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Star Wars Begins: A Filmumentary (2011)
A must watch!
What Jamie Benning has done for this documentary is pure brilliance. I loved this almost as much as I did the actual movies and well that's because it is Star Wars A New Hope.
Star Wars Begins: A Filmumentry is really just Star Wars A New Hope blended together with deleted scenes, miscellaneous footage, and previously released commentary and interviews. This serves as the perfect delivery device because instead of just staring at George Lucas on camera as he speaks about his film, you actually get to see what he is referencing as he speaks. But different then a normal directors commentary you get the benefit of hearing from other actors and crew members as well.
If you have watched other Star Wars documentaries you will probably of heard and seen a lot of the interviews and footage before. But Jamie Benning helps supplement that by adding additional insights as subtitles on the bottom of the screen. This is information probably pulled from books and other written media.
Even having already heard and seen some of the content shared, I completely enjoyed my ride watching this very special cut of Star Wars. I would highly recommend any Star Wars fan watch this "Filmumentary."
THX 1138 (1971)
A great history lesson in failed cinema
THX-1138 presents an early attempt at a dystopian future. This too early for its time film resonates with themes that are beloved today but for 1971 was foreign and un-welcomed. Experimental films like this were not common place in the late 60s - early 70s and were reserved more for the film fanatic and film student audiences. But this was meant for major distribution through Warner Brothers funding. By the numbers it was a failure at the box office and would cost American Zoetrope, the production company responsible for producing the film, some earlier credit and notice in the film community. If THX-1138 came out today however I believe it would find much more success. It is a film that radiates a tone that I find similar to Ex Machina (2014).
Visually the cinematography is great. Depending on the scene it may be ruined by the "Special Edition" effects that are added in. What I mean by that is similar to what George Lucas did with the Star Wars Films he obviously went back in the early 2000s and added CGI elements to more closely match his original image. More than likely, since it is now 2019, the version of the film you will be watching will have these effects added in and you will be able to see first-hand how out of place it feels.
While this film brings great potential to the table, its lack of detail to how and why society is now this way leaves more questions in your head then desired. Robert Duvall has a great performance considering what was written. His performance would have been Academy worthy if only George Lucas had written a script of substantial value. Instead Lucas prefers a vague story that focuses more on the feelings and desires of freedom over actual substance.
All that being said I still enjoyed the movie. It is a piece of art. But fair warning, some people might have to step really far back to enjoy this piece of art.
Empire of Dreams: The Story of the 'Star Wars' Trilogy (2004)
A must see for hardcore Star Wars fans.
This was a great combination of fresh commentary and new behind the scenes footage.
It was entertaining to hear some of the set and production stories from both cast and crew. Especially the extended look and discussion of casting selection. I had seen some of the early casting scenes before but not this much.
I had heard about the scope that was necessary to create the Star Wars films and could imagine it through watching the movies. However, a new light was shed seeing the awe-inspiring scope of construction and development from behind the scenes footage.
You will spend the first half of the documentary on Star Wars or A New Hope. Then you will spend the last two quarters hearing about The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It was a little long winded but it has several great moments that one could pause at and come back later to finish.
This documentary is a must for any Star Wars fan.
The Theory of Everything (2014)
Good but could be better
A heart wrenching tale that while beautiful is not what it should be. To say I have conflicting feelings about this movie would be an understatement.
It is a good movie with brilliant acting. I still believe that Bradley Cooper deserved the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Oscar for his part as Chris Kyle in "American Sniper" but Eddie Redmayne performance as Stephan Hawking in this film is a close second in my book and I can understand how others would chose Redmayne over Cooper. Felitcity Jones as usual had a great performance with a great range of emotions. On the ten star scale I give it a seven. I do not regret watching it and I would recommend it to others and potentially watch it again. However, despite the positives I cannot help but think of the negatives.
I have two major issues with this movie. One the color grading is horrendous. I believe it was intentional and is meant to be part of the visual story telling. Sadly, it fails at providing this as a story element. The color grading ends up just distracting from the film. Blown out shots, overly grainy scenes, unbalanced and unrealistic color pallets will take you out of the movie and remind you are looking at a screen. My second problem is the focus of the story. There was a clear lack of focus on the breakthrough science of Hawkings. It was more focused on the building and failing of his relationship with wife and eventual ex-wife Jane. This alters the film from a celebration of a man's genius to a focus of the betray and betraying that he experiences in his life. I do not believe this was the best use of the time. I wanted more science and less drama.
