1. Addicted to Love
2. Raise Your Voice
3. Burlesque
© thevoid99 2021
Thursday, December 16, 2021
Thursday Movie Picks: New to the City
1. Addicted to Love
2. Raise Your Voice
3. Burlesque
© thevoid99 2021
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
A Most Violent Year
It’s the winter of 1981 during one of its tumultuous years as an immigrant businessman is trying to buy a refinery as he finds himself being targeted by competitors where many of his trucks are stolen as it leads to harrowing acts of violence. It is a film that explore a moment in time just as this man who had worked his way to become an American citizen as he owns a small heating oil company as he’s managed to become successful and with a wife and family but he is also an idealist who wants to do things the right way. J.C. Chandor’s screenplay follows a month in the life of Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) who is about to embark on a major deal that would expand his empire but the theft of trucks by hoodlums threaten this deal as well as questions about his business dealings where an assistant district attorney in Lawrence (David Oyelowo) believes Abel is hiding something.
While Abel’s wife Anna (Jessica Chastain) is looking into their books and their attorney Andrew Walsh (Albert Brooks) is trying to handle all of the legal issues. Both Anna and Andrew urge Abel to fight fire with fire as they suspect their competitors are involved as it lead to the assault of one of their drivers in Julian (Elyes Gabel) and one of their young salesman in Alex (Ben Rosenfield). Abel however is convinced that violence isn’t the answer as he knows Lawrence is after him while he is trying to ask his competitors to stop the violence unaware that these hired thugs are just trying to hurt his business. Then there’s Julian who would have another encounter with thugs that lead to trouble where Abel asks Julian’s wife Luisa (Catalina Sandino Moreno) about his whereabouts as his activities would threaten everything Abel is hoping to have.
Chandor’s direction definitely echoes a lot of the films of the 1970s in terms of the crime drama as it play into this man trying to expand his small business empire into something bigger but without trouble and violence during a period of violence in New York City. Shot on location in New York City and areas around the city, the film does play into this cold winter where there is a lot of chaos that include these trucks being stopped either during traffic jams or coming out of a toll booth. Chandor’s usage of wide and medium shots do play into the scope of the city as well as an intense chase scene during the third act through a tunnel and later into a subway is among these moments in the film where there is a lot of suspense. The film also has these small moments that do play into the drama as it relates to a handgun that one of Abel and Anna’s daughters had found following an attempted attack on Abel that got botched. Chandor also play into the stakes of what Abel is trying to do as this piece of property he acquired and his intentions for it yet he has 30 days to make the down payment or else the owners will sell the property to one of Abel’s competitors.
Chandor also play into this underworld that Abel refuses to be a part of but it is a world that Anna’s father used to be in and it’s a world that Walsh is aware of as he talks to a teamster chief in Bill O’Leary (Peter Gerety) about the need to bear arms which Walsh agrees with but Abel refuses to go into that route. Even as he has to deal with Lawrence where Chandor definitely uses some unique camera angles and medium shots to play into their conversations where it is about power play as Lawrence is just someone that wants to uphold the law but he too is a man of ambition like Abel. The film’s ending is about this idea of what to do to achieve that goal but for someone like Abel who wants to maintain some morals and ideals about doing things without illegal means. There is no such thing as morals and ideals when it comes to running a business and dealing with other competitors as it is also about having it all or having nothing at all. Overall, Chandor crafts an astonishingly eerie yet intense film about an immigrant businessman trying to expand his empire in 1981 New York City amidst an era of violence.
Cinematographer Bradford Young does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography from the usage of natural lighting for some scenes in the day to bits of sepia for a few interior/exterior scenes at night including some eerie low-key lighting for the tunnel chase scene. Editor Ron Patane does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some rhythmic cuts to play into the suspense as well as a few intense moments of violence. Production designer John P. Goldsmith, with set decorator Melanie J. Baker and art director Doug Huszti, does amazing work with the look of the lavish home that Abel and Anna live in with their family as well as the offices and places they go to as it play into the early 80s aesthetics. Costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone does fantastic work with the costumes from the designer clothes that Anna wears as well as the suits and expensive winter coat that Abel wears.
Makeup artist Stephanie Pasicov does nice work with the look of Anna from her hairstyle and the makeup that she wears at times to play into the period of the times. Visual effects supervisors Luke DiTommaso, Jason Forster, and Mark Russell do terrific work with the visual effects as it is largely set-dressing for some of the exteriors to play into the period that is 1981 New York City. Sound designer Steve Boeddeker does superb work with the sound as it help play into the atmosphere as well as add to the suspense including scenes such as the chases and the tunnel scene. The film’s music by Alex Ebert is wonderful for its low-key music score with some orchestral flourishes that play into the drama and bits of suspense while music supervisor Linda Cohen creates a soundtrack that is largely low-key that includes a song from Marvin Gaye early in the film and a classical piece.
