Luis' Movie Log for 2018 (excluding new releases)

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10. Inception (2010)


Director: Christopher Nolan

I know its become kind of cool to label this film as overrated and to undercut its efforts at building a complex story, but to hell with it, I loved this film. Christopher Nolan took his love for crafting original and complex stories and has expanded it to full-on blockbuster glory. I can also see this becoming a favorite, however, being a film that has so much happening at the same time, I still have to let it marinate, and I definitely have to watch it a few more times.

That being said, I was never really all that confused while watching this, I think Nolan does a fantastic job at communicating to the audience how exactly the narrative functions, while never fracturing just how complex it is, as opposed to a later effort of his, Interstellar; while it is a wondrous film, Nolan never really built the story around its complexity as well as this, and I felt he left the audience in the dark. This, however, is a perfect film to dissect and examine, I can't really find anything in this narrative that was overwhelmingly unstructured. I loved DiCaprio's performance and Ellen Page was a charming counterpart. The visuals are fantastic, and yes I also mean the shot above, which has become an iconic visual in modern cinema. In the film fan community, every time there's a popular director, it may become the popular thing to label them as "overrated", but one thing is for sure, an idea of this caliber can only work this well in the hands of a truly fantastic filmmaker. Even though I'm making this sound like a masterpiece, I'm going to give it a slightly conservative score, as I still need to re-watch to see if any overwhelming plot holes unveil themselves.

SCORE - 93/100
I love it too. I don't get the hate. Not a perfect film but a well made fun one.
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I love it too. I don't get the hate. Not a perfect film but a well made fun one.
I absolutely agree! I know it's not for everyone, but I don't understand people who think this was a badly made film.



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11. The Red Shoes (1948)

Directors: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

This movie, visually, was fantastic; it was definitely the highlight for me. It has striking color pallets, fantastic lighting, and great backdrops in the theater sequences, which were perfectly choreographed. I also found myself invested enough in the characters to remain entertained throughout. If anything, I don't know if this will be a film that I will remember later from now, but it was definitely worth the watch and it was nice to sit back and appreciate the craft. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this film.

SCORE - 74/100



11. The Red Shoes (1948)

Directors: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

This movie, visually, was fantastic; it was definitely the highlight for me. It has striking color pallets, fantastic lighting, and great backdrops in the theater sequences, which were perfectly choreographed. I also found myself invested enough in the characters to remain entertained throughout. If anything, I don't know if this will be a film that I will remember later from now, but it was definitely worth the watch and it was nice to sit back and appreciate the craft. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this film.

SCORE - 78/100
Yeah, it looks amazing but i couldn't get into anything else.

Try Black Narcissus if you aren't already planning to. It's maybe the most gorgeous film i've seen and i was interested in everything else too.

Same directors.



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Yeah, it looks amazing but i couldn't get into anything else.

Try Black Narcissus if you aren't already planning to. It's maybe the most gorgeous film i've seen and i was interested in everything else too.

Same directors.
Thank you! It's on my radar. I'm planning on making an additional list of recommended films to watch in the summer, as I foresee that I will probably have more free time. I've seen some screenshots of the film and it definitely has a unique aesthetic. I'm intrigued.



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12. Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Director: Billy Wilder

This was a captivating and impactful character study, it's not hard at all to see why this 1950 noir is as beloved as it is; it's so great. The story of a forgotten silent film star longing to be in the spotlight once more, paired with a struggling screenwriter who is way behind on his payments; the dynamic was perfect, and an effective way to maintain the characters in a shadow,

The dialogue is also impeccable, the film is clustered with fantastic, highly-quotable, and often thought-provoking lines; the most impactful one of course delivered at the very end. Speaking of the ending, it was very well handled as it was payoff for feature length worth of character build up; and the final message on how one's most toxic desires can mentally derange someone had me flabbergasted. Overall, a fantastic noir that kept me in its grip from beginning to end. I don't know if I would come back often to re-watch, but it was nice to appreciate just how well crafted it is.

SCORE - 92/100



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13. Let Me In (2010)

Director: Matt Reeves

This is now probably one of my favorite horror films in recent years, I can't believe it took me this long to get to it after all the great things I've heard. The film is directed with so much care, and everything from the characters, to the narrative flow, and the shot construction is top-notch. The relationship established for our two leads is fantastic and perfectly paced; they are two children who are in some way incomplete and grow to find completion within each other.

The latter part fuels the best moments in the film, every scene that had these two together was magical in its own unique way. The cinematography was also a stand out, we are treated to so many perfectly balanced close-ups and some beautiful middle shots, all with a drawn out and almost cold color palette. (for obvious reasons)Overall, this was heartwarming, entertaining, and horrific, all at the same time, it is not often that you see a horror film handled with so much care seen in so many different parts. I loved this. By the way, I didn't know this was a remake of Let the Right one in when i first saw it, and I've heard that the latter is even better, so if that's the case, I'm in for a treat.

SCORE - 95/100



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13. Let Me In (2010)

Director: Matt Reeves
I didnt realise Kodi was Australian. Two very good young actors.



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They are both great!
Yeah. I think the current crop of young actors (various ages) are the best I've ever seen. Looking forward to their adult roles.



