Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was the first Kevin Smith film I ever saw. This movie is hilarious and extremely profane, with enough pop culture references to make even a modest nerd go completely bonkers. This may not be Kevin Smiths' best movie, but it is absolutely unforgettable.
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is the story of Jay and Silent Bob who decide to stop the movie Bluntman and Chronic from being made. The movie is based off of comic book characters that, in turn, are based on them. However, they did not get any of the profits. While this is an irreverent comedy, there is actually a love story between Jay (Jason Mewes) and Justice (Shannon Elizabeth) that is well put together, and ends up being the heart and soul of the entire film. I also enjoy this film because Jay and Silent Bob step out of their comfort zone of chilling at the Quick Stop, go on a road trip together, and get entangled in all sorts of adventures along the way. Of course, the highlight of the film is when Jay and Silent Bob get into a bongsaber battle with Mark Hamill. We all know how much of a nerd Kevin Smith is, and this scene reaches the highest peaks of geek mountain. All in all, Jay and Silent Bob is pure uncensored fun that is, arguably, Kevin Smiths' most popular film.
Kevin Smith is the director of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. One of the great things that Smith does with this film, as I mentioned before, is the love story. There is a small, and hilarious, heist sequence about halfway through the film that serves as the catalyst for the beginning of Jay and Justices' relationship. This sequence could have easily taken away from the main plot of the film. However, because of the way the sequence is structured, it actually fits quite well within the story as a whole. I also love that this film pokes fun at Smiths' other films, as well as some of the actors' careers. Kevin Smith movies were never meant to be for critics, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is living proof of that.
When Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back was released, it was the culmination of Kevin Smiths' entire career. Quite honestly, it still feels like that to this day. If you are a fan of Kevin Smith, you should definitely check this film out.
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Oil Is Thicker Than Blood
There Will Be Blood is an example of a film that lets you escape into the world that the filmmaker has created, and the characters are our guides throughout that world. For me personally, this film was released at a time when I started to get serious about my love of film. This film is a modern American classic on the grandest of scales.
There Will Be Blood is the story of a turn-of-the-century oil tycoon, and his slow descent into madness. One of the major reasons why this film is so brilliant is because the structure of the narrative is extremely character-driven in a deliberate way. There is a reason why there are certain plot holes in the film: it is because Daniel Plainviews' (Daniel Day-Lewis) greed and obsession is more important. This is Plainviews' story, which is exactly the way he would want it. There Will Be Blood has such a carefully crafted screenplay, and when you have the greatest actor of our time breathing life into the dialogue, it is absolutely unforgettable.
Daniel Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview. What makes Plainview such a great, and ultimately unlikable, character is that he actually starts out as a decent human being who wants success so he can provide for his family. Then, you start to see that he is actually full of anger and hatred that is ultimately fueled by greed. The scene where Plainview admits his own faults to his "brother" makes you realize that you are not going to be a fan of him by the end of this film. Only "Mr. Method" himself, Daniel Day-Lewis, could have developed this character in the way he was meant to be. Plainview is ruthless, peaceful, aggressive, and calm. Day-Lewis haunts you in every frame, and gives one of the best performances in the history of film.
Paul Thomas Anderson is the director of There Will Be Blood. I mentioned earlier that this film lets you escape into the world that has been created, and it is Andersons' masterful directing that lets you do this. We see sweeping shots of the vast landscape (before and after Plainview has built his oil empire), and we also are shown in great detail how the oil wells work. I also love the final "I drink your milkshake" scene at the end because, even in a generic two-shot, Anderson shows that while Plainview has completely gone down the well of madness (pun intended), he still has as much power over everyone else as he did at the beginning of his career. I also want to point out that there is no dialogue in the film for the first fifteen minutes. Only a director like Paul Thomas Anderson could make a film like that so interesting to watch, and There Will Be Blood is truly a masterpiece.
There Will Be Blood is easily one of the best films in the past decade. This film represents what happens when you get the right actor and the right director involved in a project. If you can handle long films, I promise you that There Will Be Blood is completely worth it.
There Will Be Blood is the story of a turn-of-the-century oil tycoon, and his slow descent into madness. One of the major reasons why this film is so brilliant is because the structure of the narrative is extremely character-driven in a deliberate way. There is a reason why there are certain plot holes in the film: it is because Daniel Plainviews' (Daniel Day-Lewis) greed and obsession is more important. This is Plainviews' story, which is exactly the way he would want it. There Will Be Blood has such a carefully crafted screenplay, and when you have the greatest actor of our time breathing life into the dialogue, it is absolutely unforgettable.
Daniel Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview. What makes Plainview such a great, and ultimately unlikable, character is that he actually starts out as a decent human being who wants success so he can provide for his family. Then, you start to see that he is actually full of anger and hatred that is ultimately fueled by greed. The scene where Plainview admits his own faults to his "brother" makes you realize that you are not going to be a fan of him by the end of this film. Only "Mr. Method" himself, Daniel Day-Lewis, could have developed this character in the way he was meant to be. Plainview is ruthless, peaceful, aggressive, and calm. Day-Lewis haunts you in every frame, and gives one of the best performances in the history of film.
Paul Thomas Anderson is the director of There Will Be Blood. I mentioned earlier that this film lets you escape into the world that has been created, and it is Andersons' masterful directing that lets you do this. We see sweeping shots of the vast landscape (before and after Plainview has built his oil empire), and we also are shown in great detail how the oil wells work. I also love the final "I drink your milkshake" scene at the end because, even in a generic two-shot, Anderson shows that while Plainview has completely gone down the well of madness (pun intended), he still has as much power over everyone else as he did at the beginning of his career. I also want to point out that there is no dialogue in the film for the first fifteen minutes. Only a director like Paul Thomas Anderson could make a film like that so interesting to watch, and There Will Be Blood is truly a masterpiece.
