Change Your Image
reubenmark
Reviews
Beginners (2010)
Just Love Man, Complicated Meaningful Love
For something to ooze with so much heart and soul as this film does is no easy feat. Mike Mills genuinely gives a piece of himself in all his work and this can be felt in every character, every interaction and every piece of dialogue he writes. The amount of respect I have for his type of storytelling, of unashamedly trying to connect the dots in your lived experience without any self-importance, criticism of others or forcefully trying to deliver a message is so so meaningful to me. It takes real bravery, because I think a lot of people think their experiences are dull and not worthy of sharing. But to share openly and having blind faith others will care and get something out of it surely is the truest form of filmmaking and storytelling that needs to be aspired to.
I love this film because it feels like it loves me back, it helps me value my small piece of existence in ways I never truly can understand. It helps me see that under all the noise, distractions, sadness, happiness, boredom, excitement, fear and lust, life is important, being human and loving one another has some deeper level of meaning that we can't ever understand and don't need to understand. To quote another one of his films, everything else is just "blah, blah, blah." Get down to that root of existence and life will surely feel better.
I love you Mike and please keep sharing with us.
Oppenheimer (2023)
Destructively Good
What a historical figure to make a biopic of, what a filmmaker who made it, what an actor who portrayed him. When filmmaking is good its power is immeasurable, not even in Gigatons. And this is good cinema, plain and simple. Using the medium of audio and visuals to elicit emotion in a meaningful way.
I do think it's Chris's greatest work, a culmination of all his experiments, all his hustle and the years he put in to be trusted by those with the money to make what he wants to make. What set this apart for me is his subtlety with it. It feels like he understood there was no need to shout, to make it spectacular and play service to his fans. In doing so he has surely created a style of biopic that is going to be studied for years to come.
I loved it, and am glad I got to see it. It's a great piece of work by great artists, whenever that can happen in the world it should be celebrated.
Steve Jobs (2015)
The most Talent doing the most!
This film has no right to go as hard as it does! I never quite understood the appeal of Steve Jobs, or our need to praise the Tech Bros as much as our society does. But I mean if you get Danny Boyle, Aaron Sorkin, Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet together you really can't miss! This film is one of the best movies ever made in my opinion and such an intriguing and unique way of handling a biopic.
Danny and Aaron really creating something special and for me it feels like the apex of their body of work, I'm a massive fan of Danny's films and somehow this outshone Trainspotting, T2 and Slumdog.
It just has everything I could ever hope for in a film, one of my all time directors, directing the finest dialogue writer's script and Fassbender, a actor I love in everything he does. Also the Biopic is my favorite genre, honestly it is everything I could ever ask for!
For me I'm just happy I got to see this movie in my lifetime and was at the right age to appreciate it. I know it's probably not for everyone but for me, this is a gift from the film Gods and will always have a special place in my heart.
Triangle of Sadness (2022)
Oh my Good God!
The freshest film I've seen since Birdman! It makes my heart weep that filmmakers are intelligent, charismatic and courageous enough to make something like this. It has such a unique voice, holds up such a genuine mirror to society and had so so much fun through their exploration of their world view. Really gave me Oldboy, Okja, Woody Allen vibes and I was here for every minute of it!
Ofcourse it has great actor performances, it's beautifully filmed and set dressed, but the strength of the premise and actually pulling off that premise in a meaningful and engaging way is what makes this stand out against almost everything I have seen in the last 5 years!
It deserves everything it is surely going to win and every filmmaker currently working needs to be unbelievably jealous of Ruben!
Into the Wild (2007)
Give Me Truth...
You know when someone asks you what your favourite film is, and it seems an impossible thing to answer. Because how can one story shared with you in your lifetime be your favourite? How can you compare where you were at in your life when a film entered it to where you are now and what's important to you. Well for me this film made that answer simple, Into the Wild is my favourite movie of all time, no questions asked, not a single doubt. Having just rewatched it after about 10 years I still feel exactly the same.
