None of my mates wanted to see this in the cinema over a year ago, which was a bit of a bugger, and then the double disc DVD was only released in America (and cost-prohibitive to import), which was even more of a bugger ... so that meant I've ended up waiting until it appeared on Sky Movies this week to give it a looksee.
Upon first hearing the basic concept, and that it was being directed by David Fincher (and starring his acting collaborator Brad Pitt), I was sold and greatly looking forward to it.
The opening twenty minutes was a bit sketchy though, I have to say, with the 85 year old Benjamin as a baby playing more disturbing than intriguing, but this soon settles as we really begin to recognise Pitt behind all the CGI trickery (which, for the most part, is excellent). I also thought the present day moments, taking place just prior to Hurricane Katrina striking New Orleans, were definite dips in the flow of the movie. I felt drawn out of the story at these moments, but then again without these moments the narration would sit uncomfortably without its contextual grounding.
Pitt, having already wowed me in 2007's sodding brilliant The Assassination of Jesse James, wows me again with a performance that charts the development of the titular character who ages backwards with intelligence, humour and grace.
Having initially found it a little hard to get into, with those bumpy opening twenty minutes or so, I soon found myself getting entirely caught up in the life story of this intriguing character. I'm pleased to say that Fincher continues to excell at this directing business, and has managed to direct Pitt towards one of his very best performances.
Quirky, warm-hearted, and with an ambient pace, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a real treat. It may have a few bum notes here and there, but ultimately the film is a definite must-see.
Showing posts with label jesse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jesse. Show all posts
Monday, 15 February 2010
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford...
Aye indeed, earlier this year I spent many-a-blog-post ranting and raving about how jaw-droppingly amazing this astonishing piece of filmmaking was ... and my opinion hasn't changed one bit.
As I sit here listening to the soundtrack (which is beautiful, by the way), my love for this film - which has found it's way into my Top Ten (well, my version of a Top Ten anyway, where only a #1 exists alongside 9 equals) - hasn't abated one iota.
Yes, the first hour might be a tad ponderous, but the train robbery is a superb sequence and the low that follows that high (as seen through the eyes of James himself mostly) is all working towards a vengeance & paranoia tainted second hour, at which point the eponymous scene smacks you about the face with it's mournful, moving attitude. It is loaded with weighted emotion, with conflict, with acceptance of fate ... it's spell-binding quite simply.
Then, a rather brisk final half hour links back to earlier in the film (vibe wise anyway), with the low after the high (for the characters I mean, not us viewers who have been gorging on a treat throughout). Bob, the assassin, and his co-hort in the act descend into a pit of misery, despair, anguish and regret before the final, heart-grabbing, spine-tingling scene ... then after a good ten seconds of pause, the bold and proud title presents itself alongside the wonderfully haunting sound of Nick Cave's score.
Those who might say it's crap and is dull and boring, quite simply do not "get" it ... and I confidently stand beside that assertion, because the film truly has something to "get" in the first place. If you do "get it", you are rewarded ten fold ... if not, it's clearly not the film for you.
I don't "get" Bollywood, but I don't deny it, or discourage it, or dampen the spirit of those who enjoy it, so likewise, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, should be afforded the same open-mindedness ... because, quite frankly, it is filmmaking genius.
Truly awe inspiring.
As I sit here listening to the soundtrack (which is beautiful, by the way), my love for this film - which has found it's way into my Top Ten (well, my version of a Top Ten anyway, where only a #1 exists alongside 9 equals) - hasn't abated one iota.
Yes, the first hour might be a tad ponderous, but the train robbery is a superb sequence and the low that follows that high (as seen through the eyes of James himself mostly) is all working towards a vengeance & paranoia tainted second hour, at which point the eponymous scene smacks you about the face with it's mournful, moving attitude. It is loaded with weighted emotion, with conflict, with acceptance of fate ... it's spell-binding quite simply.
