3 companion pieces with Zero Dark Thirty

I've haven't been doing a lot of reviews since I graduated from high school and so far I have written two reviews for two movies. So with this in mind, let's talk about Kathryn Bigelow's anticipated awards contender Zero Dark Thirty depicting the CIA's decade long manhunt for Osama Bin Laden. So here are my quick thoughts:

Review | The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

One of the most confronting yet addictive movies of the year.

 

Expectations for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Preview for my most anticipated film of the second half of the year (unfortunately it's out at 12/1 at my place)

Movies You Should Watch Before You Leave School: Part II

I'm sorry if I haven't been doing much lately with my blog, but apparently I got to prepare for my finals and that is what I would be having in mind.

Due to the ongoing popularity with Part I , I've decided to do a second list on movies you have to watch before you head off to Uni, get a job or whatever future prospects you have. The list felt so original than other movies-you-must-see lists I've heard before. I am looking at you, the adoscelent, to watch movies that to me, are not trash, stand upon its time and will hopefully be put in some highly secured archive before the end of the world would actually happen.

And before I go into the list, these are the films I feel ashamed not to have watched.

Saving Private Ryan
The Usual Suspects
The Truman Show
City of God
Requiem For A Dream
Close Encounters of a Third Kind
Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back and Return of The Jedi
Annie Hall or any Woody Allen film
Resevoir Dogs
Taxi Driver
Transpotting
Fargo
The Big Lebowski
Apocalypse Now
Let The Right One In
Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King.

DVD Release: The Social Network and Classic: Star Wars: Ep. IV

DVD Release: The Social Network (Collector's Edition)


Given how many exaggerations to this movie (compared with Citizen Kane, movie that defined our generation and such), the exaggerations seem to be true. This is a movie perceived as the movie about Facebook, but it's not. It's about the conflicted relationships of Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. The opening scene of his girlfriend dumping him led him to create the largest social gathering on the web.

More so, this is filled with revelating performances from the cast especially Jesse Einseberg who stunningly plays this cold, contrasting portrayal of Zuckerberg who shaped how we communicate with others. More so it's Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake who play stakeholders Eduardo Saverin and Napster inventor Sean Parker who goes along with Zuckerberg's idea that ultimately destroys their relationship.

However the star of the movie is David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin whose impeccable fair-filled direction and rapid-fire screenplay brings in the politics between these young men and into a character study of a genius who is yet angry of a girl who ditched him. The score by Trent Reznor is mesmerising as well. This IMPO by now should've won Best Picture at the Oscars.

A movie based on old storytelling devices of friendship, betrayal and ambition, by the time Zuckerberg has his ego bruised at the last half an hour he turns into a lonely tragic hero you'll realize that his 'Rosebud' was his girlfriend and in the final minute you're left breathless.

Extras: One disc contains seperate audio commentaries of David Fincher, Aaron Sorkin and the cast. Second disc contains the making of The Social Network, the soundtrack, editing and visual effects.

Film: 10.0/10


Extras: 7.5/10

Classic Film: Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope


To be completely honest, I have never seen one Star Wars movie until a few months ago where I went watching this along with Memento and 2001: A Space Oddysey. Star Wars begin with a title sequence that tells the plot of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), a boy farmer working along Jawa traders comes along with two robots R2-D2 and C-3PO joining the Jedi with Han Solo and Obi-Wan Kenobi to defeat the Rebel Alliance led by Darth Vader.

This film shaped the science fiction genre. It created the blockbuster bringing an innovative look to Hollywood in the past. The special effects are spell-binding creating a totally epic look of the film despite the fact it was made for a mere $10 million. Performances are pure with Harrison Ford making him the actual hero over Luke while James Earl Jones brings in a filler to Darth Vader, one of the greatest movie villains of all time.

The Star Wars trilogy was an absolute visionary for George Lucas. It's a pity that the prequels were not on the level.

