I've always wondered what if we twisted that scenario and made Truman endure pain and set up frustration and endow him with a set doctrine or religions that he has to set himself free from and also make him endure a period of war and resentment in his neighberhood...kinda stretch to what really life is like. But hey in case I don't see you good afternoon good evening and good night. Subtle horror movie this would become as the years go by.
Reviews
13 Reviews
La Dolce Vita
(1960)
La Complicada Dolce Vita!!
9 October 2016
Warning: Spoilers
***Spoilers Alert*** I''m enchanted and more than happy to watch one of Federico fellini's masterpiece, It was a film of 3hours that for me has never preached, It was a movie striving to find a sense to human life as long as the minutes proceeded. The era in which the movie was shot was in Italy (Europe) Post-war, tracing painstakingly nonsense of a decadent life.
At the beginning of the movie there was a helicopter flying out high carrying a statue of Jesus, in which the semi-naked girls reacted once they saw it by saying ''look look it's Jesus'' .Fellini is certainly subtle, but we can infer that Marcelo presence high on the helicopter was considered as a form of highness considered to be valuable and appreciated in the naïve and materialistic eyes of his friends.
Fellini is this movie breaks the rules of conventional narrative style, the film was told over Seven Days, the story follows a suave, ostensibly charming Journalist of the right-wing party tabloid, through his frantic yet boring nightlife. He is the epitome that Fellini chose to depict the meaninglessness of a post-war Italy, that have succumbed into social chit-chat cafés and hectic boredom between the new rich and old aristocrat, prostitute, to single out the spiritual crisis that the society is suffering from despite all the superficialities that is shown off.
Marcelo suffers from it as he goes from his faithful Emma that wants to have a stable life with him, to the American superstar Sylvia that has nothing but fame and plastic beauty to attract the attention of self-exhibitionist society. Marcelo realizes that his life is vapid and it lacks meaning ,that was his inspiration from his friend Steirein that he admired for the stability and he has a family , two kids, he organizes intellectual meetings with his friend. The latter poignantly said '' Sometimes at night the darkness and silence weighs upon me. Peace frightens me; perhaps I fear it most of all. I feel it is only a facade hiding the face of hell. I think, 'What is in store for my children tomorrow?' 'The world will be wonderful', they say. But from whose viewpoint? If one phone call could announce the end of everything? We need to live in a state of suspended animation like a work of art, in a state of enchantment. We have to succeed in loving so greatly that we live outside of time, detached....detached.
Steirn on the contrary has a family, money, success, stability but still is trapped in the same turmoil as Marceliono. Thus the latter couldn't believe it when he knew about Steirn killed his two kids and then himself, therefore it affected him so much that he decided to Instead of moving from journalism to the higher realm of writing he contemplated, he sells out to become a public relations hack, a drunk, a decadent party boy, now within the milieu that he previously saw as the outsider, the reporter observing. He just couldn't settle himself down and think about; he nevertheless carried and continues with his glamorous but hollow life style.
The film moved from the cabaret dancing and glamour celebrations to a somber dawn of day, the lights were dull, that Fellini hardly gives morning events much importance. His father would push us to think that he'll brings us some family feeling throughout his presence. This wasn't the case as his father easily plunged in the bitter sweetness of that exhibitionism night life, but it was ultimately his stamina that didn't afford him to.
The film spans an era that seems not that new for us (now), it's a movie that struck me with its vividness and it still grows with time, that's one of the major marks of a truly great work of art. People don't believe in La dolce vita, they just join each other in a social-spectacular self-esteem, which is the symbol of decayed society. Something that society has built to undermine its own proper values. Marcelo our protagonist in la dolce greatly embodied all the questions that occurred in Fellini's mind, He was carried away by the greed and glamour and fictive-sophistication. He is the wasted-intellect in the middle of a boring yet spectacular irresponsible society.
One of the marvelous scenes in La dolce vita is the orgy party, where there was different people from different ranks and stances in society, they tried to enjoy themselves, but none of that could happen, wherein our drunkard protagonist indulged himself in a series of disrespectful behavior towards the girls that nothing sensual nor affectionate could be felt from. Fellini juxtaposed the opening with a great final sequence, after the nasty party, the revelers poured out onto the beach at dawn, where a group of fishermen captured a dead big ugly mysterious Fish. At the same time an innocent young girl whom Marcelo had met early in the film catches his eye, she started to wave and mimicking to him to come to have a walk with her but Marcello either doesn't understand or refuses to understand. And if he did make contact to her he may have corrupted her too. This was an end from innocent eyes, an end asking for question to be asked, an end that is asking for honesty and true emotions, an end that has left us nevertheless somewhat clueless about what really Fellini wanted to entail by it.
I'm leaving out so much more, including Marcello's relationships with his suicidal fiancée and his strangely devoted relationship to his father, each of which only further underline Marcello's emptiness.
This films is one that will need more than just one viewing to fully grasp its meaning, it'll keep dazzling you every time you watch it.
