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The Bank War

Paul Kahan

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The Bitter Battle over the Charter of the Second Bank of the United States and Its Lasting Impact on...

Jon Bernthal recommended GoodFellas (1990) in Movies (curated)

GoodFellas (1990)

1990 | Crime, Drama, Thriller

8.6

(70 Ratings)

Movie Favorite Watch

"""Alright, I’d say the first would have to be Goodfellas. I know that’s probably one you get a lot, but I remember it came out, and I was probably in about the 8th grade. Me and my buddy Dougie Thornel probably saw that at the theaters 30 times. I mean we would just go, and we would watch it, and then sit in the theater and watch it again. I can’t say enough good about it. It’s horrifying, it’s hilarious, it’s so unbelievably honest. Look, I mean, Scorsese is my favorite filmmaker. You know, the fact that I got the chance to work with him [on The Wolf of Wall Street] was sort of the mountaintop, the kind of crowning achievement of my career, and I don’t mean that in sort of how I’m perceived by the world. I just mean in terms of experience. My brief time on that movie really changed the way that I work as an actor. He’s one of these guys that makes you feel that anything is possible. I’ve studied in the Russian theater, and one of the main ways that we study was you get a scene and then you do a big improvisation about the scene and what the scene could be. That’s precisely how he worked. Each one of these scenes, you create this unbelievably vivid reality, you really take yourself to the place, and everybody feels like they are one hundred feet tall. It doesn’t matter whether you are background or whether you are craft services or anything, but everybody is so full of ideas. You make it on the day, and then he just sort of takes what he wants from that. I feel like that method of filmmaking that’s so Scorsese, so uniquely his, shines brightest in that movie. That sense of anything can happen at anytime, it’s happening right there in the moment. I think it really, really just shines brightest in that film, and that’s why it’s my favorite film."""

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Kudos

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Tenet (2020) in Movies

Sep 8, 2020

Tenet (2020)

2020 | Action

7.7

(28 Ratings)

Movie Rating Watch

God damn Tenet is confusing, and even that statement has a dual meaning - in regards to the plot, it's purposefully confusing to a degree (more on that shortly), but also in regards to my poor frazzled feelings towards the film as a whole.
For every moment where I felt myself switching off a bit, there was another moment which blew me away.

Back to the plot, Christopher Nolan has done that thing where he throws a load of faffy exposition and quick cuts, with thread bare explanation, before bringing in a massive pay off to sort of tie it all together. Not too dissimilar to Inception, but way harder to follow.
By the time the credits rolled, I think I had a good enough grasp on what happened, but still will probably need another viewing to piece it together.
Something that is beyond doubt however, is the aesthetics on display. Tenet looks amazing. The action set pieces are breathtaking at times. The last 45 minutes in particular is an absolute pleasure to look at, and the idea of some people functioning in reverse makes for some hugely eye pleasing fight scenes.

Another positive to take from Tenet is the cast. John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, and Elizabeth Debicki are all great as per usual, and are supported by the likes of Kenneth Branagh and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Branagh especially is a convincing, nasty villain.

There's been a lot of discussion surrounding the sound mixing - and I can honestly see why. A lot of the dialogue is cancelled out by either the (pretty damn good) music score, or swamped underneath obnoxiously loud sound effects. Whether this is a stylistic choice by Nolan or not, it does negatively impact the experience.

Ultimately, Tenet is enjoyable enough, but I feel like it's not as clever as it wants you to think. That being said, maybe I'm just not clever enough to truly get it. It's proving to be a divisive film however, so it's definitely worth seeing for yourself to reach a conclusion.

Kudos

Becs (244 KP) rated A Wrinkle in Time in Books

Oct 2, 2019

Genre: Fiction, literary classic, children’s, young adult, science fiction.

Audience: children – young adult.

Reading level: middle school.

Interests: science fiction, fantasy, mythical creatures

Style: Fantasy Sci-Fi

Point of view: Third Person with a mix of first person.

Difficulty reading: Not at all! As easy as eating a piece of cake.

Promise: Ground-breaking science fiction.

Quality: Like a banana split with extra sprinkles and a cherry on top on a hot day. 🙂

Insights: I absolutely kick myself in the a** for the not reading this sooner. I think everybody should read it, no matter how old you are. And I didn’t know it was part of a 5 book series until today! SAY WHATTTT!!!??? I’m definitely purchasing the complete series brand new (the copy I have is my mother’s and it’s old and ragedy).

Ah-Ha Moment: THE ENTIRE BOOK. No joke. Like I wasn’t expecting the main character to be a girl, let alone so young and to have such an ordinary family. You don’t see that typically!

Favorite Quotes: “Like and equal are not the same thing at all.” – This is great, especially with our history as human beings. We need to be seen as equals not just ‘like’.

“Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.” – Be true to yourself, for there is nobody like you in the entire universe.

“Experiment is the mother of knowledge.” – You can’t just go into life expecting to know everything and how it’s all going to end. You have to experiment because then you gain the knowledge that others may have not known.

Aesthetics: My old first edition copy has a really neat cover, it’s what drew me in originally. I loved the take on the story and how in my mind, I can actually imagine the different characters and their surroundings. It’s a weird yet interesting book.

“People are more than just the way they look.”