Blindness is an emotional and simple story of a disease that causes immediate blindness that spreads resulting in the government quarantining all who have come into contact with the virus and who have been infected. With this, there are multiple wards in the quarantine, and one woman, Julianne Moore can see. The story goes on with emotional waves and stunning visuals with fully believable performances from the cast (with some exceptions from Mark Ruffalo) as we see them work together in adapting to a new world and fight against the people that have become corrupt and use gun power to stint the others' survival for the sake of greed. Meirelles has done incredible work over the past few years. His films have a grand amount of humanity, truth, vision, and heart. With Blindness, none of this has changed. The script isn't too bad either, though it could have been a bit sharper and a little wiser. Use excerpts from the book, silly. The cast is fantastic. Julianne Moore and the rest of the female cast will bring tears to your eyes like a mournful Greek chorus of sorts. Brilliant work from the males as well. Gael Garcia Bernal plays a pretty great bad guy in the film. As does his accomplice, though I can't remember his name. There are quite a few disturbing scenes in the film, none of which I will spoil for you. But like the masters before him, Meirelles executes these scenes with a perspective that is humane both to the art form, the actors, and to the audience members. The best shocks are never seen. Somebody mentioned in another post that they didn't like the voice of the man with the eye patch. I just wanted to recognize the fact that the man who wrote that post is most likely incompetent and shallow. Danny Glover is actually pretty good. But what does Danny Glover do but play Danny Glover. No problems with that. All in all, see the film. There are chuckles, tears, jumps, and more. And maybe even a few lessons you could learn. The film has so much morality in it you may leave the theatre with a different perspective on things. I know I did.
Reviews
9 Reviews
Blood Diamond
(2006)
Blood Diamond, not the best it could be
23 December 2006
Personally, the way the people of this time and place were represented was rather one-sided, and didn't have any heart whatsoever. The heart lay in the main characters, and was well-written in that respect. It's just the people of the land, especially the children, that seemed completely and irreverently heartless. Even if these children were supposed killing machines, there's no way that they couldn't have felt some sort of guilt. Yes, this is shown in one instance, when a child kills a man blindfolded for the first time, as part of a training program for infantile foot soldiers. But, nonetheless, this aspect should have been shown in more than one instance for the good of balancing out the characters. In Shakespeare, every character, even the utilities, have some sort of 3rd dimension. But to make the children of the film completely heartless seems rather careless.
Otherwise, I thought that the writing served some of its purpose. It's borderline propaghanda, but remains entirely entertaining the whole way through. I only fell asleep because I was extremely comfortable and had a rather long and arduous schedule that day.
The acting was top notch in every respect, especially the stars of the film. Leonardo Di Caprio doesn't have so much of a stretch, seemingly, in the suit of his character. BUT!, this is not what I mean. Leo's character actually had a sarcastic depth not seen in Jack from Titanic or his character in The Departed. His strengths show brilliantly in the film, and create a glowing effect throughout the film. You can't get enough of him. Djimon Hounsou's raw performance is as outstanding as Leo's, and typically shines in all of his works, even in The Island he is entirely entrancing. Jennifer Connelly is above her standard performances, and satisfyingly delivers. The utility characters, though some are carelessly written, are still well acted, and make great use of the text they are given.
The cinematography was completely standard. No artistic eye shows up in this film at all. It's rather disheartening to think that Zwick didn't take advantage of the boundaries outside of an action film's cinematographic stylings. There are times throughout the film where a beautiful frame may be shown of a particular instance, and the moment is not taken advantage of. I was rather disappointed in this department.
And in these negative respects, I'm disappointed in Zwick as well. His direction of the images and the story being told could have been far more commanding and innovative. The story was absolutely fantastic, tight, intricate, and well furbished. The substance could have been boosted tremendously, and as the director of the film, if Zwick felt this, he could have solved the problem by either meeting with the screenwriter or sending the script to a decent script doctor, like David Mamet (not to put him secondhand to his stellar play and screen writing careers). Zwick's commitment to the project didn't reach its full potential in my opinion.