But as I said before I don't regret watching it. You should try watching it yourself. My issues might not bother you like they did me.
Rashômon (1950)
If you can handle older movies and reading subtitles then this is worth your time.
When you begin watching Rashomon you do not really know what to think. It is an interesting film that comes off as a murder mystery. But as time continues we see that it really is a look into the human condition. During the movie, we hear several different accounts of a murder. By the end of the movie when you find out which account is the truth you are left wondering and debating what caused the others to lie? Does no one have any honor now? I was left feeling like my favorite TV doctor Gregory House. I felt a lack of faith in humanity and thinking "everyone lies." But despite the cold hard look at humanities dark side, a path is preserved and shown that there can be good in the world, even if sometimes we cannot explain the bad. As far as I know there is no English Dub for this movie. But if you are willing to read the subtitles for this 88-minute movie, I would highly recommend it.
Suburbicon (2017)
Too slow for no payout.
While this movie is directed by George Clooney it is written by the Coen Brothers, and the Coen Brothers are at it again. If there was an Academy Award for best looking trailers with worst actual movies then the Coen Brothers would have another winner on their hands with Suburbicon.
This is an incredibly slow-paced film. Watching the movie, you find out that there is a hidden morale lesson that wasn't shown in the trailers. It is a morale lesson that is very important especially in today's time. But by the end of the movie it is under played and just a worthless plot with no real emotion.
While visually it is appealing, the story its self is not worth the one hour and forty-five mins you spend hating yourself for watching this movie all the way to end in the hopes of Matt Damon saving it. Don't get me wrong Matt Damon performed beautifully. Julianne Moore also had a great performance. But there is only so much two actors can do if the script is garbage.
If you want to watch a Coen Brother film go watch O Brother, Where Art Thou. Even if you have already seen it, just go watch it again. That would be a better use of your time then watching Suburbicon.
The Post (2017)
This is worth your time.
Everyone hates the press. People even hate me a nobody who feels like writing a review for a movie that at time of writing already has 233 user reviews and 344 critic reviews. Despite those feelings, despite if you follow Trumps march against "Fake News," despite if you stand steady with the like of the modern press, Steven Spielberg has managed to share a suspenseful dramatic story that shows what the press should be. Meryl Streep is outperforming everyone again but this time it is very different. The character of Kay Graham is built up to be one who lacks confidence. Meryl Streep is able to radiate this lack of confidence without bringing a hint of her normally strong personality. That is until she needs to show it. Which is rare but always just at the right moment. Tom Hanks portrayal of Ben Bradlee was also very well done. While I cannot share with you the accuracy of his portrayal, can say that the energy he brings to the screen helps to balance and offset Streep's moments of shakiness. They are both followed by a wonderful group of supporting actors such as Bradley Whitford, Bob Odenkirk, Bruce Greenwood, and Michael Stuhlbarg. One man to watch out for is Jesse Plemons who portrays Roger Clark. I thoroughly enjoyed his shorter time on screen as one of the main lawyers for The Post. He has moved a long way since "Friday Night Lights." Time will tell how far he will go.
This movie had very view bad moments. The only 2, that I felt, were at the end and had to do with Meryl Streep and her character. Both were very obvious nods to the anti-trump movement and feminism. They were small and didn't affect the overall film. But it is for that reason I question if they should had been present. Why must the platform that people use to escape the scares and frights of the world be used to shove those same concerns back into their faces? I understand that most of Hollywood and specifically Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks have been very vocal about their feelings to the current "state of the union." But must you force those feelings towards people who want to be entertained? While I might not think modern political commentary belong in a film of this style, the truth is I was watching a movie about freedom of speech and so the entire cast and crew are allowed to do and say what they want because it is their movie. It is their right to tell the story they want. You could also say I was watching a movie that mirrors the exact struggles we face today and that the comparison was a wakeup call.
Either way I congratulate the cast and crew of "The Post" for making one of the best movies put to screen in a long time. This film deserves more recognition then it is currently being given. The acting, directing, cinematography, and story were all very much enjoyable and worth the watch.
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Same old, Same old
Why this movie wasn't called the winter soldier part 2 blows my mind. The potential they had with the original civil war story was ruined by Disney/Marvel's lack of bravery to stray away from their formula. While what was delivered was the classic fun and entertaining it had nothing new and was poorly predictable which resulted in a feeling of disappointment and slight boredom at the end. I think this marks the beginning of Marvel's peek. Hopefully Dr. Strange will prove me wrong. However unless they change things up people are going to become too bored to keep watching. A good example is how people can only play pac-man so many times.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Great Movie don't let the Critics sway you away from seeing.
