Ben
Reid recommended movie of the day! From the author of "No Country For
Old Mean" and the director of this week's "Lawless" comes a potent post
apocalyptic tale about the survival of a man and his boy and their
detachment from what remains of humanity. It is as equally life
affirming as it is depressing, but if this film accomplishes anything it
is that it creates a tangible world not too far away. There is no
explanation as to why things are this way, and in the end does it even
matter? Viggo Mortensen gives one of his best performances to date. "I
told the boy when you dream about bad things happening, it means you're
still fighting and you're still alive. It's when you start to dream
about good things that you should start to worry."
Cinema Rising
Recommended movies by Benjamin Reid
Monday 27 August 2012
Thursday 23 August 2012
23/08/12 "The Magnificent Ambersons"
Ben
Reid recommended movie of the day! A great movie that used to be
grouped together with Orson Welles' previous film "Citizen Kane" as
being two of the best films of all time. However, it is a sad product
because of studio meddling and therefore an hour plus was cut out of the
original picture. This means that this could be one of the most
groundbreaking pieces of cinema never to reach full release. There are
rumors that an original cut could still exist somewhere, but the
evidence remains unseen, making it into a holy grail for champions of
restoration. Aside from the last scene of the movie, this is a tight and
near flawless flick with a story that evidently inspired the likes of
Wes Anderson when he made "The Royal Tenenbaums." The film is a
definitive tragedy of how one arrogant young man gets his comeuppance
three times full. The foggy motives giving heed to the main character's
dilemna makes this a compelling story. This film feels and is rightfully
so a classic, however one cannot deny that it could have been
absolutely magnificent if Orson Welles had got his way in the editing
room. If we can completely restore "Metropolis" though, who knows what
we can do? "The law's a jealous mistress and a stern mistress."
Wednesday 22 August 2012
22/08/12 "Mean Streets"
Ben
Reid recommended movie of the day! If you are a fan of the gangster
genre, make sure you watch "Mean Streets," otherwise, you ARE a mook.
"Mean Streets" is the film that broke Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro
into the mainstream and into a career defining partnership. Seeing this
film, it is hard to deny that the film has had just as much of an
impact on the gangster genre as "The Godfather." De Niro is more
eccentric than ever, leading the film with his manic behavior. His
character reminds me a lot of John Turturro's in "Miller's Crossing." Is
this film a bigger examination of the crime trap of New York poverty or
of one man's faith? Though not his most refined effort, it easy to see
how "Mean Streets" led Scorsese into his classics through his painting
of conflicted characters and his grimy view of big city life. "It's all
bullshit except the pain. The pain of hell. The burn from a lighted
match increased a million times. Infinite. Now, ya don't fuck around
with the infinite. There's no way you do that. The pain in hell has two
sides. The kind you can touch with your hand; the kind you can feel in
your heart... your soul, the spiritual side. And ya know... the worst of
the two is the spiritual."
Tuesday 21 August 2012
21/08/12 "Damsels in Distress"
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