Django Unchained

Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino's latest western-inspired movie, is set in the southern states of the USA around 1858, a couple of years before the civil war broke out, when slavery was still going strong. It is the story of Django (Jamie Foxx), a young man whom in the beginning of the movie we find enslaved, his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) having been stolen from him and sold. Django is being recruited by dr. King Schultz, a German dentist-turned-bounty hunter, to help him recognise some criminals. Schultz gives Django his freedom, they become partners and after a very "productive" winter, they set off to find and rescue Django's wife, who has been bought by a plantation owner, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), aka the man with no soul.

Bright, brave and skillful, Django is the definition of a hero. Sure, he gets a chance, but he also does whatever he can to turn his life around and take vengeance, motivated by love. Dr. Schultz is the “god-sent machine”, who gives Django the break he needs, and whose different background (Europe, bitches :P) allows him to have a less mainstream -at the time- approach towards Django and see him as a friend. Calvin Candie, on the other hand, is a ruthless man with absolutely no respect for human life, born and raised in a rich home with slaves, not only unable to see beyond that status, but also making the most of it, the bloodthirsty he is. Stephen, Calvin's elder servant (Samuel L. Jackson), is like a corrupt uncle Tom. As for Broomhilda, even though she did not play an active role like, say, firing a gun (after all she was a woman in the 19^th century), she was the reason of all this journey.

The story of the film is fictional, but it documents a social situation the whole world, and particularly America, is or should be ashamed of. Tarantino presented for the first time the crimes against African-American people in full-frontal view, without holding back the element of verbal or physical violence, thus making a film that pays tribute to history and hopefully works in a cathartic way.

Even though the movie is violent, it is also very entertaining. The tone of most of the movie is funny, due to the smart script by Quentin Tarantino, the great deliveries of all of its actors and all the details. Speaking of details, Franco Nero, the star of the original 1966 Django movie made a cameo appearance in this movie, as well as Jonah Hill, not to mention Quentin Tarantino himself. Also, did anyone else notice Amber Tamblyn by the window?

Django Unchained is a film that has reached its own full potential. The quality of acting, the amount of entertaining references (which are the joy of the cinephile), the funny moments, the intense moments, the amazing soundtrack, all blend to a project that looks like it is a product of the heart of Tarantino and the whole crew, sprinkled with Tarantino's characteristic blood splatter and gunshot. Even if I accepted it has flaws (too big-too much blood-etc), I wouldn't care to change them if I could.

Favorite line 1: "D' Artagnan, mother****ers."

Favorite line 2: "You silvertongued devil, you."

Fight Club

Deciding to write about a successful and famous movie like Fight Club is kinda awkward, since so many have talked about it before. So I am going to ignore all that and close 2012 with this movie.

Fight Club is a movie directed by David Fincher and based on the omonymous novel by Chuck Palahniuk. It is about a regular guy, (Edward Norton), a man with a conventional office job, whose feelings of loniless and desperation have caused him insomnia. He finds cure to his insomnia by attending support groups for people with health problems he actually doesn't have.. until those groups are attended by another "tourist", Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), whose presence disturbs him. After confronting her they decide to split the groups they attend, so he returns to his normal sleeping pattern, without meaning he is content with his life.

The next chapter begins when during a work trip he meets a confident guy, Tyler Durder (Brad Pitt) - by the way, I don't know how many "Tyler Durden" usernames I've seen :P. After he finds his house burned by accident, he calls Tyler who invites him to stay at his .. home. Tyler leads a strange life, free of many modern life obligations, living in a house ready to collapse, having minimal expenses and making soap for a living among other night jobs. Tyler introduces him to fighting as a hobby that helps him reconnect with his male identity, as opposed to the consumer he had become, a hobby which soon attracts other men.. The rest is in the movie.

