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Icecoldheart
Reviews
Malcolm & Marie (2021)
Like a beautiful play, captured on 35mm film.
If you go into this film thinking it's an adapted theatre piece, you are going to really appreciate it. Being aware that it was set during a few hours of this couples night, that it was an intimate look into their lives, it was truely special. The blocking of each scene is so meticulously mapped out despite it looking so natural. The way there able to frame each character, like one character walking into frame by a mirror and the other leaning by a door frame, purely beautiful composition. And yet upon reading about the film, I see that some of the scenes had improvised blocking with a hand hold camera capturing each moment. In fact the first two days of footage for the opening scene was cut out in favour of a more relaxed improvised version, which spurred Zendaya to turn to John David Washington and say, 'This is how he works". This film comes from Sam Levinson the creator and main director on the HBO hit 'Euphoria', and you can really see that the man has a way to beautifully capture a performance. He has a way to make each frame look so alluring and eye catching. You could tell Levinson has a short hand with his cinematographer Marcell Rév and the rest of the crew (from Euphoria) to pull off such a seamless film during a pandemic. Each shot is filmed and edited so harmoniously, with not a single shot or scene out of place. The pacing and dialogue is on point. And boy oh boy the driving vehicle of the film is of course the two powerhouse performances by Zendaya and John David Washington. They both have palpable chemistry that makes your heart skip a beat when each character says something cruel about one another. They both portray very complex and troubled characters. I've loved each of these actors for a while now, and I have to say foreseeably they smashed this project out of the park. I had moments where I despised Malcom, for what he said to Marie and moments that I relished of his (like his entrance/ dance scene). Zendaya's Marie at points seems unstable and yet the most rational in a scene. This film whilst fundamentally about a complex relationship, is in my opinion more geared toward people that either love cinema, or perhaps are an artist themselves. It is definitely a film that will please actors and filmmakers as they can appreciate both the way it was created and the way it was beautifully performed. But calling this film an art house piece is predictable. I mean come on it's filmed on 35mm black and white film! - Follow Ofcourse That's Cinema on Instagram, Vero and YouTube for more!
Paper Champions (2020)
Heart Warming.
The cinematography in this film is simplistic yet beautiful. The colour grade is soft and unique. It's the perfect time for a movie like this to be released to the public with everything that's happening in the world; a nice feel good, pick me up film. The larger characters in the film like Wade, Terry and Joe are balanced out by the more normalised characterisations of Rey and his love interest Holly. That being said Wade's comedic characteristics shine through the film. And Holly isn't just any simple love interest, and is played perfectly. Luke Saliba does a great job at bringing such an awkward, timid and meek character to the screen. It's a true joy to see Geelong on the big screen.