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andthenpatterns

Member since 6/9/2007, last signed in awhile ago.
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City of God
City of God
oh my (city of) god
By andthenpatterns in andthenpatterns Blog
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 "This is one of those films which I know I should have seen a long, long time ago. It's not as though I haven't had my chances: the film was shown as part of the Borderlines Film Festival a couple of years ago, and I didn't go, and then I taped it off Film4 a few months ago and promptly taped over it without watching. I think some part of me was afraid perhaps that it would be a worthy "situation" film, parading the terrible living conditions in the titular city for the viewing pleasure of an audience eager to shake their heads in disgust and talk concernedly amongst themselves of how awful it all is. I enjoyed Blood Diamond, Babel and Syriana, but they all left a vague sense of discontent in my stomach. They're films rather than movies to borrow a Cameron (James not David) analogy, and furthermore films designed to highlight "situations" as well as, and sometimes instead of, telling a story. Even the best films of this type (and three of them are listed above) a ... " [More]
Grizzly Man
Grizzly Man
more for the subject than the s ...
By andthenpatterns in andthenpatterns Blog
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 "The subject of Herzog's film (a film for which he is more editor and narrator than director), Timothy Treadwell, is flamboyant, effusive and interesting enough to have made this a good doc anyway, but Herzog's brilliant use of Treadwell's footage elevates it beyond just that. Herzog has made a film which is part wildlife documentary, part biopic of Treadwell, and part analysis of Treadwell's film-making talent. It's captivating stuff, and more so because the end is so obvious and well known.Treadwell is such a marvellously watchable screen presence, a camped-up version of Steve Irwin, with girl troubles and a huge desire to be loved. The biopic part of the film is the story of an alcoholic finding purpose in protecting the animals he loves. But Treadwell's devotion to his cause is manic, and the way in which he chases his dream shows (in his own footage) quite how disturbed he was. Count, for instance, the number of times he tells an animal, in his babyish voice, that he loves it - ... " [More]
Sunshine
Sunshine
boyle + garland (+ murphy) = magic
By andthenpatterns in andthenpatterns Blog
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 "I just saw this for the second time and it deserves to be mentioned here in a mini-review fashion. Along with The Fountain this is a meditation on the fragility and impermenance of human life. It is also a tone poem of sorts, weaving themes of cold, heat, light and dark in with all of the human drama. Boyle's camera alternates between sweeping and majestic (even in the confined spaces of the Icarus II), to jittery and distorted in the latter stages. There are some beautiful cinematic flourishes: the passing of Mercury is surpassingly beautiful; the payload reflected in one character's eye as it falls into the Sun. And after 28 Days Later Boyle and Garland know how to build some tension: the flickering images of the Icarus crew as the vessel is boarded are particularly effective.In the end the movie takes a turn towards familiar genre territory, which is earlier mocked by one crew member sarcastically suggesting they might all "be picked off one by one by aliens". This is ... " [More]
Chinatown
Chinatown
another fine film from polanski
By andthenpatterns in andthenpatterns Blog
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 "Cinematic cretin that I am, I rented Chinatown and got as far as putting it in the player whilst still thinking it was the 70s movie in which Gene Hackman plays a tough-guy by the name of Popeye Doyle. 90 seconds of internet research has revealed that to be The French Connection, so there's one to add to the list.Chinatown, it turns out, is the 70s movie in which Jack Nicholson plays a tough-guy by the name of J.J. Gittes. Having only seen Rosemary's Baby within the last year, and The Pianist not much before that, I'm not in a position to say where it fits in Polanski's canon. I can say that it's Nicholson at his best, sitting right in the middle of that period (Easy Rider, ...Cuckoo's Nest, The Shining) when he was utterly invincible. I'm pretty sure you could have hit Jack in the face with a sledgehammer anytime between the late 60s and early 80s and he would have laughed it off - in that period he's as cool as any human being ever has any right to be, and a little more so.As Git ... " [More]

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