Da Couch Tomato

An attempt at a new layout, with horrible glitches, and very minimal knowledge of HTML.
Showing posts with label film. Show all posts
American Magazine

Da Couch Tomato Podcast, Episode 18, discussing Netflix's The Two Popes, how the film leans more towards Pope Francis, and how the transition between the two popes was not fully explored.

Background music used is the The Two Popes score by Bryce Dessner.

Hosts: Sting Lacson and Rachel

Rating: 6.9/10

"If I was in World War II, they'd call me Spitfire." -The Prodigy

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

•If you're watching this, chances are this isn't your first Christopher Nolan film. So you'll probably be expecting another mind-blowing subject matter, the way Inception blew your mind with lucid dreaming, or the way Interstellar blew your mind with the fifth dimension. Dunkirk is a different kind of Nolan film, in the sense that its subject matter – the British evacuation of Dunkirk during the Second World War – isn't going to blow your mind.

Dunkirk tells three stories, with three different themes: 1) Land, with the stranded soldiers on the beaches of Dunkirk; 2) Sea, with the civilian boatmen whose naval vessels are commandeered to rescue the stranded soldiers; and 3) Air, with the brave pilots who flew the Spitfires.

•Since it seems that Nolan is unable (or refuses) to do a straight linear narrative, he chooses to go for his famous non-linear storytelling style. Here he uses three different time signatures, which are stated in the text for each of the three stories. "The Mole", which is the beach narrative, takes place over a week. "The Sea", about the boats that come to the rescue, takes place over a day. "The Air", which features the brilliant dogfights, takes place over an hour. All three stories are intercut with one another, and they conclude simultaneously in the end.

Michael Caine is in this picture once again, this time appearing as the voice giving instructions to the RAF pilots in their Spitfires. But does Michael Caine really have to be in all of Nolan's films? The answer to that, apparently, is a yes. The director himself confirms it: "He has to be in all my films, after all."

•Cillian Murphy is listed in the end credits as "Shivering Soldier". This got me excited about a possibility in filmmaking: Is it possible to make a film where no character is named specifically? I would argue it is. In fact, Dunkirk should've been the perfect film to prove that theory, if only they didn't have to name some of the soldiers. But still, Cillian Murphy as "Shivering Soldier" is a step in the right direction, so I hope one daring filmmaker actually does it in the future.

Not sure if these guys were credited as "Running Soldiers".

•Hans Zimmer's musical score is bloody awesome. His use of a literal ticking clock to enhance the suspense of a ticking clock narrative is genius. Coupled with the awesome sound design, this film's audio really succeeds in driving home the urgency, bringing us as close as possible to the tension felt by the actual soldiers at Dunkirk.

•The A-list actors delivered great performances, as is to be expected in a Christopher Nolan film. Mark Rylance always nails the kind yet authoritative grandfather role. Tom Hardy, despite having his face mostly covered again, overcomes that hurdle by acting with his eyes. James D'Arcy assumes another second-in-command naval officer role like in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. And Kenneth Branagh was just excellent. As an authority figure who carries the burden of war on his shoulders while trying to appear strong in the face of his men, Branagh just knocks the ball out of the park. Well of course he does. He's Kenneth Branagh.

•Apart from the A-listers, it's this film's relatively unknown cast that provides a great complement to the acting department. Fionn Whitehead has that young and inexperienced rookie look about him, which is probably what most of the soldiers at Dunkirk looked like. Barry Keoghan was able to capture in his performance the spirit of a boy who awakens to the harsh realities of war (too bad he died, I liked his face). And Harry Styles...

•Harry Styles is quite good. I've heard a few One Direction songs, but I'm not aware who the individual members are, so of course I've never heard of Harry Styles. Which turned out to be a good thing, as I had no prejudice toward his acting ability, and was quite surprised that the kid had some chops. Also, he has some sort of Daniel Padilla-feel about him. And I don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

•SM MOA's IMAX theatre didn't show this in 70 mm. Such a shame, really, when they showed Interstellar in 70 mm back in 2014. I don't know, maybe there aren't that many celluloid cinephiles in this country. So I had to resort to seeing this in IMAX. My only gripe here was why wasn't the image projected to cover the entire screen? Even in The Dark Knight, the scenes shot in IMAX covered the whole screen. What happened, IMAX MOA?

Nothing like seeing the majestic blue sea in full IMAX glory.



Dunkirk. USA/UK. 2017.



Original rating: 8.5/10
Harry Styles' Daniel Padilla-feel: -0.1
Nolan's use of different time signatures: +0.1
IMAX MOA not projecting to its full extent: -0.1
Sound design: +0.1
Musical score: +0.1
Finally seeing what a Spitfire looks like: +0.1
Final rating: 8.7/10
A Create-Your-Own-Clever-Movie-Review.

Director Name Drop's Movie Title in Italics is a fun, humorous take on the subject of cinema trophes.

Yet, that doesn't seem enough to make this review About Me, the Reviewer.

In Name Drop's satire on films of the same genre, we see a consciousness that is Anti-Something. Although, taken as a whole, the films seems to promote tolerance for Something, a closer reading of some scenes may be interpreted  as subconscious Anti-Something sentiments which only perpetuates Anti-Something perceptions and assumptions of the Something Community.

The fact that I, The Reviewer Who Has No Formal Training in Critical Studies, has identified this Anti-Something layer to the work as I write this article for a publication which has a readership slightly higher than the population of the island of B2201 in the South China Sea (said island is submerged in water twice a day, depending on the tide) is a testament to my cleverness.

I will now ask these rhetorical questions, won't I? This is my attempt at being convincing, isn't it?

I now give a cursory review of the ensemble's acting. Indie Actress is brilliant, Comedic Actress has flawless timing, and Matinee Idol is a revelation as the Borderline Caricature. Through Matinee Idol's histrionics, we see Borderline Caricature's world in its pallid glory, and other contrasting concepts I'm throwing together here to juxtapose how I can phrase together seemingly conflicting notions as, again, a testament to my brilliance as an underpaid critic.

I now drop cinema jargon here, commenting on the mise-en-scene, to make-up for how little I really know about the process. I then refer to David Lynch's underground, early works. Perhaps, I'll drop Kurosawa's name here, just to let you know that I, too, am exposed to Asian cinema. Argento, Argento. Insert "-esque" after the name of another director to make me sound hip; I love the suffix "-esque" and its non-committal assertion in its insertion. It means Something is Another Thing, But Not Really... It's "Another Thing-esque".

But the flaw of the work which I will latch on, and obsessively talk about is the Anti-Something reading which I gleamed from a badly executed in-joke. Why must I ask another rhetorical question here? Because. Why must I ask another rhetorical question here? For the timing. Why must I, finally, ask a slightly re-phrased rhetorical question here? Rule of threes.

In this summary paragraph, I once again highlight my Anti-Something Overreading of the work. Because I'm not happy with just a movie review, I must write a "reading" of "the film". You will think I'm clever, perhaps quote me if you will. But what I did, really, is waste your time.

I give this film a rating of Arbitrary Number of Stars over Some Standard of Stars, or raised thumbs. Like that matters.
Premium Blogspot Templates
Copyright © 2012 Da Couch Tomato