notoriousCASK Reviews

The Boys (2019– )

The time for Anti-Superheroes!

[9/10 · 6 September 2020]

The Boys is a series quite ambitious in its extensions. On the one hand, it firmly presses on the classic who-watches-the-watchmen concern. On the other hand, the show is also trying something new. It is not enough for the TV show to demonstrate superheroism as conservative viciousness or as a state tool of repression. Instead, it attempts to represent a complicated superhero industrial complex that permeates almost all of mass culture and social life. So The Boys' superheroes, corrupt and arrogant as they are, become at the same time the most unexpectedly realistic as their actions are intertwined with business interests, advertisers, sponsorships, rights, fan culture, public presence and public order.

The Boys has the virtue of attempting to see superhero culture as a whole, as an industry and as an ideology. The series cuts through the simplistic superhero ethics of good and evil, the absence of complexity and the culture of collateral damage while balancing the themes it conveys with compelling and rich characters. In conclusion The Boys is a TV series that points to an increasingly diverse, demanding and multifaceted television superhero future. Even if the MCUs and DCUs fall into the cliché, it seems that a superhero door has opened on television that is not going to close any time soon.

Better Call Saul: Bad Choice Road (2020) Season 5, Episode 9

The Masterpiece Road!

[10/10 · 14 April 2020]

Once again "Better call Saul" proves why it's one of the greatest shows ever, continuing the amazing run it has since "Wexler v. Goodman". This episode, especially the climax sequence of it, was one of the most anxiety inducing experiences I've had on TV. It reminded a lot of the "Box Cutter" episode of "Breaking Bad", where we're afraid for the lives of the protagonists when they're in the hands of the main villain. Also, the "Something Stupid" montage was a nice callback to Season 4 montages with Jimmy & Kim on different but parallel frames.

"Bad Choice Road" has so many great scenes. Mike & Gus' scene in the Los Pollos Hermanos office was awesome, maybe the best scene those two have had together. And when Mike brought up Nacho we found out about the origin of Gus' philosophy in "Breaking Bad" that "fear isn't an effective motivator". The quiet Jimmy & Kim scenes are some of the best in the entire series, and the reveal where she finds the coffee mug was chilling. Mike & Jimmy's scene in the car was the most prolific scene we've had between the two. That was such a great character-building moment for Saul Goodman. Moreover, the skateboarders seen on the background after the scene was such a subtle way of reminding us how Jimmy, in Season 1, got messed up with the cartel in the first place. Attempting a con with them put Jimmy in a "bad choice road".

This was Tony Dalton's best performance yet as Lalo Salamanca. He was like the Cartel's Sherlock Holmes gradually finding all the evidence revealing the truth about the desert incident. One of the great things I noticed about this episode was that Lalo made Saul repeat the story again and again to see if he'd repeat the same story every time. A common trick is, when a person practices a story, you can tell because every time they tell it, it sounds exactly the same. As opposed to, when something actually happens and you recount it, where every time you repeat it, there's something new to the story.

Saul clearly realized this was happening, and knew about this trick, so every iteration of the story had slightly different details. The first story he said "I was 6 or 7 miles from the drop-off spot." The second time he said "I was ten minutes from the spot." The first time he said "I called a taxi." The second time he said "I had to drink my own pee." The third time he said "I bought a bunch of energy drinks." And so on and so forth. This is one of the reasons why he managed to stay so convincing. He knows how to lie in a way that sounds genuine and not rehearsed.

That last scene was fascinating, it was like a courtroom scene. Lalo was the prosecuting attorney trying to get information out of Jimmy (the defendant) while Kim was the defending attorney. Notice how each one of them took a step forward while speaking. Think about it, Kim quits her big-time job in Mesa Verde and the same day has the highest stakes closing defense argument of her life. She said she likes pro bono work and Jimmy is like her permanent pro bono client. When Kim tried to interfere and Lalo waved her off dismissing her, that was her lowest moment in the show. Lalo comes in, threatens and intimidates her spouse and she feels like she can do nothing to stop him. He dismisses Kim because he sees nothing in her. When Saul offers Lalo his bag of money back, Kim realizes that the Best lawyer cup with the bullet-hole is still in there, and that would be more than enough to prove Lalo's argument condemning Saul. So instead of folding or settling on defending Jimmy, she goes into attack mode and silences Lalo completely. That was her "Walt intimidating Tuco" moment. Finally, because of Kim's actions I think that Nacho's character arc will be completed in the next episode as Lalo is suspiciously taking him to the desert and his future seems more unsure than ever. In conclusion this episode was another masterclass. Just must-see television.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

One of the all-time great animation films and Batman interpretations!

[9/10 · 11 April 2020]

Mask of the Phantasm tells a story that is among the most daring and bold ever told within the Batman canon. Its tragedy is heartfelt, depicting Bruce Wayne as if he is trapped in a cell, jailed by an oath made in passion and sorrow immediately following his parent's death. He wonders if he deserves to be happy, if he has earned the right to live a normal life, and indulge in the pleasures Batman has continually been stripped of. Heroism is deconstructed here, no longer a sanctuary of virtue, but rather an asylum of deprivation. The villains he has amassed in his turn as the Batman have torn his life apart, beautifully conveyed in the fact that through a simple murder, the Joker once again deprived Bruce Wayne of the life he should have had.

