Maleficent (Vlog Review)

Full review to emerge by the sunset of tomorrow...

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Grand Budapest in all of its glory. This is why films were once called motion pictures. 

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Wes Anderson paints a joyfully whimsical picture with such depth and empathy that it never ceases to be compelling. Sentimental yet invigoratingly truthful, The Grand Budapest is evocative, affecting and engrossingly entertaining.

That is what one calls an elevator pitch. 

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Ralph Fiennes composes a character of well-poised reservation, only to subvert this construction and shock audiences with his almost spontaneous combustions. Few and perfect.

Even amongst such colourful and dynamic performances from a stellar cast, Fiennes shines so singularly. Though I admit I’d wish for more of Tilda Swinton.

Alas, time is a cruel thing. 

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Needless to say, the picture is as visually sumptuous as it is emotionally impactful. The innovative pastiche of genres induces such energy without ever being restless.

It truly is a delightful triumph.

Verdict: Watch, even if you usually ignore art house pieces! Though hectic, the film is never less than coherent, provided you don’t stop to ponder over the meaning of every abstract symbol.

Love y’all.

E.

Oh dear, what an awkward situation? (Maleficent Preview)

I've executed extreme self-restraint in refraining from filling this page with an assemblage of Maleficent material. However, this clip is simply too delicious!

Jolie seems to be portraying the mistress of all evil with a playful touch of grand English theatre. I love her enunciation and the clever homage to Eleanor Audley, who voiced the original character with such implicit innuendo.

Jolie’s super strengths seem to be the subtler facial movements and wicked laughter which accompany her occasionally overstated dialogue.

This clip fills me with such anticipation, for it is truly the calm before the storm.

Something wicked this way comes… 

Love y'all.

E. 

Word Count: 101. Preview or not I stick to my word limit!

Frozen: A New Pop-Culture Monster

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I use monster with earnest admiration. Not adjusted for inflation, Frozen is just about to surpass Iron Man 3 as the 5th highest grossing film of all times!

I admit that the last act underwhelms, lacking the emotional weight that Disney classics have. However, it is an undeniably dynamic film - visually and musically - with a warm and pure heart, which has awakened our inner child.

Marvelous illustrations of snowy sets and hues of blue are particularly masterful in highlighting the story’s nuances. Though, of course, the picture’s soaring success is in its music.

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Whilst Kristen Bell radiates doe-eyed innocence and vulnerability in Do You Want to Build a Snowman? and For the First Time in Forever. The free-spirit of Frozen is resolutely belted by the wickedly talented Adele Azeem (oops I mean Idina Menzel) in Let It Go, which of course has been adapted to be the new anthem for everything, everywhere. 

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Frozen does what it sets out to do. It thaws hearts, and just happens to make a billion dollars in the process. Even I, however pretentious, can't dismiss the greatness of such success. 

E. 

P.S. I apologise for crushing the 100 word threshold, then again, it's my blog!

Love y'all

The Grandmaster in 100 words

Raindrops drum their battle cries

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Rain never ceases to lose novelty for me. May it be the downpour which serenades a masterfully orchestrated brawl, or the rippling film that reflects a world after the rain, Wong Kar-wai flawlessly evokes the drama and romance of rain.

Seamlessly transitioning to-and-fro slow motion, the picture paints a lost world through the eyes of its grandmasters. Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi excel at embodying intense restraint and – at the opportune moments – vivacious expression.

Even snow withers in comparison to those cold eyes. 

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The Grandmaster has the many virtues of a martial arts classic, both grand and taciturn. However, beyond the precise finesse, it is fueled by the undying ferocity of a beautifully abridged love. 

Such is the making of a timeless film. 

E.

Saving Mr. Banks in 100 Words

Greetings beloved readers,

It has been too long. 

Life is an odd thing, and sometimes I can't help but get in my own way. Neglecting my greatest creative outlet - my one megaphone, however defective - was rather uninspired. 

 'Twas a little childish, no? 

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I live to witness art, to be immersed in it and to escape. Everyone has that something which elevates their everything, and for me - above all else - it is Film, but you already knew that!

I always recommend films to people, and they watch them. Well, that's what I'm told, but I do know for certain that these films have, at the very least, been downloaded. Oh, I mean 'acquired'.

Legalities aside, that's exactly what Ericstatic should do. No, I shan't partake in your 'acquisition', how one chooses to watch his/her film is a private matter.

One would rather not take this ride.

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Henceforth, I will neatly pack my thoughts and cut-throat watch / run verdict about each film in 100 words.

Let us start with Saving Mr. Banks.

Starring Emma Thompson in the role of P.L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, the film follows the beginnings of an unforgettable* sing-along Disney classic. 

... let's go fly kite ...

I cannot begin to tell you how uninterested, no, positively sickened I am at the thought of visiting your dollar-printing machine [DISNEYLAND]. 

That she has a British accent surely helps. 

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It’s hard to like Thompson’s Travers, but it’s even more difficult to not love her; a person of constantly oscillating contradictions. The film, too, is an assembly of mismatched jigsaw pieces until it knocks you over, and leaves you in need of an emergent hug.

Ironically, you should watch this alone. The film is whimsical and witty, and Thompson’s Oscar-snubbed performance gives us the grounding gravitas and tough love we so desperately need.

It's a Merry-Go-Round. Period.  

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Verdict: Is this even a question? I apologise, I mean ‘watch!’

*Up for interpretation

Love y’all. E. 

P.S. Emma Thompson and I have the same initials. Just saying. ET.