The casting by Tiffany Little Canfield and Bernard Telsey is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Jerry Adler and Quinn Meyers as a couple of Hasidic businessmen who are making a deal with Abel, Ashley Williams as Lawrence’s deputy Lange, the trio of Daisy Tahan, Taylor Richardson, and Giselle Eisenberg as Abel and Anna’s daughters, Nick Bailey and Jenilyn Rodriguez as a couple of sales recruits, Linda Marie Larson as Abel’s secretary Debbie, David Margulies and Annie Funke as a couple of business people whom Abel asks for a loan, Ben Rosenfeld as a young sales recruit who gets mugged by a thug, Pico Alexander as Abel’s younger brother Elias, Peter Gerety as a teamster manager in Bill O’Leary, Elizabeth Marvel as a party guest at a birthday party for one of Abel and Anna’s daughters, Christopher Abbott as a thug that Abel confronts late in the film, Glenn Flesher as a competitor that Abel sees at a barbershop, and Catalina Sandino Moreno in a fantastic one-scene performance as Julian’s wife Luisa who is aware of what her husband has done but also the stakes of how it will affect Abel’s business.
Elyes Gabel is superb as the truck driver Julian who gets mugged by muggers and later gets himself in trouble following another confrontation that puts himself and Abel in serious trouble. Alessandro Nivola is excellent as Peter Forente as a competitor of Abel who also has connections with organized crime as he is aware of what is happening to Abel though is cagey about his involvement where he tries to make a deal with Abel that is in his favor. David Oyelowo is brilliant as Lawrence as the assistant DA who is investigating Abel’s activities though he knows that Abel is a good man but has a job to do while he is also an idealist of sorts but is aware of what needs to be done. Albert Brooks is amazing as Abel’s attorney Andrew Walsh as a man who is trying to handle all sorts of business but is also aware of what needs to be done as he is someone who had seen a lot and knows that not everything is clean.
Jessica Chastain is incredible as Anna Morales as Abel’s wife who has been supportive in his ambitions but is also aware that her husband needs to play dirty as she is annoyed by his idealism as she also watches over their books and finances as it’s something she’s done in working with her father. Finally, there’s Oscar Isaac in a phenomenal performance as Abel Morales as an immigrant businessman who owns a heating oil business as he hopes to expand his business only to deal with the chaos and violence that is looming around him as it is this fierce yet calm performance of a man that is just trying to do the right thing only to learn that there is no straight arrow when it comes to ambition.
A Most Violent Year is a tremendous film from J.C. Chandor that features phenomenal leading performances from Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain. Along with its ensemble cast, eerie visuals, and its study of ambition along with its dangers and complexities. It is a film that explores a period in time in New York City that showcases what some will do to get ahead in business and how an immigrant businessman is trying to maintain some morality in a world that is immoral. In the end, A Most Violent Year is a magnificent film from J.C. Chandor.
J.C. Chandor Films: Margin Call - All is Lost - (Triple Frontier) – (Kraven the Hunter) – (The Auteurs #73: J.C. Chandor)
© thevoid99 2021
Friday, December 10, 2021
Obvious Child
The film follows a stand-up comedian who just got dumped as she meets a man during a show leading to a one-night stand that resulted in her pregnancy and her eventual decision to have an abortion. It is a film that plays into a young woman who doesn’t have a lot of things in her life figured out as she just got dumped where she does her stand-up revealing that her boyfriend has been sleeping with her friend and is leaving her for her friend. Gillian Robespierre’s screenplay is largely straightforward in its narrative as it follows Donna Stern (Jenny Slate) who does her performance where she reveals she got dumped and a friend of hers has taken her boyfriend. While lamenting over her break-up and other misfortunes as well as being unable to pay her rent, she drinks where she meets a guy named Max (Jake Lacy) where they have a one-night stand that eventually lead to her pregnancy. With all of the things in her life, Donna decides to have an abortion but she also learns that Max is a former student of her mother as it only complicates things.
Robespierre’s direction is largely straightforward as it is shot on location in New York City with much of it in and around Brooklyn and parts of Manhattan. While there are some wide shots in some of Robespierre compositions, much of the film is intimate with its usage of medium shots and close-ups as it play into Donna’s interaction with other characters including her best friend/roommate Nellie (Gaby Hoffmann) and another comedian in Joey (Gabe Liedman). Robespierre does move the camera to gather some of the conversations in the streets while much of it has her just aiming for something simple as it play into Donna’s own anxiety in whether to tell Max or not that she’s carrying his child and planning to abort it. Robespierre also knows where to put the actors in a shot as well as showcasing how they perform and the reaction of the audiences. Robespierre also play into the drama in its third act it as it relates to Max and why he is different from the men that Donna had met in her life as he is also trying to find himself. Overall, Robespierre crafts an engaging and touching film about a woman dealing with a one-night stand and her decision to have an abortion.
Cinematographer Chris Teague does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as its emphasis on low-key and autumn/winter-like colors as well as yellowish lights for some of the interior/exterior scenes at night. Editors Casey Brooks and Jacob Craycroft do terrific work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few rhythmic cuts to play into the humor. Production designer Sara K. White, with set decorator Ramsey Scott and art director Bridget Rafferty, does fantastic work with the set design from the book store that Donna and Nellie work at where they live above as well as the interiors of the comedy club. Costume designer Evren Catlin does nice work with the costumes as it is largely casual in the winter clothing the characters wear including a few stylish blouses that Donna wears.