Mask of the Phantasm is constructed perfectly, boasting incredible Germanic artistic influences, a resounding and operatic score, a remarkably concise script and a masterful manipulation of tone and linear shifts. The Citizen Kane-esque storytelling structure is ingenious, visually articulating the life Wayne may have had if he had never embraced the Batman identity. The mask of the phantasm is a facade that defines Bruce Wayne, a representation of the consistently conflicting notions of morality and heroism. If he falls into the abyss, he becomes just like the villains he has fought for so long. If he rises above, he can only look on as the life he deserves passes him by and that is the real tragedy of the Batman character.

Mask of the Phantasm is a masterpiece of animation, and of film in general. It defies the expectations of what an animated superhero film should be and stands as one of the greatest examples of what nuanced and passionate filmmaking and animation in particular can accomplish. It's one of the greatest pieces of art in the gargantuan Batman mythology, and among the multitudes of cinematic explorations of the Batman character out there, this one may just stand out as the diamond of the bunch.

The Shining (1980)

One of the greatest films ever!

[10/10 · 10 April 2020]

The Shining is a thought-provoking meditation on madness, isolation and paranoia that presents the demanding perfectionist that is Stanley Kubrick in majestic form, as it defies everything that was usually a norm in the genre of horror back then yet puts on screen a cinema that is now regarded as the definitive example of atmospheric horror. Immortal for its contribution to horror, a staple of pop culture, and a classic amalgamation of superb direction, deft writing, innovative camerawork, skillful editing, menacing score and steadfast performances featuring one of the greatest of all time with Jack Nicholson's, The Shining remains one of the greatest achievements of its genre and the cinematic artform in general. It's only getting better with every passing year, and definitely ranks amongst Stanley Kubrick's finest works.

American Psycho (2000)

One of the great films of the 2000s!

[9/10 · 10 April 2020]

Look at that subtle and polished script. The tasteful cinematography and direction of it. Oh my God, it even has Christian Bale's finest performance.

American Psycho is a captivating study of a madman who simultaneously obsesses and criticizes the shallow culture he's a part of and attempts to hide his chaotic personal life through excessive vanity and beautification. Harron's direction is very impressive as she manages to take the story through the narrow route that blurs the line between fiction and reality with great finesse. American Psycho is a fascinating vignette of lunacy and obsession as it intriguingly blends its elements of horror and dark comedy into an exquisitely paced, masterfully directed and magnificently written story that delves into the mind and psyche of its incredibly deranged individual with plenty of success, and remains one of the finest achievements of its genre(s) and of the greatest movies of the 2000s.

Better Call Saul: Bagman (2020) Season 5, Episode 8

As Good(man) as it gets!

[10/10 · 9 April 2020]

This episode has a lot of parallels with the "Pine Barrens" episode of The Sopranos and "4 Days Out" & "Ozymandias" episodes of Breaking Bad, one of which being that Jimmy "cooked" for Kim. It really felt like a spiritual walkabout through all of Jimmy's failures. By the end he's leaving them all behind so that he can fully emerge as Saul now.

His old and crappy car, the one he'd used to drive to help those poor old ladies? Gone. In the previous episode Saul said to Howard that he's a God compared to him, and in this episode his "esteem" literally falls of a cliff. His mug, Kim's gift to him, shot through with a bullet, I hope not a parallel of Kim's demise through the hands of the cartel. In its place, a Davis & Main mug full of piss, symbolizing the perfect job he pissed away and moreover Jimmy not flushing the toilet in order to lose that same job. In addition, when Jimmy's lying on the desert an ant comes towards him, symbolizing the Cartel and its perils approaching him, a callback to episode 3 of this season when he throws his ice cream on the pavement and ants gather, in order to get in the car with Nacho and do Cartel business. Finally, the space blanket, representing Chuck. The episode ends with him tossing it and stepping on it, then it blows out of the frame. It shifts Jimmy's character from letting Chuck's "ghost" loom over him, to protecting Kim the only other person in the world he cares about, at any cost.

He's left everything behind now. He's fully in the game, Kim's in the game now, he's looked death in the face and lived to tell the tale, and nothing will ever be the same again. A masterpiece of Better call Saul and the Breaking Bad universe.

Breaking Bad (2008–2013)

Breaking Bad is the finest TV series of all time.

