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jdm2030
Reviews
Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1966)
This movie is Insane
There's a lot reviews out there - without summing up the obviousness of this movie's awesomeness I just felt compelled to add that i've seen hundreds of westerns let alone thousands of movies and yet I continue to watch this movie over and over - there is so much magic in this movie's score and its corresponding leitmotifs. At times the dialogue may seem funny and the movie seems slow but the weird thing about this movie vs. other movies (where this would be boring) this music plays a key element and the cinematography is so distinct that you can easily overlook it.
As the film buffs/majors on this site will tell you, the frame of the camera shot is what dictates who can see who, which is amazing in that people suddenly pop into view with some badass line or two... Again, the score is not to be underestimated. Alongside the cinematography, you get lost in this quest for $200k of gold...
The ridiculous scenes re: cinematography and music make this so different & memorable from other westerns that are classics too (wild bunch, OK Corral, Winchester, etc) - the foreigness is apparent and adds to its allure. This is a great movie! I can't stop playing the parts i love in it!!!!
Stations of the Elevated (1981)
phantasmagorical jazzy timeless piece
This is not a movie - there is no narrative. It is the essence of what makes new york new york - the movement, the metal, the concrete, the gritty. It is an expression of the idea that the city is never at one time motionless, that all people and things are moving, living, and ticking like gears. The jazz music is a reminder of the city's irregular rhythm, it's unique pulse. Like a nature film, this documentary focuses on slithering trains through a concrete jungle, using angles a kin to nat geo cameramen in the bush. You sit, watching the city go by, wondering if it all there is some meaning to the lifecycle within the city's ever-moving populous
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Epic masterpiece of a man struggling with his identity
The movie begins with the overture playing over a black screen. In reality, it is an important start to the movie- we are faced with a wavy, dreamy piece full of different undertones that relate specifically to the main character of Lawrence, alluding to the different forces in his mind and allowing the viewer to imagine, if not dream, of expectations of things to come. We have a man who grapples with his identity: he has a deep interest in the desert and in the beginning tries hard to fit in with a culture and peoples he feels are his own. He has an illusion of what he would like to be, an idea already mapped out in his mind, of what the arab peoples are, and how he, too, can hopefully become one, assimilate himself where he feels at home. The rigid constructs, however, of this illusion begin to fall apart as he fails to understand or admit to certain aspects of the culture he cannot deal or cope with: constant violence, the ever-present idea of death, and the lack of the peoples to come together and progress as a nation. He slowly begins to change, as little by little he becomes frustrated with the way things are, a way completely different than what he would like to be, a way that in the end lead him to take a pessimistic view on life, a hateful anger that he turns to the world because things have failed to go the way he chooses. The open desert, the beautiful landscapes, are all the setting for the freedom to do what one dreams to do- so long as he believes he can do it. But as he soon learns, there are things that he cannot change, and his character, his own sense of self, deteriorates.
He wishes at one point in the movie to be "ordinary". This comes about from his inability to cope with not being able to have things the way he wants them to. Ordinary people are happy because they accept the way things are, they are subservient to tradition. Lawrence is a man who believes nothing is written- he believes a man can do anything so long as he puts his mind to the task. The movie is a constant struggle between realizing things are not always as one would like them to be, his innermost desire to be something that doesn't exist- his idea of an "arab", is only an illusion he has created. He is an Englishman, who had wanted to be what he thought of in his mind of a man of the desert, and learns the hard way that it is not all beautiful camel rides and the people do not have the same ideas for progress as he does. After realizing he is an alien in what he felt was his home, he begins to undergo serious repercussions and isolates himself from the world, from his friends, and most importantly from himself. He treads on with the conviction that maybe things will change, but realizes every time that they will not, it is beyond his control, so he must leave.
Everyone has an idea of what they would like themselves to be, or an idea of how they imagine things to turn out, but as always, one can only write his own terms so far- we must yield to forces beyond our control. Amazing film. Amazing cinematography. Amazing acting. Amazing character developments. Watch it in one sitting, on a large screen.
Straw Dogs (1971)
Either face the consequences or it could get worse
Straw Dogs was an amazing film. The cinematography, for once, plays a crucial role in alluding to the feelings of the characters. At times, one is immersed in the calm landscape alluding to the introverted nature of the protagonist (Hoffman), while at other times, odd and acute angles intersect with tense scenes. At times, Peckinpah frames the scene in a brilliant manner referring to the medium of film, so not only is it artistic, but a very modern film.
The violence, the tension, and distress are felt throughout the film, one cannot help but feel what Hoffman feels: ignored anger and the inability to confront the issues at hand. The changing camera angles and the montage effects further create within one the effect of the fear of confrontation. The tension needs to be resolved, and because of this one cannot help but keep one's eyes glued to the screen! The tension builds to the point where violence is inevitable and the psyche breaks, bringing about a storm of violence purging the bottled feelings of tension and distress that escalate as the film progresses. Not until the end does one feel the calm after the storm, after the blood has been shed, after the feelings of anger and carnal hatred have been purged.
Overall an amazing film and superb direction. Not to be missed.
What the #$*! Do We (K)now!? (2004)
You probably like this movie because you are unhappy with your life
Let's face it, you probably like this movie because you are unhappy with your life. The movie makes you believe you can change things for yourself, become a more successful person influencing those around you and getting what you want out of life. Your failures and your shortcomings are constantly in your mind, you feel you have not given life your all, like you could have done more, this movie makes you believe you can change things for yourself, succeed, attain your goals.
Unfortunately the world is a dog eat dog world. If you contain your environment to that of your mind, the guiding principles and life-changing philosophy this movie totes will not make you truly happy. You are not going to change things. If you want to be happy in your mind, you might as well become a drug user, it is a much more "happy" state of consciousness and achieves the same result.