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By Sunil Dhokia Iconic, entertaining and the foundations of the spaghetti western genre, A Fistful of Dollars is filmmaking at its finest thanks to the one to two combinations of Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood. What's the Movie About? Directed by Sergio Leone, A Fistful of Dollars (1964) is a spaghetti western movie that follows the story of 'The Man With No Name' (Clint Eastwood), who enters the village of San Miguel at a time when a struggle for power ensues between the Rojo Brothers (Gian Maria Volonté, Sieghardt Rupp and Antonio Prieto) and Sheriff John Baxter (Wolfgang Lukschy). The unidentified man then looks to exploit this long-standing feud by providing false information to both parties to his advantage. Positives The economic storytelling from Sergio Leone, the beginning of Clint Eastwood's acting stardom, iconic action set-pieces and a musical score for the ages result in a classic movie-going experience: Direction In a movie where the runtime is a mere 99 minutes, Sergio Leone ensures that the story moves along at a brisk pace so that we get enough information to appreciate where the plot and characters are heading. The use of extreme close-up shots in several key scenes, particularly the climactic scene is used to great effect here. Whether it's capturing 'The Man With No Name's' cool and stoic qualities under pressure or the sense of dread and fear that the Rojo brothers instil in their village, Sergio Leone deploys the show it not tell it technique. For younger audience members, if you can overlook the obvious audio dubbing on the part of several actors' dialogue throughout the movie, then you can behold a movie that is masterfully crafted and executed from start to finish. Acting and Characters If there was ever a role that was built with a specific actor in mind, none comes to mind more so than Clint Eastwood in the role of 'The Man With No Name'. Clint Eastwood imbues the character with such conviction that you're immediately fascinated with his journey and where he will go next. By not including a back-story for 'The Man With No Name' means that the character carries no baggage and that his motivations and actions are driven only by the story at hand. The story puts the character through his paces by presenting him with real threats in the form of the Rojo Brothers. This ensures that he feels vulnerable at times which creates a lack of predictability in whether he will make it out alive or not. Action The opening and final action scenes in the movie are some of the best examples of how to create tension and conflict without overwhelming the audience with an abundance of characters and locations. The combination of wide and close-up shots from Sergio Leone and cinematographer Massimo Dallamano ensures that we feel every bullet, wound and moment of defeat that is captured wonderfully on-screen for us to savour up. Music It seems there are no other superlatives to describe the iconic score from Ennio Morricone. As the movie's title theme (see OST suite below) plays over the animated opening credits, you're immediately transported into a musical experience that is unlike anything you've heard before. Ennio Morricone practically wrote the rulebook on how to craft the definitive Western score that has been replicated in countless movies and other mediums such as T.V shows and video games but never duplicated. The combination of whistles, bells and a guitar among other instrumentation result in a score that is legendary and among the best the movie industry has to offer, let alone the Western genre. Summary
With an economic sense of storytelling combined with masterful direction from Sergio Leone, a legendary performance from Clint Eastwood, some of the most iconic action scenes of all-time and a musical score that is among the greatest ever produced, A Fistful of Dollars is worthy of your time and demands your attention in the best way possible. Verdict on the Movie 10 out of 10 Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on A Fistful of Dollars? Do you agree that it's a perfect Western movie and if not, what other Western movies do you prefer instead? Comment below as I'd love to hear your thoughts. Images above and below belong to Unidis and any other respective owners. All YouTube content above and their copyright belong to Imperial Music Group and any other respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
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Hello Guys, my name is Robbie Fleming, I run and write reviews for the website Robbie’s Reviews. Sunny asked if I wanted to collaborate with him and do a review for his website Hollywood Town. So I decided to review one of my favourite movies “Prisoners (2013)” I hope you enjoy and if you like this want to read more of my reviews here’s a link down the bottom https://robbiemf94.wixsite.com/robbiesreviews Prisoners is a 2013 crime drama directed by Denis Villeneuve, in his first English speaking film, and written by Aaron Guzikowski. The film stars Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Maria Bello, Terrence Howard, Melissa Leo, and Paul Dano.
The film is about 2 young girls who go missing and one of the father (Jackman) decides to take matters into his own hands by kidnaping the main suspect (Dano) and tortures him until he tells him the truth. Jake Gyllenhaal plays Detective David Loki, the main detective on the case with Bello playing Jackman’s wife, Davis and Howard play the parents of the other kidnapped girl and Leo plays Dano’s aunt. I first watched this film in 2019 and thought this was one of the best film I ever saw. It feels like 100% was put in everything that made this film and they came out with possibly one of the best films of the 2010s. The Cinematography by Roger Deakins got nominated for an Academy Award but lost to Gravity. I feel like this film is very underrated and unknown and I don’t understand why? This film is a true piece of Art. Denis Villeneuve tells a dark story but in a way that feels beautiful. Roger Deakins cinematography is perfect. It looks so sharp and clear and feels like you are watching something that feels like it actually happened. The score by the late Jóhann Jóhannsson is perfect. Some scenes don’t have any music to them and feel more real but when Jóhannsson’s score kicks in you feel like you’re on an intense emotional journey. His score helps the viewers feel the emotions what the characters are feeling. Acting wise, the cast gives some great Performances including Jackman, Davis, Howard and Dano. But my favorite character and performance in this film is from Jake Gyllenhaal. Before I watched this film, I watched Donnie Darko and Jarhead and in both them movies, Gyllenhaal feels like he is playing the same character. In Prisoners as Detective Loki, Gyllenhaal is playing a different character to what he normally plays. Instead of playing someone awkward like he is in Donnie Darko, he plays a tough cop that plays by his own rules. I think this is my favourite Gyllenhaal performance because it shows how diverse he is as Actor. The film has a great story that kicks in round the first 10 mins and then whole film is about them trying to find their daughters. Most films wouldn’t have this happen till the first 20-30 mins, but this film just gets straight to the point. This film is a very clever film that has small build then a great movie full of intense moments and a lot of twist and turns. This film I have no flaws with. This film a great movie that is beautiful shot, a great film score, great performances, and great directing from Villeneuve. This is a 5-star films and personally in my top 5 favourite films of all time. If you fancy a good film to watch and you have spare 2 and half hours go and watch Prisoners, it is a film that you won’t regret watching. Sunny’s Thoughts A captivating and engaging watch from start to finish, Prisoners is nail biting at the best of times as we become obsessed with wanting to locate the missing girls in question. Hugh Jackman's performance is phenomenal as Keller Dover as his search for the missing girls leads to him losing his sanity piece by piece. Jake Gyllenhaal is also brilliant as the cop Detective Loki, who plays the role with such confidence and command. Overall, with impeccable cinematography from Roger Deakins and under the assured hands of director Denis Villeneuve, Prisoners is a thriller that is thought-provoking and engaging at the same time. Verdict on the movie - 8 out of 10 Thanks for Reading. Check out my website when Sunny a.k.a Hollywood Town does his review on Alita Battle Angel. Source: 103CIR - 103.7FM Introduction As one of the forefront composers of the 1980s, Alan Silvestri is a unique gem of a composer with his ability to craft memorable and everlasting movie scores. He is a composer who has a distinctive musical voice and style that is unlike anything of his peers and is known to frequently collaborate with certain directors such as Robert Zemeckis. This article will look at my top 5 Alan Silvestri songs (in reverse order) and explore my thoughts on some of his most memorable songs. 5. 'Cast Away Theme' - Cast Away (2000) For a movie that had a minimal score, Alan Silvestri had a tough assignment on his hands when trying to develop the music for Cast Away (2000). As a result, Alan Silvestri delivered an emotional theme for the movie's protagonist Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks), which begins as Chuck is leaving the island for the first time. As the violins kick in during the full statement of the theme, it extenuates Chuck's love for his volleyball friend Wilson as we see the latter floating away in the sea. Alan Silvestri furthered the movie's themes of loneliness and isolation in the creation of this wonderful theme. 4. 'You Can't Sit Here' - Forrest Gump (1994) For all of the praise and awards that Forrest Gump (1994) received, perhaps an aspect of the movie that often gets overlooked is Alan Silvestri's brilliant score. The song 'You Can't Sit Here' is a great example of his ability to reinforce the images and ideas captured on-screen, in this case, capturing the innocence of a young Forrest Gump as he struggles to find a sit a seat on the school bus. As Jenny tells him that he can sit next to her if he wants, the use of violins is incorporated into the song that sells the love at first sight that Forrest experiences at that moment. The title theme recurs throughout the movie and serves as a reminder of the love and compassion that lies within Forrest Gump. 3. 'Howling Commando's Montage' - Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) In the MCU's first period-set movie, Alan Silvestri was more than up for the task of providing a score that felt appropriately patriotic and militaristic. The song 'Howling Commando's Montage' appears around the halfway mark of the movie as it contains Alan Silvestri's trademark fast-paced instrumentation to accompany the action. The song ends with 'Captain America's Theme' that perfectly sums up the montage of Cap and his Howling Commando's fighting off Hydra. The legacy and impact of Alan Silvestri's soundtrack in the MCU cannot be underestimated. 2. 'He Was the Best of Us' - Beowulf (2007) In the second of his motion-capture-animation collaborations with director Robert Zemeckis, the darker and moodier story of Beowulf (2007) allowed Alan Silvestri to go into full fantasy mode when crafting the movie's soundtrack. The song 'He Was the Best of Us' is a great summation of the various themes presented in the movie. The use of 'Beowulf's Theme' in this song is conveyed with much more sincerity than in the previous times we hear it in the movie. This approach to the song allows us to empathise with Beowulf, who has grown from a young, arrogant warrior to a humbled king concluding his fairy tale story. The use of a choir towards the end of the song brings home the epic fantasy tone of the movie and is one of Alan Silvestri's most underrated soundtracks in his vast composing filmography. 1. 'Back to the Future' - Back to the Future (1985) Was the number one choice going to be anything else? One of the most iconic movie themes not only of the 1980s but of all-time, Back to the Future's title theme is bold, inventive and grandiose to the max (in all the right ways). When Alan Silvestri was tasked with crafting the score for Back to the Future (1985), Robert Zemeckis made a key suggestion to the composer. That was to make the music as big as possible so that the movie felt big in scope. And boy did Alan Silvestri deliver with the movie's title theme that begins with a series of drums and the inclusion of brass before we hear the theme in all of its glory. It's Alan Silvestri's theme that gives Back to the Future the push needed to propel the movie into the stratosphere of classic status. Bravo Alan Silvestri for delivering big time on this score. Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on my top 5 list of Alan Silvestri songs? Do you agree with them and if not, what would be your top 5 songs? Comment below as I'd love to hear your thoughts. Copyright for the above songs belongs to Varèse Sarabande, Sony Music Entertainment Inc, Buena Vista, Marvel Music, Warner Music, Intrada and any other respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Source: Comicbook.com Source: VOA News and Associated Press By Sunil Dhokia Introduction Outside of a handful of other composers, Hans Zimmer maybe the most well-known and admired film composer in today's era of cinema. As a composer who pioneered the use of electronic music into Hollywood movies in the 1980s, Hans Zimmer forever changed how audiences experienced music at the movie theatres. This article will look at my Top 5 Hans Zimmer songs (in reverse order) and explore my musical experiences from these songs. 5. 'Discombobulate' - Sherlock Holmes (2009) In one of his most eclectic scores to date, Hans Zimmer was in full experimentation mode when he crafted the score for Sherlock Holmes (2009). This theme has a distinctive Eastern European flavour to it as the song encompasses the peculiar and mysterious nature of the movie. One of Hans Zimmer's finest movie themes without a doubt. 4. 'Honour Him' - Gladiator (2000) What can I say about Gladiator that hasn't been said already? Particularly of Hans Zimmer's score, that was nominated for multiple awards and forever became apart of our popular culture. The song 'Honour Him' is a top example of Hans Zimmer's ability to convey the heartbreaking emotions that we experience during the penultimate scene of the movie. The swell of the orchestra towards the end of the song is a fitting tribute to Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe). 3. 'A Small Measure of Peace' - The Last Samurai (2003) A song that sums up the movie's themes of honour, hope and Japanese culture. Hans Zimmer crafted what might be the most operatic score of his career thus far (and that's a good thing). He combines traditional western orchestral music with Japanese instrumentation to create a song that is contemplative, sad at the best of times but is fitting of a movie that despite its mixed critical reception is one of the best from Edward Zwick and Tom Cruise's filmography. 2. 'This Land' - The Lion King (1994) In one of Disney's most beloved and popular movies of all-time, The Lion King (1994) achieves its lofty status thanks in part to Hans Zimmer's powerful score. In the song 'This Land', we initially hear the familiar flute instrumentation from earlier in the movie as this is incorporated with the use of an African choir. In particular, the use of the choir sells the idea of placing us in the same location as the characters we see on-screen. The triumphant note that the song ends on is uplifting in furthering our attachment to Simba's character with (spoiler alert for those who haven't seen the movie) his eventual return to Pride Rock. 1. 'Journey to the Line' - The Thin Red Line (1998) A song that would be used in multiple trailers throughout the 2000s and beyond, 'Journey to the Line' is Hans Zimmer operating at the peak of his powers. The gradual build-up of sound and instrumentation only enhances our experience of seeing the awful acts of violence depicted on-screen. Grand and operatic are the words that come to mind when summing up the experience of listening to this song for the first time. Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on my top 5 list of Hans Zimmer songs? Do you agree with them and if not, what would be your top 5 songs? Comment below as I'd love to hear your thoughts. Copyright for the above songs belongs to WaterTower Music, Universal Music Group, Elektra Records, Sony Music Entertainment and any other respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Source: Masterclass and The Hollywood Reporter Source: Spotify By Sunil Dhokia Introduction He's a composer whose status in Hollywood has only been enhanced with each movie he composes. Thomas Newman is, without doubt, one of the great movie composers of our time. His variety in tackling different types of movies has allowed him to experiment with musical styles that composers don't always veer into. This article will look at my Top 5 Thomas Newman songs (in reverse order) and explore my experiences from these musical masterpieces. 