Review XCVIII - After Hours

Review XCVIII
After Hours (1985)

So my boyfriend and I were looking for a new film to watch, and he was feeling a comedy. Now, while he has taste when it comes to every other genre, comedies are not his strong suit. And I'm not a big comedy person in general. So after trying Scary Movie for not even five minutes, I copped out. Instead we settled on a film that I had heard about in passing but had never fully looked into - Martin Scorsese's After Hours. I'm sure you've seen the poster before. I didn't even know it was Martin Scorsese until I happened across it when I was looking for a better film! My boyfriend loves Scorsese, and it was a dark comedy, so it was a win-win situation... I think...

Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) is a word processor who is looking for some excitement in his life. He meets a young woman, named Marcy (Rosanna Arquette), at a coffee shop who invites him over to buy a paper weight from her artist friend, Kiki (Linda Fiorentino - Dogma? Wow). When Paul actually decides to go, his night soon turns into a nightmare where he just wishes he could go home and sleep.

The film was different than the other Scorsese films I've seen. Apparently it was made in response to a film Martin Scorsese would later release about Jesus (the Christian figure, not the Mexican) called The Last Temptation of Christ. Paramount Pictures had cancelled the film's production, and it had completed bummed out Scorsese. Originally to the be directed by Tim Burton, he stepped aside when Scorsese expressed an interest in being the director. Yeah, you know right away Scorsese was putting himself in the film. Paul is stuck dealing with a bunch of crazy people all night where, every time he thinks he may finally be getting home, he somehow gets screwed over. It's humorous; nothing that sends you away crying, but you laugh at some particular moments and the fact that everyone is just so damn crazy. You can see how Scorsese felt he was the only sane individual when trying to get going with The Last Temptation of Christ. In fact, I think the film really exaggerates those times where you're around people who just seem to be against you by taking the craziest way to go about things (this would have to be me when it comes to school projects).

I find it a bit sad that I had never really heard of this film before. If you're a die-hard Scorsese film, I'm sure you'd know it, but otherwise, just a casual fan probably wouldn't know this film. I won't call it his best film since it's really just expressing frustration with dealing with other people, but it's a nice watch if you're feeling something futile, hehe. Griffin Dunne has the best expressions sometimes. When he meets up with the men-that-have-sex-with-men guy, how I did laugh. Seeing him break down to people and how no one cares, yet everyone remembers him for a small mistake he made. And you get a lot of cameos from some familiar people, like John Heard, Catherine O'Hara, and Cheech and Chong! Pretty legit.

No need to check out After Hours after hours (*drum snare*) to enjoy it. A nice little watch from Martin Scorsese that I totally recommend for a casual viewing.

This trailer just sums up the whole film, so skip it if you truly want to go in surprised.

Review LXXVIII - Her

Review LXXVIII
Her (2013)

*bows* Guys, I'm sorry for abandoning you. With work and school overwhelming my schedule, I find it hard to one, watch films, and then two, review them. However, I found an especially catchy song I want to loop, so I decided to take the time to write a review about Spike Jonze's Oscar-winning Her. It stars Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, and Amy Adams. But first, I'll speak about the Oscars briefly.

