Children Of Men (2006)

USA/United Kingdom
directed by: Alfonso Cuarón
written by: Alfonso Cuarón, David Arata, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Timothy J. Sexton + P. D. James (book)
starring: Clive Owen, Clare-Hope Ashitey, Pam Ferris, Charlie Hunnam
comment: 30th September, 2017

I will believe that all of "Children of men" is true and actually happened until I bump into an alive and undamaged Clive Owen somewhere. This film is eerily perfect in every way, and also odly prophetical. ♥♥♥

-"Ok, the Human Project gives this great, big dinner for all the scientists and sages in the world. They're tossing around theories about the ultimate mystery: why are all the women infertile? Why can't we make babies anymore? So, some say it's genetic experiments, gamma rays, pollution, same ol', same ol'. So, anyway, in the corner, this Englishman's sitting, he hasn't said a word, he's just tuckin' in his dinner. So, they decide to ask him, they say, "Well, why do you think we can't make babies anymore?" And he looks up at 'em, he's chewin' on this great big wing and he says "I haven't the faintest idea," he said, "but this stork is quite tasty isn't he?"

Poltergeist (1982)

USA
directed by: Tobe Hooper
written by: Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais, Mark Victor
starring: Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Heather O'Rourke
seen: 28th September, 2017

I don't know if it's because I watched "Poltergeist" entirely out of its cultural context, but it seem to me  that only a few things really work in this film. It's basically just a copy of "The Exorcist", copied without that sense of "something" that made "The Exorcist" extraordinary, and a lot more B-movie-like. Half the dialogue feels like unintentional comedy and about a third of the material could be cut entirely, and it would only improve things. Some of those cult shots are cool, but given the film is two hours long (!) there is not quite enough of them. (My favourite part - the excavator working on a pool digging up the box with a burried bird.) The strike of me not liking majority of Spielberg's creations continues.

Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)

Italy/USA
directed by: Sergio Leone
written by: Sergio Donati, Sergio Leone, Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci
starring: Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards
comment: 21st September, 2017

How much of a blasphemy would it be on my side to state that I would be much happier if the character of Claudia Cardinale disappeared from the film along with most of the story connected to her? Probably a lot. It would also indicate my secret worry that I actually don't understand at all what is this film trying to communicate and what's it all about. I understand the Harmonica plot line but not so much the rest, and the Harmonica story could have easily been told in half the final run-time. There is a couple of great scenes in there somewhere (my favourite being the opening McBain farm quail shooting and then of course the fateful memory), but as a whole the film leaves me quite unimpressed.

Leone's style brilliantly peaks in "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". In "The West", however, my eyes see slow and undeniable decay into opulent autotelism. The excess of references to other films and predilection for unsubstantial "coolnes" of characters brings futility to places where I would normally wonder about the hardship of human destiny or what is the best temperature to enjoy revenge. Here I'm wandering if I'd missed something by taking a quick nap and if I'm by any chance getting morally disturbed by the film's romanticising of all those idealised troubles of the given time period.

And here we get to the part that breaks my heart the most: I have to express critical and almost negative feelings towards Morricone's music score. One or two compositions with the harmonica are utterly phenomenal, but none of the others speaks to me that much and they often tend to be too sentimental for my liking of for the story's brutal nature. And the fact that each of the main characters basically has their own theme song that plays every time they turn up almost seems like a parody of itself.

I gave this film a few occasions to prove itself but after several years I still think the same things that came to my mind after the first viewing. Hence I hereby declase this case closed and move on towards torturing my mind with other films, amen.

Manchester By The Sea (2016)

USA
written and directed by: Kenneth Lonergan
starring: Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges, Kyle Chandler
seen: 19th September, 2017

-"Who you gonna shoot? You or me?"

As a person with my own trauma from the past I very much appreciate a story about a death of a parent that exclusively avoids the whole set of clichés and stupid patterns that are usually used in american films like this. I found the character of Patrick both extraordinarily written and acted, and if I were to say that somebody deserved and Oscar for this film, I would definitely point out Lucas Hedges. It is so refreshing to see a film teenager behave sensibly, distinctively and believably and process his emotions internally and not by "rebellious" shouting at others.

Casey Affleck has a place in my heart ever since "The Assassination Of Jesse James" and once again I am forced to admire his ability to express a wide spectrum of emotions without visibly doing anything. Sadly, my biggest problem with this film is tied to his character, and that is the most inappropriate visualisation of the central flashback. The film stays remarkably civil (given the themes it touches) before and after, but the cuts from a stationary Affleck into the tragic past are almost gutless emotional blackmail accompanied by conspicuous music. It sticks out from the overall stylistic concept, and not in a good way. It also signals that authors favour the past rather than the present (and I would wanted it the other way round) and prefer Affleck's relationship with his wife over his connection with his nephew (and I would wanted it the other way round).

