Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street [Film Review]

I'm not a huge fan of Burton. I hate, hate, hate, hate, HATED Beetlejuice. His Batman was meh at best. Though I did enjoy Charlie and the Chocolate Factory more than some, and I believe that he made a masterpiece with Big Fish, generally his work has disappointed me, and his films are very overrated by most, at least by the non-film critiquing crowd.

But this is a really excellent film, and possibly where his dark style works best with the story and script. In many of his other films it has been very underwhelming or completely ruined the entire movie. Here it works just splendidly, both visually and tonally. It's really just the perfect way to tell this story.

It's also a great cast, or at least a great leading cast. Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, two Burton favorites, work terrifically together, especially in their incredible duets. Some other more minor performances, such as that of Sacha Baron Cohen, Timothy Spall, and Alan Rickman, are also great.

The plot of the film is immensely dark and horrific when thought of seriously, but Stephen Sondheim's excellent and often comedic lyrics lighten the mood a lot. The film could be placed in the odd genre which very few films have occupied, musical comedic horror. Sondheim's skill here also gives me reason to anticipate the upcoming film, Into the Woods, despite the fact that it will likely be cheesed up by Disney.

Of the three Burton films I have really enjoyed, this is my least favorite, but its still tremendous. Granted its likely more enjoyable for me in Winter for some odd reason, but the music is always lovable and the characters are beautifully eccentric.

O Brother, Where Art Thou [Film Review]

     I have put off giving this a five star rating for quite a while. And I really don't know why, because it is an incredible film that possesses a lot of the same excellence that other Coen brothers films. It's seriously my family's favorite film. Likely the film that my mother and I agree most on. It is really one of their finest films.
     It is in all ways tremendous. The dialogue first of all, is brilliant as it always is with the Coens. Every line is genius. The cinematography is beautiful and the portrayal of nature with the digital coloring is some of Deakins' best work.
     And the soundtrack. That soundtrack. Seriously, that soundtrack is just utterly incredible. Perfect is a good word for it. It's filled with folk songs and the primary song, Man of Constant Sorrow is tremendous.
     The cast contains many enormously talented actors that show a lot of skill in both dramatic and comedic roles, often both in one. John Turturro, John Goodman and George Clooney are all stupendous, and while Tim Blake Nelson is not really as good as the actors surrounding him, he certainly does bring something to the table.
     This comedic retelling of Homer's Odyssey is a classic. It never gets old, and I have seen it at least twenty times. Highly entertaining and a point of connection between my interests and my family's interests, this is a true five star film, and has been deserving of that rating all this time that I've been denying it that position.

Welcome to the five star club, O Brother, Where Art Thou.

Insomnia (1997) [Film Review]

I had three good reasons to watch this film.
1. Christopher Nolan, my ex-favorite filmmaker did a remake of it.
2. Roger Ebert gave it a great review
3. It got a Criterion release.

So, the hype around this film was pretty good. But did it really reach my hopes for it? Not really. Often originals are better than the remake, but that's not the case here. Despite the fact that Insomnia is my least favorite of Nolan's films, this still isn't as good as Nolan's version.

Still, it is good. It has a lot of great themes, and despite the fact that I knew the basic storyline from Nolan's film it still managed to be captivating at times, and for some reason I gasped when the main character turns over that body...

The performances are excellent for the most part. I mean really, Stellan Skarsgard is incredible. Granted we don't explore his character near as much as we do his counterpart in Nolan's film, but it's decent competition. Pacino vs. Skarsgard comes out as a tie.

The cinematography is superb, really. That was likely one of the best parts of the film, and of course the pivotal scene, the one that pretty much the plot of both is built on had to be shot well and it was. The climax of this film, though, was hardly a climax, and instead it really just dies down slowly, therefore not nearing the incredible ending to Nolan's film.

I apologize for so much of this review comparing this film to Nolan's remake, but that's most of what I have to talk about. I will say that this was good, and had some great cinematography and acting, and the fact that this was where the idea originated does gain the film a lot of respect. But Nolan manages to eclipse the original.

Insidious: Chapter 2 [Film Review]

This is not my definition of a good horror movie. But then again, only one film to my recollection has met my standards for a good horror movie, and that's The Shining.

Horror is in fact my least favorite genre. And it's not because I don't like to be scared. I love to be scared. But I like to be horrified, I want to be in genuine shock. This stuff here? This is what I call 'boo' scares.

Insidious: Chapter 2 is composed nearly entirely out of that type of scare. It exercises silence and darkness, and then it raises the volume suddenly and goes boo. Ah. Behold the horror. *Sarcasm*. I hardly found any of this genuinely horrifying, except one single scene near the end, which was mostly due to Patrick Wilson, who, while not giving an excellent performance, does some incredible facial expressions.

