thairocks88

I consider Anderson's "The Master" to be one of his weakest narrative films. Yet, Anderson's weakest film can still be considered as a great film when compared to other film maker's works. While Phoenix and Hoffman's performances were phenomenal, they really out shined their supporting cast. The screenplay and plot were above average in comparison to other great original screenplays such as "Amour" or "Django Unchained." What really stood out in this film were the technical elements. The directing, music, editing, and cinematography had a unique Paul Thomas Anderson signature. This same signature that brought some of the best films of the 2000s. Anderson is, in my opinion, one of the greatest auteurs of his generation. It is difficult to meet the standards that you have set yourself. I'm still a fan!!

I do love musicals. I am a big fan of Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Ginger Rodgers, and Cyd Charrise, The greatest musical has to be either Fiddler on the roof or Singin in the Rain. The problems with Les Miserable stem from the actual Broadway musical itself. The story "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo is a chronicle of french life in the french revolution era. The purpose of the story was to show the hardships and exploitation of the French people in the most important eras in French history. To create a musical based on these hardships would trivialize and take away Hugo's masterpiece. The other problem is the **** create a musical that is in predominately in English (yes, there are french translations) that totally disrupts and destroys the cultural context of what the story is suppose to be about? When considering the 2012 version, an adaption of a huge Broadway musical with a colossal amount of fans waiting to see it makes it a for sure money ****, it does not allow an unacquainted audience to embrace the story or music. The story is redundant and the music, while I admit is great, really gets boring after the first 20 minutes of the cast screeching it in my face and really forcing me to like it. I felt the film had great points in photography and costuming, the film felt long and tiring. The pace of the film was like a roller coaster ride that after the 15th rendition of the same three songs, I gave up. The lack of professional singers (i.e. Russell Crowe and High Jackman) really made me doubt their musical prowess and I just hoped they were able to hit the really high notes. Th final problem is the song dialogue. I felt it was gimmicky and unnecessary. The great musicals of "Singin in the Rain" and "Fiddler on the Roof" used dialogue to move the stories forward and make the songs more enjoyable. "Les Mis" oversang their songs that could have potentially be a great musical. Yet, it disappointed this musical lover!

Django Unchained's greatest strength has always been Tarantino's greatest strength: An original story! In a time of the prequels, sequels, and adaptions of virtually every single novel that appeared in the last decade, Tarantino is a rarity in film making. The ability to create new characters and settings is a huge undertaking in itself, but to make them work is a whole new ballgame. In every Tarantino film, the audience sees the guilty pleasures of a man that just LOVES making good movies. While the film is adequate in the technical areas such as cinematography and editing, the direction and writing of the film is superb! Django is irreverent, hilarious, violent,and frightening that brings back the audience to a place of pure escapism that movies were attended to do. Each scene and shot is unpredictable and made the audience guess in anticipation of what is going to happen next. Tarantino makes no apologies for what he creates and proves that one does need to sell out to the CGI infested billion dollar movie factory to create an original and entertaining film!

What makes Michael Haneke one of the greatest living filmmakers is that his films only get better! Amour's great visual storytelling, subtle dialogue, and graceful cinematography made this film a true artistic masterpiece! Haneke provides a real and articulate story that is not pretentious or preachy. While some may condemn "Amour" for being tedious and morally ambiguous, the greatest stories are not told with quick editing, fancy cinematography, and booms and bangs! The greatest stories are told with grace, subtlety, and love.