Instead we have an indie movie that refuses to fall into the “Look at me I’m so deep” Category and instead ops to tell the story of two nerds working jobs that they hate while putting up with the general public. 

Why? Because writer and Director Kevin Smith wanted to make a movie that spoke not the the teens of the 90’s but the twenty somethings. The so called adults who have no clue what it is they are doing. 

This is first illustrated with our main character for the movie Dante Hicks being woken up by this boss after dealing with the closing shift at his job being called into work on his day off. Like anyone who has had to work the night shift and hates it but needs the money he agrees. What makes this opening montage work is that the movie doesn’t feel like a polished everything is fine movie. We see the ugliness of the real world. And while yes Dante has a nice car it's not the best there has ever been. Add to the fact that when he get to work he has to deal with gum locking the shutters tight. This movie really is hard to explain because to go deeper into it is to rewin jokes. Really this movie is just a look into the life of two people working jobs that they hate. The differences between Dante and latter on his friend Randle is that while Donte hates his job he’s not going to change anything due to his apathy. The world hates me so why the hell should I try. While Randle on the other hand says “I hate these people and if I’m forced to deal with them for a shit wage I might as well give them the same dehumanizing treatment they give me” Really that's the movie in a nutshell two nerds talking about star wars,  while putting up with the dehumanizing crap that customers throw at them.

This is best illustrated in a scene where Dante has to pull a can of chips off a customer's hand and talks to Randle about his ex. Mostly that she's getting married and how he is upset about this. Instead of doing the normal indie movie thing of saying that he needs to find himself or something Randle just looks at a magazine and asks Return of the Sith or Jedi.  In a seen that plays out we see a conversation that every nerd has ever had. In real life it might not always be about star wars but the conversation is true to how so many people in their fandoms talk about everything. Thats why this movie works. Not because of the technicals which if we are being honest aren’t the greatest. No what makes this movie work is the dialog. 

Every character sounds like a person that we could run into in the real world. The characters aren’t some great heros their two, twenty somethings with nothing to do but watch movies and wonder where they went wrong. This still works because so many people in modern day. How many of us work that dead end job because we aren’t sure it's worth it to go to college. How many of us feel a complete dehumanization while working that job from uptight customers who do nothing but complain and see you as just a cog. Who hasn’t had some person call us lazy good for nothings for working the only job that we can find. And that is what Kevin Smith wanted people to see and think about when watching his movie. That sometimes life sucks and there aren’t happy endings but that doesn’t mean that things have to always be sad and somber. Why? Because thats life! 

Gone girl  is a film that emotionally drains you. Not because it's overly complex, not because it's emotionally draining but because it take the modern american ideal marriage and peels away the makeup, plastic, and coating of a perfect relationship or marriage  hold a mirror to it making the audience to look beyond the bullshit and see the truth that this idea is nothing more than a plastic product we have all bought because it was easier than facing the realities of what it really means to be married. Fincher illustrates this in the first shot of the movie as we see the perspective of our main character looking down at the head of his wife. What makes it more easier is the choice of colors in the film could almost starle shades of white gray and blue. Add in the lines “When I think of my wife I think of her head.I think of cracking her lovely skull unspooling her brains trying to get answers The primal questions of any marriage, What are you thinking? How are you feeling? What have we done to each other?” Your all but told what type of film this is going to be. A mystery that many might feel they have figured out but really know one really knows what's going on. To quote movie bob’s escapist article” things not necessarily being what they seem, and as a result is hinged on a series of escalating complications and reality-altering plot twists -- not just a "surprise ending" (though it certainly has one of those) but a major upending of what you think you know that comes in right at the middle”

In short this movie pulls the what a twist movie in a way that director M. Night Shyamalan could never pull off. 

