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Nocturnal Animals (2016)
Intriguing, but a bit disappointing.
We've all had that book that we were addicted to. We read it every chance we could. Further into reading some of us even compared ourselves to the main character. Picturing ourselves as him/her and eventually may even find similarities to them. "Nocturnal Animals" was Susan's book.
This film follows a woman named Susan who receives a book from her ex-husband. One element of the film follows the main character in the book, Tony and how tragedy strikes his family. The other element of the film follows Susan and her journey.
The editing, cinematography and writing was pretty good. The viewer can feel the different and sometimes similar tones from Susan's life compared to Tony's life. The viewer can also understand the different emotions the characters were going through. The acting was spot on.
Now I'd like to discuss what I think could have been improved in this movie. The screenplay is based on a novel by Austin Wright. I haven't read it so I cannot compare. I can say, to me, I felt like I was just watching them. I didn't connect with them. During the whole movie, my heart didn't race, not once. I feel the writers could have spent more time establishing ways the viewer could relate to the main characters. I also understood the concepts the themes displayed but I feel they could have been executed better.
Overall the film is okay. At the end of the film I just felt, is this it? I wouldn't watch it again.
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
"Everyone Wants The Truth... Until They Find It"
Our choices make our realities, either good or bad. The question is; what is really good or bad? Is the world black or white? Can there be grey areas? These are the type of questions you will be asking yourself after watching this magnificent film.
Gone Baby Gone is based on Dennis Lehane's Mystic River. It follows two Boston private investigators that are given the case of missing 4-year old Amanda McCready. During the investigation, the private investigators work with Boston detectives in hope of finding Amanda alive and well.
To my shocking, this film marks the directorial debut of Ben Affleck. I have to say, he did more than a great job. Ben's brother, Casey Affleck, and Michelle Monaghan star as the private investigators. They both were authentic in their acting. The acting all around was very realistic which I believe is vital to this story.
Speaking of realistic, the montages of urban Boston were extremely authentic. The extras used looked like they lived in the streets of Boston their whole life. This really made me feel the story was real and I was watching it unfold right before my eyes.
The writing in this film is wonderful. It kept me on edge and had me thinking, there has to be more, something just doesn't seem right. The actors did a great job of portraying the story line. I like how despite Casey being a "young looking fellow" and presumably under qualified, according to the detectives, he had the guts to question everything, even when it could cost him his life.
Overall this is a great mystery that you deserve to unfold. This film questions morality and exploits human behavior. I loved this film and I bet you will too.
Fresh (1994)
This is what you'd call a "classic"
This is not a "hood" film. This film tells a calculating story in an utterly realistic manner. Yes it involves violence, sex, drugs, and the ghetto but it only involves it, it isn't just about it as most hood films are. This film tells a story of a boy in a tough situation who wants nothing more but justice. Will he get justice? If so, how? I guess you'll have to see.
I first would like to talk about acting. Let me say, Sean Nelson was a perfect pick for this role. He perfected this role to the tee. His determination, calculation, and creativeness showed us the real "Fresh". Samuel Jackson was also in my eyes a perfect pick for his role as Fresh's father. The script was mastered by these two actors. Every character had a specific role, nothing more, nothing less. There was great acting all around.
Next I'd like to talk about the writing. The writing in this film was magnificent. The story line is very entertaining. Not only does the story make the viewer think, it makes them guess what's next. The script was fantastically written and as I said before, the actors did a great job executing. What I love most about the script is that it uses a prop (chess) to coincide and parallel the story. This was very brilliant.
Last, I'd like to talk about cinematography and editing. Starting from the beginning montage, I knew I would love these aspects of the film. It almost seems as though the cinematographer and editor worked hand and had throughout. For example, I'd like to bring up the scene where Fresh speaking with Rosie. The beginning of the scene shows him walking away from his friends while they were teasing him. The camera focuses on fresh slowly fading away his friends. When he gets closer to the gate (Rosie is on the other side) the camera is edited back and forth between him and Rosie. In the beginning of the conversation the gate is in front of Rosie as a barrier. When the conversation gets more intense the gate is omitted and the camera is closer to their faces. This scene was played a part in the story line and was greatly executed. Cinematography and editing was a major reason this film is a classic in my books.
Fresh is one of my favorite films. I love how all aspects of filmmaking were brilliantly executed. It's a true classic. If you haven't seen it, next time you're looking for a movie to watch, let this be it. You will not be disappointed.
7eventy 5ive (2007)
Good concept, but very cliché and poorly executed.
**SPOILER ALERT**
The movie started out with a montage of a killing. It was edited with the opening credits. I'm not sure the reason behind this but it wasn't effective. It honestly annoyed me a bit.
Fast-forwarding 10 years later the killer comes back to haunt the children that viewed the past murder. He begins stalking them. In one particular scene he watches them from across the street. This scene was poorly edited. When we are seeing the killer's point of view, its blue and blurry. The last time I saw anything lie this was in the beginning murder scene. I'm not sure the reasoning behind this. I think it was very redundant and unnecessary.
On their way to the house, the students stop for a bathroom break. One if the students dresses like a clown and scares his friend in a bathroom stall. This is so cliché. Most slasher movies tend to do this.
Later on after the killings, we come to find out one of the students was the killer and had a friend aiding him. This is a great plot twist. This was the only thing I enjoyed in the entire movie. The movie had a great concept behind it, but was poorly executed and had too many "cliche moments".