Started 09.03.2018
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse [2018]
Watched 20.01
"Teen Miles Morales becomes Spider-Man of his reality, crossing his path with five counterparts from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities."
It's chock full of callbacks and references. It cashes in on iconic scenes of yore. It has a Spider-Pig. Somehow, it shouldn't work. But it's one of the best animated films to appear these past few years.
What it might lack in plot originality it more than makes up with its near flawless presentation. It was so refreshing to see such an animation and art style to come out from a AAA studio, and it's completely deserving of all the attention it's getting. Is it a game-changer, as everyone and their mother is suspiciously presenting it as? Inbetween its accessibility, execution and its production by a big name studio, it might very well be.
My only two gripes are that it doesn't exactly break new ground in terms of pure narrative (multiverse or not), and that I would've like for the last three Spideys to be more than accessories to the story. But, purely in terms of technique, everyone should see this movie once.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
A Short Film About Killing [1988]
Watched 21.01
"Set in Warsaw, Poland, the film compares the senseless, violent murder of an individual to the cold, calculated execution by the state." (Wikipedia)
I saw Kieslowski's Ten Commandments a long time ago, and enjoyed them, even though I didn't make much of them at the time. A Short Film About Killing is a slightly longer, apparently contractually obliged, version of one of these Commandments, and it's accomplished as a stand-alone film.
It revolves around three characters: a sleazy, middle-aged taxi driver, a young drifter and an idealistic lawyer soon to be assigned to his first case. It is a very implied indictment of the death penalty that was still in effect in Poland at the time. The two deaths are presented in harrowing detail, sandwiched between the lawyer's efforts to provide a voice of reason and a shred of humanity. It's a meticulously executed and striking film, considering its short run time.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Watched 27.01
"When a mad man calling himself 'the Scorpio Killer' menaces the city, tough as nails San Francisco Police Inspector Harry Callahan is assigned to track down and ferret out the crazed psychopath."
Dirty Harry is a film that feeds into an apparent '70s hard-on for vigilante justice prevalent in the States.
I'll just say upfront that I did not enjoy Dirty Harry as much as I had hoped. Its first hour is unengaging and drawn out. Its last half hour is interesting, but it's introduced by one of the most blatant specifically-engineered-for-outrage revelations I've ever seen in film. That was the moment it turned from an unremarkable crime TV episode to a 'sign of the times' statement on the deliverers of justice. The acting is a bit on the camp side, and Clint Eastwood does try to carry the film as much as he can - but after 40 minutes I did get a bit tired of his wisecracking and constant speculation of why he is actually called "Dirty".
Oh, and the film makes you and Harry ogle at the assets of an implied fourteen year old girl. Twice.
★★★★✬☆☆☆☆☆
Submitted January 27, 2019 at 10:26PM by AltVladC http://bit.ly/2DCsQ4v
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