So what is it about gone girl that makes people feel uneasy? Well as mentioned cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth is known for a shooting style that never lets you really feel like things are going to be okay. The best example from the movie might be the beginning diary scenes from Amy (the quote un quote gone girl) While the rest of the movie for the most part is shot in cold blue, gray,white, and other cold hues the diary scenes while cold are for the most shot in hues of yellow and other colors that instinctively invoke warmth in the watcher. That adds to the viewer feeling even more uneasy as the view knows they should be feeling warmth from these scenes but is feeling nothing of the sort. It adds and intentional eary layer to this already eary film. But cinematography isn’t enough when making a film like this editing has a lot to do with it. Thankfully Editor Kirk Baxter cuts the film in a way that enhances the uneasy. One of the best cuts in the movie being with Nick and Amy having just met kissing flowing into a cut of the two having sex. This cut lets the viewer know that this might just be a relationship that started with the idea of good sex can turn to real love that so often soity and the media pushes onto us. In this way Fincher is showing not telling us that this is a lie. That any relationship based on mind numbingly good sex means nothing. 

The hole story is nothing more than a mirror being held up the society in general and asking it. What is it that you really see... Is anything they're really worth keeping. Really was there anything there to being with? Adding to that is the almost too familiar modern trial by media in the court of public opinion and how the media loves to create the  a moral absolt in any and every cass

Nothing illustrates this better then the twist reveal that Amy isn’t dead. Dubbed the cool girl scene. It tells us the truth about our Gone Girl. That she has no personality that all she is nothing more than an automat of personalities fitting into the mold of what it is people want. “Because isn’t that what every guy wants? The cool girl who smiles in a serene loving manner before presenting her mouth for fucking”

From here the movie becomes a run against time as Amy’s plan to have Nick killed for being unfaithful to her. Her careful plans don’t go as she wants them to and ends up being tangled in the plans of her high school boyfriend. Which sadly costs him his life. The movie ends with Nick giving in to the fact that Amy has twisted him into staying with him and the film book ends with the same shot as the opening the difference being the line " What have we done to each other what will we do"

The films ending is one that has so many people on edge asking why would you stay with her? Is he crazy or just suffering from some weird version of stock home syndrome. The problem with asking these questions is that it misses the point of the hole film. The meaning of the film lays with in Amy. She is a shell of a person. A women who changed every bit of her self to fit the ideal of another person. Why well because her whole life thats what her parents showed her she needed to be. With her parents making her prospective better self constantly changing to be their ideal. So when Amy became and adult she just kept doing that. Till she because a shell of a person changing to fit the ideal of any man she was with. But inturn when they didn't do the same for her she found a way to punish them. To remind them that you only get what you want when you change to what I want. Really David Fetcher is asking all of us to look at our relationships and realize that the flaws that we have should be fixed but only if we want them to be not for a relationship. That the modern american marriage is a lie.So stop trying to be a plastic doll and be a real person.

The other part of this film that just gives you a feeling of just aww is the Animation and art. While its not perfect the style of the animation lets the little errors that are to be expected in a student film forgiving. Film maker Karina Farek really put so much care into the art that it's impossible not to watch the film and smile. While it's not the longest of films it is definitely worth a watch!

The movie’s art style is based off of the Beatles album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band and man does it make the film work mostly because the album itself was so psychedelic that the mix of the animation and music creates the illusion that you are  on a very good drug trip. The movie is full of dry British humor and pop culture that doesn’t feel forced really the whole film feels like a dadaist film.  The best screen that shows this is Elena Rigby as the granny photographic style almost reminiscent of Warhol juxtaposed with the cartoonie submarine adds a heaviness to the already heavy song. As it asks the viewer to look at all the lonely people. The blending of animation and live action in this film plays to its strengths as it blends the two in a way that keeps the viewer entranced. 

The voice acting is also a strong suit of this film even though none of the Beatles voiced themselves in the movie the voice actors mimic them so well that really only the most die hard of die hard fans will notice.  

All and all the film is a trippy giving you that good feeling of being high on something while staying completely sober.  The music is amazing and the visuals work well with the music creating an experience you have to see to understand.  But don't just take my word for it check out the trailer for the film to get a taist 

 So what is it about this film that has so many spell bound? It might just be the fact that it shows two different sides of the issue and two vigilante groups fighting against the cartel. One american and one Mexican. 

In my mind what encapsulates the film is the first moments where we meet a group of men making meth to sell over the border in the united states. The man that the filmmakers interview puts it plain and simple “ We know what we are doing is hurting people but we don’t have a choice...if we had choices in life we wouldn’t be here. We are here because of poverty.” that really sums the film up. It's about poverty both groups of vigil aunties are made up of poor people sick of their government doing nothing to care for them and in the case of the Mexican group their government works for the cartels. 

