RagingBull's Movie Reviews

2001: A Space Odyssey starts off with a well-crafted, excellent tested vision of the famous Dawn Of Man. Arguably the start of Kubrick's moral evidence of shown talent in film and cinema. Production took five long patient and tiring years to deliver this highly accomplished visual achievement. Stanley Kubrick is held to many exquisite, groundbreaking and controversial movies. Performances lead ways in movies such as A Clockwork Orange (Malcolm McDowell) and The Shining (Jack Nicholson). Performances in 2001: A Space Odyssey was something that was inversely taken out of equation, the movie was extracted for a brief two hours and a half (141 minutes). 141 minutes take away 45 minutes of dialog contracts to 96 minutes of literally speechless film. Something no one has attempted or used in film before, but it was born and used in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

I have seen a majority of Stanley Kubrick's movies and I believe that 2001: A Space Odyssey shows his best direction skill or talent. Why you ask, it's simple; the movie isn't famous for it's stand-out performances such as A Clockwork Orange or The Shining, it's famous because of it's highly unique special effects and beautifully crafted music which matches and morally sets the theme and pace of the movie. Visual Effects and Music comes down to one person, Stanley Kubrick. Now 96 minutes of this movie (more then half) is full of silent scenes which involves visual effects and intriguing music, it was essentially Kubrick's idea to contract and input these aspects into it. Because, as we all know 2001's acting is rather normal, but this movie isn't seen and judged from it's acting, it's judged on everything around it which all turned out rather successful. This is why 2001 is hailed as Kubrick's finest movie because it shows Kubrick's patient talent and high skill.

As HAL 9000 is introduced in the movie, Kubrick does something rather special and unique that many people don't take cautious notice of. He somehow made a cinematic famous villain out of a unit with no such personality or physical action. Another strong aspect that Kubrick delivered that is swept under the carpets and not taken close notice of.

Many ask how was slow pace filming introduced into cinema, many respond to Kubrick who started this technique. There is no doubt that 2001 is a very slow and patient movie, but when you look closely into it or be stunned with it's highly realistic set-deign or amazing visual effects time flies rather quickly and then of course there is the odd scene here or there that does pick up the pace to which links with this movie being so popular.

2001: A Space Odyssey has one of the best endings ever on film. Once again the slow paced technique is confronted into play but it's the way Kubrick delivered it. For those who haven't seen the movie yet, I don't want to spoil it for you but it's ending contracts all important and newly founded elements: imagination, a use of super naturalism which was executed brilliantly, great music and a unquestionable ending. 2001: A Space Odyssey will continue to shock generations because of it's stand-out effects and set-deign for the era' it was shot in. It created something that can't be explained which seemly hasn't been introduced or used in any other movie. That is what makes 2001 a movie that's been regarded as one of the finest of all-time.

A Clockwork Orange begins with a memorable snap shot that still sends shivers down your spine. Malcolm McDowell transforms into Alex as he sits in the middle of his mindless and whitely shocking "droogs" and holds up a cup of milk that can tell 1001 words. How do we know we are watching something special? Is it the extended eye-lash displayed on Alex's left eye? Or the wicked, smart and arguably scary sets surrounding the "droogs" as Alex holds up the cup? We'll never know, but one think we are assure of is that we are watching something very special. Three years after Stanley Kubrick directed the Oscar winning visual achievement 2001: A Space Odyessy, he takes a social and massive risk as he uses his epic and immortal talent to illustrate the events that were uphold-ed and verbally spoken of in the book which was also called A Clockwork Orange.

Filled with violence and strong sexual content, A Clockwork Orange received raids of negative reviews and was even banned in certain countries and received an X rating. The movie caused chaos, copy-cat attacks and dominated the news-headlines. It didn't start well. But, that's in the past, in 1999 when Kubrick passed away they showed A Clockwork Orange (the full version) to viewers around the word. They then realized how good the movie really was. Malcolom McDowell puts on a terrific and unique performance as his character is a leader of a small and opinionated gang who controlled the night streets, broke into homes, and savagely attacked people. Not only are the gangs actions disturbing, but Kubrick does a excellent job to give us a look at what the future may hold for us. The droogs and the younger generation developed a new language, a type of slang, similar to the world we currently live in. Today's generation's language has changed to what it was thirty years ago. Kubrick also developed sexual sculptors or paintings that's considered 'normal' in A Clockwork Orange's generation. Kubrick displays the modern home in the future so well that we thought couldn't be illustrated once we all read the book.

