Since I always had a weak spot for Sam Mendesās work and since I kept hearing some really good things about this flick, I was really eager to check it out. Well, like many other heralded movies released in 2019, even if I really liked the damned thing, it didnāt really blow me away though. The point was that, sure,Ā it was indeed visually and technically impressive. However, even though the story was decent enough, to be honest, it was nothing really original or amazing. At least, the plot wasnāt as ridiculous as it was in āSaving Private Ryanā (a movie with an amazing intro but otherwise seriously overrated). Indeed, everything happening was fairly realistic but, again, there was nothing really ground-breaking about these 2 soldiers involved in some seemingly impossible mission to bring some crucial message. Furthermore, pretty much like Christopher Nolan with āDunkirkā, Sam Mendes chose a realistic approach regarding his characters but, while this approach definitely has its merits, it also has its downside. I mean, on one hand, you really feel that you are dealing with some average soldiers, that they could be anyone, the boy-next-door, yourself, your brother,ā¦ However, on the other hand, you do end up with some āaverageā characters who were barely charismatic and who didnāt have any real distinctive features or personalities. Still, there is no doubt that the visuals by Roger Deakins (easily one of the best cinematographers at work nowadays) were just so impressive and it is possible that I would have enjoyed this movie more if I had seen it on the silver screen and not at home. Anyway, to conclude, all in all, it was still another strong directing effort from Sam Mendes and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre.Ā
1917 Reviews
A good movie
Posted : 3 years, 6 months ago on 14 October 2020 10:200 comments, Reply to this entry
1917 review
Posted : 4 years, 1 month ago on 10 March 2020 03:280 comments, Reply to this entry
1917 review
Posted : 4 years, 1 month ago on 26 February 2020 02:27Don't include this ā ā¶ā in web link THANKS
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1917 review
Posted : 4 years, 2 months ago on 13 February 2020 05:32ĀæEsta pelĆcula es un logro cinematogrĆ”fico? si lo es como digitalmente pega las escenas para lograr que la pelĆcula sea o de la ilusiĆ³n que esta grabada en una sola toma yo personalmente pensaba que iba a ganar mejor pelĆcula en los Oscar y el parĆ”sito dio la sorpresa de la noche. Se me hace un poco cliche o basica pero lo demas todos los escenarios que fueron recreadas todas las trincheras. En ocasiones que este una sola toma la pelĆcula es un poco tedioso pero todo lo demĆ”s se me hace muy bien logrado en la pelĆcula.Es una pelĆcula muy epica en momentos un poco tensa y lo logra muy bien, veremos si en un futuro se vuelve un clĆ”sico o la gente siga hablando de ella.
English:
Is this movie a cinematic achievement? If it is as digitally paste the scenes to make the film is or the illusion that is recorded in one shot I personally thought I was going to win better film at the Oscars and the parasite gave the surprise of the night. It makes me a little click or basic but the rest all the scenarios that were recreated all the trenches. Sometimes this one takes the film is a bit tedious but everything else is very well done in the film.It is a very epic film at times a little tense and achieves it very well, we will see if in the future it becomes A classic or people keep talking about her.
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1917
Posted : 4 years, 2 months ago on 1 February 2020 09:43It would be easy to write off 1917 as a technical display lacking in anything else, but that complaint is rooted in an inability to get past the central gimmick. Sam Mendesā directorial achievement is from the school of Rope and Birdman: everything is presented as one long shot. Unlike those films, thereās plenty of quiet poetry and emotional undercurrents to counterbalance the spectacle on display.
Ā
We begin by meeting our central characters, Blake (Dean Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George MacKay) as they nap in a verdant field between battles. Someone comes to stir them, and we watch as they descend into the trenches like an inevitable stroll into hell. The unnerving quiet of the way the scene unfolds is a sign of things to come and a dread starts to build within you.
Ā
This dread only deepens as theyāre given a near-suicide mission to infiltrate enemy lines and deliver a message to another company to call off an attack. The bulk of the movie is of the two of them embarking on this mission and the various setbacks, dangers, and human moments along the way.
Ā
There hasnāt been a war film released recently that so artfully captures the desolate wasteland and hell of war. Thereās no glorification of hyperviolence and masculinity like Hacksaw Ridge or American Sniper but visions of vast destruction and unimaginable loss. One scene that haunted me even as it unfolded was MacKay walking into a burning town from the blackness like he was entering hellās mouth and discovering the eerie quietness outside of the hungry flames.
Ā
The surreal, nightmarish landscape of No Manās Land is a repulsive corrective to rah-rah jingoistic war cinema. No Manās Land is nothing but scorched earth, bombed out craters, corpses of man and beast being devoured by rats, and the remains of barbed wire and wood. The only sign of once hospitable land is puddles of dirty water that provide no nourishment. Mendesā treatment of these scenes recalls the stark, harsh poetry of The Big Parade or The Best Years of Our Lives in trying to visualize near indescribable horrors that mankind can wrought upon each other.
Ā
If thereās any major knock against 1917 it isnāt the technical wizardry on display, but the big-name star cameos that occasionally call more attention to themselves than the story. Andrew Scott and Richard Madden blend in well while Benedict Cumberbatch and Colin Firth are big time movie stars loaded with baggage. For a brief moment, 1917ās delicate immersion and terrifying surrealism are popped.
Ā
Mendes does manage to quickly regain the momentum lost by restoring us to the terrifying and senselessness of its main characters existence. Praise be to George MacKay for carrying 1917 upon his shoulders with such grace and existential trepidation. Itās a damn shame that Best Actor was so crowded this year that a spot couldnāt be found for him. MacKayās stark face in several scenes is a blank space for Mendes to remind us of the cruelty and chaos of war. The haunting imagery is reflected from MacKay back to us just as often as the pauses and emotionally stingy finale.
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1917 review
Posted : 4 years, 3 months ago on 12 January 2020 04:550 comments, Reply to this entry