  Inherent Vice is exactly what you'd expect from Paul Thomas Anderson's attempt to tackle the world of stoners, surfers, and underachievers like Doc Sportello (Phoenix). Sportello never reacts like you'd expect because he's always too stoned. Just like the film itself seems to be. It makes you feel high experiencing it and if you're already high - well - you're one step closer to grasping this strange hippie mystery. It's fun to watch because like all of Anderson's works it's full of colorful characters. The story tackles the time period, politics, and paraphernalia with such hazy wonder and sozzled gusto that it's unwatchable for anyone unaccustomed to this world. Anderson doesn't care though and every actor gives it there all. Phoenix especially is fantastically fun.
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  Experiencing Enemy is like feeling a spider crawling up your leg. You may not be sure if it's there but you'll swipe at it anyway. Denis Villeneuve's stylistic approach to a doppelganger thriller takes bizarre and unpredictable turns resulting in more questions than answers. For those who like endings open-to-interpretation or political analogies, it will be received with more favor than someone looking for a down to earth plot-line. Jake Gyllenhaal is worth the viewing though, either way. Combined with Villeneuve's sharp eye and an intense atmosphere this film is hard not to get lost in.   "When I think of my wife, I always think of the back of her head. I picture cracking her lovely skull, unspooling her brain, trying to get answers. The primal questions of a marriage: What are you thinking? How are you feeling? What have we done to each other? What will we do?"
In 1999's 'Fight Club', Fincher explored a secret society of men who aimed to tear down the capitalistic world built on consumerism, and every once in awhile they'd fight each other for fun. This group was started by a man named Tyler Durden. 'Gone Girl' is a film that exists in the same vein as 'Fight Club.' Amy Dunn is our female Tyler Durden. Instead of tearing down capitalism she wants to destroy her own marriage in the most insane way possible. In both stories, the characters rebel against the American ideal of attainable perfection, substituting for it an alternative one of ethereal, freedom-giving destruction. Gone Girl simply substitutes addictive and suppressive consumerism for coupledom, which hits closer to home for your average american citizen. Unlike Fincher's other films Se7en or The Social network, which are grounded in reality, Gone Girl and Fight Club don't really exist in this plane of reality. They're purposefully stylized and constructed in a kafkaesque manor. It's actually reliving that not all of Gone Girl is plausible. This isn't to say that our actors don't deliver powerful and believable performances. They do. But when you watch Gone Girl, or Fight Club, and notice the specific framing of the shots, the positing of it's characters. It's a surreal imitation of the world we exist in everyday.   "I'm willing to meet my creator, and answer for every shot that I took."
American Sniper brings us a very emotional look at the real-life story of Chris Kyle through the eyes of director Clint Eastwood. With Eastwood's focused direction and Bradly Cooper's powerful performance, its hard not to connect with the story on an emotional level- and with a sense of patriotism. Great film.   Growing up X-Men were always my favorite super-hero movies. Til this day I will still agree. Whereas the modern Marvel craze has saturated the market- majority of the X-Men films still stand out. Converging the old and the new into an epic story, this film finally wraps up ancient questions (in a jaw-dropping manor) and poses new exciting ones. The cast is phenomenal, the action awesome, and the script has enough charm to compete with the overly funny Marvel movies. This proves to be the best X-Men yet.   "NOTHING goes over my head!... My reflexes are too fast, I would catch it."
Marvel's Guardians is among the few titles in this ridiculously over-hyped and rehashed comic-book world that I find to be exceptional. You can only beat a dead horse for so long. Though with this film it seems that the horse is up and running. Its not your average comic book movie. Its bigger, better, and has one hell of a soundtrack.   "Who do you wanna be, Mason? What do you wanna do?"
A movie experience unlike any other. Simple in its idea but audacious in its technique, Boyhood is a moving and heartfelt film. I don't see how anyone could walk away from this experience without at least a moment of introspection.   "When it feels scary to jump, that is exactly when you jump, otherwise you end up staying in the same place your whole life, and that I can't do."
A powerful performance from lead Oscar Isaac and an impressive script carry this atmospheric 1981 New York City crime drama to new exciting and gripping heights. |
AuthorTheFilmInformer is a collection of movie reviews ranging from the 1950's classics to 2021 releases. Written and organized for easy viewing by Joshua Dzindzio. Also, please visit The Film Informer on YouTube for video reviews and Oscar news. Categories |
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