I will begin spoiler free but later we will have more meat and potatoes. Batman V Superman is a solid 8-9 Stars. BVS Ultimate Cut is a solid 9-10 Stars. I will openly admit that I prefer DC, and Superman is my favorite superhero of all time so I am biased. However there is a meme floating around that sums my feelings up perfectly. It says "if you're a comic book reader it's a great awesome movie, if you're a casual it's a pretty nice movie, if you're looking for the marvel fun+childish formula maybe it ain't for you." The dark more serious tones truly do represent DC comics. With the entry of this film DC has placed themselves nicely for the future. Go watch it for yourself and get your own opinion. Just remember this is not your typical superhero movie. As far as acting goes I was decently impressed. No one should be concerned any more about Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne. Even though I am one of the people who would of loved to see Christian Bale put the cape on for this story arch, Afflecks performance was great and surpassed my expectations. Same thing with Jesse Eisenburg's Lex Luthor. While I think the role still could of be cast better, can I get a shout out for Bryan Cranston, Eisenburg was just the perfect level of crazy and jerk to make me believe he was Lex Luthor. But as much as I hate to admit it, the weakest performance came from Clark Kent/Superman. Henry Cavill played a similar cold dark confused boy as seen in "Man of Steel." I truly want to believe that this is because we are still trying to develop a Superman that knows his place in the world and is proud of it. I however am fearing that with each film we will realize that Henry Cavill has no acting chops and is only useful as a muscular handsome man. Visually the movie was strikingly beautiful, and as per usual Hans Zimmer knocked the soundtrack out of the park. It is important to note that Zimmer actually co-wrote the score with Junkie XL. This may be because as of now Zimmer has declared he is retired from scoring superhero films and Junkie XL could be taking the new lead in scoring for DC films. I can not really say much more without giving Spoilers so do not read past this point if you want to stay spoiler free.
Now for the section with spoilers.
Probably the biggest complaints I have heard about the movie can be answered if you have knowledge of the comics. One of said biggest issues people have is the dream sequences that Bruce Wayne "Batman" has at several points of the film. People found this to be very confusing and difficult to understand. I however thought they were really well made and exhilarated me for the future films. In the dreams that are about himself they are laying the foundation to show how this older Bruce has taken a mental toll from years of crime fighting. In the dreams that focus on external events like the man in a portal warning him of the future "aka the flash" or when Batman is leading a rogue group of soldiers vs flying demons and superman foot soldiers, Snyder is foreshadowing for to story lines in future films. Story lines such as Darkseid and Apokolips, Flashpoint Paradox, and possibly Injustice. If you are not familiar with any of these stories then you need to go get some reading done. Some people take real objection to the fact that Superman is killed at the end. I think the only reason this is an issue is because previous superhero films both DC and Marvel has illustrated this style of hero death as a no-no. But yet again go read the comics. Specifically the 1992 "The Death of Superman" Story-arc. Basically this a direct inspiration for BVS, and as such I fill BVS did good justice for the comic. Now a more in depth look at the characters. We really only have one time we see the free loving/spirited Clark Kent/ Superman. That one moment is when he is with Louis Lane after the rescue and she is in her bath tube. The sad thing is it seemed more like he was a horny teenager just trying to get some then an honorable man with the women he loves. Just as I previously stated I hope we are just dealing with a young inexperienced boy that is trying to find his place in the world and not stuck with a perversion of the man who stands for "truth, justice, and the American way." I have similar concerns with Gal Gadots portrayal of Diana Prince/ Wonder Woman. I can get over the fact that she is smaller then my perceived perception of Wonder Woman, especially because she is still just a beautiful as I would expect. Also the action she delivers when she enters the fight with Doomsday is phenomenal. However with limited screen time and relativity no important dialogue her character had a weak entrance to the universe. Perhaps my feelings will change in 2017 when the solo Wonder Woman film hits theaters and we get to see her shine in the light instead of sharing it with two other major heroes. Speaking of sharing the light let's talk about the 3 other members of the Justice League hinted at in the film. At one point we are introduced to video footage revealing Aquaman, The Flash, and Cyborg, also the flash shows up briefly at an earlier point of the film. While it was good that the movie did not try to shove a million characters down my throat like a similar Superhero film did this summer, **cough cough** Civil War **cough cough** I would of liked to see more of these characters then what we saw.