Chris McCandless may have been selfish, self-centred and foolish, but he was also a young man brave enough to not hide from his pain, his anger and his confusion. He was brave enough to seek the truth and to search for meaning in a world that didn't want him to. He is someone who captured the voice of my generation in such a deeply profound way that his legend needed to be shared far and wide, and the filmmakers tasked to do that did it in such a sincere way. I have met so many in my generation who aren't necessary angry, or depressed, or defeated but just simply confused by what the world has to offer them. This can't be it right? Is this what I am meant to be apart of? Why are these the rules we all have to live to? I know there's a lot who found their meaning, enacted positive change and helped pave the way for so many to push back and choose the lives they want, but for those of us too let down by the game we are forced to play to care even a little anymore, Chris's journey of seeking an answer is deeply relevant. His is a story needed to be heard by all of us, and I'm truly grateful I got to hear it.
The hardest thing for me is to distinguish between the importance of Chris's story to the filmmaking done to tell it. The Biopic is my favourite genre because sharing another persons life in a way that is truthful and sensitive is unbelievably difficult in my opinion. It is too easy to tell it as an outsider looking in, load it with your own personal feelings about that person and what they stood for and not do the right thing which is to tell their story, introduce this person to an audience and let them make up their own minds. I know there is some criticism that this film isn't perfect about being truthful about Chris but it never comes across that way. Honestly I feel like they leaned so heavy on every piece of archive they could find, they let Chris and Carine speak in their own words and laid out Chris's adventure infront of us. I think what makes it clear that Sean Penn and the team did simply lay it all out for us and give us the opportunity to decide is how strong opinions are about this film. You either think he's a hero or a spoilt brat, because the filmmakers and John Krakauer didn't try to paint it one way or another. It is really just beautiful, introspective and classy storytelling that is under appreciated.
Lastly sorry if you made it this far down, I know I've been clichéd and lame but the last thing I want to say is the message of this film is a masterpiece in what every filmmaker is taught but so few actually pull off. My film school called the message the controlling idea, what is the idea you are going to test in the story and test your own beliefs on. It should be a statement that controls the story, that you use to test everything against and make sure it points to a meaning you are intending. "Happiness is only real when shared, " is the most profound message I have ever been delivered, will ever be delivered and is such a perfect idea to sum up everything Chris experienced and what he learnt. It hit me like a ton of bricks, and was so unbelievably earned by every scene that came before it. It is a message we all needed to hear, a world and a generation so self-absorbed, so cynical and devoid of true meaning. I mean if the simple beauty of that being delivered after everything you've seen of who this young man was and what he experienced in his life isn't meaningful for you, then honestly I am deeply sorry.
C'mon C'mon (2021)
This is Cinema.
Mike Mills is a filmmaker everyone wants to be but very few of us come close to. Everyone else is out here trying to tackle important societal issues with flash, shock, booms and bangs, while my man Mike wants to share and in sharing he is hopeful he can connect with us. I don't know how many times it needs to be said, but honestly film only works when you write what you know. I'm tired of being fed passion pieces that are clearly very talented and hardworking filmmakers trying to make something worth while, but they fall so short because they don't connect with what they are tackling nor do they care if we connect with it. "This is my film, it's important and I know better than you so watch it." When did films become so misguided and emotionless? What happened to making something important to you and using it to connect with others? Stop reading the textbooks, stop referencing spaghetti westerns, stop thinking up dramatic through lines and the charges of scenes, just be honest and share something important, say something worth saying!
This film is so personal AND universal. It tackles something meaningful AND doesn't preach or shout its message. It's so so beautiful AND mundane. The characters are real people AND pop in every single scene.
There is so much to love here but I think most of all is that this is a film of someone else's experiences trying to connect with everyone. Will it connect with everyone, probably not, but it makes me want to weep that atleast someone is trying. What else is the point of storytelling if not to connect with others. We need to all stop needing to be entertained every half minute and so demanding of what "entertainment" is and just listen every now and again.
