale, as he is always prepared for the possibility of a doomsday scenario. The end of the world. It sounds like such a blanket and simplistic concept, the end of the world, as in the planet and/or the people that occupy it would cease to exist, but I also think the world can end on a much more intimate level. It depends entirely on how you define the word "world".

Keller Dover had canned goods and gas masks ready to protect his family, but what he failed to account for was the possibility that his daughter could disappear one day while playing outside. Just like that, she has vanished, a tiny and helpless little girl, kidnapped by someone capable of harming a child. No matter how much he loves her, that alone won't bring her back home. No matter how strongly he believes in a deity, prayers seem like empty words when the god you trusted allowed her to be taken away in the first place. Keller Dover may have prepared for the end of the world, but when his existence is collapsing around him, when his own world is ending, Keller Dover isn't prepared in the least.  

If you haven't made the acquaintance of the film Prisoners, a masterful and chilling work by director Denis Villeneuve, please do so as soon as possible. It isn't a joyous experience, as it covers both child abduction and the darkness that fills the heart of a parent when they must determine how far is too far to look for answers to bring them back, but if you are simply a fan of exquisitely crafted and constantly compelling thrillers, Prisoners is near the top of the list.  

In his pursuit of evil, Keller Dover finds it in himself and thus a fascinating ethical question is raised to the viewer: if it were you, would you do the same? It's easy to say no instantly and believe you are better than that. It's easy to simply say things like "I would let the justice system do their jobs.", but heaven forbid you find yourself in that scenario, a child taken from you and a possible suspect in your grasp, lord only knows what you or I would be capable of.

I look myself in the mirror and ask, what would I do if I were in the shoes of Keller Dover?

Honestly? I think I may do the same damn thing.

5/5

Mad Max Review

If you have seen the trailer for the soon to be released film Mad Max: Fury Road, you have witnessed the onslaught of madness that has me as giddy as a school girl, and with that excitement came the desire to revisit the original trilogy. At first I was captivated by just how damn young Mel Gibson once was, which I know seems like a silly thing to say but for some reason my mind imagines he has always been William Wallace, face painted and a heart so brave. Well, I also think about the real life anger and racism, but I digress. 

It had been probably 15 years since the last time I saw the original Mad Max, so while I had some small familiar snapshots that popped up in my mind I really didn't recall much in terms of tone and pacing. With the imagery of the new film blasting through my brain, I was anticipating the mania, the terror, and the dystopian aesthetic, and while there is a bit of all of those things in Mad Max, it was a much more quiet and measured cinematic experience than I assumed it would be. 

Society is beginning to fall apart in the world originally built by director George Miller, but it isn't complete and utter chaos as of yet, just the start of it trending in that direction. Max Rockatansky is a police officer but he is also a peaceful, happy man, one with a wife and an infant son. When his family is threatened, Max starts to get a little unhinged. When tragedy occurs at the hands of a biker gang, Max transforms into something else entirely. He puts on his leather police gear, jumps into his bad ass car and begins his furious pursuit of revenge. Max has a thirst and the only thing that can quench it is the blood of those who took so much from him. Max is mad.

Mad Max is fast paced and incredibly entertaining, but the film falls short in two ways for me: one, the bad guy gang of motorcycle men just don't feel bad enough. Their actions are clearly deplorable but their on screen personas don't intimidate me the way I thought they would. There is no charisma from their characters, nothing to make them interesting beyond the fact that we know they are evil and we want them to die for it.

The other issue I have with Mad Max is that I actually find it to be too fast paced for me. For much of the film, the story moves at a sublime rhythm and I appreciated the quiet and meaningful moments that developed characters, but then when it was time for the revenge to be dished out cold, the justice delivered by Max felt as if it was moving in fast forward. I wanted to soak in his anger and I wanted to bask in his rage, but instead they cram all of the violence we would actually root for as an audience into about 15 minutes of screen time. It just moves so quickly I felt like I couldn't really enjoy it. 

Despite these qualms, I am a big fan of Mad Max and am excited to revisit The Road Warrior soon.