In conclusion, Blood Diamond delivers a fun-to-watch action flick with a fantastic cast, great performances, and a great story. Everything else can be seen in your standard horror movie or adventure picture, such as Laura Croft: Tomb Raider, or something of the like.
Otherwise, I thought that the writing served some of its purpose. It's borderline propaghanda, but remains entirely entertaining the whole way through. I only fell asleep because I was extremely comfortable and had a rather long and arduous schedule that day.
The acting was top notch in every respect, especially the stars of the film. Leonardo Di Caprio doesn't have so much of a stretch, seemingly, in the suit of his character. BUT!, this is not what I mean. Leo's character actually had a sarcastic depth not seen in Jack from Titanic or his character in The Departed. His strengths show brilliantly in the film, and create a glowing effect throughout the film. You can't get enough of him. Djimon Hounsou's raw performance is as outstanding as Leo's, and typically shines in all of his works, even in The Island he is entirely entrancing. Jennifer Connelly is above her standard performances, and satisfyingly delivers. The utility characters, though some are carelessly written, are still well acted, and make great use of the text they are given.
The cinematography was completely standard. No artistic eye shows up in this film at all. It's rather disheartening to think that Zwick didn't take advantage of the boundaries outside of an action film's cinematographic stylings. There are times throughout the film where a beautiful frame may be shown of a particular instance, and the moment is not taken advantage of. I was rather disappointed in this department.
And in these negative respects, I'm disappointed in Zwick as well. His direction of the images and the story being told could have been far more commanding and innovative. The story was absolutely fantastic, tight, intricate, and well furbished. The substance could have been boosted tremendously, and as the director of the film, if Zwick felt this, he could have solved the problem by either meeting with the screenwriter or sending the script to a decent script doctor, like David Mamet (not to put him secondhand to his stellar play and screen writing careers). Zwick's commitment to the project didn't reach its full potential in my opinion.
In conclusion, Blood Diamond delivers a fun-to-watch action flick with a fantastic cast, great performances, and a great story. Everything else can be seen in your standard horror movie or adventure picture, such as Laura Croft: Tomb Raider, or something of the like.
The Big Shave
(1967)
Scorsese's Greatest besides Raging Bull'
3 August 2006
This short film is one of the highest caliber, and a model of what short films and feature films should be.
A man starts shaving. He shaves again. He cuts himself. He continues to. Ends in bloodshed. The end.
A good simple story, treated with artistic merit. A complicated story line is what many feel makes a good film nowadays. Stories like Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest are a sublime example of carelessness in the audience's reaction, and the treatment of the medium. So many subplots, special effects, and big sets don't mean squat in the eyes of a visionary filmmaker. A good simple story that allows a lot of room for creative choices, and above all, character, is what a film should be.
I said that this film is his best besides Raging Bull because Raging Bull is of the same blood as this film. Simple story line: The rise and fall of Jake LaMotta. Raging Bull was a character piece, mysterious, henceforth, completely gripping. This is what a masterpiece looks like. The most important memorable parts of the film, from the jail cell scene to the matches, everything was propelling the change of Jake's character, superbly acted by Bob De Niro.
With the Big Shave, a simple act of daily hygiene is turned into a gory blood fest, all in a single moment, and to a tune that's ironically life-like. Whenever I'm in a fight with someone, I don't normally hear Bach playing, I hear Chopin. I don't hear depressing blues, I hear upbeat jazz! So much can be said of the five minutes of SOUL that is supplied by Scorsese.
BRAVO. 11 stars out of 5!
A man starts shaving. He shaves again. He cuts himself. He continues to. Ends in bloodshed. The end.
A good simple story, treated with artistic merit. A complicated story line is what many feel makes a good film nowadays. Stories like Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest are a sublime example of carelessness in the audience's reaction, and the treatment of the medium. So many subplots, special effects, and big sets don't mean squat in the eyes of a visionary filmmaker. A good simple story that allows a lot of room for creative choices, and above all, character, is what a film should be.
