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The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012)
Definite improvement from the previous films
Frankly, I had the same notion as with most people that the film, rooted from a less than creative material would be pretty bad as well, but I went to see it anyway. Less than 2 hours later, I was surprised that it was actually quite entertaining, well, the last part specifically. True enough, the film builds incredibly slow, the narrative is as linear as with any of the previous installments but kudos to Bill Condon for getting the most out of Meyer's rather poorly written book series, and allowing people who aren't fans of it to appreciate it more.
The acting was just as bad but evidently getting better, Robert Pattinson especially. More than watchable than other Twilight film, well, the only watchable among all of them.
Cidade de Deus (2002)
One word: exhilarating
Fernando Meirelles' poignant and somewhat bittersweet debut ranks among the greatest and most iconic films to be made. Cidade de Deus delivers a rather terrifying narrative of a person caught in the middle of two warring drug mules. The film's transition from chaos to utter stillness, the real to the metaphorical, escalated the feeling of disorder, panic, and euphoria. Interspersed with the story are tales of corruption, greed, innocence, and the primal nature of man. The film showcased the very definition of character development, with the flawless screenplay mockingly fixed on the first person account of the protagonist, every character experienced several surprising twists in their personalities.
Cidade de Deus worked on several levels, the pitch perfect cinematography capturing the very best of the on screen chaos and the aridness of the setting itself, the brilliant direction, the fast-paced, engaging, yet structurally composed screenplay, even the morally convoluted context; all of which made the film as magnificent as it is.
The Bourne Legacy (2012)
The Bigger Picture
Four years after the release of the original trilogy, the Bourne franchise paves its way to the silver screen once again. Admittedly, I too as with most fans was unsure whether the film would be able to stand up to its predecessors but indeed, it was a very immediate and immature response. The opening shot made it seem that it would start where 'The Bourne Ultimatum' left of, a brilliant trick to say the least. The setting of the film is actually in coherence to that of the previous film, it actually used some of its segments to displace the time of the events occurring in 'Legacy'.
Jeremy Renner, did what he does best, as we can remember him from his most recent movie 'Mission: Impossible' as a more lively and dynamic counterpart for Matt Damon's Jason Bourne. Renner was flawless in his character proving the original assumptions as whether he could pull it off completely wrong. Rachel Wiesz and Edward Norton with a piece of the whole film dedicated to them and the structuring of their characters were as crucial and pivotal to the development of the entire narrative.
The film stays true to its roots as to its narrative structure, the government, the lead female character, and the car chase scene, in this case, a motorbike race in the busy, crowded streets of Manila. Robert Elswit made the most out of the film to showcase the intensity of the story with the wonderful cinematography, living in Manila myself, I could only imagine the work and imagination it took for him and the whole crew to device the film's trademark chase scene. Kudos as well to Tony Gilroy, for not succumbing to the generic-one way story films these days rely on.
'The Bourne Legacy' is not as character driven as the previous trilogy rather, it mainly dedicates itself to the completion and delivery of the whole concept of the Bourne franchise. The issue regarding the fact that there were too many characters, too many actors to focus on is essential in building the while story. In the end, as it delivers the bittersweet closure for the original trilogy, it opens up a new and fresh chapter for itself.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Completely and wonderfully delivered
Seven years from the release of the precursor for Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy which marked the beginning of a new trend, a new era for filmmaking. Nolan, from how I see it, remade the superhero genre and developed it to something more, a lot more. Then came 'The Dark Knight', with rightful acclaims and praises, Nolan yet again proved his profound knowledge not only in filmmaking but as well as his understanding of what the audience wanted to see.
With all the hype for the finale of what is labeled as 'the epic trilogy' for the genre, I grabbed tickets for the earliest screening on the local theaters, 12:15pm to be precise, and boy, was I amazed. It wasn't surprising that the film was this good, not as good as 'The Dark Knight' but well worth the watch; we've all seen Nolan's prowess and is very consistent with his work. It was nearly as perfect as its predecessors but Hans Zimmer's musical score tore this fantastic image of film realism and turned it into a Chinese New Year celebration. The percussions were extremely excessive that it stole away the whole experience.
Music score aside, the film was as close to perfect as I can imagine it to be. Wally Pfister's transition from his usual soft-lighting towards the snowy, icy fields of New York, in this case, Gotham City was highly commendable and delivered as good of a cinematography as from his other works. Christian Bale, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, and Michael Caine, all alumni of the past two Batman movies were as consistent as they were brilliant in their respective roles. Playing the primary villain for the film, Tom Hardy's portrayal of Bane was nothing short of excellent, though it does not par with Ledger's 'Joker' Hardy made the most out of the role. Anne Hathaway, to be frank, had my doubts before seeing the film, though after her wonderful performance as the gorgeously sexy counterpart of The Dark Knight, needless to say, was entirely reversed. Marion Cotillard along with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, both formerly casted by Nolan on 'Inception' complemented the ensemble and we pivotal in the development of both the characters and the story. The plot unfolds rather slowly as compared to the previous films but compensates with an impressively directed, brilliantly choreographed climactic end. The film, with all its flaws and glory was an incredible ending to what is perfectly described as the 'the greatest superhero trilogy' of out time.
Tyrannosaur (2011)
Surprisingly wonderful.
The simplicity of the plot reminds us of the fact that modern filmmakers are not entirely bound by the notion of Hollywood narrative and the necessity to produce money. The film was incredibly refreshing and a joy to watch as it was probably the first among the films I've watched this year that gave me this impression. Peter Mullan was magnificent playing an emotionally unstable hot headed drunk. Mullan's acting is reminiscent of Jeff Bridges Oscar winning role on 'Crazy Heart'. Paddy Considine's debut masterwork was one of the greatest I've seen which is probably at par with other modern filmmakers such as the Coens and Aronofsky. Incredible music score as well as very interesting cinematography. I'd file this film among the top for this year and would highly anticipate Considine's subsequent works.
Das Leben der Anderen (2006)
Inspiring take on the reality of the GDR history
Quite possibly the best film released in the 2000s, Von Donnersmark masterpiece regarding the influence and the attraction of an individual towards another's creates an image which was very well interpreted to the masterclass cinematography and musical accompaniment of Hagen Bogdanski and Stéphane Moucha, respectively. Set in the fascist era of Germany, Das Leben Der Anderen depicts a surveyor's (Wieser) interaction with a seemingly loyal writer (Dreyman) through suspicions from the Minister. The wonderful acting from the leads namely: Ulrich Muhe and Sebastian Koch along with the supporting cast delivers this rather inspiring film contrary to the the film's opening environment. This is my first time seeing the film and though it is already 4 years since it was released, it still as fresh and original as any film released recently.