3.5/5

Jaws Review

The waves roll in, but not with any sort of ferocity. It's so quiet. It's so serene. Sometimes the world feels small but not while you are standing on a beach staring out into an empty and seemingly endless ocean. Sometimes the world feels scary but the evils of humanity, the dangers of accidental randomness are literally behind you here. Cars crash, fires burn and people kill, but the tide poses no threat. The sun goes down and the sand between your toes is moist and cool. The stars come out and the glow of the moon on the beautiful, blue rippling water is unforgettable. You have never felt safer in your life.

Just don't go in.

A simple online search tells us that the chances of being killed by a shark are 1 in 3,748,067. In the words of the handsome space cowboy Han Solo, never tell me the odds. Numbers exist in reality and they can be trusted because numbers represent truth without bias or fear or emotion. My mind doesn't care about numbers when lost in one of the greatest pieces of cinema ever, a work by Steven Spielberg that speaks louder and resonates deeper than any numbers could, no matter how honest they are. It's so illogical to be believe in fictional storytelling rather than let the truth guide us, but to be human is to defy logic. Based on numbers, it is absurd to be afraid of flying, yet so many tremble with dread as they board an airplane, literally praying that they will land safely at their destination. They have more faith in an unseen and unproven God than they do in odds.

The absolute brilliance of Jaws is that even knowing that 3,748,066 people will swim in an ocean and emerge from the water unscathed, the audience is terrified of being that unfortunate 1. The iconic piece of music by John Williams starts echoing through our minds and we aren't afraid of crashing cars or burning fires or the person that approaches us through the shadows of night. I experienced this masterpiece from the comfort of my couch and the closest drop in the massive ocean bucket is roughly a thousand miles away, yet I felt as if I could be the next victim. When Brody (Roy Scheider) looks out at the water and sees nothing, the water is no longer quiet. It's no longer serene. Knowing the great white is somewhere out there, lurking in the depths where the human eye cannot see is scary as hell. 

What are the odds I lose my life in a shark attack as I sit on my couch watching a film? Well, zero of course. It's impossible, yet such logical thinking doesn't comfort me in the least, not after watching Jaws. During a film like this, I don't want to hear any of the numbers. I want to get lost in the storytelling. Never tell me the odds.

5/5

The Innocents Review

There is something inherently haunting about horror filmed in black and white. It puts such a high importance on lighting to set an ominous and downright creepy tone, with a shadowy room or the flicker of a candle filling you with far more dread than any drop of blood ever could. The Innocents went from a movie that was totally off of my radar one minute to being a chilling and essential experience the next.

Until I decided to randomly look up various lists of the best horror films ever made, the name Jack Clayton was meaningless and I had never even heard of The Innocents. I'm thrilled to have been finally acquainted with both. This movie has such a classic ghost story feel to it, one that you can show to a bit of a younger audience and spook them out which is such a rare treat to find these days, especially for it being so great as well. You shouldn't have to settle on quality when you want to watch a horror film with a wider audience.

Whenever a new entry into the horror genre is about to be released, I notice the common reaction is to check the rating and if anything less than R is applied, extreme disappointment follows soon after. It isn't that I have anything against more mature content, but I don't relate quality with graphic intensity. A good film is a good film, whether it contains literally zero violence or piles of missing limbs and torture scenes. 

The Innocents isn't violent or sexually graphic, but it is scary.

It's really damn great too.

4.5/5

Away From Her Review

It seems to be an incredibly rare thing, to deliver a cinematic love story that actually feels authentic and genuine. Over the course of each year, week after week, films are released that are supposed to convey the emotional power of love starring two gorgeous individuals between the ages of 18 - 35. In these 94 minute shit storms, we see these quirky characters deliver a clunky, predictable script with various pop songs playing and at some point during the story they will break up, only to find each other again at the end, probably in Times Square at night when it's snowing. If these films demonstrate true expectations for romance, it's no wonder why every god damn couple gets divorced.

