tryptonaut
Holofractale de l'hypervérité
- Inscrit
- 20/11/04
- Messages
- 3 440
I watched "There Will Be Blood" last night, the movie that got two Oscars this year (best cinematography and best actor in a leading role for Daniel Day-Lewis). I must say I really loved it - I think Hollywood (and the academy) are turning away from action/effects/simple emotion and back to really interesting cinematography.
The film is amazingly sparse with words, there is not one word being spoken in the first 14 minutes - but there are no brute force action sequences, no - it's just telling a great story without words for a whole 14 minutes!
The theme of the movie is very philosophical/spiritual, it's the story of a simple man, an "oil man", who comes to riches in the beginning of the 20th century in the United States. The story is told plain and simple, with amazing pictures and an even more amazing sound and soundtrack.
The protagonist Mr. Plainview (the name means something I think...) achieves success throughout the film, but more and more loses his humanity and soul. He is shown relatively desperate from the beginning (that's why he is looking for success) but the more he achieves his monetary goals, the less happy he gets.
One of his adversaries is the charismatic sectarian priest Eli, who claims to work wonders on sick people. In the end he is unmasked as a false prophet who cherishes money and himself more than his belief (it is left unclear if he even does truely believe in god).
This is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time (and at least 50% of that feeling goes to the atmosphere and soundtrack). I really like it that this movie got so many Oscars this year.
Then there was another oscar-winning movie this year that really amazed me - "Atonement"
It had been nominated for quite a few oscars, it only got one (but it really deserved that!). Dario Marianelli got the Oscar for the soundtrack, and it really is beautiful - I seldomly like a soundtrack that much, but this one is at least as great as the soundtracks of The Piano, Requiem for a Dream or The Fountain.
I guess most guys will consider Atonement a "chick flick" (well, I guess it is, kind of) but when you have a certain interest in cinematography (camera, lighting, editing, all the things that help deliver a good story) then you will also love this movie. It is kind of "old school" cinematography, it almost delivers the looks of a 70's movie like "The Great Gatsby" (with Dior stockings stretched behind the lens to achieve that soft "fairytale look" - which they really did, you can check in the asc online magazine).
Plus the story is really interesting as well, I think - as the title tells, Atonement is about a woman begging for atonement in her old age, knowing she ruined the lives of two people with just one false statement. Hard stuff... you don't wanna live with that...
Well, I'm really amazed at how Hollywood and the Academy really brought up some very very well done movies - they seem to be on track again, delivering good movies in spite of action loaded effects spectacles without stories.
P.S.: I think I'm gonna watch "No Country for Old Men" tonight which got most of the Oscars this year (best picture of the year, best directing, best actor in supporting role, best writing) and see how it holds up. It was written and directed by the Coen brothers, so I think it might even be the best of the bunch for me
The Coen Brothers rule, they haven't made a movie yet that I didn't like!
The film is amazingly sparse with words, there is not one word being spoken in the first 14 minutes - but there are no brute force action sequences, no - it's just telling a great story without words for a whole 14 minutes!
The theme of the movie is very philosophical/spiritual, it's the story of a simple man, an "oil man", who comes to riches in the beginning of the 20th century in the United States. The story is told plain and simple, with amazing pictures and an even more amazing sound and soundtrack.
The protagonist Mr. Plainview (the name means something I think...) achieves success throughout the film, but more and more loses his humanity and soul. He is shown relatively desperate from the beginning (that's why he is looking for success) but the more he achieves his monetary goals, the less happy he gets.
One of his adversaries is the charismatic sectarian priest Eli, who claims to work wonders on sick people. In the end he is unmasked as a false prophet who cherishes money and himself more than his belief (it is left unclear if he even does truely believe in god).
This is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time (and at least 50% of that feeling goes to the atmosphere and soundtrack). I really like it that this movie got so many Oscars this year.
Then there was another oscar-winning movie this year that really amazed me - "Atonement"
It had been nominated for quite a few oscars, it only got one (but it really deserved that!). Dario Marianelli got the Oscar for the soundtrack, and it really is beautiful - I seldomly like a soundtrack that much, but this one is at least as great as the soundtracks of The Piano, Requiem for a Dream or The Fountain.
I guess most guys will consider Atonement a "chick flick" (well, I guess it is, kind of) but when you have a certain interest in cinematography (camera, lighting, editing, all the things that help deliver a good story) then you will also love this movie. It is kind of "old school" cinematography, it almost delivers the looks of a 70's movie like "The Great Gatsby" (with Dior stockings stretched behind the lens to achieve that soft "fairytale look" - which they really did, you can check in the asc online magazine).
Plus the story is really interesting as well, I think - as the title tells, Atonement is about a woman begging for atonement in her old age, knowing she ruined the lives of two people with just one false statement. Hard stuff... you don't wanna live with that...
Well, I'm really amazed at how Hollywood and the Academy really brought up some very very well done movies - they seem to be on track again, delivering good movies in spite of action loaded effects spectacles without stories.
P.S.: I think I'm gonna watch "No Country for Old Men" tonight which got most of the Oscars this year (best picture of the year, best directing, best actor in supporting role, best writing) and see how it holds up. It was written and directed by the Coen brothers, so I think it might even be the best of the bunch for me
The Coen Brothers rule, they haven't made a movie yet that I didn't like!
