jonathan_lh95
Joined Jun 2013
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Ratings6
jonathan_lh95's rating
Reviews6
jonathan_lh95's rating
By Jonathan L Hermitt
Another courageous effort made by Steve McQueen and John Ridley as they take the true and painful story of Solomon Northup to the big screen. Hollywood is carefully pulling the curtains aside- revealing the dark anecdotes built by their four fathers but also the western culture as a whole. Finally! More bold moves are being taken in mainstream feature film- and McQueen and Ridley are contributing.
Based on a true story and extracted from the book written by Solomon Northup himself- tells the emotionally harsh tale of a free black man who lives with his wife and children in Saratoga, New York and is deceived, kidnapped and sold as a slave in Washington D.C. There begins to tell and show the suffering, fear, cruelty of the slave trade, the cold, malice actions of the slavers but also the struggle of hope for Solomon's return home.
The honesty of the narrative was so strong it elevated the emotive response and the connection with the characters. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Solomon Northup) offered a riveting and grasping performance in each stage of his development; accompanied by the dramatic irony of the entire story, the audience remains empathetic to his betrayal. Sarah Paulson and Michael Fassbender outstanding work also have to be recognised due to not shying away from their character's persona but furthermore, understanding them- creating a tense ambiance by only entering the scene.
This may appear surprising or outlandish although I think that it could have been more honest in terms of the brutality of the violence.
In such harsh scenes Tarantino would have been well suited. Exploring more into the "slave-making" and punishment techniques apart from the cracking of the whip and bat would have truly opened our eyes in the struggle of the Africans. As I feel as a generation we are becoming desensitised by the generic whipping of slaves to a point where we've almost forgetting what these people actually went through and the monumental, ongoing fight to get where we are today. I mention this because the arc of the story felt a little rushed, and missed some substance that one might have received from the actual book.
Nonetheless, the only way this film can be described is honest, hurtful but necessary. It tells the story of slavery from different perspective which to some extent is refreshing. I think this film deserves a lot of credit and criticism and it would be anticipated to be an Oscar nominee or winning film.
Another courageous effort made by Steve McQueen and John Ridley as they take the true and painful story of Solomon Northup to the big screen. Hollywood is carefully pulling the curtains aside- revealing the dark anecdotes built by their four fathers but also the western culture as a whole. Finally! More bold moves are being taken in mainstream feature film- and McQueen and Ridley are contributing.
Based on a true story and extracted from the book written by Solomon Northup himself- tells the emotionally harsh tale of a free black man who lives with his wife and children in Saratoga, New York and is deceived, kidnapped and sold as a slave in Washington D.C. There begins to tell and show the suffering, fear, cruelty of the slave trade, the cold, malice actions of the slavers but also the struggle of hope for Solomon's return home.
The honesty of the narrative was so strong it elevated the emotive response and the connection with the characters. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Solomon Northup) offered a riveting and grasping performance in each stage of his development; accompanied by the dramatic irony of the entire story, the audience remains empathetic to his betrayal. Sarah Paulson and Michael Fassbender outstanding work also have to be recognised due to not shying away from their character's persona but furthermore, understanding them- creating a tense ambiance by only entering the scene.
This may appear surprising or outlandish although I think that it could have been more honest in terms of the brutality of the violence.
In such harsh scenes Tarantino would have been well suited. Exploring more into the "slave-making" and punishment techniques apart from the cracking of the whip and bat would have truly opened our eyes in the struggle of the Africans. As I feel as a generation we are becoming desensitised by the generic whipping of slaves to a point where we've almost forgetting what these people actually went through and the monumental, ongoing fight to get where we are today. I mention this because the arc of the story felt a little rushed, and missed some substance that one might have received from the actual book.
Nonetheless, the only way this film can be described is honest, hurtful but necessary. It tells the story of slavery from different perspective which to some extent is refreshing. I think this film deserves a lot of credit and criticism and it would be anticipated to be an Oscar nominee or winning film.
Vinyl- Director Sara Sugarman/ Written Jim Cooper, Sara Sugarman
3/5
By Jonathan L Hermitt
Independent films are somewhat risky where they can either be a cinema gem or confusingly banal.
I took the plunge with an indie comedy and discovered that my precious time hadn't completely been drained, staring into my laptop screen.
In a peculiar genre emerges a small, low budgeted British off-comedy, Vinyl, lead by veteran actors such as Keith Allen (Minto) and Phil Daniels (Johnny Jones) and fresh, upcoming pretty boy Jamie Blackley (Drainpipe). Filmed in land of the Welsh, tells the true story of a 1980s band that ignites a media phenomenon by casting a group of young children to masquerade the hit single of the ageing eighties band. Raising awareness upon the issue of image, capitalising obsessed music labels and the ignorance of consumerism; projecting an almost satire objective.
