alibaba3317
Joined Dec 2011
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I headed into The Last Duel with a cautious but optimistic mindset. Ridley has unfortunately been somewhat inconsistent as of late. More often than not, the issue isn't Scott's finesse as a visual interpreter, but his ability in picking good scripts. I was delighted to find out that this was not the case, as I hold this as one of 2021's stronger pictures, much to the writers' credit.
The movie has an interesting, split narrative, told in three chapters from three viewpoints. It's a surprisingly captivating and dynamic approach, without falling into repetitiveness. A lot of this has to do with the clever script, but also director Ridley Scott's skill at staging shots. They're framed differently, edited differently and acted differently. The change in lens and mood is a testament to cinematographer Dariusz Wolski's expertise as well as Scott's.
Ben, Matt and Nicole have written a temporary story with modern resonance; the politics are ancient, but fundamentally, it feels contemporary. The spoken dialogue in The Last Duel invokes an older time period, more so than it actually is.
Technically, it's a Ridley Scott movie; what can you say? He's a master at creating crisp imagery, filled with texture and haze. The action here is violent and grotesque, yet beautiful and quick. His eye for aesthetics is impeccable, demonstrated in costume and set design. The audio mix is very strong, blending Harry Gregson-Williams' excellent score with a veracious sound design.
The casting here is spot on. Adam Driver as Jacques Le Gris has a strange, muscular presence, radiating charisma while simultaneously being brutally unhinged. Jodie Comer as Marguerite de Carrouges is truthfully courageous and emotional; her performance is empowering without feeling burlesque.
As the title suggests, the final duel is fiercely intense. It's gnarly, visceral and savagely distressful.
At 152 minutes, the picture is undoubtedly long. The narrative might feel tedious to some and the overall tone is unflinchingly vile.
The movie has an interesting, split narrative, told in three chapters from three viewpoints. It's a surprisingly captivating and dynamic approach, without falling into repetitiveness. A lot of this has to do with the clever script, but also director Ridley Scott's skill at staging shots. They're framed differently, edited differently and acted differently. The change in lens and mood is a testament to cinematographer Dariusz Wolski's expertise as well as Scott's.
Ben, Matt and Nicole have written a temporary story with modern resonance; the politics are ancient, but fundamentally, it feels contemporary. The spoken dialogue in The Last Duel invokes an older time period, more so than it actually is.
Technically, it's a Ridley Scott movie; what can you say? He's a master at creating crisp imagery, filled with texture and haze. The action here is violent and grotesque, yet beautiful and quick. His eye for aesthetics is impeccable, demonstrated in costume and set design. The audio mix is very strong, blending Harry Gregson-Williams' excellent score with a veracious sound design.
The casting here is spot on. Adam Driver as Jacques Le Gris has a strange, muscular presence, radiating charisma while simultaneously being brutally unhinged. Jodie Comer as Marguerite de Carrouges is truthfully courageous and emotional; her performance is empowering without feeling burlesque.
As the title suggests, the final duel is fiercely intense. It's gnarly, visceral and savagely distressful.
At 152 minutes, the picture is undoubtedly long. The narrative might feel tedious to some and the overall tone is unflinchingly vile.
A mind-bogglingly cretinous but visually sublime science fiction continuation from legendary director Ridley Scott. This mixed bag of a movie struggles with trying to be too many things at once, a new Alien movie, an android's evolutionary journey, and a sequel to a prequel in the form of 2012's Prometheus.
Alien: Covenant feels like the amalgamation of several stories, mashed into one. In many ways, it behaves like a second sequel, in how it basically skips the ideological questions left by Prometheus, and dives right into Xenomorphic carnage. Covenant is more about the android David's internal struggle and his desperate quest to become a God than it is a mythological expansion of the Xenomorph's origin. If anything, it's a reduction of mythology, diminishing the uniqueness of the creature. It's a frustrating afterthought; thinking what could've been, had it only been committed to one.
