I was a huge movie buff in my teens & early 20s but fell off of it for some reason. I don't know why, but lately I have been craving a true cinematic experience like the first time I watched a Kubrick flick. Dennis Villenueve is a name I've seen floated around that is reminiscent of my favorite directors (Kubrick, Sorcesese, Coppala, Nolan, etc.) . I mentioned this in the GAF Discord server and got a few recs .
I bought the digital version of the movie
Sicario. It's $5 on Apple right now & was easily worth the asking price.
I also rented
Arrival and the movie blew me away. I think it might be my favorite movie of all time but I would need to rewatch
Interstellar to see how I feel about it in a true comparison.
Based on my feelings for these 2 flicks, I will probably scour through Villenueve's work. His shots, framing, pacing, everything is just perfect. The tension in his long holds is just *chef kiss*. There is so much life in his shots.
Arrival nails everything perfectly on the head for me. The plot is quite unique--and a tour of perfectly executed writing. I am not super well versed on Sci-fi themes & tropes despite it being a favorite movie genre of mine so maybe this is old hat for others. I love that linguistics plays such a heavy role. And any movie that competently explores time as a central theme or plot device is immediately going to skyrocket on my personal list (Hence my love for Nolan's work).
Polytechnique will be my watch tonight. The movie looks incredibly grim and bold. But if Villenueve's craft is as honed in that movie as it was in
Arrival, I am confident the material will be tactful.
I'll double feature
Prisonsers tonight, based on the recs from Discord. I know nothing going in, which should make for a great watching experience.