5. 'Big Right' - Cinderella Man (2005) Ron Howard's traditional go-to musical man, the late James Horner did not fulfil composing duties for Cinderella Man (2005). Enter Thomas Newman, who utilises his signature tenderness for crafting subtle, emotional songs. 'Big Right' is a great example of Thomas Newman's ability to supplement, rather than overpower the raw emotions depicted in this case, during the climactic fight between James J. Braddock (Russell Crowe) and Max Baer (Craig Bierko). As the fight enters its final moments, Thomas Newman appropriately dials up the volume of the orchestra that sweeps us emotionally into James Braddock's story as the song ends on an appropriately rousing note. 4. 'Arose' - American Beauty (1999) Thomas Newman is fantastic at adapting his musical sensibilities to fit the movie in question. And there may be no better example than in American Beauty (1999). In the first of a series of collaborations with director Sam Mendes, Thomas Newman captures the joy of Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) seeing Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari) covered in roses on his bedroom ceiling. The dreamlike state of the scene is conveyed with Thomas Newman's use of quirky instrumentation that is a departure from his traditional musical style but is perfectly suited within the context of the scene. 3. 'Rock Island, 1931' - Road to Perdition (2002) In a movie that is in many ways an anti-gangster flick, Thomas Newman establishes the emotional dynamic of Road to Perdition (2002) in its opening scene. As we see Michael Sullivan Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) ride his bicycle through the streets of 1930s Illinois during The Great Depression, we hear Thomas Newman utilising Celtic instrumentation before the musical bridge of the song uses traditional orchestral textures. Both sounds work in perfect harmony with one another as we're immediately invested in the innocence of our young protagonist. 2. 'Coffey on the Mile' - The Green Mile (1999) While The Green Mile (1999) did not reach the heady heights of The Shawshank Redemption (1994), one factor that was consistent between both movies was the music from Thomas Newman. In his second collaboration with Frank Darabont, Thomas Newman opted for a more subtle approach to his writing of the movie's musical material. The 'Coffey on the Mile' song is a perfect example of his ability to combine his signature quieter musical statements with sweeping emotional peaks to the music. For those that have seen the movie, you'll know that the importance of the song to this scene is huge in terms of selling the story's emotional pay-off. 1. 'Shawshank Prison' (Stoic Theme) - The Shawshank Redemption (1994) As Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) makes his way towards Shawshank prison for the first time, we're immersed in the landscape of the prison through Roger Deakins magnificent cinematography. What gives the scene its gold seal of approval though is Thomas Newman's beautiful orchestral 'Stoic Theme' that dominates our senses. Thomas Newman expertly contrasts the dark, harsh environment of Shawshank prison with a song that makes you empathetic for Andy Dufresne's plight as a character in that particular moment. Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on my Top 5 list of Thomas Newman songs? Do you agree with them and if not, what would be your top 5 songs? Comment below as I'd love to hear your thoughts. Copyright for the above songs belongs to Universal Classics Group, SKG Music, UMG Recordings Inc, Warner Records Inc, Epic Records (a division of Sony Music Entertainment) and any other respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Source: Variety, Alberto Rodriguez and Disney/Pixar
Source: NME By Sunil Dhokia Introduction He is a composer that even at the grand old age of 88 is still producing high-quality film music that is head and shoulders above the competition. From Jaws to Star Wars, John Williams has proved himself time and again with his unique ability for crafting memorable movie themes and soundtracks that have etched themselves into our popular culture. This article will focus on my 'Top 5' songs (in reverse order) from John Williams as I'll discuss the various emotional responses that came from hearing these songs for the first time. 5. 'Theme from Home Alone' ("Somewhere in My Memory") - Home Alone (1990) Some might be surprised by this choice while others might be nodding in agreement as to why this song makes the number 5 spot. What Home Alone's title theme does magnificently well is how it captures the young innocence of the movie's protagonist Kevin McCallister. The use of a children's choir, in particular, reinforces this idea and conveys what Christmas is all about: family and caring for your loved ones. 4. 'Hymn to the Fallen' - Saving Private Ryan (1998) It's hard to not shed a tear or two when hearing the first minute or so of this heartbreaking track on Saving Private Ryan's OST. John Williams said that he wanted to create a song for the movie's end credits that honoured the deaths of the various characters we've grown to be attached with. In doing so, the song packs a gut-wrenching emotional punch in recalling the horrors of World War II and is angelic in its approach with the inclusion of the Boston Symphony Orchestra choir. As a result, we're emotionally swept up with a heartbreaking conclusion to one of the greatest war movies of all-time. 3. 'Prologue' - JFK (1991) Inspirational, uplifting and the search for justice are all ideas that come to mind when the full statement of the main theme in JFK comes to fruition. Though John Williams was infamously short on time with his JFK score due to his commitment with regular collaborator Steven Spielberg on Hook (1991), his ability to craft a larger-than-life theme cannot be understated. Similar to his Born on the Fourth July score (another Oliver Stone collaboration), one can hear the honest and sincere sounds of America bursting through the speakers as the 'Prologue' is a fitting tribute to one of the great unresolved mysteries in U.S history. 2. 'Welcome to Jurassic Park' - Jurassic Park (1993) A score that has gone down in history as not only one of John Williams best but also containing one of the greatest movie themes of all-time. John Williams captures the awe-inspiring wonder of seeing dinosaurs' on the big screen in a way that many monster movies had not captured before or since then for that matter. Once the 'Welcome to Jurassic Park' theme eventually kicks in the second half of the track, we're immediately taken to Isla Nubla as our profound memories of the movie come flooding back. Loud, bombastic and triumphant were the exact qualities the movie's soundtrack needed and this track along with rest of the OST delivers that and more. 1. 'I Could Have Done More'- Schindler's List (1993) It's a debate that could go on for eternity and by no means is there a right or wrong answer, but this song choice from Schindler's List was most definitely based on the raw, emotional response that came from seeing the movie for the first time. While I won't spoil the penultimate scene for those for who haven't seen Schindler's List (which I implore you to do so at the earliest opportunity) it cannot be understated how important of a role this particular track plays in selling the movie's pay off if you will. The haunting violin strings from Itzhak Perlman will linger in your memory long after the credits roll and serve as an unfortunate reminder of the countless lives lost during The Holocaust. It's a theme that's rewarding not necessarily for its enjoyment per se but as a way to appreciate John Williams's knack for going into the emotional depths of a movie and coming out the other end with an experience that you won't forget. Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on my top 5 list of John Williams songs? Do you agree with them and if not, what would be your top 5 list? Comment below as I'd love to hear your thoughts. Copyright for the above songs belongs to Sony Music Entertainment, UMG Recordings Inc, Elektra Entertainment and Geffen Records. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Source: People and Alberto E. Rodriguez/GettySource
By Sunil Dhokia Action-packed, fun and exciting, Spider-Man: Far From Home delivers for the web-head in more ways than one and ends Phase 3 of Marvel Studios with a home run. Spoiler-Warning: This is going to be a spoiler-filled review of Spider-Man: Far From Home, so if you have not seen the movie, I would advise that you watch the movie first and then come back to my review to avoid any narrative details. What's the Movie About? Directed by Jon Watts, Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) is a superhero movie that follows the continued adventures of Peter Parker / Spider-Man (Tom Holland). In this story, Peter and his classmates including MJ (Zendaya) go on a school trip to Europe until Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) along with Quentin Beck / Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) recruit Spider-Man to aid them in their mission to defeat the villainous Elementals. Positives In usual Marvel Studios fashion, the focus on its characters along with their ability for spectacular action is the movie's core strengths: Focus on Characters and Performances There's a reason why Marvel Studios are in the 23rd feature movie of their multi-billion-dollar franchise. It's their focus on the strengths and flaws of their heroes that have allowed the studio to accumulate and grow their fan base to where they are today as the dominant studio in Hollywood. Spider-Man: Far From Home continues this trend by exploring how Peter Parker is feeling the effects of (spoiler warning for those who haven't seen Avengers: Endgame) Tony Stark's death in his everyday life. This casts a shadow over Peter as the story explores the themes of father-figures, growing up into adulthood and responsibility as one gets older. This evolution in Peter's character arc means that Tom Holland can balance the action elements of Spidey with his ability for plunging into the emotional depths of Peter's psyche. For example, when Peter tells Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) how he misses Tony Stark, Tom Holland conveys Peter's heartbreaking emotions for Tony with such flair and ease. Confident storytelling along with Peter Parker's defined character arc means that when the big set-pieces arrive (and trust me, they do), we're already emotionally involved in Peter's journey and his drive to be the hero that the world sorely needs. Michelle Jones aka MJ played once again by Zenadya makes a return in this movie. Screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers give MJ a lot to do in the story as she frequently interacts with Peter Parker and becomes entangled with his crime-fighting alias. It's a vast improvement over MJ's role in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), where she appeared for the sake of saying dialogue in a deadpan delivery to various characters. While this trait is retained in the sequel, it's thankfully reduced to a handful of moments. By the screenwriters adding more dimensions to MJ's character, it allows Zendaya's charming personality to come through in her performance. This is evident in the Prague bridge scene between MJ and Peter Parker as Zendaya balances MJ's teenage awkwardness with her growing affection for Peter. By the movie's end, we're just as invested in MJ as we are with Peter Parker. Following Michael Keaton's nuanced portrayal of Adrian Toomes / Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the sequel picks up the baton and delivers once again in crafting a compelling villain in Mysterio. Jake Gyllenhaal is in scene-stealing form in a role that's a departure from the heroic roles we've grown accustomed to seeing from him. The outbursts of anger from Mysterio, particularly in the climactic battle with Spider-Man each time his plans don't come together is a joy to watch. It allows Jake Gyllenhaal to give his interpretation of a moustache-twirling villain without veering into campy or ridiculous. These moments of villainy only work however, if the movie gives Mysterio clear motivations for his actions along with crafting a developed character arc. Fortunately, the movie delivers both in spades as the 'big twist' in Quentin Beck's character arc is how Tony Stark / Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) betrayed him in Captain America: Civil War (2016) by stealing his E.D.I.T.H A.I technology and renaming it B.A.R.F in the process. This reveal gives Quentin Beck a reason for why he wants to retaliate against the world after not being shown any affection by his former boss. It's this care and attention into Mysterio's character development that allows Jake Gyllenhaal to combine the dramatic aspects of his character with his likability and appeal as an actor. Action While the action scenes in the MCU by this point have generally been of a high standard, it seems that Spider-Man in his first solo MCU outing may have gotten the short end of the straw. By no means is this a slant on Homecoming though as it was looking to move away from the big action of the previous Spidey movies in favour of a scaled-down approach. It only felt right therefore that the sequel upped both the stakes and scale of its action set-pieces. And Far From Home is a definite improvement over Homecoming in that regard. The first decision that Jon Watts made in his approach to the action was to place Spider-Man in a foreign setting. By moving away from New York City and setting the action across Europe allows the movie to give audiences something both familiar and different at the same time. The familiar is seeing Spidey do battle, this time against 'The Elementals', whilst the uniqueness comes from the variety of villains that Spidey faces with their different power abilities. This is complemented with the contrast of high and low-key lighting techniques, moving from the bright, sunny location of Venice in Spidey's battle with the Water Elemental to the harsher, dark landscape of Prague in his fight against the fire Elemental. The second decision that impacted the action is the use of a Spider-Man villain not depicted on-screen before. With Mysterio's illusion technology, it allowed Jon Watts to come up with some interesting and inventive action scenes that explore some of Spidey's deepest fears and inner conflicts. Moments such as Mysterio dropping MJ from the top of a building or Iron Man rising from his grave to attack Spider-Man are great examples of Jon Watts visually conveying Spidey's fears without the overuse of exposition. And in a lot of ways, that's far more interesting than just watching the good guy beat the crap out of the bad guy or vice versa. Negatives A few issues in the pacing and editing departments stop Far from Home from achieving top marks in class: Pacing and Editing Much like Spider-Man: Homecoming, Far From Home follows a similar suit in its slower pace to the second act of the movie. While it's understandable that the movie takes this time to flesh out more of the characters' inner conflicts such as Peter's need to step out of Tony Stark's shadow as a hero, it also removes some of the spark that was felt in the first act of the movie. As a result, the movie feels slightly padded out then it needed to be and some tighter cuts in the editing department would have helped the movie maintain a sense of energy from to start to finish. Summary