I didn't watch many Oscar-nominated films this year given that I was busy with everything. I checked out Jagten (which I reviewed), La grande bellezza, Gravity, and American Hustle. You already know my feelings about Mads Mikkelsen, I mean, Jagten. La grande bellezza was a pretty good film (it had Poulenc's first movement of "Mouvements perpetuels" at one point!), albeit the CGI was a bit bothersome as I found it wasn't the best quality and not necessary to the plot (plus I had someone breathing down my neck about it). Overall, it was a modern take on La dolce vita. Gravity was very enjoyable. I mean, I won't go out of my way and say it was exceptional, but the way it was put together was interesting. I recommended it to my parents, and besides my dad ranting about some technical details, they seemed to enjoy it, as well. American Hustle? I'm not one for these con/mafia films, though I did really enjoy The Godfather and Mean Streets. However, this was not an exception. American Hustle consisted of crazy, useless characters and a plot that I barely cared for. I have two guesses as to why it was nominated: the first, David O. Russell made it big with Silver Linings Playbook, which was significantly better than American Hustle, but you know, same director. Two, it had a well-known cast, starring Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, and Louis C.K.. It even gave a quick nod to Martin Scorsese, the king of the gangster/mobster/con films of the seventies by having Robert De Niro make an appearance. American Hustle is set in the seventies, another nod to Scorsese, but let me tell you, American Hustle will not be remembered in years for now. Thankfully, it didn't win best picture, but which film did win? The Steve McQueen film, 12 Years a Slave. I had wanted to watch it because it starred Michael Fassbender (I'm shameless, what can I say), but I never got around to it. Once I had heard it had won, even with Gravity winning seven Oscars, including best cinematography and best director, I proposed, with gleaming eyes, watching it one night with my boyfriend. Soon after starting, he stopped me and proceeded to delete the film, saying there was nothing in that film. We ended up finishing it, but he hated it. I can't say I hated it, but to say it deserved best picture, I disagree. It was very okay, not providing anything new on the take of a slave. It was the typical "white-man-is-bad, black-man-is-innocent", except for Brad Pitt, who comes in as the deus ex machina and, spoilers, frees Chiwetel Ejiofor's character. But whatever, this was expected, I assume. And finally, I checked out Dallas Buyers Club, which was pretty good! Of course, I loved Jared Leto's character. The film was an interesting take on the AIDS epidemic, dealing with a heterosexual man who contracts the disease. Now, let's talk about Her, shall we?

Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) leads a relatively lonely life, working at a job where he writes letters for the individuals in a relationship. He hears of a new operating system that is self-aware and gives it a shot. The operating system, who names herself Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), grows with Theodore as time goes on. Theodore finds himself attracted to Samantha, but this means finally divorcing his wife, Catherine (Rooney Mara). But biggest of all, he'll have to overcome to the idea of loving an operating system.

That synopsis was pretty horrendous, but I'm sorry, folks, I'm not very good at those. Anyway, this was a cute film. I mean, if you check out the colour scheme of the film, or watch the first five minutes, you can guess it's "one of those films". But, thankfully, this isn't a Wes Anderson type of cute. It's cute in the sense that, whil watching this entire film, you yourself feel conflicted because you're questioning exactly what the protagonist is - is this actually real? The operating system is self-aware, but it's still an operating system. It's like taking those "Internet relationships" with a grain of salt. I know I was shrug my shoulders with those, but if I was placed in the situation, I'd feel completely different about the issue.

The acting was pretty good. Joaquin Phoenix was great as Theodore (plus I dig that moustache), and Scarlett Johansson, well, her voice was great, haha. It was believable chemistry between the two, even if it wasn't exactly face-to-face. That makes for some great stuff, doesn't it? No complaints from Amy Adams, either, and the other actors all played their characters well.

I'll just go into more depth of the plot... I praised it already, but I'll do it again. It was interesting! It makes some great social commentary about the types of relationships that are evolving right now (no, not waifus), and what could potentially happen in the future. Her also made quite a few remarks I often find myself thinking, and I always feel excited when a film does that. Maybe the only complaint I had was in relation to the plot involving Amy Adam's and Joaquin Phoenix's relationship. It was obvious the way it played out. Even the film itself was a bit predictable, but it was entertaining nonetheless. The way the film is put together, i.e. the way it was filmed, was also well done. The colours were intense, and it did remind me of Wes Anderson, but the take on the plot was different.

I'll stop here since all I can really do is praise the plot. It's a romance, but it's smart, hence why I enjoyed it. I also just realised that Spike Jonze and Wes Anderson look alike... Hmmm... Take care, folks!

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