The sound work of Mark Corbin is superb for its low-key yet naturalistic approach to sound in how comedy clubs sound as well as sparse moments in the film. The film’s music by Chris Bordeaux is wonderful for its low-key indie-folk score that largely features bits of folk guitars and keyboards to play into some of its light-drama while its music soundtrack features some indie, folk, and classical music with contributions from Paul Simon, Ludwig Van Beethoven, and Pytor Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
The casting by Suzanne Crowley and Jessica Kelly is amazing as it feature some notable small roles from Stephen Singer as the bookstore owner Gene, Cindy Cheung as a physician in Dr. Bernard who gives Donna advice about her pregnancy, Paul Briganti as Donna’s ex-boyfriend Ryan, Gabe Liedman as Donna and Nellie’s friend Joey who is a gay comedian, and David Cross as a comedian in Sam who is trying to flirt with Donna. Richard Kind and Polly Draper are fantastic in their respective roles as Donna’s separated parents in Jacob and Nancy Stern who both provide different advice to Donna about her life with the former being more comical and the latter being more serious. Gaby Hoffmann is excellent as Donna’s friend/roommate Nellie who is one of the few to learn about the pregnancy as well as Donna’s decision to get pregnant while observing Max.
Jake Lacy is brilliant as Max as a former student of Nancy who meets Donna at a club as it lead to a one-night stand where Lacy brings a lot of wit but also someone who is just as uncertain about his own future as a person. Finally, there’s Jenny Slate in an incredible performance as Donna Stern as a stand-up comedian who is dealing with a lot in her life such as the need to find a new place to live, rent money, and a relationship that just ended only for things to worsen by a one-night stand that lead to her pregnancy and eventual abortion. Slate brings not just a lot of low-key wit to her performance but also some light-drama that is filled with anxiety and uncertainty that has an air of realism into someone who is dealing with a major event in her life.
Obvious Child is a phenomenal film from Gillian Robespierre that features a great leading performance from Jenny Slate. Along with its ensemble cast, exploration on unexpected pregnancy and abortion, and its simplistic presentation. It is a film that is a study of a woman who is still trying to find herself following a break-up and a one-night stand as well as dealing with the stigma of abortion. In the end, Obvious Child is a phenomenal film from Gillian Robespierre.
Gillian Robespierre Films: (Landline) – (The Pisces)
© thevoid99 2021
Thursday, December 09, 2021
Thursday Movie Picks: Rags to Riches
1. The Jerk
2. Trading Places
3. Brewster’s Millions
© thevoid99 2021
Wednesday, December 08, 2021
Heat (1995 film)
The film is about a cat-and-mouse chase between a LAPD police detective and a career thief with a loyal heist crew who take part in a major heist following another theft that involved bonds belonging to a money-laundering insurance owner. It is a film that explore two men who only know what to do as they’re set to collide but there is a mutual respect in the fact that they’re men who both have a code and know what to do if they meet face-to-face. Michael Mann’s screenplay is largely straightforward in its narrative yet it is more about the men involved in this cat-and-mouse game where the LAPD detective in Lieutenant Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) and the criminal Neil McCauley (Robert de Niro) are trying to outwit one another but they’re also dealing with issues outside of their line of work with Hanna’s third marriage to Justine (Diane Venora) is crumbling as her daughter Lauren (Natalie Portman) is becoming emotionally-unstable. McCauley is just trying to do more work as it is all he knows while he meets and falls for a graphic designer in Eady (Amy Brenneman).
The film isn’t just about Hannah and McCauley dealing with each other and their own lives but the film also showcase that McCauley’s right-hand man in Chris Shiherlis (Val Kilmer) is going through issues with his wife Charlene (Ashley Judd) who is having an affair with a businessman in Alan Marciano (Hank Azaria). The script also play into the fact that McCauley, Shiherlis, Michael Cheritto (Tom Sizemore), and Trejo (Danny Trejo) are a crew who pride themselves in being professional and not kill anyone unless they have to as they bring in a wildcard in Waingro (Kevin Gage) who ends up becoming problematic as McCauley tries to kill him only for him to escape as he would end up being a problem for everyone including Hanna as it relates to the murders and raping of young women. Waingro would also play a role in the film’s second act as it relates to the bonds that McCauley and his crew stole as it belonged to the rich insurance salesman Roger Van Zant (William Fichtner). Mann doesn’t really create any heroes and villains but rather people are complicated with Van Zant and Waingro being the real villains in the film as they’re immoral and don’t care for anyone but themselves.
Mann’s direction definitely has an air of style in the presentation as it is shot on location in and around Los Angeles as the city itself is a character in the film. Mann uses these locations to not just play into the world that McCauley wants despite its lack of fulfillment but also a world that is simple as McCauley’s crew are diverse as it would later include a former prison-mate of his in Don Breedan (Dennis Haysbert) as they also have a simple life. There are wide and medium shots to play into the scope of the locations as well as banks, hotel rooms, and other places as there is a lot of attention to detail in these rooms and places that Mann is filming as it adds to the large scope of the film. Notably in a scene where Hanna and his team are at a docking area where McCauley and his team are having a conversation as Hanna and his team go to that location where Hanna realizes what is going on. It adds to this air of intrigue and suspense that occurs throughout the film that includes this meeting between McCauley and Hanna at a diner.
