Months in Review: December & January (2016)

How quickly do months fly by when you are busy. It seems like only a week ago I posted my last review. As quickly as my newfound motivation to blog a bit more came to me on January 1st, as quickly it evaporated not from a lack of desire, but from a lack of energy.

With a bit of a delay, I share with you my brief thoughts on the films I had the chance to watch in the last month of 2015 and the first of 2016. A total of 21 films were watched, 12 in December and 9 in January. The average rating was a very good 3.35 out of 5. The following are ordered in the way they were seen:

Catching up after the World Cup. 2014 in review

 

It’s been just over a month since my last post on this blog of mine. Though my attempt was to continue to keep it flowing with new reviews and monthly round-ups, there was this mammoth-size event looming on the horizon: the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Months in Review: March & April (part I)

After a forced long hiatus, I’m back at blogging about some of my favorite things. In an effort to make this blog more representative of my interests, my monthly round-ups will now include short reviews of books read and videogames played (even if not completed) in addition to my usual run-down of films.
Below, the first part of a set of short reviews on anything I have had the pleasure to watch in the previous months.

Film review: Lincoln (2012)

Genre: Drama

Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis (Abraham Lincoln), Sally Field (Mary Todd Lincoln), Tommy Lee Jones (Thaddeus Stevens), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Robert Lincoln)

Writers: Tony Kushner (screenplay), Doris Goodwin (novel)

Director: Steven Spielberg

From the convincing performances of the cast to the careful detailing of the time period it encapsulates, Steven Spielberg‘s Lincoln feels more like a documentary (and a damn good one at that) than a feature-length dramatic film.

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.

Film Reviews Recap – January 2012

My relationship with film this year has started in earnest. After a lackluster month of December in which I watched very few films, I decided to play catch-up and, at the same time, aim for some of the quality films I missed last year, with only a couple of exceptions and a few repeats.

Following is a list of all the films I have watched so far this year. I have written a small review for each film, with the exception of those I have already analyzed on this blog:

50/50 ( Jonathan Levine – 2011)

A well-written, efficient and heartfelt film about overcoming adversity and deepening relationships with the ones you love. A very compelling Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars alongside Seth Rogen playing his usual self with a bit more restrain and depth in a film that needed some of his warm comic relief.
50/50 handsomely balances comedy with drama, giving more room to the former until the final few scenes unfold.
I would have still liked a film that was a bit more personal and less lighthearted, yet still infused with some of the comedy that made it work so well.

Rating: 3.5/5 (good)

Film Review: (500) Days of Summer (2009)

Director: Marc Webb

Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel

One of the pleasures of “500 Days of Summer” is found within the first couple of minutes of running time when the film declares: “this is not a romantic story”. By stating this, the director, Marc Webb, makes us perfectly aware of the ending, challenging us to appreciate the path the characters follow even when we know, to a certain extent, how it will all turn out for them.