A Most Violent Year is the
quintessential anti-Scorsese gangster film.
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
Monday, March 30, 2020
Take This Waltz Part 1: A Beautiful Cautionary Tale on Love and Desire (Film Analysis)
The late, great Roger Ebert once wrote a piece on how the film La Dolce Vita helped him “measure the inexorable progress of time.” Each
decade from 1962 to 2002 he saw the film and each decade his view on it altered
based on his own experiences and gained knowledge in life. I first saw Take This Waltz in 2011,
and watched it again in 2020. While it hasn’t been a decade yet, my life has vastly changed during those nine
years. I’ve graduated, own a house, a
dog, and a cat, had several jobs, and most notably been married for over five
years. My marriage is the key to this
review. My understanding and perspective
of Take This Waltz has altered vastly between viewings—as has my immense
appreciation. Where I once viewed Take
This Waltz as an interesting love triangle romance-drama has blossomed into
a beautiful cautionary tale on love and desire—full of clever, deceptive storytelling,
fleshed-out characters, lovely cinematography, and a knack for going against Hollywood conventions.
Sunday, March 29, 2020
The Artist's Disappointing Missed Opportunity (Film Review)
The Artist is a love letter
to silent films in addition to the Golden Age of Hollywood. It is filmed entirely in black and white,
primarily silent—using classic techniques such as title cards to tell its
story—and pays homage to many films of the classic era (from early silent films
all the way to the 1940s with films like Citizen Kane). I love watching silent films—even the
poorest quality ones have something to offer in terms of telling the birth and evolution
of cinema. But when I come across a
great one, a silent film with passion made by people showing zeal and ambition to
this newborn craft, it is an absolute treat.
Heck, my very own blog is named after one of the greatest, most
innovative silent films ever created (as well as one of my favorite films):
Buster Keaton's Sherlock Jr.