At the beginning of the movie there was a helicopter flying out high carrying a statue of Jesus, in which the semi-naked girls reacted once they saw it by saying ''look look it's Jesus'' .Fellini is certainly subtle, but we can infer that Marcelo presence high on the helicopter was considered as a form of highness considered to be valuable and appreciated in the naïve and materialistic eyes of his friends.
Fellini is this movie breaks the rules of conventional narrative style, the film was told over Seven Days, the story follows a suave, ostensibly charming Journalist of the right-wing party tabloid, through his frantic yet boring nightlife. He is the epitome that Fellini chose to depict the meaninglessness of a post-war Italy, that have succumbed into social chit-chat cafés and hectic boredom between the new rich and old aristocrat, prostitute, to single out the spiritual crisis that the society is suffering from despite all the superficialities that is shown off.
Marcelo suffers from it as he goes from his faithful Emma that wants to have a stable life with him, to the American superstar Sylvia that has nothing but fame and plastic beauty to attract the attention of self-exhibitionist society. Marcelo realizes that his life is vapid and it lacks meaning ,that was his inspiration from his friend Steirein that he admired for the stability and he has a family , two kids, he organizes intellectual meetings with his friend. The latter poignantly said '' Sometimes at night the darkness and silence weighs upon me. Peace frightens me; perhaps I fear it most of all. I feel it is only a facade hiding the face of hell. I think, 'What is in store for my children tomorrow?' 'The world will be wonderful', they say. But from whose viewpoint? If one phone call could announce the end of everything? We need to live in a state of suspended animation like a work of art, in a state of enchantment. We have to succeed in loving so greatly that we live outside of time, detached....detached.
Steirn on the contrary has a family, money, success, stability but still is trapped in the same turmoil as Marceliono. Thus the latter couldn't believe it when he knew about Steirn killed his two kids and then himself, therefore it affected him so much that he decided to Instead of moving from journalism to the higher realm of writing he contemplated, he sells out to become a public relations hack, a drunk, a decadent party boy, now within the milieu that he previously saw as the outsider, the reporter observing. He just couldn't settle himself down and think about; he nevertheless carried and continues with his glamorous but hollow life style.
The film moved from the cabaret dancing and glamour celebrations to a somber dawn of day, the lights were dull, that Fellini hardly gives morning events much importance. His father would push us to think that he'll brings us some family feeling throughout his presence. This wasn't the case as his father easily plunged in the bitter sweetness of that exhibitionism night life, but it was ultimately his stamina that didn't afford him to.
The film spans an era that seems not that new for us (now), it's a movie that struck me with its vividness and it still grows with time, that's one of the major marks of a truly great work of art. People don't believe in La dolce vita, they just join each other in a social-spectacular self-esteem, which is the symbol of decayed society. Something that society has built to undermine its own proper values. Marcelo our protagonist in la dolce greatly embodied all the questions that occurred in Fellini's mind, He was carried away by the greed and glamour and fictive-sophistication. He is the wasted-intellect in the middle of a boring yet spectacular irresponsible society.
One of the marvelous scenes in La dolce vita is the orgy party, where there was different people from different ranks and stances in society, they tried to enjoy themselves, but none of that could happen, wherein our drunkard protagonist indulged himself in a series of disrespectful behavior towards the girls that nothing sensual nor affectionate could be felt from. Fellini juxtaposed the opening with a great final sequence, after the nasty party, the revelers poured out onto the beach at dawn, where a group of fishermen captured a dead big ugly mysterious Fish. At the same time an innocent young girl whom Marcelo had met early in the film catches his eye, she started to wave and mimicking to him to come to have a walk with her but Marcello either doesn't understand or refuses to understand. And if he did make contact to her he may have corrupted her too. This was an end from innocent eyes, an end asking for question to be asked, an end that is asking for honesty and true emotions, an end that has left us nevertheless somewhat clueless about what really Fellini wanted to entail by it.
I'm leaving out so much more, including Marcello's relationships with his suicidal fiancée and his strangely devoted relationship to his father, each of which only further underline Marcello's emptiness.
This films is one that will need more than just one viewing to fully grasp its meaning, it'll keep dazzling you every time you watch it.
Songs from the Second Floor
(2000)
Imagine....!!
7 October 2016
This movie is a closer look at the social scenarios that would spring up if we are to experience a crisis as the one imagined by Anderson. As much as the camera stays aloof and objective, it is a very close up analysis of the characters involved in the story. Just like with any difficult moments in life the pillars are put into question, Family, Faith, Economy, and each shot was dedicated to one of them. The absurdity and the simplicity of the shot is what made this movie funny, because they remind us of something very common and very easy to grasp. What I also liked about this movie are the actors performances, with any movie there is always a feeling of Protagonism enforced upon us though for good reasons sometimes but to really delve into the mass you need actors just like in society of similar mayhem that is why the director decided to hire normal people to do the acting and that is why I believe it took 4 years to finalize it. Now, I call this cinematic style coin me for it, Scandinavian Neo-Realism!!
Gandhi
(1982)
"An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind"
21 May 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I was engrossed yesterday to watch such a colorful big movie, that has in itself some of the majors constituents of what can make an epic movie larger-than-life, yet It was about a historical iconic person that made things easier for Richard Attenborough to succeed conveying the humanistic and charismatic features that Gandhi was Known by.