As the movie develops, we are constructed and taken through a journey of modern medicine, vengeance and the simple "The bad things you do, will stick with you forever." Kubrick's direction from the second half of the movie really continues and shows Kubrick's consistency in directing and film-making. The first half feels like part one, as Kubrick morally introduces Alex, the second half which is in this situation part two shows Alex on his own, without power, friends or family. It's a powerful piece of time in the movie as we see someone who is literally mentally sick being encountered into the real world in which he has done so much effect to.

This isn't your typical Kubrick ending, it feels more opinionated, and sends more of an important message despite it having black-humor through-out. A Clockwork Orange is very original, very tough and very moving. A motion picture that challenges Kubrick's talent, in which he succeed. It's smart, wicked and insightful. A Clockwork Orange is something like none else, and I believe no another movie will ever have the same theme or feel to what A Clockwork Orange had.

Raging Bull defines the word masterpiece. As this epic started off, we see a determined and extremely talented young actor whose just gained forty pounds to stare himself in the mirror and use a powerful passage of dialogue that will never be forgotten. What makes it so powerful? Is it the way DiNero executed it, or was it the way Jake La Motto executed it? This is how good Robert DiNero's performance was, and we'll never see such determination and arrogance that we saw from Jake La Motto. Robert Di Nero and Martin Scorsese are famously known for their epic partnership's which resulted in movies such as Taxi Driver, Goodfellas & Mean Streets. But, there is no movie that shows Scorsese's immortal directory talent and Di Nero's amazingly epic acting then Raging Bull.

Boxing, blood and violence is what Raging Bull involves around but inside the reality and out-side the boxing ring, there is a extremely arrogant and incredibly jealous young boxer who looks at every emotion on your face and stalks down the body language you use. With his explosiveness temper and over-suspiciousness it leads him to the worst, which results in actions that are cautiously speechless. It was the year 1980, a strong era' in cinema where colour was at it's finest and was constantly used. Martin Scorsese and Robert DiNero wanted to take a risk, create something that hasn't been done before - using Black & White in a strong colour era' to make the movie different and to match the years it was set in (1950s). It was executed brilliantly thanks to the mind-blowing cinematography and excellent use of colours, slow motion and screen writing.

The elements and aspects; it was sufficiently correct. The use of light, and shadow was aurally spot-on. Each boxing fight, each scene, the use of sound and light was just excellent. Sound editing was another important aspect which was again delivered to perfection, you hear each punch, each piece of dialogue from the crowd, it's sound editing was quite phenomenal and it's famed nowadays as one of the best movies with the best sound editing.

As all the aspects and elements were found and constructed the movie has special messages and a inspirational cover up story. Martin Scorsese was very close to giving up filming and directing, at the time he had just suffered some over-doses with Marijuana and was just about to call it quits. As the friend Robert DiNero is he showed Scorsese the biography that the original Jake La Motto wrote and after plenty of convincing Scorsese finally agreed to direct the movie titled "Raging Bull". Without DiNero's convincing and friend-ship we wouldn't of seen classics such as "GoodFellas" or "Casino". The beauty of film is the little messages and tactics they use through-out the duration, that are sometimes very hard to spot. Scorsese is so smart and original he widens the boxing ring, by making it larger on certain boxing fights that are more important; he also uses a pitch black back-ground and smoke to give us a dark, and negative feeling. The sets, tactics and directory can all give us 1001 words that verbally show strong emotion. That's how smart and intelligent Raging Bull is.

It's masterpiece. Simply a masterpiece, there is excellent acting, great directory, very realistic boxing fights and the beautifully executed use of Black and White. It's become so powerful, that when the original Jake La Motto watched Raging Bull, he goes up to his wife (who is also a main character within the movie) and says "Was I that bad?". The movie is so powerful and moving it reflects and causes grief on the real Jake La Motto.