Fargo: An Unlikely Tale in an Unlikely Place

    Joel and Ethan Coen are a Mid-Western bred couple of brothers who went from rags to riches and are now a duo of some of the best directors in Hollywood. They're filmography is a long list of many critically acclaimed films such as No Country For Old Men, The Big Lebowski, True Grit, and Burn After Reading. In 1996, they made the cult hit that no one would have ever expected to become so big, and that film is Fargo. The film's title comes from the setting of the film which is Fargo, North Dakota. The idea that this film takes place in the unknown town of Fargo, ND is what makes it so great, because this film puts together many unlikely things and makes for an interesting mix of genres.
    The characters in the film are a rag-tag group of unlikely people who all just happen to always end up in the wrong place at the wrong time and get all of their plans horribly screwed up. The film's plot follows a police investigation of a murder and the lead cop in the investigation is a pregnant housewife looking police sergeant. Not only that but the criminals that pull off all of the crimes including multiple cases of homicide are two bozos who really aren't the brightest bulbs. Not only are the characters very unlikely for the plot of the film but another part of the film that's so interesting is the juxtaposition between the soft, vast and snow-capped landscape and the horrific crimes that are being committed there. It really makes the audience wonder, how can such people get away with these horrible things when there is seemingly nowhere to hide as everything in Fargo is a snow-covered plain.
    The Coen brothers films never cease to amaze and they have been working together since the end of the 20th century. Fargo may be one of the earlier and less recognized films in their career but to me it's the perfect blend of smart humour and graphic violence, two things that really draw your attention, especially when done with a backdrop of North Dakota. This film's mix of categories and film elements creates for a super-movie that knows exactly what to do in order to draw in an audience.

John Wick

      Keanu Reeves is an actor who's had a very interesting career with many ups and downs. He donned the famous name of "Neo" in the Matrix series as well as playing the exorcist in the film Constantine but as much he's been successful in his career, he's been very unsuccessful. As his career seemed to be in a large drought, in 2014 a film was released titled John Wick that stars Keanu Reeves as a cold blooded assassin who is dragged back into the business after his ex-colleagues rob him of his car and kill his dog in cold blood. This is a hard revenge story of a man who left the contract killing business in order to lead a normal life with his wife but when she dies and everything else is taken from him, John WIck has no choice but to get back into the game and right his wrongs.

     The all star cast of this film consists of not only Keanu Reeves but also Willem Dafoe, Ian McShane, Michael Nyqvist and Alfie Allen. The chemistry between the director Chad Stahelski and the cinematographer Dan Laustsen makes for a gorgeous and visually stunning film that is a breath of fresh air for not only all films, but specifically the action genre. The pallet of the filter used over the film consists of many shades of blue that allow for a cool feel throughout the entire film that sets a nice eerie atmosphere and creates a stunning aesthetic. Jonathan Eusebio is the film's fight choreographer who has worked on choreography for other films such as The Avengers, The Expendables trilogy, 300 and The Bourne Ultimatum and his work is absolutely mind-boggling. John Wick is one of the most realistic and throttling action movies modern cinema has ever seen. Not only does John Wick break the action movie trope of "infinite ammo" but it also a fan or accurate shooting and that comes from Keanu Reeves extensive shooting and combat training for the film. John Wick is a film that changes the way we look at action movies forever and gives us hope for the rest of the R-rated action flicks to come!

Interstellar: A Journey Through the Galaxy

    Throughout his filmography, Christopher Nolan has had a track record of extremely prestigious films that are recognized commonly for not only being very well shot, but extremely unique and thought provoking in the plot and script. Nolan's most recent film, Interstellar, is an intergalactic sci-fi drama that focuses on the end of mankind's time on earth and the race through the galaxy to find a way to help save the earth. Interstellar stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, John Lithgow, and Michael Caine. This film really showed just how amazing of an actor Mathew McConaughey is and was a gateway to display his legitimate acting chops and revive his career as a critically acclaimed actor.

    The entire plot of Interstellar revolves around a small team of scientists who must embark on a journey that could either save the world or leave it for doom if they don't complete their task on time. In the world of Interstellar, the earth is currently infertile and cannot grow crops or natural goods. Our star Matthew McConaughey is an ex scientist turned farmer who lives a quiet life with his family and after the world goes into turmoil, he must go back into his field of study in order to help save the world in a race against time.
     While most of Christopher Nolan's films are highly praised both critically and with fans, they are all recognized to be extremely complex and introduce ideas to people that are completely foreign and difficult to understand. Interstellar is widely recognized as Nolan's most complex and beautiful film yet. The film centers multi-dimensional travel, black holes, and space/time travel that all goes together into one scientific journey that makes you sit on the edge of your seat and scratch your head the entire time. Interstellar is a beautifully shot film that not only keeps you entertained but keeps you educated on modern scientific theories and beliefs that enrich your mind and provide you with an emotional journey through time and space.