Then, a rather brisk final half hour links back to earlier in the film (vibe wise anyway), with the low after the high (for the characters I mean, not us viewers who have been gorging on a treat throughout). Bob, the assassin, and his co-hort in the act descend into a pit of misery, despair, anguish and regret before the final, heart-grabbing, spine-tingling scene ... then after a good ten seconds of pause, the bold and proud title presents itself alongside the wonderfully haunting sound of Nick Cave's score.
Those who might say it's crap and is dull and boring, quite simply do not "get" it ... and I confidently stand beside that assertion, because the film truly has something to "get" in the first place. If you do "get it", you are rewarded ten fold ... if not, it's clearly not the film for you.
I don't "get" Bollywood, but I don't deny it, or discourage it, or dampen the spirit of those who enjoy it, so likewise, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, should be afforded the same open-mindedness ... because, quite frankly, it is filmmaking genius.
Truly awe inspiring.
Saturday, 5 April 2008
There Will Be Blood...
As far as epics go for the 2007-2008 period go, my top slot has already been assumed - as you might well know by now - by The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, an absolutely spell-binding, myth-meditating western.
However, there is another heavy weight contender out there - PT Anderson's There Will Be Blood. Mark Kermode has ranted and raved about this film with similar passion as I have for The Assassination of Jesse James (or as my fellow online movie nerds would say, "flat out flaming for it").
It's a timely movie, considering the fuss surrounding oil - the black, liquid gold. It's a tale of ambition, greed, deception, corruption, attempted redemption, anger, murder, capitalism unbound ... basically it's bloated with the sheer volume of narrative themes.
Admittedly, I found the last 40 minutes or so to, not drag, but just lose some of that special something - for me anyway. What preceded this sedate third act (or indeed fourth act) was gripping to say the least. Beautiful images, weighty performances, direction of absolute craft and obsessive precision ... I guess the comparative stroll of the final scenes didn't strike me as hard as they might have done. However, there's always the second viewing, which will no doubt confirm the power of these final scenes for me - not that I deny this now. Perhaps I was personally just beginning to tap out a smidge by that stage, there is a fair shift in gears for the final act.
As already said though, it's a film of brutish strength in all its creative extents, a coming together of artists, which culminated in a modern epic (see also Into The Wild). It seems that amidst the cheap ideas, remakes and MTV-sucking tat, that there is a bit of a renaissance going on somewhere inside Hollywood. Those with plenty of clout (such as PTA and Brad Pitt) are pushing the boundaries of artistic filmmaking, they're trying to seek out something more, something epic, something meaningful. Today it seems, after the inspiring renaissance seen on the small screen during recent years, the 'New Hollywood' era is making a come back.
Such bold entries into the annals of cinematic history will never go away, but will hibernate from time-to-time, now though - the grizzly has awakened, and it's impressive.
However, there is another heavy weight contender out there - PT Anderson's There Will Be Blood. Mark Kermode has ranted and raved about this film with similar passion as I have for The Assassination of Jesse James (or as my fellow online movie nerds would say, "flat out flaming for it").
It's a timely movie, considering the fuss surrounding oil - the black, liquid gold. It's a tale of ambition, greed, deception, corruption, attempted redemption, anger, murder, capitalism unbound ... basically it's bloated with the sheer volume of narrative themes.
Admittedly, I found the last 40 minutes or so to, not drag, but just lose some of that special something - for me anyway. What preceded this sedate third act (or indeed fourth act) was gripping to say the least. Beautiful images, weighty performances, direction of absolute craft and obsessive precision ... I guess the comparative stroll of the final scenes didn't strike me as hard as they might have done. However, there's always the second viewing, which will no doubt confirm the power of these final scenes for me - not that I deny this now. Perhaps I was personally just beginning to tap out a smidge by that stage, there is a fair shift in gears for the final act.
As already said though, it's a film of brutish strength in all its creative extents, a coming together of artists, which culminated in a modern epic (see also Into The Wild). It seems that amidst the cheap ideas, remakes and MTV-sucking tat, that there is a bit of a renaissance going on somewhere inside Hollywood. Those with plenty of clout (such as PTA and Brad Pitt) are pushing the boundaries of artistic filmmaking, they're trying to seek out something more, something epic, something meaningful. Today it seems, after the inspiring renaissance seen on the small screen during recent years, the 'New Hollywood' era is making a come back.