The film has 8 Oscars in its awards cabinet, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Ben Kingsley), Best Editor, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay (John Briley) and Best costume design, all of these awards emphatically confirm the importance and the highly praised regards that this movie brought once it was released, I can stand as an advocate for the Oscar committee for this One, it was certainly taken as a biopic educational medium that spans the life story of one of the most important man in history : the Hindu Mohandas K Gandhi.
Richard Attenborough was certainly a profound admirer of Gandhi's personality; we can feel his joy and excitement in depicting the instances where Gandhi faced the merciless British authorities in what he painstakingly elaborated an fluid eloquence of speech between the British and Him, the unofficial Indian leader. Richard Made it clear at the beginning of the movie.
Gandhi faced racial discrimination in a ''British'' train in south Africa, where He was asked to get out of the train even though he has a First class ticket, nonetheless Gandhi hasn't at all plunged into despair and instinctive violent revolt but went to contact and communicate the issue to his fellow people that are facing the same people and stood head to head against the British Authorities to raise the problematic question that occurred at that period which is ''The illicit imperialistic impact made upon the laws and commonwealth of the colonized countries" . Gandhi came back to his country, where he engraved his name as an unofficial leader of the masses of people of different ethnicities. In the court scene, in the presence of some British officers, Gandhi spoke to his fellows Hindus and Muslims about how they are not considered citizens of the empire, everyone enraged at the idea of letting the British harm them, let them embody the pain that they inflict, and by then they'll see that there is something wrong, something that won't suit neither their interest nor ours the Indians'.
Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence disobedience is for sure and certain one of the maverick philosophies of nonviolent resistance, it seems somewhat naive and irrational but it conquered the British Empire. I've been taken much by the personality, but this film wouldn't stand on its feet if there wasn't the magnificent and poignant performance by Ben Kingsley (half Indian), he overshadowed all the others actors, he embodied Gandhi who is a leading role not that easy as it seems, but he nails it, he didn't fall into the cliché/traps of heroic nonsense speeches, on the contrary he was charismatic, and reflecting a Tranquil Force.
Towards the end of the movie, Gandhi succeeded to give independence to India through his nonviolence philosophy, nonetheless it didn't prevent India from facing a bitter civil war between the Muslim party and Hindu party, about which the aging Gandhi said '' I am a Muslim and a Hindu and a Christian and a Jew and so are all of you.'', Even though Gandhi was the principal cause for India's independence, the evilness inherited in people's souls made them forget all his great deeds, whereupon an angry dissident assassinates the 78-years-old with a bullet, a mere bullet !! Notwithstanding the length of the movie which is a 3hours 14minutes, the pace of the movie is excellent, I much enjoyed the blank black scene image, wherein only Indian mystical music could be heard (I went to the kitchen to bring me something to eat, and listened to it while enjoying my food Ha:D).
Gandhi was killed, a person who sought ''nonviolence'' was faced by an extreme inexplicable ''VIOLENCE'', Whereas this film certainly paid tribute to one of the important icons in history, it's a documentary about Gandhi's philosophy of the resistance through nonviolence and humanistic approach that will spread nothing but peace and love.
The film has 8 Oscars in its awards cabinet, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Ben Kingsley), Best Editor, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay (John Briley) and Best costume design, all of these awards emphatically confirm the importance and the highly praised regards that this movie brought once it was released, I can stand as an advocate for the Oscar committee for this One, it was certainly taken as a biopic educational medium that spans the life story of one of the most important man in history : the Hindu Mohandas K Gandhi.
Richard Attenborough was certainly a profound admirer of Gandhi's personality; we can feel his joy and excitement in depicting the instances where Gandhi faced the merciless British authorities in what he painstakingly elaborated an fluid eloquence of speech between the British and Him, the unofficial Indian leader. Richard Made it clear at the beginning of the movie.
Gandhi faced racial discrimination in a ''British'' train in south Africa, where He was asked to get out of the train even though he has a First class ticket, nonetheless Gandhi hasn't at all plunged into despair and instinctive violent revolt but went to contact and communicate the issue to his fellow people that are facing the same people and stood head to head against the British Authorities to raise the problematic question that occurred at that period which is ''The illicit imperialistic impact made upon the laws and commonwealth of the colonized countries" . Gandhi came back to his country, where he engraved his name as an unofficial leader of the masses of people of different ethnicities. In the court scene, in the presence of some British officers, Gandhi spoke to his fellows Hindus and Muslims about how they are not considered citizens of the empire, everyone enraged at the idea of letting the British harm them, let them embody the pain that they inflict, and by then they'll see that there is something wrong, something that won't suit neither their interest nor ours the Indians'.
Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence disobedience is for sure and certain one of the maverick philosophies of nonviolent resistance, it seems somewhat naive and irrational but it conquered the British Empire. I've been taken much by the personality, but this film wouldn't stand on its feet if there wasn't the magnificent and poignant performance by Ben Kingsley (half Indian), he overshadowed all the others actors, he embodied Gandhi who is a leading role not that easy as it seems, but he nails it, he didn't fall into the cliché/traps of heroic nonsense speeches, on the contrary he was charismatic, and reflecting a Tranquil Force.
