Art of Movies

The best of cinema, reviewed.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSSrYnc1yQs

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One of the greatest motivational videos I have ever seen, since it sepaks to ME, YOU and HIM. 

-Romet

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"Hugo" & Georges Méliés

INTRODUCTION

Directd by Martin Scorsese, one of my all-time favourite directors, on par with Stanley Kubrick and Francis Ford Coppola, I did not expect anything less than "Goodfellas" in quality and story. I was not disappointed.

SYNOPSIS Set in Paris during the 1930's, we follow a little boy, by the name of Hugo Cabret (Played by Asa Butterfield), who happens to be an orphan, and lives in the walls of a train station. 

Stealing gears, cogs and springs from a local bitter toys salesman, he gets caught, and is forced to give away his notebook. The notebook holds detailed notes on how to fix an automaton. when Hugo's father gets killed in a fire, it is his only goal to fix that automaton, because he believes, that his father left him a message with it.

WHAT DO I THINK OF IT? It was a total surprise to me, when it turned out, that the bitter old toy salesman was Georges Méliés... But so it was. And so it was historically. After the First World War, Mr. Méliés burned all of his old props, and negatives of his movies. Also, the story goes, that most of his movies were taken and melted down into chemicals, to make shoe heels. 

Ben Kingsley as Georges Méliés does a very good job. Asa Butterfield as Hugo is not bad too, but for some reason, I liked Georges more. 

The one scene, that kind of disturbed me, was Hugo's father's death scene. The way the fire burst in through the door as soon as he opened it, kind of seemed odd to me. But it is obvios, it was made like this for the 3D.  FINALLY As Mr. Méliés puts it: "Dreams are made here." He realized, that anything and everything can be made in cinema. Sure now, in the modern world, "Le Voyage Dans La Lune" seems like nothing special to the untrained eye, and I can understand that.... But I request, that you watch it again, if you have seen it once, and if never.. then watch it for the first time. And when you are watching that movie, try to imagine yourself back in a simpler time. When money was not everything, when things were made with passion, when dedication and effort was poured in every frame of a movie. Just imagine your dreams coming true.

IMDb Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970179/?ref_=nv_sr_2

"Le Voyage Dans La Lune": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8QPehtzs_c

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"A Waltz Of Chess"

This is my first ever made movie. It is a short film about the safety of the internet. Made for a competition called: "Smart & Safe On The Internet" It is in my first language, but it is a "silent" movie in the sense, that there is no spoken dialoge.

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"The Shawshank Redemption"

INTRODUCTION

PRIDE & PREJUDICE Placed number one in IMDb's list for top 100 films ever made, and having earned "Two thumbs up!" from the beloved movie critic duo Siskel and Ebert, You must understand, that I went into this movie with the highest of expectations.  SYNOPSIS Tim Robbins plays  Andy Dufresne, a young rich banker, who is sentenced two lifetimes in Shawshank prison for killing his wife, and her lover. 

Two life sentences back to back, huh? That's a long time. So in jail a man must keep his mind occupied. He starts bonding with a convicted murderer, (Played by Morgan Freeman) Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding, who also narrarates the whole story. Through acts of common decency Andy makes prison almost half-enjoyable to himself, while also planning his escape.

Andy during his 19 years in prison picks up a number of different projects. He becomes a librarian, He builds a library, He educates a young Rock N' Roll generation punk. He builds a chess set from rocks he polishes and cuts.

WHAT DO I THINK OF IT? When Andy builds his library, he has a shipment of books coming in. A character, Heywood (Played by William Sadler) mentions a book.  It's called "The Count Of Monte-Cristo" By Alexandre 'dumbass', as  Heywood puts it so eloquently. This is a great scene, which both shows the characteristics of Andy, Heywood and Red. 

It also made me think of this. In the book by Alexandre Dumas, Edmond Dantes a young 19 year old boy is sentenced a life in prison for a crime, He did not actaully commit. He is in prison for about 30 years, and then escapes, when his scholar, abbot Faria dies. After he escapes, he lays his vengeance upon the men. that betrayed him. 

WORTH NOTING

The movie also deals with the psyche of a prisoner in a very subtle, very touching way. After all, every single one of us is a human being. And you truly feel sorry for the old-timer, who has served 50 years in prison, who has become an important man there, an educated man. A man, who has been in prison since 1905. When he is released, he has no idea, how to live. Time had stopped for him. The walls had hidden so much progress from the eyes of a young man, now withered and grey.  FINALLY Truly a movie worth seeing before death, it emotes both emotions of happiness and sorrow with it's masterfully put together story, a narrarator, who has replaced his vocal cords with twixes, and a topic, which is always relevant... HOPE.

IMDb Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/?ref_=nv_sr_1   

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Stanley Kubrick : Life in Pictures

A documentary about the life of Stanley Kubrick, that lasts 2 hours.