A word like "sad" doesn't begin to do a film like Away from Her justice. Directed with a steady confidence by Sarah Polley, despite it being her first feature length picture, this is a work of brilliant, insightful devastation. Why? Because it is real. These people, these characters, these performances all feel like they could be a part of a documentary rather than a fictional narrative because the film doesn't attempt to present a glamorous, picture perfect tale of lovers.  This is what love really is, haunted minds due to past indiscretions, the uncertainty of each day due to the all too real acceptance of mortality. Two people spending their lives together is a wonderful and romantic notion, but in order to make it work you must be prepared to deal with difficult times and emotional pain. 

Gordon Pinsent plays Grant Anderson, a man who is madly in love with his wife of 44 years yet is forced to accept the unfortunate truth that her mind is slipping away due to Alzheimer's disease. Julie Christie plays Fiona, wife of Grant, a woman who learned to move past Grant's infidelity and instead of harboring anger, she feels gratitude that a man loves her so much he is willing to stick by her as the bad times start to get even worse. Their lives and their love feel remarkably real, and sadly so too does her illness. I can think of few things more heartbreaking than the idea that a person can wake up in the morning and not recognize the face they have shared a majority of their lives with. 

So touching and tender, Polley handles the material with class and realism, as if I could feel the loneliness of Grant as he comes and goes to visit his one true love despite her confusion regarding his identity. I was filled with sadness as I watched the story unfold, both because of the events taking place on screen but also because I always knew in the back of my mind that this was really happening to far too many people each and every day.

Away from Her isn't flashy or exciting, and I can't imagine wanting to revisit it over and over, but it is powerful and important. The type of film that is ingrained in your mind after only one viewing.

4.5/5

Red Desert Review

The smog fills the air, the opening frames of the film Red Desert introducing us to a setting that is far from aesthetically pleasing. Gloomy is a word that doesn't even do these landscapes and skyline justice. Director Michelangelo Antonioni brings us right into an ugly, colorless world where even the people match the ground they walk in, muted by tones of grey.

Suddenly a vibrancy enters the frame and it is impossible to not notice. Her red hair flares with intensity despite not really being all that bright because an image so stark explodes with even the slightest infusion of color. The contract between that red and the green coat she is wearing feels out of place in such a drab and polluted land. She walks side by side with a child and she approaches a man holding food. She appears desperate and hungry, perhaps an indication that the subject matter of Red Desert will revolve around the impoverished, except she offers to pay for the sandwich despite it being already half-eaten. Something isn't quite right here.

I discovered after watching this film that it was the first time Antonioni utilized color in a picture, and boy is utilized an appropriate word. The entire thing is stunning, as pastel colors that normally would seem inconsequential in a typical film pop here in a way that actually feels a bit uneasy. It is clear that this is intentional rather than accidental, that the backdrop of grey buildings and white smoke and a rolling fog only serve as a canvas in order to make the reds and blues grab out attention. Perhaps we are seeing the world the way Giuliana (Monica Vitti) sees it, as it is made clear early by her husband that ever since a recent auto accident, her mind has not been quite right. 

While the colors of various set pieces do draw our attention and speak quite loudly on their own, the fact that the lead actress Monica Vitti is strikingly beautiful doesn't do Antonioni a disservice either. For every reason imaginable it is impossible to look away from this strange yet wonderful film, a movie that looks to dazzle all of the audiences senses rather than merely entertain on a narrative level. The sizzle of a room painted entirely the same unsettling tone of red. The way Antonioni uses sound in various scenes like when inside the factory near the start of the film or as the characters occupy a tiny dwelling right next to a river with a ship docking right outside. The mesmerizing eyes of Giuliana throughout the entire experience. Red Desert is appealing and yet off-putting. It is both beautiful and ugly. It is sexy and surreal.

Some films end and whether I love them or loathe them, I move on quickly and don't really look back. Perhaps I will revisit them someday or perhaps I will never give it another thought. I could dive right back into Red Desert tomorrow. Despite being locked in from start to finish, I know I didn't truly see everything that Antonioni wanted to convey with this film. I am fascinated by both what I know and also how much more there must be to uncover.

I love all different types of movies, but my passion for cinema resides somewhere in the same realm that created a film like Red Desert. Much like consuming food, every day I enjoy what I eat and I am left satisfied, but every so often a meal can be so much more. Red Desert has flavors to it that danced across my taste buds in a way that I would not only remember for some time, I would want to go back to that restaurant every single day if I could. 

