DesertTalkies Film Reviews!

  Midnight Express [1978] Starring Brad Davis, John Hurt, Irene Miracle Direction by Alan Parker, Adapted from Billy Hayes' novel, Midnight Express  Language: English  When you hear about a movie about an attempt to escape from prison, you would typically think of some oversensationalised drama, dramatic to the point where the story is devoid of realism. It's a very childish genre when it is fictional: a staple of 'young adult' or preteen film. There has never been a situation until know where I have seen a movie that is so raw, so real. I loved everything about this.  Firstly, it was an interesting choice to have extended scenes in untranslated Turkish; whenever there is a scene in a film where something is not spelled out for you, so are almost forced to revert to a basic, human level of emotion, to empathise with the untapped emotions of fear, of suffering, of longing, of disillusionment. To see everything from a point of view where you are the one feeling this sw...

 White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch [2022] Direction by Alison Klayman Language: English This was one of those things that gets recommended to you on Netflix that you watch to kill time. Whilst I don't anticipate this documentary winning an Academy Award or something of that nature, it looked flashy enough to the point where I thought that it would be worthwhile to watch it. I had my own little Abercrombie & Fitch phase when I was younger, and, having watched this documentary, I'm almost ashamed to say that I had one. And whilst visually the documentary was enticing, there were some problems that were quite obvious to me.  Firstly, I felt like the pacing of the documentary was not quite right. The movie focused heavily on the 1990s and early 2000s, which made sense considering that those were the times were when the brand was at its biggest. However, the documentary goes onto discuss events in the late 2000s and 2010s. It was almost as if the documen...

  Memoirs of a Geisha [2005] Starring: Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Ken Wantanabe Direction by Rob Marshall Language: English Well, Michelle Yeoh was in this movie, and that was my entire reason for seeing it. In the past, I have heard that this movie has caused a lot of controversy from people who watched it. And when there’s controversy, there’s me.  I enjoyed the movie, but I think that there were some inherent issues with the writing of it. The movie focuses on how difficult it is to be a geisha, and how being one means living a life devoid of love, full of regret and devoid of joy. However, this movie decided to focus on the exceptional, a story where there is dramatic suffering only to end with the fulfilment of a childhood wish, which would be highly improbable considering how the plot of the story went. It was annoying that the ending was so trite: I thought that, especially in a movie that revolves around the suffering in a profession that is also so underrepre...

  La La Land [2016] Starring: Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling Writing and Direction by Damien Chazelle, Music by Justin Hurwitz Language: English ' City of stars, are you shining just for me? City of stars, there's so much that I can't see. Who knows? Is this the start of something wonderful and new?' 'Someone in the crowd could be the one you need to know, the one to finally lift you off the ground.' 'Climb these hills, I'm reaching for the heights, and chasing all the lights that shine! And when they let you down, get up off the ground, the morning rolls around and it's another day of sun!' Who wasn't shocked when the Oscar was given to Moonlight instead of La La Land? I thought that finally the Academy had recognised the masterpiece of a musical this was, but my musical-loving self was left clinging to the hope that there had been another mistake, and that La La Land had really won. I was young when I first saw this movie in the theatre, and I ha...

Jackie [2016] Starring: Natalie Portman, Greta Gerwig, Peter Sarsgaard Direction by Pablo Larrain Language: English It was such a vivid portrayal of a woman ripped apart, not only by her own mentality, but by her those around her so prominent in the public eye. Plain and simple, this movie was so raw. Moving, haunting, and thrilling in a sometimes subtle way, it was such a brilliant watch.  The idea of grief is portrayed in such an interesting way in this movie: grief, as it appears in this work, is almost an empowerment. Loss has allowed the protagonist, Jackie, to cut herself free from the expectations required of her, and really take charge of her own life, as well as the lives of those around her. And whilst downfall is a significant theme in this movie, it is the theme of empowerment that really takes centre stage. This movie was stitched: the plotline connects a single interview post the death of John F. Kennedy, and the events that happened previously. To see the protagonist...

In The Mood For Love [2000] Starring: Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Ping Lam Siu, Rebecca Pan Direction by Wong Kar-wai Language: Mandarin, Cantonese  The vibrance and elegance of Hong Kong in the 1960s comes to full view in this stunning movie. I was born in Hong Kong, so I've always been interested in understanding more about the place I lived for the first few years of my life. I have often heard my parents talk about 'In the Mood for Love' and how it was one of the standout movies they can recall seeing. And whilst I don't have as strong an infatuation with this movie as my parents do, I can say that this was pretty impressive. The main accomplishment of this movie was the narrative: the film was a selection of artistic scenes, stitched together in a sometimes painstakingly slow yet intensely moving way. If you know me, you will know that I tend to loathe movies that do not have a clear plot: a story that is, for the most part, easily digestible. However, it w...

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone [2001] Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint Direction by Chris Columbus, Original story by J.K. Rowling Language: English Let me just call a spade a spade: you have not had a childhood if you have not watched Harry Potter. And whilst I grew up reading the books and subsequently watching the movies, I recently decided to rewatch the movies, and all the fuzzy memories of youth came rushing back. This was the case especially in the first installment: Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone: the nostalgia of seeing all the lead actors so young and innocent made me feel so warm.  Whilst I do love the Harry Potter series, this will be the first and last Harry Potter movie I will review: you can basically say the same thing about every one of the movies, and I would prefer to watch and review movies with a little more diversity.  The most positive aspect of this movie was how true it stayed to the original novels. The other m...