MovieSoup

I, like many, have had to watch this movie a few times to really get a sense of what this film is actually about. Now I stress that this is a masterful movie in the casting, cinematography, directing and technical sense. Nolan knows exactly whta he is doing and works with only the best actors/film producers to make his films really stand out amidst the awful films that have been coming out in recent memory. However the reason I'm hesitant about giving this a higher rating is mostly down to the plot of the film itself, I just find it needlessly complicated and hard to follow in a quite a few places. The plot of this film just doesn't suit me as I belive all of the truly great and timeless films are ones that have a simple plot that gets straight to the point. Whilst watching this film all I could think about was the saying "brevity is the soul of wit". I think that the plot of Tenet will be pored over by many and some will try to pass it off as a intellectual powerhouse of a film however the truth is that most average joe's will find it unneccesary confusing and slow paced. In conclusion I think that it is a stunningly technical, masterful film with one of the most flawed and convoluted plots in film history.

A fistful of Dollars has become one of those timeless films that has etched itself into popular culture. The film follows a gunslinger (Eastwood) attempts to rescue a town from two rival gangs. It is, in my mind, one of the best "spaghetti westerns" ever made and has a unique perspective on the western as a genre. A fistful of dollars was a game changer and gave a grittier take on the western revealing a realistic and violent side to a genre that was dying a slow death at the box office.

Sergio Leone's direction and vision for this film is masterful and his use shadow and unique lighting techniques really add a texture to the film unlike any western before it. Leone's work would go on to inspire heaps of Directors such as Tarantino when he worked on Django and Hateful 8.

Clint Eastwood gives his best performance as the gunslinger called "No Name" or the "Americano". His stoic performance and Anti Hero attitude is perfect in every way, in fact it's slightly unbelievable how his stare and the way he carries himself can tell us more about his motives than any dialogue could ever do. This is especially effective in the shoot-out scenes and provides a real tension and an apprehensive atmosphere.

The story itself is fast paced and very violent which adds a sense of realism to the picture and makes us care for the characters and their plight. I love that the scenes aren't full of expository dialogue or needless explanations. It keeps the story nice and simple with two rival gangs at each other's throats and "NO Name" in the middle. There are a few side plots that help drive the main plot along and fit perfectly into the narrative.

Okay so onto a little problem I had with the film that made it difficult in some places. Some times in certain scenes the lighting does fall a little flat. It looks as if they shot some scenes in daytime and the dampened the colour contrast to appear like twilight or early dawn. This is probably a due to the time in which it was made but it took me a little out of the movie. Literally I sat there and was like "what's wrong with the sky".

The actors lip movements don't add up to what they are saying as well which is quite noticeable in certain scenes. As I said these problems may have to do with the time it was made in and Leone made it work as best as he could. It certainly does not destroy the movie but when you are not fully engrossed in the film because you are wondering what about background inconsistences it is a bit distracting.

The scenes of violence and gore were really ground breaking for their time as most westerns just focused on people shooting at each other and no consequences came from it. In this film we see people mourning over their dead and sadness is a major part of the film. We also see people being crushed or stabbed to death. Leone was obviously going for entertaining realism when shooting this film and it absolutely paid off.

The grit of this film and the way "No Name" is neither a good person nor bad is completely engrossing. Before this film the good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black, in this there are no black or white hats as we see the world for what it is. "No Name" wears a brown hat to show we are not in the world of good and evil but in the real world.

I can guarantee that at some point you have heard the iconic soundtrack to this movie in some ad or cowboy themed shoot out. It's great at the start of the film and really introduces the sense of violence and grit that the film is trying to convey. I love how "No Name" gets his own musical thumbprint on the film. Whenever he comes on the screen there is a little tuneful whistle that follows him all through the movie.

I think "A Fistful of Dollars" is a masterpiece in storytelling and cinematography, whilst it does suffer a bit from old age it has stood the test of time. I recommend you to see this film and judge for yourself.

This is probably one of my favourite films of the year and while far from a perfect movie I do have no major problems with it. Yes there are some things which I will get into but all in all It's good and If you like Queen go see it. OK! There! I've done a short outline for you guys; if you are too impatient to read the rest at least you know my thoughts now go away.

I like Queen as any sane person does and I found this movie to be a realistic, although a little overdramatic, portrayal of their ups and downs culminating in their Live Aid performance. The film did not focus on Mercury too much and instead looked at the band as a whole. I thought this was a good choice as many other documentaries about Queen usually focus on Mercury and that's it. This was clearly a choice that Brian May and Roger Taylor, who produced the film, made to show the band as a collaborative effort. You really get the feeling that all the members of the band were great songwriters in their own way. The film does explore Mercury's sexuality problems and touches on his home life as well which I thought was a little rushed and not in depth as it should be. I think the main focus here is the band relationship and not the individuals.

For the most part all the scenes do seem genuine and flow very well in the narrative. There are, however, a few moments brought straight out of shlock Hollywood films and that is something I wasn't too impressed with. For instance there's a scene with Bohemian Rhapsody being made that is a bit corny. This is not a major critique however and isn't a spoiling moment.

The performance by Rami Malik as Fred is just wonderful and so realistic at times that I felt completely amerced in the movie. I loved Malik in MR. ROBOT and here he does a stella job bringing a beloved icon to life. The other members of the band were played well by their respective actors. Gwilym Lee was great as Brian May and I did also love the guy who played John Deacon as well.

The draw of the movie will be the music and getting to know the stories behind some famous songs by Queen like "Another one bites the dust" and "love of my life". All the songs featured were sung by Malik as well which is very impressive and he himself does a great cover of Mercury.

I loved the music in this and thought that It was interesting how some of the time it is integrated into scenes of the bands life whilst other times it is sung onstage by Malik himself. This gives the feeling that the music is the most integral part of the story which, for a film about a band, is essential.

As said I have no problems with this film and it is definitely a great watch with an emotional tread of friendship running through the story. I would recommend this film to anyone, you don't have to love Queen to see it......but it helps.