Panos Cosmatos - Mandy - 2018
Second time, giving it another chance. Still find the film quite problematic but it has some good stuff (like the chainsaw fight).
Had seen this film when it came out and really loved it, was looking forward to this second viewing and the film holds up quite well. Great film if you are a Michael Caine fetishist. Living in a shitty part of Brooklyn I can relate to some of the stuff here.
John McTiernan - Die Hard - 1988
Over and over have I watched this film. An area of extreme interest is the frames I have placed here in the above area which is just classic visual filmmaking. Going through it slow and watching the pacing and its relation to the edits, to the movements within the frame, and the general atmosphere is really rewarding. What might seem a quotidian action movie reveals much virtuosic skill (editing, direction, acting, photography) when watched not only multiple times but on the modern day equivalent of a steenbeck; meaning pausing the film all over the place, rewinding, rewinding and pausing again and pushing to the next frame, paying close attention to sound alone, sound as how it relates to all other elements of the film and also to how you as a spectator are involved in just taking it all in. All theses pleasures make film worth watching over and over. In addition; Alan Rickman plays probably one of the top 5 heavies in a film, aka Bill Clay. One great film!
Sam Raimi - A Simple Plan - 1998
A pleasant rewatch of this great nineties classic with Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, and Brent Briscoe (plays a who the hell is this actor level detective in Twin Peaks season three, Mulholland Drive and The Dark Knight Rises) as a ruinous trio of drunkards, idiots and hypocrites. Brigit Fonda traverses even beyond these dimwit's level and explores the true meaning of amoralism as she goes from a goody two shoes (the idea of giving the money back) to a conniving good for nothing in the stretch of an hour. I must be honest, this viewer loves watching this evocative transition! There are so many wonderfully subtle moments throughout the film as well, like a simple camera movement in the barber shop as Paxton interacts with Sheriff Carl Jenkins (played by Chelcie Ross) from Paxton close-up to window with fox and Ross with a lovely bit of focus pulling. Somehow shocking to watch in its subtly.
No comments:
Post a Comment