Such bold entries into the annals of cinematic history will never go away, but will hibernate from time-to-time, now though - the grizzly has awakened, and it's impressive.
Friday, 4 April 2008
Into The Wild...
Action packed this is not, but if you thought this character study was going to be a roller coaster, you're clearly not the target audience for this gradually-paced, man VS nature true story re-telling. At well over 2 hours, even the more cynical among the audience will become enchanted by the tale, and quite possibly spare a moment of thought for the real-life nature boy, whom the film is all about.
Initially I wasn't quite feeling 'it'. It initially feels like 'well-to-do middle class kid takes a disliking to capitalism and goes off on some parent-aggrieving adventure' ... it even feels a bit, dare I say it, Hollywood in the idealism of the adventure being undertaken. Simply destroy all your ID and burn your money and start hiking.
However, given the chance, the film proves to you that is has a valid story of a yearning for simplicity and freedom from the young mind, and spirit, of the protagonist. It ultimately becomes soul-searching stuff, amidst the poetic cinematography which draws you into the journey and allows you to sit beside 'Alex Supertramp' throughout.
Of course, the cynicism in most of us will see that it's absolutely stupid - no matter how spiritual - to attempt to 'live off the land' with absolutely no survival training. It's a bit too idealistic for 'kid surburbia' to go it alone in the woods and not expect tragedy which, as anyone remotely familiar with the true life story, is signaled up early on.
Despite this, and the apparent copy-cat journey-makers, and the severity of the tragedy itself (apparently he was merely a few miles from sanctuary, and indeed 1/4 mile from a trafficked cable car route), it is an inspiring film. You shouldn't run off to the wilds with the naivety and idealism of someone tired of the fast-spinning-world of commerce, but perhaps you should step outside of your wallet for a spell ... at least understand that the importance of modern life's accoutrements is merely relative, and ultimately (in a more spiritual sense) unnecessary (they're just nice things to enjoy a bit along the way).
It's inspiring to me in a similar respect to the McGregor/Boorman journeys (particularly Long Way Round) - seeing more than your own town, going on a little adventure (or even big adventure) and coming out of it (or indeed going through it) with a greater appreciation for life and the lives of others, and of course for the world around you.
As a film itself, it's a campfire tale with a camera turned onto it. It feels like a kind of mini-legend, a fairy tale almost, of self-discovery and a search for something meaningful and for a place to be. It's a tale of a free spirit, if I dare to use such a cliched and overused phrase, to describe a profoundly moving piece of artistic filmmaking.
Although as far as recent poetic, meditative character studies surrounded by tragedy go, I'd still plump for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford first ... but then again, I'm a complete whore for that instant classic (also thanks to Total Film for sending my free DVD of it out so quickly, ahead of street date too, nice one).
8/10
Initially I wasn't quite feeling 'it'. It initially feels like 'well-to-do middle class kid takes a disliking to capitalism and goes off on some parent-aggrieving adventure' ... it even feels a bit, dare I say it, Hollywood in the idealism of the adventure being undertaken. Simply destroy all your ID and burn your money and start hiking.
However, given the chance, the film proves to you that is has a valid story of a yearning for simplicity and freedom from the young mind, and spirit, of the protagonist. It ultimately becomes soul-searching stuff, amidst the poetic cinematography which draws you into the journey and allows you to sit beside 'Alex Supertramp' throughout.
Of course, the cynicism in most of us will see that it's absolutely stupid - no matter how spiritual - to attempt to 'live off the land' with absolutely no survival training. It's a bit too idealistic for 'kid surburbia' to go it alone in the woods and not expect tragedy which, as anyone remotely familiar with the true life story, is signaled up early on.
