Central Station

My Rating: 83/100
IMDb Rating: 8/10
Metascore: 80/100

Today in a film class I take, the film required to watch was a rather smart Brazilian film called 'Central Station' which released in 1998 and marked the beginning for a new wave of Brazilian cinema. The story follows a struggling woman who charges $2 to write a letter and her journey with a would-be orphan. They search for the boy's father, his only living relation, and venture through the deepest pits of Brazil on the way.

Originally, the film struck me as similar to Slumdog Millionaire, which I did thoroughly enjoy but hoped I wasn't viewing a replica... I was incorrect. Central Station turned out to be enjoyable, humorous, and was indeed smartly written. The protagonist 'Dora', a retired schoolteacher, apparently lives a secluded and self-centered life, not wanting to be concerned with the goings-on of those around her, calling customers trash, writing letters for them and eventually mailing them... however the simple manor of her life changes when the mother of a 9 year old boy (Josue) is run over by a bus, the responsibility of caring for the boy is thrust upon Dora, who wants nothing to do with this. She even attempts to put the boy up for adoption but is talked out of it after her neighbor explains the boy will be killed and his organs sold due to his age, considered to be "too old" for adoption. Comedically, Dora winds up stuck with Josue, and with no other option is forced to travel with him to find his father, who lives somewhere in Northeast Brazil.

On the way, the conversations presented by almost every character are offered as subtle double-entendres; while they add dialogue to the story, they also add small allusions to life itself.  Once this small detail is picked up, a whole new world inside of the story presents itself, and as the audience we can be left to think about how this chaotic story relates to the events that happen to us all.

Central Station is not available on Netflix, however it is a very widely-known film and is not difficult to find.  The film is Brazilian, however there are English subtitles. Taking this into consideration, I highly recommend a watch, as it is personally one of the better foreign films, and films in general that I have seen!

Released 1998

If Wes Anderson Ran For President

"Whether intentionally or unintentionally, I've decided to implement my entire campaign through catalogues". -Wes Anderson probably.

One could only imagine what a whimsical approach to presidency would occur through the means of the director. Let's go over some of the things we'd likely see within a year of his election:

First of all, khaki shorts would become a fad in the White House. People in leadership positions wearing khaki shorts would become the norm.

Burgundy, tangerine, and dull lavender flag. Something about the nation's colors would have to change, creating a more pastel-like and exquisite color palate. 

Owning an animal originating from Australia or Russia. Suddenly everyone would own a pet kangaroo or rhinoceros. 

Everyone would wear red tailcoats to church and orange suspenders to work. We'd immediately see a drastic change in fashion.

Catalogues suddenly become the trending fad. Everyone would love to search  through a well organized and plain catalogue featuring spatulas and paper airplanes on the same page. 

Although we'll probably never see Wes running for office, I suppose it doesn't take much to imagine a world crafted by his mind. It'd be a whimsical time!

From The Common Projects, 2015

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

Based on the hit  novel by the same title, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is a rather intriguing and unique comedy that most people probably missed this summer. Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival a few months ago, Me and Earl was met with widespread praise, with many calling it potentially the best screening at this year's sleepy festival. Although appearing rather cliche and un-original on the outside and in description, it revives itself through some incredibly humorous writing and unique cinematography. It's laugh out loud funny and pulls great emotion, yet still managed to fly over the heads of audiences.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is the story of a self-loathing, awkward American teen named Greg who thinks he's found the secret to blending in, his relationship with a cancerous girl, Rachel, and his co-worker Earl, whom he makes spoof films with. The narrative (voiced by Greg) explains to us throughout the film that he does not want us to view this story as "oh-another-cancer-story", that Rachel lives, and that we shouldn't worry because everything somehow works out in the end. Poking fun at stereotypical works and diseased-romance stories, Greg convinces us for an hour and a half that we can trust him... but the ending seemingly comes as a pretty big shocker... no spoilers here.

Poising fun at the American teen culture, the film hilariously over-exemplifies the stereotypes and awkward nature of school, fitting in, and dealing with problems. All in all, Me and Earl remained true to it's word through the majority of it's runtime and strayed away from becoming the 'cliche cancer story', yet the last 15 minutes of the film somehow flip the entire purpose. When the truth is revealed at the end, Greg explains himself, and the faults work themselves out, we're left with exactly what they convinced us it wouldn't be - a cancer story. And a rather cliche one at that.


In the end what we're left with is a film which convinces us to listen to it's hilarious story by telling us things will be okay; that it's not what we think. By doing this, we've payed close attention to the plot and fascinating visuals, getting a deeper grasp on the charm of the story as a whole. It's a truly one-of-a-kind work, and I'd highly recommend taking a look!

Released 2015

Hail Caesar - Trailer

Rumors have been flowing for a while about the next Joel and Ethan Coen film, and fans are glad to hear that the trailer for their next picture 'Hail Caesar' can be viewed now.

'Hail Caesar' is the story of a "Studio-Fixer" in 1950's Hollywood as he struggles to keep the stars of the studio's much anticipated picture "Hail, Caesar!" in line. Things go awry after the lead actor (played by George Clooney) is kidnapped and held for ransom.

The film contains an incredible cast, featuring names such as George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Tilda Swinton, Jonah Hill, and Frances McDormand. 

'Hail Caesar' releases February 5, 2016.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMqeoW3XRa0

James Cameron / Robert Rodriguez - New Film On The Way

20th Century just announced James Cameron to produce the Robert Rodriguez directed film 'Alita: Battle Angel', a live action movie based on the graphic novel series of the same name. The last film to be made in this series was 'Battle Angel' in 1993. Cameron has announced he is excited about the project, as he has been looking to do a film with Rodriguez for a while, and the series is near and dear to him.