Even though Fight Club is not necessarily my favorite David Fincher movie, I consider it a milestone in cinema. Among a pile of movies celebrating the classic american dream of the house with the garden and the dog (usually romances, comedies or dramas) or the action movies that involve a particular group of people such as Martians or criminals or police officers, there's a movie that takes a look into the conventions of modern society through the eyes of a random person, who is neither a golden boy nor an outcast, just a person who feels trapped in it. Just because this person is a single "30-year old boy", the film is free of family drama and can get more innovative. His friend, Tyler Durden, is like a caricature with a strong life philosophy and a prominent sense of freedom – there, I tagged him. Marla is something between Edward Norton's character and Tyler Durden's match – quirky, with also a unique view on society and life, unattached to material things.

The movie has great cinematography and David Fincher's classic dark colours. The undertone of the movie is not specifically sad, happy, funny or tense – I guess it could be described as slightly gloomy, yet exhilarating, with some disgusting and some funny moments. (Spoiler alert) I wonder how the film would look without Marla. Even though she doesn't influence the plot development directly, she is quite significant to the hero – can you imagine him in the end, looking from the glass alone? He might look kinda sad. (/Spoiler alert)

Favorite line: Let the chips fall where they may.

PS: Noticed the "cigarette burn" in the end?

Awsome soundtrack songs:

 And as a bonus, the audio commentary of the director and the cast about Fight Club. 
(This is so good I almost wanted to keep it for myself).

Midnight in Paris

Midnight in Paris , a film directed by Woody Allen, was the first movie in a while that I wanted to rewatch the minute it ended. The story revolves around Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), a successful Hollywood screenwriter who struggles on his first novel. In the beginning we find Gil and his fiancee Inez (Rachel McAdams) in Paris, tagging along Inez's upscale parents who are there in a business trip. Gil, being there, finds his dreams of moving to Paris and focusing on literature more alive than ever, something that Inez does not relate to – she "could never live outside the United States". They bump into a friendly couple, Paul and Carol, with whom they start spending time. One night, Gil takes a walk in the city alone, when a car stops by and takes him to a "parallel" Paris in the '20s, Gil's favorite combination of time and place, where he meets some of his literature idols, such as Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston) and Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), as well as other artistic prominent people, such as Picasso (Marcial di Fonzo Bo) and Dali (Adrien Brody) – apparently Paris was bursting with artistic personalities during that decade. He also meets Adriana (Marion Cotillard), a muse and lover of some of those artists. Returning to the present later at night, Gil has found new inspiration to focus on his novel and he makes sure he finds the car the next midnight to be taken to the '20s again.

After seeing Owen Wilson in this role, I don't want to try to think of anyone else in it. He combined innocence, a slight awkwardness as well as distinctive amusing mannerisms and a way of talking that actually reminded me of Woody Allen a little bit. Rachel McAdams is always lovely, except that as Inez she was annoying being so impressed by her show-off friend, Paul. ("Gil, just pay attention. You might learn something." - ugh!). She, Michael Sheen as Paul and Nina Arlanda as his wife Carol made a great fictionary team of obnoxious - at times- adults who seem to be more comfortable with  "consuming" culture than actually living it.

The depictions of the '20s artists were quite inspired. Like the "celebrity couple" of the Fitzgeralds, played by Tom Hiddleston as Scott with his kind presence and clear american accent, calling Gil "old sport" like Gatsby did in his novel, and Alison Pill, so amusing as Zelda with her babbling south-american talk (by the way, Zelda was diagnosed with bipolar disorder later in the '30s). Even more notable was Corey Stoll as Hemingway, talking in a no-nonsense way, connecting his sentences with many "ands" when sober, and looking for fights when drunk. Adrien Brody was hilarious as Dali. As for Marion Cotillard as Adriana, she was perfectly lovely as always, but in an expected and safe way – hey, just my opinion.


I've got to admit, I was charmed by this view of Paris in the '20s, a vivid place full of parties and artistic personalities, all mingling together· it certainly contrasted Gil's early version of the present, where people will get a 20,000$ antique chair to feel sophisticated. Woody Allen presented the intellectual scene of that era in such an alluring and cosy way. All in all, it is a funny but not air-headed film with an original story, many entertaining references and not even one case of bad acting or miscasting (I would say). As if the gorgeous shots of Paris were not enough.

