Mike Goes To Movies

 The Place Beyond The Pines (2012) TLDR: Ambitious in its scope, structure and themes, The Place Beyond The Pines is a compelling film with much to admire, but, at times, it falls under its own lofty weight due to plot holes, inconsistent pacing and a much weaker third act. Derek Cianfrance's The Place Beyond The Pines shoots for the moon but gets lost floating somewhere in its orbit. The film, divided into three distinct acts, is more concerned with exploring compelling themes of fate, fatherhood and consequence and, less, about telling a well-plotted story with consistent characters and progressions. It is an undoubtedly ambitious endeavour and one that, at many points, succeeds in drawing out the emotion it very clearly wants from its audience. However, the film suffers from a habit of cutting corners - consistently jumping, in jarring ways, from Point A to Point B in order to get to the plot points and twists in its story required for later emotional fallout. It is not very sub...

 Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) TLDR: Sciamma's Portrait is everything that a story of romance should be: poignant, defiant, sensual, heartbreaking and, of course, beautiful in every aspect within the medium of film. Celina Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire may be set in the 1700's, but the romance at the heart of its story is universal and one that most should be able to relate to, having experienced it in full or in desirous  moments throughout life. The tenderness that Sciamma shows in the evolving relationship between Marianne and Heloise perfectly illustrates and encapsulates the ebb and flow, the push and pull, of such lustrous romance. And for any of the romantics or the storytellers out there, what romance is steamier or more compelling than one that is forbidden? Portrait has similarities to other recent romance film, Call Me Be Your Name, not only in its central LGBTQ relationships, but also in the slow, moving beauty of the two films, both of which are set ...

Phew. And here we are, at the end. Part three of this tale of curious and haunting isolation. Not sure who has stuck around for the ride to this point - but for those who have, I appreciate and thank you. Now, here is the final chapter. Once again, follow the LINK IN BIO. Cheers! Part III Somewhere, a new voice, spoke to me. It came from somewhere in the back of my mind, telling me, that I had begun to unravel. It wasn’t constant or direct, more like a car taking a winding road down a treacherous mountain. Despite my provisions still remaining, I had stopped eating and only drank small amounts of water when my parched body demanded it. I wanted to see myself, see the reflection of my face; I thought that would be serviceable indication as to whether I had, in fact, lost my faculties.   What I received instead was only the voice. The godforsaken voice. But, it had changed. No longer the declaration of singular words and names. Now, its ghoulish mockery framed full sentences:   ...

Thanks everyone for the feedback for Part I of the story - I really appreciate all of the positivity! Here is Part II, which you can again access through the LINK IN MY BIO. I hope you enjoy!! The Voice Part II   When I awoke, the dreams, or nightmares, were gone. Whatever my subconscious had been deliberating over during my sleep had since receded back to the nether realms of my psyche. I had no recollection of them, only the lingering feeling of unease from the previous day.   It is a conviction of mine that there is nothing in this world that cannot be explained with rational thinking. Lesser minds have oft believed to have had metaphysical encounters: spirits, deities, creatures unknown, and other such unexplainables. But these are notions suffered by the minds of the ill and the ignorant. They have not experienced life to the extent that one, such as myself has, who understands that such paranormal entities – if one may use that term – do not exist in this world, and that...

Every now and then I think it's important to change the pace of things a bit. While this account is centred around film - a celebration, discussion and review of it  - I thought I would let followers in on another side of myself. As many of you can probably tell I love writing (something some of you have said I should do less of in my posts). Instead, I am going to share with you some of my writing, a short story I wrote not long ago broken down into three parts. It's a bit of a psychological thriller, inspired by some of the stories by Edgar Allen Poe. For those of you who do take a few minutes to read it (which I am very utterly grateful for) I would love to hear any thoughts at all you might have.  Here is: The Voice Part I   A careful look, followed by a fleeting “Good luck!” and, a moment later, I was utterly alone. The recognition of the weight of my isolation came faster than I anticipated. As I stood in that doorway, looking out at the two bodies slowly fade into ...

The Guest (2014) TLDR: While it doesn't reinvent the genre, The Guest is a great and confidently made thriller centred upon yet another great performance by the talented Dan Stevens. The Guest is one of those movies that easily slides outside the realm of mainstream awareness. Both on the surface and beneath, the film is a fairly straightforward and classic type of thriller, however, what makes it a success is its makers' clear understanding of tentpoles of the genre, Adam Wingard's confident directing, and the strong and consistent cast and their performances. The Guest doesn't break any new boundaries for the genre, but it is an excellent choice for a night when you crave the rushes of a good thriller. The premise is centred on the arrival of an ex-military soldier, David (Dan Stevens), who one day shows up at the door of the Peterson home. The family has never met David before, but David tells them he served with their son, Caleb, and the two had become close...