Despite this, and the apparent copy-cat journey-makers, and the severity of the tragedy itself (apparently he was merely a few miles from sanctuary, and indeed 1/4 mile from a trafficked cable car route), it is an inspiring film. You shouldn't run off to the wilds with the naivety and idealism of someone tired of the fast-spinning-world of commerce, but perhaps you should step outside of your wallet for a spell ... at least understand that the importance of modern life's accoutrements is merely relative, and ultimately (in a more spiritual sense) unnecessary (they're just nice things to enjoy a bit along the way).
It's inspiring to me in a similar respect to the McGregor/Boorman journeys (particularly Long Way Round) - seeing more than your own town, going on a little adventure (or even big adventure) and coming out of it (or indeed going through it) with a greater appreciation for life and the lives of others, and of course for the world around you.
As a film itself, it's a campfire tale with a camera turned onto it. It feels like a kind of mini-legend, a fairy tale almost, of self-discovery and a search for something meaningful and for a place to be. It's a tale of a free spirit, if I dare to use such a cliched and overused phrase, to describe a profoundly moving piece of artistic filmmaking.
Although as far as recent poetic, meditative character studies surrounded by tragedy go, I'd still plump for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford first ... but then again, I'm a complete whore for that instant classic (also thanks to Total Film for sending my free DVD of it out so quickly, ahead of street date too, nice one).
8/10
Sunday, 10 February 2008
And the assassination of Jesse James continues...
Well, it's been a little while since I saw The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and it's still sticking with me. The mournful score is still floating around my head at night when it's all quiet, the jaw-dropping cinematography still painted on the inside of my eyelids ... well, not literally because that'd be silly, but you know what I mean.
Point is - what a great piece of filmmaking! :)
Otherwise, I'm currently chipping away at a brand new show-reel, it's taking a while as you've gotta pick a song (from a list of 4,000 in my case) that matches the vibe of most of the footage at the very least...then you've got to pick which films you're made that you want to include clips from...then you have to actually edit the clips you want out of the files, or even capture the clips all over again...then you have to process all the footage, cropping it all to 1.85:1 and playing around with Magic Bullet where appropriate or suitable for experimentation...then you've got to render all that stuff...then it's gotta be transferred into some other editing software (where I do all the basic editing actions nice and swiftly) and then you've gotta edit the damn thing!
Well, I'm currently about a minute into the show-reel edit ... but before that, I had to fiddle with the chosen music track because the MP3 wasn't recognised properly, so I had to go and Cool Edit that sum'bitch into a file that worked fully.
*sigh*
Bloody nora ... still, to get the inspiration flowing, I'm re-watching Long Way Round after having recently finished reading the book, what a bloody good show it is too!
Point is - what a great piece of filmmaking! :)
Otherwise, I'm currently chipping away at a brand new show-reel, it's taking a while as you've gotta pick a song (from a list of 4,000 in my case) that matches the vibe of most of the footage at the very least...then you've got to pick which films you're made that you want to include clips from...then you have to actually edit the clips you want out of the files, or even capture the clips all over again...then you have to process all the footage, cropping it all to 1.85:1 and playing around with Magic Bullet where appropriate or suitable for experimentation...then you've got to render all that stuff...then it's gotta be transferred into some other editing software (where I do all the basic editing actions nice and swiftly) and then you've gotta edit the damn thing!
Well, I'm currently about a minute into the show-reel edit ... but before that, I had to fiddle with the chosen music track because the MP3 wasn't recognised properly, so I had to go and Cool Edit that sum'bitch into a file that worked fully.
*sigh*
Bloody nora ... still, to get the inspiration flowing, I'm re-watching Long Way Round after having recently finished reading the book, what a bloody good show it is too!
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
The Assassination of Shite by the Hero Andrew Dominik...
Okay, okay, such a pun-tastically cheesy title shouldn't really grace musings concerning The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, but you know how it is in blog-land.
But I characteristically digress.