It’s a scene in the middle of the film in this meeting of the two men where it serves as a meeting of the minds before these two men go to war as it is clear through its close-ups and simple reverse shots as these are just two complicated men who could be friends in another world and have a lot of similarities but are on opposite sides of the law. The heist sequence that comes in late in the second act is an intense moment where there is a lot of quick shots that play into the frenetic energy as there is a lot at stake including lives where McCauley and his crew don’t want to kill anyone but they’re pinned down. The third act isn’t just about who ratted McCauley out but also Hanna wanting to find out who snitched to them as well yet both men and Shiherlis would deal their own personal issues. There is also a lot of drama that Mann explore where it is clear that McCauley and Hanna are men of certain extremes but at least are honest to admit with the latter having to realize what he means to his family despite not being there as much. The climatic showdown of the two is one that is filled with an immense visual style in its scope but it also owes a lot to the western. Overall, Mann crafts a ravishing yet gripping film about a LAPD detective and a career-criminal going head-to-head in an upcoming heist.
Cinematographer Dante Spinotti does incredible work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of low-key lights and bluish colors for some of scenes in the day and night as well as using available light in some scenes to enhance some of the drama. Editors Don Hoenig, Pasquale Buba, William Goldenberg, and Tom Rolf do amazing work with the editing with its usage of jump-cuts, fast-cuts, and other stylish cuts to play into the suspense and drama including the heist sequence. Production designer Neil Spisak, with set decorator Anne H. Ahrens and art director Margie Stone McShirley, does excellent work with the look of the homes that some of the characters live in as well as the offices that Hanna and his team work at and some of the diners that the characters go to. Costume designer Deborah Lynn Scott does fantastic work with the costumes from some of the stylish and posh clothing that both Charlene and Justine wear to the more casual and looser look of Eady with a lot of the suits that the men wear.
Makeup artist John Caglione Jr. and hair stylist Vera Mitchell, with tattoo designer Ken Diaz, do terrific work with the look of a few characters from the long-haired look of Shiherlis as well as the tattoos of Trejo. Visual effects supervisor Neil Krepela does nice work with some of the film’s minimal visual effects such as a scene of McCauley and Eady looking at the L.A. skyline at night. Sound editors Per Hallberg and Larry Kemp, along with sound designer Peter Michael Sullivan, do superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as how guns sound when they fire as it is a highlight of the film. The film’s music by Elliot Goldenthal is wonderful for its somber yet moody score that mixes orchestral bits with some ambient electronic pieces while music supervisor Budd Carr creates a hypnotic soundtrack that features pieces by Moby, Einsturzende Neubauten, Terje Rypal & the Chasers, the Kronos Quartet, the Passengers (U2 & Brian Eno), B.B. King, and Lisa Gerrard.
The casting by Bonnie Timmerman is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Bud Cort as a diner owner that Breedan works for, Farrah Forke as a news reporter, Hazelle Goodman as a dead prostitute’s mother, Paul Herman as a police sergeant, Jeremy Piven as a surgeon, the trio of Rick Avery, Bill McIntosh, and Thomas Rosales Jr. as armored truck guards, Patricia Healy as Bosko’s date, Cindy Katz as a forensics investigator, Xander Berkeley as a friend of Justine named Ralph, Tom Noonan as a former criminal/guide in Kelso, Tone Loc and Ricky Harris as a couple of informant brothers who talk to Hanna about the word on the street, Jerry Trimble as one of Hanna’s detectives in Danny Schwartz, Henry Rollins as Van Zant’s assistant, Kim Statton as Breedan’s wife, Susan Traylor as Cherrito’s wife, Yvonne Zima as a young girl Cherrito reluctantly takes hostage, and Hank Azaria as Charlene’s lover Alan Marciano who is also involved in his own criminal activities until Hanna uses him as bait.
The performances of Ted Levine, Wes Studi, and Mykelti T. Williamson in their respective roles as Detective Mike Bosko, Lieutenant Sammy Casals, and Sergeant Bobby Drucker are terrific as members of Hanna’s team who all provide some insight into their mission with Sgt. Drucker being the one who deals with Charlene while not taking shit from Marciano. Natalie Portman is wonderful in her small role as Justine’s troubled teenage daughter Lauren who is dealing with an absentee father and other mental issues that raises concern from Hanna. Dennis Haysbert is superb as Don Breedan as a former prison mate of McCauley who is not happy with his parole assignment until he meets McCauley and agrees to help him while Danny Trejo is fantastic as McCauley’s friend Trejo who often serves as the driver in the heists until he is tailed by the police. Kevin Gage and William Fichtner are excellent in their respective villainous roles as Waingro and Roger Van Zant with the former being this deviant wildcard who has no remorse in who he kills while the latter is just a greedy insurance salesman who only cares about money and control.
The trio of Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, and Diane Venora are brilliant in their respective roles as Eady, Charlene Shiherlis, and Justine Hanna as the women in the lives of these three men with Brenneman providing a sense of warmth and hope to McCauley while Judd serves as a frustrated wife who is upset over her husband’s gambling issues and Venora as Hanna’s wife who is often upset by his frequent absences and her troubled daughter. Tom Sizemore and Jon Voight are amazing in their respective roles as the thief Michael Cherrito and the fence Nate with the former being someone who is eager for one more score while the latter helps McCauley in finding new jobs but is aware that something about Van Zant isn’t right. Val Kilmer is incredible as Chris Shiherlis as McCauley’s right-hand man who is a great marksman but also has gambling issues and feels like he’s not good enough for his wife and kid where he deals with the dangers of his work and being caught.