What makes the film even better is the use of cinematography the film is shot very smoothly due to both Matthew Heineman and Matt Porwell apply  deep focus to most of their shots and have good use of panning shots most of which are used to help privacy the reality of the situation. What also helps is the use objective and subjective shots threw out the film and in interviews with both the Americans and Mexican forces neither feels like reality television instead feeling unpolished and and more real. Though this isn’t true for the whole film it add a layer of reality that many don’t feel with modern communities. While many films of this kind feel produced and some what like smoke and mirrors Heineman mostly just leaves the camera running and allows people to and things to play out naturally. This is greatly helped with sharp editing that never really feels garing. More scenes flow naturally as they should in a documentary. 

In the end Cartel land is a strong film that shows the reality of the drug trade on both sides of the borders while never feeling like a propaganda peace looking to derive sympathy of either side moreover just to show the realities of the world today and that no matter how to ones in tensions might be. The film leaves a haunting impression and an itch to learn more on the subject. All and all film is more than worth the 98 minute run time. 

On the technical side this is a lovely film filled with stunning stop motion animation that is on par with Burton’s work the animation is smooth in combination with sharp editing and cinematography that works in perfect harmony to create and experience that leaves the viewer wanting more. The film also works because  Tim Burton is great at using all the tools at his disposal to create projects that have tone an atmosphere most notably when he has control of projects that have a much greater undertone of gothic imagery and story. Vincent is  a great example of this.  As burton takes these elements and turns them into a great short film.

The film starts with the death of Kane with the precursor scenes telling the viewer that the film they are going to watch is not a happy one. As the camera smoothly pans over a no trespassing sign as it tilts to the view of Xanadu the foreboding castle of one Charles Foster Kane before fading to monkeys in a cage symbolizing that much like our main character they are trapped in a gilded cage.Trapped by the decodens of the material world. This along with the line “Hi I’m Charles Foster Kane I’ll give you whatever you want but you gotta love me”  Sums up Kane. A man trapped in a cage of his own making due to wealth looking for a glimpse of humanity if a seas of plastic faces claiming to be the real thing. 

This theme is shown through Kane's constant want of the working class man to hold him up as their champion by using his newspaper as a method of spotlighting the plight of the working class man. All to the ovale of being loved by everyone even if it's only in a superficial way. Beyond that this film is beautifully shot with closs angles and deep shadows giving the film a feeling of true moving photography. 

Rosebud is the most famous word is in all of cinema according the great film critic Roger Ebert who by his own admission had seen the film over fifty times  

Both he and his critical partner Gene Siskel passed the film as an all around great film from its script to its acting to its technicals. Even great directors like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg have sited the film as an inspiration and an education on how to edit, shoot and film a great film.. Really to understand the many layers of one Charles Foster Kane you’ll need more than one viewing. 

The story starts with our main protagonist Kenji Koiso feeling depressed as he has just come in third at the Japan Math Olympics not helping much is the fact that his summer looks to be one of just running system checks on Oz the online system that the whole world depends on. Oz hailed as one of the most secure servers in the world that Kenji knows that even just doing a system check on Oz mostly just means it will be a boring summer..Just as he’s beginning to feel as if his summer is going to be nothing but being a code monkey. That is until Kenji finds himself  being offered a job by the girl he's had a crush on all year Natsuki Shinohara to pretend to be her boyfriend for the summer just so her very large very....unusual family can believe that she has a boyfriend. It works for a while till a virus named Love Musine  takes over Kenji’s online Oz avatar and   From there the films themes of what it means to be a family, what it means to love a person as much if not more than family and how those answers change over time. The film gets this point across in a number of scenes but the best might just be the climax where Natsuki’s Oz avatar goes up against the virus in a card game. While Natsuki might be the only one playing her whole family including Kenji is there cheering her on both on OZ and the real world. Hosoda brings this point home  time in time again.  What helps bring the point home for this film is not only the animation done by Studio Madhouse  but the voice acting. With a cast of Japanese seiyuu like Nanami Sakuraba as Natsuki and Ryunosuke Kamiki  as Kenji just to name a few though their English counterparts  Brina Palencia and Michael-Sinterniklaas take inspiration from the original voice work and use it as a way to make the characters there own. All of these elements combine to create a close to perfect film. The movie’s story being one of its weaker points but it's quite clear that the film is less about story and more about its message about never turning you back on family no matter what. 

