Category: Uncategorized

David Fincher is on of the best directors working today and in my opinion of all time. If I was going to call anyone the new Hitchcock it would be him. What Hitchcock had in the late 50’s and early 60s is what Fincher has today. Amy Dunne from Gone Girl which is in my opinion Fincher’s masterpiece, is the modern day Norman Bates. And the scene where she murders Neil Patrick Harris on the bed during sex is the new Psycho shower scene. And he has had directing some truly horrific pieces of suspense, And somwhere at the top is the basement scene from 2007’s Zodiac. Zodiac is my 2nd favorite of Fincher’s work and he has done some of his best work in that film. Zodiac details the period from the late 60s to the early 70s California as the fear of the Zodiac Killer produced mass hysteria as the journalists and the cops of the city’s work work hard to uncover his identity. The most suspenseful scene starts with Robert (A cartoonist played by Jake Gyllenhaal, Who is still investigating the Zodiac killer when everyone else has given up). He meets with the friend of a potential suspect and brings up signs he assumed the suspect had written. He’s telling him he thinks the friend is the Zodiac but the man keeps turning him down, And when he brings up that the poster’s writing matches the Zodiacs this evidence is substantial and then he reveals it. He was the one who wrote it. The tone changes. Robert and the audience realize theres a chance, No matter how small. He could be a killer and not only that, the killer we’ve followed the entire movie. He then invites Robert into the basement, A classic horror trope redone to great effect and Robert goes down there. From there, We see one of Fincher’s most suspenseful scene’s. Robert might be in a basement with a killer and the suspense escalates. The man starts getting creepier. Floorboards creak and there might he someone else in the house. And Robert flees as soon as he can. But the door is locked, The suspense builds and peaks when we see the man in the mirror approaching Robert. Its terrifying. He lets Robert out and we start to relax again. Whats so amazing is that there’s even the smallest chance that this guy is the killer, The scene is terrifying. That scene shows the pure, haunting and relentless directing of David Fincher that will go down in the history of cinema.

First Reformed is one of the greatest modern works of cinema, And not just because of how great it is but what it represents. It answers the question for the new Taxi Driver. When thinking what would the new Taxi Driver be, The obvious answer is something like You Were Never Really Here, And don’t get me wrong. I like You Were Never Really Here. But thats essentially the next Taxi Driver as in the story of the psychotic loner who has to rescue the innocent girl in prostitution/trafficking. But when asking what the next Taxi Driver is its asking what will the next story of the loner be. The old tale of the loner who struggles with his world that he doesn’t understand has been around a long time. Going back as early as 1864 to Notes of Underground, The story continued and reached its epitome Taxi Driver. And when people were wondering when the next tale of the loner that would reach that level again it was finally answered with First Reformed. And who else to resurrect the tale then Paul Schrader, The writer of Taxi Driver and Writer/Director of First Reformed. He updates it going from the psychotic midwesterner army vet who becomes unhinged in New York to the story of the Preacher struggling with the modern world and getting close to going to extreme lengths to change things. First Reformed is one of the best modern films and works of contempary art in the 21st century, And the resurrection of the old tale of the loner. Amazing film.

So first, I want to clarify. I like 1917. It is a good movie,The one shot aspect is really impressive and George McKay’s performance is nothing less than fantastic. But, While I think 1917 is a good movie, Dunkirk is a masterpiece. And Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece. While I do admire that 1917 made you see what it was like in the war and made you feel like what you would have seen in the trenches and no mans land, Dunkirk made you feel how truly terrifying it was to be on the beaches, the water and in the air. Specifically by using the tension the soundtrack creates as the clock ticks and the loud sounds of bomb reign in. The soldiers, sailors and pilots were all terrified and it makes the audience feel that way. And one of the reasons it’s my favorite Nolan movie is that he manages to communicate his complex genius in a smaller setting. As impressive as it is than he uses the complex ideas and use of time in the vein of a sci fi film. It’s more acceptable and works better to use the complex time and rules in a sci fi film in bigger ways (One of the many reasons I’m excited for Tenet). But the fact he managed to pull off his complex structure and trademark genius is amazing and one of the reasons he’s one of the best directors keeping cinema alive today. Part of the reason I rewatched it is I’m gonna watch my favorites of his every so often in preparation for Tenet. And I do understand that the characters don’t have names or much characteristics is that they’re not supposed to. You’re not supposed to now exactly who they are but they represent the soldiers and sailor and pilots who all worked together that fateful day to rescues the soldiers. This is where Nolan showed his power as a filmmaker and in my opinion where he got to the level of some of the greats.

Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange is my favorite movie of his. Kubrick is a genius and one of the greatest directors of all time. It is one of the greatest character study’s of a psychopath in the history of cinema. And Alex is a horrifying character. What is so fascinating about his character is that Kubrick seems to be suggesting it is the society that has crafted this glamorous psychopath. The way Kubrick elongates the frame and other characters seem to be strange and Alex is normal. Its trying to show that outer forces influences this. Another example in how the world forged him was the first half. He is on top, He is the predator. A ruthless terrifying serial rapist and killer. And he is terrifying to the audience, other people even his own gang he lashes out on when they question his authority. Then in the second half after the treatment. Alex is on the bottom of the food chain, He is no longer the predator in the society he is the prey. He is completely defenseless and is attacked by the same society he once took advantage of. In a way Alex is paying for the horrors he committed in the first half. The homeless man gets revenge, his former droog’s attack him and with no where left to go. He goes to the house of the women he raped and murdered seeking safety to be met by the husband he attacked. The husband takes longer to recognize who he was and when he does, Alex faces true horror. Much to Alex’s hate they programmed him to get sick to Beethoven and they blare it to torture him. And Alex tries to commit suicide. Then he was at the hospital. And Alex has changed again, The Government to save themselves have put away the writer so he can’t say anything. It is clear that the government was doing some shady stuff by hiring to former criminals and continuing the harsh society Alex was created by. But somehow, The glamorous psychopath is back. Who knows how, Maybe the fall on his head, Maybe the government tinkered with his head so there would be no evidence of the treatment. As Alex say’s in his final line, He was cured. Cured of the treatment. Alex the psychopath is back, And who knows what he will do next. I’m aware of the alternate ending in the book but this ending just fits it so much better. Kubrick gets a lot of crap for changing other books but for this, He made the right choice.

Martin Scorsese is the greatest filmmaker of all time. His shots that not only immersed people in the world of the film but gave you the perspective of the characters, However unlikable or horrible the character is. Goodfellas was the return to the kind of crime film he did in the 70s, most notably Mean Streets. But this was new territory for him. Now he was going to adapt True Crime and turn that into a fucking great crime movie. And it was. But while it tells the story of Henry Hill’s life, It doesn’t for shit feel like some shitty biopic just out to get some Oscars for the actors, No it’s an amazing crime film with fantastic characters who just happen to be real. This film had a giant impact on myself. I had watched Baby Driver and Get Out and from there I knew I wanted to do something with movies. And as soon as I saw this film I knew I needed to be a Director. It wasn’t like some shit like hey I like movies and can make a lot of movies I guess I’ll direct, No it was a need, a calling that I knew I had to do that shit. Part of the reason this film is so amazing is that its pure fucking cinematic. The art of filmmaking is just so pure here. Part of that is the narration. Now as a kid you were told while telling stories, show not tell. but in a medium like Film, While you can pull telling off fuck it, Do it. And the use of freeze frame for having Henry telling the story just shows that there’s someone behind that camera. When I was young. You only see the actors on the surface, And that’s what you think the film is, But then you learn there’s a lot going on behind that camera, And this film is the perfect film to show that. It just has such and in your face style that shows a great Director, And in this case The Greatest Director. Scorsese’s movies have always been a giant source of inspiration for me and have received a lot of my love. Taxi Driver is my favorite film of all time. Mean Streets got me into the idea of acting with De Niro’s performance. Even his first movie Whos That Knocking at My Door which he wrote and made right out of film school is a giant piece of inspiration for me. And Goodfellas is one of the biggest since it made me know I had to be a Director. And the structure of this film is one of my most interesting things too. It’s a two act film, The first half shows all the traits of the characters and what they are all capable of and the second half delivers on that. I’ve even used that in screenplays to help me out and I’m really proud of that. Scorsese even uses music to help the structure flow and show Henry’s attitude towards crime. The first half he loves it, He romanticizes it. So it plays 50s love songs. Think of the long tracking shot through the copacabana restaurant. It’s showing Henry’s powers and how much he loves that life. Even the airport robbery scene. They just walk in and out and this old love song is playing. Then he starts liking the life less and less and seeing more and more of it. He no longer romanticises it he more fantasizes it so he can still do it. Think of the scene where they beat up Billy Batts and drag him to their car, Scorsese is playing Atlantis, A fantasy song. Then Henry goes to jail and after that all hell breaks loose with the introduction of Cocaine. Life spirals out of control and they start playing Classic rock. Sunshine of Your Love, Gimme Shelter (A Scorsese Regular) along with many other songs. The performances are all great. The plot is amazing and no matter how horrible what is going on on screen the filmmaking is so pure and beautiful. What a great fucking movie.

