deus et cinema

continuing where we left off,

5. silence of the lambs
where v was the antithetical hero, hannibal lecter is the epitome of antiheroic deuteragonists. cunning, deranged, impetuous and especially charming; lecter is the kind of character you hate so much, you love him. now, a slight diversion from the review, i make a distinction between lecter's role and that of the villain in the movie (who, imo, is 'buffalo bill', the transsexual/cross-dressing serial killer), for many reasons - one of them being because he is not really everything one hopes to find in a cannonical villain. indeed, sometimes i find myself rooting for lecter more than i do for (clarice) starling.

just as i would not have focused on v in his film, lecter is not the mainstay of 'silence of the lambs'. a stellar performance by jodie foster in the role of clarice starling makes the story very down-to-earth and at times, i felt like the movie is more of a tragedy than a drama, especially when it comes to the psychological banter between the two.

for those who cannot resist a good thriller that swoops in and attacks your ethics and ideal from every angle, this is a must-watch. at the price of yet more sleepless nights. quid pro quo, clarice.

4. se7en
yet another dark and dreary film, se7en comes highly ranked in my list not just because of the immensing storyline, but due to the great effect (and affect) david fincher brings out of the film by setting subtle atmospheric elements. the rainy, unnamed city; biblical references to cardinal sins; oldfag vs. newfag personas in morgan freeman and brad pitt, respectively; the elusiveness of john doe, the greater evil; and so much more. every aspect of the movie has a disturbing artistic value that makes you question morality to the core. cultural ethics out the window, establishment hierarchy down the drain, the time is nigh to question your own beliefs and ideals. will you fall short?

3. back to the future (ep. i)
let's leave all these mind-fu*ks and psychologically-scarring films behind and move on to greener pastures. sci-fi, comedy, drama and a dash of romance, back to the future is so epic, i don't know where to start. remember these moments / phrases?

flux capacitor
johnny b goode
88 miles per hour
flying delorean
1.21 gigawatts
think, mcfly
whoa, this is heavy
great scott!
a dog named einstein
the power of love
lightning strikes and badass flame skidmarks
back in time...

yeap, that's just a handful of the legendary awesomeness that is back to the future. really, i'm not going to write up a summary here - you know what i'm talking about. and if you don't, go watch it, pronto. for shame.

2. the lord of the rings: the two towers
for all i care, you could quote me as having said any piece in the trilogy at this point. unlike the other film series' i've quoted, this one doesn't really stand on its own, and i guess, that's part of why it ranks so high on my list. i may be biased towards the fantasy genre, and even moreso when it comes to movies based on (awesome) books, but when a whole lot of people agree with me on this one, you've got to admit: the lord of the rings is really a legendary movie (series). it does help, that i've read the book a billion times, and i cannot begin to stress just how much it had impacted my life back in highschool, however, this is about the movie and not the book. so i'll try to be slightly less biased.

you've got your classic outline here: good versus evil. underdogs vs. omnipotent bit*h-ass overlords. hope triumphs against overwhelmingly suppressive odds. all that jazz. then you've got your flavour fantasy characters - elves, orcs, hobbits (or halflings for the more general), you name it. add in a splash of amazing cgi. a muse-worthy music score. competent dialogue. and good looks for safe measure. what part of this formula doesn't equate pure win?

now, there will always be the haters - a significant amount of people i know actually dislike the movie (series). most of them never read the book, and it begs the question - has the book biased my view that much? or is it that haters will be haters? i think it's the latter, to be honest. if you can find people in the world who hate tolkien (and his legacy, which is pretty much most of the mainstream fantasy you'll find around), then there's no reason to believe that this is anything more than that. the only reason i mention this, though is the following: if you're a fan, then more power to you. if you aren't, than that's your choice - don't go messing it for people who are (like myself, obviously!).

1. (more drumroll)... amagad, to be announced in the next post. who will be number one? which movie is better than all the awesome ones i've already listed? will it be something predictable? another dark horse, maybe? THE SUSPENSE. it's killing me. i hope it doesn't kill you before the relevant entry!