CineSight

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If Beale Street Could Talk: Barry Jenkins Deftly Transfers James Baldwin’s Work into Film

This week we discuss director Barry Jenkins' follow-up to his Best Picture-winning film Moonlight. Sam, Adrien, and Juan get together to swoon over the beauty that is If Beale Street Could Talk. Jenkins returns with composer Nicholas Britell and greets an excellent ensemble cast in this adaptation of the eponymous James Baldwin novel.

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Check out our review of Roma right here and let us know your thoughts in the comments below! #Roma #Netflix #cinesight https://www.instagram.com/p/BrhoQTUgwXm/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=12n1qnmq7h1p

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Roma: A Love Letter to the Strength of Women

Welcome everyone! We start the week by discussing Alfonso Cuarón’s portrait of Cleo, the family maid of a family in Mexico City in the early 1970s. We discuss the the vision Cuarón was aiming for and the representation of racial division in Mexico. Join us in the discussion and let us know what you thought of the film. Do you think it’s one of the best of the year or an over hyped Oscar snooze? Let us know in the comments below!

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Check out our review of @greenbookmovie right here and let us know your thoughts in the comments below. #GreenBook #cinesight https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/cinesight/id1253800646?mt=2&i=1000425763542 https://www.instagram.com/p/BrYI3MRgycx/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=175wn0w06sdb5

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Green Book: A Feel Good Story from a Divisive Time

This week we get ready for the Holiday season and the Oscar season as we discuss Green Book starring Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen. Set in the 60s, an Italian nightclub bouncer, Tony the Lip (Viggo Mortensen), is hired to escort classical pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a tour into the deep South. Little did they realize that it would be the start to a lifelong friendship. Check out our discussion right here and let us know your thoughts!

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No Time to Grieve: Our Review of Widows

Steve McQueen’s 4th film has an incredible ensemble cast spearheaded by Viola Davis. She, Michelle Rodriguez, and Elizabeth Debicki are widows of criminals that left them a debt owed to corrupt men out for control of Chicago. Let us know what your thoughts were in the comments below!

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Re-imagining the Horror of Suspiria

(Spoilers)

1977 Berlin is the returned setting of the original Suspiria made by Dario Argento. This time it’s a much less colorful palette and instead it is swapped for disturbing imagery inter-cut as nightmare sequences. Luca Guadagnino’s version of Suspiria attempts to look for a much deeper meaning than the original. Rather than going for sheer evil witchcraft, it attempts to make commentary socio-political culture surrounding Germany at the time dealing mostly with the metaphor of Holocaust deniers. Tilda Swinton takes on two roles in this film as both Madame Blanc, the head of the dance academy, and Dr. Josef Klemperer. Klemperer’s character, upon first glance, may come off as slightly unnecessary - but he essentially drives home the narrative of Holocaust deniers being confronted with the horrors of that which they are denying. The effectiveness is something that I’ve yet to decide on whether or not I enjoy but I can understand and appreciate it for what it is trying to do. Dakota Johnson stars in her third film this year, the other two being Fifty Shades Freed and Bad Times at the El Royale, as Susie Bannion who is joining the famed dance academy and she always has aura of suspicion to her but you never really find out for sure until the dramatic ending. For everything the film doesn’t quite do right, it manages to do the only thing that I wanted it to do and that’s give me the creeps. The horror of Suspiria comes from the mystery and from the disturbing imagery and haunting music brought to us by Thom Yorke himself. I can say without a doubt that I left my theater feeling very unnerved and very unsettled by the overall tone and atmosphere. My biggest gripe with the film is length which it could’ve been cut much shorter had Luca decided to cut out the Klemperer storyline, but that’s just my opinion. Overall, it’s hard to say that I enjoyed the film and I don’t think that Luca intended the film to be something that gets multiple views to fully experience. There is something to the viewing of a film that scars you in the way that you hope a good horror film does without making you feel completely violated. It’ll be very interesting to see what Luca does as his next film.