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"Schindler's List"

But as the situation for the Jews in Poland worsens, he starts to feel sorry for them yet doesn't take up action. When Oskar is gathering money, and treasures, the Jews are sent to the ghettos. Oskar still untouched by the vents still collects cash from his factories. But when the ghettos are raided, he sees a young girl in a red coat, who is put into the fire, where all the Jews were burned. After that Oskar Schindler changes forever.  In the following scenes, he constructs a list of Jews he's going to hire in his factories, to save their lives. I'm not going to spoil the rest of the movie, because there are alot of problems, that occur, just like in real life. Only, am I going to mention the very end. When the Jewish music starts playing, and Schindler's Jews march towards the camera, the color sets in, it creates a very good feeling ,that after all they had to go through, they are alive. 

Length: 3h 15m (including credits) IMDb Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108052/?ref_=sr_1 The Ending: http://youtu.be/jri0U57iWWM?t=48s About OskarSchindler: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Schindler                                        http://goo.gl/TZdcGi If you have time, watch the movie and read the Wikipedia article, and the JWL article. This man deserves respect.

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"Django Unchained"

This is where the movie gets more tense, since there's alot of things playing in the ultimate outcome, like, wil Django be able to surpress his anger to not kill any of those bastards? Will Calvin Candie refuse their offer? Will their plans be exposed?  It is very weird to admit, that the most tense scene in the movie is not a fight scene, nor a shooting scene... it is a dinner. I am not kidding. The most tense scene in this tense movie is a dinner scene. That is because there is so much to lose, and so much to win for both main characters involved. Overall, it's just a modern masterpiece, that deserves a view, or two.

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"2001: A Space Odyssey"

As we see the way, how our ancestors learned to kill, the movie jumps a millennia via the, I quote: "One of the most mind-blowing jump cuts ever conceived." As said on the DVD box. We are jump cut to colonized space. Here happen 0-gravity motion sequences, with J. Strauss's music: "On The Beautiful Blue Danube" I have to say, that is one of the best parts in the movie. After that, we learn, that an ancient artifact was found deep in the lunar surface. The second time, that mankind encounters the "Monolith" Now notice, how the first encounter and the scond encounter look very much alike, implying, that the years of evolution, that humans went through, since the first encounter with the "Monolith" is not enough, to end the first stage of their evolution.

How the apes, and how the humans thousand of years later form a circle around it, and touch it to understand, what it is. I have to show you lots of pictures, because most of what is happening is told in the pictures, most what is importnant is told in the pictures, the beauty of the movie is in the pictures and music. it turns out, that the monolith sent a signal to Jupiter. It acted like a beacon, which told the universe, that humans have ended the first stage of their evolution. Five astronauts, three of them in hibernation kind of stasis are sent to jupiter, to investigate. But the board computer HAL 9000 is having some unsettling thoughts, so they want to disable him. The ending... To spoil it for you... I'M SORRY, I CAN'T LET MYSELF DO THAT.

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The story, how "The Godfather" (1972) Tied Hollywood in with the mob more than they would have liked to and how the mob celebrated this epic.

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"The Godfather" Trilogy

"The Godfather I" (1972) 

"The Godfather II" (1974)

"The Godfather III" (1990)

The Godfather, what a movie it is. The drama, we see created in between the characters in the movies is so well thought out, so well presented ,that  it seems like the real deal. Vito Corleone is a wonderful character, because he is in the mob, he is in that business, the business, where people get killed, where murder is a common thing. And in the middle of it all, he tries to raise his kids, he tries to spend time with his family, he tries to create a better future for his children. He is not a barbaric killer, he is a man, a human, who through the course of unfortunete, or fortunate heppenings became the head of the biggest mafia family in New York. The Godfather Trilogy explains, how it all came to happen. We see, how Vito Corleone got his grasp on the power, he posesses, we see the way, how the family functions. We see murders, betrayals and drama all the way through. I pay my respects to the movies. To review those movies was an offer I couldn't refuse.

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"Eyes Wide Shut"

We see, that he party is hosted by a man, who belongs to the elite, the highest class.  We see the party, and how it is set up, with bright lights everywhere. Soon a member of the elite class starts hitting on Nicole Kidman's character, named Alice. The way, how he tries to get her, is by calculated sentences and dancing. "I know, that music leads the way to romance." -Fred Astaire But Alice is not the only one, to face temptations, as two models, swiftly steal Tom Cruise's characther, named Bill from the party. The lovely talk is interrupted, because Bill must leave to help the host of the party, Zielger. When he arrives at the scene, there is a naked woman, who has overdoses on drugs. A prostitute. As the movie continues, Alice admits to Bill, that she could've cheated on him last night at the party, and talks about how once she almost did cheat on him. To which Bill leaves the home, to emabark on sexual adventures he won't soon forget. The movie continues, revealing it's wonders, and reveling in it's mystery, completely confusing the viewers. Everytime, that Bill has to do something with the lower class, he solves the problem with money, or his doctor's badge. The movie is a great commentary on corruption and modern New York, lust, love and of course, the secrets that the lower class never should find out, the dark side of the elite, the rotten morals, and the power they possess.

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This is the theme song of Stanley Kubricks' "Eyes Wide Shut"

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"Sideways"

The movie works because the characters work. The story itself is not that interesting, what is interesting though, is the way the characters react to certain situations and to each-other. The constant fights they get into, the problems they cause, the lies they tell. The good times... The bad times...  And soon you'll realize, that this movie is life.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375063/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 IMDb Page. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS9ocP6FNvM Trailer.