A sequel that improves upon its predecessor in almost every way, Spider-Man: Far From Home is superhero escapism at its finest with stellar performances from Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jake Gyllenhaal, grand-scale action and a mid-credits scene that will leave you in a shock. Verdict on the Movie 8 out of 10 Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on Spider-Man: Far From Home? Do you agree that it's better than Spider-Man: Homecoming? Comment below as I'd love to hear your thoughts. All images above and below and their copyright belong to Sony Pictures Releasing, Marvel Studios and any other respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. By Sunil Dhokia With a slick, well-oiled collection of action scenes and some powerhouse performances from Tom Cruise and Robert Duvall, Tony Scott's racing action drama manages to get to the finish line despite a few hiccups along the way. Spoiler-Warning: I will be covering the key plot points in Days of Thunder so if you have not seen the movie, I would advise that you watch the movie first and then come back to my review to avoid any narrative details. What's the Movie About? Directed by Tony Scott, Days of Thunder (1990) is a sports action drama in which race car driver, Cole Trickle (Tom Cruise) is thrust into the world of NASCAR racing. He quickly develops a rivalry with a driver, Rowdy Burns (Michael Rooker) until a crash during one of their races threatens to end both of their careers. When Rowdy Burns is in hospital after learning that he has to undergo brain surgery that rules him out of Daytona 500, he asks Cole to drive his car at the event. It's now up to Cole along with help of his driving mentor, Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall) as they go for a final push to try and win Daytona 500 for the first time. Positives Where Days of Thunder excels is in its acting and action set-pieces: Acting Believe it or not, there was a time when Tom Cruise appeared in movies that allowed his acting abilities to be front and centre of the camera. Days of Thunder strikes a balance between the action scenes we've come to expect from Tom Cruise and the dramatic side to his persona. The story uses a straightforward character arc for Cole Trickle: Cole thinks he's untouchable at the beginning of the movie, he's then humbled by a near-fatal car crash and then he finds the strength to race in the final NASCAR event. This character arc allows Tom Cruise to portray the cocky, brash and arrogant qualities that makes Cole anything but a sympathetic character when we first meet him. What's more interesting is the psychological effects that Cole experiences in the aftermath of his car crash. It's here that the empathetic and therefore engaging side of Tom Cruise's acting comes to fruition as he conveys the vulnerable and frightened qualities of Cole. In any case, Tom Cruise brings to the table his youthful charm and wit to the movie's advantage as we're always rooting for him to win his NASCAR events. Robert Duvall is dependable as ever in his role as Cole Trickle's mentor, Harry Hogge. Stoicism, a father-like figure and a great sense of humour are qualities that Robert Duvall infuses in the character of Harry. His chemistry with Tom Cruise is the emotional throughline that keeps the movie ticking along; even during the movie's second act that takes a break from the thrills and spills of the NASCAR world. In a movie that is mostly filled with one-note characters, Robert Duvall conveys Harry with a sense of gravitas to his character's journey. The scenes in which Harry is talking to his car or his conversations with Cole allow Robert Duvall to show the caring, loving side to his character and the passion that he has towards NASCAR. Action In a movie that focuses on the phenomenon of NASCAR, if the action doesn't deliver then the movie doesn't deliver - It's as simple as that. Under the assured hands of the late Tony Scott, the racing set-pieces capture the chaotic and frantic nature of being inside a NASCAR vehicle. The use of POV (point of view) shots particularly when seeing the action from Cole Trickle's perspective allows the audience to experience the sheer power and force of these vehicles as well as the inherent dangers that come when driving a vehicle at high speeds. The use of quick cuts during the action scenes between Cole Trickle and his rival drivers along with a shaky camera technique also allows us to experience the adrenaline and rush of driving a NASCAR vehicle. Its edge of your seat action as Tony Scott understands the importance of keeping the camera in a constant state of motion so that the action maintains a high intensity of excitement. Furthermore, Tony Scott decides to set each of the NASCAR events during the day. This choice coupled with the use of wide-shots at various points in the races ensures that we have a clear picture of where the drivers are positioned to one another. Negatives The characterisation of Doctor Claire Lewicki along with her relationship with Cole Trickle stop Days of Thunder from achieving first place at the finish line: Dr Claire Lewicki Nicole Kidman as Dr Claire Lewicki is, unfortunately, a character of its time as the thankless love interest to Cole Trickle. In typical Hollywood fashion, the movie has her character shift from her respectable profession as a Doctor to suddenly becoming the girlfriend of Cole Trickle, complete with Claire taking days off the job without any moral regard or regret. It's not that Nicole Kidman is doing a bad job in the role by any means. On the contrary, she's doing the best she can with the material she's been given. It's as if the producers felt that in keeping the masculine nature of the movie, we must see Nicole Kidman have sexual interactions with Tom Cruise for fear that male audiences wouldn't otherwise be interested in her character. Scenes such as when Claire is examining Cole in the aftermath of his car crash, in which she randomly kisses him on two separate occasions, are completely out of left-field with her character. Relationship between Cole Trickle and Dr Claire Lewicki Much like Michael Bay today in his macho-orientated movies, Tony Scott portrays the female characters in Days of Thunder as nothing more than objects to be gratified by their male counterparts. And in the case of the relationship that forms between Cole Trickle and Dr Claire Lewicki, this is no different. Except for a few scenes in which Claire uses her expertise to explain to Cole why he shouldn't go back into NASCAR after his accident, the backbone of her relationship with Cole is for her to be a sexual release for his character. The scene when Cole and Claire are making love in which she says to him show me what control is with how he feels when driving a NASCAR vehicle is about as cringy as a love scene is going to get. Watching these scenes in the context of today's movies shows how far Hollywood has come in its portrayal of women and how there's still a long way to go before we see female characters across the board being portrayed as equal to their male equivalents. Summary
Whether you're a NASCAR fanatic or not, there's plenty to admire about Days of Thunder, with Tom Cruise and Robert Duvall's commanding performances along with a bevy of adrenaline-fuelled action scenes combining in an event you won't want to miss. Verdict on the Movie 7.5 out of 10 Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on Days of Thunder? Do you think that the action scenes have aged well in the onslaught of action movies we have today? Comment below as I'd love to hear your thoughts. All images above and below and their copyright belong to Paramount Pictures and any other respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. By Sunil Dhokia Anchored by an engaging performance from Steve Carell, Welcome to Marwen is another example of Robert Zemeckis's knack for merging special effects with great storytelling. What's The Movie About? Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Welcome to Marwen (2018) is a drama that is based on the true-life story of Mark Hogancamp (Steve Carell) who after being beaten to near-death by a group of white supremacists, builds the fictional miniature village of Marwen to help him cope with his PTSD. Spoiler-Warning: I will be covering the key plot points in Welcome to Marwen so if you have not seen the movie, I would advise that you watch the movie first and then come back to my review to avoid any narrative details. Positives The combination of great storytelling, fantastic acting and excellent special effects come together to take the audience on an emotional journey: Story Movies that deal with PTSD often have a hard time balancing tones for fear of not paying the subject with a certain amount of respect. Fortunately, Welcome to Marwen has moments of genuine levity that does not comprise the dramatic focus of the movie. These moments come in the scenes that take place in Marwen as Mark Hogancamp's fictional counterpart, Cap'n Hogie's comradery with 'the women of Marwen' is a joy to watch. When Mark meets his new neighbour Nicol (Leslie Mann) for the first time, her introduction is the emotional pivot to Mark's story. The movie wisely focuses on Nicol's caring qualities as Mark's point of entry into reconciling his fractured relationship with the outside world. The movie also walks the tightrope of telling a story within a story. The screenwriters of Caroline Thompson and Robert Zemeckis achieve this by ensuring that Marwen acts as a mirror to Mark Hogancamp's inner demons in the real-world. An example is when Mark proposes to Nicol, just as Cap'n Hogie successfully did in Marwen. The only difference is that Nicol rejects Mark's marriage proposal telling us that the fantasies of Marwen don't always come to life. These emotional moments ensure that the world of Marwen always serves a purpose to Mark's story. Steve Carell Predominantly known for his comedic roles for a large part of his career, Steve Carell is another actor who makes the successful transition from the comedy world to more dramatic roles. Welcome to Marwen is an example of how he's able to perform in a dramatic role with relative ease. The character of Mark Hogancamp goes through a range of emotions in the movie from sad to paranoid and then happy. Steve Carell conveys each of these emotions with such conviction that we slowly become empathetic towards his situation. The scene where Mark breaks down after having a memory of the night he was beaten up, shows Steve Carell's ability to portray the sad and reclusive qualities of Mark's character without it ever feeling forced or not earned. Steve Carell also portrays the kind and honest aspects of Mark particularly in his encounters with Roberta (Merritt Wever) and Nicol, as these qualities make us yearn for Mark to seek peace within himself in his quest for justice against his attackers. Direction Robert Zemeckis brings a moderate pace to the way the story is told. In doing so, he allows the audience to experience the trials and tribulations that Mark Hogancamp goes through in his everyday life, without showing the cause of his PTSD for a good chunk of the movie. The scenes in which Mark talks to his Marwen dolls is a great example of how Robert Zemeckis takes the time to flesh out these moments just long enough so that we understand Mark's lonely existence as well as learning how he copes with his PTSD. The action set-pieces in Marwen are shot with the usual flair that we've come to expect from Robert Zemeckis. Marwen's CGI world allows Robert Zemeckis to use elaborate camera angles and shots to create a sense of excitement which always serves the story and characters at large. The final action scene in Marwen in which the camera cuts back and forth between 'the women of Marwen' fighting off Nazi soldiers and Cap'n Hogie's fight with another Nazi soldier exemplifies Robert Zemeckis's ability to create engaging action in which every action beat is used for maximum emotional impact. Special Effects Robert Zemeckis has always been known as a director, who (along with James Cameron) has a unique sensibility of using special effects in service of the story being told as opposed to using these tools as a mere gimmick (Michael Bay, I'm looking in your direction). Welcome to Marwen is another example of Robert Zemeckis of delivering first-rate special effects that never takes you out of the movie but immerses you into the world of Marwen. Marwen is a fully-realised world with bell towers, bars and churches all populating the village. The best use of this technology, much like he did with his movie 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' is Robert Zemeckis's ability to incorporate the animated world into our reality. The scenes where Mark has visions of Nazi soldiers attempting to shoot and kill him in a courtroom or when he is laying down on the floor in his home as bullets are being fired through his front window are examples of how Robert Zemeckis uses visual techniques to succinctly convey the struggles that Mark experiences from his PTSD. The Bad A glaring flaw in the movie is the miscasting of Leslie Mann as the character of Nicol: Leslie Mann As an actor who like Steve Carell is known mostly for her roles in comedy movies such as 'This is 40', there's always been the feeling that Leslie Mann is unable to shake off her whiny voice and demeanour in her performances. While this acting approach works fine in her comedic roles, this doesn't mesh well with the dramatic focus of this movie. This is evident in the scene when Nicol rejects Mark's marriage proposal as Leslie Mann's attempt at crying comes off as weak and forced at best, thus exposing her lack of experience in dramatic roles. Though Leslie Mann does a serviceable job at times in her role as Nicol, it feels as if there's a lack of effort in the way she delivers her lines, doing so in a flat, dull manner in her scenes with Steve Carell. It could be down to the way that the character was written by the screenwriters' (which by the end of the movie, Nicol effectively goes through a flat-character arc) as there's the feeling that the role doesn't cater to Leslie Mann's limited acting capabilities and is a missed opportunity in selling the relationship between Mark and Nicol. Summary With an emotional story, some excellent special effects and the combination of Steve Carell and Robert Zemeckis results in a movie that is inspiring, sad yet uplifting. Verdict on the Movie 7 out of 10 Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on Welcome to Marwen? Do you agree that the special effects were in service of the story or not? Comment below as I'd love to hear your thoughts. All images above and below and their copyright belong to Universal Pictures and any other respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Written by Sunil Dhokia An unevenly directed movie coupled with a muddled screenplay overshadows solid performances from its lead actors. What's The Movie About? Directed by Danny Boyle, Yesterday (2019) is a romantic comedy that follows the story of Jack Malik (Himesh Patel), a struggling musician who is the only person in the world that knows who The Beatles are, following a road accident that he experiences. Thereafter, Jack is propelled into the stardom of the music world after taking credit for the songs that The Beatles wrote. Spoiler-Warning: I will be covering the key plot points in Yesterday so if you have not seen the movie, I would advise that you watch the movie first and then come back to my review to avoid any narrative details. The Good In a movie that had so much potential, it unfortunately only delivers in the acting department: Acting Despite being mostly known for his work in T.V roles such as EastEnders, Himesh Patel makes the successful transition from the small screen to the silver screen. In a role that could have easily descended into fanboyism, Himesh Patel brings a reserved and quiet nature to his performance as Jack Malik with the loud, bravado moments saved for the range of songs that he performs from The Beatles back-catalogue. Lily James brings a level of warmth and charm to her performance as Jack's friend, Ellie Appleton. She shares an easy chemistry with Himesh Patel as the emotional moments that Ellie goes through in the movie such as when Jack talks to Ellie at a train station before he sets off to Los Angeles, allows Lily's acting chops to come to the forefront. For any Beatles fans out there (which I imagine are quite a few), they will be quite satisfied with how the movie pays homage to this iconic rock group. Fan favourite songs such as 'Eleanor Rigby' and 'Hey Jude' are performed and referenced throughout the movie, as Himesh Patel does a reliable job of showing his surprising vocal range to the various Beatles songs and therefore respecting the legacy of The Beatles. Negatives The lead performances in Yesterday are sadly let down by the movie's execution in its direction and screenplay: Direction and Screenplay Given director Danny Boyle's reputation as one of Britain's best exports in the movie industry along with screenwriter Richard Curtis's credentials in the romantic comedy landscape, it comes as quite a surprise as to how there's a lack of focus in the way that the story is told. This is evident when the story tries to bring back Ellie's character, each time Jack's fame rises throughout the movie. Jack and Ellie's romantic sub-plot doesn't quite hit home. The screenplay provides titbits of information about Jack and Ellie's friendship which the story never really delves into nor does it have any emotional impact on the audience. There's always the feeling that Danny Boyle needs to get through these emotional moments as quickly as possible so that we can hear Jack perform the next Beatles song. The lack of development to Jack and Ellie's relationship, particularly when Jack proclaims his love for her in the penultimate scene at Wembley Stadium (as a result of a below-par screenplay) means that its significance falls flat when in an ideal world, this should be the rousing moment where Jack's redemption in his character arc pays off. Summary A lack of clarity in the direction of the movie along with questionable choices in the screenplay, despite reliable performances from Himesh Patel and Lily James, stop Yesterday from achieving legendary status like its musical counterpart. Verdict On The Movie 6 out of 10 Parting Musical Gift In keeping with the title of the movie, I leave you with The Beatles classic song 'Yesterday' which is one of my favourite Beatles songs of all-time. I hope you enjoy this beautiful piece of music as much as I do. Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on Yesterday? Do you agree that the direction and screenplay hindered the movie? Comment below, as I'd love to hear your thoughts. All images above and below and their copyright belong to Universal Pictures and any other respective owners. All YouTube content below and their copyright belong to Calderstone Productions Limited (a division of Universal Music Group) and any other respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Written by Sunil Dhokia Introduction The year of 2007 was in many ways a very special year in the decade of the 2000s. This is because of how refreshing it was to see a year in cinema that was dominated by auteur directors, who each had a singular vision that came through in their respective works. Some of the directors and movies that led the way included the Cohen Brothers 'No Country For Old Men', Paul Thomas Anderson's 'There Will Be Blood' and Ridley Scott's 'American Gangster'. Another movie that deserves to be mentioned in the same space as the above movies is none other than David Fincher's Zodiac, a story that in a lot of ways is not looking to draw attention to itself, but is more an exploration of the humanity within its characters. The reasons why Zodiac is a masterpiece in filmmaking are because of its compelling story thanks in large part to a complex and multi-layered screenplay from screenwriter, James Vanderbilt, its well-drawn out and flawed characters and the methodical way that David Fincher directs the movie. This article, therefore, will look at each of these elements in-depth to explore how they give the movie its masterpiece status. Spoiler-Warning: I will be covering many of the key story elements in Zodiac, as part of my discussion on the movie. Therefore, if you have not seen the movie, I would advise that you watch Zodiac first and then come back to my article to avoid any narrative details. What's The Movie About? Directed by David Fincher, Zodiac (2007) is a thriller, which follows the story of Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal), a cartoonist who works for the San Francisco Chronicle, who along with his colleague, Paul Avery (Robert Downey Jr.) and Inspector Dave Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) collectively try to solve the case of the Zodiac Killer, who in the 1960s and 1970s, killed various people in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Zodiac Killer's calling card involved taunting the police by leaving various clues such as ciphers and letters on the murders that he carried out, in the hope of tricking the police into thinking that they are legitimate clues that will lead them to identify him as the Zodiac Killer. Story and Screenplay David Fincher and screenwriter, James Vanderbilt use some interesting storytelling devices in Zodiac, to ensure that audiences are never worn out at any point during the movie's grand runtime of 157 minutes. One of the storytelling devices that David Fincher and James Vanderbilt use is subverting audience expectations. The story achieves this wonderfully by teasing the audience into thinking that each time our heroes close in on a substantial piece of evidence that this will lead to a big break in the investigation. However, as only David Fincher does best, he puts external barriers between the suspects and the investigators on the case in which key factors do not fully align. A big moment is a scene where police officers Dave Toschi, Bill Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) and Jack Mulanax (Elias Koteas) are interviewing Arthur Leigh Allen (John Carroll Lynch) at his place of work. The camera cuts to Arthur on multiple occasions to reveal key visual cues that tie back to the Zodiac Killer, such as Arthur's wristwatch containing the Zodiac symbol or the military boots that Arthur wears that matches that boot prints found in one of the polices' evidence on the case. In these moments, it's as if the story is leading us down a path where these big reveals will provide these characters and the audience with a sense of closure, to prove that this man is the Zodiac Killer. What separates Zodiac from other movies in the thriller genre, is the realistic and pessimistic stance on the way the story is told, in which we don't always get the answers we want, despite what transpires in the movie. In a happier version of the Zodiac story, the evidence found by the police officers would be enough to lock Arthur away and provide resolution to the investigation and therefore provide a heroic ending for our characters. Instead, David Fincher and James Vanderbilt are not interested in taking creative liberties in their depiction of the Zodiac story, to create a happy, satisfying conclusion, that many Hollywood directors would take, under a much more heavy-handed studio system of governance, where final-cut of the movie was not approved (which David Fincher, fortunately, had on this movie - and it shows for the better). Arthur Leigh Allen, just as he was in the real-telling of events, was no more than a suspect, as the evidence found by the police officers was nothing more than circumstantial, resulting in Arthur no longer being a suspect in the investigation. This lack of a breakthrough in the case creates a static, circular motion of a never-ending state of affairs for the characters leading the investigation. This leads onto the passage of time storytelling device that David Fincher and James Vanderbilt use in Zodiac to show the lasting negative impact that the murders have on the people investigating the case. Scenes such as when Dave Toschi becomes a recluse in the aftermath of being accused of forging one of the Zodiac letters or Paul Avery's descent into alcohol and drugs, that spiralled out of control after he was threatened to be killed by the Zodiac Killer, all explore the themes of injustice, mental health and time, and question whether it's worth sacrificing our livelihoods in search of a truth that we may never come to find out. As a result, the longer that the investigation goes on for, it feels as though the characters sense of purpose and drive deteriorates with each passing year. This is reinforced by the fact the real Zodiac case was never resolved. The movie's ending follows that same lack of a resolution, creating a bleak, uncertain outlook as to whether people that commit acts of murder suffer any consequences to their actions. Exposition can in the wrong hands be a bore to watch and listen to. Ken Miyamoto at Screencraft defines exposition as the following: "Exposition is comprised of those pieces of vital information — often shared in dialogue — that are necessary for the audience to know and understand in order for character arcs and plot points to make sense. In Zodiac, this exposition often comes directly from the Zodiac Killer in the form of the various encrypted letters that he sends to the San Francisco Chronicle throughout the movie. This means that we learn more about the Zodiac Killer in these letters, as he reveals more about his dark, twisted viewpoint on the world, while often revealing his next targets, such attempting to kill children on school buses. When characters like Paul Avery repeat what's being said in the Zodiac letters, we not only learn more about the antagonist, but it also furthers the plot in terms of the police gaining more evidence in the hopes of discovering the identity of the Zodiac Killer. One of the key ways in which a movie can make good use of exposition according to Ken Miyamoto is to have "characters argue about the exposition". Fortunately, Zodiac has this in spades, in which the characters involved in the investigation often argue with one another over their stance on the case. The penultimate scene in the movie best conveys this technique, when Robert Graysmith and Dave Toschi are in a restaurant discussing their conflicting ideologies on the Zodiac case. This scene plays with the concepts of facts and mythology. Dave is basing his arguments entirely on the concrete evidence collected on the Zodiac Killer, whereas Robert is using circumstantial evidence to piece together the timelines of Arthur Leigh Allen and the Zodiac Killer, to establish a clear link in the investigation between these individuals. This creates external conflict between these characters, as the exposition or evidence in this example, is used to eventually support Robert's argument that Arthur Leigh Allen is the Zodiac Killer. This avoids the problem found in many procedural, serial-killer movies, where the information on a serial-killer is being spewed by a character just for the sake of establishing their background and personality. The movie in its use of having characters talk with one another on their conflicting viewpoints on the evidence of the Zodiac case achieves another one of Ken Miyamoto's ways to use good exposition in a movie that "if you have to tell, tell it well". Characters Zodiac succeeds where many thriller movies fail because it gives its characters clear motivations as to why they are involved in the story. If at the point in the movie in which Robert Graysmith becomes involved with the Zodiac investigation is poorly executed by the filmmakers, it either makes or breaks whether or not the audience cares for his exploits in the investigation. Fortunately, screenwriter, James Vanderbilt, gives Robert a concise, well-thought-out character arc along with a clear, personal motivation for his involvement in the case. One of the scenes at the San Francisco Chronicle, when Paul Avery asks Robert how he's able to translate the different Zodiac symbols in the form of words, Robert responds by saying he likes to do puzzles. This line is important as it provides Robert with a clear motivation for his involvement in the case, not because he's interested in finding the killer, but because he's doing it just for the sheer personal enjoyment from his hobby of solving puzzles. This allows the audience to be on-board with Robert's character throughout the entirety of the story, as this gives weight and substance to his character arc change from being a simple cartoonist, to being involved in the investigation of the Zodiac murders. Jason Hellerman at No Film School in his article 'Main Character and Protagonist: What's the Difference?', quotes John August, who defines "the hero of the story is the person you hope to see "win." They're who you root for". Up until Bill Armstrong's transfer away from the police's homicide division, Dave Toschi's demotion from the police force (after being accused of forging one of the Zodiac letters), and Paul Avery's descent into alcoholism and drug abuse, screenwriter, James Vanderbilt uses these characters are our point of view into the first two acts of the story. With every murder that the Zodiac commits, we as an audience are rooting for one of these heroes to find that vital piece of evidence that will turn the tide in the hunt to identify the Zodiac Killer. So when our heroes do experience moments of defeat, such as when Paul Avery receives a letter from the Zodiac Killer, threatening to end his life, we can't help but empathise with their decisions to drop their duties as heroes within the context of the story. As we enter the final act of the movie, we are now in the hands of Robert Graysmith, who now fills the hero void left by our preceding heroes. Despite Robert's lack of credentials in the investigative world, he fulfils the roles of both protagonist and hero, as someone who is our point of view for the remainder of the story, and given Dave, Bill and Paul's failed attempts to solve the Zodiac case, makes us root that much more for Robert to try and solve the mystery at hand. Direction David Fincher is one of the few directors working in Hollywood today, who always puts his unique stamp on the movies he makes. And in the case of Zodiac, under the hands of another director with a taste for depicting horrific acts of violence on-screen, this movie could have easily descended into a glorification of the Zodiac Killer's exploits, However, Fincher uses several directing techniques that he has often utilised throughout his career, to make a smart, introspective movie. David Fincher doesn't glamorise or dwell too long on the various murders that the Zodiac killer carries out in the movie. This includes the movie's opening scene, in which Darlene Ferrin (Ciara Hughes) picks up Mike Mageau (Lee Norris) from his house. As the scene progresses, the car stops at a parking spot in a hill area up in Vallejo, California. Fincher at this point deploys a low-medium shot when Darlene and Mike are talking to each other with their conversation ranging from Darlene's remark to Mike as to why he's wearing several shirts on the fourth of July to Darlene laughing at Mike's "fuck off and die" remark to a car passing by that set off some fireworks on their car. In these smaller, dialogue-driven scenes, Fincher cares more about humanising the victims of the murders rather than showing the bloodbath of the crime itself. Even when the murder does take place, Fincher deploys quick cuts between Mike and Darlene, as they are shot multiple times by the Zodiac Killer, and even deploys a wide-shot of the Zodiac Killer shooting his victims towards the end of the scene. This wide-shot is important as it conveys Fincher's decision to portray the Zodiac Killer as a cold, distant person. This reveals the movie's stance on the Zodiac Killer that he was as far removed from a sane human being as you could get. This separates Zodiac from other serial-killer movies, in which directors will often focus a little longer than they should on the murders that take place, as opposed to humanising the victims before their murders. What David Fincher is a master of is building tension, which does not always lead to an act of violence on-screen. Whilst the build-up of tension and bloody violence does happen particularly in the Zodiac murder scenes, Fincher also likes to tease the audience into inferring a violent act without actually showing one. One of the scenes that perfectly captures this technique is the phone interview that takes place on the T.V show hosted by Jim Dunbar (Tom Verica). Fincher uses two techniques to capture the inner conflict and menace of the Zodiac Killer. The first technique is the use of audio, as Fincher singles out the Zodiac Killer's voice to allow the audience to hear and understand the pain he's suffering such as his headaches. This means that the Zodiac Killer has our undivided attention at this moment, as we are all too aware that any point, he could turn into the threatening, callus person that we already aware of from his prior murders. The second technique that David Fincher uses in the above scene is the use of various cuts between shots. Particularly, when the Zodiac Killer threatens to kill people, Fincher decides to show the reactions of various characters that are watching the T.V interview both in the studio and elsewhere. This includes the moment when Robert Graysmith turns off his T.V so that his son does not hear any more of the Zodiac Killer's intentions to kill people. This technique allows us to understand how just one person, and their need to draw attention to themselves, can impact people in their everyday lives. With just the use of audio and a few simple editing techniques, Fincher creates a palpable amount of tension and a sense of uneasiness for the audience of what the Zodiac Killer may conjure up next, which creates a lack of predictability in the way the darker aspects of the movie unfold. David Fincher also makes the bold choice to make the movie at times a reflective one. In many mystery and serial-killer movies, these sort of scenes are often relegated towards the climax of the story. In Zodiac, Fincher decides to spread these reflective moments throughout the movie. Scenes such when Dave Toschi tells Robert Graysmith of the time and effort spent by him and countless other police officers in trying to resolve the Zodiac case and the strain involved in doing so. This means that the audience is allowed to get inside the mind of the characters involved with the investigations, rather than focusing on the inner workings of the Zodiac Killer. Fincher in these reflective scenes is conveying the message that people in positions of power such as law enforcement are not without their flaws, particularly when a lack of resolution in an investigation can damage their sense of pride within their profession, and how this can have lasting consequences on their everyday lives. In a way, Fincher is informing the audience that not every hero has a happy ending, and that the search for truth and justice often comes at a price for those that truly care for the cause. Conclusion The storytelling devices used by director, David Fincher and screenwriter, James Vanderbilt such as subverting audience expectations and its realistic and pessimistic view on the world, creates a story that grips us from start to finish and leaves with more questions than answers, a risk that many movies in the thriller genre tend to avoid. David Fincher and James Vanderbilt also build the foundations of the movie through a plethora of well-developed characters, who have clear motivations for their actions coupled with well-thought-out character arcs, which ensures that we're always emotionally invested with the characters that play a prominent role in the story. Even the most compelling story that has well-developed characters can only truly come to life if its in the hands of a great director. And in David Fincher, he is most definitely master and commander of the movie seas. By Fincher utilising the directing techniques that he has been known for throughout his career and applying them to Zodiac such as not glamorising the violence depicted on-screen, you're left with a movie that stands head and shoulders above many movies in the thriller genre. The lack of closure to the ending of Zodiac is a reflection of the bold and risk-taking nature of both David Fincher and the movie itself. In short, after exploring the concepts of story, characters and direction, we can see that once these ideas synchronise with one another, result in the masterpiece of a movie that is Zodiac. Parting Musical Gift I leave you with my favourite track on the Zodiac OST, with 'Graysmith Obsessed' by the composer, David Shire. The track perfectly captures (as spelt out in its title) the obsessive and compulsive nature of Robert Graysmith's character and his desire to do whatever it takes to try and solve the mystery of the Zodiac investigation. Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on Zodiac? Do you agree that the movie is a masterpiece? Comment below, as I'd love to hear your thoughts. All images above and their copyright belong to Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. and any other respective owners. All YouTube content below and their copyright belong to Varèse Sarabande and any other respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Written by Sunil Dhokia An inspiring and heartfelt movie, Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a captivating performance in this true-life story of Boston Marathon bombing survivor, Jeff Bauman. Note: This is going to be a spoiler-filled review of the movie, so if you have not seen Stronger, please watch the movie first and then come back to my review. What's The Movie About? Directed by David Gordon Green, Stronger (2017) is a biographical drama that looks at the story of Jeff Bauman (Jake Gyllenhaal) who was supporting his ex-girlfriend, Erin (Tatiana Maslany) for her run at the Boston Marathon, before becoming the victim of a bomb attack, in which he loses his legs. Thereafter, the movie focuses on Jeff's physical and mental recovery from the attack and how this affects his everyday life. Positives The movie works due to its execution in three key areas, in which these biographical-drama stories centred around one individual, makes or breaks the movie: Acting If there ever was a movie vehicle for Jake Gyllenhaal to end his long wait to win an Academy Award, many people including myself would put this performance on their shortlist. The phrases that come to mind when describing Jake Gyllenhaal's performance, once the credits start rolling, are pain, suffering and heroism. Jake Gyllenhaal is great at slowly revealing the various layers of suffering that Jeff Bauman experiences, as the movie progresses. This includes a scene in the second act of the movie, where Jeff breaks down in an elevator, after being asked to wave the Boston Bruins flag at one of their ice hockey games. Here we see the first signs of mental strain from his life-changing injury that not only affects Jeff, but also his friends and family that help and comfort him. Even in Jeff's darkest moments, particularly from the effects of his PTSD and alcoholism, Gyllenhaal always makes us care for Jeff's turmoils. This is because these moments are contrasted with lighter scenes such as family gatherings and days out to sporting events, which allow Gyllenhaal to portray the humorous, kind and caring qualities of his character. Tatiana Maslany as Jeff's on and off girlfriend, Erin, is excellent at showing the sacrifices her character takes to care for Jeff, including breaking off from her own family to be at Jeff's side. Her chemistry with Jake Gyllenhaal is the heart and soul of the movie, as it is an authentic portrayal of how two people in a relationship would react and behave in the aftermath of a horrific event. Jeff's PTSD coupled with his alcoholism creates an appropriate amount of tension between Jeff and Erin, especially in their verbal confrontations. These dark themes and issues allow the emotional sides of Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany's performances to shine through, and therefore allows us to gravitate towards their characters. Miranda Richardson as Jeff's mother, Patty, provides solid support in the movie. Miranda does a convincing job of playing an alcoholic character and her scenes with Jake Gyllenhaal reveal many traits to her character. This includes the countless journalist interviews that she books for Jeff, showing us that these nice gestures act as a defence mechanism to her drinking problems, bringing her brief moments of happiness in the process. Story and Screenplay With only a handful of screenwriting credits to his name, many inexperienced screenwriters coming into a deeply dramatic movie such as this one may have struggled to convey the conflicts that our lead character goes through in the story. However, John Pollono does a pretty good job of ensuring that the story's focal point never goes too far away from Jeff Bauman, from an everyday working man to suffering a range of emotions in the aftermath of losing his legs, before finding the strength to overcome his pain and fears to lead the best life he can under the circumstances. Speaking of emotions, the story does an exceptional job of not glossing over the pain and suffering that Jeff experiences, both physically and mentally. The standout scenes being Jeff's breakdown in the car with Erin towards the end of the movie, after finding out that Erin is pregnant along with the Boston Red Sox stadium scene, where Jeff is talking to various fans, who share their stories to Jeff on some of their hardships and struggles in life. These scenes and moments are wonderfully drawn out, as the audience is allowed to experience Jeff's state of mind, and therefore allows us to empathise and care that much more for his character. Negatives While the movie succeeds on Jake Gyllenhaal's performance along with a well-told, emotional story, two glaring flaws stop the movie from becoming a great one: Pacing and Editing Despite being just short of the two-hour mark, there is a prolonged sequence of scenes during in the first act of the movie that takes place in a hospital, as Jeff is being treated after the loss of his legs. Whilst these scenes are shot skillfully by cinematographer, Sean Bobbitt and acted impeccably by Jake Gyllenhaal, there's a sense that the movie could have focused a little more on the psychological impact of the bombing on Jeff. And while the movie has these moments spread throughout the story, such as Jeff boozing with his mother at their apartment along with his heavy drinking night out with his brothers and uncle, it would have been nice if the movie cut out a few of these hospital scenes in favour of exploring Jeff's PTSD a tad sooner in the movie. Summary
Notwithstanding some issues in the pacing and editing departments, Stronger works, mostly thanks to an Oscar-worthy performance from Jake Gyllenhaal as the movie successfully gets across its message that hope and strength will ultimately triumph the evils that are among us in the world. Verdict On The Movie 7 out of 10 Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on Stronger? Do you agree that Jake Gyllenhaal's performance was Oscar-worthy? Comment below, as I would love to hear your thoughts. All images above and below and their copyright belong to Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions and other respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Written by Sunil Dhokia "You talking to me". The famous movie line and performance that catapulted this actor into the stratosphere of the movie world. We take a look at 5 performances (in reverse order) that have been significant in shaping Robert De Niro as an acting force to be reckoned with. 5. Leonard Lowe - Awakenings (1990) Robert De Niro has always been an actor that has challenged himself in every role he has played before this movie. However, his role as the catatonic patient, Leonard Lowe, is perhaps the most complex and challenging in his career to date. The subject of mental disorders and illnesses has been covered throughout the history of Hollywood, with varying degrees of success. De Niro's performance as Leonard Lowe leans towards the better portrayals on this subject matter. The actor's decision to study and research real-life catatonic patients in hospitals pays off in spades here, as you believe Leonard is among the unfortunate group of patients suffering from catatonia. De Niro's chemistry with the late Robin Williams, who plays Doctor Malcolm Sayer, is a highlight of the movie, as we experience the ups and downs of Leonard's temporary recovery from his disorder before the sad reality of his original existence comes back to hit the audience with a floodgate of tears. 4. Lorenzo - A Bronx Tale (1993) In his directorial debut no less, Robert De Niro was just assured behind the camera as he was in front of it. His character of Lorenzo, a hard-working, Italian-American, is one that audiences can relate to, as De Niro successfully portrays the honest, family nurturing qualities of his character. Particularly the relationship with his son, Calogero (Francis Capra and Lillo Brancato Jr) is beautifully realised, as the wisdom imparted by Lorenzo to his son throughout the movie are values and morals that we can all take in life. 3. Vito Corleone - The Godfather Part II (1974) Filling the shoes of Marlon Brando, after his Oscar-winning performance in The Godfather (1972) for any actor would have been daunting to downright impossible. However, as the story of Vito Corleone in part 2 of this saga takes place as a prequel to the events of the first movie, Robert De Niro was by default given creative freedom to craft his take on the character, whilst still honouring Brando's iconic performance. De Niro's method style of acting, even this early in his career, is there for all to see, as he inhabits the various facial expressions and body movements of Brando, whilst conveying how Vito was in a very different place in his life, as a young man trying to forge his path in the mafia underworld. 2. Jake LaMotta - Raging Bull (1980) In one of his most physically and emotionally demanding roles, Robert De Niro won his second Oscar, this time in his portrayal of the real-life boxer, Jake LaMotta. The movie lives up to its title, as De Niro portrays the worst qualities a human being can manifest within themselves. Hate, ego and rage no less are all characteristics that De Niro captures in his performance, with supporting characters such as his brother, Joey (Joe Pesci) and Jake's wife, Vickie (Cathy Moriarty) often feeling the full brunt of his not-so-subtle actions. De Niro shows us that whilst Jake LaMotta was in his prime a great boxer, he was unable to lead a happy life outside of the ring. Despite being an unlikable character for the bulk of the movie, De Niro somehow manages to captivate us right the way through to the movie's conclusion. 1. Travis Bickle - Taxi Driver (1976) You've probably guessed what my number one Robert De Niro performance was going to be from the opening of this article. In a movie that deals with heavy themes such as insanity, depression and loneliness, De Niro sells the idea of a man who's on the edge of a cliff, with nothing else to live for in this seedy, grimy and unjust depiction of 1970s New York. The combination of director Martin Scorsese, a one of a kind script from the great Paul Schrader and an acting masterclass from De Niro result in a character that while we never condone his evil thoughts and violent actions, we can at the very least understand that the environment he lives in is one that is not conducive for an individual that his share of problems. How De Niro did not win Best Actor for this performance was as much of a head-scatcher at the time as it is today. Parting Musical Gift As always, I leave you with a piece of music, in what's arguably one of the greatest movie themes of all-time. That is, of course, the 'Main Title' ("from Taxi Driver") by the late, great composer, Bernard Herrmann. The blues, jazzy nature of this theme is encompassing not only of the movie but as a throwback to New York's history of famous jazz bars and clubs. I hope you enjoy this towering musical theme as much I do. Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on my top 5 greatest Robert De Niro performances? Do you agree with this list or are there any other performances from De Niro's catalogue of movies that you would put on your top 5 list? Comment below, as I would love to hear your thoughts. All images above and their copyright belong to Brigitte Lacombe/Netflix, Columbia Pictures, United Artists, Paramount Pictures, Savoy Pictures any other respective owners. All YouTube content below and their copyright belong to Arista Records, Inc. and any other respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Written by Sunil Dhokia We take a trip down memory lane, as we look at some of the iconic performances that made Al Pacino a household name in Hollywood. What can be said about this actor, that hasn't been said already? He's an Academy Award winner (that was long overdue by the way), has multiple Tony Awards and an AFI Lifetime Achievement Award to throw into the mix. However, what makes Al Pacino one of the greatest actors, not only of his generation but of all-time, is his ability to inhabit the characters he plays in each of his movies, always serving his character arcs in the most satisfying ways. This article will look at my top 5 greatest Al Pacino performances (in reverse order), as there were no easy decisions made in narrowing down over 5 decades worth of movies from the actor to just a handful. 5. Sonny Wortzik - Dog Day Afternoon (1975) By this point in Al Pacino's short career, where many actors of his generation were trying to find their feet in the movie industry, Pacino was fast becoming a name to be known in Hollywood. And this performance in one of the all-time great movies taking place on one location (for the most part) is a tour-de-force show from Pacino. Except for some other prominent characters in the movie such as Pacino's criminal partner, Sal (John Cazale) and Police Sergeant Moretti (Charles Durning), it's the unhinged, ever-constant tension in Pacino's performance as Sonny Wortzik, where he struggles to keep a lid on his hostages, whilst trying to get as many demands out of the police sergeant as part of his negotiation tactics, that keeps audiences invested a story that might otherwise be bland in the hands of a less capable actor. 4. Carlito Brigante - Carlito's Way (1993) In his second collaboration with Brian De Palma, Pacino's performance here is a step back from the flamboyance and extrovert nature of his Tony Montana character in Scarface (1983). By De Palma avoiding to retread the same territory, however, is precisely why I prefer this performance over their first collaboration. What makes this performance unique is Pacino's ability to infuse Carlito with a sense of loss and regret in his former life as a criminal. Even when Carlito is a freeman as he states at the beginning of the movie, Pacino conveys the sense of temptation in his character to go back to his old criminal ways. His back and forth with Sean Penn, playing the drug fiend lawyer of Kleinfeld, and Penelope Ann Miller as Carlito's girlfriend, Gail, provide the emotional backbone to Carlito's character arc, as we are all aware of the inevitable demise that is to come to a criminal we've somehow grown to be attached with. 3. Vincent Hanna - Heat (1995) At last, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are in a movie together. Wait a minute; they only share one scene (two if you count the final scene). That doesn't matter though, as Michael Mann's crime-opus defined a generation of filmmakers (such as Christopher Nolan) to hone their craft on creating authentic, on-location, suspenseful action set-pieces. More to the point, Pacino in the role of Lieutenant Vincent Hanna gives the full range of Pacinoisms here. This ranges from the loud and bravado (one of my favourite lines being "Don't waste my motherfucking time") to the quiet, more introspective moments in his character. The latter being beautifully explored in the iconic diner scene between Vincent and De Niro's criminal character, Neil McCauley. This scene and the movie as a whole allows Pacino to simultaneously convey his love and hatred of being a cop, as he's able to unpack the psychology of his character with aplomb. 