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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
1962 | Drama, History, War

"I love the scope of the movie; there is something in David Lean that I like very much. He’s always of the macro worlds and the micro worlds; he didn’t only do it in Lawrence of Arabia, but repeated it in Dr. Zhivago and other movies. [In Lawrence of Arabia] he made a movie with enormous scope and events that were known in the world — the Turkish-British War, and at the time, the taking of Akaba — things that were very spectacular and very epic, but in reality he’s talking to us about the homosexuality of one of the characters and something really minimalistic and very precise. He gets into the soul of a man through this spectacular movie and this union of these two worlds. He did it again in Dr. Zhivago as I said before, because in a way he put together the entire Russian revolution, which is also very big, while in reality telling a love story. So this kind of union, joining, he does between the macro world and the micro world is something that I was always interested in, and he was a master of doing the type of job. It’s one of those movies that always remain in your mind. Also, he gave himself permission to do it in a way that probably no studio would buy in our day; just to see a man coming from five miles into the camera for two minutes and a half — no executive producer would allow that to happen! He gave himself permission to do that, and I had the luck of seeing a remastered version of Lawrence of Arabia in a theater in Spain 10 years ago, and it was magnificent because it gave you the possibility of thinking, which is unusual. We also have the performance of first time movie actor Peter O’Toole. That was the first movie that he did, which I didn’t know until I worked with Omar Sharif in a movie that I did years ago called 13th Warrior, and he told me that. At the time, he was a very prominent theater actor in London, but that was the first movie that he did. I will never forget those blue eyes on the big screen. Amazing!"

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Passengers (2016)
Passengers (2016)
2016 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Who needs moral culpability when you have J-Law in her pants?
Contains spoilers, click to show
Good-looking SF movie that goes to prove that all you need is two good-looking charismatic stars and a very misleading ad campaign and people will flock to see your film, no matter how creepy and rapey the story actually is. Male passenger (Pratt) on a long-haul space flight wakes up early due to an accident, finds himself facing the prospect of living out his life alone on the ship (trip will take nearly a century, everyone else is still in hypersleep). He goes a bit mad from isolation, becomes obsessed with a female corpsicle (Lawrence), and decides to wake her up so he will have company even though he is condemning her to the same fate as him. Naturally he neglects to mention his own culpability in all this, even after they get it on.

And people call this a romance?!? A paean to stalking, more like. All the other flaws in Passengers (and there are a few: the premises of the film don't quite hang together, for example) fall away compared to the simple fact that the protagonist does several truly horrible things, for which he is never really held to account. Obligatory shots of Lawrence in a swimsuit/lingerie happen along as well, of course. I'd say it was the usual sort of no-brainer inoffensive tosh, but it really leaves a nasty taste in the mouth.
  
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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Mother! (2017) in Movies

Jan 24, 2018 (Updated Jan 24, 2018)  
Mother! (2017)
Mother! (2017)
2017 | Drama, Horror, Mystery
Tries too hard to be something innovative but just turns out terrible
What an abysmal film. Convoluted to the extreme with very little actual plot. The main aspect of the film surrounds a lonely housewife played by Jennifer Lawrence and her troubled poet husband (Javier Bardem), and their unexpected house guests. From the first moment, we see Lawrence's strange eccentricities, her clear connection with the house itself. The more the house is disturbed, the more she is troubled and vice versa.

The guests begin to behave more and more erratically, to the point of ridiculousness. I have to say, I hated this film. It just made me extremely angry. Baby cannibalism is just uncalled for.
  
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Dean (6925 KP) Mar 2, 2019

If you like this check out the neon demon and Serenity both a bit surreal.

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Stephen (210 KP) Mar 2, 2019

Shall have a look at those, thanks for the recommendation ?

Passengers (2016)
Passengers (2016)
2016 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Sci-Fi romance starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence (with support from Michael Sheen and Laurence Fishbourne) as two travellers aboard an interstellar vessel, who awaken out of hibernation 30 years into a 90 year journey (I think those are both right) to their new home planet, with no means of getting back to sleep or of waking up any other passengers or crew.

What follows, then, mostly - of necessity - follows those two characters (and Sheen's android bartender), asking just what you would do in their circumstances? How would you live out your life?

Beautiful cinematography and some fancy effects, however, can not fully make up for (at times) as dull as dishwater and leaden pacing ...
  
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
1962 | Drama, History, War

"I’m a big fan of David Lean. Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Dr. Zhivago take up three of my favorites. This can go for all three of Lean’s films, because they’re all very similar. They all have very strong characters, very developed characters. He has a unique visual style; it’s very important for the way the movie looks. There are stories about how he’d sit in the desert for half a day, just waiting for the clouds to be right before he’d start filming. You can imagine what a producer would be doing during this. [Smiles] So I love films that have strong visual styles, and all of those films have very unique styles."

