MettelRay has started another fun blogathon - this time she is posting a list of emotions and participants can share movie scenes that caused them to have those emotions. Yesterday she posted awkwardness and fear. Instead of giving 3 examples for each, I'll give 5 examples for fear.Though the above definition doesn't include it, fear is also something that one can define as a jolt of adrenaline and the hair on your back standing up. Another way to call it is a desired emotion one should feel during horror films. While we watch those the danger, pain and harm are all in the movie yet somehow we feel fear too. We share it with people on the screen.
Another way of getting you to feel fear are the infamous jump scares. They are cheap tactic, yes, but they always work on me. That's why you will see so many of those below and hopefully you'll see that jump scares, when they are well executed, should not be looked down upon.
5. Halloween
I've only saw this movie 4 days ago but it's the most fresh feeling of fear I experienced. It's when one of the boys runs into the bad guy and we see him grab the boy, with the accompaniment of freaky music in the background.4. Interview with the Vampire
This is a classic jump scare but it worked on me- it's when Lestat begins to turn Louis and suddenly jumps on him with the freaky sound ringing loudly. I did fly across the room on my moving chair during that one.3. Carrie
I remember seeing Carrie when I was a teenager, late at night on TV. I had the volume pretty high up, no reason not too. And then the serene scene where Sue visits Carrie's grave turned into a nightmare - when Carrie's hand grabbed Sue's arm as scary music started playing. Nowadays a final jump scare is considered a cheap move but hell, did this one work.2. Alien
I often compare the scene where we see Michael Fassbender's dick in Shame to that moment - it's literally coming right at you. Kidding aside, this is a scene where the captain is looking for alien to kill it. The rest of the crew is monitoring the movement on the monitor and suddenly they see a second dot. Not only is the tension masterful here but the crew's cries and pleas as unforgiving creature is approaching only add to the intensity of the moment.1. Mulholland Drive
David Lynch is a fascinating guy. He is a great director who has many gifts but one that I always admired the most is that he is the best horror director who doesn't actually make horror films. His films and his TV series Twin Peaks contain some of the craziest, most mind fucking and surrealistically frightening shit I've seen. From Bob silently creeping towards Maddie, through pretty much entire Inland Empire to the creepy pale dude from Lost Highway, Lynch knows how to get inside you head and put nightmares there. And worse yet - the man is a master of building the tension.And example of those abilities is a scene which almost gave me a heart attack. It begins with a man sitting at Winkies diner describing the dream he had to the guy that is sitting with him. He says that in his dream they were talking in that very diner and then they went out back where there was a creature with the scariest face he has ever seen. The other guy convinces him to face his fear and they go out to check the back of the diner. Suddenly that thing on the picture above comes from behind the building and the guy who had a dream falls on the ground, dead from fright.RELATED POSTS:
This week in American Horror Story we got to see witch burning, a good old fashioned chainsaw to zombie's head action and another episode of Spalding's little corpse/starlet slapstick adventure. It was, just as it sounds, really fun.
Later on her daughters talk about how much better it would be if their sadistic mother was dead. LaLaurie overhears that and locks her daughters to endure some torture in her chambers, among her slaves. Back in present day, her daughters, now zombies raised by Marie Laveau are just outside the school.
Before she gets to kill the last zombie the chainsaw dies and Zoe is on her own. Zoe falls, suddenly raises her hand and something happens - the last zombie falls on the ground, dead and Marie Laveau levitation is broken. When her friend asks her what happened Laveau responds that whatever that was there is a real power in the witch house now. Gee, Ryan Murphy. I wonder who the new Supreme is?
Meanwhile in the bar, Fiona hears Cordelia's screams. We get to see Cordelia's acid burnt face. Fiona is mortified. Then she is waiting in hospital. She runs out of pills and wanders the hallways in some sort of nightmare hallucination. She goes into a room with a young woman and her stillborn baby. After a sweet moment of Fiona telling the woman to hold her daughter, Fiona revives the baby.
This whole episode appeared to be revolving around motherhood, more precisely mistakes mothers made when it comes to their daughters. Back in the school, LaLaurie finally gives in and let's her daughter in - not surprisingly pretty soon she attacks her.
The next day Fiona expresses her gratitude towards Zoe for saving the girls. Then the council appears. Myrtle is still pissed off and she tells Fiona she needs to step down as a Supreme. And then Fiona brings her plan in motion - she fills the other two in Council in. Turns out Myrtle has been in New Orleans during the time Madison disappeared. Fiona had Spalding follow her.