2. Michael Corleone - The Godfather (1972) The movie that became the blueprint for every gangster movie that followed. Widely regarded by critics and audiences as one of the greatest movies of all time (no small feat by the way), a large part of that reason is due to the powerhouse acting on-display. Whilst many people would be compelled to put Marlon Brando's role as Vito Corleone as the star attraction of the movie, it's Al Pacino's performance as his son, Michael Corleone, is the reason why the story works as well as it does. The masterful direction from Francis Ford Coppola along with a compelling story, allows Pacino to showcase the full range of emotions that actors can only dream of having in a role. From the innocence at the beginning of the movie, where Michael avoids being apart of his family's mafia business, to the ruthlessness of his character, when he kills police captain McCluskey and rival crime boss Sollozzo, Pacino hits all the right emotional beats at just the right moments to craft one of the greatest characters in movie history. 1. Frank Serpico - Serpico (1973) You're probably wondering how on earth does one leave the first couple of Godfather movies (I try to ignore the existence of the third movie in the franchise) out of their number one choice of Al Pacino's greatest performances. However, if you stay with me, there is a method to the madness. My deciding factor in choosing Serpico as Al Pacino's best career performance is that the story and its execution rest solely on its lead actor. Even if you take Pacino's character out of the first two Godfather movies (an unthinkable action I know), you're still left with incredible performances from actors such as Marlon Brando, James Caan and Robert De Niro. However, take Frank Serpico out of his title movie (as daft as that sounds), and you're left with a hollow story, where corrupt cops freely roam the streets of New York City, and heroes like Serpico do not exist as characters in this world suffer in silence at the corruption from its lawmen. Pacino is fantastic at being able to show Frank Serpico's desire and frustration in trying to expose his corrupt police colleagues to the authorities. These emotions are thrown in with Serpico being unable to live a normal life outside of his work, such as struggling to maintain a healthy relationship with his girlfriend, and we see that good, honest men can suffer in more ways than one from corrupt individuals with the worst of intentions. Pacino perfectly portrays 'the whole world against me' persona of his character, as this one-man show type of a performance is one that few actors have achieved in the years and decades since this movie. Parting Musical Gift In keeping with the tradition of my blog articles, I leave you with one of my favourite pieces of music from my favourite Al Pacino performance in Serpico. This piece being the Theme from 'Serpico'. I hope you enjoy this wonderful theme from the composer, Mikis Theodorakis, which beautifully captures the themes of truth and justice that Frank Serpico seeks in the police force. Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on my top 5 Al Pacino performances? Do you agree with this list or are there other movies from Pacino that you would put on your list of his best performances? Comment below, as I would love to hear your thoughts. All images above and its copyright belong to The New Yorker, New York Times and Paramount Pictures respectively. All YouTube content below belongs to their respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Written by Sunil Dhokia Purpose Of The Analysis In this analysis, I will be exploring two movies in the gangster genre, The Godfather and American Gangster. The purpose of my analysis will be to look at the themes and therefore explore some of the deeper meanings that appear in both movies. Thesis The Godfather and American Gangster, whilst exploring different ethnic mafia groups, both cover the themes of The American Dream, violence, ego-driven protagonists and family. Note: I will be covering the basic story elements on The Godfather and American Gangster, as part of my discussion on the various themes in both movies. However, if you have not seen either movie, I would advise that you watch them first and then come back to my analysis to avoid any narrative details on these movies. What Are The Movies About? Before we dive into the analysis of these respective movies, it's worth giving a summary on each movie. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather (1972) is a gangster crime-drama, which focuses on the Corleone family over 10 years and looks at the rise to power of one of its sons, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) as the mafia boss of his family. Directed by Ridley Scott, American Gangster (2007) is a biographical crime-drama. The movie looks at the true story of criminal, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) and his rise to power in Harlem, New York City, in which he smuggled and sold heroin in the United States via American service warplanes from Vietnam. The story also focuses on Ritchie Roberts (Russell Crowe), a police detective who leads a private task force to try and stop Frank Lucas's drug empire. How The American Dream Plays a Role in Both Movies? Kimberly Amadeo on The Balance website defines 'The American Dream' as the following: "The American Dream is the ideal that the government should protect each person's opportunity to pursue their own idea of happiness". The American Dream is manipulated and distorted in both movies to satisfy the personal wants and desires of Michael Corleone and Frank Lucas. Michael and Frank pursue lives that are directly involved in criminal activities, and therefore this already breaks away from the protection aspect of the definition that the government should provide in support of a person's career aspirations. Where the definition does apply to both characters is the "opportunity to pursue their idea of happiness". In the case of Frank, he is pursuing the idea of independence in his 'Blue Magic' drug product, particularly for how he deemed his former boss, Bumpy Johnson (Clarence Williams III) to have only managed and therefore not been an owner to his criminal activities, as Frank says "The white man owned it, so they owned him". Frank's pursuit of happiness, therefore, is to become the owner of his criminal organisation, in which the only person he reports to and is accountable for is himself. Michael's idea of happiness is to be there for his family at all costs. This is best exemplified upon his return to America from his exile in Sicily, Italy, particularly in the aftermath of his brother's death and to be there for his ageing father, who is in the twilight of his life. The difference between Frank and Michael's trajectory into the criminal world is that whilst Frank is the natural heir to Bumpy's enterprise, it's only at the moment that Vito Corleone is shot and a series of events that soon follow, that Michael's hand is forced to become the don of the Corleone family. The happiness for Michael, therefore, is for the safety and wellbeing of his family first and foremost, whilst simultaneously consolidating and growing the Corleone's family strength and muscle in the mafia underworld. For Frank and Michael, rather than the government per se, the police force in both stories is seeking to break down and destroy the happiness that these men have built up for themselves, despite the violent means in which these men have often gone about achieving this. However, during this era in New York's history, particularly during the 1960s and 1970s, it has been well-documented that corruption did exist and operate within the city's police forces. This is best exemplified in 'The Knapp Commission' committee that was formed in the early 1970s, by then Mayor of New York City, John Lindsay. The purpose of this committee was "to investigate the now-widespread allegation of corruption within the police department" (Vicent Amoroso, Culture Trip - 2016). In The Godfather, corruption is represented in the character of Captain McCluskey (Sterling Hayden), who is a dishonest policeman and on the payroll of crime boss Virgil Sollozo (Al Lettieri). In American Gangster, corruption comes in the shape of Detective Nick Trupo (Josh Brolin), who has an agenda of looking to get a cut of the money from Frank Lucas's 'Blue Magic' drug business. Both movies mix the fictional elements of their stories with real-world historical context, to break down the idea of what The American Dream is. That the government, who while have mostly good intentions for its citizens, aren't always able to spot and eradicate corruption within its various institutions such as their police forces. As a result, the very forces of law that should be protecting its citizens to freely pursue their dreams are the same individuals who manipulate those same laws in pursuit of their ideas of happiness. While hard-working honest folks like you and I, would never side with criminals such as Michael Corleone and Frank Lucas in their illegal pursuits of happiness, we can at the very least understand the historical context that informs the criminal direction that these characters take. This is for how they are unable to pursue the everyman persona i.e. a regular office job or get into positions of high power such as a Senator. This is due to corrupt police and law enforcement organisations and the racial prejudices that America held towards African-American and Italian-American people during this period in time. Therefore, one could argue the lack of respect shown by many Americans to immigrant families living in the country during this era, meant that immigrants were not always afforded the opportunities to progress through legal means of work. As a result, citizens like Michael and Frank often had no other choice but to resort to illegal means of work, to obtain high levels of power and wealth that were not afforded to them otherwise. Violence Something prevalent in the gangster genre since its early days is the depiction of violence. The severity of the violence shown on-screen, however, is all dependent on the type of story being told. Take for example the scene in The Godfather, when Vito Corleone sends his enforcer, Luca Brasi (Lenny Montana) to meet with Bruno Tattaglia (Tony Giorgio) and Virgil Sollozo is among the many acts of violence carried out in the movie. Both Coppola and his cinematographer, Gordon Willis, decided to use a combination of high and low-key lighting techniques and shadows. This decision from a filming standpoint allows us to infer that Coppola and Willis wanted the audience to differentiate between the good and evil aspects in each character. Particularly the moment when Luca Brasi is being strangled to death, the camera chooses to linger on Brasi, as the high-key lighting on Brasi's face allows the audience to experience Luca Brasi's pain at this moment. Coppola decides to use only a few cutaways in this scene to focus on Sollozo and Tattaglia, with William Reynolds and Peter Zinner's sharp editing and the use of low-key lighting on the actors' faces to show the cold, steely nature of these characters and the lack of emotion derived from killing a rival gang member. The shows the audience that these gangsters bear no guilt on their souls or conscious for the evil acts of violence that they commit to rival gang members, as they are the same qualities that allow them to consolidate and grow their mafia enterprises. In American Gangster, Ridley Scott and cinematographer, Harris Savides, know when to show the audience horrific acts of violence and when to infer such acts. Case in point, the scene in which Jimmy Zee (Malcolm Goodwin), Huey Lucas (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and an unnamed policeman are in Frank's luxurious apartment, as the various characters are consuming Lucas's 'Blue Magic' drug on a piano table. After Jimmy sees the policeman groping his partner, this leads to him shooting the cop in the leg. What follows is a hideous act of violence, as Scott and Savides focus on the emotional reactions of Huey and Jimmy's partner, complemented with bone-crunching sound effects of Lucas slamming the piano tabletop on Jimmy's head. This technique from the filmmakers to not show this violence allows the audience to experience the horror unfolding, without seeing any of the grotesque details. Scott wisely understands the less-is-more technique, as pictured in one's mind a heavy object such as a piano hurting an individual can be much impactful to an audience in conveying a disturbing act of violence, than seeing a mangled beaten figure of a human being on-screen. What can we observe from these movies is that Coppola and Scott don't just throw on-screen, acts of violence for the sake of fulfilling a checklist of the various tropes found in the gangster genre. More often than not, characters in well-written gangster movies will carry out acts of violence with a specific purpose or motive, as opposed to reacting in a fit of anger (though this can also happen if it's internally consistent with a character's arc a.k.a Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas - 1990). The purpose or motive of violence could be to gain something from the situation. For example, Luca Brasi's murder is for the Tattaglia and Sollozo crime families to send a message of intent to break down the Corleone family's power structure and therefore grow their respective empires in the process. The purpose or motive of a violent act could also be to stop a situation from escalating further. For instance, when Frank Lucas beats Jimmy to a pulp with a piano tabletop as a result of Jimmy shooting a police officer, Frank is looking to defuse the situation to avoid drawing attention to himself from the law. Both Scott and Coppola also cut to reactions of certain characters in key moments during scenes of violence. They both understand that capturing the emotional reaction from characters, to either convey the satisfaction in killing an individual or capturing the fear on a character's face as they witness such an act, allows for maximum emotional impact on the audience, so that the violence carries weight and significance within the context of the stories. Ego-Driven Protagonists Jason Hellerman at No Film School gives a great breakdown of the archetypal gangster for how they are portrayed in these genre movies as stated below: "They usually are materialistic, street-smart, megalomaniacal, and can be self-destructive". Both Michael Corleone and Frank Lucas share many of the archetypal, ego-driven qualities outlined by Hellerman, as there's quite a bit to unpack here. Frank's determination to go the source of the drugs, rather than selling a product that in his eyes is not pure, is his unrelenting desire to sell "a product that's better than the competition at a price that's lower than the competition. If we breakdown this line of dialogue, we can see the street-smart and megalomaniacal qualities in Frank's character. The street-smart quality of Frank comes from the first part of the line of the product being better than the competition. The movie explores this concept by choosing to show Frank travelling to the source of the drugs in Thailand, as he discusses with the Thai vendor the possibility of importing large quantities of heroin into America. Particularly, when the vendor tells Frank that he somehow expects to transport a 100 kilos of heroin into the U.S without being questioned by the authorities, Frank simply replies "that's right". At this point, Frank is not afraid of the dangers involved and is willing to do whatever it takes to the ship the drugs into the States, which convinces the audience that he is indeed a street-smart character. Furthermore, Ridley Scott and Harris Savides, decide to use low-key lighting on Frank's face and to cut back and forth between Frank and the Thai vendor during their conversation. The use of such lighting indicates the dark, dangerous qualities prevalent in a street-smart character like Frank and therefore shows the audience the overwhelming conviction that he'll be able to move the drugs into the U.S, without raising any suspicions. The price set lower than the competition part of Frank's line of dialogue conveys the megalomaniacal quality of his character. Screenwriter, Steven Zaillian, makes a point in the screenplay to convey in Frank's dialogue scenes that at no point is he concerned with his competition and the ramifications of selling a drug that might wipe them out of business. This concept is explored in his conversation with one of his competitors, Domonic Cattano (Armand Assante). Dom expresses to Frank how he has a monopoly on the illegal drug market in New York and that drug rivals such as own are suffering in the process. The line where Dom says to Frank "What about your fellow dairy farmers out here, Frank? Are you thinkin' of us? You thinkin' of them?" to which Frank replies "I'm thinking of them, Domonic, as about as much as they've ever thought about me", Ridley Scott allows the camera to stay fixed on Frank's character at just the right moments during this scene. The steady camera work coupled with Denzel Washington' acting, who throws in an appropriate amount of sarcasm in his response to Dom, conveys the lack of respect that people have shown to Frank during his rise as a drug lord. As a result, the story gives Frank a clear, logical reason, for why he has no sympathy for his competitors in the illegal drug market. Michael's ego veers towards the megalomaniacal archetype of a gangster. This comes from his desire to further his family's power and muscle within the mafia