Like most of Ridley's work, it's fantastic to look at and admire. He's impressively consistent with creating crisp imagery. Unfortunately, like times before, his work is weighed down by the writing. Like its predecessor Prometheus, Alien: Covenant suffers from an illogical and almost schizophrenic screenplay. It relies on implausible stupidity to function, which makes for an annoying experience.
With that said, I adore the movie's otherworldly feeling. Composer Jed Kurzel has orchestrated a pulsating and eerie score that fits the tone perfectly. The atmosphere is something I continue to return for; it transcends beyond silly words on a page. Hopefully, this wasn't the nail in the coffin for Ridley's Alien future.
Alien: Covenant feels like the amalgamation of several stories, mashed into one. In many ways, it behaves like a second sequel, in how it basically skips the ideological questions left by Prometheus, and dives right into Xenomorphic carnage. Covenant is more about the android David's internal struggle and his desperate quest to become a God than it is a mythological expansion of the Xenomorph's origin. If anything, it's a reduction of mythology, diminishing the uniqueness of the creature. It's a frustrating afterthought; thinking what could've been, had it only been committed to one.
Like most of Ridley's work, it's fantastic to look at and admire. He's impressively consistent with creating crisp imagery. Unfortunately, like times before, his work is weighed down by the writing. Like its predecessor Prometheus, Alien: Covenant suffers from an illogical and almost schizophrenic screenplay. It relies on implausible stupidity to function, which makes for an annoying experience.
With that said, I adore the movie's otherworldly feeling. Composer Jed Kurzel has orchestrated a pulsating and eerie score that fits the tone perfectly. The atmosphere is something I continue to return for; it transcends beyond silly words on a page. Hopefully, this wasn't the nail in the coffin for Ridley's Alien future.
Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's science fiction novel is a technical display of modern wizardry, an enormous and often thundering spectacle. It's best described as a sort of mix between Game of Thrones and Star Wars with religious parallels, which isn't very surprising since Herbert's novel was George Lucas' inspiration many decades ago.
Dune's story is full of rich and often bizarre mythology, political conflicts on a galactic scale, raging battles between opposing forces and fantastical prophecies.
It's a meticulously crafted vehicle to fully immerse you into the world; the movie takes deep care to establish lore and characters, unfolding at a slow pace. It's brilliantly directed in a calm but constantly tense premonition.
The acting is superb all around, with standouts from Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica and Stellan Skarsgård as the villainous Baron Harkonnen. The latter manages to give the story a menacing, borderline supernatural presence.
Hans Zimmer's score invokes historical grandeur and a sort of legendary, Arthurian voice. Greg Fraiser's cinematography is vast and big, giving the story's magnitude the scope it deserves. This is a very unique looking production and it shows up on set and in costume, tremendous artwork and design.
As far as criticism goes, the movie lacks a proper ending. Sure, it's not the first movie to end on a cliffhanger, but it could still warrant an understandably inconclusive feeling. Aside from that, the pacing is also a possible deterrent for some viewers. It's long and methodically structured.
Dune's story is full of rich and often bizarre mythology, political conflicts on a galactic scale, raging battles between opposing forces and fantastical prophecies.
It's a meticulously crafted vehicle to fully immerse you into the world; the movie takes deep care to establish lore and characters, unfolding at a slow pace. It's brilliantly directed in a calm but constantly tense premonition.
The acting is superb all around, with standouts from Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica and Stellan Skarsgård as the villainous Baron Harkonnen. The latter manages to give the story a menacing, borderline supernatural presence.
Hans Zimmer's score invokes historical grandeur and a sort of legendary, Arthurian voice. Greg Fraiser's cinematography is vast and big, giving the story's magnitude the scope it deserves. This is a very unique looking production and it shows up on set and in costume, tremendous artwork and design.
As far as criticism goes, the movie lacks a proper ending. Sure, it's not the first movie to end on a cliffhanger, but it could still warrant an understandably inconclusive feeling. Aside from that, the pacing is also a possible deterrent for some viewers. It's long and methodically structured.