Juan’s Grade: 9 Exploding heads out of 10

Adrien’s Grade: 7 Jabba the Hutt Dance Madames out of 10

Sami’s Grade: 8 Perfectly Choreographed Magical Murders out of 10

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Coming Soon to Reivew: Suspiria

There is a darkness looming over a world-renowned dance academy in this remake of Dario Argento’s Suspiria but this time it’s by Luca Guadagnino who brought us (2016) Call Me By Your Name. Check out the trailer and let us know what you think of it and if you were a fan of the original in the comments below!

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First look at what Joaquin Phoenix looks like as The Joker. #TheJoker https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn_46zbHh0G/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1xwnwmbn6kzmg

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The Predator: Upgrade To The Original Or Incoherent Action Movie?

This week the CineSight crew dives into the fourth installment of the Predator film series. We discuss whether this film is a good addition to the series or if it was an unnecessary attempt at a remake. One of us says this is the best Predator film they’ve ever seen, while the others may or may not agree. We discuss the amount of fun that the movie allows the viewer to have and whether or not the crude humor works. Juan also tells us how different the ending could have been. We hope you enjoy!

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Captain Marvel Trailer Revealed!

Check the new trailer for the much anticipated Marvel hero. This film is somehow the connected missing link between the current Infinity War and its sequel coming later next year. There isn’t a whole lot that sticks out or that makes sense to me but that’s fine because I’m sure that it’ll all make sense once we finally get to see it in March 2019. Check out the trailer and let us know what you think in the comments below.

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2001: A Space Odyssey: The 50th Anniversarysode

Stanley Kubrick takes one giant leap for mankind in 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the CineSight crew has a variety of experience with the film, from first watch to double-digit rewatches.

In 1968, the world was on the cusp of the Space Age. Stanley Kubrick released 2001: A Space Odyssey and redefined sci-fi cinema, changing it from a genre populated almost exclusively by B-movies to something with a higher purpose, which we see in movies today like Arrival and Interstellar. Tune in for some stories about how we made first contact with this film, along with some discussion of the plot and the filmmaking techniques used to portray it!

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The Dark Knight: Ten Years of Being Superhero Masterpiece

We're continuing our series on films from 2008 with The Dark Knight, a comic book movie so good that no other film after it in its genre has been able to compete. Heath Ledger's chilling performance is unforgettable and redefined The Joker, the film was an impressive technical achievement because of the number of practical effects, and the writing transformed "comic book characters", usually an epithet meaning shallowly written, into complex people in desperate times. Enjoy!

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In Bruges: The Beginning of Martin McDonagh's Film Career

Did you see Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri last year and want to see more by its writer and director, Martin McDonagh? So did some of the CineSight crew! And some had already seen it...

We praise the way the film treats bizarre characters in extreme circumstances as real people, and the performances of the actors, which are all tremendous.  Join us for this next part in our series of retrospectives from 2008.

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A Review of BlacKKKlansman; Spike Lee Calls For Action in Trumps America

The CineSight crew was in for a treat this week, as we all loved Spike Lee's latest offering: BlacKkKlansman. It somehow balances being an influential movie encouraging anti-racist activism with being stylish and hilarious. A strong script, a true story, and stunning cinematography are the icing on this cake. Enjoy!

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Die Hard at 30 Years Old

The action genre of film is relatively young, drawing inspiration from crime/thrillers, martial arts, suspense and mostly from westerns. Most of it can be traced to “tough guy” cinema  - cowboys wielding guns at High Noon to win the heart of the woman in whichever town they’re drifting through. The real change came with James Bond films and explosions found their way into cinema. Films like Star Wars came out, put butts in seats and we all watched as the genre became the most exciting new thing on the big screen since Gene Kelly in Singin in the Rain. Jump to 1988, and you have a very peculiar action film come out. John McTiernan, riding the success of  1987’s “Predator”, decided he wanted to one-up himself by making an action film that would help shape the genre going forward.