The music is mainly your classic horror movie soundtrack. Composed primarily of shrill violins that are intended to thrill, it becomes really rather dull. Which brings me to another fault of the majority of horror films: they mistake slowness and dullness for suspense.

I don't know, maybe my standards are too high. One could be led to that conclusion because of the fact that I have only really liked a single horror film in my entire life, but there you have it. I really don't think I have standards that are too high. I just want a horror film to leave me shocked and speechless by the end. Which this film does not do. Insidious: Chapter 2 is a dull, ordinary exercise in boo scares.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier [Film Review]

Captain America was my least favorite of Phase One of the Marvel studios films, apart from The Avengers, which I kinda sorta hated. But I had high hopes for this film, as the reviews were good, all my friends said it was awesome. But then again, that was the case with The Avengers.

Also. My mother said this was better than The Grand Budapest Hotel. Bull.

That said, it was fun. The performers are decent, Samuel Jackson's fun, Chris Evan's okay. Scarlett Johanson's incredible. It's astonishing that such a highly esteemed actor as Robert Redford is in this film, but I guess he thought it was worth it.

I will admit that this is likely the most politically charged Marvel film yet, as well as likely its most conspiratorial. The plot is rather complex and brings memories of two Tom Cruise films forth... Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Minority Report.

But really, the fact is about this one is for me, it was not engaging in the slightest. The fight scenes were seldom well shot and never had me fearing for anyone's life at all. I always felt certain that everyone would come out of it in the end. And that's a big problem with a lot of Marvel films, is that they barely ever take risks (unlike Nolan's Batman series). They've always got tons and tons of sequels planned, and are constantly trying to please their comic book loving fan base that nothing crazy ever really happens.

What it really comes down to is that Captain America: The Winter Soldier is basically clean, ordinary summer entertainment. And every once in a while there's nothing wrong with that. Like I said, it is fun. Though it's really not memorable in the slightest, it's decent.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 [Film Review]

I may be alone here in my opinion that this is far greater than its predecessor. Or at least somewhat alone. You can never really be totally alone in your opinion on a film these days actually... anyway.

It's true, when it comes to the script and the originality of the film, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 suffers. It's got numerous cliches, among them the use of The Blue Danube in a torturous sequence, cheesy villain lines (Time to light my candles), and odd self-referential musical numbers. One of the villains also references himself as the comic-book name. He calls himself Electro. I nearly blushed it was so painfully odd and awkward. Seriously, in this film which is obviously trying for a more realistic telling of the Spider-Man series, the characters should not reference themselves that way.

But aside from all that oddness, it is one heck of an experience. Obviously it's visually splendid. That's what all the reviews have been saying, basically they say it sucks but it looks good. Some of the shots are just fantastic, like in one shot we travel through a crowd in immediate danger, quickly zooming in on what could possibly each of their fates. The camera, in these effects-laden shots, travels quickly, and it's just exhilarating. The music contributes here, a fantastic collaboration between Hans Zimmer and Pharrell Williams (I'm not too fond of the latter, I kind of hated Happy), a loud electro-inspired soundtrack that brings a thrill to the many many action sequences.

Now we come to the action sequences. Most said there were too many, and that the emotions should be explored more as they were in the predecessor. During my viewing of the film, however, I was thinking quite the opposite. I thought they were dwelling on emotion far too much, and that the issues between Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker had already been resolved in the previous film. That's just me though.

All in all, this was an enjoyable ride, albeit cliched. It's fun, visually intense, with an incredibly strong climax. Peter Parker is again his witty self that was in The Amazing Spider-Man, making jokes that would have likely been made far more cheesy if done in a Sam Raimi film.

The Grand Budapest Hotel [Marathon Review - Final Draft]

“To him who has often told the tales of others, many tales will be told.”

-Author

            In Wes Anderson’s most recent film, the popular and brilliant auteur finally bests himself after the phenomenal Rushmore. The Grand Budapest Hotel is the second Wes Anderson film I watched in theaters, and after exiting the theater with my brothers, I was the only one of us who was still mentioning how absolutely spectacular the film was, hours after we had watched it. Every single element of this masterpiece is far more than satisfying, and Anderson exceeds all expectations. It is both an absolutely epic film and an incredible experience.

