Silver Linings Playbook (2012) - David O Russell

I knew there would be some love between me and the latest of David O Russell's cinematic endeavours, there always was... but to this extent? Silver Linings Playbook was Frank Capra in his golden days, movies with Audrey Hepburn and Gene Kelly and the good old Hollywood glory... with manic-depressive spin. He did it in The Fighter (fantastically so) and he did it here, ensemble pieces constrained in a single room with a big fucking boom called stellar acting, and I'm pointing at these guilty participants: Bobby De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, even Jacki Weaver (even though it's funny to see her among the fellow nominees, but we already agreed on the joke part of the tuxedo/crinoline ceremony, basically 99% of it).

And it's constantly moving and jogging and marching forward, to either chaos or soothing calmness of dancing sequences. It's either wildly unpredictable or extremely gentle and delicate, and sometimes it's all at the same time (at the cost of nerves). The finale... I don't know, it was like Bigelow's Raid part done in social environment of a major contest event. The last time I wanted to walk out and forget about the whole thing James Franco was cutting his arm off with a swiss army knife in 127 Hours, that's how nail-biting it was. And the leading duet, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence? Please, let there be light. Bradley always had it, there was always this little actor-player... entertainer, squatting inside him, he just needed the chance to prove it. Jenn had her chances, last year was fantastic for her and this is simply an extension of that hard work and sweat; talent in the right hands, amazing stuff to behold - I loved them both. Bobby De Niro, needs to be said, one of the greatest actors of our time (from some time ago), he's not back, he was always here and it was nice to see him in such sincere form.

In the end, gotta hand it to the man, O. Russell, guy knows how to run the show and control his little drama playground, and drive them to some amazing lengths.

VERDICT: 5/5

m4st4 wrote:
Silver Linings Playbook (2012) - David O Russell

I knew there would be some love between me and the latest of David O Russell's cinematic endeavours, there always was... but to this extent? Silver Linings Playbook was Frank Capra in his golden days, movies with Audrey Hepburn and Gene Kelly and the good old Hollywood glory... with manic-depressive spin. He did it in The Fighter (fantastically so) and he did it here, ensemble pieces constrained in a single room with a big fucking boom called stellar acting, and I'm pointing at these guilty participants: Bobby De Niro, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, even Jacki Weaver (even though it's funny to see her among the fellow nominees, but we already agreed on the joke part of the tuxedo/crinoline ceremony, basically 99% of it).

And it's constantly moving and jogging and marching forward, to either chaos or soothing calmness of dancing sequences. It's either wildly unpredictable or extremely gentle and delicate, and sometimes it's all at the same time (at the cost of nerves). The finale... I don't know, it was like Bigelow's Raid part done in social environment of a major contest event. The last time I wanted to walk out and forget about the whole thing James Franco was cutting his arm off with a swiss army knife in 127 Hours, that's how nail-biting it was. And the leading duet, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence? Please, let there be light. Bradley always had it, there was always this little actor-player... entertainer, squatting inside him, he just needed the chance to prove it. Jenn had her chances, last year was fantastic for her and this is simply an extension of that hard work and sweat; talent in the right hands, amazing stuff to behold - I loved them both. Bobby De Niro, needs to be said, one of the greatest actors of our time (from some time ago), he's not back, he was always here and it was nice to see him in such sincere form.

In the end, gotta hand it to the man, O. Russell, guy knows how to run the show and control his little drama playground, and drive them to some amazing lengths.

VERDICT: 5/5

Will post my thought later, after I watch some moments again.

Zero Dark Thirty

9/10

I just woke up after watching last night but Bigelow has done it again. Although all of us know what happens in the end, ZDT manages to create such a tense atmosphere throughout the film yet simultaneously, still delivers in entertaining us. In fact, it's being knowledgeable about the conclusion and the other various historic incidents that truly makes the experience worth it.
The performances and dialogue are truly top notch. Chastain really delivered here and I hope she picks more commanding roles in the future. As for the final raid? Wow...just wow.

That's all my groggy mind has to say for now.

V for Vendetta - 9.6/10

Wow.

Whilst this movie as a whole is mediocre, Tom Hardy is fucking badass in it. I keep revisiting this movie just for Hardy's performance as Shinzon. 7/10

Killing them softly-7.5/10
It was good, a bit disappointing but i still liked it. A simple plot, great dialogue, a cool gritty feel throughout and good performances all round. The visuals and the sound design was amazing though, there were some beautiful shots. Only things i didn't like was that towards the middle, it felt a bit boring and although i like Gandolfini and thought he was good, i felt his character was a bit useless. But still, its a good movie and a tad underrated to be honest. I look forward to see what Dominik brings us next.

Silver Linings Playbook - 9/10

I found Cooper's character very relatable for some reason. In some ways, I feel like this story falls into cliched rom-com plot points, but not too far because the emotion in this film is very raw and the humor feels fresh. Everyone did an incredible job in this film, even Chris Tucker.

Also, while I loved Cooper's performance and think it's his best ever, I still think Jackman did better in Les Mis. However, JLaw is officially my pick for best actress.

Cilogy wrote:Silver Linings Playbook - 9/10

I found Cooper's character very relatable for some reason. In some ways, I feel like this story falls into cliched rom-com plot points, but not too far because the emotion in this film is very raw and the humor feels fresh. Everyone did an incredible job in this film, even Chris Tucker.

Also, while I loved Cooper's performance and think it's his best ever, I still think Jackman did better in Les Mis. However, JLaw is officially my pick for best actress.

Welcome to the club Cil!

Silver Linings Playbook


Amazing. It feels like it's been years since I've watched a proper romantic film. Sure there are extreme circumstances in this story, but the performances made it genuine. It was fun, while it still had heart.


The Impossible


So I go from the upbeat ambience of SLP to the heaviness of The Impossible. I love films like this, because of the realism and the theme of survival is very appealing to me. The Impossible had both of these factors. I cried yo. The re-enactment of the tsunami is so intense and scary. There is a certain sequence which is just horrifying
I must mention the kid in the pic, Tom Holland aka Billy Elliott, gave an amazing performance. I expect to see more of him in future.


Eish I think I need to watch SLP again just to get me in a happy mood again.

In my top 5 films of the year so far. I absolutely loved every second of this film. The acting is fantastic, Cooper gives the performance of his career, while Jennifer Lawrence deserves the oscar for her role. And of course, DeNiro, great as always. The screenplay was just amazing, perfect combination of drama and comedy. I can't say much about this film, only that is one of the most relatable movies I've seen in a while and besides the obvious "made me laugh, made my cry" stuff, it also made me smile. I connected so much with the characters and I truly cared for them. Whenever something good was happening, I couldn't help but smile and be happy for them. This is one great film.

9/10





Another great film. So much tension, so much emotion. I simply can't understand why Affleck wasn't nominated. The last 40 minutes were fantastic.

9/10