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Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Thrown for a Loop by the Master

I went to see a couple of films in the last few days. On Sunday I went up to Bridgeport in Lake Oswego and watched the Paul Thomas Anderson film, "The Master". I am not really sure what to say about that, other then that it was an interesting experience.



The film itself is beautifully crafted and visually amazing. The story on the other hand is kind of aimless and pretty twisted. It is loosely the story of a lost and sad man who has no focus or direction in life. He has a serious drinking and anger problem and then one day he meets basically an L Ron Hubbard type of character. There are some definite similarities between the group that The Master runs and Scientology. But that really isn't the point and the story doesn't really focus on that as much as the relationship between the Jaquin Phoenix character and The Master who is played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman. I really think that both of these men will be nominated for best actor Oscars and honestly I think Phillip Seymour deserves to win. He just does an amazing job. I realize that this film in not for everyone but I liked this film and it deserves to be seen even if it is a little hard to watch at times. I think sometimes the best films are a little hard to watch and that is what makes them great because they invoke feelings and cause you to think about its effect on you.

Then last night I went to my usual Tuesday night $5 movie house Cinebarre and watched the "Looper". The science fiction film starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.



 The bottom line, and it is hard to find a bottom line in a science fiction time travel film, I really, really enjoyed it. The future world that it is set in I found fascinating and very interesting. It wasn't set so far into the future that it was inaccessible for the viewer and because of that it wasn't dependent on a ton of special effects or computer blue screen effects. In fact, that aspect of it made me interested enough in things to want to find out about the world and the future in which the film is set. Why things were that way and what caused them. I like a film that doesn't feel the need to explain every little thing to me and in this case as one of the characters in the film said...we get into that and then we start diagramming things on the table with straws. It is enough to know the basics of the story. I am sure there are probably some logic gaps and things that the cine-phile might find annoying but I really found this too be an enjoyable film. The action sequences are well done and in such a way that the violence has an impact. That is something that I wish more directors did. In cinema, often less is more. I am being a little vague as too plot because it will be more fun for you if you are a little surprised by things. I say if you are looking for some science fiction and some action then go see this film. I think you will enjoy it.


2 comments:

JoelAT said...

I didn't realize Joaquin Phoenix was acting again, I guess his music career didn't go as planned. I have been pleasantly surprised by Joseph Gordon-Levitt's acting career. This movie has peaked my interest, thank you for the review Lance. You are a fine upstanding individual.

Carl Fisher said...

I wish the scenes between JGL and Willis had been longer and more frequent.