[10/10 · 22 May 2019]

After the last and utterly disappointing season of Game of Thrones it's finally crystal clear that Breaking Bad is the greatest TV show ever made. Vince Gilligan and the fellow incredible writers of Breaking Bad please save Game of Thrones and team up with HBO to remake the utterly disappointing season 8. We can only dream that much though. Breaking Bad on the contrary with Game of Thrones ended on a very high note that complemented the quality of the previous seasons and even surpassed them. Breaking Bad is a monolithic milestone of television and cinematic art form in general and quite possibly the greatest character study and arc ever presented on the cinematic medium. Breaking Bad serves as an enchanting vignette of sin, the importance of family, power and its corrupting influence, envy and regret, evolution and decay, rise and fall and this seamlessly intertwined amalgamation of brilliant direction, impeccable writing, gorgeous and stylish cinematography, excellent soundtrack, incredible pacing, intricate plotting, captivating story, very extensive thematic depth, rich characterization and exquisite performances put on by its stellar cast, all contribute into making one of the greatest and pieces of cinema ever made with some of the finest characters ever written. With GoT out of the way Breaking Bad solidifies itself as the greatest TV show of all time with the Wire being a close second on my list.

Game of Thrones: The Iron Throne (2019) Season 8, Episode 6

LOOK HOW THEY MASSACRED MY BOY

[1/10 · 20 May 2019]

One of the finest tv series of all time has ended, leaving us with a very sour note on how great the show could have been with its last season. Now I can see why George RR Martin said that the ending was bittersweet, it's because DnD decided to listen to him and follow his bullet points on how things should end, but they threw away all the logic, all character arcs and character development and all the major plotlines progression. All the setups have no payoff and are meaningless, they are setting up for 8 years the confrontation of the Night King and Jon Snow only for it to be thrown away, for a wow moment and the shock factor of Arya killing him, despite that she wasn't aware of his existence a few episodes before. They deprived us of a truly satisfying and rewarding conclusion to the Nights-Watch plotline that was being set up from the very beginning of the show, only to shock us for a few seconds with the michaelArya Jordan moment #YAASQUUEN (VOMIT WORTHY) ... They set up the confrontation of Arya and Cersei since season 1 only for it to be completely tossed away in the end, and having Cersei killed by some falling bricks in the hands of her lover, while they could have gone a little further to the left and be safe, as we see in the remains of the dungeon that Tyrion found them. What has Cersei done to deserve a happy and humane ending in the hands of Jamie? They rushed the Mad Queen Daenerys so bad, and NO people foreshadowing is not character development, we aren't angry with what happened but with the way that happened. It would take at least one full season for her descent into madness to be believable and somewhat reasonable, but they expect us to believe that she went spiral in one and a half episode...really?? Dany decides to help the realm and she is willing to risk everything for the cause against the whitewalkers, but merely 3 episodes later she goes on a rampage and burns the innocent people she chose to save by fighting on Winterfell?? It doesn't make sense. They made Bran the king while he's explicitly said that he was the three eyed raven and that he had no interest on the throne, only for him to say that it was his plan all along?? Really? HODOR HELD THE DOOR FOR THIS?? They also trashed Jamie's character arc, they made Tyrion a fool, they broke the lore by ignoring the prophecies, DnD read every fan theory that was out there and decided to make something that no one has guessed, in a fail attempt to prove their intellectual superiority to the world. Every actor is disappointed with the ending and there are plenty of videos on YouTube to showcase that. Where were the great shocks that we were promised and that would shock us more than the red wedding in the Rains of Castamere? Which battle made the Battle of the Bastaerds look like a theme park?? DnD were offered two full seasons with 10 episodes each by HBO and they decided it to wrap everything in 6 episodes, because they wanted to film the new Star Wars trilogy... SHAME SHAME SHAME!!! It's funny because they wanted to have a Breaking Bad type of ending where the only disagreement people would have, would be whether the ending was an A or an A+...well I guess that didn't go as planned. In my opinion it would be great if GoT had 2 more seasons after season 7, season 8 would be about the great war with the whitewalkers and season 9 about the remaining participants in the "game of thrones", in that way the story would have been given a proper room to blossom. I don't know what else to say, I'm just very sad and extremely disappointed, I guess they ruined one of the greatest series of all time and one show that could have been the finest of them all. For the time being Breaking Bad and The Wire are safe on their iron thrones...

Game of Thrones: The Rains of Castamere (2013) Season 3, Episode 9

The Lannisters send their regards...

[10/10 · 19 November 2018]

For the first three seasons, Game of Thrones was divided into three major plotlines. The War of the Five Kings, Daenerys' storyline as she builds an army on Essos and the Night's Watch plot. But the primary storyline for these seasons was Westeros' medieval war, and at the center of it lay the main conflict of the show Starks versus Lannisters. Since the very first season of the show with the death of Eddard Stark, the archetypal protagonist, the viewer understood that nobody is safe in the world of Game of Thrones, and this is what made this show the most unpredictable on television. In this world honour and morality isn't a superior quality in terms of survival and it even has great repercussions on the characters. Our heroes do not always prevail and sometimes the realism of the unexpected can be incredibly brutal to witness. That is what makes The Rains of Castamere the magnum opus of the first three seasons of Game of Thrones, and one of the finest episodes in the history of television.