Myrtle is sentenced to death by fire. The girls accompany Fiona and then Council's bodyguards have Myrtle tied to a pole, while bitching music plays in the background. Fiona flicks her cigarette and Myrtle burns, to Zoe's horror.
At the same time, at the creepy casa de Spalding, he opens a chest which contains Madison's body. He attempts to take her out, probably for another tea party, but instead he pulls her hand too much and he rips off her arm. His reaction to that was hilarious - I like that Spalding is a cute weirdo and not a full blow perverted psychopath like Threadson in last season.
We still don't know who threw acid at Cordelia's face. I'm still thinking it's Nan, since she is the only one without too many plots going on for her right now. All she has is Luke subplot and she seems to know and be able to do much more than people think.
There is a rumor going around that Hank is a witch hunter. We see Marie hiring a witch hunter in next week's promo - can it be Hank? I find it a bit implausible that immortal Voodoo Queen would need an assistance from anyone, much less a dumbass like Hank. Then again we did just get a scene where a woman was left alone with her stillborn baby in the same room for God knows how long. AHS logic, or lack thereof.
to which tumblr said:
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Based on true story of one man's fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty, as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon's chance meeting with a Canadian abolitionist will forever alter his life.
The problem with 12 Years a Slave is that it's two movies in one. On one hand we have minimalistic approach which is McQueen's trademark - scenes involving just few or two actors, often with very little dialogue. Those are the film's best moments. On the other - we have scenes trying to convey the amount of horrifying injustice happening, epic scale of the issue. These two just don't fit together and they make the film feel disjointed.
McQueen found the right leading man - Ejiofor's talent and grace make his Solomon likable and we root for him to survive and get home. But it is only because of the actor's talent that we feel this way. There are several moments here that match his performance in terms of direction - mainly the camera focusing on Solomon's face as he got rescued - but there is not enough of them. Because of that sense of detachment from Solomon McQueen and Ridley inadvertently created the film that didn't move me as much as it should have.
All those scenes with Giamatti, Dano (just embarrassingly awful), Dillahunt and Alfre Woodard take our focus away from Solomon. Yes, they are connected to his character and his journey, but because of McQueen focusing so much on them and so little on our protagonist in the scenes they share, our focus is away from the emotional core of this film - which technically is Solomon's desire to get home - for way too long.
Unfortunately, those scenes almost get lost in all those attempts to get us to understand the horror of slavery - the killings of slaves, the punishment of Solomon for fighting back against white man, the cold dealings and presenting slaves to potential buyers as if they were objects. It just feels too cold, too detached - it was just that, but it shouldn't leave the one watching it cold and detached. Solomon isn't as well established as, say, Oscar Schindler. It wasn't enough for me to care simply because he is witnessing all of that.
It really didn't feel like McQueen's film to me. Hunger was a study of sacrifice and desperation, Shame - of loneliness and addiction. Both were powerful and affecting. 12 Years a Slave didn't feel like the study of anything - it showed us some of the most shameful time in United States' history but it failed to say anything new or particularly meaningful about it. We all know it was terrible. And the film will never fully reflect the horror of actual events.
Fassbender's performance is masterful but I wish he was given more scenes. His Epps is frightening because he is a drunk and you never know when he will unleash his irrational and savage fury on someone. He is also fascinated with one of the slaves - young girl named Patsey. His interest in her brought to mind the feeling Goeth had for his servant in Schindler's List, but neither Fassbender nor Nyong'o or the scenes given to them came close to the horror, sense of longing and pain depicted by Fiennes and Davitz and their sequences together.
Sadly, come Oscar time, it's not Paulson who will be getting the nomination but Lupita Nyong'o. I'm saying sadly because Paulson deserves some praise. However Nyong'o performance is worthy of accolades for sure. She has the most baity moments in the movie - the role requires her to be scream, cry, depict unimaginable pain. She does all those things and yet still she manages to show so much grace, innocence and dignity in her Patsey. She breaks your heart.
Ejiofor justlike Fassbender isa wonderful actor who delivered great work, but is largely let down by the movie as a whole. I'm sure he will walk out of most ceremonies with Best Actor prize. His talent deserves it, but his performance? No, but it would if only he gave it in a better movie that would value his character more.
Out of the many, many supporting actors only Benedict Cumberbatch is a clear standout as a gentle but ultimately helpless slave owner. His conflicted character was one of the very few memorable ones there. Brad Pitt is doing what he can, but he just feels out of place in the film.
