tarekshabana Reviews

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

An Uncompromising Action Movie

[9/10 · 28 August 2017]

Mad Max is probably the greatest action movie I have seen until now. Its over the top action sequences, beautiful camera work, the setting, the cars and the fire breathing guitar truly create a post apocalyptic world of humans reduced to savages.

George Miller gives you no time to adjust or comprehend the world he has created. The frames are hyperactive and the scenes are accelerated, the dialogue is barely audible and you're left on edge 10 minutes into the movie, and it doesn't slow down from there. The lighting and colors give this movie a different, more exotic feel than other post apocalyptic or action movies. Some of the action sequences were over the top, but others were very intelligently made. The performances by Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron gave the film even more drive. The movie never side-tracks or brings anything that isn't essential to the full on action film that it is.

I don't believe this film (alone, not including the prequels) was meant to introduce 3D characters with depth or have a philosophy behind it. But it does demonstrate, through its madness and chaos, that humans' most basic instinct, survival, creates this chaos and in that chaos eventually comes some form of civilization. I also couldn't help but relate the people in Mad Max's world to the ones in ours. I found many similarities, the core instincts of greed, power, need, survival, faith, loyalty, they're all there, they've always been there. The only difference is in the manifestation, the more the world progresses the more complicated is the manifestation of these instincts and emotions. But again this movie was probably not meant to demonstrate these things, but that just adds to my point.

Rush (I) (2013)

An Adrenaline Rush

[8/10 · 28 August 2017]

A great rivalry thoroughly dissected and cunningly brought to film. The first scenes were cleverly written and directed to introduce to us our two protagonists. Just a little over 5 minutes into the film and we already know what kind of people James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Nikki Lauda (Daniel Duhl) are. So much so that after James Hunt is making out and having shower sex with Nurse Gemma (Natalie Dormer), we don't expect to see her again. And Ron Howard does well to let it spontaneously pass and not fuss over any details because letting it pass like that further builds Hunt's character.

More importantly, however, is the build of the rivalry between Hunt and Lauda. Chris Hemsworth delivers by far his best performance in perfectly depicting Hunt's arrogance, cockiness and charisma. Daniel Bruhl also does a fascinating job in portraying Nikki Lauda. While the two characters may be on opposite ends of the spectrum, their rivalry pushes them to evolve and be anywhere on the spectrum if it means winning. While their fundamentals and core foundations do not change, everything else does. As these changes unfold the rivalry becomes stronger and stronger and the races ever more intense.

The cinematography is notable and was indeed complementary to this film's immersion especially on the race track. The races were shot splendidly and conveyed the tension, ferocity, and thrill of the races. The brief shots from the driver's helmets were brilliant and gave the audience a feeling of subjectivity.

I've seen a couple of movies that featured races and such, but never did any give me such an adrenaline rush. This, I think, is the result of amazing camera-work, powerful performances and of course masterful directing.

Whiplash (2014)

Greatness. Is it worth it?

[8/10 · 12 August 2017]

Damien Chazelle gives an astonishing portrayal of ambition and the quest for greatness. Andrew (Miles Teller) is a freshman with a dream to become one of the greatest drummers in history. He dreams to become a legend that lasts forever. Terrence Fletcher (J. K. Simmons), a music instructor in one of the most prestigious music academies, sees potential in Andrew and decides to mentor him.

Fletcher, however, has a ruthless philosophy on teaching and goes to great, arguably inhumane, lengths to realizing his students' potentials. In fact, one of his students ends up suiciding possibly because of the methods and pressure Fletcher places on his students. He always has students on edge, even when Andrew is core drummer, he gets him a phoney second drummer to keep Andrew on edge. Fletcher believes that you must be pushed beyond your limits, far beyond them until you are either discouraged, or achieve greatness.

Andrew expresses his obsession with greatness and success very clearly at a family dinner when he starts talking about Charlie Parker and how nothing but legacy and greatness matters. When he decides to take Nicole (Melissa Benoist) out on a date, he enters a relationship that later puts him in a dilemma. Eventually, Andrew feels that this relationship will threaten his path for greatness, he feels (as he explained to Nicole) that Nicole will drag him down, that every minute spent with her is a minute taken from his practice, and so he will inevitably hate her. Andrew goes on to practice till his hands bleed, survives a bloody car crash, gets kicked out of the band, gets humiliated in front of an audience that could make or break his career, to finally delivering one of the greatest, most electrifying performances anyone has seen.