Ned Stark's death served as two things in the story. First as a warning about the perils that lurk in this world and that anything can happen in it, and also as a catalyst for the Stark family's redemption arc. As the Stark-Lannister conflict intensified Robb had accepted his role as King in the North and led his own military campaign with great success. His father's death defied narrative conventions, served to the purpose of launching a new stage of the same conflict and symbolizing a setup for the real storyline to take place. Robb wins every battle he has and is a living image of his father's honour. Called on nobly avenging his father's death, Robb assumed the hero's role in the War of the Five Kings plotline. The idea planted in the viewer's mind was that Ned died, so Robb could reclaim glory for his father and family and for the North. At worst, he would die as a true hero honourably and beautifully, but that's really not what Game of Thrones is about. Few shows have ever dared to abandon their central conflict in such a way, especially without a pleasing resolution first being offered to fans.

At Edmure's wedding, what makes us think our heroes will prevail is the event itself. Everyone is having a good time, the band is playing lighthearted traditional songs, our characters reminisce about the good times when Ned was still alive. Robb and Talysa talk about how if their child is a boy he will be name Eddard, Catelyn finally accepts their relationship and everything looks fine. As they take away Edmure and Roslyn for the bedding ceremony the guards take away most of the torches and the door is closed. The Rains of Castamere starts playing, a song that serves as an anthem for the house Lannister as it tells the story of the destruction of house Reyne (Rain) by Tywin Lannister after they rebelled against his house. The song is a reminder that a Lannister always pays his debts. Still it comes much unexpected as the murders of the Stark family and army are as brutal as they are sudden, and this time there is no new hero to rise and assume the mantle. The Red Wedding isn't only the loss of character figures we've come to know and love, or even the symbolic endpoint of a vanquished war effort within the geopolitical arena of Westeros. The deaths at The Twins represent the death of a way we interact with stories, the destruction of an idea about how tales are meant to unfold and the forced abandonment of the typically redemptive arcs we expect from our narratives and from genre fiction like Game of Thrones in particular.

We were tricked into believing that Robb's ultimate strategy for conquering Casterly Rock was smart, while distracting from the problems with Walder Frey. The family values of loyalty and honour are central to the Stark way of life, but the problem with all members of the family is that no matter how unreasonable a strategy may be, they always try to uphold their honour. In this world however, adaptability is key, while moral stability is almost always penalized. This is reflected best on this episode where the Starks think they are protected by the 'guest-right' after they have eaten the bread and salt. "Doing the right thing" is a strategy the Lannisters don't use, but they exploit the false sense of security their enemies have to defeat them, which makes them the most adaptable and formidable opponent in Westeros.

The Rains of Castamere delivered the death of the hero's journey and the demise of trust in traditional character arcs and storylines. Many years after its release, the episode continues to be one of the magnum opuses of Game of Thrones and one of the most disturbing events ever seen on television. This episode marked a new stage of Game of Thrones storytelling, we lost characters we knew and loved, but most importantly we lost a way of understanding stories, it killed every idea we've ever had about the fate of our heroes and how stories unfold and that is what makes it one of the greatest episodes in the history of television.

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

"Money is the oxygen of capitalism and I wanna breathe more than any other human being alive."

[9/10 · 24 October 2018]

It's no surprise that Scorsese is associated with the gangster genre with films such as The Departed, Goodfellas and Casino, of which the last two are possibly the best pure examples of the genre. In Goodfellas the gangsters are dangerous but they operate on a more underground level, in Casino they practically run a major city and can do whatever they like. The gangsters were and will always be a part in America's system. Now, the gangsters are not just accepted by the system, but are considered to be an integral part of it. In the first two films, the gangster is threatening and dangerous, but avoidable. In The Wolf of Wall Street, he's calling to hustle you at home and you don't even know it. Some people view The Wolf of Wall Street as a glorification of Jordan Belfort's lifestyle and want to be like him, as Scorsese portrays this life by its nature, enticing. That's the way it works, and it's impossible to portray it accurately without showing how a charismatic man like Belfort can suck an unsuspecting person into a world of money and fame. The film though, shows us just how empty and destructive that life can be.

There is an undeniable similarity between the instantaneous joy, energy and euphoria that we have while watching The Wolf of Wall Street and how Jordan Belfort lives his life, this is a movie where the director skillfully mixes form and content to create an experience which is as hyper and as instantly ecstatic as the life of its flashy and opportunistic characters.

The direction by Martin Scorsese which still has infectious energy and power is impeccable, there is no other director who has mastered pacing like he has. This is a three-hour movie that moves lightning fast and always manages to keep the audience invested in the story throughout the whole duration. Each scene is packed with so much visual information, and it is fast paced and quickly edited, which complements the general tone of the film. The cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto is gorgeous as well and displays an optimal color palette throughout the whole film. Each shot also looks precise, even during some of the more chaotic scenes.

The script is fantastic, filled with many great and memorable lines of dialogue. Every character has a well-defined arc and motives, and the story is given proper breathing room to blossom. The performances are also exquisite, especially Leonardo DiCaprio who gives one of the best performances of his career and portrays the opportunistic nature of Jordan Belfort's character with great commitment as you can see a lustful, hedonistic and impulsive sex & drug-addict man who only wants to have more fun. Supporting him with equal passion is Jonah Hill as Donnie Azoff, Belfort's sidekick, and even he manages to make a mark of his own. Margot Robbie plays Naomi, Belfort's second wife and she does an alluring job in her given role. Matthew McConaughey is in for a very short duration as Mark Hanna, Belfort's mentor, but even in that little time, he is the show-stealer and he dominates the screen unlike anyone else.

