Just My Opinion (JMO)

roamingblizzard:

tatergator27:

catchymemes:

You ARE the guy from ratatouille. Accept your fate

Where your mouse g

(Source: reddit.com)

shromo:

When you haven’t saved your file in awhile and suddenly the cursor freezes 

“Do you think we choose the times into which we are born? Or do we fit the times we are born into?”

The American Civil War has been raging on for nearly 4 years and Abraham Lincoln is trying to broker peace – but not before he can broker freedom. He wants to end slavery but knows that if the war ends before he can pass the 13^th Amendment then the Confederacy states keep their power and slavery lives on for generations. This is a look at the man who changed history and effected change in a charismatic (and wordy) fashion. This is not a biopic of Honest Abe’s life but rather a more intrinsic focus on a self-educated, idealist in the last year of his life and the lengths he went to in order to ensure that slavery did not live on, with the help of three men (James Spader, Tim Blake Nelson, John Hawkes) commissioned to garner the necessary votes, by underhanded means, required to pass the unwelcome amendment into law.

Daniel Day Lewis (There Will Be Blood, Gangs of New York) IS Abraham Lincoln (a role initially offered to Liam Neeson). He captures the essence of arguably America’s greatest president – a man who could command a room’s attention with his stories and his speeches and at the same time could blend in like one of the locals. Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men, Men in Black) is a scene stealer as cantankerous fellow idealist Thaddeus Stevens who despite the era believed that all were created equal in the eyes of God and should be treated as such. David Strathairn (The Bourne Legacy) is inspired as his patient but vocal Secretary of State unafraid to voice his unpopular opinions of the President’s intentions. This film boasts a great supporting cast in both large and small roles, everyone leaves an impact and even elicit laughs.

It’s a true testament to the skill of the director, writer and cast that a film devoid of action but full of back room conversations and speeches can draw you in and hold your attention despite its length and our knowledge of its conclusion. Lewis makes Abraham Lincoln seem larger-than-life and yet human all at once with his woodenly gait, stoop, natural gravitas and world-weary face. Tony Kushner (Munich) has masterfully written a fantastic script with Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln book as his canvas. Lincoln is not a typical Steven Spielberg foray into the history books but is more akin to a high end stage production (which may bore some). This is somewhat ironic as the theatre is where Abraham Lincoln met his untimely demise.

On February 12^th 1809, a boy was born, with a hunger for knowledge, barely an education, and a pragmatism that would change the face of American history and the world. He was by no means a saint but a man battling to balance his moral centre and family problems with his running of a broken and divided nation. Steven Spielberg, aided by John William’s gentle score and Janusz Kaminski’s authentic cinematography, has captured that almost perfectly in this film (with some inaccuracies) and though this may appeal more to our fellow men across the Atlantic – it is still the best and most honest portrayal I’ve seen of America’s 16^th president. It’s a must see and one that moved me to tears both in the opening and closing scenes and I’m not American.

“I like you.”

It all begins with a group of guys that commit deplorable acts to capture on video and place online - for a price, of course. They are then commissioned by an unknown and unseen benefactor to retrieve a certain VHS tape from a house. They find an old man in front of a number of TV screens and videotapes and begin their search for the right one. One man is left upstairs to watch the videotapes and the others go to the basement to find what else there is. They are not told which videotape and thus begins the horror anthology we are subjected to.

The main story is “Tape 56” (Adam Wingard) the 5 we watch are (in order): “Amateur Night” (David Bruckner) - a succubus themed slaughter, “Second Honeymoon” (Ti West) - why motel rooms can be so creepy, “Tuesday the 17th” (Glenn McQuaid) – camping in the middle of nowhere, “The Sick Thing That Happened To Emily When She Was Younger” (Joe Swanberg) – Skype can be scary too and “10/31/98”(Radio Silence, Chad Villella, Justin Martinez, Tyler Gillett & Matt Bettinelli-Olpin) - Halloween party gone wrong. The acting is nothing to write home about (even with some of the directors appearing in their own films) particularly as there seems to be a common theme of characters with a sense of depravity and lust. The best segments for me (10/31/98, The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger, Second Honeymoon) had the least over-the-top shaky cam (who holds a camera that badly these days?) and better plots – not a surprise as they come from directors like Ti West (The Innkeepers). The least likeable characters are in the other segments and you find yourself not caring that they die.

