an upgrade from the first film. it actually tries to have actual characters and themes. somewhat actual good film making.
is it good? no its a tedious slog that still suffers from a lot of the problems that were present in the first film just less.
arguably its funny the film ends with a taylor swift song because this movie is the most white battle royale movie ever and by that i mean its painfully plain.
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better editing in its action scenes, worse in almost every way.
getting colin firth back just undoes his death which, while not good in the first place, is still a very weak decision from a writing standpoint.
not entirely my thing but i like when the sailors try to help the people but that is all in vein as they get attacked.
its a great commentary about how good deeds are often drowned out or washed away by evil higher ups.
i think this shows how both benny and josh are important to both the style of this and uncut gems.
the handheld film aproach is something benny has later brought in the smashing machine and both brothers have an eye for seeking out great composers and music artist to deliver wonderful scores that bang.
robert pattinson delivers a great performance, his character is so fucking dogshit as a human but you simply can't look away like he's a magnet.
some characters like connie's girlfriend and brother are kinda undeveloped as actual people but at least you get the general idea of what connie's girlfriend is like.
but each and every performance almost connects to the score and editing, seemlessly transforming it into something greater.
idk
really unfortunate most of this website doesn't wanna engage with experimental short films like this.
it maybe be a lot of noise but its interesting. i think as an artform, experimental shortfilms have the ability to make you think the most.
i don't think this is worthy of being in the top 20 highest rated films, i can see why its so beloved and i love for that.
the film gives you great characters with undoubtely clint eastwood and eli wallach playing off eachother so well. they have great comedic effects but also heart as well and with each movie, sergio lets the more human side of his western world be shown.
on the topic of leone, i was already pretty blown away by his better direction in for a few dollars more but the third film takes his direction the next level and he's able to make this 3 hour western epic flow so well, part due also because of ennio morricone 's score and the editing of Eugenio Alabiso/Nino Baragli but sergio's scope and camera movements are more precise, even more so then for a few dollars more.
the third act showdown is very rewarding, you sit with these characters for 3 hours and so in the end, its extremely unfortunate to think about which one might bite the bullet but i think thats clever, it actually kinda gives you an answer already. of course tuco and blondie survive as you spend much more time with them but in movies like these you never know.
Less tight in its narrative but it has far more interesting characters that aren't the man with no name. Sergio feels allot more present in this one with his direction because this time he had a bigger budget to work with and thats apparant in its scope and setpieces which are all bigger and better then the ones from a fistfull of dollars.
Leone took this little film that was loosely adapted from a akira kurosawa film and made it his own.
A lot of its character introductions are great. The camera movements are slick and the score by ennio Morrison is great.
Like last year, im ending my year with a buster keaton film.
I feel so maternal towards buster.
sergio allows the man with no name to be badass, vulnerable, heroic, smart, foolish, stoic but also full of heart. he's flawed but acts heroic when he has no choice left.
clint eastwood plays him perfectly, his face while not versatile is great for the character. the action is great, leone knows how to create suspends in this world and it makes sense why the so called spaghetti western became so popular. while i liked the female sidecharacters to have more depth, the villains are classic antagonists who are just cool and threatening.
casablanca is romantic and tragic.
where a cynical man choses safety of the one they love over being with them.the screenplay is excellent, every character has something to do and plays a vital part in the story. the cinematography is really good and all of its performances are great.
casablanca plays out during a war and so technically it is a war film but what makes it special is that it uses the war for a personaly story outside of it and i think they pulled it off so well.
thomas newman delivers a great score.
other then that, sam mendes directs this film like he wants to be nolan so bad. i don't love nolan but there is a clear passion in his films which i don't feel is present in here at all.
some good performance are here as well i guess.