I said that this film is his best besides Raging Bull because Raging Bull is of the same blood as this film. Simple story line: The rise and fall of Jake LaMotta. Raging Bull was a character piece, mysterious, henceforth, completely gripping. This is what a masterpiece looks like. The most important memorable parts of the film, from the jail cell scene to the matches, everything was propelling the change of Jake's character, superbly acted by Bob De Niro.
With the Big Shave, a simple act of daily hygiene is turned into a gory blood fest, all in a single moment, and to a tune that's ironically life-like. Whenever I'm in a fight with someone, I don't normally hear Bach playing, I hear Chopin. I don't hear depressing blues, I hear upbeat jazz! So much can be said of the five minutes of SOUL that is supplied by Scorsese.
BRAVO. 11 stars out of 5!
Finally, The Medium Itself Unleashes the TRUTH
1 August 2006
Warning: Spoilers
No Spoilers on the Endings, ONLY the PLOT.
When I say the truth, I mean that to a certain extent, not extending towards all production companies, but this, from what I hear, is a common state of mind in LA: That films tend to be more about the MONEY than they are about the actual art of film.
In this episode of Entourage, three big things happen. Johnny Drama goes out for his first job in a long time, a pilot for an Ed Burns show. Ari is getting ready to set up shop, but runs into trouble when he discovers that Terrence knows about Ari opening up a new and bigger agency. But the biggest message in the whole episode, and one of the biggest messages that has been shown in this series, is the contrast between "money films" and "art films," and how the movie execs of Los Angeles treat the two.
Vince is notified of the grand news that Queens Boulevard is opening on a wide release to over 1200 screens, as opposed to the 6 that it started from. When Vince calls up Walsh to celebrate the good news, Walsh is depressed as hell about it, because they ended up taking the gorgeous black and white soul of the film, the raw spirit of it, and "Willy Wonkafied" it, coloring every frame. This deeply depresses Vince and Eric, and brings them to a decision of whether or not to sign the injunction that Walsh has prepared, to keep the film from the wide release.
From the dawn of cinema history, the art film has been treated as an art form, a pristine culmination of literature, photography, music, and supremely, storytelling. But, as films grew in popularity and use, greedy bastards world wide began to realize its material worth, only to sell it out as something that will make nothing but money, and to only give people what they want to see, hence better ticket sales. From the moment these thoughts began to brew in the minds of such scumbags, the art of film has been tainted with money and greed, ever corrupted, with only a portion of the film loving community to be able to rise up and bring up what it once was, a storytelling medium, no matter what the story was. It just so happened that the most successful directors tell interesting stories that people do want to see, and are easily passable through censors. The problem with film-making is that people find it harder to show films that people "don't want to see". That's like holding a painter's true vision back, simply because it's too gory, or is "unviewable".
This is not what art is about. It's about expression. And when money taints these feelings expressed through celluloid, an episode like this, may result with such a message.
GOD BLESS ENTOURAGE FOR BRINGING IT OUT.
When I say the truth, I mean that to a certain extent, not extending towards all production companies, but this, from what I hear, is a common state of mind in LA: That films tend to be more about the MONEY than they are about the actual art of film.
In this episode of Entourage, three big things happen. Johnny Drama goes out for his first job in a long time, a pilot for an Ed Burns show. Ari is getting ready to set up shop, but runs into trouble when he discovers that Terrence knows about Ari opening up a new and bigger agency. But the biggest message in the whole episode, and one of the biggest messages that has been shown in this series, is the contrast between "money films" and "art films," and how the movie execs of Los Angeles treat the two.