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(I know I'm probably the last one to post it, but in my defense I was making the above graphic)
This week's Coven brought in quite the cinematic episode. It was very focused and almost felt like a separate movie, with few scenes connected to the main story line. We open in 1919 where we meet the Axeman (Danny Huston) - New Orleans's equivalent of the Zodiac killer. The Axeman killed 8 people and wrote to the newspaper that he won't kill anyone who has jazz music playing in their house.
Back in present day Zoe is going through Madison's things, still wondering what happened to her. She accidentally finds Ouija board and some old photographs of girls who attended the school. Zoe gathers Nan and Queenie and tells them it seems the witches numbers are decreasing each year. Zoe thinks they gotta stick together to survive. They all drink absinthe to it.
Meanwhile Fiona is undergoing chemotherapy. Suddenly she starts hearing people's thoughts - a new gift she didn't have before. I'm not sure what the hell is the point of this - after all the Supreme's powers are supposed to be decreasing. I'm hoping there is point to this and not some random thing Murphy threw at us.
Zoe, genius that she is, ignores Queenie's warnings and contacts the Axeman again. He tells her that Madison is in the attic after she promises to release his spirit. Zoe comes over to Spalding's sanctuary of creepy and finds Madison's body in the chest.
Meanwhile Myrtle is buried in the ground in Misty's garden. I'm guessing we are going to see her again in few episodes. Kyle comes over all freaked out and Misty gives him a bath. During that Kyle has an incest flashback of his mother and flips out. He destroys Misty's cassette player and she is heartbroken.
Misty puts some mud on Madison's arm which apparently gets the arm attached back to her body. What the hell is in Louisiana mud? Perhaps Fiona who is obsessed with getting old should just bathe in it. Anyways Zoe and Misty bring Madison's back. Her first words after couching up some blood and a cockroach are that she needs a cigarette.
The girls gather around Madison and ask her what she remembers.She knows who she is and that's something is off. As for the last thing she remembers she says 'red' (Fiona's dress). Judging from next week's promo Cordelia will find out Fiona killed Madison.
The way we find out about Hank is when he visits Marie Laveau. Apparently she gave him the task of killing all the Salem witches descendants. We get a flashback of Kaylee visiting the Academy and talking with Cordelia. Apparently Kaylee has a gift of pyrokinesis - when her fiance tells her he can't marry her, she inadvertently sets him on fire.
Back at the Academy the Axeman talks with Cordelia - he is pissed off Zoe broke her word and didn't release him. Cordelia screams and the girls want to help her. Zoe uses yet another new power to chose exactly the right book with exactly the right spell to free the Axeman. She does that and he walks freely out of the Academy.
I really liked this episode even though Kathy Bates wasn't in it. I must say I'm kinda shocked Murphy is not getting more heat for what he is doing this season - giving Madame LaLaurie, a psychopathic killer tons of scenes where she gets to be on the path to redemption and giving Marie Laveau, a person considered to be a saint by many, plot like the one where she tries to kill all the witches. I'm not very comfortable with this, but the actresses are making it work.
The relationship between Fiona and the Axeman is shaping up to be pretty interesting. As for Hank I sincerely hope either Marie or Cordelia will kill him soon because he is dumber than Zoe. Interesting thing I noticed was when Cordelia was touching Nan's face and she didn't have any visions - did Murphy forget Cordelia can do that now or is Nan blocking Cordelia's power?
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It's rare when I give out my acting wins to people who have short screentime but Rickman makes my win 2 years back and with ease with just this scene. In 
This could easily be on both lists as watching the final minutes of that movie was like getting slapped across the face (the twist) and getting punched in the heart (seriously this is some sadistic shit). I always call this ending the most cruel ending in the history of cinema - it's cruel not only for the characters but even more so for the audience, who already got used to the idea that Robbie and Cecilia are finally together. No, they are not. They died. They never met again. It was only Briony's book. Life sucks, you get to bang McAvoy only once in the library, and then you die.
This is a great and underrated film in which a writer stays at the summer home of her editor. There she meets his young, spirited daughter. Thanks to her the writer is able to explore some new sensations and ideas. In the end of the film we found out the girl was never there and she existed in writer's imagination as something that would help her create another book.
