Nightcrawler
8.3/10

A Most Violent Year
8/10

The Imitation Game
8.4/10

Spectre for me was below Skyfall but above Quantum of Solace. has about as many pros and cons as Casino Royale. idk. if you like this generation of Bond films you should like this. I don't understand why there is such disappointment. Skyfall is an outlier.

...

Everything about Birdman was perfect but particularly Keaton's performance, especially from halfway point on. It seemed the camera got closer and closer, every bit of resentment, unfulfilled hope one may have later in their life and every wrinkle was all there to see and evaluate! That's as 'naked (lack of a better word)' as a actor I have seen on screen for a long time! Absolutely loved the hell out of it!

Calvary was well, intersecting to watch, small cast, beautiful scenery, minimalistic storytelling yet, with its socio-economic-racial-sexual- running commentary on all the 'Topics of Interest' in the world, it really does make itself a film worthwhile sitting through, plus, Gleeson is really strong in most roles and this is no exception.

My thoughts exactly. I'd say Spectre is many zero gravity moon steps ahead of Quantum of Solace in terms of quality (why do you cut it slack, Dreww? QoS hurt my eyes and brains, for real). I think Spectre is a good film, well made and interestingly shot in a style and with colour palette almost diametrically opposed to its predecessor (bland brownish greyish, very much the look of the early Bond villains - like, uh, Spectre! - as opposed to the wonderful colours of Skyfall). The biggest problem I have with Spectre is that its plot was very uninteresting, but that did not stand in the way of liking this film.
It does have a bad case of the Tarrs, though. Peaks at the opening shot, which is kind of a shame. But that shot, man. That shot!

On another note: Bridge of Spies! In spite of a horrible title and a silly, unnecessary epilogue, I enjoyed this film immensely. Spielberg seems to have traded suspense for wit and sentimentality for humanism in what is easily his best film in quite some time. If my memory serves me well, he hasn't made a film I liked as much since Munich.

the moon doesn't have zero gravity...

House of Flying Daggers - 9/10

Holy shit, was this a glorious film. After the opening scene I thought I was in for a very shallow story, but I was wrong. It's a film of big emotions and big drama. The action scenes are thrilling and gorgeously shot. That fight sequence among the wild flowers is one of the best I've ever seen. Love the music in that scene, too. If you loved Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, you'll love this one, too.

Coriolanus (Ralph Fiennes).
I thought this was absolutely brilliant and deserved a better score at the box office (but, alas, it seems that if you want to adapt Shakespeare, you have to adapt one of the big plays, even if you shove in some cool action scenes and cut a few bits out). Normally I find it very artificial when directors (in film or theatre) keep the text and change the setting to nowadays, as if a guy in jeans talking about a Middle-Ages context in iambic pentameter has more relevance to our times than a guy in a suit of armor talking about a Middle-Ages context in iambic pentameter does. To me, either you play the thing in the actual setting or else you readapt the setting and the text (like with 10 Things I Hate About You, which I haven't seen, mind), unless you really know what you're doing.
But here it really worked, and the use of news reels and titles actually made it easier to follow. Ralph Fiennes performance is extraordinary (as they often are), radiating pride and power, staying rather subdued and only getting intense when he needs to. The acting style in general is quite naturalistic, letting Shakespeare's rythm flow instead of barking out speeches ponderously. And although I admire Shakespeare immensely and think he is the greatest writer to have ever lived, I find his plays hard follow when played, not only because of the density of the text (and the old syntax) but also because it's hard to stay absolutely focused on non-stop dialogue for three hours, so having some good old action between the scenes is fine with me. Some may criticize the direction for being overbearing, the camera from moving emphatically, but I thought it did a great job, and was coherent with the present warfare setting.
The play itself, although less well-known and generally less admired than some of his other stuff, is great too. As usual with Shakespeare, one of its great strengths is its ambiguity: the author doesn't take sides (which is why the play has been used as much by pro-government rightists than by pro-plebean leftists), and Coriolanus is a fascinatingly complex and unpredictable character. And damn, some of those lines: "Anger's my meat; I sup upon myself / And so shall starve with feeding."

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TArNqebm_Gg[/youtube]

I know, but there's a nice cadence to that, I think. Anyhow, I was quoting Friends... perhaps not tr00 enough for DDD. (which is fair)

Have you seen Jet Li's Hero? If not, you should def check it out.

Solid review as always don. I had a good experience seeing that in theaters when it came out, friend really enjoyed it too. The Shakespeare language applied to modern day/realism really helped it live in its own world. Very underrated film I thought and probably the best Shakespaere film of the more recent ones. Been fiendin' to see Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing.

I'm not sure. I just liked how over the top it was. Reminded me of those Crank films except Daniel Craig instead of Jason Statham, which for me is a good thing.

Yeah, quick like. Hero isn't as poetic as HoFD, and it's more politically-minded, but it's just as beautiful and contemplative an action film as you'll get. The Li/Donny Yen fight is for the ages.

Thanks. Yes Much Ado is streaming on my cable network, I guess I should check it out.


By Zhang Yimou I much prefer Raise The Red Lantern. Hero and HoFD have amazing sequences, but after an hour and a half I always start to get a little bored, especially from overuse of slow-mo, so the last sequences drag on a bit. Also, Raise The Red Lantern is more critical of Chinese society and its constraining traditions, whereas the message of Hero is basically "killing innocent people to unify a country is a good thing".

Begin Again
8.8/10

Gone Girl
8.4/10

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
8.7/10

Boyhood
8.8/10