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The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
1957 | Classics, Drama, War

"I’m a big fan of David Lean. Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Dr. Zhivago take up three of my favorites. This can go for all three of Lean’s films, because they’re all very similar. They all have very strong characters, very developed characters. He has a unique visual style; it’s very important for the way the movie looks. There are stories about how he’d sit in the desert for half a day, just waiting for the clouds to be right before he’d start filming. You can imagine what a producer would be doing during this. [Smiles] So I love films that have strong visual styles, and all of those films have very unique styles."

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Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
1965 | Classics, Romance, War

"I’m a big fan of David Lean. Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Dr. Zhivago take up three of my favorites. This can go for all three of Lean’s films, because they’re all very similar. They all have very strong characters, very developed characters. He has a unique visual style; it’s very important for the way the movie looks. There are stories about how he’d sit in the desert for half a day, just waiting for the clouds to be right before he’d start filming. You can imagine what a producer would be doing during this. [Smiles] So I love films that have strong visual styles, and all of those films have very unique styles."

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Faction Paradox: The Brakespeare Voyage
Faction Paradox: The Brakespeare Voyage
Jonathan Dennis | 2013 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
After four attempts (this fourth, and final, one was the most productive, reaching the 50% mark), I am giving up on 'The Brakespeare Voyage'. There were some great concepts, interesting even, but by the mid-point, I just had had enough. The story's narrative was awkward after a while, with it changing from Scarratt to Nebaioth to transcripts. It was just too much. I found Daniel O'Mahoney's FP entry, 'Newtons Sleep' as well as Lawrence Miles' 'This Town Will Never Let Us Go' to be far easier to finish. It's a pity, as I've heard such praise for this one, but for me, it just felt like too many ideas/concepts at one time!
  
Winter's Bone (2010)
Winter's Bone (2010)
2010 | Drama
JLaw and the rednecks
Before she was "JLaw", Jennifer Lawrence garnered an Oscar nomination for this Best Picture nominee from 2010 about a young girl trying to find her delinquent father and trying to keep her family together at the same time.

Tensions rise quickly among the local townsfolk when the girl starts asking questions to try and figure out his whereabouts so she doesn't have to lose the family home to foreclosure.

Great acting and writing and overall look of this bleak film where none of the characters are very savory. The young girl's journey is interesting and has some twists and turns before she finally figures things out.

I liked it a lot.

  
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015)
2015 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
An emotional goodbye
Over the last three years, The Hunger Games franchise has thrilled and delighted fans and newcomers to the series with its mix of wonderful special effects, a great cast and intriguing plots.

With the second instalment, Catching Fire, proving to be the best in the series, expectations for the finale, Mockingjay Part 2 were incredibly high. But is this the end we all wanted, and more importantly deserved?

Mockingjay Part 2 picks up immediately after the events of Part 1, as Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen recovers from a vicious attack by her friend and on-off lover Peeta, played by Josh Hutcherson in a troubled and career-best performance.

With Katniss becoming a symbol of hope in a time of dictatorship, Lawrence marches with her friends and allies to storm the Capitol and overthrow the tyrannical President Snow, a deliciously evil Donald Sutherland.

The catch? Snow and previous Game makers have booby-trapped the Capitol with a range of sadistic tests trying to stop the rebellion in its tracks.

The Hunger Games has become renowned for a fantastic supporting cast that includes talent like Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julianne Moore, with the latter being particularly memorable.

Unfortunately, as is often the case with large Young Adult franchises, these fantastic actors are lost somewhat as director Francis Lawrence tries to tie up all loose ends with the main teens; Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth.

The aforementioned three have been part of a love triangle so convoluted it’s difficult to remember who is in love with who, but thankfully this takes a back seat to the action, though each of the three brings enough acting credibility to make the more romantic elements bearable.

Moreover, Mockingjay Part 2 pushes the boundaries of the much-maligned 12A certificate. This is by far the most harrowing and bleak of the four films and none of its predecessors were exactly a ray of sunshine. The characters are pushed to breaking point as the realisation of the Capitol’s evil fully sinks in and the inevitable loss of life is both thrilling and utterly devastating.

The special effects have been rightly ramped up for this final instalment with District 13 and the Capitol looking truly stunning. Each of the action sequences is filmed with such confidence and this shows off the exceptional sets much better than the handy cam that plagued the first film.

Unfortunately, the need to fill a movie nearly 140 minutes in length has led to a tone that occasionally jars and drags a little too frequently. This was a problem with Part 2’s predecessor and whilst the idea to split the final book into two films works better here, the balance is still not quite right and still reeks of money-making.

However, each of the action sequences are edge of the seat stuff with an underground sewer providing the film’s most pulse-racing and dramatic scenes. There’s a whiff of Ridley Scott’s Alien in Francis Lawrence’s direction throughout this extended set piece.

Overall, The Hunger Games series has ended on a high. From its beautiful cinematography to an exceptional main and supporting cast, director Francis Lawrence, who has been with the series since Catching Fire, has managed to craft a harrowing end to a group of films whose influence will be felt for many years to come.

https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/11/22/an-emotional-goodbye-the-hunger-games-mockingjay-part-2-review/