Bronson-
Bronson is an unorthodox bio pic following the life and times of Micheal Peterson or what he later renames himself: Charles Bronson. (Not this guy) It is directed by Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn.
Story- Bronson likes to beat the fuck out of pretty much everyone. That's just his nature, who he is, what he is, is bustin skulls. Thus he spends a lot of time in jail and in solitary confinement. He's cool with that though. But the gosh darn British government and corrections are trying to reform him into a "normal" citizen.(hmmmmm) To which he proudly and prominently proclaims "Fuck Off!" to the man/establishment/system.
Review- Went to see this film at the George Eastman House Dryden Theatre Saturday night with the house mates and some other friends. Filmed on 16mm the cinematography is stark and refreshing. The music is terrific with a great blend of using iconic classical tunes to 80's dance songs. Tom Hardy does a terrific job becoming Bronson. There is not a moment that goes past where you think that it's just some actor playing Bronson, no, this is Bronson in the flesh, balls and all (yes there is more than a fare share of full frontal). If you like fighting and saying Fuck Off to the man, this film is for you. If you like well shot, intriguing stories about interesting people, this film is for you.
Although I have heard about director Nicolas Winding Refn'sPusher trilogy I have not seen any of them, but after seeing this they are at the top of my list of films to check out.
Antichrist-
Antichrist is the new romantic comedy by another Danish filmmaker, Lars von Trier. Lars takes us into the woods on a magical journey of discovery and other fun stuff.
Story- The story follows a couple played by this guy and that girl from The Science of Sleep who are grieving over the death of their young son who died (in slooooowwww motion). The girl takes it a lot harder than The Green Goblin, so the logical and smart guy he is, takes her to a cabin in the woods. There the girl and Norman Osborne meet some woodland creatures and get to know each other much better. Things kinda escalate, and there is only one way to describe it: funky weird ass shit happens.
Review- On a cold winters night my three housemates and I went to the Little theatre of Rochester along with a dozen other anonymous patrons to partake in viewing Antichrist on the big screen. I for one did not know exactly what was about to go down on that screen as we sat there in darkness. All i knew is that it has been called "shocking" by those who have seen it at the Cannes film festival earlier this year. In this internet engulfed day and age the term "shocking" has been watered down and has thus turned into a softcore version of what they used to call offbeat. Thus I did not expect anything too crazy as I was confident that I could handle anything from my years of desensitizing. We entered the theatre, got prime seats and watched the opening trailers (one where Matt Damon frees the slaves, and another about the queen of England is hookin up with this guy with huge mutton chops) The film started. We watched. The film ended. Credits Rolled.
As the closing credits came to an end and the theatre lights went up my roommates and I stood up and got our coats on. Not a word was said as we continued to walk out of the theatre and into the hallway. We were all at a serious loss for words. I cannot remember the last time I saw a film where it had this effect. As we passed the popcorn machine I finally broke the silence with "Can I just say one thing; Owie!" (referencing a severely painful part of the film), to which the tension was broke and we all exalted about the most apparent and definitely shocking parts of the film. The shocking scenes in this film truly are shocking and are as an audience member incredibly hard to watch. I admit that i screamed a couple times during the film in fright/shock. But what is most important to note is that this film is not a "shock" film, ala Saw (one through thirty seven), where the violence is only skin deep and has no meaning behind it. Here Lars von Trier uses these extreme actions to craft an extremely allegorical story about the basic nature of human beings.
From beginning to end the film is beautifully shot. The extreme slow motion black and white scenes of the epilogue and prologue are really quite stunning. The images created within the woods dream sequences are also very notable and I wish there were more of them because they were so sweet to watch. There was an effect used multiple times throughout the film where they warped parts of the image to make the woods like like they were moving. This warp effect added to the overall creepy and otherworldly atmosphere of the woods. I'm glad to see a filmmaker using the Red Camera in new and interesting ways other than just trying to make it a 35mm wanna be.
Overall I really liked this film. It was different. It was engaging. It was beautiful. It was scary. It was thought provoking. If you're interested in seeing something different on the fringe of modern cinema then you should definitely check it out with an open mind and empty stomach. Plus it's a great date movie!
No comments:
Post a Comment