Towards the end of the movie, Gandhi succeeded to give independence to India through his nonviolence philosophy, nonetheless it didn't prevent India from facing a bitter civil war between the Muslim party and Hindu party, about which the aging Gandhi said '' I am a Muslim and a Hindu and a Christian and a Jew and so are all of you.'', Even though Gandhi was the principal cause for India's independence, the evilness inherited in people's souls made them forget all his great deeds, whereupon an angry dissident assassinates the 78-years-old with a bullet, a mere bullet !! Notwithstanding the length of the movie which is a 3hours 14minutes, the pace of the movie is excellent, I much enjoyed the blank black scene image, wherein only Indian mystical music could be heard (I went to the kitchen to bring me something to eat, and listened to it while enjoying my food Ha:D).
Gandhi was killed, a person who sought ''nonviolence'' was faced by an extreme inexplicable ''VIOLENCE'', Whereas this film certainly paid tribute to one of the important icons in history, it's a documentary about Gandhi's philosophy of the resistance through nonviolence and humanistic approach that will spread nothing but peace and love.
L'Avventura
(1960)
Italian cinema at its peak!
20 April 2010
Warning: Spoilers
L'avventura is about an Italian couple that decided to go on a yacht trip around the Mediterranean ocean in order to somehow give meaning to their relationship. Anna is a rich-class woman who wants to be alone and can't stand the senseless and meaninglessness of her family and her boyfriend Sandro, so bored that she feigned that she saw a shark coming straight to her while she was swimming just to stir the emotions up, as a matter of fact she disappeared in the middle of volcanic island, letting her boyfriend and her best friend Claudia looking thoroughly to find her, as long as the movie proceeds we can notice that Anna's disappearance isn't important anymore, subsequently Sandro and Claudia fell in love as it is unveiled in the yacht scene where Sandro is seen kissing Claudia so passionately.
Antonioni left us clueless about where Anna had gone and how Sandro and Claudia fell in love; it was just a prolongation of what he was keen to depict at the very beginning of the movie, that is to say the meaninglessness and the disorder that human life is suffering from. Moreover, he chose the wealthy family to depict the lonesomeness, materialistic approach of human being social life model.
Claudia was in a turmoil throughout the whole movie, torn by her emotions, Sandro kept a steadfast attitude throughout the movie (a part from the last scene which I'm going to comment on later symbolizing the ''who next to f***'' paradigm, Antonioni uses silent scene to dig deep down the characters. each scene was represented on the other side by a natural and cultural landscape be it sea, island, architecture, fields . In the hotel art gallery scene where people from different nationalities were there to give their comments about some paintings, Antonioni singled out how ART is important to human life, and we noticed the difference between those people interested in art starring so breathtakingly at the paintings and the main characters of the movie! There are so many scenes about the unreasonable and unexplained nature of our sexual desires, so mysterious that they can't be handled, and Antonioni focused so much on that from Anna's disappearance to the hotel prostitute, how can we give some sense to our sexual relationships and how are we to restrain this inexplicable natural desires that we human beings haven't come yet to grasp.
Even sex wasn't a refuge to the boredom and lonesome that the characters nothingness existence so tormented them, I want to go back to a scene where the young painter aged 17 was to show Giulia some painting and she found out that they were all painting of naked women, she then embraced and kissed the half her age boy, and urging Claudia to get out, that is to say the characters weren't able to find a meaning for their lives, still they haven't settled their minds about what are they in truly profound meaning!
When Claudia saw Sandro with the prostitute at the hotel bar she went out running and Sandro followed her and then he sat crying his eyes out, Claudia surprisingly managed to comfort him, that is to say they have finally got to accept each other's nature, and each other's mistakes notwithstanding that they love each other.
L'avventura is my first Antonioni's film and I was surprised how in some comments that I've read right before watching the movie that criticized Antonioni's film for being boring and slow-paced. I think it is irrelevant to what I've seen yesterday, it was a true masterpiece that will push me to watch more Antonioni's films.
Antonioni left us clueless about where Anna had gone and how Sandro and Claudia fell in love; it was just a prolongation of what he was keen to depict at the very beginning of the movie, that is to say the meaninglessness and the disorder that human life is suffering from. Moreover, he chose the wealthy family to depict the lonesomeness, materialistic approach of human being social life model.
Claudia was in a turmoil throughout the whole movie, torn by her emotions, Sandro kept a steadfast attitude throughout the movie (a part from the last scene which I'm going to comment on later symbolizing the ''who next to f***'' paradigm, Antonioni uses silent scene to dig deep down the characters. each scene was represented on the other side by a natural and cultural landscape be it sea, island, architecture, fields . In the hotel art gallery scene where people from different nationalities were there to give their comments about some paintings, Antonioni singled out how ART is important to human life, and we noticed the difference between those people interested in art starring so breathtakingly at the paintings and the main characters of the movie! There are so many scenes about the unreasonable and unexplained nature of our sexual desires, so mysterious that they can't be handled, and Antonioni focused so much on that from Anna's disappearance to the hotel prostitute, how can we give some sense to our sexual relationships and how are we to restrain this inexplicable natural desires that we human beings haven't come yet to grasp.
