#alejandro moreno

[joezy27]

HAWKEYE - Kate Bishop & Zombie Clint Barton

Marvel Zombies / Marvel What If... Zombies ?! Concept art by Alejandro Moreno

[visdevart]

Character designs for Marvel Zombies by Alejandro Moreno

[starfangssecrets]

I…may have gone overboard. It was just supposed to be the three of them and turned into this XD

This is for my story A Taste of Wolfsbane.

[moviesframes]

Ema (2019)

Directed by Pablo Larraín

Cinematography by Sergio Armstrong

[gregor-samsung]

Ema (Pablo Larraín - 2019)

[pigballoon]

Ema

(Pablo Larrain, 2019)

There is one thing that you can certainly say about Pablo Larrain’s return to the directors chair, 3 years after his 2016 double header of Neruda and Jackie, and that is that this is... Not normal.

If you were to read the most basic plot synopsis of Ema, its directors 8th feature, penned by his Neruda scribe Guillermo Calderon in collaboration with Alejandro Moreno, it probably wouldn’t sound like much. That is, of course, on its own no bad thing. It certainly puts it almost immediately for me a realm up from his weakest effort to date, The Club, a most on the nose and prosaic affair. Ema for sure gets credit for never lecturing its audience the way that movie did, instead weaving its points into the fabric of the story, into the foibles and turmoils of its characters brought wonderfully to life by the assembled rogues gallery.

And what is it that they bring to life? A tale of initially ordinary appearance, of seemingly everyday struggle embodied triumphantly, internally in the pained, longing, tortured turns of Gael Garcia Bernal in his third Larrain collaboration, and in the titular role Mariana Di Girolamo, in what if there is any justice will be a star making turn. She is every bit her more experienced co-stars match, quietly going about the business of mapping this characters epic internal odyssey without barely a raised voice. Smaller but no less effective turns too from Santiago Cabrera, Paola Giannini, and Catalina Saavedra. 

This tale then has a... Twist in its tail, and as it goes along it transforms itself from this at first glance pretty tragic relationship drama, into some sort of strange black comedy, interspersed throughout its runtime by reggaeton dance sequences. It can take you aback at first, when revelations punch you in the face in one scene after another at journeys end, but as outlandish as it is I feel like it’s a pretty wonderfully honest take on the power of unity, of community, it has a vibrant, youth aimed edge to the whole thing, embodied not just through the heavy emphasis on reggaeton, but by the refreshing takes on sexuality. 

The whole thing, odd as it seems to hear described, comes together pretty tremendously in Larrain’s hands. Gone are the quirks of Jackie and Neruda, and somehow here the magical balancing act of taking these disparate elements (hard bitten central relationship, numerous seemingly casual dalliances, nuovo dance stylings expressing the desires and the energy of the self, and straight up screwball comedy), and delivering it all with a straight face that gives it a true to life feel even the neorealists might be proud of. I wouldn’t say I truly loved it, I feel like there was too much going on to really give it all a fair shot on one go round, but it’s a hell of an admirable effort, and further proof of its creators greatness.

[genevieveetguy]

Ema, Pablo Larraín (2019)

[slantears]

Salora: The Rogue Elf with some alcohol issues. by Alejandro Moreno