But beyond the behind the scenes filmmaking the story of Hugh Glass a mountain man seeking revenge against the man who killed his son in cold blood and throughout the whole film centers around the Literary conflicts of Man v. Nature, Man v. Man, Man v.self . The film increases all three as Glass must fight nature to get back to civilization and more importantly to find the man who killed his son which illustrates man vs man and finely in the end coming to grips with what it would mean to get the revenge against his son's killer man vs self. Each conflict is given care in each sense that it is highlighted as with man vs. nature as Glass literally fights nature when he is attacked by a bear. And is reborn when he services the attack. Leading into man vs. man as after the bear attack as Fitzgerald a racist bigot suggests that they just kill Glass and leave his son (who is half native american) to deal with it. Threw out the hole film Fitzgerald gives conflict to Glass as not only does he at one point berries  glass alive right after having killed Glasses son right in front of him. Which leads in the the man vs self narrative in the film where Glass fueled by a need to avenge his son glass grapples with the need for justice when it comes to his son and becoming nothing better then  the monster who created the problem. This is handled in multiple scenes the most poignant being the second to last seen of the film in which glass having found Fitzgerald puts his faith in god sending him down the river to be killed by native americans. Ending his life without getting blood on his hands. The film ends on an ambiguous note as Glass sees a vision of his dead wife before the film cuts to black. 

What makes the Revant such a good film is the way that it was filmed. Not one to use flood lights or to use any  lighting outside of natural lighting meaning that most of the shots had to be done around magic hour. The time of day in which lighting is next to perfect visually what also helped is that the film was shoot in winter. A time in which natural lighting  is much easier in some respects at the rays are less intense but with the down side of less hours in the day with lighting. The other grace of the film is the use of natural snow with DeCaprio mentioning how hard it was to film due to global warming melting most snow if any snow even falls. This gives the film a stake in reality that almost mearos documentaries in its approach. Giving the film a next to impossible to place feeling. That focuses almost less on the story and more on showing how visually stunning the world truly when nature is left to itself and not corrupted by humans. It almost feels as if Iñárritu made the film less because he wanted to tell the story of man's internal struggle and more to just take beautiful imagery and preserve it before it's completely gone. 

The film centers around Sebastian  who is a board 17 year old looking to add some fun into his life but messing up the lives of every upper crust New York  socialites has become tidus until his step sister Catherine dares him to deflower sweet proper Annette who has pledged to stay a virgin till marriage from there the film follows a very basic plot of redemption for Sebastian who in the end is hit by a car and his step sister outed as a mean girl whore. 

Really this film is nothing special from the perspective of film making. The movie more stands as a time caples of the 90’s a time where films were trying to get teenagers in theaters and more over have teens feel like adults as most movies at the time had much older actors playing teens but doing things that normally were only set in the realm of “adulthood”. This is shown most in one of the first scenes of the movie where we see both Cathrin and Sebastian talk about how why are going to ruin the life of Annette. The dialogue all sounds like the words of an adult though both are supposed to only be 17. This adds a problem to the film as it never really feels like it's set in high school, from the age of the actors, the dialog, and lack of parents the whole film feels like it was set in high school just because it was the trend at the time and this comes off as a detriment. Taking us out of the film to the point you start to wonder why you watched it in the first place. 

Overall the film isn’t bad if you like camp but shows that if you find the petty problems of the american one percent tedious and have little presents for one dimensional characters then skip this film.

Well as more and more people seems to be living their lives online the more people lose touch with real relationships opting more for online only relationships. The film illustrates this time and time again as the subject of humans being flawed is pointed out more and more.