Martin Scorsese and Terence Winter set out to create a film about the Wall Street excess, and by definition, it contains an excessive amount of everything, such as cursing, sex, nudity, drugs, alcohol and partying. But the film is not really about those things. The story of The Wolf of Wall Street boils down to money, that "most-addictive drug" Belfort speaks of, and not just what it can buy, but what it can do to people. Not just how it changes one's lifestyle but the effects it has on one's morals, beliefs, and values, and how it can effectively change not just how a person thinks and feels but how they operate at their core.

With a collection of truly incredible films, The Wolf of Wall Street stands out as one of Scorsese's best films, my personal favorite and by far his most humorous film to date. He truly went all out and it paid off in a hilarious satire on the reverence of money, drugs, women, and the admiration of a criminal money-maker. The Wolf of Wall Street is maddening cinema that's already high on coke but still continues to snort more white powder every 5 minutes for 3 hours. This is a fascinating vignette of excess, greed, abuse and decay and it's one of the best movies of the decade and surely one of the most entertaining movies ever made.

Game of Thrones: The Spoils of War (2017) Season 7, Episode 4

One of the greatest episodes in Game of Thrones!

[10/10 · 11 October 2018]

The Spoils of War is one of the finest episodes in Game of Thrones and the most explosive one since Hardhome from season 5. The first three episodes of the season were something of a setup for the mini-climax that this episode provides.

This episode marks the return of Arya in Winterfell and the reunion of the Stark siblings. Moreover, it provides a great take-on on Brienne by Arya that showcases her amazing skills with the sword as well as her skills as a faceless assassin. Littlefinger's encounter with Bran is also fascinating and indicates the beginning of the end for his schemes. Littlefinger is one of the greatest players participating in the Game of Thrones and a man who is three steps ahead of everyone and anticipates everything, but he couldn't have anticipated Bran's knowledge as the Three-Eyed Raven.

Daenerys has been waiting for some time now in Dragonstone, as the Lannister army and Euron Greyjoy's fleet continue to wreak havoc on her allies and even the successful conquest of Casterly Rock by the Unsullied army, proves to be an excellent strategic move by Jaime and Cersei to mislead them. She finally decides to take matter into her own hands and announce her arrival in Westeros by attacking Jaime and his army with Drogon and the Dothraki army, thus providing us with one of the best battle scenes in the whole series and arguably the highlight of the season. The direction and cinematography of the battle is impeccable, as it is gorgeously filmed and displays an excellent color palette throughout the whole duration, it's exquisitely choreographed, the atmosphere is very intense and emotional and moreover the multiple points of view of the characters are fascinating. There is a handheld longshot featuring Bronn making his way across the battlefield which resembles the two-minute Jon Snow's 'Fog of War' sequence in Battle of the Bastards, that is just magnificent at making us feel like we are there alongside the characters of the show fighting. There is also an incredible sequence that is inspired by the opening of Saving Private Ryan and some awe-inspiring sequences in Come and See, when the real sound collapses into oblivion and we focus in the shock of the commander Jaime Lannister, as he surveys the field of carnage brought by the attack, thus providing us with an interesting parallel between Daenerys' actions & motives and the Mad King's actions & motives.

The devastation that Drogon brings on the battlefield reminds me of the helicopter and napalm attack from Apocalypse Now. Also, the POV shots of Daenerys on Drogon's back are very similar to that of the helicopters in Apocalypse Now. This creative decision by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss indicates what they are trying to say about Daenerys' invasion on Westeros. Just like the U.S. intervention against the Vietcong, Daenerys and her lieutenants justify their war against Cersei Lannister as the moral overthrow of a tyrannical regime. But what results in both cases is the indiscriminate slaughter of the people who see themselves fighting against a foreign occupation. This is no small point as George R.R. Martin was a conscientious objector to the conflict in Vietnam. He wrote TSOIAF books to critique the horrors of war among many other things. I can see Daenerys' arc going down the same chaotic, self-defeating, and destructive path as the one the United States took in Vietnam.

On a visual level, this episode is a masterpiece. The scenery is as breathtaking as it is spectacular, the sets are truly beautiful & hugely atmospheric with a meticulous eye for detail, the practical and VFX team has done an incredible job with the visual effects as everything looks incredibly realistic and finally the costumes are some of the best I've ever seen on the small screen. The writing of the episode is one of the most thematically layered, nuanced, passionate and thought-provoking of Game of Thrones and the score is as great as ever. In conclusion this episode is one of the best episodes in Game of Thrones as it has one of the finest battles of the whole series. Has incredible direction &, cinematography, marvelous writing that advances the storyline and great pacing & editing that keep the audience absorbed throughout the whole length, leaving them craving for the next episode.

The Matrix (1999)

Welcome to the Real World.