Even sex wasn't a refuge to the boredom and lonesome that the characters nothingness existence so tormented them, I want to go back to a scene where the young painter aged 17 was to show Giulia some painting and she found out that they were all painting of naked women, she then embraced and kissed the half her age boy, and urging Claudia to get out, that is to say the characters weren't able to find a meaning for their lives, still they haven't settled their minds about what are they in truly profound meaning!
When Claudia saw Sandro with the prostitute at the hotel bar she went out running and Sandro followed her and then he sat crying his eyes out, Claudia surprisingly managed to comfort him, that is to say they have finally got to accept each other's nature, and each other's mistakes notwithstanding that they love each other.
L'avventura is my first Antonioni's film and I was surprised how in some comments that I've read right before watching the movie that criticized Antonioni's film for being boring and slow-paced. I think it is irrelevant to what I've seen yesterday, it was a true masterpiece that will push me to watch more Antonioni's films.
A Woman Under the Influence
(1974)
' This woman cooks, sews, makes the bed, washes the bathroom; what the hell is crazy about that?''
7 March 2010
Warning: Spoilers
A woman under the influence is a film about an eccentric family with Gena Rowlands starring as a housewife who has an emotional disorder, she is behaving oddly, can't handle her emotions, doesn't know what to do, insecure, unsettled , lacking confidence in her deeds. While her husband seems to play the classic father role model, with their three kids that added a spontaneous and sincere climate to the movie.
The scene where Nick brought his friends with him and Mabel asked whether they want to have spaghetti for breakfast. a while after, Mabel was talking oddly to nick's friends but their feedbacks were like '' well she is weird , but she has a kind soul'', until she kept asking and insisting the black guy whom she found cute to dance with her(which the black guy appeared to take it a bit too seriously)nick overreacted by asking Mabel to SAT HER ASS DOWN , again Mabel failed to make a normal family-friendly discussion.
Mabel frequently suffers from anxious attacks that unfolded to us in a scene when she started building-up her own fictive delusions in which she starts to believe as asking where the heck her children are? Which is a question she can perfectly answer!!?? One of the key scene in the movie is when Mabel will to her children by asking them their opinion about her, the children replied '' I think you are smart, funny, and Nervous!!'', that's another aspect of the movie, How do the children see their mother? Do they think that she is crazy as the rest of the family or not? Certainly not. the emotions shared between the children and Mabel were really the only truthful ones throughout the whole movie, that is to say children did easily interact with their mothers behavior, notwithstanding the emotion disorder that Mabel is suffering from.
On the contrary, for her mother in law and her husband both of them think that she is out of her mind and started to get nutty and mad so they decided to take her to a psychiatric hospital where she will be treated.
After Mabel came back from the hospital, the whole of her family gathered in order to welcome her so she will feel secure and safe again, but it was until her husband cracked up telling to go back to her old self, starting from that scene both the husband and wife showed simultaneously that the real problem is with both of them.
This is my first John Cassavetes film, which as I noticed is someone who focus more on the emotional experience than the quality or the awe that can a beautiful picture make as impact on us, thus the active camera seemingly going everywhere, so if someone is interested in the film he or she has to really get into the heart of the movie otherwise it won't be that attractive, therefore it will be difficult to grasp the crux of the movie. moreover John cassavetes loved to work with the people he already knew we can take his wife Gena Rowlands and his friend Peter Falk as examples, it means that John wanted to have that emotional fluidity which enable the movie to be more realistic and influential.
Still, I can't say exactly under which influence Mabel was, sure it's an influence and nothing more because Melba still is a better parent than her husband, but I would extremely disagree with the people that naively qualify Mabel as someone crazy, out of her mind because '' This woman cooks, sews, makes the bed, washes the bathroom; what the hell is crazy about that?''.
The scene where Nick brought his friends with him and Mabel asked whether they want to have spaghetti for breakfast. a while after, Mabel was talking oddly to nick's friends but their feedbacks were like '' well she is weird , but she has a kind soul'', until she kept asking and insisting the black guy whom she found cute to dance with her(which the black guy appeared to take it a bit too seriously)nick overreacted by asking Mabel to SAT HER ASS DOWN , again Mabel failed to make a normal family-friendly discussion.
Mabel frequently suffers from anxious attacks that unfolded to us in a scene when she started building-up her own fictive delusions in which she starts to believe as asking where the heck her children are? Which is a question she can perfectly answer!!?? One of the key scene in the movie is when Mabel will to her children by asking them their opinion about her, the children replied '' I think you are smart, funny, and Nervous!!'', that's another aspect of the movie, How do the children see their mother? Do they think that she is crazy as the rest of the family or not? Certainly not. the emotions shared between the children and Mabel were really the only truthful ones throughout the whole movie, that is to say children did easily interact with their mothers behavior, notwithstanding the emotion disorder that Mabel is suffering from.