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Yeah. I think the current crop of young actors (various ages) are the best I've ever seen. Looking forward to their adult roles.
In recent years, I've found that child actors have actually been generally speaking, kind of impressive! There's multiple examples I can pull up at the top of my head.



You can't win an argument just by being right!
In recent years, I've found that child actors have actually been generally speaking, kind of impressive! There's multiple examples I can pull up at the top of my head.
With all the young talent coming up through the ranks it's amazing Kurt Sutter and friends cast such woefully bad little guys in Sons of Anarchy. I mean it's not their fault they are so stiff in front of the camera - I blame the directors for that, and who wouldnt be scared in front of Peter Weller (as much as I like him). And dont get me started on the kid in Dexter. OMG! I'm sure the lil guy is great at other hobbies.



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With all the young talent coming up through the ranks it's amazing Kurt Sutter and friends cast such woefully bad little guys in Sons of Anarchy. I mean it's not their fault they are so stiff in front of the camera - I blame the directors for that, and who wouldnt be scared in front of Peter Weller (as much as I like him). And dont get me started on the kid in Dexter. OMG! I'm sure the lil guy is great at other hobbies.
I haven't seen Sons of Anarchy, but I've been trying to get more into T.V. Lol, yeah there are some bad, but normally I've found that kids in recent horror films have been great, It's kind of curious to see why the genre works so well to their advantage.



You can't win an argument just by being right!
but normally I've found that kids in recent horror films have been great, It's kind of curious to see why the genre works so well to their advantage.
Usually I dont like kids in my screen entertainment but I've been really impressed the last couple of years so stopped being such a cranky old woman chasing kids away from my front garden at halloween



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14. The Matrix (1999)

Directors: The Wachowski Siblings

I wasn't expecting to watch this film until further in the year, but my film professor decided to teach it. Obviously the best thing to comment on are the visual effects; they are jaw-dropping, even to this day, and I could sit here and talk about how they revolutionized cinema, but you all know that. This is a film that I ended up appreciating more than I liked it. Perhaps it was the environment, I tend to not like a film as much when I watch it in a class, especially when we watch it in parts and it ends up undercutting my investment. I will definitely have to watch this again down the line. For now, I thought that the premise is imaginative, and very well-executed, some of the action sequences will be permanently engraved in my mind, and the characters were decent enough. I will give this a slightly conservative score, as I really do think I need to watch this again on my own without any distractions.

SCORE - 55/100



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15. Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Director: Roman Polanski

This was such an effective horror film that delivered in all of its assets. Normally, horror films this old underline the techniques that made it frightening back in the day more so than it is affecting. This one, however, did unsettle me more than a couple of times. The nude ritual scene earlier in the film really gave me goosebumps; the visuals, the editing, and the screechy score all came together to deliver a frightening scene.

We are introduced to our main character and her relationship through extensive use of dialogue and visual trickery, which was very refreshing. I also really loved the progression, it is a slow burn, but there really isn't any fraction of the narrative that feels like a disservice to the tension, which was also very consistent. The film also goes out of its way to sprinkle hints of the macabre situation, and overall I found it a hobby to connect different events to the overarching premise. I also really like how deceptive it can be, and how we as the audience are pretty much placed in Rosemary' s shoes, and we are left to connect the dots with the information she absorbs, which is, in my opinion, the best kind of psychological horror: when we are just as dumbfounded as the main character, rather than isolated, and just waiting for the dumbass to find out something we already did. Overall unsettling, smart, well-written, and structured effectively.

SCORE - 88/100



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16. Big Hero 6 (2014)

Directors: Don Hall and Chris Williams

(RE-WATCH)
Out of all the recent Disney films, which have seemed to have skyrocketed the studio into a renaissance, this one always felt like the weakest for me. It isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination, but there's things about this film, similar to Pixar's The Good Dinosaur, that felt kind of amateurish, it felt like a filmmaker confusedly sticking to an established formula. (although this was a better attempt than the film I brought up for comparison) The film does have a great deal of sweet moments, the animation is fantastic, and the great characters keep this film as a perfectly good one. That being said, the writing was a bit rough in a couple of parts, particularly during the exposition, the whole superhero aspect never felt as exciting as it wanted it to be, (although there are some cool sequences) and the latter attempts at emotional moments were moments that never really did anything for the narrative. I think this film shines the most when it is contained to the personal connections and the character moments; Hiro is a great protagonist.

SCORE - 70/100



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17. Kramer vs Kramer (1979)

Director: Robert Benton

I loved this one as well, it is definitely an actor-driven film. Both performances were exemplary and Meryl Streep captures such a particular, fragile, and broken performance that I can't see any other actress doing as successfully. Another strong point in the film is the writing, it delivers a believable story that I'm sure many can relate to, and with most real life cases, it puts you in the position of the kid. I just couldn't completely side with any of the characters, they are both given proper, complete, and emotionally rounded arcs, which definitely displays the strong writing. The performance of young Justin Henry was also magnificent, especially for a young actor. Overall, I thought this was a great drama that remained grounded and tight, with great characters, and a very gripping execution.

SCORE - 85/100