Change Your Image
bobbykhorasani
Reviews
Trainspotting (1996)
drugs and existentialism
this movie is highly recommended for anyone interested in existential themes. i found Danny Boyle very nicely illustrated Irvine Welsh's story of a man who questions his purpose and has to choose between life and nothing (thereby not choosing at all). by not choosing, he means falling back on heroine, the ultimate escape from reality.
The acting delivers the great plot and script perfectly. I couldn't ask for more.
i loved it. especially when he goes to London to try to integrate into 'life.' please watch.
spud: this is not natural man. tommy: it's the great outdoors! it's fresh air!
The Sopranos: Made in America (2007)
existentialism and sopranos
The Sopranos is a work of art. It is about a man with two families, pivoted on conversations with a psychiatrist. David Chase brings themes that are central to life in America throughout the series. He is fascinated by questions of morality, religion (see: Amour Fou, The Flesh Part of the Thigh), existentialism (see: D-Girl, From Where to Eternity,) and the human experience. Therefore, his show culminated with the fitting title of the last episode, 'Made in America.' Tony's conversations with Dr. Melfi throughout the series are a way for the audience to delve into the inner thoughts of Tony and explore in-depth the themes of the show.
The last episode was for some a disappointment. But to be in-line with the rest of the series, Chase could have done it no other way. In his post-modern take on the world, questions are left unanswered, absolute truths are unknown, ambiguity reigns supreme, and loose ends remain. This is the reality of the world Chase wishes to project, that certainty lays beyond our grasp. This is not the first time Chase leaves us to determine for ourselves what may or may not have happened. In Pine Barrens, the Russian is never found. When Christopher gets beaten up while trying to score drugs, we are left wondering if he gets revenge. Silvio is left in the hospital, his fate unknown.
I highly recommend watching this show, not only for it's mafia related entertainment, but for the deeper questions that are asked and explored throughout the show, often presented in a humorous, subtle way, and left for the viewer to draw conclusions on.
Schindler's List (1993)
A political message for an apolitical movie
What an astounding movie. Spielberg is able to show the suffering of the Jewish people in a detailed and humanised way that makes their stories tangible. This movie took great efforts to show that each life is precious, and the sheer number of those murdered should not lead to ignoring that each person had a unique story. What is unfortunate for a movie that attempted to elucidate the amount of human suffering clear from any politics, is that a blatant political statement was made at the end. the line by the Russian officer, 'Don't go east, that's for sure. They hate you there. I wouldn't go west either, if I were you' when the Jews are freed is a clear attempt at a justification for a Jewish state. the entrance of politics could overshadow the othewise far-reaching message of the film, which is a human one. other then that, the movie was impressive at arousing a feeling of human sympathy and compassion.
The Sopranos: From Where to Eternity (2000)
The duality of man
This episode stands out as one of the best in the series. The themes in this episode are religion, good vs. evil, the afterlife, and hypocrisy. We see Carmela put her faith that a prayer will save Christopher, and later reveals she believes her prayer brought him back from death. Christopher, believing he was in Hell, tells Paulie about his experience and tells him that he was told he will go back one day. Paulie sees a psychic, and when he is taken aback by the accuracy of the psychics readings of Paulie's past hits, he freaks out, goes to his pastor, and lets him know he will no longer financially supporting the church. This is while the pastor is trying to assure him that the psychic is wrong and practicing a form of witchcraft. We see the pastor is happy reassuring Paulie he will be OK even though he is a murderer, just to keep the funds coming. Paulie also reveals he is positive that Christopher went to hell, because of science. Science! Tony, telling Dr. Melfi that he believes only cruel and wicked people, the worst of the worst, go to hell, later in the episode decides to replace Furio because he wants to be the one that takes revenge against Matthew Belevaqua, which is done in the most cruel way possible, and then enjoys a steak at an Irish Bar, where Cristopher said Hell is. Finally, the biggest hypocrisy of all, is when Tony comes home from what Carmela knows was a murder, and instead of being upset, she is turned on. This is the duality of man.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Political/moral message in movie
What I feel the message of the movie is is that you may end up getting tricked into signing up for something you don't believe in, as is what often happens when you join a government agency. In the case of Jason Bourne, he realized he was a killing machine serving the interests of a few, when really he signed up in the hopes of saving American lives. It is the same with American troops and the Iraq war, something that has now been proved to be a war based on fictitious premises. I like the quote from the movie when the top guy trying to kill Bourne says, "it ain't over till we win" when the women CIA agent is questioning his policy of exterminating everybody that poses a threat. I see a lot of parallels between that and the war on terror, something i think was intentional by the writer.
Running Scared (2006)
Distasteful violence, plot running nowhere!
This movie had me running away instead of scared. It started out interesting, with cool camera effects and an interesting plot. As the movie progressed, I was waiting for the story to pick up, but it never did. I thought that it was going in circles, with unnecessary side-plots and coincidences that were not easy to accept. Besides being unrealistic and stagnate, the movie contained a fair amount of distasteful gory violence. Finally to make things worse, it ended with a surprise that was truly stupid in the furthest extent of the word possible. The acting was poor. If you have high expectations from the movies you see, then please don't see this movie. But if you settle for poor acting blockbusters, then you'll love it. Overall I rate it a 4 for waste of a good two hours!