A cheeky little tale that manages to maintain one's attention throughout; alongside relevant subplots that plays large contributions to the main plot. Occasionally forced the odd chuckle and included spots of crude humour (the best kind) to give it that British edge. A deeper character development wouldn't have hurt the film, although there wasn't much complexity in the characters unless we dug...dug deep.
The acting performances overall were mediocre, however Phil Daniels and Jamie Blackley did stand out from the rest of the group- this could be due to being scripted more speech, but the penultimate scene when both had to dig deep and find those tears was rather indicative of skill. The presence of tears weren't the indication but more the timing and control of the quantity were reflective of the characters and the respected reputation of Phil Daniels and potential of Blackley.
Could it better? Of course.
Regardless, sometimes that is the sacrifice of a low-budget film- needless to say, the film hasn't won the rights to boast although I wouldn't discard it completely.
3/5
By Jonathan L Hermitt
Independent films are somewhat risky where they can either be a cinema gem or confusingly banal.
I took the plunge with an indie comedy and discovered that my precious time hadn't completely been drained, staring into my laptop screen.
In a peculiar genre emerges a small, low budgeted British off-comedy, Vinyl, lead by veteran actors such as Keith Allen (Minto) and Phil Daniels (Johnny Jones) and fresh, upcoming pretty boy Jamie Blackley (Drainpipe). Filmed in land of the Welsh, tells the true story of a 1980s band that ignites a media phenomenon by casting a group of young children to masquerade the hit single of the ageing eighties band. Raising awareness upon the issue of image, capitalising obsessed music labels and the ignorance of consumerism; projecting an almost satire objective.
A cheeky little tale that manages to maintain one's attention throughout; alongside relevant subplots that plays large contributions to the main plot. Occasionally forced the odd chuckle and included spots of crude humour (the best kind) to give it that British edge. A deeper character development wouldn't have hurt the film, although there wasn't much complexity in the characters unless we dug...dug deep.
The acting performances overall were mediocre, however Phil Daniels and Jamie Blackley did stand out from the rest of the group- this could be due to being scripted more speech, but the penultimate scene when both had to dig deep and find those tears was rather indicative of skill. The presence of tears weren't the indication but more the timing and control of the quantity were reflective of the characters and the respected reputation of Phil Daniels and potential of Blackley.
Could it better? Of course.
Regardless, sometimes that is the sacrifice of a low-budget film- needless to say, the film hasn't won the rights to boast although I wouldn't discard it completely.
By Jonathan L Hermitt
After watching this movie, the only thing that should be "claimed" is a refund.
Director-writer David E Talbert provided a creatively idle rom-com starring Paula Patton (Montana Moore); as a flight attendant who under the pressure of her mother (Jennifer Lawrence) and the wedding engagement of her younger sister (Lauren London) somehow finds herself in a position where she has to locate and bring a fiancé to her sister's rehearsal dinner in thirty days. In doing so, she uses her friends to set up an arguably illegal "spy network" to find out which of her ex- boyfriends are taking which flights- so she can manipulate herself aboard and hopefully start again with these men.
She wears the long, straight rom-com hair of ignorance with the smile of innocence which I like to call a ritual of rom-com. The story was naturally predictable adhering to every single rom-com textbook story model and so heavily resting on weak humour. Alongside the contemporary traditional female friend and gay male friend duo (similar to Devil's Wear Prada) it's one large equation for mediocre...if that.
I'm not particularly familiar with Talbert and this is the first film I've seen of his, regardless, in this film it's strongly indicative that he's chosen quantity over quality.
After watching this movie, the only thing that should be "claimed" is a refund.
Director-writer David E Talbert provided a creatively idle rom-com starring Paula Patton (Montana Moore); as a flight attendant who under the pressure of her mother (Jennifer Lawrence) and the wedding engagement of her younger sister (Lauren London) somehow finds herself in a position where she has to locate and bring a fiancé to her sister's rehearsal dinner in thirty days. In doing so, she uses her friends to set up an arguably illegal "spy network" to find out which of her ex- boyfriends are taking which flights- so she can manipulate herself aboard and hopefully start again with these men.
She wears the long, straight rom-com hair of ignorance with the smile of innocence which I like to call a ritual of rom-com. The story was naturally predictable adhering to every single rom-com textbook story model and so heavily resting on weak humour. Alongside the contemporary traditional female friend and gay male friend duo (similar to Devil's Wear Prada) it's one large equation for mediocre...if that.
I'm not particularly familiar with Talbert and this is the first film I've seen of his, regardless, in this film it's strongly indicative that he's chosen quantity over quality.