It is remiss to classify The Martian as “Ridley Scott’s” or “Matt Damon’s” or with any other possessive; it is a true ensemble film. Though the story begins in serious medias res with the crew of the Ares III mission escaping a Martian dust storm and leaving Matt Damon’s Mark Watney behind on the red planet, this is not Cast Away where we dwell on our lone character for the majority of the runtime. The success of the narrative and the impact of the theme require that seemingly infinite characters aid in Watney’s survival, but also that Watney himself is capable of titanic intellectual feats. What results is a film dictating that the strength of humanity is found in the reasoning mind – from an isolated individual struggling to survive to large teams working towards effecting a rescue.
Tag: Thriller
-
Denis Villeneuve week nears its end with his only true American film, and the largest budget he’s had to work with to date: the kidnapping mystery/thriller Prisoners. Of all of Villeneuve’s films, this may be the most uneasy, the most challenging to watch, and the one film that is truly unafraid of exploring the depths that humanity can reach at the intersection of desperation and good intention. Its subject matter is particularly challenging for parents, as it primarily deals with the disappearance of a pair of young girls.
-
Denis Villeneuve Week – Day 4: “Enemy” (Canada / Spain 2013)
Another day, another crazy Denis Villeneuve film to review. This time it is his first true English-language film, Enemy (as previously mentioned, Polytechnique was filmed in both French and English). Enemy feels most similar to Villeneuve’s early feature Maelström in that it has some amazing peculiarities but overall deals with a very human problem. In this case, it is the duality of man and his struggle to choose between two very different alternatives – both in his life, and his mind.
-
The films of Guy Ritchie succeed best when they blend comedic elements with a strong circuitous narrative set on the fringes of society. Usually, that fringe is some underground criminal element, but with The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Ritchie puts his inimitable aesthetic to work on the period spy thriller. Though the plot can feel fairly derivative at times, the stars ably carry the film forward and offer some surprisingly funny moments amid the tradecraft and action set pieces.
-
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation revels in its tropes. Heists, MacGuffins, and double/triple crosses abound and elevate the film to the very apex of the spy film genre. Director Christopher McQuarrie (director of Jack Reacher, writer of Edge of Tomorrow) ably adds his touches and always keeps the action intelligible, but this is unequivocally Tom Cruise’s movie. Cruise’s portrayal of Ethan Hunt has carried the Mission: Impossible franchise since its inception, but in the past his task has sometimes bordered on Sisyphean thanks to poor plotting, writing, and directing. Rogue Nation is a much easier boulder to push, and never tumbles from its well-earned heights.
-
The first full trailer for the next entry in Daniel Craig’s James Bond begins with Ralph Fiennes’ M chiding Bond for carrying out an unauthorized operation in Mexico City. Fiennes stands behind his desk and towers over a seated, subservient Bond asking, “Mexico City: What were you doing there?” We cut to the event in question and see Bond targeting someone in a building – and then effecting an enveloping explosion in the man’s room. Bonds wry answer to M nearly suppresses a laugh: “I was taking some overdue holiday.” The MGM and Columbia logos blazon across the screen, and that is our introduction to Spectre:
Keep Reading -
The Revenant has been anticipated since April of 2014, when Alejandro G. Iñárritu announced that he had started to work on the project with Leonardo DiCaprio in the leading role. The story was to be based on a novel of the same name detailing the true events of a fur-trapper on the American frontier at the beginning of the nineteenth century. After the world saw the heights Iñárritu was capable of with Birdman, that anticipation skyrocketed, and we are fortunate to finally get a brief look at The Revenant with a haunting teaser trailer which revels in the mood of a dark, savage thriller. Watch the teaser below:
Keep Reading -
We got the first trailer for Denis Villenueve’s Sicario earlier today, and it was a real treat to finally see some scenes from this Cannes audience favorite. I case you’ve forgotten, this is the crime thriller about a FBI agent, played by Emily Blunt, who joins a task force to investigate cartel activity in Mexico. It also starts Josh Brolin and Benecio Del Toro as members of this team, and like all of Villeneuve’s films, there is more than meets the eye bubbling under its surface synopsis. It looks fantastic.
Keep Reading -
The revenge genre has experienced a small renaissance of late with films like Taken and John Wick portraying purposeful and expert killers running roughshod through those who have wronged them in some way. The audience is generally encouraged to recognize the protagonist’s ability, and celebrate his or her violence. The low-budget film Blue Ruin, from director Jeremy Saulnier, turns this dynamic on its head by providing us with an everyman thrust into a revenge situation. The resulting story arc follows familiar beats, but the unique perspective infuses this stark film with a beauty and realism that is rarely approached in this exploitative genre.
Keep Reading -
It was announced in a Variety Exclusive today that Paul Verhoeven’s new film Elle will be distributed by Said Ben Said’s production company BSB Productions. This is the same production company that had a hand in films by other visionary directors like Roman Polanski’ Carnage, Brian de Palma’s Passion and David Cronenberg’s A Map to the Stars, so there’s definitely a track record of quality films, here. I don’t normally delve into production news, so this piece is more of a reaction to Verhoeven’s comments on the film, which has me quite excited.
Keep Reading
Plot and Theme 