Finally, there’s Al Pacino and Robert de Niro in tremendous performances in their respective roles as Lieutenant Vincent Hanna and Neil McCauley. Pacino’s performance is a bit reserved while he also has some wild moments in a scene where he confronts Marciano as there are also moments where he is sensitive and does what he can to be helpful. The performance from de Niro is also low-key as someone who is meticulous in what he wants to do as he is also a man with a code while is eager to have a life outside of crime. Pacino and de Niro’s few scenes together are a joy to watch where it is two men displaying a mastery in their craft as these two extremes who have a lot of similarity but also know they have a code to live by.
Heat is a magnificent film from Michael Mann. Featuring a phenomenal ensemble cast, rapturous visuals, gripping action sequences, fascinating studies of characters and ideals, and an intoxicating music score. The film is definitely a crime drama that diverts the idea of heroes and villains in favor of studying morals as well as what two men would to maintain their own ideals. In the end, Heat is an outstanding film from Michael Mann.
Michael Mann Films: The Jericho Mile – Thief (1981 film) - The Keep – Manhunter - L.A. Takedown – The Last of the Mohicans - The Insider – Ali - Collateral - Miami Vice - Public Enemies - Blackhat - Blackhat - Ferrari – (Heat 2) - The Auteurs #73: Michael Mann Pt.1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2021
Monday, December 06, 2021
Last Night in Soho
The film revolves around a young woman who goes to London to study fashion as her love for the 1960s has her transported to that time where she meets an aspiring singer whom she believed would later be killed by her pimp. It is a film that explore a woman’s obsession for a period in time she had never lived in where she finds herself going back in the 1960s where she follows the life of a young aspiring singer who ends up going into a dark path that lead to her death as she wants to know who killed this young woman. The film’s screenplay by Edgar Wright and Kristy Wilson-Cairns follows the desire of its protagonist Eloise “Ellie” Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) who has largely been raised by her grandmother Margaret “Peggy” Turner (Rita Tushingham) following the death of her mother when Ellie was a kid. Ellie’s love for 60s fashion, music, films, and culture has her wanting to go to London where she gets accepted to the London College of Fashion. Yet, she is mocked for her taste by her snobbish roommate Jacosta (Synnove Karlsen) though she does befriend another student in John (Michael Ajao).
Ellie would then accept an open invitation to live in the house of an old woman in Ms. Collins (Diana Rigg) upon she pays rent where she takes a job at a pub where the first night she stayed at the house. She is transported to the 1960s where she meets Sandie (Anya Taylor-Joy) who goes to a club where she catches the attention of a man named Jack (Matt Smith) who promises her the chance to be a singer at another club. Yet, things don’t go well as Ellie suspects this silver-haired old man (Terence Stamp) as Jack who keeps following Ellie claiming she looked like someone he recognized after Ellie had dyed her hair blonde. Adding to the chaos that Ellie endures is that she has strange visions that are probably connected to the fact that her mother was a schizophrenic as she starts to see things including ghosts that also includes a ghost of her mother (Aimee Cassettari). Through what Ellie sees with Sandie, it does commentate on the roles women had to play in order to reach their dreams as there is a feminist commentary about what Sandie had to endure and Ellie is dealing with as it relates to Sandie’s own plight.
Wright’s direction definitely owes a lot to films from the 1960s including the British cinema of that period where it is shot on location in London and in the Soho area as well as areas outside of London where Wright manages to showcase the Soho area of what it looked like in the 1960s and how it looked like in the 2020s. Wright’s usage of the wide and medium shots do capture a lot of detail into these locations as they are characters in the film as is the London College of Fashion as it showcases a modern world that is trying to distance itself from the past with Ellie being this anomaly who prefers the music of the past than what everyone else is into. Even as she is treated terribly by Jacosta forcing her to sleep outside of her room where there’s a party while John accidentally drank her can of Coke. Wright’s direction definitely knows when to play into the drama and some of the humor though the film opens in a light-hearted manner of Ellie dancing wearing a newspaper dress she created.
Wright’s usage of close-ups do add to the drama and suspense as the first shot of Ellie meeting Sandie in a mirror and how much they mimic each other in that sequence showcase Wright’s flair for style in the dancing where both Sandie and Ellie are dancing with Jack. It is among these images along with these fantasy scenes of Ellie trying to save Sandie whose dream to be a singer doesn’t go as planned as it is this reality that Ellie has a hard time coping. Even as things begin to blur in the third act where Ellie sees ghosts as she wonders if she is crazy or is she really seeing something that really did happen to Sandie. It all play into the roles women had to play then to get what they want in life but also the compromises they made where Ms. Collins would warn Ellie that a lot of bad things happened in London in the 1960s but people prefer not to talk about it. Overall, Wright crafts a thrilling and evocative film about a young woman who goes back to the 1960s to avenge the murder of a young woman from that period.
Cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its stylish usage of lighting to play up the Soho-London nightlife of both the 1960s and 2020s as well as emphasizing on natural lighting for some of the daytime interior/exterior scenes including at the classroom where Ellie and other students try to create their own fashion designs. Editor Paul Machliss does excellent work with the editing with its stylish usage of fast-cuts as well as montages to play into some of the chaos that both Ellie and Sandie would endure. Production designer Marcus Rowland, with set decorator Judy Farr and supervising art director Tim Blake, does amazing work with the look of the room that Ellie rents as well as Ms. Collins’ home as well as some of the places in the 60s including the ballrooms. Costume designer Odile Dicks-Mireaux does fantastic work with the costumes from some of the homemade clothes that Ellie has created including her casual clothing to some of the stylish clothes that Sandie wears.
