Tag: The Master

Geekscape Movie Reviews: Phantom Thread

by MCDave

Six-time Academy Award Nominee, Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA), soared to new heights with his 2008 drama There Will Be Blood. The film captured a pair of Oscar wins (Best Actor Daniel Day-Lewis and Best Cinematography), with an astounding 8 Nominations in total, and Hollywood eagerly awaited whatever was next in line for the now-proven filmmaker. Five years passed before PTA returned with The Master and then came Inherent Vice, both of which earned select recognition from the Academy, but neither of which came close to the adoration of his previous masterpieces. And now we’re given Phantom Thread, a true return to form from the extraordinary mind and keen eye of a visionary unlike any other.

Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Reynolds Woodcock, a 1950s dressmaker whose intense loyalty to his craft has made him a staple within wealthy, high-end circles. But once he meets and falls in love with Alma (Vicky Krieps), an equally stubborn young woman who slowly becomes a disruption in his difficult-to-please lifestyle, their relationship is pushed to incredibly harsh extremes. If only something could be done to keep this love and interdependence from withering way.

Exquisitely shot and brilliantly scored, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread stands as a stunning model of technical mastery. It’s picturesque set and costume design perfectly capture an atmosphere necessary to facilitate PTA’s unorthodox and hypnotizing tale. At first glance, the film’s premise offers very little bite or intrigue, yet Phantom Thread hooks its viewers with emotionally deep and complex characters whose whole-hearted investment in their relationship demands to be mirrored by the audience. And as this clever and unpredictable story continues to draw you in, PTA reshuffles the deck for a phenomenal closing sequence that makes these characters even more mystifying and alluring than they’ve already become. PTA’s wizard-like twist of perception vs reality is mightily enhanced by a trio of illuminating performances. First there is Daniel Day-Lewis (DDL), a three-time Oscar-winning actor who still declares his role as Reynolds Woodcock to be his final onscreen work. DDL’s talents need no support or explanation, as his uncanny ability to suck the air out of a room and completely steal the audience’s attention from everyone else around him is somehow resisted by equally impressive turns from both Lesley Manville and Vicky Krieps. All three are worthy of nods from the Academy, as Manville continues a career trend of stellar, yet underappreciated, work, and Krieps breaks out in grand fashion by somehow standing toe-to-toe with the great Daniel Day-Lewis. Phantom Thread waltzes from scene to scene, beautifully-framed and slowly orchestrated, exploding with an unforeseen finale that marks a triumphant return to glory for Paul Thomas Anderson

GRADE: 4/5

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MCDave’s 2012 Movie Awards

by MCDave

In honor of the Academy Award Nominations which will be announced on Thursday January 10th, I give you my personal 2012 year-end movie awards. 2012 proved to be an extraordinary year in cinema (view my top ten films of 2012), one that will certainly leave its mark in history. Having seen nearly 100 new releases over this past calendar year, here’s my top 5 picks for each of the 6 major races:

Notable films I missed in 2012: Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Skyfall and Rust and Bone

 

Best Supporting Actress

#5 Sally Field – Lincoln

#4 Amy Adams – The Master

#3 Helen Hunt – The Sessions

#2 Pauline Collins – Quartet

and the winner is …

#1 Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables

 Much like the Academy is sure to do in late February, I reward Anne Hathaway with the Best Supporting Actress role of 2012. For all of the focus on Jean Valjean’s character in Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables, it’s Anne Hathaway who serves as the film’s heart and soul. Her emotionally-crushed rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” will live on as a Hollywood highlight reel forever, making her the clear cut winner here.

Best Supporting Actor

#5 Benicio Del Toro – Savages

#4 Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master

#3 Sam Rockwell – Seven Psychopaths

#2 Ezra Miller – The Perks of Being a Wallflower

and the winner is …

#1 Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained

Quentin Tarantino’s Spaghetti Western Django Unchained stood out as one of the year’s funnest movie experiences. The film’s most lovable character was Dr. King Schultz, played by Academy Award Winner Christoph Waltz. While I am starting to feel as though Waltz will be the odd man out in the Best Supporting Actor category when Oscar nominations are announced on Thursday (read about my 2013 Oscar Nomination Predictions), it would be a shame for the Academy to omit his transcending performance.