1:Dunkirk

2:Memento

3:The Dark Knight

4:The Prestige

5:Interstellar

6:Batman Begins

7:Inception

8:Following

9:Insomnia

10:The Dark Knight Rises

1:There Will Be Blood

2:Boogie Nights

3:The Master

4:Punch Drunk Love

5:Phantom Thread

6:Magnolia

7:Hard Eight

8:Inherent Vice

1:The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2:Once Upon a Time in The West

3:For a Few Dollars More

4:Once Upon a Time in America

5:A Fistful of Dollars

1:Gone Girl

2:Fight Club

3:Zodiac

4:Seven

5:Panic Room

6:The Social Network

7:The Game

8:The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo

9:The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Gone Girl is David Fincher’s masterpiece. His thrillers have always been my favorite. And he is truly a brilliant director. The film was amazing. How Fincher set it up is amazing. The first half and even the trailers set up Nick as a villain. If you showed someone the trailer without context they would say what the hell, Its obviously Nick, Thats so fucking obvious. Then the middle approaches and you see Amy driving away and she says, I am so happy to be dead. The viewer is like wait, What? Then she delivers the iconic cool girl monologue and we meet her for who she truly is as a person. And performance wise Ben Affleck is great. Probably his best performance in film, But Rosamund Pike as Amy is masterful. Amy Dunne is one of the greatest thriller villains of ALL TIME. What’s so amazing about her character is that Amy has been a character since she was a child. As a child she was the perfect child. The prodigy, “Amazing Amy”. That’s who she was in her parents books. So as a child to be perfect she created the identity of the golden, honor student. Then she grew up and became an adult, And she changed her character for adult life. And what’s one of the biggest staples of adult life? Dating. So she became “The Cool Girl”. The chill wife. She creates herself into a character to get ahead in life which was what Amazing Amy was and that’s what Amy Dunne, The cool girl was.  The viewer doesn’t even meet the true and psychopathic Amy Dunne until the middle when she delivers the iconic cool girl monologue. Then by the middle Nick manages to figure out what’s going on. And he realizes how crazy she was and he figures out he needs to play a character too to beat her in her own game. Fight fire with fire. He goes on the news. Is honest about the cheating and appears sympathetic. He is starting to get ahead and then enrages Amy. What’s going on with Amy at that point is she is playing the sympathetic character to her ex boyfriend. And she sees Nick trying to beat her at his own game. She planted all the evidence to make him seem like a psycho killer but no, He’s starting to look sympathetic. So she’s gonna look sympathetic too. But first. There’s something she has to do, Frame The ex boyfriend. This is the moment that shows her true self. The guy comes back to his house where Amy is staying. She invites him up to her bedroom and they start to have sex. What follows is one of the greatest moments in this film. Amy takes a knife and slashes his throat. Blood goes everywhere, lights flickering and intense music scored excellent by Trent Razor and Atticus Ross. She murders him and makes it brutal. Then she returns and claims she was raped by the man. Nick see’s through the bullshit though and they are stuck together. She plays the sympathetic role now and Nick is stuck with her. He is planning to leave her. Then he discovers she is pregnant. She stole his sperm from a clinic and is now pregnant. Nick is stuck now. He wants to leave her. He hates her, But he wants to protect his child. There is an interesting moment of dialogue between Nick and his Sister. She tries to tell him he could divorce her and try to get custody, But that won’t work. Nick says and she will win. They both know it. That’s her evil genius. And they are stuck together. This movie is Fincher’s masterpiece. Everything he is capable of and shows his pure genius. I love this film, And cannot say enough good things about it.