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Short independent reviews of both blockbusters and overlooked small movie masterpieces.
Showing posts with label thriller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thriller. Show all posts

The Conversation

Posted by pantherion Labels: , , , ,

I am getting old, I guess. Yesterday I started watching Michael Mann's Miami Vice, and did something, I hardly ever do - I turned it off before the end - after half an hour, to be honest. I simply decided that life's too short, to lose another hour of it for a pointless effort like that. And then I saw something quite different - The Conversation. I'll tell you, that switching from a modern action film to an over 30-years old drama was my best decision of the day. Francis Ford Coppola rarely makes movies that aren't awesome, and this one is no exception. For the first half it plays like a social drama with elements of a love story, where Gene Hackman plays a troubled and lost professional eavesdropper, only to become a gripping thriller after an hour. The film is written perfectly, the hints we get in order to be able to solve the mystery are put in the exactly right places, and Hackman's slow fall into paranoia is shown with unspeakable craft from both the actor and the director. A must-see, trust me on this one.
10/10

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Duel

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Thank You for Smoking is the first film from Jason Reitman, the creator of Juno and Up in the Air. Duel is the first film from Steven Spielberg, the creator... Well, I don't think the introduction is necessary in this case. But is everybody familiar with this particular movie? It was television feature shot in 12 days, by then-unknown young director and it showed so good it earned a proper cinematic release. But is it any good now? Can a 40-year old, shot for pennies film, about an evil truck-driver (we don't get to see) who is trying to ride over the main character (for most of the time the only actor on screen) be still watchable? Oh yes, it can. And more, it's gripping and exciting for most of the time, feels almost like a Hitchcock movie. The way the action scenes are shot is pure perfection, the actors are great too and it's also got fantastic score. Duel is not without it's minor flaws (some of the chases get a bit boring after a while), but it most definitely is a small masterpiece.
8/10

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Memento

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Frankly, I am beginning to wonder why nobody reads this blog. There are a few possible answers, one of them being the so called 'niche appeal' of most of the films I am telling you (myself?) about. Well, I'm afraid that this will not change – why would I describe the movies I don't give a toss about or those everybody knows everything about already. I'll carry on writing about the ones that inspire me. So, dear children, today's topic is Memento, the debut feature of Christopher Nolan, who most recently has brought us a little-known kitchen-sink drama called The Dark Knight. While his first piece is not as good as his latest one, Memento is definitely still worth watching. It is a story of a guy (Guy Pearce, to be precise) looking for the killers of his wife. This description may sound like the film is not too original, but there is one twist. It is shot backwards – first we see the ending, then the chain of events that led to it, the beginning of the story being seen in the last few minutes of the feature. It is not just a gimmick, all this is very well determined by the plot and this device makes perfect sense. Actually, the film itself does too, but it may take a few viewings to fully grasp it. It requires constant focus and it is very rewarding when all the pieces of the puzzle match together. Better than crosswords.
7/10

1 comments

American Psycho

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OK, enough of the cheerful, welcome back the dark. I am not really keen on Christian Bale as an actor, he seems a bit bland, but I really admire his career choices, with more or less all of his movies making it to the top of my favorites' list. Same thing about American Psycho. Well, this is really weird stuff - a story of an annoyingly self-obsessed successful yuppie during the day, turning into a serial killer at night. Oh, and it's a comedy. Definitely not for everyone's sensitivity (and recommended only for those with strong stomachs - it can be pretty gruesome), but if one 'gets it' this can be a unforgettable experience. Also on the good side there is Bale's performance. I still sustain my opinion about him, but here he somehow managed to make this extremely putting-off character almost likable. The only problem I have with the movie is the ambiguous ending. Of course this is not really a huge disadvantage (it makes you do something other films rarely do - think) but it makes the movie less accessible. Not an easy entertainment, but something truly unique at the same time.
8/10

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