Take one of the early scenes were Therefore goes onto a phone sex chat. An encounter that at first starts off normal, but quickly devolves into a freaky kinks that involve a dead cat. This almost perfectly mirrors what it is like to go on a sex chat room, as many people find that at first things might be normal and you're having a good time then out of nowhere boom! Suddenly very odd kinks from nowhere pop up and you're not sure how to end the conversation. The film encapsulates this so well that when he finally meets Samantha  it feels like the first moment on a chat room where you finally meet a person you can really talk to and have a connection with outside of getting your rocks off. The film does this in a very clever way having the conversations between Samantha and Theodore start off light and fluffy and slowly get deeper and more emotional as the film goes on. To the point that while watching the film you don’t really feel like Samantha is an OS but more just a long distance girlfriend till the film reminds you by bringing it up that she doesn’t have a body. Really the whole film feels like you are watching an online relationship unfold. As both Samantha and Theodore get closer. This is illustrated through two scene one at the beginning where Theodore is playing a videogame with a foul mouthed little child as a character that insults both of them as they laugh and one later in the film where Samantha composes a piano piece stating that she's making it because while they may not ever be able to have photographs of the two of them together they can have this piece of music that is just as good if not better. The whole scene is filled with lovely images of the film’s setting a more futuristic version of Los Angeles.The hole scene is just Theodore walking around with the beautiful music playing. Again the film uses this scene as a metaphor for an online relationship as many online couples use things like playlists and music as a way to feel closer to each other. The film also aptly portrays the fear many people have of what others will think of them for being in an online relationship as at first Theodore doesn’t tell anyone he is dating an OS and doesn’t tell anyone until close to the end of the film in  a scene that illustrates this almost perfectly is when Theodore tells his boss “My Girlfriend is an operating system”  the way the camera lingers on his face showing the audience his fear of being rejected and hope that maybe people will not be judgmental of the fact that he loves Samantha. That's not to say that  the film doesn’t show this reaction in fact when he goes to meet up with his ex wife to finally sign the divorce papers we see the all too real reaction most people have when finding out you are dating someone online. Threw out the hole scene we feel Theodore's emotions as his ex wife berates him for dating his OS. 

Thats one thing that Spike Jones must be applauded for as it takes risks at not just showing the good sides of a relationship but the bad sides as well. It would have been so easy for the film just to have turned Theodore into the misunderstood artist looking for “More” and for Samantha to be nothing more than a manic pixie dream girl with a childlike wonder at the world who comes into his life and all of a sudden everything is great. Instead the film opts for a more honest approach with its characters. It shows that Theodore while lonely is a fairly successful person and while Samantha doesn’t have a body she definitely has a presents in the film. She's curious and wants to learn about everything in the world but she also has a personality outside of Theodore. She writes music studies philosophy, art and science, all while never feeling like a child but more an Educated woman who has never lost her love for learning. This makes it so much more heartbreaking when she leaves as the audience has grown to love her almost as much as  Theodore. Making the ending of the film feel like a true break up. Overall the film is a great experience worth watching.

The story centers around the Hollywood blacklist of writers who because of their ties to the communist party and doesn’t shy away from criticizing the american government for its abuse of power. Showing us why Trumbo was held in contempt of congress as he  dared to call out the injustice of a person's freedom of speech being taken away all because they say things that go against the comfortable lie.   That everything's okay as long as you  never question the American government. The film also alludes to the fact that it's not really that Trumbo is a communist that's the problem more that he is pro union. The film shows us footage of a set designers strike with trumbo at its center telling the people there “You build and make things the people in there take credit for your creations without a thought “ This adds in some historical context as turning the time of the Hollywood blacklist was a little about communism but mostly about studios wanting to do things without taking the rights of workers in consideration.

Trumbo is a hard film to review as the story is very basic and at times washes out some of the uncomfortable parts of  the past as its tries to paint our hero in only a positive light. Though the film does show that he has a tempestuous relationship with his family and that not everything is okay in his life it still shows the man as a hero. All and all worth the time to watch.

The film is shot in just a way that like film like clerks feels very much like a day in the life sort of setting while really happening over a prolonged length of time.The film centers around Jimmy other wise known as B rabbit as he does his best to grind his way through the underground rap scene in poverty stricken detroit all well trying to work a dead end job that helps provide for his mother and little sister. 

The films emotional center is Eminem himself as his performance is tragically real as  the film is based off his early life before he made it big. The whole film feels less like a glamor project and more a loose retelling of a life that America doesn’t want to add mit is real and that is that poor working class white people existed. That if can be hard to be the odd one out in a community that is predominantly a different culture than you. The film most illustrates this in the second to last scene where we see Jimmy take on the main rap group in the film and uses the fact the guy he is rappin against  was raised in a good home went to a private school and had both parents something that in the real world is looked at as a positive but in bad neighborhoods makes you an outcast. But before the guy can even point out all of Jimmy’s flaws, Jimmy does it for him finishing with the line “I am white trash I say it proudly!” This is a powerful statement as its Jimmy not only telling the world fuck you I am what I am why do you fucking care! But it also sends a message to the audience that if you are white trash it shouldn’t matter. You're a person with talents and dreams don’t let a societal label stop you. 