 

The film is full of smart funny lines, but:

Favorite line: "That was Djuna Barnes? No wonder she wanted to lead."

Are you looking for that song?

The Great Gatsby trailer

I don't know about you, but this is one of the best trailers I've seen in a while. Although romantic dramas are not my thing, and I haven't read the omonymous book yet, it looks like this adaptation is going to be interesting.

The story is supposed to be set in the 1920's but modern music is used, and it blends amazingly well. However, the first song is not completely irrelevant to the 1920's : in that decade there was an immigration of African American people from the south to the north of the USA, and they started making new music genres popular, such as jazz and blues - which are predecessors of r'n'b.

As for the second song, I guess it's not so relative to the '20s but to the story, because it is so damn dramatic and passionate.

I also hope this song really is in the soundtrack.

Apparently people are already trashing the movie at imdb and youtube. I don't get it. Besides, it doesn't have to be completely loyal to the book.

Nine

Nine is a musical set in '60s Italy. It is about Guido Contini, a famous italian director who fights to find inspiration for his next movie as well as balance his personal life. This film is supposed to be an adaptation of Frederico Fellini's oscar-awarded "8^1/2", but, since I haven't watched the latter, I saw Nine as if it was a movie out of the blue.

This film was directed by Rob Marshall, the director of "Chicago", and starred Daniel Day-Lewis as Guido Contini, Marion Cotillard as his wife (with whom he is estranged due to his cheating), Penelope Cruz as his mistress, Nicole Kidman as his muse/famous french actress, Judi Dench as his coworker, Fergie as Saraghina, Kate Hudson as an american reporter and Sophia Lauren as his mother.

It wasn't a bad movie. As all the musicals I am aware of, most of the songs included in it were not the music I would choose to listen to unless I am watching the movie. Except for "Be Italian", sang by Fergie, and "Take it all", sang by Marion Cotillard, which stayed with me.

Daniel Day-Lewis, as an incredible actor as he is, did not fully convince me as a womanizer. He is famous for being fully in character in every movie he does, and I guess fooling around is not something you do to get in character. I wasn't overwhelmed by Penelope Cruz either. Also, how does Nicole Kidman play a french actress without the smallest hint of french accent, or Judi Dench an italian costume maker with a british accent (although in that case it works). Sophia Lauren, who was, like, the only italian in there, had not much connection with Daniel Day-Lewis.

I enjoyed the movie, and I didn't hate it or anyone playing in it, but it seemed to me it needed more time to mature – even some of the musical parts looked like they needed more.. practice. In addition, I am not sure if the fact that every important character was played by a famous actor helped the movie. Actually, this might have deprived the film of much of the element of surprise. It looks like, "Hey, let's gather some stars and it will work out by itself." Also, maybe if the adaptation was about an american director it would be less forced-exotic. How an american director (Marshall) tries to capture the heart of Italy with a basically non-italian cast?

In short, even though the movie seems that it hasn't reached its whole potential, between "watch" and "don't watch" I would definetely choose "watch".

Is it my idea or Fergie sounds like a pirate? Still, her song is one of the highlights of the movie.

Don't be misled by the slightly boring first minute of the song. Keep on listening.

The invention of lying

I have a thing for not-too-quirky independent movies! And The invention of lying is one of them. It's a comedy about an imaginary world where people cannot conceive the concept of lying. This means that people are basically seperated into two categories, the ones that are considered good looking and successful and those who are considered unattractive and losers. It also means that the art of drama does not exist, and people call 'movies' the narration of historical events. Mark Bellison (Ricky Gervais) is a not very successful editor of such movies with a crush on Anna McDoogles (Jennifer Garner), a beautiful, successful, high-maintenance woman. His professional and love life do not go very well.. until he discovers the possibility of lying and seizes the day.