business. The scene where Michael is sat down in his house, having taken an unfortunate beating from the police captain, McCluskey, the full-shot view of Michael delivering his intentions of how he will kill both the police captain and rival crime boss, Sollozo, is brilliant foreshadowing from Coppola, with a slow push-in of the camera, that sells the idea of Michael being the head of the Corleone family someday. Even when fellow family members Clemenza and Tessio, laugh and scoff at the idea of a police captain being gunned down, Michael is unrelenting in his belief that the crooked, dishonest qualities of McCluskey are justifiable reasons to kill a person in an authoritative position. As a result, Michael's character arc is one that is not fazed by external conflicts that stand his way, namely rival crime families, and that his pursuit for absolute control and power will not be stopped by anyone or anything. What we can take from the scenes discussed above is learning some recurring patterns in the characters arcs of Michael and Frank. This includes their stubborn persistence to overcome obstacles to achieve their goals of growing their criminal empires, their anticipation to be one step ahead of their competition and their desire towards feeding their ego in their quest for obtaining wealth, power and control. Family Family plays a prominent role in both the respective stories of Michael Corleone and Frank Lucas. Take, for instance, the scene where Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) and his son, Michael are in the back garden of their home. The over-the-shoulder shot that Coppola uses of Michael looking at his father allows the audience to see a passing of the torch if you will. As we look at Vito in the later stages of his life, the knowledge and wisdom that he imparts to his son is the foundations of Michael's cold, calculating demeanour, that he would use to his advantage in his peak years as head of the Corleone family. The nuanced acting from Marlon Brando shows his character's regret for not wanting his son to go into the mafia business, as Coppola's use of a two-shot between Vito and Michael informs the audience that the former's time as don of the family is all but up. Also, the scene in which Michael is at the hospital, following his father being shot multiple times, his love and affection for his father's well-being and protection is shown throughout the scene. This includes Michael and Enzo (The Baker) guarding the front of the hospital, as one of the rival crime families scope the hospital, and Michael's refusal to leave the hospital grounds, as the police captain, McCluskey, hits him in his jaw for not co-operating. At each moment in this scene, Michael's resolve is tested, with the threat of danger ever-present, but his unconditional love for his father is the consistent throughline in his character's strength to protect him, no matter what dangers lay ahead. Likewise, Ridley Scott also uses a similar technique, but in this case, Frank Lucas's wife, Eva, (Lymari Nadal) becomes the conduit for which the audience understands how Frank became the man he is today. The passing of the torch has already taken place at this point in the story, with Frank well underway to establishing himself as a major crime figure in both Harlem and New York. In the scene at Frank's house, when he is talking to Eva about Bumpy, Scott uses a low-medium shot, which effectively humanises this otherwise evil character to explain the importance of Bumpy on Frank as a person. The combination of this shot, combined with Denzel Washington's low tone of voice shows us the softer, emotional side of Frank whenever he talks about Bumby, as expressed in the line "He taught me how to take my time, taught me that if I was going to do something to do it with care, love". This allows us to understand how Frank justifies his decision-making process, not only in his criminal activities but in his family life as well. A common link between Michael and Frank is that whilst they always try to separate business and family, their actions in the criminal world always seem to come back to affect their loved ones in some shape or form. Take, for instance, the scene when Frank Lucas has Detective Trupo's Shelby Mustang blown to smithereens, has almost an immediate consequence as Trupo and his fellow corrupt group of cops break into Lucas's mansion to try and locate the getaway money that every gangster conceivable hides in the event of an emergency. At this moment, we feel for Frank's mother and his wife, Eva, who are perils to the damage done by Trupo and his men in trying to locate this money. Screenwriter, Steve Zaillian, also decides to have Eva stand up to Trupo when he asks her where the getaway money is located. As Trupo slaps her on the face, we quickly realise that standing up to these crooked individuals does not change their moral compass in the slightest, as Frank's mother is unable to help Eva in this terrible situation. During the third act of The Godfather, when Michael's wife, Kay (Diane Keaton) has suspicions of his potential involvement in the mafia business, Michael convinces Kay that the Corleone family will become fully legitimate within five years. As an audience, we know this not to be true at all, as any mafia business always involves an illegal element or elements to their operations. At this point in the story, Kay and her children are now sadly trapped in the ecosystem of the mafia underworld. At the end of the movie at Michael's home, when various individuals pay respect to Michael as the new don of the Corleone family, Kay views this moment from afar, just like the audience, as we are only given a glimpse into his mafia lifestyle. The powerful, yet simple shot of the door closing on Kay, signalling that she is to be left out of Michael's business affairs going forward and therefore informing us the beginning of a troubled, and turbulent relationship for both Michael and Kay. The dark paths that our protagonists take in these movies inform us that gangsters can never escape the consequences of their actions in the mafia business. As a result, it always inevitable ends in hurt or death for either the main protagonist or the ones they hold near and dear to them. Conclusion Based on the thesis provided at the beginning of this analysis, we can now decipher the following themes and therefore deeper ideas found in both The Godfather and American Gangster: The American Dream, while distorted and manipulated by the central protagonists of Michael Corleone and Frank Lucas, the historical context and ethnicity issues presented in both stories show that the very authorities that uphold The American Dream can also distort this national value for their gain. Violence is prevalent in many key scenes and moments across both movies. The violence is there to not glamorise the hideous acts on-display, but rather as a way for our characters to further their criminal exploits or to contain escalating situations that may draw attention to the characters illegal activities. Ego is a trait that our protagonists display in both movies, as these characters will often use these traits to their advantage to gain more power and control in their criminal ventures. Family plays a central role in our protagonists' respective character arcs. They begin their journeys by learning the behaviours and tendencies from their fathers and in turn learn to adopt the violent side of their role models in their path towards criminality. On the flip side, the protagonists will also learn and adopt the softer, warmer sides of their fathers' personas, particularly the protagonists' desire to do whatever's necessary for the safety and protection of their families. There are also consequences for women who marry into this way of life, as the material enjoyment of this lifestyle quickly dissipates into one that is filled with uncertainty and danger, that at any moment, it can all be taken away. Parting Musical Gift Whilst my analysis on the gangster genre has been a professional piece, it would seem ludicrous to not continue the trend that I have done in most of my articles thus far by including a piece of music, in this case from Nino Rota's classic score, The Godfather (1972). The song that I have chosen which best encompasses not only the romantic themes present in that movie but across the gangster genre as a whole is the 'Love Theme from The Godfather'. Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on The Godfather and American Gangster? Do you agree that the themes in this analysis cover both movies adequately or are there any others that you think are worthy of inclusion in your analysis of these movies? Comment below, as I would love to hear your thoughts. All images above belong to Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures and any other respective owners. All YouTube content below belongs to their respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Written by Sunil Dhokia An event 10 years in the making, Marvel Studios succeed in their biggest Avengers movie thus far (for the most part). Note: This is going to be a spoiler-filled review of the movie, so if you have not seen Avengers: Infinity War, please watch the movie first and then come back to my review. What's The Movie About? Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, Avengers: Infinity War (2018) is a superhero movie that follows the Avengers, who team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy, as they try to stop Thanos from acquiring all six Infinity Stones, who seeks to fulfil his mission of wiping out half of all life in the universe. For anyone that is not well-versed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Marvel Studios have been building up to this Avengers movie, since their first entry, Iron Man (2008). This is by creating a series of movies that have storylines and characters which interconnect with one another, with the Infinity Stones being the constant through-line in many of these movies, as the Avengers and Guardians come together in this movie to try and stop Thanos's evil plan from coming together. Positives For a movie that has as much going on as this one, there are plenty of positives to discuss: Story and Writing Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely do a pretty remarkable job of balancing all of the various storylines and characters into a cohesive whole. They achieve this by using the Infinity Stones as a McGuffin to tie all of the various characters together. For instance, Doctor Stange, Wong, Iron Man and Spider-Man are in New York protecting the Time Stone, where-as some of the Guardians are on the planet, Knowhere, to try and retrieve the Reality Stone before Thanos does. By tying groups of heroes to an Infinity Stone, ensures that there are never more than half a dozen characters on-screen at the same time and that each character (even the minor ones) is serving a purpose to the plot. This mostly involves our heroes beating up the bad guys, but it also ensures that the emotional parts of the story are not underserved. Just the thought of a villain wanting to wipe out half of all life in the universe is about as absurd as it's going to get. However, the screenwriters do a great job of fleshing out Thanos's motivations for why he wants to wipe out half of all life. The use of a flashback with Thanos interacting with a young Gamora on her home planet, along with the clever expository use of the Reality Stone, where Thanos explains why he decimated half of all life on his home planet, Titan, allows the audience to understand why he seeks to execute his plan. So while we may not sympathise with the character, we can least understand his point of view as to why he wants to use the stones in the first place. Direction The Russo Brothers come into this movie, having previously directed the last two Captain America movies. In this movie, they craft a much darker tone, when compared to the relatively lighter tones of Joss Whedon's previous two Avengers movies. Just the opening scene alone, where Thanos kills both Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Heimdall (Idris Elba) set down the marker for just how terrifying a villain he is. In turn, the Russos' ensure that the movie has real stakes, where characters are not immune to death from their villainous counterparts. Having said this, the Russos' also know when to inject the movie with humour in just the right places. The thought of a morbid two and a half hour experience is a scary thought indeed. Case in point, the scene when the faction members of the Avengers arrive in Wakanda, as James Rhodes / War Machine (Don Cheadle) informs Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) to bow down to Wakanda's king, T'Challa / Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) before Rhodes tells Banner that there is no need for such pleasantries, is among the many moments of genuine levity that the movie contains. Acting Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark / Iron Man, as he slips back into the role with ease. His interactions with Benedict Cumberbatch, returning as Doctor Strange, are a delight to watch, with the clash of egos very much on display here. Furthermore, the emotional turmoil that Tony Stark has been living with since the Battle of New York in The Avengers (2012) brilliantly pays off in this movie. In the scene where Stark is trying to convince Dr Strange to take the fight to Thanos on Titan, Downey Jr. perfectly portrays the anxiety that his character's been living with all this time. Chris Hemsworth as Thor strikes a great balance between the comedic and dramatic moments that his character experiences in the movie. This is shown when Thor hilariously refers to Kevin Bacon as a possible member of the Avengers to the Guardians, with the drama coming from small conversations such as his talk with Rocket (Bradley Cooper) on the family and friends he has lost. His character arc, therefore, is one is filled with pain and suffering, as his need to forge a new weapon (Stormbreaker) to try and defeat Thanos, leaves us rooting for Thor to be our saviour in the story. Josh Brolin as Thanos is arguably the star of the show here, as he brings to the role an appropriate amount of pathos and depth to the character. Brolin's chemistry with Zoe Saldana, who plays his adopted daughter, Gamora, allows Thanos to become fully fleshed out. Particularly in the scene where Thanos sacrifices Gamora's life to obtain the Soul Stone, Brolin conveys this emotional toll on the character through excellent voice acting, and with the help of some brilliant CGI, to showcase the struggle taking place. Action The action set-pieces are some of the best you're likely to see in a superhero movie. Just the opening scene alone does a great job of showing the brute strength of Thanos. Particularly, the fight between Hulk and Thanos is brilliantly shot with a combination of restrained long-shots and oblique angles to show the size and strength of these characters. The stand-out set-piece of the movie is the battle on Titan, where our heroes take on Thanos. The Russos' and cinematographer, Trent Oplaoch, do a great job of establishing a clear sense of geography for where each hero is located concerning the fight with Thanos. The choreography and CGI shine through here, as we are allowed to appreciate each heroes strengths and powers. This is best shown in Dr Strange and Iron Man's duals against Thanos, as the first-rate special effects allow us to gain an appreciation for our respective heroes wizardry and technological powers. Also, the use of an orangey-brown colour palette for Titan means there's never a sense that you can't follow the action unfolding on screen. The climatic Wakanda set-piece is also brilliantly choreographed, with the camera doing a great job of tracking the action of our heroes fighting against the remaining Black Order and Outriders. A nit-pick in this set-piece is the use of a shaky-camera approach, particularly when the focus is on heroes such as Captain America and Black Panther. The camera here can feel frantic at times, as there is a slight disorientating effect to this approach of filming the action. Fortunately, this only occurs on a couple of occasions during the course of the battle. Soundtrack As someone who is a big fan of Alan Silvestri, my thoughts on the movie's soundtrack are somewhat satisfactory. The choice for Silvestri to often create mood and atmosphere across many scenes, best exemplifies this point. For instance, in the scene where Thanos is explaining to Gamora why he destroyed half of the population on her home planet, the instrumentation used here adds little to the emotions being conveyed by these characters. The emotional parts of the soundtrack do land by and large, particularly during the climactic scene where Wanda Maximoff / Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) has to kill Vision (Paul Bettany) in order to stop Thanos from obtaining the Mind Stone. The violin strings in this scene really add to the emotion that the audience is going through in the plight of our hero. The return of the Avengers title theme is also a delight to hear. Though the use of the theme is sparse, confined to key character moments