Review of Fight Club

A+ (10.0)


Where to begin? Just 10 hours ago, I was watching Fight Club where it was the first time I had watched an R rated movie (just to let you know, this was in Australia and you have to be over 18 to watch). So it was high time that it was the one of the last movies I had bought at the rental store before I moved houses.

David Finch's masterpiece starts off with Edward Norton as the nameless Narrator. He is the voiceover in here where he suffers insomnia, his exhaustion from work and is under the influence of IKEA in his spare time. He also visit social groups where he pretend to suffer from testicular cancer or any other remedy to experience the suffering of victims where he meets Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) who like him go to these groups to feel pain inside victims.

When the dude meets with a soap salesman Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) they bond together when the Narrator's condo was bombed. Once they did, Tyler seduces him to hang out at a rundown place, form a Fight Club and things spiral out of control for the Narrator. Fighting was a man's sport where seeing people being beaten to a pulp was fun.

Comparing this film to current trends is almost easy. These days we fight when we are drunk and somehow women are joining the fight to be beaten up. Now we are becoming an immoral and dumb society. But Fight Club is a movie not for the faint hearted even it is a classic. It is one of these movies where like A Clockwork Orange or Sin City to show violence as to bring up a point.

Fight Club is a generation-defining movie. It is a psychological thriller handled by Fincher with great grit. It is conceptial at every level with the issues explored. It's Fincher's main style of direction where his subject matter is the main instinct and flair where his movie would work.

Fight Club is based on deception, insomnia, masculinity, betrayal and sacrifice and most importantly... the mind. Even consumerism where there is a lot of product placement for IKEA which was the subject brand.

It's visually entertaining from the opening sequence and to the cinematography. But more importantly the violent elements of the film especially the fight scenes are disgusting at first but then you realise that the violence shows the total anarchy of men who do it to feel like they are real men.

Edward Norton deliver a visceral performance as The Narrator who we would feel for him. We know that he is an insomniac. We know he goes to social groups for a living so he could give sympathy to victims and to feel pain. We know that he is a 'slave' from IKEA because it would represent who he is. HE is someone who defines a zeigiest feeling in every male Xer. His life is changed because of Tyler Durden, who is someone you can become if your dreams had never made an impact towards life. If you want to become desired, you should be anti-social and self destructive like Durden.

Speaking of Durden, this is Brad Pitt's greatest role. Durden is socially irresponsible. He put porn on your movies when you go to the cinema. He pisses on your food. He put fat in your soap. He doesn't care for himself and everybody looks at him as the person they want to be because of his anti-social behaviour, his leadership turning America into fascist wannabes. In the end, you will hate Durden, but at the same time, you want to applaud him.

Shot in every technique that makes this look like a film noir, Fight Club is expansive and witty. It is a commentary of how today, the testoterone of men wants to be in the destruction of society if it rages. It is what men feels if they don't have power or are weak.

The fact that there is a lot of gay overtones, it makes the movie so much edgier and challenging. There's also some humour that is blackly funny if you've listen closely to the dialogue. Even the soundtrack. It is so pretentious and eerie it almost reminds me of the scores Trent Reznor had done for The Social Network

The main highlight of the movie is the final 30 minutes. THe final confrontation between Brad Pitt and Edward Norton is so fusing and the ending is so twisted you'll either realize how unpredictable this movie is or you've just got confused. It moves from one direction to another.

When I look at Fight Club, I kinda wondered whether this movie is so familiar with The Social Network, Fincher's recent material. It is zeigeist, both soundtracks are similar and the characters are also similar, however adds to the fact that David Fincher is Hollwood's most innovative filmmaker.

Fight Club is a bit of mess which is one thing that almost makes this a perfect movie. At the end of the day, Fight Club is a favourite because of the violence, but then you realise that it's about the characters, the opinion of their worlds and the violence that only adds to the appeal.

One of my favourite movies before the end of the millenium