Hair/makeup designer Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiou does nice work with the look of the characters from the hairstyle that Sandie has as well as the different hairstyles that Ellie would sport as well as the look of the characters in the 60s and the Halloween party scene. Special effects supervisor Stephen Hutchinson and visual effects supervisor Gary J. Brown do terrific work with the visual effects in some of the effects as it relates to Ellie and Sandie looking at each other in the mirror as well as the design of the ghosts that Ellie sees. Sound designer Ben Meechan, with sound editors Dan Morgan and Julian Slater, does superb work with the sound as it play into the atmosphere of the locations and settings as well as the effects as it play into this blur of reality and fantasy.
The film’s music by Steven Price is wonderful for its orchestral score as it feature some low-key themes as well as some bombastic string-based pieces for some of the suspense while music supervisor Kirsten Lane creates an incredible music soundtrack that features pieces by Sandie Shaw, Cilla Black, Peter & Gordon, the Who, the Kinks, the Searchers, Dusty Springfield, John Barry, the Graham Bond Organization, the Walker Brothers, R. Dean Taylor, James Ray, Barry Ryan, Rory Gallagher, and Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich as well as non-60s music pieces from Siouxsie & the Banshees and Anya Taylor-Joy singing a couple of 1960s classics.
The casting by Nina Gold and Martin Ware is remarkable as it feature some notable small roles from James and Oliver Phelps as cloakroom attendants, Michael Jibson and Lisa McGrillis as a couple of detective Ellie goes to in the third act, Beth Singh as the famed singer Cilla Black, Pauline McLynn as the bar-owner Carol that hires Ellie, Aimee Cassettari as Ellie’s mother, Elizabeth Berrington as Ellie’s professor, the trio of Jessie Mei Li, Kassius Nelson, and Rebecca Harrod as Jacosta’s friends, Sam Claflin as a punter that Sandie meets in a montage, and Margaret Nolan in her final film performance in a brief performance as a barmaid at a club that Sandie works at. Synnove Karlsen is terrific as the snobbish Jacosta who is briefly Ellie’s roommate who thinks Ellie is homely and the embodiment of uncool. Rita Tushingham is fantastic as Ellie’s grandmother Peggy as a woman who encourages Ellie to reach her dream but also remind her that there is always need for help.
Michael Ajao is excellent as John as a fashion student that Ellie befriends as he is one of the few kind people she meets as he is also concerned about Ellie’s behavior yet does believe that her claims are true. Terence Stamp is brilliant as the silver-haired man who follows Ellie in Soho after she dyed her hair blonde because she reminds him of someone where Stamp brings that ambiguity into his identity yet is someone that isn’t fond of the past. Matt Smith is amazing as Jack as a man who frequents at clubs who promises Sandie all of the things to expect only to use her for his own financial means as he has this devilish charm to him that is also menacing. In her final film performance, Diana Rigg’s role as the landlady Ms. Collins is truly an incredible finale for the famed British film/TV icon as this old woman who is fascinated by Ellie but also harbor secrets of her own as there is a charm to her but also someone who lived in the 1960s through its good times and bad times as it is really a performance that for the ages with Rigg at least going out a winner.
Finally, there’s the duo of Anya Taylor-Joy and Thomasin McKenzie in phenomenal performance in their respective roles as Sandie and Ellie. Taylor-Joy’s performance as the aspiring singer with a sense of style in Sandie is one of charisma and energy as someone who has a lot of talent but is unable to deal with the harsh realities of the world as it lead to some dark turns. McKenzie’s performance as the fashion student in Ellie is a more reserved character who prefers the music and culture of the 1960s than today’s culture as she deals with being in the 1960s and later what happened to Sandie where McKenzie sells a lot of the sense of fear but also someone who wants to bring some kind of justice towards a world when women didn’t have a lot of choices.
Last Night in Soho is a sensational film from Edgar Wright that features great performances from Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy as well as a towering finale from Diana Rigg. Along with its ensemble cast, dazzling visuals, story of reality and fantasy in a world dominated by men, and a phenomenal music soundtrack. The film is definitely a riveting and genre-bending thriller that explores a young woman’s fascination with the past only to realize that there were also a lot of dark things that happened that would repress another young woman from reaching her dreams. In the end, Last Night in Soho is a spectacular film from Edgar Wright.