On the contrary, for her mother in law and her husband both of them think that she is out of her mind and started to get nutty and mad so they decided to take her to a psychiatric hospital where she will be treated.
After Mabel came back from the hospital, the whole of her family gathered in order to welcome her so she will feel secure and safe again, but it was until her husband cracked up telling to go back to her old self, starting from that scene both the husband and wife showed simultaneously that the real problem is with both of them.
This is my first John Cassavetes film, which as I noticed is someone who focus more on the emotional experience than the quality or the awe that can a beautiful picture make as impact on us, thus the active camera seemingly going everywhere, so if someone is interested in the film he or she has to really get into the heart of the movie otherwise it won't be that attractive, therefore it will be difficult to grasp the crux of the movie. moreover John cassavetes loved to work with the people he already knew we can take his wife Gena Rowlands and his friend Peter Falk as examples, it means that John wanted to have that emotional fluidity which enable the movie to be more realistic and influential.
Still, I can't say exactly under which influence Mabel was, sure it's an influence and nothing more because Melba still is a better parent than her husband, but I would extremely disagree with the people that naively qualify Mabel as someone crazy, out of her mind because '' This woman cooks, sews, makes the bed, washes the bathroom; what the hell is crazy about that?''.
Lawrence of Arabia
(1962)
"Nothing is Written...!!!''
7 February 2010
I've always wanted to watch an old epic movie , because generally speaking epic movies are characterized by the enormous budget and materials rather than anything else, Well what I can really personally confirm is that LAWRENCE OF ARABIA went far beyond that.
One of the main adventurous, mysterious and natural places is THE DESERT, in which most of the film is taking place occurred a story of a man named T.E Lawrence who was well educated, lofty to serve in the British army, try to convince the Arabs to become an allies in order to face the Turks and to win the war, he was excited to be chosen to achieve this mission, throughout his struggles to achieve it , it was clear that the movie was about him , a character study about someone who will find himself in a ambivalent situation where he will start to lose his head.
David lean chose many good actors (Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, and Anthony Quinn) to come out with this successful movie, a movie of 4hours length which I personally think were all worth-watching. Peter O'Toole captivated our attention with his charismatic and crazy character at the same ,once in the Arabs troupes he was that leader who was going to guide them to ''FREEDOOM'' into the ''CLEAN DESERT'' ,once back in the British concentration he was back to that bewilderment feeling, incapable to settle his mind about what is happening.
The desert harmony was perfectly used to support the quality of the image, David Lean PERFECTLY used the two cultural dimensions of the plot to make the film climate a mixture between Arabian with their camels, horses and their traditional outfits and also the Arabic spirit most importantly he depicted this resistance to authority that characterize the Arabs throughout the history, and the British one with the offices , politics ,modern army, buildings rather than anything else , (but certainly that was the case of most powerful countries at that time) amazed and hold our extreme attention while we are watching this master piece, even though the film was somehow short in soundtracks , I wasn't able to take my eyes off the screen.
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA is one of the best epic films ever, and certainly will stand out as Peter O'Toole's best achievement.
One of the main adventurous, mysterious and natural places is THE DESERT, in which most of the film is taking place occurred a story of a man named T.E Lawrence who was well educated, lofty to serve in the British army, try to convince the Arabs to become an allies in order to face the Turks and to win the war, he was excited to be chosen to achieve this mission, throughout his struggles to achieve it , it was clear that the movie was about him , a character study about someone who will find himself in a ambivalent situation where he will start to lose his head.
David lean chose many good actors (Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, and Anthony Quinn) to come out with this successful movie, a movie of 4hours length which I personally think were all worth-watching. Peter O'Toole captivated our attention with his charismatic and crazy character at the same ,once in the Arabs troupes he was that leader who was going to guide them to ''FREEDOOM'' into the ''CLEAN DESERT'' ,once back in the British concentration he was back to that bewilderment feeling, incapable to settle his mind about what is happening.
The desert harmony was perfectly used to support the quality of the image, David Lean PERFECTLY used the two cultural dimensions of the plot to make the film climate a mixture between Arabian with their camels, horses and their traditional outfits and also the Arabic spirit most importantly he depicted this resistance to authority that characterize the Arabs throughout the history, and the British one with the offices , politics ,modern army, buildings rather than anything else , (but certainly that was the case of most powerful countries at that time) amazed and hold our extreme attention while we are watching this master piece, even though the film was somehow short in soundtracks , I wasn't able to take my eyes off the screen.
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA is one of the best epic films ever, and certainly will stand out as Peter O'Toole's best achievement.
A Clockwork Orange
(1971)
Singin'in The Rain....!!!!
21 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
I've always wanted to watch a film about Humankind violence through the artistic knacks of Stanley Kubrick, I had high expectations before watching Clockwork Orange, but there I found what I sought for once I did.
It's a movie that is about a young scoundrel with his droogs doing ''ultra-violence'' deeds at night with such a pleasure and unconscious way that makes the movie tone a comedy satire one, Stanley Kubrick depicted this movie in a way to make us aware that violence is something uncontrollable even by the people meant to prevent it to occur (the government),it is considered as a misdeed notwithstanding, it is something that humankind needs.