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"Le Voyage Dans la Lune"

Like all the movies of Georges Méliés, it is just to show off the possibilities of special effects, while creating a short narrative story. There's not much I can say about it, than check it out, if You haven't already. It runs for only 10 minutes, and gives you an idea of the people's mindset in the early 20th century about space travel and other worldly creatiures. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JDaOOw0MEE

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"The Seventh Seal"

Antonius Block (played by Max Von Sydow) is a crusader, who has returned from years of war. While resting by the seaside with his squire Jöns (played by Gunnar Björnstrand) he is visited by the angel of death. That is, because black pleague is ravaging the land. Not eager to leave, he challanges death to a honourable game of chess over his life. This game goes on until the very end of the movie. This is a world, in which hope, and hopefulness is in constant battle. As the movie continues, we are introduced to our second cast of main characters, jugglers, or jesters, if You will. They represent the hope, that is left in this world, with their young baby boy, named Mikael. The love, between Jof (played by Nils Poppe) and Mia (played by Bibi Andersson), is something, that cheers you up from the darkness of previous images. Antonius goes to visit a church, with his squire, the reason being, that he does not believe in god because god never shows himself, he never reaches his hand out. Through the iron bars, we can see a hooded figure, who listens to the knight's confession. "I want to confess as honestly, as I can, but my heart is empty. And the emptiness is a mirror... turned toward my own face. I see myself in it, and it fills me with loathing and horror. My indifference to my fellow men has cut me off from their company. I live now in a world of phantoms. Aprisoner of my own dreams." "-Yet you don't want to die." "-Yes, I do." "What are you waiting for?" "I want to know..." "You want a guarantee." "Call it what you will. Must it be so cruelly inconceivable, to know God from one's senses? Why must he hide in a fog of half-spoken promises and unseen miracles? How can we believe the believers when we don't believe ourselves? What will become of us, who want ot believe, but cannot? And what of those, who neither will, nor can believe? Why can I not kill off this God within me? Why must he live inside me in this painful, humilitaing way, when I want to tear him out of my heart? Why does he remain a mocking reality that I cannot shake off? You hear me?" "-I hear you." "I want knowledge! No faith, or conjecture, but knowledge. I want God to reach out his hand, show his face, speak to me." "But he is silent." "I cry to him in the darkness, but sometimes it feels, like no one is there." "Perhaps no one is there." "Then life is just senseless horror. No man can live facing death, knowing that everything is nothingness." "Most people give no thought to death or nothingness." "One day they'll stand on the far edge of life, peering into the darkness. "Ah, that day." "I understand, what you mean. We carve an idol out of our fear and call it God." "You're upset." "Death visited me this morning. We're playing chess together. This reprieve will enable me, to attent to an urgent matter." "What kind of matter?" "My whole life has been nothing, but futile wanderings and pursuits, a great deal of talk without meaning. It's all been in vain. I say that without bitterness, or self-reproach, knowing, that most men's lives are the same. But I want to use my reprive for one meaningful act." "So that's why you're playing chess with death." "He's a skillful strategist, but I haven't lost a single piece yet." "How will you outwit him?" "Through a combination of bishop and knight, that he hasn't caught on to yet. With my next move I'll charge his flank." "I'll remember that." Says the hooded figure, who reveals himself no other, than death. This gives you a taste, of what's the dialogue like in this movie. After that we are shown bits from the lovable jesters, who perform a song, which gets cut off, because the sinners enter the village. This is one of the most powerful moments in the movie, when the sinners come through the gate, carrying large heavy crosses, limping, and whipping themselves. It really shows the way, how hope and hopefulness is in constant battle, and it seems, that hopefulness is beginning to win. The image of bloody, dusty beaten up people some in monk robes, some bare chested kneeling in dirt in the middle of a village, leaves such a powerful impression... After that Jof goes to the inn, where he gets into a fight, but doesn't fight back, and starts dancing on the table, as the other men laugh over him. He is then saved by Antonius's squire Jöns. While all of that happens, we see the portrayal of hope. The little family of jesters. When Antonius is talking to the wife of Jof. Talking about their son. And Jof returns after the incident in the inn, you can see the love and hope. Antonius offers the jesters, to transport them through the woods to his castle, and they accept. While going through the woods, they meet with a group of warriors, who are transporting a witch to be burned, when Antonius sees this, and watches into her eyes, he realizes, that all, the looking for God, pursuit for happiness, was nothing, as he sees emptiness. "Emptiness in the moonlight" As says Jöns. When they continue their journey, they set up a camp, and the chess game continues, but Jof sees it, and escapes from the devilish visions. Antonius, of course loses to death in his chesss game, but death does not take him instantly, and says: "I'm glad, when next we meet, you and you compansions' time will be up." During the game of chess, Antonius knocks over the pieces, but death knows where all the pieces were, and where they should be. Throughout the course of the chess game, Antonius asks so many questions, yet gets so few answers, about God, or life after death, about the devil or hell. This shows, that death does not know, and is only a mystery for the mortal soul to discover.

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