Shine On, Kubrick.

This past Friday I saw The Shining for the first time. This past Saturday I saw The Shining for the second time. Throughout my first viewing I was gripped by every shot, I was captivated by every aspect of every shot because I knew that everything in the frame was there for a reason. There were no accidents in the final product. Every single detail means something. Throughout my first viewing I was also struck by how much tension and fear was created solely by the score. Scenes that would have been absolutely normal otherwise took on a sinister tone with music. You can feel yourself being drawn into the warped insane character that is Jack. The film isn't scary in the sense that it makes you jump, it is terrifying because of the implications of the actions of the characters. This film is truly terrifying, you are filled with a distinct unease and fear throughout. My second viewing was entirely different, I had read up on some of the symbolism in the movie after my first viewing and set out to see the film from a new perspective the second time around. One of the major "conspiracies" surrounding the film is the assertion that it is Kubrick's confession to faking the moon landing. I knew that there was some conspiracy regarding the moon landing but on my first viewing I didn't pick up anything. On my second viewing it became clear to me that the Overlook Hotel is supposed to symbolize America in that it is this vast space that is literally built upon a Native American burial ground, it looks beautiful from the outside but is deteriorating on the inside. Stuart Ullman is JFK, enlisting Jack to take care of this very important task for them and roping him into an extended commitment. Jack and Danny are a split version of Kubrick dealing with the pressures of faking the moon landing. Jack is the logical side of Kubrick while Danny is the young artist who is confused and horrified by the process. Wendy is supposed to be Kubrick's wife who is just mentally exhausted and abused by the task her husband has taken on. There are so many intricacies to this film that it would be near impossible to explain them without actually watching the film. This movie is made to be thought about, there is no clear thing that everyone takes away from it. You watch it and you feel something, your perception of what happened is entirely up to you. The audience is free to give meaning to the film in their own way. I could not recommend this film more, I will be watching it again for the third time within the next few days.

Shooter Review

I watched the movie Shooter tonight, starring Mark Wahlberg, and like all movies I watch now-a-days, I can't help but analyze the crap out of them.  This movie was no acception. It is an action movie so you're going to get a ton of your cliche gun battles, walking away from fiery explosions, to good to be true combat moves and techniques, among many other things.  The basic premise of the movie if you haven't seen it is Mark Wahlberg's character plays an ex marine sniper who gets commissioned by the Government to track down and thwart a potential assassination attempt.  Without his knowledge, his acceptance to help is a death sentence and they end up framing him for the killing of a head of state in some god for saken african country instead of the President of the United States to cover up some greedy crap.  Long story short, Mark Wahlbergs character out runs them all, out smarts them, and kills them all, and manages to escape a free man and clear his name.

I know what you're thinking, "that sounds awful and super cliche" and it totally is cliche, but my god it is good.  Mark Wahlberg first and foremost is an incredible actor.  I have loved him in every movie I've seen him in, he always fits the character he is meant to play extremely well.  His acting is one of the major highlights of the film.

From a directing standpoint, the director does a fantastic job of creating suspense (kind of like we watched in The Fast and the Furious).  Everything from music, body language, to editing, slowing time down, all of the landmark things you expect, he does to a tee, but, he also does some other things that knock it out of the park.

The story is quite good to begin with.  Sure, it is cliche, but even though I've seen it before, I'm on the edge of my seat the entire time because you just don't know what is going to happen next or what badass thing Mark Wahlberg is going to do to the enemy.

I also enjoyed how the enemies in the movie are very well defined but are not your average movie enemies.  One is a senator, one is a high ranking military official, and others hold offices in different branches of government.  I personally love conspiracies and do think the government has a lot more power and does a lot of things behind our back that we will never know about or choose to ignore.  This movie does an awesome job of showing you how easily the government can sway a country to think one thing when it couldn't be further from the truth.  The movie does a great job of asking the question we all fear the most, "Can one trust the government that they choose to give power too?"

Overall, after watching shooter tonight, it has become one of my favorite action movies.  It also got a 4 and a half star rating on Netflix which is pretty good in my opinion. I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it and are looking for a good action movie to watch.

Tyler Chadwick