            Wes Anderson’s style reaches its highest, most developed point in his astonishing career in this film. Every individual shot is delicately engineered and brilliantly executed. I have now come to the conclusion that this film is in fact more detailed than Fantastic Mr. Fox, and each shot is packed to the brim with a specifically thrilling class of Wesiness, and more symmetry and lateral whip-pans are present than ever before. The film demonstrates massive blocking, overwhelming choreography, an intensely beautiful color scheme. The beauty of the framing of this film is just jaw dropping, and the calm yet hugely beautiful collaboration of the sometimes faded and sometimes strong colors astonishes at every second, and often melds with the mood of the moment well. In fact, often the lighting in the background changes rather obviously to work with the current scene. The three aspect ratios that the film sports, used for its three separate time periods, show how much control Wes has over this particular film. He also uses the 4:3 aspect ratio as no one has before. After Moonrise Kingdom’s brief foray into relative normality, Wes Anderson has returned to his excitingly quick witted, creative self.

            This camerawork is magnificent. All movements and turns are extraordinarily solid. Every second is definite and powerful, and it does remind one of the power that Wes Anderson had on Fantastic Mr. Fox. That film of course had this effect, as Anderson did indeed control each and every frame, literally. He could quite easily control exactly where the camera stopped and where it went. With live action it’s naturally far more difficult to have this effect on the visuals of his film. Despite that, Anderson is still able to exude the same perfectly composed brilliance in cinematography (thanks in part, of course, to Robert Yeoman).

            Wes Anderson makes several references to his other films. He has some shots on trains, and the setup of those shots may remind one of The Darjeeling Limited. He has shots on motorcycles in the same fashion as in Fantastic Mr. Fox, with on character’s head poking out from behind the driver of the bike. In addition, he uses several miniatures in the film, brilliantly and beautifully. The Grand Budapest Hotel is also Wes Anderson’s most violent and suspenseful film yet. Several characters are brutally murdered, one is beheaded, fingers are chopped off, and in the climax of the film there’s a gigantic shootout.  

            Add to all of this, the score. Alexandre Desplat’s third soundtrack for Wes Anderson is without a doubt his best yet. It’s magnificently energetic, adding just the right tone to each and every scene, at least those touches that Wes could not provide himself. This score works on several themes, most of which are very fast. They’re used exceptionally well in the film, most notably in a chase scene and the climax of the film. The movie has an odd lack of any sort of compiled soundtrack, but Desplat handsomely compensates for that with ease, causing the film to feel even more original.

            The cast is amazing, debatably the best that Anderson has yet had. We are presented with an enormous number of cameos, and we have some rather prominent actors playing some rather miniscule roles. Among this great crew are Owen Wilson, Bill Murray (of course), Bob Balaban, Wallace Wolodarsky and Waris Ahluwalia. All of these actors have had a role in at least one of Anderson’s previous films. Some of the children from Moonrise Kingdom also make some minor appearances. And the main cast is also superb. Ralph Fiennes is extraordinary and says every line with grace and candor, in the precise and delicate way that they should be said. Tony Revolori displays a similar expertise and will likely be returning in future Anderson movies. Willem Dafoe expertly portrays a chilling assassin, known professionally as a ‘private inquiry agent’. Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton is hardly recognizable in pounds of makeup as the dowager countess, Madame Celine Villeneuve Desgoffe und Taxis, and Adrien Brody plays a wildly cursing, temperamental and money-driven count with murderous intentions.

            This story is filled with many moving parts and highly influential characters. All the characters have different intentions, which makes the plot all the more exciting and suspenseful. A. J. Henckels is trying to enforce the law but has a friendship with M. Gustave H., who is the very man he is after. Dmitri, the spoiled son of Madame D., is working only for selfish gains and seems willing to cut down anyone in his path (at least via J.G. Jopling, the murderer). And Agatha, Zero’s beloved fiancé, has a devotion to Zero of course, but also wishes to remain morally right, as she states, “I don’t trade in stolen property!”

            Oddly, very few relationships are explored, but are instead rooted in past and off-screen events. Among these sorts of relationships are the relationship between Madame D. and Gustave H., the relationship between Henckels and Gustave H., and the relationship between Zero and Agatha. This give much support to part of the focus of the film, which is the idea and the art of storytelling. In storytelling, not all is revealed. We don’t know much about some of these relationships because either Zero doesn’t know, or he is not willing to speak of them (as is the case with his relationship with Agatha). The only truly well explored relationship in the story is of course, the one we should know well and the one that Zero would love to reminisce about the most: his relationship with the concierge, Gustave H., who instead of remaining simply his employer, becomes a true friend, a sort of brother.

            Wes Anderson defines the word auteur in nearly all of his films. His style and the way that he accentuates everything about a film sets him apart from your normal director. Composed of many exciting and magnificent and even grand scenes, this film is a captivating, fun, adventurous journey. Everything visual, from the decoration of all of the locations (especially the Grand Budapest), to the elaborate and eye-catching wardrobe is beautiful, and demonstrates great control from Anderson. The Grand Budapest Hotel examines the beauty of storytelling with its story within a story.