The whole cast is good, but Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner shine the most. There are a lot of well-timed comedic moments, and Ricky Gervais's british origins show in the aesthetic and the dialogues of the film. In the end, though, the movie reminded me a lot of the classic american romantic comedy: will the outsider get the girl? or will the main characters find true love and happiness? Not that this is necessarily bad.

The film makes fun of elements of western society, such as the typical criteria of success and the influence one's appearance makes to people's judgement. Clearly religion is teased, although in my opinion not in a serious way. What seems to be critisized is the simplistic, superficial way people sometimes tend to see religion, not the overall concept of spirituality.

I 'm not sure if this film is going to stick with me, but it is witty, funny and more original than many other movies.

Casino Royale fashion

Casino Royale is one of my favorite James Bond movies, not only because of the story and the filmmaking but also because of the stylish outfits.


Nope, mr. Bond does not look shabby.

 

The first 'wow' fashion moment happens when Solange Dimitrios appears, the wife of one of the guys Bond chases (close enough :P).

And then Vesper comes along, rocking a black suit with a bold attitude, contrasting Solange's ladylike look. Loved her style and the whole scene on the train.

"I'm the money."

"Every penny of it."
This picture is from the next scene, actually, but it is very similar.

 

Gorgeous black dress is gorgeous. However ...

 

... that is the female outfit winner of the movie for me.

Into the wild

Into the wild is a movie about the real story of Christopher McCandless, a young man who, after graduating university around 1990, donated his money to charity, destroyed his identifications and set off to explore the nature of North America without keeping in touch with his family. Disappointed by his parents and the materialism of the american dream, he travelled in Arizona, North Carolina, South Dakota, Colorado, Mexico, California, enjoying freedom and making several friends along the way. Much to everyone's sadness, he finally headed to Alaska, where he found an abandoned bus which he made his home. After a few months, living became harsher because of the lack of food. His attempt to return to civilisation failed because the river he had crossed in the winter had become violent due to the melting snow. Being trapped there, he eventually died from starvation, having realised that happiness is real when shared.

Sean Penn, who directed the film, seems to have dedicated to this movie the same kind of respect and power he gives to his roles. The gorgeous cinematography and the soundtrack mesh to present a slower America, as well as a natural, simple way of life that you feel you know but somehow you have forgotten. The narration is non-linear, yet clear, and the movie is long but not boring. Emile Hirsch is great portraying the idealist, adventurous Christopher McCandless.

This film is different from the usual american cinema because it neither deals with crime and violence, nor is sugarcoated. It is sweet as well as dramatic and sad, especially towards the end, but I just had to keep watching. There has been criticism that the film is too long and there are too many scenes with the hero alone, on the road or in nature etc. On the other hand, the hero spent two years travelling, and he did spend a lot of time doing things like that. So maybe there have to be many scenes like those so that we can put ourselves in his position, and see a good amount of images like he did. It's one of those movies that you feel that even if they may have flaws (not my opinion), they are meant to be there.

Goya's Ghosts

Goya's ghosts is a historical drama, set in Spain, at the late 18^th- early 19^th century. Francisco Goya was a spanish painter, considered now the first of the moderns, whose work was popular among both the spanish monarchs and the people, although not so much among the spanish church. In the movie, Goya's muse, Ines, is arrested by the church for heresy. Her father turns to Goya hoping that his connection with Brother Lorenzo, whom he is painting, can aid towards the release of his daughter..

Stellan Skarsgard, a swedish actor playing a spanish painter, was great as Goya, since he gave his character light, avoiding the pattern of the dark artist with the fixed eyes. Javier Bardem was also great as Lorenzo, natural and believable in his performance of a man who in a few years made a u-turn concerning his beliefs and his whole life. As for Natalie Portman, in her first scenes as pre-tortured Ines I can't say I was overwhelmed, since her playing a sweet innocent girl was not something new (I know, that's a bitchy comment). But later, as older Ines or as Alicia, she was pretty much outstanding.