The story will be set in the 26th century, featuring a doctor who rescues an amnesiac female from a scrapyard.

Fans of the series can expect the film midway through 2016.

The New Season of Fargo Begins With A Bang

Reviewers around the world are praising the new season of the hit show 'Fargo' as being incredible, astounding, and even better than season 1. If you watched season 1, you are aware of the incredibly dark yet humorous story following a series of murders in a small town in Minnesota. I guess blood looks great on snow!

What can we expect from Season 2? According to the season 2 premiere which aired Tuesday, we can expect a lot of deaths, a lot of savagery, and A LOT of blood. It is true that the American audience is attached to entertainment rich with violence and gore, and Fargo reinforces this exquisitely. For those who take a deeper look into the show, the effect of God and the Testament will play a major role in this new season.

It appears as though Fargo is making us believe in a new wild west, where heavy snow falls and accents run thick. I personally enjoyed the premiere immensely, and I would highly recommend taking a peek at the show even if you missed the first season!

Inglourious Basterds

On Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds.

2009 was quite a spectacular year for movies. Titles such as Avatar, Up In The Air, and District 9 took the world of cinema by storm, earning hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and massive critical acclaim. However, despite the high budget tentpole pictures released, Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece Inglorious Basterds stood out as not only one of the greatest releases of the year, but one of the greatest of the decade. Although it’s budget was in fact $70 million, which in retrospect is a moderately high budget, the story given to us most certainly  could have been filmed with a much smaller budget and still turn out just as spectacular. Aspects which have granted the film it’s praise include it’s outstanding cinematography and usage of the camera to create raw emotion, and it’s trademarked narrative form which contains single stories so brilliantly written they could stand alone by themselves.

When you say “Tarantino”, most people envision buckets of blood, hundreds of “f-words” and similar curses, and dialogue you can quote for years to come. With Basterds, Tarantino does not disappoint. Satirizing the Nazi movement in Germany and France in the 1940’s, he juxtaposes a masterful mix of humor, drama, action, and imagery into a very unique structural narrative. The film is composed of 6 individual ‘acts’ which in traditional Tarantino style, tie neatly together in a fascinating story. I mentioned the acts could each hold their own and be just as intense and gripping, yet what makes the structure so “great” is how Tarantino wraps them together into a bigger picture… which turns out to be the destruction of the entire Third Reich. The acts include an intense interrogation, a darkly humorous overview of a mostly Jewish-American platoon, a story of a distraught undercover cinema owner, two acts featuring the American’s mission to assassinate Hitler, and the final act showing destruction of Nazi leadership.

Traditional “Hollywood” style narrative form contains a continuous 3 part structure with an introduction, rising action, climax, and resolution. Basterds on the other hand seems to completely disregard the norm and simply give us 3 interwoven plot lines in 6 distinctive and titled parts. Now, the overall story does in fact contain an introduction, climax, action and a resolution… perhaps even multiple. Arguably the most famous and quoted act in the film is the “basement” scene, where the Americans attempt to infiltrate German information along with a fictitious German actress. You’ll notice the framing and use of low or close up shots create immense tension in a fascinating conversation, as well as natural, realistic dialogue move the conversation along in a unique way that keeps us focused, entertained, and even slightly nervous.

The basement scene and the interrogation at the beginning serve as prime examples of the type of writing Tarantino features in his narrative structure. Simply the fact that Quentin Tarantino can make an entire 20 minute act out of a conversation is remarkable. It’s something you really can’t see from any other filmmaker working today, clearly positioning him as one of the most gifted writers of our generation, and possibly of all time.

It’s one thing to interweave distinctive plotlines together into one, it’s another to make it visually stunning. Rumor has it that Quentin Tarantino receives a good amount of help from collaborators and other entities in filmmaking, including frequent collaborator and cinematographer Robert Richardson. However, there is no doubt that Tarantino’s vision is portrayed masterfully in Basterds.  Known for his homage to classic cinema, Quentin releases his collection of classic and trademarked shots in tip top form. For an example of the cinematography featured in the film, I’ve broken down the shots and style of the first act.

The opening shot of the film, being common in the majority of films released, is an extreme long shot of French countryside, setting the location of the act. He uses gradual progression to introduce the infamous Hans Landa, who interrogates a French farmer in the farmer’s own home. The intensity of the conversation between the two gradually increases as the stakes get higher and we realize what’s on the line. To mirror this, Tarantino begins by using a track to encircle the two, then the shots get closer and closer, from medium, to medium close up, then to close ups. Through these shots, we truly feel the emotion and nerves of the farmer, and the pure malice and unforgiving nature of Landa.

You’ll also notice the angle of the shots through the first scene; starting off even and direct with the duo’s figures, then changing slightly as we realize who has the upper hand. As Landa explains who he is and what he’s there for, the camera starts to angle upward, giving him an aspect of power and authority, while belittling the farmer. This technique is used frequently throughout the film for figures such as “the Bear Jew”, American Lieutenant Aldo Raine, and Adolf Hitler.

It takes a great deal of skill to make a feature length film. Aspects such as writing and narrative 

form, cinematography, mise-en-scene (what’s in the shot), sound, editing, and logistics have to be 

heavily taken into consideration. It takes even more skill to craft a classic, or memorable film. Yet to 

completely disregard the basic structure of American films and develop emotion through shots is 

nearly unheard of. Inglourious Basterds magnificently gives us a spectacular story broken up into 

multiple parts, entertains us with smart dialogue, and places us in a state of awe with incredible shots 

and cinematography. Undoubtedly one of the best films of the 2000’s, Basterds is one you’ll 

appreciate for a long time.