M. Night Shyamalan is kinda a joke nowadays, but back in the 90's he made good movies. I thought Unbreakable was even more moving and better made than 6th Sense. As for the big twist in 6th Sense I was already spoiled before seeing it. Thank God for Unbreakable's low profile - no one spoiled it for me and the revelation that Samuel L. Jackson's character orchestrated the mass accidents just to find his opposite, a hero to his villain, was incredibly shocking.
Take Shelter and The Hunt don't have much in common at the first glance. But when you start looking closely similarities arise - both stories center around a man, who despite having a family and people who love him, is utterly alone with his problems. In case of Curtis, the hero of Take Shelter, he is suspecting that he is becoming mentally ill. Lucas, the protagonist of The Hunt, on the other hand has been accused of molesting a little girl in his village.
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This. Forever this.
I cannot quite believe it, but Natalie Portman's heart stopping Black Swan coda is not on youtube (unless you count the crappy version quality). Yes, it's not Portman dancing, just her face on the professional's dancer's body, but the illusion is complete and it's the film true culminating moment in which Nina finally lets go (or as I often like to suggest 
I'm not gonna write much about previous episode, The Dead, as it was weak and boring, to the point that I'm in no rush to rewatch it. Axeman/Fiona romance is a snoozefest so far and the only big development was Queenie jumping sides and bringing LaLaurie to Laveau. We also got awful and cringeworthy scenes from Madison who is now the most annoying person on the show.
This week we got much better episode - the things are moving kinda slow and there is still bunch of crap I don't care about (Kyle, Luke, Hank) but slowly, very slowly we are coming to what I hope will be a very exciting and surprising conclusion.
Misty asks Zoe for help and Cordelia touches her hand - she sees Misty burning and then she sees her healing. She offers her help and the protection of the Coven. Then Misty takes them to see Myrtle. Cordelia is very happy to see her as she didn't believe Myrtle was the one who threw the acid on her face.
Meanwhile, Fiona is growing weaker because of cancer. We see her telling Cordelia that she is dying to which Delia tells her to die before Thanksgiving so they wouldn't need to try her stuffing. Fiona is breaking and her only joy is her romance with the Axeman. She is still set on killing the new Supreme, though.
The group decides to let Fiona believe Madison is the Supreme and that she resurrected herself and Myrtle. First Madison enters and Fiona is given a choice - burn at stake tomorrow, for killing Madison, or take the pills now and die. Madison leaves and Fiona begins packing, as she wants to run away with the Axeman.
She takes the pills and falls asleep. Enter deus ex machina, or ghost out of Crazy Tea Party, Spalding. Even though Spalding is a ghost he can apparently interact with whomever the fuck he wants and even pick up things and spoon feed the medicine to people. Wow, there's nothing like free spirits without any ghost rules when you are in desperate need for plot device.
While the witches are talking and anticipating Fiona's death, she walks in the living room to Cordelia's horror. Meanwhile, Misty manages to flee to the house next door. Ah, yes, the house next door. Where the crazy Catholic lady and her son Luke, whom Nan is infatuated with, live.
While the mother is calling the cops on Nan, someone shoots her twice and then shoots Luke. The mom is dead, Luke is then taken to the hospital. The shooter? Hank. Now we know Hank was assigned to kill witches. One thought, plausible one, is that he is simply this dumb and shoots a woman twice and a guy in the head because 1. he confused the houses 2. he has really shitty aim.
Anyways after Fiona gets there she tell Misty to bring back the mother. Meanwhile Delia finds a silver bullet outside. The mention of silver bullet makes her and Fiona nervous so I'm guessing this is some serious stuff. Apparently it's an attribute of a witch hunter. The two share a moment and Fiona is impressed with her daughter's abilities. You know, in trying to kill her own mother.
Then she feeds LaLaurie, now in the cage at Marie's place. Marie yells at her and tells LaLaurie she will punish her. LaLaurie laughs because she cannot die - Marie cuts off her hand. Then she also cuts off her head and sends it in a box to Fiona. Yep, it's a payback for Minotaur's head being sent to Marie. But 1. Why would Marie deprive herself of the joy to torture Delphine daily 2. Why would she think this is a payback since Fiona doesn't care about Delphine?
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I usually try to stay open minded when it comes to other people's opinions on movies. No, wait. That's not it. I try to, however, remember that everyone is entitled to have different taste than me. Movies are different, people are different. As many people, as many reactions to certain films. That said, occasionally I hear opinions so shockingly wrong I just roll my eyes.