For a style of film that is normally riddled with nothing but look how famous and perfect I am 8Mile stands as a testament that even bio picks can have some humanity and depth. There is no happy ending in this film there is only the reality that while he may have won the battle he still must face the reality that happiness and good things only last for the people who can afford it. 

The film has next to know dialogs. It's told through the visuals of the simulation and what A34900 could be at different stages of life. Starting out the child seems fine. Curuse happy living a life fild with wonder at all that is good in the world. That is until age 16 when she finds a dark vine in her good world and seeing the power she could hold merges with the vine. By age twenty shes become a dictator with her own army set on destroying the world. It is at this point that the simulation ends. It is as this point that Mr Arkel is told to refuse the child and move on this his life after being asked over and over if  he shall keep the baby or give her up he says “Her name is Keyra” the film ends with him hold baby Keya before the screen goes black.  

The film while only seven minutes and 44 seconds long brings up some deep questions. How much do we love someone? It is worth the what ifs to raise a child and most importantly could you kill a baby even if you knew how horible they would grow up to be?  The film does this beautifuly as it fallows the rule of showing not telling. Thats not the say its a perfect film the animation is a little dated but for a film with next to no buget done by students it has some amazing art. Overall the film is something that must be experienced if you are a fan of animation or just need a short distraction from studying for finals 

The film being an adaptation of a retailing for what is arguably the most famous play of all time Most likely shouldn’t work but in its own way does. The film while rated G gives a great peek into the racial tensions at this time and is fairly progressive as the conflict of the two rival gangs comes off much more reasonable than the original as the us vs them mentality that racism creates. Unlike in Romeo and Juliet the conflict has little to do with a conflict no one remembers how it started. Instead it's just about gang warfare and racism, The sad part is that in 2016 the films themes of vilance and hatered never solving everything. 

Though the question still stands which version is better the stage or film? Well to that I would say what are you looking for. If you are looking for a much more theatrical and over the top version I would tell you that the play is where you would want to go. The feeling of being in an audience at a play is much more exciting then just sitting at home watching a movie though at the same time the  movie has its perks. While plays are great there almost feels like a mob mentality. That you must laugh or cry when other people do. While with a movie being a much more secluded experience you feel more relaxed and less like you must keep up appearances. 

While the Wizarding world of Harry Potter has never been shy with its old time costume and set designs  when it comes to the wizarding world. This time around though Oscar winning Costume Designer Colleen Atwood, out did herself as the look and feel of 1920’s New York fashion. What might be the best example of this is the dresses worn in the film. Atwoods ability to recreate the flapper cutan  style. But she also makes sure not to stray to far away from them the aesthetic and style of the Potter films. This is a plus as the audience will not have a hard time watching this movie and understanding that it is in the same universe. Though what might be the best part of all of this is the fact that unlike other costume drama’s Fantastic beasts costumes and makeup while whimsical do not have a modern look. The problem with most costume drama’s such as W.E a film that was done by singer Madonna and set around the same time as Fantastic beasts, is that to often the makeup and costumes while trying to look vintage came off looking more like modern designer labels.

 

The way the film looks at this is not in the sense of being an adult as bad but that giving up things like imagination, fun, and our dreams all for the sake of being an adult is. The film does this by giving us two different models of adulthood That being the little girl’s mother who cares only about grades and success in the social definition and The Aviator, an old man who has found success as an adult by flying a plane and looking at the world thru the lens of a child. Both are shown to have their flaws but the film frames the mother as a helicopter parent who is in need of help but it also shows her as a parent who justs wants to see her daughter to grow up to be a successful adult. While the Aviator as a man who has had a good life but one that has been lonely due to the fact that his view of adulthood is one that goes against the status quo. Leaving the answers to be there is no right answer. That in the ends you need to be happy and have fun but that responsibility is a part of life.