MYST POST #1: A Clockwork Orange

MYST POST #1: A Clockwork Orange

Now I know what you're thinking, "A Clockwork Orange is so weird!" and,  "Isn't it a little strange to do it for your first MYST?" and, "Ray Romano's not even that funny in it!"

…

Ok the last one was a joke, but in all honesty I'd never seen a Stanley Kubrick film and had always wanted to. And I didn't feel like watching The Shining because I didn't want any Jack Nicholson nightmares during the weekend, and I didn't want to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey because I like an acid trip as much as the next guy, I wasn't in the mood. So I settled on the one that looked like the most accessible to me, the story of a juvenile delinquent set in a 60's idea of futuristic Great Britain, and how far society will go to reform him into a good citizen. I was also interested because later in the year we get to choose from a list of independent books to do a big English report on one of those books, and I've planned to read A Clockwork Orange for mine.

And holy expletive. 

The movie is unlike anything I've ever seen. From the 60's ideas of what the future will be, to the constant use of classical music and Beethoven, to the thick and impossible to understand British accents and slang, one thing that I can definitely say is that Kubrick created a fully-fledged world. While although some of the shots and cinematography, music used, and the acting are a bit dated, even those things are still extremely creative at certain points. Like the 1 minute opening shot with narration panning away from an unblinking Malcolm McDowell as the delinquent Alex, sets the tense and sick tone for the whole movie and establishes the character of Alex and what he's like all in the single shot. And other moments like the use of an innocent show tune like, "Singing in the Rain," to contrast against the brutal rape and beating of a simple couple by Alex and his so-called "droogs." A Clockwork Orange serves as a tense thriller, an intense character study, and at times a bitingly funny dark comedy. But the film serves as an awesome piece of commentary on what society might become one day and may already be as a result of adults and governments need to reform and restrict the younger and crazier generations, while also asking questions like how far will our society go to reform.

My only real complaints with the film are some of the dated aspects like some acting and music cues, lulls in the pacing at certain points, some slow/dry yet necessary establishment of his life at home. Other than that the film and its plot kept me for the most part on the edge of my seat, Malcolm McDowell gives an incredible performance as an antihero whom you despise in the beginning and begrudgingly learn to sympathize with over the course of the movie, and the movie is unlike any other movie I've seen (It's also got a fantastic ending). And for that I'm giving it a 4/5 stars.

Foxcatcher: Review of the Reviews

http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/foxcatcher-serial-true-crime/

In his review of Foxcatcher from the website Grantland, Wesley Morris gives the film a less than fresh review the true-crime drama starring Steve Carrel, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo. Morris talks about from the outset of how the movie has a distinct depressing and monotonous tone, that you can tell even from the palette of colors the movie is painted in, stating how the "color is drained" out of the film.  He then goes on to talk about how the whole film seems like it is slowly moving towards a fearful, and more importantly a dreadful conclusion. Dreadful not only in the sense of the characters, but also in the sense for the audience because it's not the kind of tension that gets you gripping your seat, it's the kind where you know something bad is going to happen, and it's taking so long to get to it that you want to get the depressing ending over with. According to Morris, the overall feeling you get from watching the film, and what you should expect of the film is put best when he states, "More than two hours required for confirmation, but it's fair to assume that we're as much at a funeral as at a movie. The movie seems directed unto death." Although Morris's review is a little too long and repeats some points, it is a very fleshed-out and fair review.

http://www.reelviews.net/php_review_template.php?identifier=2833

In James Berardinelli's review of Foxcatcher from the website Reelviews, he gives the movie a solid score mainly based around the strength of the performances from the stellar cast. He also compares the style and type of film to Raging Bull, because like Scorscese did, Bennet Miller (the director) uses the genre of a sports movie to mask an intense psychological drama that lies underneath. Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo both do solid work in the less "showy" roles. But the one that Berardinelli really regards is Carrel's turn as the socially awkward yet mental unhinged John Du Pont, and stating that it's a performance that goes beyond the makeup, "Carell accomplishes something noteworthy, hunting at the sense of unpredictability and danger lurking beneath the apparently placid and agreeable surface." Berardinelli's review, overall, is short and sweet and gets to the point, but he could've taken a little more time explaining why he thought certain things worked or what parts of the film really made him feel a certain way.

Overall I really enjoyed the film, it did have some faults and shortcomings, but I'd still give it a more than positive score. I do agree with Morris's point when he states, "The cutting and writing build so intently toward something grim that a sense of fear permeates even the slivers of comedy." The film is very good at building tension, but because the tension is felt from the first frames, it's exhausting to keep up, when you know that the film is leading toward a sour ending with little to no levity or breaks of lightness in between. And I do like Berardinellis point when he says, "this is a fascinating psychological study and the questions it asks about Du Pont are no more answerable on screen than they were in real life," because the question does leave a lot left up to the filmgoer to think about, but it feels as though not all of which we're thinking about after the movie was intended. I think I like Berardinelli's in general because it's more my style which is short and to the point, while making some specific examples that I would want to tell people. The one thing, if I was reviewing, that I didn't see mentioned, was Channing Tatum's performance, because I thought it was the best in the whole movie. The reviewers called him more of a brute, when that is just his exterior, and the subtleties that Channing does show that he is an innocent, lost child underneath.

Film Intro Survey

Film Intro Survey

What is the first movie that really made a strong impression on you?
Mary Poppins

What are 3-4 of your favorite genres?
Gangster/Crime, Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi

What are 3-4 of your LEAST favorite genres?
Romance, Horror, Teen

What are your five favorite films?
Goodfellas, The Dark Knight, Die Hard, Social Network, Godfather Part II, The Other Guys, Once, Snatch (Sorry it's 8).

List 3 characteristics of what you consider to be a good movie.
Good writing (interesting plot/strong dialogue), good performances, not too many cliches.

If you have any favorite directors (3-5), list them.
Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Queiten Tarantino, David Fincher, Martin Scorcese

If you have any favorite actors/actresses (3-5) list them.
Michael Keaton, Amy Adams, Robert De Niro, Julianne Moore

What are some (3-5) of your LEAST favorite movies?
Transformers 2 Revenge of the Fallen, Transformers 4 Age of Extinction, The Amazing Spiderman 2

List 3 films that you consider important films for people to see.
The Godfather, Pulp Fiction, Memento.

What's your oldest favorite film?
It's a Wonderful Life.

What's the BEST movie you've seen released in the past 2 years?
Interstellar, Boyhood, The Lego Movie,

What are the next five films are your "queue"?
Aliens, Chinatown, Dog Day Afternoon, The Theory of Everything, Whiplash