The film deals with issues such as the religious oppression, the freedom (or lack of freedom) of speech, as well as the political changes taking place in the previous centuries, like the amazing similarly-themed movie El Greco. A difference between the two stories is that Goya is not the center of this movie, and he is presented more like a prominent person than a hero – after all, he was not trialed for anything. Actually, there isn't a particular star in this movie.

Watching well-made historical movies like this one makes me feel like I am in a museum or reading an illustrated encyclopedia with that paper smell (I mean that in a good way :P). Apart from that sentiment, though, the film gives you a lot to think about and feel through numerous powerful scenes, including the ending.

Looper

The movie Looper takes us to the year 2044, when a looper is someone who works for the mob and kills people who are sent back in time from the future by their bosses. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a looper that one day recognizes his future self on the victim and hesitates. As a result, the older Joe (Bruce Willis) escapes.

The future is portrayed as dark and decadent in this sci-fi action movie. A lot of killings, blood and gunshots take place. There aren't many funny moments – I think I laughed three times throughout the movie. The story is interesting, though, and it gets more meaningful as it goes on. Plus, the chemistry between older Joe and younger Joe is fun - like brothers, but without the brotherly love and with conflicted interests.

Bruce Willis, as always, has a robust, solid presence. Even though he is an established actor with so much experience in action movies, you never feel that he is there just to coast along and repeat his older performances. You can see that Joseph Gordon-Levitt picked up Bruce's mannerisms, but he also brought his own nuances, portraying the successful, yet morally uncomfortable with his life, assassin. His performance did not remind me any of his older ones I have seen. Emily Blunt surprised me, too. She came a long way from the uptight, british, fashion-oriented young woman in "The devil wears Prada", to a rugged american farmer in this movie - and she is very convincing. The difference is so big that when she appeared for the first time, that was the third funny moment for me. The little kid, Pierce Gagnon (who the trailer doesn't show, but plays an important role) was at least impressive.

I liked that movie not only because of the good acting, but also because its point is not time travel or the chasing. There are impressive special effects, but it's more about the people involved in the story and how they deal with the situations that occur to them, which happen to be extraordinary. (Spoiler alert) As for the end of the movie, it feels right for this kind of film: bitter, yet hopeful, contrasting the darkness of the 2044 world in the beginning.(/Spoiler alert)

Favorite line: "This time travel crap, just fries your brain like a egg..."


Trailer songs:

Milk

The movie Milk is about the first openly gay man that was elected to public office in the United States, Harvey Milk. The film describes the journey of Harvey Milk from the age of 40, when in 1972 he moved to San Francisco with his partner and started being more politically active, defending the rights of gay people at a time when they were stigmatized by conservative America, until he was assasinated in 1978.

I don't know if Gus Van Sant is my favorite director, but I definitely appreciate his style. In this film he describes many events at a brisk pace, never lagging. Among the scenes that were filmed now, real video bits from the '70s were also used. The music used in the movie came mostly from previous decades and dresses the movie in a scenical way. The storyline is not overshadowed by gay romantic scenes, since they start very early in the movie, leaving room for the 'important' parts of Harvey's journey to develop.

Sean Penn, as always, is terrific. In the film there is not even a tiny second that you have doubts about him as a gay activist man, or that you feel he overshadows the movie or the other actors. No need to say more about this, since he won an Oscar for this role. The rest of the cast is great, too. Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, James Franco, Alison Pill.. Although I am not sure if I did not like Diego Luna as Milk's second (in the movie) partner or I did not like his role.

A film worth seeing, since it presents socially important historical facts and people in an artistically wholesome way.

Favorite line: "Can two men reproduce?" "No, but God knows we keep trying."

The machinist

I was so happy this film was on TV the other day, because I had wanted to see it for some time.  The machinist is about Trevor, an industrial worker, who has not slept in a year. His insomnia was caused by his guilt about something he did a while ago, which he cannot remember because his mind blocked it over time. The lack of sleep has severely thinned his body and confused his mind. He has become obsessive, alienated from almost all people and suspicious that he is being chased.

