as best picture winner, there's been a lot of discourse around this film and I walk out of it feeling a little disappointed. it's not uniquely or really particularly provocative, or regressive, or progressive or explicit, and while I think there's validity to some of the criticisms I do like a lot of the choices made. baker's choice to linger on the working class that grease the wheels of ivan's lifestyle, for instance, and I appreciate the characterization being more…
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Oz the Great and Powerful 2013
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
immensely disappointing.. the film does draw from the original wizard of oz movie (the transition from black and white to colour, having actors play similar characters in the real world and in oz, wishing to go to a different world, the imagery, the gifts given by the wizard), but it doesn't have the creative energy to see it through. for example, something that could have been explored is the difference between oz and dorothy; while dorothy quickly returned to the…
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Wicked 2024
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fabulous and charming! came out of it wanting to see it again.. there's a lot of thought put into the details of bringing everything to life, and it juggles the wider background story with the elphaba-glinda dynamic in a way i personally find very satisfying. i was worried that the story would end with the train pulling into emerald city, but i'm extremely glad it ended where it did instead. i expected ariana to be excellent as glinda, but cynthia was also very impressive and delivers a touching performance, with "defying gravity" as the standout song. definitely looking forward to part 2.
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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1920
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(2014 4k restored version) visually it's gorgeous and unsettling, which is due to simultaneous successes in set design, makeup, acting, and shot composition. there is a great use of shadow and lighting to give depth to these scenes, and the acting is animated and dramatic (fitting the painting-come-to-life aesthetic). the intrigues of insanity, murder, and mystery are effective themes, undercut by a somewhat muddled throughline that kind of hampers it (from a modern perspective). the interpretation of cesare as the…
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