Parasitic Nests I have a particular interest in five different cinematic styles, worlds actually. One of them I have named the Hispanic style. It is characterised by: elements of magical reality, either in supernatural physics or synchronous connections. a belief that the world is rich, fecund. Occasionally female sexuality is interwoven. Characters are both in… Continue reading Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Tag: f2014
Films released in 2014
American Sniper (2014)
Focus I watched this like many others, consuming a rather simple story. Superficially, we are to admire this soul, both as an individual and representative of a collective who ‘serve’ us. As with Forgiven, we have some subtle exit from the story in the direction of despair for the country. Along the way we have… Continue reading American Sniper (2014)
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
Not that Kind of Tailoring From time to time in these comments, I remark on my surprise at how sophisticated young viewers are, and how they demand ever more complex and subtle self-referential folds. It gives me pleasure to realise that my flower children cohort were and still are largely incapable of this level of… Continue reading Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014)
Kite (2014)
Raped This could have been a good movie. I’m particularly sensitive to the cinematic power of sexual exploitation — after all, that’s pretty close to much of the cinematic experience. And child molesting adds great power to the experience. Also, I like Manga’s sometimes honest approach to sexuality. Yes, it is mostly prurient but it… Continue reading Kite (2014)
The Lego Movie (2014)
Gamer Gate The outer story is about a kid and his dad who doesn’t understand play. An inner story has tokens that elaborate on this, a story that is mostly flashiness. The animation is based on Lego and I am sure there is a large franchise in the works. An inner, inner story is about… Continue reading The Lego Movie (2014)
Lady Maiko (2014)
Adaptation The story itself is about adapting from a not ideal Japanese state to the purest state, a Geisha. In Japan, the rural north is considered to consist of country bumpkins, something like in the US we associate with the South. A Geisha’s training includes many arts but primarily speaking, and doing so in the… Continue reading Lady Maiko (2014)
Nightcrawler (2014)
Wet Spots There are some fine things about this that you can read elsewhere, There seems to be no lack of appreciation for the obvious things. What struck me was the role that Russo has. I am interested in films where the filmmaker — usually a man — is in love with his lead actress.… Continue reading Nightcrawler (2014)
Monuments Men (2014)
The Diary I am thankful that Clooney is working. I’ve heard him speak as himself; he is a good man, interested in good things. I forgive him his lack of range as an actor, because the characters he plays are so engaging. And he made “Good Night, and Good Luck.” That film was based on… Continue reading Monuments Men (2014)
Noah (2014)
Extended Myth, Extensible Missus The last 40 minutes of this is a shift from epic to soap opera. Future viewers would be best advised to stop watching once the flood hits and the villains (but one) have been destroyed. Until that point, we have the sort of reverse noir that Aranofsky has been perfecting. There… Continue reading Noah (2014)
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)
Intelligent Agency I was impressed by a few features of the first one. Most notably, it was a risk for them to adopt and extend a certain cinematic technique in such a high risk project. I wrote about the effect: having battle scenes with only a part of the action visible, either in the cut… Continue reading Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014)