This psychological thriller is dark (literally – the colors are very dark- and metaphorically). It is not particularly violent, since it does not revolve around abuse. It is also a mystery, and as it goes on it keeps you engaged while you try to connect the dots, until in the last minutes of the movie the mystery is solved and the hero finally sees clearly. They say there are many references to Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and having read "Crime and Punishment" I would agree that Trevor reminded me of Raskolnikov.

It's hard to believe that this film is so overlooked. It does move a tad slowly (although there are action scenes too), but maybe that rhythm is necessary for the viewer to experience the mental situation of the hero. Actually, this movie in a faster pace would probably be wrong. Christian Bale obviously is a very dedicated actor. Not only did he undergo a major weight loss (the biggest weight loss any actor has ever been through for a role), but he conveys the hero's inner situation without overdoing it. 

It is not a feel-good movie, but it probably won't depress you either. There aren't any deeper meanings about life emerging through the story - just a psychological thriller.

Favorite line? Probably none.. this movie is more about the atmosphere than the lines.

50/50

50/50 is one of the most recent cancer-themed movies, directed by Jonathan Levine, and inspired by the story of its writer, Will Reiser. In the past I have watched another two similarly themed movies, "Stepmom" and "The bucketlist". "Stepmom" is a strong movie. Dealing with relationships such as mother-teenage daughter, husband and ex-wife, ex-wife and current mistress, it is intense and melodramatic. "The bucket list" is a slightly lighter movie that makes you contemplate about friendship and the meaningful things in life. Both of them are golden movies with golden actors.

"50/50" is less dramatic than the above, yet powerful. It is about Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a regular, rule-abiding young man who one day learns that he suffers from a rare form of spinal cancer. The movie shows his journey during treatment and how he and the people in his life deal with it, like his best friend Kyle (Seth Rogen), his girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard), and his mom (Anjelica Huston).

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, as Adam, acts quietly and without profound emotion, leaving room for the audience to feel for themselves. He wins the viewer's empathy from the beginning to the end, barely making a frown or shedding a tear, a very modern approach if you ask me. Seth Rogen as Kyle, even though he is not exactly elegant, is touching as he stands by his friend without treating him like he's going to break. Anna Kendrick, as Adam's psychologist during his treatment, despite the initial awkwardness between them, becomes actually supportive to him in a way that complements Kyle's role.

There are funny as well as sweet, subtle moments, which are more due to the script and the chemistry between the actors, rather than the music of the movie. In fact, the soundtrack is there just to mildly complement the story, not to generate strong emotions to the audience (*cough* Nolan *cough*). In a nutshell, this movie is effortlessly outstanding.

Favorite line: "I would describe it as fine."

The switch

 

I watched The switch recently and I have to say that it was a quite enjoyable movie.

The plot, the directing and the soundtrack were good, even though they did not have surprises. Admittedly, the storyline and the emotional journey of the characters seem predictable. Still, this movie, directed by Will Speck, is interesting.

Jennifer Aniston portrayed Kassie in a cool, non forceful way. It was nice to see a female character that is not obsessed with something - career, marriage, family or general perfection - and that does not break down emotionally throughout the story. The movie is presented more from Wally's point of view, played by Jason Bateman, who is very good, as he succeeded in being both pessimistic and funny in his own way. The kid (Thomas Robinson) was adorable, not only as a kid but also as an actor, being responsible for a lot of the film's success. The two quirkier friends of the two protagonists, played amusingly by Juliette Lewis and Jeff Goldblum, added flavor to the movie rather than just fill the gap of the best friends in the cast. 

In short, this film might be simple as most romantic comedies, but it is well-produced and fun to watch, with many funny and cute bits. I would separate it from the pile of romantic comedies that come out every year, mostly because of the interesting mix the actors make. Also, in my opinion it's the most enjoyable movie among those that involve artificial insemination.

Favorite line: "Oooh, that's .. ill-advised." :)