such as Thor's arrival on Wakanda (see 'Forge' track at bottom of review), it's great to hear thematic continuity within the MCU, something that has plagued the franchise since its inception back in 2008. The introduction of a character theme for Thanos is also a joy, with its use being deployed straight out of the gate during the opening moments of the movie. Whilst this is a theme you won't be humming any time soon, the brooding sounds and instruments add to the menace of the character and the peril that our heroes will face. Overall, the soundtrack does just about enough to satisfy the tone of the movie, though the use of other MCU character themes, such as Silvestri's own for Captain America, would have been nice to hear. Negatives The sheer amount of moving parts means that the movie does have a couple of drawbacks: Character Development And Its Lack Of Character development is quite limited in the movie, with only Iron Man, Thor and Thanos having any substantial character arcs within the story. To exemplify this point further, Tony Stark is finally confronting the demon that is plagued his life for the past six years, Thor is on a revenge mission to kill Thanos, with the latter having murdered Loki and Heimdall and Thanos is looking to fulfil his mission of ending half of all life in the universe, due to him experiencing the overpopulation and therefore lack of resources on Titan. Knowing this the sort of information beforehand, will at the very least set an expectation for gauging what kind of story to expect within the movie. Some Required Research Before Viewing If you have not seen any of the previous 18 MCU movies by this point (or at least the key movies that directly tie into this one), then you may struggle to understand why certain events occur, or why characters spew certain dialogue about previous MCU entries. For example, the scene in Dr Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, where Bruce Banner is trying to convince Tony Stark to call Steve Rogers / Captain America (Chris Evans), will only carry any meaning if you have seen Captain America: Civil War (2016). Summary Despite the movie's overall lack of character development, it features some of the best action in the MCU, with excellent performances from Downey Jr., Hemsworth and Brolin, and an ending that will leave you in shock, Avengers: Infinity War is a movie that is among the best the genre has to offer. Verdict On The Movie 8.5 out of 10 Your Thoughts What are your thoughts on Avengers: Infinity War? Where would you rank this movie among the pantheon of other MCU movies? Comment below, as I would love to hear your thoughts. All images above and its copyright belong to Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Marvel Studios and any other respective owners. All YouTube content below belongs to their respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Written by Sunil Dhokia A movie that is still to date, the best combination of motion-capture technology and superb storytelling! Note: For more information on how my movie review rating system works, please go the 'Who We Are' page on the website. What's The Movie About? Directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson no less, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011) is a motion-capture animation adventure movie based on the classic comic book series of the same name. The story follows our protagonist, Tintin (Jamie Bell) a reporter, who comes across the Unicorn model ship at a city market, in which he is immediately fascinated with. Despite some attention from other prospective buyers such as our lead antagonist, Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine (Daniel Craig), Tintin successfully purchases the model ship. Thereafter, Tintin and his lovable dog, Snowy, discover a parchment scroll located within the Unicorn, which thrusts the two on an adventure involving a sea captain named Captain Archibald Haddock (Andy Serkis), as the characters venture around the world to try and find the treasure of the Unicorn ship, before the evil Sakharine does. Positives Let's start with the positives of the movie, as there's a quite a few: Story Firstly, the story is a brilliantly told adventure with many scenes revealing key plot elements, without the use of exposition heavy dialogue for the most part. For instance, the scene where Tintin visits Marlinspike Hall, after suspecting that Sakharine may have stolen his Unicorn model ship, the story allows its audience to learn vital pieces of information about the Unicorn. Particularly, the inquisitive nature of Tintin never feels out of place in the story (due to his profession), such as when he's asking questions to Sakharine to discover more about the Unicorn ship. As a result, the audience learns more about the plot of the movie in an organic way, whilst never sacrificing the adventure element of the story. The story is also exciting and most definitely harkens back to Spielberg's Indiana Jones movies, with its serial adventure style of storytelling, whilst never taking itself too seriously. For example, the back and forth between Tintin and Captain Haddock during the scene where they are stranded on a boat in the middle of the sea, is both funny with laughs mainly coming from Captain Haddock's drunken behaviour, and efficient in propelling the story forward. Ultimately the story is intriguing, as we are always rooting for our hero Tintin and his pals to solve the mystery of the Unicorn ship. Acting The performances in this movie are excellent across the board, with all of the main actors bringing their A game to the table. Jamie Bell as Tintin brings a boyish and charismatic quality to the character, as his determination to get the bottom of the story, makes us as the audience just as determined to solve the mystery at hand. Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock is appropriately outlandish in his portrayal of the character. Serkis begins his character arc as a drunkard aboard the SS Karaboudjan ship, but as the story evolves, he begins to show other shades and qualities to his character, allowing Haddock to become a fully three dimensional character within the story. Finally, Daniel Craig as Sakharine brings a layer of wit and charm to the character, following the great tradition of Hollywood movies using British actors in villainous roles (which Daniel Craig himself said about the role, prior to the release of the movie). In this story, he is suitable maniacal and deceitful, though never veering towards mustache twirling, as Craig brilliantly showcases the selfish nature of the character in his attempts to thwart the heroes from solving the mystery. Action The action is suitable fast-paced, always serving the story at hand and brilliantly shot in a way that Spielberg could only achieve in this motion-capture medium. One of my favourite set-pieces in the movie is when Tintin and his dog Snowy are captured on board the Karaboudjan ship (see image above). In particular, when Tintin is being chased by Sakharine's crew, it's excellently shot, with Spielberg expressing himself through the use of low angles, close-ups and wide-shots all in a short amount of time (as a result of this technology), to brilliantly showcase the tension that Tintin, Snowy and Captain Haddock are experiencing on the ship. Soundtrack For the soundtrack, Spielberg turned to his regular collaborator, John Williams, to craft a score that perfectly captures the boisterous and adventurous nature of the story. Thematic material is aplenty in this movie, with 'The Adventures of Tintin' main title theme (see below at bottom of this article) kicking off proceedings during the cartoony opening credits of the picture. Here the theme perfectly captures the suspense and mystery of Tintin's adventures, in a manner that is very playful and fully encompassing of the story that is to come. Character themes are also featured in this movie, such as 'Snowy's Theme' and Captain Haddock's theme. Both of these themes brilliantly convey the unique personality traits and qualities of these respective characters. Snowy's theme conveys the brave nature of his character in aiding Tintin on his adventures, whilst Haddock's theme is appropriately bumbling to represent the drunken state of the character, when we first meet him. This is another soundtrack that avid fans of John Williams, if not already, will have in their collections. Negatives Despite the movie being well paced for the most part, there are a few moments where the story takes mini pit-stops. In particular, the scene where Tintin and his chums are found by soldiers in the middle of a desert, before being taken back to a military fort in Morocco. It's here, where the characters both figuratively and literally take a pit-stop from the non-stop adventure of the story, to establish more of Captain Haddock's backstory in relation to the wider plot at hand. Though there are small mishaps in the pacing of the story, they ultimately do not detract from the overall enjoyment of the adventure we go on with these characters. Is The Motion-Capture Animation Any Good? The movie is a definite improvement in the motion-capture animation medium over previous movies that have utilised this technology. A quick lesson on mo-cap technology for those unaware, it's the process where filmmakers record the movements and performances of its actors, either on a sound-stage or on location, through motion-sensing tracking suits and then translate this information onto digitally animated character models. In the case of this movie, every facial expression, detail and texture is fully realised within this animated world, but in a way that is unique to the world that Hergé (creator of the Tintin comic books) created way back in the 1920s. For instance, the close-ups of key characters such as Tintin and Captain Haddock, particularly when they first meet each other on board the Karaboudjan ship, beautifully blur the line between animation and live action. Summary With top-notch animation, an exciting and compelling adventure story and some brilliant performances from its lead actors, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is an adventure you won't want to miss. Verdict On The Movie 8 out of 10 Your Thoughts What are you thoughts on The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn? Do you think the movie holds up well today in the adventure genre? Comment below, as I would love to hear your thoughts on the movie. All images above and its copyright belong to Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Releasing and any other respective owners. All YouTube content below belongs to their respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Written by Sunil Dhokia Setting The Scene Ah the unseen maestro working in the background. That last sprinkling of fairy dust that can take a movie from being good to a masterpiece. Yes, I am talking about movie composers, who are often the unsung heroes in movies and who through modern filmmaking techniques, which focus more on creating musical effects than developing thematic material, have struggled to find their voice in this cluttered marketplace of movies today. Purpose Of The Article In this article, I am going to focus on some of the composers in movie history, who through the brilliance of the filmmakers who made those movies, have allowed their musical themes to be another key character. These are none other than Elmer Bernstein, Alan Silvestri and John Williams. My short discussion on these composers will be based on my personal experiences of growing up and listening to the various movie themes that they have crafted. Elmer Bernstein Let's start with a composer who was working during the golden era of Hollywood, Elmer Bernstein. My first exposure to his work was on To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). The story about a lawyer, Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) who is tasked with defending a black man, wrongly accused of rape in the early 1930s of Alabama, Maycome in the U.S. To Kill A Mockingbird's 'Main Title' Theme For all of the technical brilliance of the movies opening scene involving a young Scout (Mary Badham) using a crayon on a piece of paper, it's the simple piano notes played by Elmer Bernstein as the camera pans across the table of items, that brilliantly expresses the innocence of children before his title theme is showcased towards the end of this scene. This musical theme for me becomes the backbone of the themes expressed in the movie; for how children ultimately do not differentiate people by colour or race, but by the individual themselves. Ultimately, it's hard for me to not get emotional at the sheer power of the movies title theme. Alan Silvestri We move on now to Alan Silvestri. The composer who much like the individual that I will come to shortly, has a knack for developing beautiful musical themes and motifs across many of the movies that he has composed on (in particular his frequent collaborations with the great Robert Zemeckis). For my first entry point into this musical legend was none other than the sci-fi classic, Back to the Future (1985). For the uninitiated, it's the story of Marty McFly (Michael J Fox) in which he is sent back to 1955 in a DeLorean with a built-in time machine to try and convince his parents to fall in love (no pressure), so that he and his siblings can exist back in 1985, as well as trying to stop Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) from being killed. 'Back To The Future' Main Title Theme The first opportunity we get of hearing the movie's title theme is during the scene where Marty meets Doc Brown at the Twin Pines Mall in which the latter reveals to Marty the DeLorean time machine. As the scene develops, Marty jumps into the DeLorean, after Doc Brown is shot multiple times by Libyan terrorists. At this point, it's a great joy to hear what Silvestri has a great knack for in propulsive action musical beats as Marty is being chased by these terrorists, with small hints of the movies title theme. It's not until Marty says the infamous words "lets see if you bastards can do 90" to the chasing Libyans, that the title theme is fully and brilliantly expressed to the audience. For me, this theme perfectly represents the sci-fi adventure aspect of the picture and therefore conveys the crazy time-travel mechanics of the story at hand. John Williams With the utmost respect to the two previously mentioned composers, it's safe to say that I have left the best for last. The only and one John Williams, whose career has spanned decades and who has a unique ability to develop not only title themes for movies, but also develop themes for individual characters. My personal favourite character theme from John Williams's body of work is Yoda's Theme from the Star Wars franchise. This is because the theme is able to convey the wonder and mystery of this iconic character. His music will often have you humming in the most unexpected of places (public toilets for me - a bit too personal perhaps). Impact Of John Williams Towards My Passion For Movie Scores My childhood and by default adulthood from a musical standpoint in watching countless movies has most definitely been shaped by John Williams. From the awe- inspiring 'Welcome to Jurassic Park' main title theme, that perfectly captures the wonder of dinosaurs in Jurassic Park (1993), the jazzy, Blues instrumentation of the title theme in Catch Me If You Can (2002), to the uniquely Eastern European quality of his haunting title theme for Schindler's List (1993), I have always found myself enjoying his music both within the confines of the movies and outside of them as well. And this is testament to how John Williams is able to transcend movie scores in a way unique to his musical voice. What Makes These Composers Great? The one key element that brings Elmer Bernstein, Alan Silvestri and John Williams together (apart from the fact that they are all musical geniuses), is their ability to develop thematic material that is both unique to the movies they are composing for, but in many cases, having a life of its own, long after the movies have been released. Conclusion In summary, I hope this article does not fall on deaf ears, as I long for the day that Hollywood movies have musical material that is not only thematic (appropriate to the story and characters of course), but also unique in expressing the musical voices of the both the current and next generation of movie composers. Please find the movie themes mentioned above at the bottom of this article, as I hope you gain great enjoyment out of listening to these great composers work as I do. Your Thoughts What do you think about the state of movie scores today and how it compares to the scores of yesteryear? Please feel free to comment below as I would love to hear your thoughts. Note on YouTube Content: All content in the YouTube videos below belong to their respective owners. Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Written by Sunil Dhokia - 9th March 2020
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About MeMy name is Sunil Dhokia, I'm a movie fanatic and love all things Hollywood. Blog Archives
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