Vince is notified of the grand news that Queens Boulevard is opening on a wide release to over 1200 screens, as opposed to the 6 that it started from. When Vince calls up Walsh to celebrate the good news, Walsh is depressed as hell about it, because they ended up taking the gorgeous black and white soul of the film, the raw spirit of it, and "Willy Wonkafied" it, coloring every frame. This deeply depresses Vince and Eric, and brings them to a decision of whether or not to sign the injunction that Walsh has prepared, to keep the film from the wide release.
From the dawn of cinema history, the art film has been treated as an art form, a pristine culmination of literature, photography, music, and supremely, storytelling. But, as films grew in popularity and use, greedy bastards world wide began to realize its material worth, only to sell it out as something that will make nothing but money, and to only give people what they want to see, hence better ticket sales. From the moment these thoughts began to brew in the minds of such scumbags, the art of film has been tainted with money and greed, ever corrupted, with only a portion of the film loving community to be able to rise up and bring up what it once was, a storytelling medium, no matter what the story was. It just so happened that the most successful directors tell interesting stories that people do want to see, and are easily passable through censors. The problem with film-making is that people find it harder to show films that people "don't want to see". That's like holding a painter's true vision back, simply because it's too gory, or is "unviewable".
This is not what art is about. It's about expression. And when money taints these feelings expressed through celluloid, an episode like this, may result with such a message.
GOD BLESS ENTOURAGE FOR BRINGING IT OUT.
Awesome episode, Comedic, with a great finishing twist
5 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I'm an avid watcher of this show, and for a good reason: It's nothing short of astoundingly entertaining.
This episode is the big decider for his Vince's next gig after Aquaman, the number one film in America, and a total hit. When Ari presents all of the jobs to Vince that he is offered including films by Darren Aronofsky and David O Russell, the only one that he doesn't (literally) throw into a trash can is the only script that isn't present, but is hopefully going to be. Vince wanted to play Pablo Escobar, and now he has the chance, since he is given a potential offer from Phil Rubenstein, a writer and producer on Shrek.
When Vince and his crew go to Phil's house to talk about the project, and convince him to do it, Dom sways him with a jail story of his to show Vince is the perfect guy to play the role. This convinces Phil to write the script.
But after that night, Phil has gone ape, because somebody stole his Shrek doll, an original, and to him, represented his turning point in his career. All eyes have turned to the only ex-con in their lives, and in that house that night, for an answer.
To say anymore would spoil the ending, so enough said. But the ending of the episode is a magnificent twist, juiced with the harsh reality of the business. Grenier is effortlessly pitch perfect in his portrayal of Vince, as is everyone else in Vince's crew. The guy who plays Dom is effortless as well, and is a great stereotype from a Scorsese gang flick , not that that's a bad thing. All the better! I'm speechless when it comes to this show. Lean back and enjoy!
This episode is the big decider for his Vince's next gig after Aquaman, the number one film in America, and a total hit. When Ari presents all of the jobs to Vince that he is offered including films by Darren Aronofsky and David O Russell, the only one that he doesn't (literally) throw into a trash can is the only script that isn't present, but is hopefully going to be. Vince wanted to play Pablo Escobar, and now he has the chance, since he is given a potential offer from Phil Rubenstein, a writer and producer on Shrek.
When Vince and his crew go to Phil's house to talk about the project, and convince him to do it, Dom sways him with a jail story of his to show Vince is the perfect guy to play the role. This convinces Phil to write the script.
But after that night, Phil has gone ape, because somebody stole his Shrek doll, an original, and to him, represented his turning point in his career. All eyes have turned to the only ex-con in their lives, and in that house that night, for an answer.
To say anymore would spoil the ending, so enough said. But the ending of the episode is a magnificent twist, juiced with the harsh reality of the business. Grenier is effortlessly pitch perfect in his portrayal of Vince, as is everyone else in Vince's crew. The guy who plays Dom is effortless as well, and is a great stereotype from a Scorsese gang flick , not that that's a bad thing. All the better! I'm speechless when it comes to this show. Lean back and enjoy!