Alex's performance as the villain character in clockwork orange was key, he succeeded to convey that emotion of someone who is violent and charismatic at the same time, letting us loving him and hating him simultaneously throughout the movie.
the scene where Alex and his fellows are seen raping a woman in front her husband's eyes was so fascinating that made us in a way empathizing our regards at Alex instead of the ''Handicap'' husband!!!! the ''singing in the rain scene ''where Alex is seen doing his violence and raping acts artistically was one hell of a scene, as a matter of fact the performance given by the old man in the scene where he recognized Alex was absolutely tremendous, the sickness and morbidness that the old handicap man showed were really vivid and realistic.
The classical music used by Kubrick extraordinarily matched with the scenes that were meant to catch our attention, we can notice that once the classical music is on, the tempo of the film is getting slower, except the scene where Alex was with the two girls in his room where the tempo of the music was more intense and rapid.
The movie tries to tell us in a way that violence is something that human being can't ignore and it's somehow something that come from our nature, in another way as it is unveiled in the last scene it is something that finally we've got to accept it and make it one of those eternal yet useful misdeeds needed to let life goes on.
Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece is certainly about more than I've mentioned above, I highly recommend it for those who haven't watched it yet.
It's a movie that is about a young scoundrel with his droogs doing ''ultra-violence'' deeds at night with such a pleasure and unconscious way that makes the movie tone a comedy satire one, Stanley Kubrick depicted this movie in a way to make us aware that violence is something uncontrollable even by the people meant to prevent it to occur (the government),it is considered as a misdeed notwithstanding, it is something that humankind needs.
Alex's performance as the villain character in clockwork orange was key, he succeeded to convey that emotion of someone who is violent and charismatic at the same time, letting us loving him and hating him simultaneously throughout the movie.
the scene where Alex and his fellows are seen raping a woman in front her husband's eyes was so fascinating that made us in a way empathizing our regards at Alex instead of the ''Handicap'' husband!!!! the ''singing in the rain scene ''where Alex is seen doing his violence and raping acts artistically was one hell of a scene, as a matter of fact the performance given by the old man in the scene where he recognized Alex was absolutely tremendous, the sickness and morbidness that the old handicap man showed were really vivid and realistic.
The classical music used by Kubrick extraordinarily matched with the scenes that were meant to catch our attention, we can notice that once the classical music is on, the tempo of the film is getting slower, except the scene where Alex was with the two girls in his room where the tempo of the music was more intense and rapid.
The movie tries to tell us in a way that violence is something that human being can't ignore and it's somehow something that come from our nature, in another way as it is unveiled in the last scene it is something that finally we've got to accept it and make it one of those eternal yet useful misdeeds needed to let life goes on.
Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece is certainly about more than I've mentioned above, I highly recommend it for those who haven't watched it yet.
To Kill a Mockingbird
(1962)
One of the best ''BLACK AND WHITE'' movies of all time
11 January 2010
To Kill a Mockingbird is a wonderful movie, which is based on Harper's Lee novel and it is mainly about ''racial differences" through the innocence eyes of Atticus's children ''Scout and Jem''.
The film is depicted in a simple way which makes it even more interesting in a sense where the problem is showed in a so implicit way.
The story occurs in the 1930 in old Maycomb town, ''Scout'' curious and inspirational daughter of the loyal and humble father ''Atticus'', the latter in charge of the defense of the black man Tom Robinson wrongly accused of raping Ewell's white woman.
Atticus Finch famous lawyer of the county had to face the curiosity of his children most importantly ''Scout'', she was disturbed by what was happening and it was depicted in a naive way to show us how stupid the problem was, a problem which come from a grey nothingness that is unacceptable and understandable by the children minds and as it is better explained in the novel ''there is something in our world that makes men lose their heads''.
Atticus '' Gregory Peck'' amazingly played the role of the lawyer, a white lawyer who's defending a black man against prejudice during an epoch when the black people suffered an incomprehensible discrimination, The court room scene where Atticus is seen so keen to defend and show that ''Tom Robinson'' is not guilty through a meaningful speech in which he pointed out the evidences.
Robert Mulligan did a good job to convert the so famous novel into a wonderful movie even though the novel still has some more interesting discussions and actions but still the movie reflected that climate and image the county was in at that time.
All in all, the movie panned out to convey to the audience the racial problems that occurred at that time and making it one of the best ''BLACK AND WHITE'' movies of all time.
Highly Recommended!!
The film is depicted in a simple way which makes it even more interesting in a sense where the problem is showed in a so implicit way.
The story occurs in the 1930 in old Maycomb town, ''Scout'' curious and inspirational daughter of the loyal and humble father ''Atticus'', the latter in charge of the defense of the black man Tom Robinson wrongly accused of raping Ewell's white woman.
Atticus Finch famous lawyer of the county had to face the curiosity of his children most importantly ''Scout'', she was disturbed by what was happening and it was depicted in a naive way to show us how stupid the problem was, a problem which come from a grey nothingness that is unacceptable and understandable by the children minds and as it is better explained in the novel ''there is something in our world that makes men lose their heads''.