The Incredibles: An Incredible Film

     Ever since the late 1990s when CGI became increasingly popular among films, Pixar has always been the dominant studio churning out quality animated films for all ages. Such a filmography includes the award winning Toy Story series, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, and one of the more recent films, The Incredibles. The Incredibles tells the tale of an ex superhero turned paper-pusher nine to five worker who rekindles his relationship with fighting crime and takes up his mantle again defending the world from danger.
     Along the plot line of the film, Mr. Bob Incredible gets fired from his normal job and goes back to his old ways of being a superhero in order to fight this mid-life crisis of his and fill the rut that was empty ever since he stopped. During that time, he is hiding all of this from his ex-superhero wife and children because he doesn't want them to be put in harm's way. Eventually, the entire family finds out and suits up because of course, when two superheros mate, they're obviously going to create super-children. This creates an interesting family dynamic that allows the Incredibles to work together as one big super-team.
    One of the most intriguing and redeeming qualities of this film so the fact that it's marketed toward children as an animated movie, but it appeals to adults as well. The humor is surprisingly mature and the script is incredibly well written so all of that leads to an enjoyable time for the entire family. With The Incredibles, Disney and Pixar prove once again that they know how to make excellent and appropriate films for the entire family to enjoy. Not only is The Incredibles the archetype for animated films, but it is also a great example of a superhero film and could be seen as an inspiration for the many comic book adaptations that are coming out currently. The Incredibles is a film that everyone can enjoy and I can not recommend it enough.

Children of Men

    In the year 2006, prestigious director Alfonso Cuarón created a sci fi film that quickly fell under the radar and doesn't get the attention it deserves. Children of Men is an action/sci fi movie that features Clive Owen, Michael Caine, Julianne Moore and Academy award nominated actor Chiwetel Ejiofor. The film is set in the year 2027, and every women on earth has become infertile, and when a woman miraculously gets pregnant, a mysterious former activist must transport the woman to a safe haven for her and her baby. All whilst this is happening, everyone in the world is out to get each other and soon different groups of people are on the hunt to stop the main characters and capture the baby. This film not only tells an action packed tale of a dystopian society, but makes larger comments on social and political issues that are paralleled in the real world.
    From the very beginning of the film, the audience is introduced into a poverty stricken world that has run rampant with illegal immigrants who are treated ruthlessly and literally locked up in cages when caught. The film's main setting, Britain, is a bleak and unforgiving world that is filled with the sight of trash bags on every sidewalk and random bombings being a regular occurrence. What this film does is capture the feel of modern society and it's issues and what those issues could develop into in only another decade. The most prominent social issues Cuarón comments on in this film is the rapid movement of illegal immigrants, terroristic groups attempting to overthrow government and the climate change of the planet. In the United States in 2006, the same year the film came out, Latino protests in America was at an all time high and resulted in many new immigration laws and regulations. Other than the major increase in immigrants, there are several acts of terrorism that reflect the terroristic that occurred in 2006. During that year alone, terrorist attacks increased 25% globally and particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan where there was over 20,000 deaths, nearly two-thirds of Iraq's population. The film's grey and gloomy Britain sets a backdrop of fossil fuel emissions that give the audience a sense of dread and leaves a somber feeling whenever the characters are out in nature. What this film did was use a generic sci fi set up as a cover for something that goes much deeper than surface information.
      The best part about this film is the overarching theme that this new-born and it's mother are almost God-like figures. It can be seen that because this baby was the miracle that was exactly what the world needed, and how it's a mystery that the mother even got pregnant in the first place, that the mother can be seen as someone very reminiscent of Mary the Mother of God and the baby is the messiah Jesus. This movie truly does both a great job making a science fiction thriller as well as a larger social commentary that plays on all real world issues corresponding with modern times. Children of Men is the hidden gem of the past decade of sci-fi films and truly displays the acting and directing chops by those who don't get enough attention. I truly hope this film gets the praise it deserves and gets recognized worldwide for it's true beauty.