Red Desert is absolutely delicious.

5/5

Batman Begins Review

Those two words we dread nowadays as the superhero sub-genre continues to flourish financially and thus take up most of the screens at the local theater each weekend: origin story. We dread them because they typically are mentioned due to reboots of heroes we are already so familiar with, their origins are like that tale your Uncle tells every single year at the Thanksgiving dinner table. Spider-Man is abandoned by his parents, lives with his Aunt and Uncle and gets bit by a super special arachnid. We get it. A wee little Bruce Wayne walks down a dark alley with his parents when a shady criminal spills the blood of the elders, a memory that haunts him until the day he decides to don the cape and cowl and beyond. Been there, done that.

The imaginative and highly skilled Christopher Nolan at the helm of the story of the Dark Knight though? Yeah, I would watch that. Over and over and over again, because Batman Begins is dark and delicious fun.

Gotham is bathed in shadows and plagued by a violent, seedy underworld, yet despite the serious tone and cold aesthetic I am unable to take my eyes off of the ominous, gloomy world built by Nolan here. The rain pours down and each frame feels crisp and alive, appropriate for the moment. The revival of a character beloved but absent from a good film in over a decade prior to Nolan stepping in to bring him back from his Joel Schumacher induced cinematic death. It was a wonderful feeling, sitting in that cinema shortly after this film was released and feeling all of the pessimism and ugliness associated with Batman on the big screen wash away. 

Batman Begins is the way an origin story should be done, and I can't help but wonder if the showrunners of the new Daredevil Netflix series were influenced by this one when they began crafting their rather brilliant series. Spread out over thirteen hours rather than a mere two, it is difficult to compare the two in terms of storytelling and character development but the tone and the atmosphere feel remarkably similar. If Batman Begins was in fact the model to build off of, they picked a wonderful picture to replicate.

4.5/5 

City Lights Review

The fictionalized events of the Best Picture winning 2011 film The Artist were a reality faced by Charlie Chaplin when he began production on his timeless classic City Lights. The world of silent cinema was at a crossroads as the public began to embrace the magic of sound and Chaplin had to make a decision: move away from the style that made him one of the biggest stars of motion pictures or continue on, seemingly a step behind the progression of the medium. 

Chaplin continued on and released City Lights the way he had originally intended, and it is not only considered by many to be his finest personal achievement, it is one of the highest regarded pictures in history. Safe to say he made the right choice.

Chaplin portrays his iconic Tramp and he falls in love with a blind girl who dreams of being able to afford a medical procedure that may return her sight. The romance is touching and truly beautiful. The comedy is top notch as usual, as Chaplin always finds a way to make me laugh and fill me with joy, and the final sequence of the picture resonates so deeply it is impossible to forget. 

While Modern Times continues to be Chaplin's masterpiece, City Lights is just a slight notch beneath it. An amazing film that the world still flocked to see despite the world of cinema leaving that era behind, and what a treasure to know City Lights was close to never existing. Thank goodness it does.

4.5/5

Clouds of Sils Maria Review

I recently celebrated my 31st birthday, but my Kristen Stewart memories go back to when I was still a high school student, months away from graduation. Lord knows I don't recall a thing about what was going on in my social life at that time, or what classes I was taking in school, yet I can vividly remember sitting down in a theater and getting ready for a brand new Fincher thriller on the big screen. Was I blown away by my introduction to this child actress portraying the diabetic/asthmatic daughter of Jodie Foster? No, probably not, but there was certainly a talent there that would show itself eventually. It was a safe bet this wasn't the last I would see from this very young fresh face, but I never could have anticipated what the future would hold.

Six years after the release of Panic Room, here is that girl again only now she is starring in some bullshit vampire nonsense that would turn into a franchise, billions of dollars pouring into executives pockets while inspiring precisely no one in the process. She became a source of hatred from teenage girls around the world who all loved one or both of the pale male creatures that read their lines like slabs of wood alongside her. Memes were unleashed insulting her lack of range. Followed by middle aged men paid to take pictures and scorned for alleged love affairs with married directors, that glimmer of hope I saw way back when had become toilet bowl TMZ fodder that would never reach its potential. 

