Mike Goes To Movies

9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) It's time that Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry work together again. It's as simple as that. It our unfortunate world, that will likely not happen as Kaufman seems to have obtained the confidence, and also the skill, to direct his own manic narratives since this film came out. And so, we will have to hold tightly onto their only child, Eternal Sunshine, and take it for all its got. There is no doubt that Eternal Sunshine remains an example of two of cinema's most idiosyncratic voices working in some kind of symbiotic / synergistic relationship to create a  film that is wholly unique and fun, absurdly creative, heart-wrenching and heart-warming and, above all else, memorable. As with many of Kaufman's scripts, this movie plays with the audience's expectations, subverting what we think is happening or where we think things are heading, based on our collective film-going experiences. The film is a story about a ma...

Today is the big day! For now, I am going to keep this post more positive and optimistic and simply talk about this year's nominations and my predictions and hopes. In another post I may discuss some of my disappointments with this past year's general output of quality films. I have now officially seen all of the Best Picture nominees as well as a healthy dose of other general nominees. Generally, I am going to predict all of the categories, even though, for some of the categories, I have not seen any of the nominations at all. Therefore, for a category such as Best Documentary Short, my thoughts will likely be quite arbitrary and possibly based on something as trivial as the name or subject of the piece... Jump further down the list for the 'bigger' awards. Short Film (Animated) Prediction - Bao Hope - Bao Short Film (Live) Prediction - Skin Hope - Fauve Production Design Prediction - First Man Hope - The Favourite Makeup and Hairstyling Predictio...

Green Book (2018) My first proper review! Last night, I finally got the chance to see the past year's hottest ticket, Green Book, ahead of its probable multiple winnings this coming Sunday. Expectations for the film have been fairly cemented in my mind since its premiere at TIFF this past fall where it won the festival's acclaimed People's Choice Award and, since its wide release, it has gone on to garner quite unanimously positive reviews. It's in these instances that my often pessimistic self likes to buck the trend and endeavour to find fault where most have been unable to, especially with a 'wholesome' type of film such that Green Book has been categorized as. It's for these reasons that, upon finishing Green Book, I was pleased to find that I had enjoyed the film and that it had met the high expectations I had for it. Yes, the movie is, in fact, quite the wholesome story and one who's plot does not contain much surprise. However, when a film ...

10. There Will Be Blood (2007) and No Country For Old Men (2007) Yes, right off the bat I am going to go ahead and cheat on my list... (hey, it's my list anyways, so lay off!). I place both of these films together because they resonate in similar ways for me, on top of the fact that they also do bear a number of factual similarities. Both were filmed in 2006 in the same vicinity of western Texas, released in 2007 and widely competed with each other for the highest accolades at the awards ceremonies that year. Both films take place in an arid, beautifully-shot, desert landscape, each following the machinations of a violent and unfailingly driven man. One is motivated by wealth and success, the other... well, it's not entirely known. In both, the filmmakers involved are without a doubt at the height of their crafts. Direction, writing, cinematography, editing, score and acting, among others, are all at their finest levels within these two films. It is unsurprising then t...

Welcome to the inaugural post of Mike Goes to Movies. A blog set up by me - the titular 'Mike' - a filmgoer / cinephile like many of you. In fact, I enjoy film so much that I decided to divert my career as a lawyer (much to the dismay of all rational thinkers in my life) and enroll in film school this past Fall! Where that leads to I do not have the faintest idea - perhaps I will keep you apprised of that as we continue onward, or... maybe not (if what many of my professors say about the futility of entering the industry is true...). In tandem with this formal education route, I thought it might be fun to also go the more-informal route, and start a blog/page where I can share my thoughts and opinions on film, television and other related topics onto the world, and hopefully start some engaging conversations about what film means to all of us. I am creating this page with an aim of being expansive and also inclusive. Here, we will talk about film and also television (a...