[10/10 · 11 April 2018]

Without a doubt one of the best and most influential movies of all time, the Matrix is the defining science fiction film of the 1990's and the biggest leap the genre has taken since Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. The Matrix is a ground-breaking motion picture that not only raised the bar for all the science-fiction films to come after it but also redefined the action genre with its thrilling action sequences and revolutionary visual effects.

The film tells the story of Thomas Anderson a computer hacker that in the world of hacking goes by the alias of Neo. When he is contacted by the mysterious outlaw Morpheus and having always questioned his reality, he is awakened to the truth that the world he's been living in is a simulated reality called the Matrix and that he's nothing more than a slave in this dystopian world, created and controlled by A.I powered machines.

The direction and script by the Wachowskis is fantastic, as they drew ideas and inspirations from every other great sci-fi and cyberpunk movie and anime before the film, combining it with stunning action and putting it into one picture that has enough style, substance and subtext that everyone ended up giving their own interpretation of the story. The research that went into the preparation of the screenplay is quite extensive but the manner in which it is presented on the big screen is also very impressive. Every character presented on the film, has a well-defined arc and a purpose, and their motivations are clear.

The cinematography is impeccable. It was very innovative in the use of the camera angles and movements, the zooms, the slow-motion captures and the different color palette used to differentiate the Matrix and the real World. The editing is flawless, as it makes sure that every scene is integral to the story and ensures the pace of the film stays ferocious through its entire runtime. Each frame is also packed with so much visual information for the viewer to devour. The visual effects introduced us to the bullet-time effect and their impact can still be felt in today's movies. The performances are also incredible. Each member of the cast gave their best performances and brought the characters they portray to life, but the one that stands out the most is Hugo Weaving's disciplined rendition of his character, Agent Smith; a powerful computer program made to search and destroy the human rebellion, in undoubtedly the greatest performance in his career.

In conclusion The Matrix is a masterpiece everyone should see. It is one of the most thought provoking, inventive, pioneering, influential and stylish movies of all time and it's also full of philosophical and religious allegories waiting for interpretation. Immortal for its contribution to cinema and pop culture, its brilliant combination of inventive visual effects, excellent vision and exquisite action easily makes it one of the best, most influential and most entertaining movies ever made.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

This Is the End...

[10/10 · 23 March 2018]

Apocalypse now is not only the best war film ever made but it's also one of the best films of all time as it won the prestigious Palme d'Or at Cannes and it's constantly recognized as a benchmark in cinematic history. Based on the novel "Hearts of darkness" by Joseph Conrad this film is not so much about the Vietnam war, it is about war in general and serves as a deep study into the dark places of the human soul and how war can affect the individual. Apocalypse now depicts a timeless story about a universal human struggle, the duality of man, consisting of morality, the savage primordial instinct and what every person chooses to base his actions upon.

The film has a simple premise, US Army Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen) is ordered on a dangerous mission into Cambodia through a river, to assassinate a renegade, Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), who has gone insane and set himself up as a god among the local native tribe. It's an accessible premise, allowing for the film to be consumed by even the most casual movie watchers, and yet this film is anything but shallow. It's a journey into madness and hysteria, an observation into the darkness of humanity. I could write a book analyzing this film, there's just so much to talk about. My interpretation is that the river is not only the passage to find Kurtz but also the descent into madness and a reflection to the character's inner journey towards evil that is accomplished through the main theme of the movie, dehumanization. The journey through the river is also reminiscent of Dante's perilous journey through unspeakable surroundings and horrors. There are three major stops before Kurtz and each stop on the river furthers the dehumanization that war has brought, as well as implanting a new type of evil to the characters.

The first stop is with lieutenant Kilgore. That stop shows that Kilgore and his soldiers have been consumed by the love of war after they dehumanized the enemy. Their love of war has blinded them so much that they see no negative and can't comprehend the consequences the war will bring. In one scene of the movie, the "heroic" marching of the helicopters to lay wrath upon their enemies, Captain Kilgore uses Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries to pump his soldiers and scare his enemies and like the mythical creatures Valkyries, he is the decider of who lives and who dies on the battle. At this stage, although everyone has removed any shred of humanity from the enemy, they still understand the innocent.

The second stop is the USO show where we see the loss of morality as well as the dehumanization of the innocent. At this stop we see that a soldier dehumanized everyone aside from himself, becoming very selfish and losing any compassion for anyone but themselves. The soldiers that have passed through this stop would be willing to put anyone at risk for their instant gratification. Now as the characters go deeper into the river metaphorically they go deeper into themselves to explore their own evils which are becoming more apparent. The last stop before Kurtz is the Do-long Bridge and it's at this point that a soldier has gone too far, he's experienced so much trauma and so much evil that he lost grip with his own sanity and thus he dehumanized himself and can't return to a normal state of mind.