Best Actress

#5 Helen Mirren – Hitchcock

#4 Naomi Watts – The Impossible

#3 Zoe Kazan – Ruby Sparks

#2 Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook

and the winner is …

#1 Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty

After storming onto the scene in 2011 with a handful of unforgettable roles, it seemed like a forgone conclusion that Jessica Chastain was a star in the making. Taking home my 2011 Best Supporting Actress Award for Take Shelter, Chastin raises the bar again with her phenomenal portrayal in Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty. Chastain’s character transforms throughout the feature and her development becomes a valuable aspect of the narrative. Although she finds worthy Oscar competition from my runner-up, Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Chastain gives the most decisive female performance of the year.

Best Actor

#5 Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook

#4 Denzel Washington – Flight

#3 Joaquin Phoenix – The Master

#2 John Hawkes – The Sessions

and the winner is …

#1 Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln

This race feels like the biggest “no-brainer” to me. For as many brilliant lead actor performances as there were this year (and believe me there were a TON), none of them were even in the same stratosphere as Daniel-Day Lewis’ once in a life time portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. Every chance I get to watch Day-Lewis deliver groundbreaking role after groundbreaking role, it becomes more apparent that I’m experiencing greatness. Steven Spielberg’s Best Picture contender, Lincoln, survives solely on the shoulders of the actor’s performance. There’s no question who deserves this win.

Best Director

#5 David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook

#4 J.A. Bayona – The Impossible

#3 Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained

#2 Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty

and the winner is …

#1 Ben Affleck – Argo

The Best Director race was the most difficult for me to decide. The Kathryn Bigelow/Ben Affleck debate becomes very difficult to dissect. The direction’s outstanding in both Zero Dark Thirty and Argo, but the difference-maker was Affleck’s ability to conjure up a multi-dimensional movie experience. Bigelow’s feature is more of a character based journey, while Affleck focuses on bringing a remarkable true story to life. Distinct opposites in approach, both films are premier examples of modern day filmmaking. However, I just happened to enjoy Argo slightly more than Bigelow’s gripping manhunt tale.

Best Picture

#5 Perfect Sense

#4 The Sessions

#3 Zero Dark Thirty

#2 The Impossible

and the winner is …

#1 Argo

No one can question the abundance of top tier films released in 2012. It was a difficult decision and very close, but I’m going with Argo as the Best Picture of 2012. A roller coaster ride of emotions, Ben Affleck’s Argo interweaves between espionage thriller and comedy. The pacing and tone is perfect, making Argo the most enjoyable film of the year. Its Oscar hopes are still very much alive, despite a major December-long onslaught of competitive releases. Affleck continues to solidify himself as a bonafide filmmaker and gives us Argo, 2012’s Best Picture.

*** Where am I right and where am I wrong? Leave a comment and spark a debate. You can view other work by MCDave at Movie Reviews By Dave

Jonathan’s 10 ‘Most Enjoyable Movies Of 2012’!

by Jonathan

2012 was a strange year at the movies. While comic book movies, remakes and sequels continued their multiplex dominance, there was an entire wealth of indies, festival films and curiosities that made 2012 a pretty diverse year. Even now that it has come to an end, I can’t produce a confident list of 2012’s Best Films… and I saw almost everything (sorry, Cloud Atlas).

So instead of Best (as Matt Kelly provided after seeing only 15 films all year), here’s my list of ‘The Films I Enjoyed The Most of 2012;. It’s a wide-ranging, mixed list, appropriate for a pretty wide-ranging, mixed year. Yes, these are the ones that I got the most out of in my own selfish, film-loving way.

