Film Review: Django Unchained (2012)

Genre: Drama/ Comedy/ Thriller

Cast: Jamie Foxx (Django), Christoph Waltz (Dr. King Schultz), Leonardo DiCaprio (Calvin Candie), Samuel L. Jackson (Stephen), Kerry Washington (Broomhilda)

Writer/Director: Quentin Tarantino

It usually takes less than 30 seconds to be able to tell if you’re watching a Quentin Tarantino film. In Django Unchained, the director of modern classics like Pulp Fiction opens the story as he usually does: with a hell of a lot of confidence; the kind that drives him to splash the screen with huge blood red letters that go through the main credits as the soundtrack quickly asserts itself to the sound of the title song Django! (by L. Bacalov and R. Roberts). The tone is confident and the film declares its arrival without a second to spare. My appreciation of Tarantino has always been rooted in his attention to detail, where even something as seemingly trivial as the credits can become part of the narrative.

The Alfred Hitchcock Marathon (part one): North by Northwest

The master of suspense made 54 feature films during his very long and celebrated career. Having only seen a couple of his films before I started this challenge, it is time for the author of this blog to become a lot more familiar with Mr. Hitchcock. The minimum goal will be to watch and review at least 24 of his films in 2013, though I will try to aim for 30. I will start with the must-watch classics, slowly making my way to the lesser known part of his work.

Film Review: The Avengers (2012)

Genre: Action

Cast: Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Chris Evans (Capt. America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Tom Hiddlestone (Loki)

Director: Joss Whedon

Writers: Joss Whedon, Zak Penn

Despite the incredibly entertaining and talented cast at its disposal, The Avengers failed to create more than a bombastic spectacle for the senses, one that is as messy, loud, chaotic and corny as they come.

When I first began to think of the review for this film one word kept popping up in my head: unnecessary. From the battleship with “wings”, to the Hulk-proof cage, and the suicidal tendencies of Robert Downey’s Iron Man; The Avengers always opts for more, never for less. In its grandest moment the film depicts a mega battle that stretches the entire area of New York City where throngs of aliens “disembark” from another dimension with no other goal than to immediately attack and destroy the human race. The scale of the scene is so huge there’s no telling where one character is in relation to the other, throwing all concerns for accuracy and continuity out the window.

100th post! Film review: Looper (2012)

Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller

Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Joe), Bruce Willis (older Joe), Emily Blunt (Sara), Jeff Daniels (Abe), Paul Dano (Seth), Pierce Gagnon (Cid)

Director/Writer: Rian Johnson

Congratulations to me! This is the Blog of Big Ideas’ 100th post!

After Hollywood has been able to churn out remake after remake, sequel after sequel, adaptation upon adaptation, and even combining several characters with their own films to make a “bigger” and “badder” one (The Avengers), Looper appears on the sci-fi horizon as a breath of fresh air, a wholly original piece without precedent that is driven by story, and not by special effects or the inevitable explosive battle scene.

The Best Moments in Film: the girl recognizes the tramp

{ May Contain Spoilers !! }

In the century-long history of cinema, few have had the vision and the genius of Mr. Charlie Chaplin, a maker of magical moments that has inspired generations of aspiring artists to join the film-making industry. His contribution to the medium is without question, forever shaping the evolution of cinema and showing audiences around the world that film was full of possibility, a new artistic medium for the 20th century.

To most of us, Chaplin is one of the pioneers of physical comedy (alongside other heavyweights like Buster Keaton). Unfortunately, audiences have forgotten how Chaplin was also the author and producer of powerful human stories that were full of heart and charm.