Suddenly, we have Camp X-Ray, an above average film with an even better lead performance. Julianne Moore took home trophy after trophy for her work in Still Alice, and rightfully so, but no one really talked about the strong, confident supporting work from that familiar face that played her daughter. Was this the same joke, the same train wreck tabloid headline that would forever be nothing more than a high school girl with a 200 year old hunky boyfriend that shimmers in the sun?

Well, little did I know that the best was yet to come, even after those two performances. Kristen Stewart is a revelation in Clouds of Sils Maria, and yet she still may be hiding out in the shadows of an even stronger lead. Juliette Binoche is an early but serious Oscar contender, playing an aging movie star who refuses to accept the inevitability and relentless nature of time. She is asked to take the stage for the revival of a play she had starred in 20 years earlier, but not for the same character. No, that role is still meant to be portrayed by the young and Maria no longer fits that bill.

The chemistry shared on screen between Binoche and Stewart is remarkable, Binoche playing the slightly unstable and increasingly unhinged star who cannot comprehend being pushed out of the spotlight by the new generation of talent and Stewart always by her side as an assistant. Their conversations in private are thought provoking and insightful and it is important to note that they aren't merely words, nor are they just some reflections to teach us that aging sucks. There is more in play here as we watch someone try to look themselves in the mirror and find a way to leave their younger former self behind, try to accept the facts of life and the concept of time. No matter how much we all wish to stop it or even just slow it down for a moment, time continues to move forward.

The way Maria looks at her. The cynical way she views the world and more specifically the industry she calls home. The way Valentine looks back, with admiration that is balanced out by honesty and integrity. The optimistic way she approaches art and keeps an open mind about genres and weighty themes and the people that play the roles she sees on the stage or on screen. As their dialogue intensifies and the tension between them becomes palpable, I couldn't shake off the feeling that Clouds of Sils Maria was inspired in part by Bergman and the way he portrayed women in Persona. As the clouds roll in, I admired them with a feeling of certainty that I had correctly predicted the seemingly out of nowhere twist a bit in advance, but this didn't take anything away from the experience. It's handled with such class and intelligence and artistry that even when I saw it coming, as a fan of cinema I was thrilled at the concept and its execution. 

It's early and I have no idea what level of supporting performances we will see later this year, but whether she deserves it or not (she does), I have a gut feeling Kristen Stewart will not receive recognition from the Academy for what she achieved during Clouds of Sils Maria, and a part of me doesn't really give a shit. No awards will change how I felt watching these amazing actresses work together in harmony, with certain sequences playing like the perfect demonstration videos for anyone who dreams of becoming an actor. What does need to stop, however, is this misguided notion that Stewart is a punch line to a joke.

She can flat out act. Her subtle, nuanced performance in Clouds of Sils Maria with her deadpan delivery that perfectly sits along side the highs and lows of Binoche is top notch stuff, and the film itself is, at this point, the best of 2015 thus far.

4.5/5

Andrei Rublev Review

People always say "You can do anything you set your mind to", but is that really accurate? Could I have pursued a multitude of professions when I was growing up and determining a path for my education? Certainly. Could I have worked harder, maintained a stronger focus on my goals and been at the top of my class? Sure. It is amazing what a person can achieve when they know what they have to do to get to where they want to be.

Yet I still don't truly believe the word "anything" belongs in that first quote. Some people can work night and day and become great, but it takes more than that to be a genius of a craft. I was pretty good at basketball growing up, but no matter how hard I practiced, no matter how many shots I took, I was never going to be Michael Jordan. I also had a pretty strong knack for golf. At one point I was even the Captain of my high school team, but no matter how many rounds I played, I was never going to be Tiger Woods.

I bring this up because some films take me to a place that resides far beyond words like admiration or fondness or even love. Sometimes I will watch a work and my first reaction is one of jealousy because I think to myself, "Why couldn't I be capable of making something like this?". I was born in April, the year 1984 and by the time I took my first breathe I honestly believe it had already been decided: I was never going to be Andrei Tarkovsky. Only a few men in the history of cinema even play in the same league. Some people are just born with a gift that is hard to comprehend.