The List:

#1 – Life of Pi – Ang Lee has been one of my favorite filmmakers for about fifteen years. Strange that his one film that you’d think was made for me was the one I enjoyed the least (Hulk). Luckily, this year’s Life of Pi more than made up for it as my favorite moviegoing experience of the year. I bemoan most 3D films, as I should, because most 3D films look pretty bad and suffer from the 3D not being fully thought out. It becomes more of a distraction than attraction. Here, with Ang Lee’s careful integration of digital effects and visual care, is the best 3D film I’ve ever seen. Even in the quiet moments, the movie jumps with energy. And during the big visual crescendos the movie erupts. Life of Pi, both on the script and on the screen, is a complete celebration of storytelling. I loved every moment of it.

#2 – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – Last January, I thought this movie would be on this list, and here it is. I just didn’t know that I’d try and experience it several times just to see it in different formats. Peter Jackson and company pulled off a Herculean task in bringing Middle Earth to the screen, both as The Hobbit and its integration into The Lord of the Rings. Yes, there was some awkward shoe-horning in the film (and where the hell did Radagast go!?!) but still, making a six-part film series of this level of quality can only be celebrated. I love being in Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth and am excited to return next year, regardless of frame rate.

#3 – The FP – I probably saw this movie more than any other film in 2012 and I’m proud that Geekscape was the product pusher through which many of you discovered it for yourselves. Of any film on this list, if The FP were a living, breathing person, it would be the one you’d most want to hang with. It’s equal parts everything you loved about the movies you grew up with plus the addition of video games and attitude mainlined right into its twisted brain.

#4 – The Raid: Redemption – Everyone’s lumping this film in with Dredd. I’m not going to do that. Beyond the tower assault storyline, and the large amount of violence, these movies are pretty different. Watching The Raid at SXSX in March was the loudest and craziest I’ve ever seen a theatrical audience. They were ready to rip the seats out of the Paramount Theater and start hitting each other with them. Unlike the bullet-charged explosiveness of Dredd, The Raid is a pretty hardcore martial arts film. The pain it inflicts is more personal and visceral than Dredd’s machine gun violence. In my interview with The Raid director Gareth Evans last spring, we spoke about how the silat fighting discipline was sort of the joke of the martial arts world before he filmed The Raid (and its predecessor Marantau). It says a lot about the film that no one is joking about it today. It’s just 100% bad-assery.

#5 – John Dies At The End – This is the craziest movie I saw this year. Of all the films from 2012, John Dies At The End is probably the one I think most Geekscape readers will appreciate the most. It’s equal parts science fiction, monster and occult film… but told through a narrative that is just as slapstick as it is intelligent. Really, John Dies At The End is almost impossible to describe, especially if I want to avoid spoiling it for you (I really do)! Every time that you think the movie is going in one direction or is about one specific thing, it pulls a complete 180 on you and pursues a wilder and more satisfying direction. And just when you think you can contain this movie, it spills out and becomes about something much larger than you can imagine. Really, the most impressive thing about this already impressive movie is its ability to articulate some pretty complex ideas about our own existence in a fun and exciting way. This is one destined for cult status among us geeks.

#6 – Les Miserables – This was an impressive production. Just on a technical level, Les Miserables had some of my favorite shots of any film I’d seen this year. Director Tom Hooper’s visual communication with an actor’s performance was second only to the work I saw in The Master or Holy Motors (which was probably the best performance I’ve seen this year). In many of the film’s one take masters, the focal depth on the actor’s performances was almost razor thin, leaving little room for the performer to move. Then they both start moving. It’s pretty impressive to watch both the performances of the actor’s and the camera. I’m not a big fan of musicals so it’s hard for them to make my list. Les Miserables did it pretty easily.

