No Country for Old Men -
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(Coen Bros, 2007)
[REWATCH]
You know what’s weird about this viewing, is that I was so convinced I was underwhelmed at the end until I realized I was kind of blown away by it for the first time since I first saw it as a young lad in the theater. Maybe that confusion was because I expected to. Every time I watched
No Country for Old Men after that first time, I was trying to regain the revelatory experience I originally got. Revelatory because, as a young lad, I hadn’t experienced much cinema quite like this. It is one of the transformative films that started to open my eyes to the possibilities of cinema. More than that, I was simply entranced. But subsequent viewings were always underwhelming.
While I wasn’t quite entranced in the pure way I was that first viewing, I was in a different way. I’m working on my first short film with a buddy of mine, who is also interested in filmmaking. It’s a very short short, but there has still been a lot of thought put into it during this pre-production process. We’ve been thinking about the shots, atmosphere, themes, lighting - everything. Because as the director, I want it to be as good as I can make it. So, since my mind is focused on all this stuff right now, that’s what I was thinking about while watching
No Country for Old Men the other day. I was basically asking one question the whole time. How are the masterful, experienced Coens using cinematography, dialogue, character, location, plot, even
sound to make the themes and character motivations of this film feel really relevant and powerful?
This is a great film for any young filmmaker to study like that. And through that question, I was able to appreciate the film on a level that blew me away in a unique way. Instead of purely experiencing the film, trying to get entranced by the story, I tried to peel back the curtain to see the Coens’ thought process while making the film. I didn’t end with the simple feeling that this was really well-made, like I do a lot, but with a much better understanding of
why it is well-made. I can’t say this is the first time I’ve experienced a film like this, but it’s one of the more powerful times.
Rush -
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(Ron Howard, 2013)
[NEW WATCH]
I’ve lost all interest in Ron Howard as a director. This film is cinematically uninteresting. It’s also fairly predictable. Of course, in better hands that might not matter. And that’s the thing. There is certainly some talent on display here, but it’s not coming from Howard. With a better director, maybe it would have been something, but as it stands I found
Rush to be a pretty run-of-the-mill sports film.
Spider-Man 2 -
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(Sam Raimi, 2004)
[REWATCH]
As it turns out, given the right director cliches can even become magnificent. Not only that, but this film is beautiful thematically. I love it’s complete optimism about heroism. It’s cheesy and cliched, but it’s pure comic book and it’s incredibly uplifting. I mean, my eyes started to water when Aunt May gave her speech to Peter out in the backyard.
Originally Posted by Aunt May
He knows a hero when he sees one. Too few characters out there, flying around like that saving old girls like me. And Lord knows, kids like Henry need a hero—courageous, self-sacrificing people setting examples for all of us. Everybody loves a hero. People line up for them…cheer them...scream their names. And years later, they’ll tell how they stood in the rain for hours just to get a glimpse of the one who taught them to hold on a second longer. I believe there’s a hero in all of us…that keeps us honest…gives us strength…makes us noble…and finally allows us to die with pride, even though sometimes we have to be steady and give up the thing we want the most – even our dreams. Spider-Man did that for Henry and he wonders where he’s gone. He needs him.