Every one of his films have moved me in a way that cannot be replicated and for that I will forever be grateful. Mike you are an artist and I am so happy to be alive when you are working.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
1/100 - Technically it's impossible to make a movie better than this
When I first watched this film I was in my very early twenties, having finally figured out what the hell I was going to do with my life, I enrolled in a film school and was deeply content that I found my place and was going to make something that meant something. Then I walked into the cinema, watched this and left feeling deeply distraught. I had this sinking feeling of what was the point of even trying, this film already exists now, how can anything new be made that even comes close!
I have put off watching it again for a while, but recently, having graduated and joined the nonstop TV industry, I have lost touch of why I chose this life again. In an effort to rekindle my love I am going to watch the IMDb top 100. Man does it hold up and the feelings are still there. Technically, if you put away your odd tastes, biases, personal opinions, I truly believe you cannot make a movie better than this.
How is something this effortless meta, that deeply connects you to truly damaged and unlovable characters. How is it possible to pull off the oner "gimmick" with it feeling so organic to the story it's telling. I mean legit the way this film is shot is a triumph of filmmaking but it's done with such ease you couldn't imagine it not being filmed this way. Why is Edward Norton, and the whole cast, so eye shatteringly engaging. And I mean the WHOLE cast, from the guy rolling the cables, all the way up to Michael Keaton.
Ok just to end things off, I am one of those, but what was the film trying to say type of guys and that's where it gets tricky. It has to be praised, once again due to the ease at which it tells its tale, that it really is based on the person watching what they get out of it at the end. I think for me it's the universal message that can be gotten out of it. We have all wanted to do something meaningful, had our motivations constantly questioned by so many different avenues, gotten to the "What's the point of even trying" despair, and the end we all want is to find a way to push past it and find a unique way to achieve what we want. For that I will forever feel connected to Riggan.
Oh but please don't ask me what Sam is looking at at the end, because I am sure I don't know...
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
The Fight for Freedom
As a non African American viewer, but a South African viewer, with no prior knowledge at all of Fred Hampton or any of the assassinations conducted by the FBI during the fight for civil rights, I did walk into watching this film with the mindset of it being a freedom fighter being betrayed story. Purely based on that it definitely delivered for me!
Away from the subject matter what is really done well is authenticity of the setting and characters. Everyone and everything felt real and removed from the glitz and glamour of romanticising revolutionaries and the struggle for freedom. It's ofcourse easy to compare this to the Trail of the Chicago 7 which is great but the tone they went for in that movie does come across as artificial which worked for it but this film tried much harder to genuinely protray what these people must have been like and how they acted.
Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton is a massive highlight! So likeable and moving that even though you know his end it still kills you inside when happens. He ignited the little freedom fighter in me every time he spoke.
Felt a stronger connection to Lakeith's Wild Bill however because again that's a genuine person alot of us could all have been in a second. I see there is a lot of people commenting that his motivation is thin and weak. If you want a biopic about an FBI informant who betrays his comrades what are you expecting? Some overally dramatised nonsense of his family being killed in a black panther shoot out? No, our boy Bill had no interest in being a freedom fighter, did something wrong and got wrapped up in the wonderfully corrupted system we are all in and did what he had to to keep being alive and out of jail. How is that motivation hard to believe? Next time there's a protest in your area and you choose not to go because that's not your scene, think then if you would not be like Bill. He is the true victim of the system here and that's only made stronger when you learn of how his story ends in the final credit roll.
And again I personally think it was great to structure the story from his perspective because it is far more universal. I like movies where the protagonist is our vessel into a complicated world and Bill is perfect at doing this here. A story from Fred's perspective would have been far too one sided and preachy. As least through Bill's eyes it makes you question what you would have done in that situation. I know a lot of my peers and the younger generations are fighting for rights and that's incredible and more power to you, but for someone who has not been in positions to do that it really makes you introspect and question why you aren't doing more to fight back against oppression. I know that's what I am walking away with from this movie and I'm sure this will be how a lot of the audience will also feel.