#7 – Dredd 3D – This is my favorite comic book movie of 2012. It didn’t have the loose plot threads and “what the fuck logic” of The Dark Knight Rises or the multiple personality complex of The Avengers’ first act that completely took me out of loving the movie the first time I saw it. And I’m not even going to elaborate on the heartbreak that was The Amazing Spider-Man for me. You can listen to the linked podcasts for those. What I will say is that Dredd 3D is the most faithful adaptation of the 2000AD source material that you’re ever going to see on-screen. Everything about the movie was spot on and completely drenched in kerosene from beginning to end. The non-stop violence. The broken world. The breakneck pace. Much like 2000AD, mainstream American audiences weren’t ready to accept this movie into their theaters. This isn’t Spider-Man. It isn’t Batman. And it isn’t The Avengers. It’s just pure adrenaline. I can’t wait to see it over and over.

#8 – Django Unchained – All of Quentin Tarantino’s movies are interesting… and this is one of his more interesting ones. I still don’t know if I 100% loved it. In my book, it does the same near-fatal thing that Inglourious Basterds does. It hits a dinner table scene during which the movie’s locomotive energy runs out of steam and is only re-injected by a high octane shoot out like an adrenaline needle stabbed through a breastbone. Sound familiar? It’s almost scary how structurally similar the last acts of these movies are and you can start at the Django scene around the dinner table and the underground cafe scene in Inglorious to start your study. Both involve characters carefully masking their identities but ultimately showing their hands. They both end in those identities being revealed and the main characters forced to move their plans into action and within twenty minutes a historical building full of people is being shot to shit with almost no survivors. And ultimately, the movie ends with an ambush by the movie’s lead on the movie’s biggest sellout, whether that be a turncoat Nazi or a race traitor of a house-slave. And that’s where Tarantino’s ability to make cinematic mix-tapes saves the day. In anyone else’s hands, this would all be painfully redundant. But these aren’t anyone else’s hands. While you often get the feeling while watching Tarantino’s films that you’ve heard these songs before, damn if they aren’t arranged and cranked up in the greatest possible way here. Bring on the director’s cut.

#9 – The Master – This is a film I actually enjoyed much more after it was over. It just stayed with me for a long time. The precise camera work, the performances, the riddle of the film’s subject, everything in this movie felt done with so much care that I couldn’t dismiss it upon leaving the theater. The Master makes you work to appreciate its message, and whether it be a study of the birth of Scientology, a condemnation of the audience’s passivity or an admission of P.T. Anderson’s own insecurities, there is a lot to explore here on several levels.

#10 – The Impossible – Can you love a movie simply for its sound design? I think you can… but luckily The Impossible is a whole lot more. The incredible sound design is just the first thing you experience. I know that Zero Dark Thirty and a few other movies I experienced this year did the whole “the audience will hear our movie before they see our movie” black screen intro… but none of them did it as effectively as the opening moments of The Impossible. It really sets the mood for a film whose most intense moments exist in 360 degrees and not just on screen in front of you. J.A. Bayona’s 2007 ghost film The Orphanage made me a fan, but here his camera work is so selective and claustrophobic that it really gives you a sense of helplessness against the rushing tide. This game of visual keep away and the way that the story is told a little out of sequence to keep information from us, combines with the immersive sound surrounding you to create a movie that is as visceral as it is inspiring. Much like Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours, I realized afterwards that I’d been holding my breathe for much of the movie. Combined with two perfect tight-rope performances by Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor (really, the entire family in the film), this is a movie that’s only going to get better as people discover it over time. From here on out, Bayona’s name should be spoken alongside the other elite Spanish speaking directors like Alejandro Iñárritu and Alfonso Cuarón (so really, it should be spoken among any elite directors period).

 Close, But No Cigar (Not that we condone smoking…)

The following are movies that I loved this year, and they’re a pretty eclectic mix, but for some reason or another they stayed out of the Top 10. In a few hours I may look back and change them again… but by then we’ll be too deep into the new year. We can only move forward!