There Will Be Blood is easily one of the best films in the past decade. This film represents what happens when you get the right actor and the right director involved in a project. If you can handle long films, I promise you that There Will Be Blood is completely worth it.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Superb Swan Song
The movie Unstoppable will always be a bittersweet film for me personally. Tony Scott was one of my favorite directors, and I am still so deeply heartbroken that he is gone. It is extremely rare when a film-makers' career ends on a high note, but the career of Tony Scott did just that.
Unstoppable is the story of a veteran train engineer and a rookie conductor who must stop a runaway, unmanned freight train that is carrying hazardous chemicals. On paper, one would think that a film like this would be incredibly boring. However, in the legendary hands of Tony Scott, this theoretical snooze-fest becomes an exciting, thrilling adrenaline rush that will leave you gripping the edge of your seat until your knuckles are white. There is also a thematic element at play in this film that comes as a pleasant surprise given Tony Scotts' resume. This film touches on the fact that occasionally the older, more experienced employee gets fired in favor of a young hotshot kid who takes risks and who basically gets the job because of his lineage. This makes for great character moments within this action film. Unstoppable is one of Tony Scotts' better films, if not the best, and it is because every element in the film works perfectly.
Denzel Washington plays Frank. Frank is a seasoned train engineer who is one of the best at what he does. He knows the ins and outs of what his job entails, and what a train is able to do. There is a bitterness to his character as well because he has to break someone in who is eventually going to take his job. The relationship that he has with Will (Chris Pine) is a classic case of age and experience being replaced by youth and ability. However, once the drama in the story starts to unfold, we see that it is necessary for Frank to work with Will in order to succeed. This is a character unlike anybody we have seen Washington play. Frank is very much a reflection of who Denzel Washington is, and this is an authentic performance from one of the best in the business.
Chris Pine plays Will. Will is a flawed character in a classical sense. In his mind, he is ready for the responsibility of being the new rookie conductor. Sometimes he makes the right decisions, and other times he is completely wrong. What I love about this character the most is that we see that he works well under pressure. Once he knows what is at stake and what the risks are, we see that he truly is the man for the job. This also helps develop the relationship between Will and Frank. This is a well-crafted, layered performance by Pine.
Unstoppable is the final film directed by Tony Scott. What drives this film, probably better than any other of Scotts' movies, is the pace. Like any great movie, Unstoppable takes the time to set up the characters first so that you care about what happens to them when the action starts to pick up. In the case of this movie, the character relationships actually work to the actions' benefit. These characters have never experienced anything like this, so as an audience member you feel exactly like they do. It goes without saying that Tony Scott films action sequences like nobody else. The sequence in which a locomotive attempts to pull in front of the train in order to stop it is quite harrowing to watch. It is this combination of character relationships and action sequences that make Unstoppable such a uniquely perfect movie.
Tony Scott was a vastly under-appreciated and under-rated director. His legacy will live on forever simply because of his signature style that he brought to his films. Unstoppable is a fantastic piece of cinema that I highly recommend you see as soon as possible.
Unstoppable is the story of a veteran train engineer and a rookie conductor who must stop a runaway, unmanned freight train that is carrying hazardous chemicals. On paper, one would think that a film like this would be incredibly boring. However, in the legendary hands of Tony Scott, this theoretical snooze-fest becomes an exciting, thrilling adrenaline rush that will leave you gripping the edge of your seat until your knuckles are white. There is also a thematic element at play in this film that comes as a pleasant surprise given Tony Scotts' resume. This film touches on the fact that occasionally the older, more experienced employee gets fired in favor of a young hotshot kid who takes risks and who basically gets the job because of his lineage. This makes for great character moments within this action film. Unstoppable is one of Tony Scotts' better films, if not the best, and it is because every element in the film works perfectly.
Denzel Washington plays Frank. Frank is a seasoned train engineer who is one of the best at what he does. He knows the ins and outs of what his job entails, and what a train is able to do. There is a bitterness to his character as well because he has to break someone in who is eventually going to take his job. The relationship that he has with Will (Chris Pine) is a classic case of age and experience being replaced by youth and ability. However, once the drama in the story starts to unfold, we see that it is necessary for Frank to work with Will in order to succeed. This is a character unlike anybody we have seen Washington play. Frank is very much a reflection of who Denzel Washington is, and this is an authentic performance from one of the best in the business.
Chris Pine plays Will. Will is a flawed character in a classical sense. In his mind, he is ready for the responsibility of being the new rookie conductor. Sometimes he makes the right decisions, and other times he is completely wrong. What I love about this character the most is that we see that he works well under pressure. Once he knows what is at stake and what the risks are, we see that he truly is the man for the job. This also helps develop the relationship between Will and Frank. This is a well-crafted, layered performance by Pine.
Unstoppable is the final film directed by Tony Scott. What drives this film, probably better than any other of Scotts' movies, is the pace. Like any great movie, Unstoppable takes the time to set up the characters first so that you care about what happens to them when the action starts to pick up. In the case of this movie, the character relationships actually work to the actions' benefit. These characters have never experienced anything like this, so as an audience member you feel exactly like they do. It goes without saying that Tony Scott films action sequences like nobody else. The sequence in which a locomotive attempts to pull in front of the train in order to stop it is quite harrowing to watch. It is this combination of character relationships and action sequences that make Unstoppable such a uniquely perfect movie.
Tony Scott was a vastly under-appreciated and under-rated director. His legacy will live on forever simply because of his signature style that he brought to his films. Unstoppable is a fantastic piece of cinema that I highly recommend you see as soon as possible.
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