I believe that when analyzing a movie, it is irrelevant whether or not it was "right" that he left Nicole, I think that the fact that as a viewer you could tell that Andrew was going to leave her or that you were convinced of his actions as a character shows very good screenplay. The question is not whether Fletcher's methods or Andrew's actions are right, but whether greatness is worth its cost.

The Social Network (2010)

It's less about Facebook, more about Humans.

[9/10 · 6 August 2017]

Returning to Fight Club's cinematographer, Jeff Cronenweth, David Fincher delivers one of his films' most engulfing cinematography. The lighting, the shots, the camera movement all have you dwelling into the movie and more importantly into the protagonist, Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg). This is what I found most brilliant in The Social Network, the way it's cinematography, soundtrack, screenplay and acting blend in together through perfect directing to harmoniously engage you emotionally.

The fast paced dialogue with the soundtrack gives you a rush and leaves you, not keeping up but rather dragged behind the storyline (on first viewing at least). This rush, or thrill from the fast paced dialogue and soundtrack pull you into the aura of Zuckerberg. The screenplay is also very well structured and moves along very nicely with three dimensional characters and character development.

I found the severing of the friendship between Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) and Mark Zuckerberg to be very interesting. It's easier to believe that it was greed or whatever is more "evil" than just envy or jealousy that led to Zuckerberg's betrayal because it's hard to believe and no one will admit their ugliness and deep down jealousy of others even the ones they love, even best friends. But it's only social standards that hold some of us back from acting on these ugly emotions or at least publicly acting on them. That's not to say that Zuckerberg did this just because Saverin got into the Phoenix club, but I believe it has a larger influence than many believe.

I don't mean to be cynical, but I do believe that we must acknowledge that we innately have these emotions, and that we do not control the emotions themselves but we can control how to act on these emotions. And this is what I love about cinema, or what I think makes a great movie, when it takes someone who seems godlike or other worldly and portrays him in the same humanity as the rest of us.

Watchmen (2009)

It Isn't Just The Dark Knight that Transcends the Superhero Genre

[8/10 · 29 July 2017]

I was surprised at the way Watchmen viewed its superheroes. It makes them seem more human than the usual idealistic superheroes. Even the idealistic, uncompromising superhero, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley), isn't your average "idealistic superhero."

It's 1985, and superheroes are banned from society by law. However, one veteran superhero, The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), attempts to bring the superheroes back together to fight crime. His intentions become known and he is quickly assassinated. Rorschach, "uncompromising" as he is, takes it upon himself to investigate The Comedian's assassination. What's interesting here though is the plot's revelation, which is more concerned with its characters and their actions as they face certain dilemmas rather than the story itself. Through this new display of superheroes we become attached and caring for the characters here more than in most other superhero movies. Each superhero has their own morale, and to a large degree we are able to at least understand, if not relate or agree, their reasoning, and when you have at least 4 superheroes with their ideals presented so well and comprehensively, you know this is brilliant screenplay.

The action sequences are decent, there's nothing superb about them nor anything flawed. The filming and the costumes are notable for giving the movie a comic book feel with its lighting and CGI. While this does compromise the movie's potential by limiting our emotional attachment (we're constantly reminded that they are "comic book characters") it does satisfy comic book fans and movie savvies alike.

The character whom I found most fascinating was Dr. Manhattan. Even though he seems godlike and other-worldly, he's more like how a human would be if he became godlike (which is what Dr. Manhattan is). I've always believed that it's pointless to view our world (Earth, or more specifically our social circle, family etc.) from the perspective of "the grand scheme of things" because by doing that you undermine the value of everything that means everything to you, you betray relativity and that's what matters to you. But when you're like Dr. Manhattan, the grand scheme of things becomes your relativity, and knowing this makes you very understanding of his view of our world.

Lastly, I'd like to talk about the last scene of the film. Here is where the film does not compromise, here the film does not attempt to please the audience and allows the characters to truly come alive and deal with the circumstances by their moral codes. I believe (and this may be an over analysis) that the ending shows that there is no ultimate "right and wrong" but it is those with the power to force their beliefs and ideals on the world who make the right and wrong.

