My Blueberry Nights

movie review/analysis
by Gavin Miller

My Score: B
Wong Kar Wai is awesome. He's one of my favorite directors, and I just recently checked out his 2007 flick My Blueberry Nights. This is a good film, not a great one, not as good as Wong Kar Wai's best work, but still pretty good, and in my opinion, very underrated. My favorite Kar Wai film would probably be Chungking Express (In the Mood for Love is a close second!), that movie really is something special, and I think that My Blueberry Nights did a good job of recreating a similar atmosphere, unfortunately, at times My Blueberry Nights feels somewhat thinly written. Chungking's narrative embraced the lack of an in-depth story, and relied on pure style to carry it. Wong Kar Wai really pulled it of with that one, but in Blueberry Nights, there are some scenes where it feels a little forced. However, I do love the premise of Blueberry Nights. It is a very interesting story, and Norah Jones does a surprisingly decent job as the lead. Rachel Weisz is great, and Natalie Portman was also pretty good, though the accent seemed a bit unneeded. Jude Law's character was easily my favorite part of the film, he did a wonderful job. There is some fantastic imagery and beautiful cinematography here, and though the script is a little thin, and as this is Kar Wai's first English language film, the transition of style can seem a bit awkward at times, there's enough good here to save it, and make it a very good film. This is no masterpiece, but it's worth checking out, especially if your a Wong Kar Wai fan like myself.

My top 5 favorite film directors

written by Gavin Miller

These are my five favorite movie directors. These are the filmmakers that tell great stories, and know how to, visually, emotionally, and just personally resonate with me.

But first off, some honorable mentions:  Alfred Hitchcock, the Coen Brothers, Peter Jackson, Woody Allen, Clint Eastwood, Danny Boyle, Ingmar Bergman, and Tim Burton.

5. Wes Anderson
I love Wes Anderson, every movie he's made is just so enjoyable, quirky, beautiful, well made and different. Just watching one of his movies, you get a great, relaxing feeling of excitement and joy. It's like a daydream; fantastical, whimsical, fun. Also, the cast, characters and dialog of a Wes Anderson picture will linger in your mind, leaving you to decipher a possible hidden meaning in a line, or remembering a hilarious facial expression of Bill Murray or maybe Jason Schwartzman.

Favorite Anderson film: The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

4. Ang Lee
As a viewer, I naturally gravitate to visual finesse, and that's one of the main reasons I adore Ang Lee. Take his 2000 masterpiece Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or his latest film, the beautiful and spiritually extravagant Life of PI - amazing work. But Ang Lee's films are more than just amazing to eye. They are deeply affecting and emotional, Brokeback Mountain is a prime example of a marriage of beautiful cinematography and dramatic, poignant storytelling.

My favorite Ang Lee film: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

3. Darren Aronofsky 
To me, Aronofsky is one of those directors where I always just can't wait to see what they do next. All his work is so immersing, passionate, thrilling; it's like watching a great artist painting a masterpiece. Another great thing about Aronofsky, he can get amazing performances out of actors. Take Natalie Portman in Black Swan, or Mickey Rourke from The Wrestler, both are amazing, ranging from intense to heart-breaking. Aronofsky also has great visual taste. Whether it's the beautiful, breathtaking vistas of his underrated 2006 film The Fountain -- the bleak, surreal landscapes of 2000's Requiem for a Dream -- the frenetic, grainy, black and white look of his debut, Pi, he's one of the great modern-day masters of cinematography.

My favorite Aronofsky film: The Wrestler (2009)

2. Christopher Nolan
Trying hard not to be a complete fan-boy here, but i can't help but just rave about this guy. He's truly a master filmmaker, I feel that each of his movies represents his skills getting more and more mature. He completely resurrected the Batman franchise with his epic Dark Knight trilogy, blew our minds with the complex and mind bending Inception, and in my opinion, what might be his best directorial effort was 2006's The Prestige, easily his most overlooked and underrated film. Also one can not ignore 2000's Memento, the movie that brought Nolan to the attention of the public and critics everywhere, and which still remains a fascinating and thought-provoking mystery. I think Nolan will continue to get better and better with time.

My favorite Nolan film: The Dark Knight trilogy (2005-2012)

1. Steven Spielberg
Ok, I know it's really cliche to say that Spielberg is my all time favorite director, but what can I say - if I were to make a list of my top twenty/thirty favorite films, Spielberg would dominate the list. Yea, not all of his movies are perfect, but when he when he makes a good movie, chances are it's a great movie. His 70's-80's work is very undeniably classic. Indiana Jones (1981-89), Jaws, E.T.... yea you know. His output of the 90's was impressive as well (Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan), and he really has remained consistent in the 21st century. With his early 2000's work, like the dark, thought-provoking sci-fi flick Minority Report (2002), and the brisk, entertaining Catch Me If You Can of 2003. Also, his most recent efforts, 2011's War Horse, and 2012's Lincoln were both hugely impressive to me, and he showed a real knack for animation with his recent debut in the genre, The Adventures of Tintin (2011). What can you say about Steven Spielberg, he's easily one of the most influential, important and versatile filmmakers of all time, and he easily deserves the number one stop on my list.

Favorite Spielberg film: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Stand By Me - quick film review

Stand By Me (1986)

movie reviews/analysis

written by Gavin Miller

Rating: 5/10

Stand By Me is a film that I consider incredibly overrated. I like quite a few of Rob Reiner's films, Spinal Tap and Princess Bride in particular. However, Stand By Me is just so pretentious and unpleasant to me, I can't find much in it to like. For child actors, the cast isn't actually too annoying, but that being said I didn't find any of the characters very likable and couldn't really get attached to them. Another thing I didn't like about this movie is that it's mean spirited. For a film about childhood, it seems to just be interested in countless instances of people hurting, destructing, bullying, etc, other people. Yes, I understand what it's going for/trying to say, but I just can't get in to this overdone, pretentious movie that's not even very entertaining. This film annoys me, and the more I think about it the less I like it. Many people rave about Stand By Me, but I say it's not worth your time.