Having struggled through development adversity, at long last the definitive film regarding who could arguably be considered the first celebrity - the notorious Jesse James - is upon us. It opens with the James gang's apparent last big score, a sequence that seems to evoke the cinematic grandeur of the frontier-breaking iron horse, which steamed towards the very first cinema goers. There is an air of majesty in the build up, illuminated amidst the clutter of trees by a beacon-like head lamp.
From the outset you sense that this film is going to go where too few Hollywood productions dare to venture. To tread into an uncertain world of meticulously crafted, morally complex protagonists. This collection of iconic individuals say as much silent and with a stare, than they do when their carefully chosen words are laid gently upon the table.
Indeed, the strength of the often stoic performances are greatest during the eponymous betrayal. Much like the entirety of the film, this scene is slow burn. It creeps forth with Nick Cave's moving and thoughtful score as Brad Pitt (the eponymous anti-hero), Casey Affleck (the eponymous coward) and Sam Rockwell (the coward's elder brother) deliver beautifully understated, yet no less powerful performances.
Perhaps surprisingly, but it is not Pitt, but Affleck who plays the strongest role. At first a very nervous, twitchy, even shy admirer of the James gang's iconic leader, he grows into a more confident - yet still somewhat socially awkward - spurned celebrity follower. It is the journey of Robert Ford which is ultimately the most tragic, mirroring with greater intensity the plight of Jesse James himself, who is a man we eventually come to understand as a loving, church-going patriarch, but whom remains a cold-blooded thief and killer.
Dominik directs with care a considered, restrained epic. It is a film filled with astoundingly beautiful vistas, captured with suitably thoughtful photography, which goes so far as to touche your soul. The Assassination of Jesse James, like the risk-taking epics of the New Hollywood era, sticks with you. It lurks in your mind long after the final, haunting freeze frame fades to black. Indeed, far more The Deer Hunter than Heaven's Gate.
An absolutely astounding piece of filmmaking, brought forth from deep down within the hearts of those involved, this has cinematic classic written all over it.
Quite simply, 10 out of 10.
But I characteristically digress.
Having struggled through development adversity, at long last the definitive film regarding who could arguably be considered the first celebrity - the notorious Jesse James - is upon us. It opens with the James gang's apparent last big score, a sequence that seems to evoke the cinematic grandeur of the frontier-breaking iron horse, which steamed towards the very first cinema goers. There is an air of majesty in the build up, illuminated amidst the clutter of trees by a beacon-like head lamp.
From the outset you sense that this film is going to go where too few Hollywood productions dare to venture. To tread into an uncertain world of meticulously crafted, morally complex protagonists. This collection of iconic individuals say as much silent and with a stare, than they do when their carefully chosen words are laid gently upon the table.
Indeed, the strength of the often stoic performances are greatest during the eponymous betrayal. Much like the entirety of the film, this scene is slow burn. It creeps forth with Nick Cave's moving and thoughtful score as Brad Pitt (the eponymous anti-hero), Casey Affleck (the eponymous coward) and Sam Rockwell (the coward's elder brother) deliver beautifully understated, yet no less powerful performances.
Perhaps surprisingly, but it is not Pitt, but Affleck who plays the strongest role. At first a very nervous, twitchy, even shy admirer of the James gang's iconic leader, he grows into a more confident - yet still somewhat socially awkward - spurned celebrity follower. It is the journey of Robert Ford which is ultimately the most tragic, mirroring with greater intensity the plight of Jesse James himself, who is a man we eventually come to understand as a loving, church-going patriarch, but whom remains a cold-blooded thief and killer.
Dominik directs with care a considered, restrained epic. It is a film filled with astoundingly beautiful vistas, captured with suitably thoughtful photography, which goes so far as to touche your soul. The Assassination of Jesse James, like the risk-taking epics of the New Hollywood era, sticks with you. It lurks in your mind long after the final, haunting freeze frame fades to black. Indeed, far more The Deer Hunter than Heaven's Gate.
An absolutely astounding piece of filmmaking, brought forth from deep down within the hearts of those involved, this has cinematic classic written all over it.
Quite simply, 10 out of 10.
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