There is a level of brilliance on display during every minute of the epic picture Andrei Rublev that is difficult to even put into words, and there are a lot of minutes to analyze along the way. Clocking in at well over 3 hours in length, deciding to sit down and devote not only your time but also the mental energy it takes to devour such a movie can be daunting. Trust me though, it is worth it. 

Despite the fact that obviously we are not watching real footage from 600 years ago, Tarkovsky manages to create some authenticity with a sometimes crude and dated look to the film, but this isn't a flaw, it is actually quite stunning. Typically when I see a period piece taking place during a similar time, I can't help but see it as a Hollywood picture attempting to capture a realism that is impossible to create. Tarkovsky somehow transports us back to an era long before a camera could even be there to film. Everything seems to be lit naturally, something that is especially noticeable during sequences taking place indoors, when a face is shrouded in shadows only to be illuminated by the flicker of light from a candle. No matter how dull and dour and grey and cold the image appears to be on screen, it is consistently beautiful to look at.

The screenplay, written by Tarkovsky and his co-writer Andrei Konchalovsky, took more than two years to put together and the time and effort is not lost on me as I witnessed this epic masterpiece unfold. Every word feels perfect and they are all delivered by an expansive and flawlessly assembled cast of unknown actors. As an audience, we may not literally see all of the work that goes into the entire craft of a film but often times we can feel it. Modern day studios try to churn out films and their sequels year after year, and you can sometimes sense that they were rushed. The focus was on box office receipts rather than art. Andrei Rublev is the antithesis of this mentality. You can practically soak in the amount of passion that went into every single frame.

I was once asked why I would root for Tiger Woods at a time when he was winning practically every tournament he played in. "I love to watch greatness at its absolute best.", I responded. 

That's exactly how I felt as I experienced Andrei Rublev. 

5/5

The Place Beyond the Pines Review

When the film opens, Luke Glanton is the hero. A brilliantly executed long take has us following close behind him as he walks through the grounds of a carnival, but he doesn't move with any urgency despite being told he is needed. He strolls with confidence and a swagger that announces to the world, they can wait. Past the flashing lights and the dangling prizes, the eyes of the public turn and watch him move past but he seemingly doesn't even notice. When he arrives at his destination, Luke Glanton receives an ovation fit for a celebrity. Handsome Luke and the Heartthrobs. His pulse doesn't even appear to pick up an extra beat. Luke Glanton is as cool as a cucumber.

Later on, a young, brave police officer receives the call that a bank robber is on the run near where he is located. Wrong place, wrong time. His name is Avery Cross, and that moment every officer must be ready for has come to fruition. His weapon is drawn and he may have to use it. A beautiful wife and a newborn son are waiting at home, but this intersection between good and evil could mean Avery is about to take his final breathe. Is it as black and white as good and evil though? Is either side ever so purely one or the other? A split second decision blurs these lines. The ground is covered in blood and a good man begins to associate with the corrupt. The life of a man ends and whether a sinner or saint, they leave behind a trail of tears from those that cared for him. The death of one has altered the fates of many.

15 years later, the lives of two teenage boys intersect almost impossibly. Two young men connected from the moment they were in diapers and yet they come together without even knowing the past. Jason and AJ. They are living with the ramifications of decisions made before they could even voice a single word. They are their father's sons. 

The Place Beyond the Pines is presented as a three-act play, with stories and characters overlapping in ways that will reverberate through time. While the narrative loses power and strength as it goes, with the story of Luke Glanton (Ryan Gosling) resembling what I would define as a masterpiece and the final act involving teenagers still living in the shadows of their fathers not quite matching up, I still feel the end result of this work by Derek Cianfrance is pretty remarkable, ambitious and compelling throughout. 

What I wrote above doesn't even begin to tell the whole story of these characters and their lives, the nuance that makes them complicated rather than cut and dry archetypes. If you haven't seen The Place Beyond the Pines yet, do so, and what you will see is an epic made on an indie budget. A sweeping story with an intimate scope. 

Most of all, you will see a great film.

4.5/5