Found footage is a genre that has been coming to the forefront of late. I can understand why in some cases it can add to a story but more often than not, it’s a side of cinema that I feel has been used to death (pardon the pun). V/H/S is the work of 10 directors who have created 6 stories and put them all together. The concept and idea is new and interesting but the execution - not so much. It is almost self-indulgent at 2 hours in length and there isn’t a single connective fibre between any of the stories (unless I missed something). Why is it that all of these tapes somehow find their way back to this house from their various locations where these scenes of violence occur? Who is the dead old man they find? Who is the anonymous person? There doesn’t seem to be a point to any of it.

If you like horrors, you’ll like how clever this film in some of the stories, but be warned it is really violent. It builds suspense extremely well and I can guarantee I wasn’t the only one jumping in my seat and they weren’t cheap scare tactics either - just good old-fashioned dread and creepy music. There are moments when the fear stems from the so-called VHS quality, the inability to see the danger clearly and that seems like a cop out to me. It is much better though than the Paranormal Activity series of films in that they get straight into what will happen. It would have been better as 6 short films at a fright festival or even a web series, but being released as one movie on a random day in January seems pointless. Maybe that was their aim as directors and if so they did it pretty effectively albeit randomly and violently.

“What’s your name?” “Django. The D is silent.”

It’s 1858, 3 years before the American Civil War and 5 years before the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Django (Foxx) is one of many slaves in the South. He is purchased by Dr King Schultz (Waltz) to help him find the Brittle brothers in exchange for his freedom. An unlikely partnership blossoms, one that challenges the racism and slavery of that era, and results in Dr. Schultz offering to help find Django’s wife Brünnhilde (Washington).

Along the way, Dr Schultz notices Django’s gun skills and trains him to be his deputy bounty hunter and a shy slave becomes an unlikely hero and provides one of the two film’s comedic double acts. After much searching, they discover that ruthless plantation owner Calvin Candie (DiCaprio) has Brünnhilde (or Broomhilda as her ignorant slave owners begin to call her) and a dangerous daring plan for her rescue is concocted.

Quentin Tarantino is known for his unashamed telling of a story regardless of who he may or may not offend and he never shies away from uncomfortable topics. Here he tackles the horrific treatment of black slaves in the South particularly, in the format of the spaghetti westerns he loves so much. His attention to detail is nothing short of genius with the landscape, the classic Western sudden camera zooms, the music and even the opening credits using an old Columbia Pictures intro. This is a man in love with Westerns, who orchestrates a cameo for himself & the original Django (Franco Nero).

Many have and will argue that this is an irreverent look at a horrible time in our history, making light of such a dark situation and complain of the over-usage of the N-word (110 times). I was even asked if “as a woman of colour” (their words not mine), if I was offended by his film? To be perfectly honest, NO. This film pays homage to the Westerns but is at the same time totally crazy and is a brilliant representation of how insane slavery really was. No one can really argue about the usage of the N-word as it’s a moot point, we have no idea how they spoke back then as the word is not as taboo as it is today. Even great authors used the N-word in their literature back then. It is simply a gripping tale of a slave who refuses to stay helpless with the helping hand of a caring German bounty hunter, with a LOT of the over-the-top almost cartoonish violence in the way that Tarantino does so well, mixed in with a love story.

The performances in this are nothing short of inspired! To have such strong leads that steal every scene they are in is positively rare. The final part of the film where they are all in the same scene is richly tense and brilliant. Christoph Waltz (“Inglorious Basterds”, “Water for Elephants”) is incredible as the eccentric German dentist-turned-bounty-hunter who abhors slavery. Jamie Foxx (“Ray” “Law Abiding Citizen”) is going from strength to strength and provides a strong performance as the titular character with great comic timing and anger bubbling beneath the surface in an explosive balance. DiCaprio (“Inception”, “Blood Diamond”) embodies the Machiavellian character of Calvin Candie who is, despite his well-spoken and welcoming exterior, pure evil and runs his plantation with an iron fist and a silver tongue. Samuel Lee Jackson (“Avengers: Assemble”) brings to life the ultimate bad guy, the Uncle Tom to end them all, who complements Candie’s character and they provide the second comedic double act of the film. It feels like an ultimate betrayal that he is as ruthless as his master in the treatment of his fellow man.

My verdict? Go and see it! It is fantastic, shocking, gratuitously violent, hilarious (the Ku Klux Klan scene is a memorable one), insane and serious all at once in its handling of such a dark subject matter. It is uncomfortable, it is challenging, it is too long, but it’s ultimately a story of victim turned vigilante riding off into the sunset (on Foxx’s actual horse) with his true love.