 

Free at Last

    For many years, director Quentin Tarantino has been perfecting his film style and continues to prove that he is one of the most visually and literary unique directors in Hollywood. Tarantino's filmography is a well spaced out list of films that I believe are all equal in quality and none of which don't show true passion or laziness from the director. In 2012, Tarantino released Django Unchained, starring Jamie Foxx as the main character, who is a freed slave turned bounty hunter on the hunt to free his lost slave wife. Not only is this film one of his most critically acclaimed, but it is one of my personal favorites of his.

    Django Unchained tells the tale of a slave who is bought freedom by a white bounty hunter, played by Christoph Waltz, in order to assist the man find a slave trader that he must hunt down and complete a bounty on. The rest of the star studded cast consists of Samuel L. Jackson, a regular in Tarantino films, Kerry Washington, and Leonardo DiCaprio who all pour their heart and soul into their characters. The plot is extremely interesting because the deal between Django and the German bounty hunter, Dr. Schultz, almost seems to good because not only can Django help the Doctor find his bounty, but the man their hunting happens to be one of the most ruthless slave owners in Mississippi and one of his main house slaves is Django's long lost wife, played by Kerry Washington. From the minute the duo is seen on screen together, there is a chemistry that is made present that goes against the norm of the time but just feels right. 

    At the beginning of the film, Django is a cold, malnourished and and uncleanly slave, who doesn't even have the ability or confidence to talk clearly, but by the end of the movie, he is a well spoken, talented and confident hero. The transition made between a slave walking through the woods with literally no clothes on his back to a successful bounty hunter shows change that the audience roots for the whole time. In most films dealing with times of slavery, the tone of the film focuses more on the hardships of a slave and never shows a side of the slaves winning, but that is the complete opposite of this film. Django Unchained shows a slave being freed and standing back up against his captors and prevailing at the end of the day. Tarantino shows an interesting point of view on slavery that we normally wouldn't see in modern American cinema. 

     I guess what my favorite part about Tarantino's films are that they take a specific time period/event in history, and put a twist on it to capture the audience's attention. An interesting fact about this movie is that during filming, in a scene where DiCaprio's character is having a meltdown on Django at his home, during filming he slammed his hand down on the dinner table and genuinely did get a deep gash on his hand but continued to perform the scene in order to achieve true authenticity, which in my mind is one of the most dedicated and truly dramatic things to do in recent films. For someone to truly hurt themselves and bleed profusely but continue to stay in character really shows passion and diligence in his work which I believe made the scene better than it could have ever been. 

     Overall, Django Unchained not only shows the true hardships slaves had to experience through extremely graphic scenes but also pays off because it over all shows the triumph of slaves and has an uplifting positive message in the end of the underdog over coming his goal. This is one of all time favorite films and believe it holds true educational value for America's history. 

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

    Coming from my local high school, Jack Nicholson is an extraordinary actor who got his big break in the 1970s with films such as The Shining and Chinatown, but I believe he really showed his range and passion for the art of acting in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. This film premiered on the big screen in 1975 and is one of Nicholson's most highly regarded and praised movies in his filmography. The plot of this movie centers around a man, Nicholson, who is admitted into a mental institution and from the moment he walks in, wrecks havoc among the residents and medical staff. The film's cast features Louise Fletcher as the infamous Nurse Ratched, Dean R. Brooks as the head Doctor Spivey, and an ensemble cast of patients including longtime hometown friend of Nicholson, Danny DeVito as Martini. It was interesting to see Danny DeVito looking so much younger as this was only his fourth movie and the difference between his looks and acting skills has changed so much. After viewing this film after most of Nicholson's newer movies, it's very interesting to see how far his skills as an actor have come but still how well they held up in the 70s. 

    In the duration of this film, there is no real "plot", but there is a series of schemes that Nicholson pulls off in order to defy the totalitarian staff that consists of nurses and help with sinister intentions as well as doctors and scientists that are extremely tractable and seem to bow down to the head nurse who always seems to get her way. As the film progresses, it is very evident that the plot holds much more than Nicholson shaking up the norm at the institution. Nicholson's character, McMurphy, single handedly changes the lives of all of the patients in the hospital with his antics that go much deeper for everyone there. From the moment McMurphy walks through the front door, it can be seen that he isn't insane, but merely put in the institution because he's been to jail before and the people around him are starting to think he's going crazy. The men that live inside the hospital haven't seen the outside world in a while and when McMurphy comes in and interacts and treats them like normal human beings they get very excited. McMurphy tries to understand all of the men in there and find out how to get then to open up to him. What follows in the story is a timeline of antics caused by Nicholson's character that change patients forever. This film really shows the range of Nicholson and was a wonderful blend of several different genres that is worthy of several more viewings.