 Argo

 Zero Dark Thirty

 Holy Motors

 Wreck-It Ralph

 End of Watch

 The Avengers

 Moonrise Kingdom

 Safety Not Guaranteed

The Imposter

Brave

Let’s Talk About Scientology As a Metaphor In ‘The Master’!

by Jonathan

I’m trying a brand new offering to the Geekscape podcast, dictated by my rambling streams of consciousness and obsessive need to over think the media that I take in. Today, let’s talk about P.T. Anderson’s ‘The Master’, specifically the metaphor that Scientology provides and how it can be used to talk about art, film and Anderson himself. If you’ve got something to say, throw it on the site!

Subscribe to the show on iTunes!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:37 — 11.3MB)

TIFF 2012 Review: Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘The Master’

by thebigkahuna

The Master is the latest film by Paul Thomas Anderson. The film follows Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a WW2 veteran suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism, who after being released from the Navy, drifts from place to place unable to keep a job. Eventually, he becomes a stowaway on a boat bound to New York City from San Francisco. The commander of the boat is Lancaster Dodd aka ‘The Master’ (Philip Seymour Hoffman). There, he is introduced to Dodd’s ‘The Cause’, a Scientology-like message of empowerment. Newly recruited to ‘The Cause’, Freddie travels with Dodd, his wife (Amy Adams) and his entourage around the US spreading The Master’s message.

To start off, I will say that I knew almost nothing about this film except that it was apparently about Scientology. And all I know of scientology I gleamed from South Park and once getting a Dianetics test at the CNE (the CNE is a massive carnival/fair that happens at the end of the summer every year in Toronto).

The film opens with absolutely stunning visuals which reminded me of Anderson’s ‘There Will Be Blood’. I was looking forward to a long period of visually driven storytelling and although there was some dialogue I wasn’t disappointed. Anderson has the ability to capture and maintain an audience’s attention for long durations using only exquisite visuals. And the film has its long durations, clocking in at 2 hours and 17 minutes.

From start to finish, the film is beautifully shot and has a number of beautiful sequences reminiscent of Rembrant paintings… but with more nudity. Unexplained nudity is par for the course in this film. However not overtly explained, the nudity is validated through Quell’s unquenched sexual appetite and failed sexual romances. One odd sequence is during a ‘Cause’ meeting where all the women instantly have no clothes on and they remain like that for the duration of the sequence. If this is part of the Cause’s message, you have our attention.

Joaquin Phoenix’s performance is a mater class in acting. Although it is hard to separate him in my mind from the man who shit on someone sleeping as a performance art piece I was often completely lost in his work as Quell. Physically, I can’t imagine Phoenix committing more wholeheartly to the roll. Also, I am surprised that I didn’t see him give himself lacerations or broken bones during some of the more physical parts of his performance as Quell wrestles with his post traumatic stress disorder. He was able to completely fall into the roll of drifter/alcoholic which makes me wonder if his whole I’m Still Here foray was not some Daniel Day Lewis type method research. Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s performance is also something to take note of. His ability to disappear into Lancaster Dodd is remarkable and even with such weighted subject matter, he keeps the performance honest and unbiased.

When going through some notes before seeing this film I came across a script from college with a note from a writing prof saying characters are story. This is a perfect example of that note. The film is about a man searching for acceptance. We learn that Quell’s father died of alcoholism and his mother is in an insane asylum. The girl of his dreams lives back in his hometown and he pines forever on a love that will never be. Pile on top of this his inability to deal with the traumas he’s encountered during his time in the South Pacific. Phoenix’s ability to balance all of these pieces make him a contender for award’s season.

I am constantly asking myself ‘How do cult leaders draw in their followers?’ I don’t think The Master attempts to answer this question but the character exploration from both sides pulls the audience in and keeps them. People are generally looking for validation or confirmation in what they do and the characters that have been crafted here explore that beautifully. As Quell’s father figure, Dodd gives Quell what is missing in his life – purpose, opportunity and affection. As a statement on organized religion and indoctrination, ‘The Master’ sends a pretty powerful message about the ways that repair can also rupture an already broken soul.

‘The Master’ is a definite 5 out of 5.