Edgar Wright Films: (A Fistful of Fingers) – Shaun of the Dead - Hot Fuzz - Scott Pilgrim vs. the World - The World's End - Baby Driver - The Sparks Brothers
© thevoid99 2021
Thursday, December 02, 2021
Thursday Movie Picks (Oscar Winners Edition): Best Foreign Language Films
1. Nights of Cabiria
2. Z
3. Dersu Uzala
© thevoid99 2021
Wednesday, December 01, 2021
2022 Blind Spot Series Announcement
© thevoid99 2021Westfront 1918 by G.W. Pabst
Bringing Up Baby by Howard Hawks
The Bigamist by Ida Lupino
Devi by Satyajit Ray
Mandabi by Ousmane Sembene
Army of Shadows by Jean-Pierre Melville
The Merchant of Four Seasons by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Celine and Julie Go Boating by Jacques Rivette
Boat People by Ann Hui
Dreams by Akira Kurosawa
Flowers of Shanghai by Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Letters from Fontainhas Trilogy (Ossos - In Vanda's Room - Colossal Youth) by Pedro Costa
Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Films That I Saw: November 2021
Now that there’s a new COVID variant emerging, it is clear that this pandemic is far from over as I’m now preparing for the worst and it’s a shame that there’s still a bunch of fucking morons who are going to fuck this up as usual. I’ve become used to wearing a mask whenever I go out in public and it does make me feel safe but I take great comfort in knowing that I’m keeping people safe as well. It’s these small things that I hope at least people are aware of what is going on though I do live in a state that do have stupid people.
Then there’s this recent incident in Houston involving Travis Scott and his music festival as this was something that could’ve been avoided yet the fact that 10 people have died so far including a child is just devastating. Scott should be in prison for the fact that he encouraged a large crowd to get rowdy while they’re getting crushed and did little to stop the concert. People have compared this to Altamont in 1969 with the Rolling Stones, the 1979 Cincinnati stampede for a concert from the Who, and the 2000 Rokskilde festival during Pearl Jam’s performance. This was worse considering that the Stones tried to calm things down to an unruly crowd while Pearl Jam tried to stop the crowd from surging. The Who didn’t know what happened until after show as it was a traumatic event for them. This isn’t some generational thing but rather how one handles these incident as Scott’s response was poor not to mention that his dumbass girlfriend in a Kartrashian was taking selfies while all of this was happening.
1. Shiva Baby
The Melies Mystery
Ciao Alberto
The Juniper Tree
Shiva Baby
Shiva Baby by Emma Seligman from NYU Tisch Undergrad Film & TV on Vimeo.
Given the major buzz and acclaim Emma Seligmann’s film had gotten, it is worth nothing that the film was based on a short that she had made a few years earlier that also starred Rachel Sennott. It is the same story as the feature but only in a smaller version with Sennott’s character learning that her sugar daddy is a married man with a child as they attend this Shiva. It does have a few difference but it is worth watching for anyone that loved the film or haven’t seen the film yet.
Olaf Presents
The Mandalorian
Acapulco (season 1, episodes 6-9)
Hawkeye (episodes 1 & 2)
Top 10 Re-watches
1. The Wolverine
© thevoid99 2021
Monday, November 29, 2021
2021 Blind Spot Series: Lola (1981 film)
Set in late 1957 in the small town of Coburg, the film revolves around a cabaret singer/prostitute who becomes the object of affection towards a new building commissioner from East Prussia as he deals with her current lover in a corrupt property developer who also owns the cabaret club she sings at. It is a film that explores a woman who is trying to maintain control of her own fate as she is having an affair with this man whom she works for while is also intrigued by this new figure who is a straight-laced, moralistic individual that wants to clean things up. The film’s screenplay is largely straightforward in its narrative though it’s more of a study of people trying to be involved this power play for change in a new Germany just a few years before the Berlin Wall would be this symbol of the Cold War. The titular character is at the center of this emergence of a new West Germany as it’s been more than a decade since the war ended as she is just this cabaret singer who plays in a club while is a prostitute who gives her services to people in power including the club owner Schukert (Mario Adorf).
The arrival of building commissioner Von Bohm (Armin Mueller-Stahl) changes things as he is someone that is simple man from a different part of Germany that had its own unique history while he would live at a house where Lola’s mother (Karin Baal) would be his housekeeper unaware that she’s Lola’s mother since she refers to her daughter in her real name in Marie-Luise. Von Bohm would get Schukert’s longtime assistant/cabaret band drummer Esslin (Matthias Fuch) to be at his side where Von Bohm is aware of Schukert’s dirty tactics while he is fascinated by Lola unaware of her real job. Yet, Von Bohm would meet Lola under her real name as he sees her as this idea of purity and innocence with a young daughter whose father’s identity unknown except for her mother and other locals.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s direction definitely has a lot of style in its imagery as he imagines this small town as this vibrant town that is about to enter the modern age while retaining elements of the past with its desire to move away from the horrors of World War II. Shot on locations around Munich and Eichstatt in the Bavarian area of then-West Germany, Fassbinder does give the presentation a colorful vibe where there is a lot of stylish lighting for many of the interior/exterior scenes at night while he also play into this sense of decadence that has gone on for too long with Lola being part of it. There are some wide and medium shots to get a scope at the locations including scenes at the town square with the latter playing into the look of the cabaret club that Lola performs at. There is also these moments that do play into this idea of capitalism as it is a major theme in the film where Fassbinder showcases a lot of the scheming that goes on involving Schukert and other political officials involving a major project that would get them into this modern West Germany.
There are also these close-ups that Fassbinder creates as it relates to Von Bohm’s fascination towards Lola where Fassbinder does some unique compositions that play into the world of melodrama. It is among these moments that do play into a world that is incorruptible that includes a scene inside an office where the camera moves around the table on a dolly-track as it play into Von Bohm wanting to take control as a big “fuck you” to Schukert and everyone else who is corrupt. Still, Fassbinder reveals that someone like Von Bohm with all of his ideals is someone that is disconnected with the forces he is dealing with and the fact that he’s in a world where everyone uses everyone including Lola who uses sex and her beauty to get what she wants. Overall, Fassbinder crafts a luscious yet riveting film about a cabaret singer who pits her corrupt club owner lover against an idealist building commissioner for her affections.