On the other hand, I was very happy to see a reference to my favourite Freudian dream about the burning child, although it also kind of doesn't belong into a realistic story. In conclusion, "Manchester" seems to me like a properly hand-crafted product with some qualities, but after a while of thinking and feeling it doesn't contain anything that would make me want to see it again, think back to it in certain situations or admire it as a whole.

Spotlight (2015)

USA/Canada
directed by: Tom McCarthy
written by: Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer
starring: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Brian D’Arcy James, Stanley Tucci
seen: 12th September, 2017

"If the church had one neck, I would wring it." - Primordial, The Seed of Tyrants

Hell Or High Water (2016)

USA
directed by: David Mackenzie
written by: Taylor Sheridan
starring: Jeff Bridges, Ben Foster, Chris Pine, Gil Birmingham
seen: 6th September, 2017

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis are at it again and I love them. That's my foreword to this review.

"Hell Or High Water" is one of those films where every other and maybe simply just every shot looks like all the people in it are in fact posing for a poster, but since it's a clever meditative modern western about brother and brother, individuals and ancestors, inhabitants and land, I'm not only forgiving such behavior, I'm practically encouraging it and consider it a positive thing.

It's also been some time since I enjoyed some film's use of dialogue this much. It's not used to explain the plot like in most films these days, the subject matter is not the exact point, but it's still important that it was said. It gives vital information on the four lead men's characters, builds up the viewers sympathies for both duos and also creates subconscious fear of their inevitable confrontation. The film gives every emotion enough time to fully show its effect. It builds suspense slowly and gradually, without being unbearably long or dull. And it's still available to subvert expectations and surprise with its development.

I was already in love with Ben Foster, Gil Birmingham and Jeff Bridges (in that order) and to my astonishment I'm probably going to include Chris Pine in that list from now on. And I'm also in love with the fact that this film's visual key is both absolutely civil and ultimately genre-like.

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

USA
directed by: F. Gary Gray
written by: Andrea Berloff, Jonathan Herman
starring: Jason Mitchell, Corey Hawkins, O'Shea Jackson Jr.
seen: 4th September, 2017

Lets say I wouldn't mind that the film basicaly presents a fictional version of the band if it was honest in its message and stern in its film (art) erudice. And that it's not.

The prologue was extremely intriguing, but the film slowly stops instiling confidence and starts disintegrating from within. The film rolls in a weird kind of schizophrenia and a whole bunch of its elements is affected by this. My biggest issue with this is that the film ultimately doesn't know which (or whose) story it wants to tell. Because sometimes (basically in the first half) it looks like an interesting and necessary social-political contribution to the debate that prevails in U.S. to this day and is getting even hotter. I was the happiest for the boys and for the movie when they were doing their music and fighting for their right to do it.

However, this aspect burns out rather quickly and what remains is the most basic of biopics, including all the usual atributes: The manipulation of history and leaving out important people. Some portrayed people's involvement with the production and the subsequent suspicious selection of the events shown (the death of Dre's brother doesn't have much significance to the overall story but it gets prominent space, whereas his mistreatment of girlfriends is "a path the film-makers chose not to follow") . Mixing reverent respect for a fallen friend with deliberate changes to his character to better suit their chosen narrative, weakening and belittling him in the process.

And it's the character of Eazy-E that sets the tempo to this whole creation, he is the first one to be introduced and it's his life's arc that supplements the dramatic arc of the film. (And Jason Mitchell gives by far the best performance of the lot. When he watches the bilboards I'm so moved by his acting that I'm also crying, but the real Eazy-E was more "fuck you" than the shedding tears type, so how am I supposed to feel about that?) And next to his character's journey are these oddly crystal clear promos for Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, culminating in the epilogue and in the videos they chose to include about themselves - it's almost a bit ridiculous.

There is not too much to say about film craft, because the film is not trying to find and invent itself formally and stays entirely in the lines of the convention and of the usual. The end falls apart becacuse it's no longer about music and the trio is separated from each other. The film looses its starting ground and the pace stops almost dead. I've only seen the theatrical cut but I cannot imagine how could twenty more minutes sort this mess out, I feel it can only drag more and more, but who knows. The creators had the chance to at least work with the fact that the slowing and breaking of the story is mirroring the bands break-up or the loosening of their relationship, but it seems to me they don't consider the possibilty to work intentionally with the formal side of film-making. And it's the absolute lack of self-reflection and critical distance from the subject that makes the film popular as a product of the entertainment industry and will never allow it to break through in the art circles.