Atticus '' Gregory Peck'' amazingly played the role of the lawyer, a white lawyer who's defending a black man against prejudice during an epoch when the black people suffered an incomprehensible discrimination, The court room scene where Atticus is seen so keen to defend and show that ''Tom Robinson'' is not guilty through a meaningful speech in which he pointed out the evidences.
Robert Mulligan did a good job to convert the so famous novel into a wonderful movie even though the novel still has some more interesting discussions and actions but still the movie reflected that climate and image the county was in at that time.
All in all, the movie panned out to convey to the audience the racial problems that occurred at that time and making it one of the best ''BLACK AND WHITE'' movies of all time.
Highly Recommended!!
Pulp Fiction
(1994)
A Tour De force ''Modern-Classic'' Movie !!
27 December 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Pulp fiction is certainly one of those films that will always be remembered for their emotional impact that they bring on while you watching them, Quentin Tarantino's master piece came to reveal and put on a high stage one of the world best film directors.
What impressed me about Tarantino's gem was its plot, actually the plot provoked many critics, it intrigues everyone that watched the movie, but I would say the most important part in the plot was the characters as Samuel L.Jackson mentioned at the beginning of the film '' Come on, let's get in character'' all the characters involved in the movie were vivid and each one with his or her specific added values.
The plot can be divided into three different stories, as long as the film is progressing they getting close to each other, as it is unveiled in the last coffee shop scene. Well it will take me more than that to describe the contribution of each character, but to sum it all up Characters were master key to put the film into a maverick joy.
The music played an important role starting from the first scene with ''dick dale's pulp fiction Soundtrack'' illustrating a perfect start, and coming to one of the most entertaining scene when Vincent and Mia came on the stage to perform a dance that astonishingly matches with ''Chuck Burry's song- C'est la vie'', there are various of good music throughout the film.
Pulp fiction was purely entertaining from the beginning to its last seconds, and it's a film that you have to watch multiple times, each time it will keep dazzling you. That's what an Entertaining movie should look like!! Highly recommended!!!
What impressed me about Tarantino's gem was its plot, actually the plot provoked many critics, it intrigues everyone that watched the movie, but I would say the most important part in the plot was the characters as Samuel L.Jackson mentioned at the beginning of the film '' Come on, let's get in character'' all the characters involved in the movie were vivid and each one with his or her specific added values.
The plot can be divided into three different stories, as long as the film is progressing they getting close to each other, as it is unveiled in the last coffee shop scene. Well it will take me more than that to describe the contribution of each character, but to sum it all up Characters were master key to put the film into a maverick joy.
The music played an important role starting from the first scene with ''dick dale's pulp fiction Soundtrack'' illustrating a perfect start, and coming to one of the most entertaining scene when Vincent and Mia came on the stage to perform a dance that astonishingly matches with ''Chuck Burry's song- C'est la vie'', there are various of good music throughout the film.
Pulp fiction was purely entertaining from the beginning to its last seconds, and it's a film that you have to watch multiple times, each time it will keep dazzling you. That's what an Entertaining movie should look like!! Highly recommended!!!
2001: A Space Odyssey
(1968)
The Depiction of Existentialism
13 December 2009
Warning: Spoilers
2001: A Space Odyssey is more than a film; unfortunately nowadays films are more and more depicted as an entertainment medium which automatically drives the audience to a flat understanding of what really movies are meant to be. Well Stanley Kubrick's gem came to confirm one of his famous quotes '' If it can be written, or thought, it can be filmed''. The film provokes the subconscious part of the ''watcher'' through a mysterious and obscure gigantic space. Millions of years ago before humankind existed Kubrick choose to personify that mystery in The Monolith scene to express the dawn of man, the way the monolith behaved, and try to communicate could be interpreted as an ''attempt to communication '', as the monolith disappears once the magical alignment appeared and foretells us the beginning of Man's development. The journey through space started with a magnificent soundtrack completely opposite of the one in first chapter which extraordinary matches with the description or the promenade that Stanley Kubrick made us experience through the so wonderful space, to show us one of the best quality of this movie which is the quality of the image and visual effect (knowing that this film was realized in 1968) which personally wowed me. In this part it shows us the cerebral human being in the pinnacle of the technology development and also introduce us to one of the most important actor or character I would say ''Who is'' HALL 900 plays a big role in the depiction of the technology versus Human being , a computer capable of interacting emotionally and intellectually as humans. The dramatic scene in where hall doesn't want to open the pod bay doors to Bowman, Stanley Kubrick showed us how humankind can be victim of its own tools. The film is much more known for its mysterious end because the plot isn't something limited, let us remember you that this film isn't about a definite subject and it becomes what you see in it while you are watching it and that's make the movie even beautiful and special at the same time. Stanley Kubrick delivered a masterpiece using two mean NATURAL dimensions: Vision (image), Music (phonetic, sound) to let us see and listen as we are experiencing the discovery of the Orphic existence of the universe. Highly Recommended!
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