In The Gray Man‘s opening scene, future handler Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton) informs Sierra Six (Ryan Gosling), who is currently incarcerated for murder, that he ‘seems the type’. And he certainly does. His first film since 2018’s First Man, Gosling has built the later part of his career on strong silent types (The Place Beyond the Pines, Drive, Only God Forgives), many of whom have taken lives in the interest of survival. It might seem disconcerting, then, when Six (a characteristically brief name for Gosling’s characters – the original name from the books, Court Gentry, is pretty much ignored) hits back at Fitzroy with several nonchalant comebacks. Multiple sentences are spoken. The veteran Gosling viewer might be concerned. Is this man going to exceed the sparse word counts of his previous laconic antiheroes (Driver utters only 116 lines; Only God Forgives’ Julian? A mere 17)?
Continue reading “Review: The Gray Man”Review: Pokémon Legends Arceus
With the ever-increasing number of pokémon, the task of truly catching ‘em all has become slightly tiresome. With the original 151, it at least felt doable, providing you had some friends to trade with (if you didn’t, however, more fool you). It’s refreshing then, that Legends Arceus draws the focus away from the monumental task of catching these huge amounts of creatures, and instead provides a more research-based approach. Does it all work, though? Read on to find out.
Continue reading “Review: Pokémon Legends Arceus”Minimalist Moments: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
‘Can’t you hear me?’
The point of view shot is hardly a novel camera angle. We are often presented with an image, whether that might be a low angle shot of the Deadly Vipers staring down at you (Kill Bill Vol. 1), your crush gliding towards you in slow motion (The Royal Tenenbaums), or images of foreign human vessels moving around you (The Terminator). In this standard use of the technique, an image is shown of an environment containing significant objects or persons, and is subsequently followed by an image of the person who has just been viewing the previous image. It immerses the viewer in the narrative, making them connect with the character’s emotional state.
Continue reading “Minimalist Moments: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”Thor: Love and Thunder – Trigger Warnings For Cancer?
The phrase is more readily associated with university campuses; signs warning students that the content of lectures contains upsetting content which they might wish to avoid. Trigger warnings have come to be associated with debates about political correctness in the culture wars, but the recent online backlash about the portrayal of cancer in Taikka Wahiti’s latest Marvel entry bring new issues into the discussion.
Continue reading “Thor: Love and Thunder – Trigger Warnings For Cancer?”Minimalist Moments: The Dark Knight
‘I’m like a dog chasing cars. I wouldn’t know what to do if I caught one’.
As Heath Ledger’s clown prince of crime explains to a bed-ridden, broken Harvey Dent in Christopher Nolan’s second Batman film, there’s no deliberate malice in his actions. He’s simply an agent of chaos. But, as the above, genius 9 second sequence makes clear, actions speak louder than words. After successfully escaping prison in fiery fashion, we witness the Joker gleefully stick his body outside the back window of a police car to the tune of blearing sirens, placing a gloved hand firmly on the roof.
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