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Moooovies!
Jun. 8th, 2007 02:58 pmSo I've seen two great films recently. Here are my non-spoilery reviews!
FRACTURE starring Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling - I went into this movie expecting to be terrified, and came out having only been nervous one time and never actually being shocked with fright. No my friends, this is not some cheap thriller - this is a mindfuck. Anthony Hopkins puts in a creepy, subtle, brilliant performance as a genius engineer on trial for his wife's murder who likes to play games with the prosecutor's mind. Said prosecutor is, of course, the fantastic Ryan Gosling, whom I worship. The complete and profound transformation that his character goes through in the course of the movie, at the hands of Hopkins' machinations, is done with such grace and panache, you just kind of sit there in awe. The two of them crackle with intensity on screen together, and every scene has you completely absorbed and engaged. The whole thing is just so skillfully crafted and cleverly done - it never resorts to the expected or the cliched, and doesn't try to have a desperately convoluted mystery. The truth, when revealed, is startlingly simple, and that's what gives the entire thing its power. This is an amazing movie, and I recommend you all go see it. It's still in theaters.
BLOOD DIAMOND starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, and Jennifer Connolly - This movie is horrifying and incredibly difficult to watch, in large part because it seems so real. It's set in 1999 and based on the real situation in Sierra Leone at that time. Leo got an Oscar nod for this role, and I can see why - his character, Danny, seems to be just any diamond smuggler, careless of the price of his actions and looking for any deals he can get his hands on. But his humanity is unpeeled layer by ragged layer, laying bare a heart that still beats, all evidence to the contrary. Djimon Hounsou's Solomon Vandy will rip your heart out with his passion, his determination, and his profound love for his family (especially his son). I also really enjoyed Jennifer Connolly's performance as a journalist trying desperately to find a way to write about the perpetrators instead of just the victims; she's just the right mix of passionate, jaded, and dogged. The horrifying massacres portrayed made me sick to my stomach; the sight of a 9 year old boy brandishing an AK-47 and yelling "SHED THEIR BLOOD" made me cry. This is a powerful, extremely necessary movie - it makes you painfully aware of the horrors happening all the time in our "modern" world. That kind of awareness is a first and essential step towards actually doing something about it. Seeing this movie will make you promise to yourself that you will never own a diamond.
FRACTURE starring Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling - I went into this movie expecting to be terrified, and came out having only been nervous one time and never actually being shocked with fright. No my friends, this is not some cheap thriller - this is a mindfuck. Anthony Hopkins puts in a creepy, subtle, brilliant performance as a genius engineer on trial for his wife's murder who likes to play games with the prosecutor's mind. Said prosecutor is, of course, the fantastic Ryan Gosling, whom I worship. The complete and profound transformation that his character goes through in the course of the movie, at the hands of Hopkins' machinations, is done with such grace and panache, you just kind of sit there in awe. The two of them crackle with intensity on screen together, and every scene has you completely absorbed and engaged. The whole thing is just so skillfully crafted and cleverly done - it never resorts to the expected or the cliched, and doesn't try to have a desperately convoluted mystery. The truth, when revealed, is startlingly simple, and that's what gives the entire thing its power. This is an amazing movie, and I recommend you all go see it. It's still in theaters.
BLOOD DIAMOND starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, and Jennifer Connolly - This movie is horrifying and incredibly difficult to watch, in large part because it seems so real. It's set in 1999 and based on the real situation in Sierra Leone at that time. Leo got an Oscar nod for this role, and I can see why - his character, Danny, seems to be just any diamond smuggler, careless of the price of his actions and looking for any deals he can get his hands on. But his humanity is unpeeled layer by ragged layer, laying bare a heart that still beats, all evidence to the contrary. Djimon Hounsou's Solomon Vandy will rip your heart out with his passion, his determination, and his profound love for his family (especially his son). I also really enjoyed Jennifer Connolly's performance as a journalist trying desperately to find a way to write about the perpetrators instead of just the victims; she's just the right mix of passionate, jaded, and dogged. The horrifying massacres portrayed made me sick to my stomach; the sight of a 9 year old boy brandishing an AK-47 and yelling "SHED THEIR BLOOD" made me cry. This is a powerful, extremely necessary movie - it makes you painfully aware of the horrors happening all the time in our "modern" world. That kind of awareness is a first and essential step towards actually doing something about it. Seeing this movie will make you promise to yourself that you will never own a diamond.