Another ridiculous statement about the movie is that George Clooney is not doing anything in it. That's actually a statement one hears every time Clooney has a new movie out. It has now became acceptable or at least alarmingly common to punish that man for his transcendent charm and likability, something that channels through his work and everything he does.
And that is precisely because of the charm he exudes that causes so many to whine about him. His charm, warmth and the feeling you know the man because you've seen him in movies for over two decades now, was necessary here. It was necessary because for the film to work and for its key scene to be believable we need to like Matt Kowalski. We need to trust him. We need to believe in everything he tells us and Dr Stone.
There is a stunning moment in the scene where Ryan talks about her dead daughter. The scene begins with Matt trying to calm her down and asking her questions. He has his music playing, he keeps cracking jokes. He knows it's her first mission so he is trying to get her to talk so that she wouldn't panic. She reluctantly starts talking.
There are actresses that could play Ryan besides Bullock. But is there anyone who could play Matt besides Clooney? No. Is there anyone who could play him better? No. Sometimes the fact there is someone out there just perfect for the part is the achievement on its own. You don't need just screenplay and story for a character to exist. You need the perfect actor for the part to breathe life into writing, to make someone feel like an actual person.
I'm sure that the Academy will go for performances that are far, far from actor's best work but they are in high profile film (Fassbender in 12 Years a Slave) and most likely they will award Oscar to Jared Leto for Dallas Buyer's Club, seeing how they like transformation so much. But without Clooney, there would be no Matt. Without Matt, Ryan wouldn't go on. And without that, Gravity would be hollow.
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Imagine that you are a cook. In fact, you are an excellent cook. You've spent the whole day cooking delicious meals of many different cuisines. By the end of the day you are left with various ingredients. They are all superb individually, but they don't make sense together. You could come up with some new sort of meal and make it delicious, you have a talent for it. But instead you go the easy way - you put them in a shit-stainted shaky bowl, you say it's great and you serve it to your customers.
When I read the script a while ago I was hoping many sequences will be cut, many dialogue heavy scenes will be rewritten. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. While there are changes to the script they are not the right ones - they cut out scenes that worked, shortened the scenes that didn't need to be shortened and left the worst, most self-indulgently pretentious moments in.
The fact the Counselor even gets involved is one of the many asinine things in this story. His partners are Reiner and Westray - two guys who drive fancy cars, have tons of cash, clubs, chicks, you name it - they have it. Why would they even need a partner? They wouldn't, case closed.
His character is one of the biggest issues - you don't necessarily have to like the protagonist but you should at least find him interesting. Not only is this guy not interesting - he is impossibly stupid. He is getting warnings from people not to get involved in drug business left and right and he still does this. Then - a surprise to no one - things go wrong.
Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt are rightfully being singled out in most reviews as two actors who make this movie watchable. Bardem sports another crazy hairstyle and has fun with his role - his lively and colorful character is interesting from the very first scene. His expression during already infamous sex scene on the hood of the car is one of the very few laugh out loud moments which the film desperately needed. When you're not laughing or feeling tension, in much too few scenes, you are just watching this completely numb.
Pitt makes his character the only layered one in this whole movie and it is entirely thanks to him. He gives his character a weird trait - maniacal laughter he uses in the most inappropriate moments. His Westray is far gone - both in drug deals and the reality of the world, yet his fun loving nature prevents him from getting away. When he finally does, it's much too late.
The worst performance in the movie is hands down, Cameron Diaz's Malkina. It takes talent to wreck an interesting character like that to such extent. I was always undecided when it comes to Diaz and her acting talent - she was fairly good in Vanilla Sky, but here in The Counselor as far as I can tell she has buried herself in the mud that will probably get her to do TV series soon because no one will want to hire her in serious films. Her performance is so bad it sinks whatever promise was left in this movie.
The film also has a number of cameos who are as useless as they are forgettable. Natalie Dormer makes an impression as the associate of Malkina - in fact her 2 minutes in this movie have more fire in them than all of the fancy A listers present here. But with that script and that story, there is only so much anyone can do.
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Today's Golden Globes nominations were shocking, surprising and above all - they chose people who are hot right now and they really want them to appear on that red carper (Kate Winslet, who I'm told just had a baby, I'm mostly talking about you). There were surprises - Rush nominated for Best Drama, snubs - Oprah Winfrey shockingly absent, sources of joy for many - Greta Gerwig nominated for Frances Ha and potential game changers - Idris Elba nominated for Long Walk to Freedom.