Cinematographer Xaver Schwarzenberger does incredible work with the film’s cinematography as it is a major highlight of the film with its candy color-like lighting schemes for some of the interiors as it helps heighten the mood and look of the film as well as aiming for a naturalistic look for some of the daytime exterior scenes. Editors Rainer Werner Fassbinder (in his Franz Walsch pseudonym) and Juliane Lorenz do excellent work with the editing as it is stylish as it has some stylish transitions that play into some of the melodrama while also adding some ambiguity into the film with some jump-cuts that play into some of the intense moments of the film. Production designers Rolf Zehetbauer, Udo Kier, and Raul Giminez, along with art director Helmut Gassner, do amazing work with the look of the cabaret club as well as the house that Von Bohm lives in and the home where Lola and her mother lived in that also includes an American GI. Costume designer Barbara Baum does fantastic work with the costume from the stylish clothes that Lola wears from the more innocent and refined clothes she wears for Von Bohm to the lingerie and cabaret-style clothing for Schukert.
Makeup artists Anni Nobauer and Edwin Erfmann do terrific work with the look that Lola would sport in her different personas as well as the look of some of the cabaret players. The sound work of Vladimir Vizner is superb for the atmosphere of the cabaret club in the way music is presented as well as the sound effects for some of the scenes in the film including a traffic jam. The film’s music by Peer Raben is amazing for its playful cabaret style music with elements of dramatic string arrangements that play into the melodrama while its soundtrack feature an array of cabaret songs and traditional pop songs that play into that world of decadence as it is another highlight of the film.
The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature some notable small roles from Udo Kier as a waiter at the cabaret club, Ulrike Vigo as Lola’s daughter Marie, Nino Korda as a TV deliveryman, Herbert Steinmetz as the doorman who works at Von Bohm’s building, Harry Baer and Rainer Will as a couple of protesters who side with Von Bohm, Karsten Peters as a newspaper editor, Gunther Kaufmann as an American GI who lives at the home where Lola’s mother lives in, Christine Kaufmann as a prostitute whom the GI often sleeps with, Isolde Barth as the mayor’s wife, Y Sa Lo as a prostitute who works at the cabaret club, Karl-Heinz von Hassel as the corrupt police chief Timmerding, Elisabeth Volkmann as a prostitute/cabaret performer in Gigi, Hark Bohm as the mayor Volker who likes to go to the cabaret club and doesn’t mind taking payouts, and Rosel Zech as Schukert’s wife who either has no clue that her husband is cheating on or is indifferent as someone who enjoys the lifestyle she’s living in.
Helga Feddersen is fantastic as Von Bohm’s secretary Miss Hettich as a woman who always bring something while is an ardent supporter of Von Bohm while Ivan Desny is superb as the bank president in Wittich who is intrigued by Von Bohm but warns him about Schukert. Karin Baal is excellent as Lola’s mother as a woman who wants her daughter to find happiness where she works as a maid of sorts for Von Bohm whom she believes is a good influence for Lola. Matthias Fuchs is brilliant as Esslin as an assistant to Schukert who becomes frustrated by him where he finds some hope in Von Bohm while he also works as a drummer for Lola’s cabaret performances. Mario Adorf is amazing as Schukert as a property developer who is eager to use his pull to create a building that would put Cobert into the modern world while is also a man of corruption as he is also using his affair with Lola for personal and financial reasons.
Armin Mueller-Stahl is incredible as Von Bohm as an East Prussian building commissioner who arrives to the town wanting to clean things up as he’s intrigued by Lola in the hope he can give her a better life unaware of what she really does with her life. Finally, there’s Barbara Sukowa in a phenomenal performance as the titular character as this cabaret singer/prostitute who is eager to move up for something bigger as she is torn with her affair with Schukert as well as a life outside of decadence that Von Bohm has to offer though there is a lot more that she wants as it is this radiant and exuberant performance from Sukowa.
Lola is a spectacular film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder that features a sensational leading performance from Barbara Sukowa in the titular role. Along with its supporting cast, themes on greed and corruption, Xaver Schwarzenberger’s lush cinematography, dazzling art direction, and Peer Raben’s offbeat music score. The film is a fascinating and compelling film that presents itself as an offbeat melodrama that also play into this study of a woman wanting to get something for herself as she pits two men against each other for her affection. In the end, Lola is a tremendous film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Films: Love is Colder than Death - (Katzelmacher) - (Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?) - (Rio das Mortes) - (The American Soldier) - (Whity) - (Beware of a Holy Whore) - The Merchant of Four Seasons - The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant - Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day - (Jailbait) - World on a Wire - Ali: Fear Eats the Soul - (Martha (1974 film)) - (Effi Briest) - (Fox and His Friends) - (Mother Kuster’s Trip to Heaven) – (I Only Want You to Love Me) – Satan's Brew - (Chinese Roulette) - (Germany in Autumn) - (Despair) - (In a Year of 13 Moons) – The Marriage of Maria Braun - (Third Generation) - Berlin Alexanderplatz - (Lili Marleen) – Veronika Voss - Querelle
© thevoid99 2021
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