zenn_mind Reviews

Partisan (2015)

Surreal, subtle and subversive.

[7/10 · 12 July 2016]

The movie provides a safety of anonymity over its characters by never giving away the location of the setting, an isolated dream taking place beyond the pale of society with its own mechanism, but sometimes a lucid dream gives life to what is kept in the deep hollows of the collective consciousness.

Alexander, a young boy of sensibility, lives among a community of children and women overseen by just one man, Gregori. The film documents the manipulation that takes place as the group exist to function for a cause of its own and juxtaposes the fanaticism, of a controlled and ultimately an abusive nature, with the open wonder of the innocence of childhood.

The mechanisms of Oedipal crisis is at work and Alexander opens his eyes to the world around him, made significant with the arrival of a baby brother. However, the much debated theme, commonly based on the Freudian concept of repressed sexuality, makes its transition much quicker to the stages of puberty and adulthood as the boy begins to realize his actions must now carry the consequences of social responsibility, or the lack thereof.

The film ends abruptly to prevent something really serious from happening. Instead, it leaves us on a poignant note of a scene, reminding us of Ezekiel 25:17, with boy Alexander emanating a plea for deliverance through his being as he stares down the only responsible man in his eyes.

Dream-like, painstaking and most certainly a unique film experience that's put the young director on my radar.

Spectre (I) (2015)

Cold, flashy and devoid of character.

[6/10 · 11 July 2016]

Men's lifestyle and luxury magazine rolled into one and made into a movie, the product placement and formulaic cinematography works as a sedative that sets the tone of the movie throughout, in danger of falling asleep.

We don't really wake up until 2/3 of the way in with restrained James facing torture by painful methods but by this stage the film has taken too long to set the pieces in motion, a story that struggles to link the villains of the past to the current plot which is just as good for an excuse to make one slick looking film.

The dilemma may be an existential one for James. Death follows wherever he goes, it's just part of the job, and the women manage to fall easily onto his lap . But has he ever thought about retiring or getting a different job? The thought may have crossed his mind between the shenanigans in his moment of inner silence to realise that the bling and the blood won't save him for being without a plan. Deep thoughts, but when you are this good at portraying the modern lifestyle the question may as well remain a rhetorical one. It's not that Bond has nothing to say, he just prefers not to.

Predestination (I) (2014)

Perfection of the mind

[7/10 · 11 July 2016]

Predestination forms a full circle as it ends, at the moment very aptly chosen by the producers and frankly the art of storytelling outshines all else in this.

The theory of time travel is observed to best avoid any obvious contradictions, this mixed with gender role reversal makes it a very interesting watch. Self absorbing narcissism is justified by scenes that act as revolving doors into sections of time, whose consequences are a glove tight fit to the entirety of the story line. Having just finished it, I realised how much I appreciate being able to take away from it the perfection of the mind that is both haunting and restless as each jigsaw puzzle seeks out one another guided by the precision of a watchmaker.

One of better films Hawke's been seen in lately.

The Finest Hours (2016)

Test your sea legs until it runs out of steam.

[6/10 · 7 July 2016]

Starts its engines slow but is a hell of a ride once she's fired up and gets going. Obviously the studio was bent on spending its budget to create a cinema experience so immersive that frankly, it feels like I'm still seeing waves on the screen as I'm typing out this review.

A tale based on a real life coastal rescue, the 50's world has been beautifully restored and provides warmth as bleak coastal towns withstand the storm. It's the kind of a movie that takes you on a ride however, the characters only have a hand in holding the tiller but not the way the direction of the current is headed.

Bernie's case for example, he goes through some serious stress emotionally and physically but gets extremely lucky once already but when the ultimatum of making his return journey uses the same formula, you can't help but notice that the studio just ran out of steam by this point to be able to offer a proper closure as to the whole of the journey we've just witnessed. Who could possibly blame them though, when the sailors are no longer in danger and it's over surely we can pat ourselves on the back and head on home. I wish it is as simple as that. and in a way it is, as the movie offers nothing left to be picked up from it the experience. Queue obligatory cuts of factual photos, which falls way short in terms of doing any justice to honour the man, and what we must take home is a mild nausea and the eerie feeling that someone high up in the studio was playing God because we are thankful to be back but not for its providence.

A highly enjoyable movie whose fuel is all but burnt on that big ride out that the journey back seems to never have surfaced in the thoughts of the producers. Had it not been based on a true story we may have never come back.

For those that want more intrigue than build ups, I also recommend The Deep (2012), about a fisherman to incredibly have survived a shipwreck in freezing cold waters.

The Duel (I) (2016)

Straight cut with no frills for the ride on the edge.

[6/10 · 6 July 2016]

Westerns for me is such a distinctive genre as owing to a specific time in history and being rooted in its universal themes that has been explored almost exhaustively.

It's surprising then that one should come along with a kick to the teeth in the guise of a movie that's packaged lightly in terms of visuals and score. The story follows a young ranger and spouse as he has to face a man, who killed his father in a duel in the past, and now reigns supreme in a small town near the Mexican border.

Harrelson is cut out for this role as a man who is on a self-righteous path of carrying out the will of the divine by means of brutality and chances of fate. He is a force to be reckoned with and overshadows all else around him but Hemsworth's Kingston is well versed himself in taking the law into his own hands. Almost too mechanical by way of showing how it's done but believe you me it's a slice of justice being dished out, nothing fancy, and enough to sit you down.

The intrigue of spirituality that leads people on down a dark road is only touched upon as being an inexplicable power that makes few connections with the actual clandestine going ons that has brought the characters at odds with one another. Something as easily abused is often mistaken for something else but no one could possibly deviate from the course when Harrelson's fierce eyes are keeping watch.

The Admiral: Roaring Currents (2014)

Cry me a sea

[7/10 · 5 July 2016]

The job of the critic is to honestly review the movie for the emotional content it delivers. The Admiral is a tearjerker that speaks of a man's principal to not give in even when the odds are stacked high against him.

The story is focused on one of the historic naval battles during Japanese invasion of Korea in the middle ages when Korean navy led by Admiral Lee, our protagonist, managed to thwart off a much larger Japanese Navy. Lee had been a victim of political scraps and was made to step down from his post by the King himself only to be reinstated as he was needed when the situation turned for the very worst.

On mainland, the invasion is threatening to takeover the capital and a reinforcement by sea will surely provide a finishing blow to it all. The Korean navy by this time had been reduced to a fraction of what it had been, with only 12 ships to spare against hundreds of the invader's. Fear is rife for treachery to breed, however, Lee's resolve is to the death so that he may save more people whose lives are at risk should the invasion succeed.

A large portion of the movie is immersed in battle scenes as it unfolds in the roaring straits. There is an urgency when bystanders desperately try to send signals from the shore and loss is felt through the cries from a wife whose husband had to sacrifice himself to stop an enemy boat. People's war is being fought here. Precise detail of the historic accuracy and depth the character are lacking but the movie compensates by focusing on Admiral's determination, which is close to being a death wish, as the motivator for his soldiers to confront the impossible task at hand.

He possibly can't die, though he meets an end similar to Nelson according to history, despite throwing himself in the thick of it all he survives one wave after another as it continues to wring out the tears from grown men as people bleed and pull on the ropes with bare hands to save his warship for the final wave.

There is no order in which chaos is served in war as neither are there boundaries that mark the swell of emotions on choppy waters but it is a fairly well balanced portrayal of nations by any means though it has nothing to do winning than it is do with that gut feeling about a man who stood for something.