Venom (2018)

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, no one takes themselves too seriously. This movie never really strikes the right tone. The concept is so absurd and yet no one seems to appreciate that. It is only mildly tempered with some humor towards the end that is not even all that funny. This movie is Venom's origin story. It is unclear for a very long time what Eddie Brock has to do with the opening scene in Malaysia. We never really get a proper explanation of what the alien life forms want. Nor does it really matter. Because the focus of Venom's origin story is surrounds Elon Musk--I mean Carlton Drake. Tell us what you really think about that psycho. Also, they make such a big deal out of how difficult it is to find a suitable host that could survive the parasite bonding. Then halfway through the movie, they never have this problem again. We were initially led to believe that there was something special about Eddie that he was able to bond perfectly, but then all of a sudden, everyone can bond. The dialogue is really bad, Tom Hardy is OK, and the visual effects are kind of neat.

Dunkirk (2017)

This truly is a masterpiece. It is not your typical war film. It does not tread on your emotions. It is not bloody. There is no climactic battle. You never see the enemy. You never see the loved ones on the home front. It is pure war, intense drama.  It is fully immersive. I am now traumatized by that ticking soundtrack by Hans Zimmer (the fan in Morgan's room was making the exact same sound). I saw it in glorious IMAX on 70mm film. Christopher Nolan is the savior of film. Film is somehow old school and also the future of theatrical experiences. The picture was so clear. You could see every face. You wallow in the expanse of the sea and the beach. The cinematography by Hoyte van Hoytema is stunning, especially in the aerial scenes. The scenes on the boat were not filmed in IMAX. You can see the ratio is different. It doesn't fill the top and bottom of the screen. But I want to say that the picture looked not necessarily sharper but more vivid and real.

Remember, this is a Christopher Nolan film. Nothing is straight. So we follow three different non-linear narratives. The Mole (the beach) story takes place over a week. The Sea story takes place over a day. And The Air story takes place over an hour. The film cuts back and forth between the narratives without telling the audience what takes place when. You see some scenes in the darkness of night intercut with daytime scenes. You see the boat in the background of the plane scene, watching an event that hasn't yet happened in the Sea story. This is all just brilliant editing and storytelling.

Dunkirk is a point of pride for British people. It was a lost battle, an utter defeat, but a successful retreat. America had not yet entered the war. And that is why American's don't really know what happened at Dunkirk. The focus of the film is strictly on the British. The Germans are never named. The French are not shown, controversially. The Indians are not shown, controversially. But that's not the point. The point here is that Dunkirk is a British success story. This is about British pride. And you never lose focus of that.

The Revenant (2015)

This is a monstrosity of a movie. Grueling, uncompromising, and incredibly painful--to film and to watch. We feel their pain too. It is a visionary achievement in film making with breathtaking nature shots and violence galore. The characters are crazy and the filmmakers are a little crazy too for being so ambitious. This movie is two and a half hours of agony and torture but you can't look away because it is beautiful and visually stunning. Though the run time is way too long. I could have done without the Powaqa subplot. I think the subplot tries to give motivation for all the killing but at the same time I got the sense that the film uses the wild west as an excuse for the violence.

Let's start with the opening battle. Inarritu and Lubezki have already proved that they are masters at the tracking shot (see Birdman) and this super complex battle scene looks like one long bloody take. The shot moves fluidly between the forest and the river, even dipping in and out of the water. I happened to notice some really intricate sound mixing as well. The ambient score sort of just waits in the background, and all of sudden maybe a few minutes before the end of the scene, the music overcomes the dialogue and the sound effects and this music is the epitome of the sound of bloodshed. And then the music fades back. Throughout the film, the music enhances the atmosphere of doom and the untame wildnerness. And there is an excellent balance between the music and the dialogue and the sounds of nature, each alternating their turn in the limelight. The strict use of natural light and colors enhances the outdoors-y wildnerness aura. You see Leo's warm breath in the cold air fog up the camera lens

Then there is the bear scene we have all heard so much about. It is excruciatingly painful to watch. And Leonardo DiCaprio wails and screams like there was a real bear mauling him (it is so lifelike and he is tossed around so violently that you really think twice about this bear). This scene is devoid of music. You hear just the natural surroundings. You feel like you are in the scene, being attacked by a grizzly bear. And if there is any mistaking the audience being entrenched in the action, in the final shot Leo stares right into the camera, and we hear his familiar labored breathing.

Leo is a man unmistakably dedicated to his craft. For much of the movie he acts without words, just enduring pain in his eyes. He went through hell and back, rising from the dead to portray this character. He ate the raw livers and slept in the dead carcasses. He suffered for his role visibly. And the whole cast and crew suffered great pains to make this vision a reality, to fulfill Inarritu's insane and indeed monstrous vision. 

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

I did not really know what to expect going in, and coming out I was not quite sure what I had just seen, completely at a loss for words. For starters, the movie is not about plot.  Imagine a post apocalyptic desert wasteland world that is short on resources.  That's really all you need to know.  There is a society that is run by a disgusting (yet imaginative) looking villain that controls all of the water.  And then the chase ensues, a chase that lasts for two glorious hours.

The movie is literally nonstop, crazy, intense action.  The chase takes place in juiced up monster vehicles that are made up of parts of other cars. Every vehicle is unique and they make the chase all the more exciting.  The violence is brutal and graphic but the sound effects and the ridiculousness of the entire movie slightly mitigate the effect on the viewer.  The production design is incredible, from the cars, to the Citadel, to the variations on barren wasteland that they drive through.  The costumes and makeup too are fantastic.  Due to a lack of water, everyone has this awful dirty look and the War Boys are all bald and pure white with black around their eyes.  They are so devilishly creepy.  And the movie overall is an over-the-top explosion of insane style. 

Locke (2013)

Locke is an experimental film, taking place completely within the tight confines of a car over the course of long drive to London.  This requires some creative camera work,  which was quite impressive.  The entire narrative is told over a series of phone calls.  On one end of the line is Tom Hardy's character,  whose smooth voice and captivating accent amazingly remains calm and collected as his life falls apart.  He is literally talking about of cement drying, no joke.