Fresh off his Return of Bruno, Bruce Willis was known as ‘the actor from Moonlighting’ and wasn’t a household name yet. Neither was Alan Rickman, as it was his first film; he came onto the big screen as half of an iconic good guy vs bad guy matchup. In Die Hard, Officer John McClane is dealt some rough cards - he has to spend Christmas in LA, one of the least festive locations to be in during the traditionally chilly holiday. John, a tough New York cop, is visiting his ex-wife and kids and runs into a little bit of trouble along the way. The movie doesn’t waste any time with subplots and character development. Instead, it goes all-in on the idea of a terrorist-led building takeover by Hans Gruber. John is caught up in the middle of saving his ex-wife and twarting these goons, all while everyone else in the city is asleep on Christmas Eve. The simplicity of the movie is really what makes it so incredible. We know who the bad guys are, and we hate them even more once we learn their motivation. We know the good guys once they enter the picture - and we connect with them. Bruce Willis’ John McClane is probably the coolest action character ever created because he exudes the persona of what every action movies fan wants to see. He’s the tough guy with a heart who wants to do right by his family, even considering everything that has jaded him.

Going forward from this film, you can see that there was a shift in terms of how much could be done under the new action umbrella. Bruce Willis was funny without seeming campy and tough without coming off as invincible.You can see fear and intensity in scenes with heavy gunfire and the dread of knowing a character is killed off. It all culminates in a satisfying end that gives the final “shot” to Carl Winslow and shows our hero riding off into the sunset of the Action Hero Hall of Fame. Bravo, Die Hard - you look great 30 years later and surely still will in another 30 years.

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The Oscars Make a Big, Dumb Change

2018 marks the 91st Oscar ceremony, and will end up having the worst category debuting in the history of the Academy. In addition, some long overdue will also be implemented - such as reducing the time to 3 hours by taking out some of the less popular categories. Sorry to all the viewers that are intrigued by who will win the Oscar for Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing categories (congratulations, too, for knowing what the difference is.) The next change is that the Academy is moving up the ceremony to February 9th. This gives voters less time to vote which could be good or bad. Some films need a little bit of time to process, but the voter’s decision is probably made the moment they walk out of the theater anyway. It’ll be interesting to see what kind of change that might elicit from production studios, now that they have a new deadline for their Oscar bait films at the end of the year. If that means that those movies now actually get to come out by the end of the year then I’ll be a happy viewer.

The biggest change is the addition of the “Achievement in Popular Film” award. We don’t really know exactly what that means for sure - but it most likely rewards the movies that already made a boatload of money with an award on top of making all that green. Does this mean that movies that are both good and made a lot of money are going to win an Oscar for that now or does it mean the the movie that makes the most money overall wins an Oscar? Whatever the case may be, it will definitely diminish the chances of a movie like The Dark Knight, Inception, Up, or Black Panther getting nominated for or ever winning Best Picture.

Looking back at a movie like The Dark Knight, you can see that it was for sure the most popular and critically well received movie from that year. If this new category was installed at that time, would the film ever have been nominated for Best Picture? It’s hard to tell because of the term “popular”, what do they mean by that anyway? Surely they aren’t going to give an Oscar to a film that trends the most on Twitter, so how are they going to decide that? Why does it matter if the film was popular or not? If it’s a great film, then it’s a great film. The real trouble with this category is that it makes it seem like a film being popular is somehow deserving of different merits compared to just being the Best Picture. There are so many other categories that could be given an Oscar instead of “Popular” films. They could make a category for Horror, Comedy or Musical. People love genre films and it’s one of the biggest factors into why someone could go to a movie, yet they chose to ignore those films and give no merit to them.  The Academy is strategically doing everything it can to make it seem very outdated. They seem to think that adding the word “popular” in front of a new category will win them first-time viewers. If they want to gain viewership for these tedious ceremonies and win back moviegoers, they must stop doing dumb stuff like this.