Troy
(2004)
Troy: The Masterpiece (Had the potential been reached)
30 December 2004
The film Troy has got to be one of the biggest messes and useless presentations since The Flinstones: Viva Rock Vegas. The film had absolutely no emotion, no feeling, and no suspense, except for the one scene with the two facing off, which is an extremely odd time for suspense when you have all this great money and special effects to work with. Wolfgang Petersen can indeed be a great director. Das Boot is probably the best sub movie of all time, but when something as the likes of Troy comes about with a shadow bigger than a castle and premieres as a rat with a thousand warts, one's reputation can be dismantled quite swiftly. To give this film a 7.0 is an outrage and a tyranny. It's the only war film I've ever fell asleep in, and I, a filmmaker, as well as a damn good film buff, know when to fall asleep.
Fail Safe
(1964)
Thiefs of the Spotlight, or an attempt to
23 December 2004
Though an excellent film, and with an excellent cast, director, and set of writers, Dr. Strangelove was the first film to really explore such horizons, and should be left that way. I don't mean to rain on this movie's parade, but the fact that it's being so widely appraised, and that people are actually sick enough to say this film is so thought provoking is absolutely preposterous. I'm quite the expert on the films of Kubrick, and in that a huge fan of his work, so recently I bought the 40th anniversary edition of Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. It was stated in this that Dr. Strangelove had to file a suit against the next-door release of this film, which happened to start production right in the middle of Strangelove's, because the movie had the almost exact plot. BIG American GOVERNMENT MAKES MISTAKE! POSSIBLE WORLD ANNIHILATION AND WAR DUE TO DISABLED PILOTS! Kubrick and company had every reason to sue these bastards that thought that they could pull off something that was "original". If anybody out there can truly hear me, please, keep reading books, but stop adapting them. People can get hurt.
An Incredible Made for TV Movie
13 December 2004
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers is really a movie that I respect and honor. It has been quite underhanded by many people for what it really is and the respect that it truly deserves. Many of the people of whom I've discussed this film with found the fist sequence with the cartoon to be the most memorable. Unfortunately, these people were simple-minded twits and can't take into account what the true message and statement a movie is trying to make. Perfect example, Citizen Kane. The movie wasn't just the fall of one of the greatest newspaper and business tycoons that the world had ever seen, but it had a fantastic moral that is stomped on by the people walking out the theatre moaning "Oh, that's why it's a classic." the moral in that movie lied in the fallen snow globe that he dropped at his death. In his entire career of fame, fortune, women, and glamour, what mattered to him the most in the end of it all was the simple joy of riding on a sled in thye middle of the snow. Like this, there is an underlying meaning to the film that is still brought about, but not the only meaning. Peter Sellers was indeed a complex character, or characters, that got lost in the making of his career. He opened so many doors for himself, and created one of the greatest actors of all time, leaving behind the man his family knew and loved. There, already, an underlying theme, people love simplicity, they just don't realize it. But the true beauty in this film was the multiple questions and analysis that occurred, all from the beautifully portrayed views of the characters and people who were landmarks throughout his life, the most beautiful of which I thought was Mr. Stanley Kubrick's.
Across the Bridge
(1957)
Rod Steiger StunS!
24 October 2004
In this film, which my ex-English teacher lent to me to show me what kind of cinematic experiences I've been missing out on, I was so confused until the very end about which actor was Rod Steiger. After seeing Mr. Steiger in Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront, I was convinced that he was only that. But it was when the end credits came up that I was utterly taken aback and mortified by the way it said Carl Schraffner...........Rod Steiger! It was indeed the man with the funny accent and the simply blended performance that was one of my personal favorites. This is indeed a hidden cinematic masterpiece and is highly underrated, and deserves a lot more credit than it got. I can't believe this didn't even get nominated for an Oscar. I thought the overall production was fantastic, all of the actors, especially Rod Steiger, and the direction were fantastic! The writing could've been upped a notch, but otherwise, this film left me speechless and yearning for more. But one thing that I didn't like was the dissatisfaction in the end.
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