The final stop on the journey is Kurtz, at this point only Willard and Kurtz have passed the madness stage and they are competing for the heart of darkness, the ultimate evil that we all have the capacity to have. Kurtz is in possession of the heart of darkness as he associates evil with strength. Bypassing the madness stage he's able to see the world for what it truly is, filled with hypocrites and he decides to bury his hatred and simply act on instinct. Willard at the end of the film rises from the river reborn as a new man ready to obtain the heart himself. He kills Kurtz and leaves the compound with his heart corrupted. In the end Willard has a choice, succumb to evil and stay in the compound having taken Kurtz's place as the leader of the savages or abandoning them into their fates...throwing his weapon, he emerges from the bottomless pit he had fallen through the heart of darkness and by saving Lance and choosing not to exterminate the tribe, he has completed his personal journey and tested his soul to the very limit. Both of them at any point could have just stopped but they didn't, they wanted to explore the depths of their souls and just how much further they could go.

The film presents this study of the human psyche through Carmine Coppola's eerie score, hypnotic images, and some haunting scenes, essentially taking the viewer into the depths of hell. It's here where Coppola succeeds the most. His ability to create a living "hell" is so amazing, and it perfectly captures the mindset of the soldiers. It provides a commentary on war and religion, making the subtext even vaster. The film is weirdly beautiful and a true picture of the evil and hell from within ourselves.

The cinematography by Vittorio Storaro is phenomenal and it provides a hallucinatory feeling throughout the film's runtime - from the faces of the losing minds covered in endless sweat, and the sight of figures within the shadows to a dark trenched riverbank - everything is captured in a stunning manner, conveying the hellish imagery and still taking the viewer's breath away. Coppola's direction transcends itself, the camerawork is at its absolute best when it comes to the use of lighting and shadows, most notable during Col. Kurtz's first appearance. The troubled production obviously didn't hurt the film at all, and most likely increased the dark quality it portrays. Apocalypse Now is beautifully haunting, utterly hellish, terrifyingly intelligent, and magnificently wrought, it slowly pushes you into the horror and absurdity of war, but also its meaningfulness and beauty. Not only is this one of the best films ever made, it's a psychoanalytical journey into places none of us would dare to venture to on our own. It is Francis Ford Coppola's magnum opus as he sacrificed everything to make it work. Rightfully deserving its place as one of the greatest on the cinematic pantheon, immortal for its contribution to cinema, and a truly unforgettable experience, Apocalypse Now is cinema at its most complete, crystalline and pure.

Come and See (1985)

One of the finest films of all time.

[10/10 · 25 September 2017]

World War II in Belarus, in the region near the Polish borders. Compelled by patriotism and youthful idealism one young boy (Aleksei Kravchenko) leaves his village to fight with the Soviet partisan resistance against the Nazi invasion. Within minutes his innocence is stripped away and the premature knowledge of war is revealed to him. He gets away from his unit and returns home, only to find the whole village including his family slaughtered and their bodies stacked behind an old farm!

The horrendous depiction of war that Klimov creates is unique in the history of cinema. There is no plot, only a terrifying wandering in the nature, as the boy comes face to face with constant terrorizing and horrendous scenarios. Heroisms and sacrifices do not exist, nor inspiring speeches that excite the people to resist and fight the enemy. There is only the unexpected, death, violence and victims! A poem of a nightmare, relentlessly grim, deeply disturbing, and made unquestionably more dread-inducing by the fact that almost everything depicted really happened, it is a depressing but necessary reminder of one of the darkest chapters in human history. Idi i Smotri also manages to be both poetic and realistic and that is a supreme accomplishment on the part of the director.

The film depicts real and surreal images that only war can justify. Transporting us back to World War II setting with its aptly-chosen locations and era-appropriate set pieces Alexei Rodionov's documentarian cinematography incorporates a lot of steady-cam and captures the events without any interruptions by employing long takes, and stands as one of the best films to use it as extensively as this one does, while desaturated colour tones add an urgency and bleak feel to its aura. The imagery at times is darkly psychedelic and truly arouses a sense of fear within the viewer because Fliora's surroundings are often made to seem out of this world. Such an image is the one where a soldier of the resistance, using mud, pieces of wood and a Nazi uniform, creates a German soldier totem. The widows and the mothers attack the totem and destroy it in a primitive act of violence and catharsis. There are moments in which the film is depicted through the eyes of the protagonist, and all sounds collapse into oblivion, reinforcing his deafness after the bombs' explosions.

Come and See is one of the most affecting and confrontational war films ever made. The majority of war films claiming to be anti-war, show heroic acts with weapons and very capable soldiers that can save the day. Come and see does not offer such relief and comfort. It shows that in the war there are only victims. Though no one could possibly describe the experience of watching Come and See as a fun time, the film is nonetheless a masterpiece, worthy of consideration as not just the best war movie ever made, but also one of the greatest films ever made. Come and See is an enduring landmark of Soviet cinema whose potency and relevance will never be diminished by the test of time.

Misery (1990)

One of the best thrillers of the 90's.

[9/10 · 8 September 2017]

Misery is without a doubt one of the finest movies of the 90's and one of the best movies in the thriller genre. It is an ingeniously crafted horror masterpiece that seamlessly intertwines its incredibly tense and cleverly paced story with inventive cinematography, tight editing and exquisite performances. In my opinion Misery is one of the better adaptations of Stephen King's works and truly a movie that cannot be missed, especially for the genre fans.

Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is the author of a successful series of romance novels about a character called Misery, who decides to take a more serious approach regarding his future novels. On his way to publish his new manuscript, Paul drives from his hotel in Silver Creek to New York. Due to the extreme weather conditions, he has an accident that leaves him severely injured and hopeless. A local nurse named Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) finds Paul and brings him to her remote home in order to help him recover. Claiming to be his number one fan, Annie discovers that in his last Misery novel her favorite character dies and then her obsession about him takes a dark and twisted turn as a long story of captivity and abuse begins.

The direction by Rob Reiner is phenomenal and on a Hitchcockian level as the film has a plethora of perfectly crafted suspenseful moments that have the audience on the edge of their seats from the beginning till the amazing climax. The editing of the movie is also flawless, as the shots are specifically designed to induce tension in any moment they can. The cinematographer and Reiner both ace the perilous atmosphere of the picture, using close up shots of the moonfaced Wilkes both in her fits of rage and kindness which magnifies the polar extremes that Wilkes is prone to unexpectedly visit. What is also triumphed is the slow convergence of the audience and Paul Sheldon. The movie received a lot of critical acclaim, especially due to Kathy Bates' chilling and memorable performance as Anny Wilkes that earned her the 1990's leading actress Oscar award, which remains the only Oscar ever given to a Stephen King film adaptation. No matter how great Kathy Bates' Oscar-winning performance is, James Caan's cannot go unnoticed as it definitely qualifies as one of the best performances in his extensive career, despite how demanding and challenging his role as Paul Sheldon was.

In conclusion, Misery is a dark and tense masterpiece that is an amalgamation of excellent direction, skillful writing, taut editing, amazing cinematography and stellar performances, which succeeds into creating the feeling of captivity and helplessness that the thriller genre was purposefully built for, and that makes it one of the best movies of the 90's and one absolute classic in its genre.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

One of the Greatest Thrillers of all Time.

[10/10 · 1 August 2017]

The Silence of the Lambs is a masterpiece you cannot miss, it's a masterwork of suspense that blends the elements of horror, crime and psychology into one tight and smooth story. It's only the third film in history to win Academy Awards in all the top five categories: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Adapted Screenplay and that imply something about its technical quality as a film. It features expertise level of craftsmanship in all departments of filmmaking, and takes a huge bonus from the exquisite performances put in by its stellar cast. After all these years The Silence of the Lambs remains in a league of its own and is a perfect exemplification of just how great a movie can become when all the right elements come together and work in perfect harmony to form a complete whole.

Based on the novel of the same name, Jodie Foster stars as Clarice Starling, a top student at the FBI's training academy. FBI agent Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a genius psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case of a serial killer called Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), that murders and skins his victims and that Starling as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to make him help with the case.

The direction by Jonathan Demme is marvelous, as the film introduces its chilling sense of dread and has the audience on the edge of their seats, from the moment Howard Shore's ominous score hits the screen till the end of the film, especially during the climax with a lot of perfectly crafted suspenseful and nail-biting moments. The editing is perfect as the pace is methodical from start to finish, and each and every sequence is relevant to the story. The cinematography by Tak Fujimoto is fantastic as it fully succeeds into creating a very dark and brooding atmosphere that captivates as well as terrorize the audience, while also exhibiting excellent camera work that makes heavy use of close-ups which increase the creepiness and tension along with displaying an optimal color palette and minimal lightning from start to finish, which further enhances the darker ambience the story was aiming for. Moreover, the production design team has done a magnificent work as every set piece is meticulously crafted, richly detailed and very well-lit. The script by Ted Tally, also packs a very well structured and tight plot, every character has a well-defined arc, all the themes are smartly addressed, the attention to detail is quite impressive, and the complete story and narrative are perfect.

The performances are incredible. Jodie Foster as Clarice is absolutely brilliant and gives an impeccable performance as a woman who is desperately trying to forget her painful past and yet at the same time tries to prove her worth in a male dominant world. Anthony Hopkins as the genius psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer Hannibal Lecter is the perfect amalgamation of charisma, high intelligence and destructive violence, and gives a bone-chilling and memorable performance that will stand the passage of time as one of the absolute best. The small amount of screen time that Hopkins is given is a definitive testament to his acting capabilities, as with such an elegant and minimal performance, he solidifies himself as one of the most iconic villains of all time. Due to the charisma and electrifying chemistry between the two actors every scene they share becomes an instant classic.

In conclusion, the Silence of the Lambs is one of the greatest films ever made and a masterwork of brilliant direction, smart screenplay, splendid camerawork, tight editing, marvelous score and exquisite performances, that cemented the legacy of both Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster by engraving their iconic characters into the annals of cinema. The film absolutely deserves all the accolades and recognition it gets, for both its contributions to cinema and the immense impact it had on pop culture. Jonathan Demme's magnum opus is an outstanding achievement in genre filmmaking that has inspired and influenced countless thrillers since its release, and is not only the quintessential suspense and psychological horror film but also an ingenious observation of humanity's dark and violent nature and a masterpiece that every film lover must see.