The Woodsman (2004)

Changes Your Viewpoint

[8/10 · 19 July 2017]

The Woodsman I believe is a very important film that opens our eyes and allows us to sympathize with even the most despicable people: pedophiles. The story follows Walter (Kevin Bacon) after his release from a 12 year sentence for child molesting and his struggle to fit in the community again and be "normal." We have no sympathy for his 12 year imprisonment, nor should we, however we do, at times, begin to sympathize with Walter throughout his reentering into the community. But our sympathy is met with a dilemma, brought on by Sgt. Lucas (Yasiin Bay) and Walter's co-worker Mary Kay.

Mary realizes that there is something wrong with Walter, so she starts digging and finds out about his history and why he was sent to prison. She feels a morale obligation to notify everyone of this. Now she may have come off as low trash by doing that, but was she wrong to do it? Shouldn't people know this, to be more cautious with their kids around him? Then we have Sgt. Lucas, who is very cynical of and loathes and degrades people like Walter, as do most people, and we can't help but agree, whenever Lucas visits Walter we're always taking his side. But when Walter is alone and we see that shame, that self hate in his eyes, we can see and understand something more. We begin to see the true evil here, it is not the pedophile, it is pedophilia, and Walter is cursed with it.

This is true for a lot of forms of evil, it is not the rapper that is the enemy, it is the lust which leads to rape, the greed that leads to corruption, and so on. This in no way excuses the person who carries out these actions, but understanding this helps us view and treat these people in a more human and empathetic manner.

City of God (2002)

A Lens Into the Slums of Rio, Not Into the Individual Lives

[10/10 · 2 July 2017]

This film can be fully appreciated only on second viewing (if not more). What I found to be most fascinating in city of god, and is easily felt on first viewing, was that even though the film is full of "flashbacks" it captivates you in a way that makes you feel the timeline is linearly moving forward. For instance, whenever a new character or a new place is shown, we're waiting for that "the story of..." and we're so interested that we forget about the current events taking place and indulge in the brilliant storytelling. We know this is a flashback, but we're in no hurry for it to finish so we can get back to the storyline.

Of course the epic fast-paced cinematography gives us such a rush that, I believe, contributes to the captivation of these flashbacks, everything is happening so quickly and the story is so well rounded you just lose track of time and fully submerge into the film. All of the performances, literally all of the cast, were plain out real and natural. They all behaved as though the camera wasn't there and we were watching them without their notice through some magical lens.

Some may think that this film has failed in profoundly exploring the characters of this film, by only pointing out what has gone on but never looking any deeper. For example, Lil Z's insanity is never explored, it just shows you how it started with him satisfying his thirst to kill but we never understand why he's developed this thirst to kill. Yes I agree that such detailed traits were not explored, but I believe they shouldn't be, not in that manner at least. This movie isn't about diving into character's personalities as much as it is about diving into the slums, the messiness of their surroundings. The people here are no philosophers, they have the most basic human emotions to act on, lust, vengeance, greed, etc. The movie doesn't attempt to explore their profoundness because there is no profoundness to explore.

While the movie contains a classical cycle of vengeance, it isn't about this cycle of vengeance. And that's what I love about this movie, it doesn't solely rely on this cycle of vengeance nor solely rely on the plot twists that it brings. The City of God is not tunneled, it is broad and well rounded.

La Vie En Rose (2007)

One of the Greatest Female Performances of the Decade

[8/10 · 20 June 2017]

Marion Cotillard's performance was unlike any other she has done, or anyone else for that matter. I can only think of a handful of other performances of the same caliber, one is Charlize Theron in Monster (2003). I don't actually know the real Edith Piaf very well, but that doesn't matter. The movie's screenplay and performance are key to it's greatness.

The characters, especially Edith, are so well written and deeply explored. I believe the most important scene in the movie which highlights Cotillard's performance and Isabelle Sobelman's and Olivier Dahan's witty storytelling and direction is Edith's breakdown in December 13, 1959. From this scene we immediately understand how important singing is to Edith, in fact Cotillard's performance is so raw it delivers the feeling that singing is the only thing she has left, the only reason she lives anymore. Now the fact that all this was shown prior to the scenes of her marriage/affairs with Marcel is brilliant storytelling in that it allows the power of the previous scene (Edith's breakdown) to let the audience guess that even though she is passionate about Marcel, they will not continue to be together because if they did Edith would not be clinging on to singing as though it is the only thing she has left in life.

And then of course the ending, perfect. The three timelines are aligned in such perfect harmony they feel as one ending giving rise to the next and that to the next.