Overall fantastic, always great to hear stories of people with the courage to fight back against the machine. More films like these need to be made (here's looking at you South African Filmmakers)
Promising Young Woman (2020)
A Societal Horror!
Fantastic scripting and execution. It is rare these days to see filmmakers set out to tackle a pretty blunt message and actually pull it off, and for that message to hit you in a way that genuinely makes you think about the state of the world and the society we have created. This movie achieves it through bravery and genuine introspection from the team behind it.
On top of that it's actually an entertaining watch, thanks to the impeccable casting and visual treatment. It felt like a drama, comedy, horror all wrapped in one and I was here for it.
But the ending! Ah man without spoiling it too much I first thought it was going to be a depressing outlook on the state of things, it's a repeating pattern, no one wants to change anything, how could Cassie make any difference. I would have loved it to end there, a massive middle finger to us all that these filmmakers thought about the subject matter and their genuine conclusion was nothing changes. That is the message I'll be leaving with, and I am motivated to do something about that, THINGS NEED TO CHANGE!
I still do love the final little twist at the end, that keeps with the overarching tone of the film, would have been pretty bleak leaving us at such a dark outlook after the fantastic playfulness of everything else.
Really enjoyed it and I'm holding thumbs for it at the Oscars.
My Octopus Teacher (2020)
I am a very very proud South African
Subtle, so absolutely subtle! Never once do the filmmakers force you to feel and think how they want you to. Never is Craig's experiences shoehorned to fit a narrative they have in mind, rather he shares, they listen, we listen and it's backed up by probably the best coverage in footage I have ever seen in a documentary. Something like this is only possible thanks to the incredible closeness and intimacy I believe must exist between the team tasked with making the film with the story and with Craig. An incredible example of why "write what you know" is a film gospel I deeply believe in.
It is a triumph of South African cinema, because it's so easy for smaller filmmaking nations to mimic the style and tones of the Hollywood's, BBC's and Oscar winners but this is a story and a cinematic treatment I have never seen before, and deserves to be recognised as one of our countries filmmaking greats. I was teary eyed at the almost deaths and eventual death of the octopus, but also experienced tears of pride as a South African.
We have had many near misses in awards season but I hope these incredible Mzansi story tellers get all the praise they deserve.
News of the World (2020)
A Series of Convenient Events that leads to an obvious ending
Interesting Characters, beautiful, fun to watch but lacking any motivation, point or stakes.
From the moment Hanks meets Johanna it is clear that the journey they are about to embark on is going to end with the family not really wanting a blonde Native American and Hanks wanting to keep her.
Most of the events on their journey just happened to happen to them, honestly don't understand any point to the perils and hardships they experienced other than the obvious that an old man and a young girl traveling across the Wild Wild West were going to catch some troubles. But the laziness in what gets them out of trouble is truly staggering. Just when things get too real and there seems to be no way out, an incredible ex machina rolls up to move the story along. Legit it was hardship, saved miraculously, cut to next scene.
What does this movie want to say? I have absolutely no idea. The only message clear to me is when he is forced to read propaganda and refuses to, "giving people a choice." But Johanna? What does she represent? She was raised by native Americans, Hanks tells her she doesn't belong there, she finally accepts that, what is that supposed to teach me? Honestly have no idea, stick to your kind? Don't be something you're not? What are they trying to say.
What happened to the native Americans is a truly hard breaking and incredible story sweeping with hidden meanings for our time but this film does not spend any time of them. Why? The premise is provides opportunities for us to learn from their culture and teachings and compare it to our modern society but all we get is, "we only think about moving straight, they think about moving round." Come on now fellas.
Same goes for Hanks character? Man reads news, lost his wife and thinks it is he's fault because of the terrible things he did, Karma and all that jazz, so was "saving" Johanna his redemption? Very very weak sauce.
But ya as always Hanks is the one, there is no actor who is such an enjoyable watch and it's probably one of the finest child performances I've seen, I just don't get why this story needed to be told.
The Greatest Showman (2017)
Listen to the critics, they know what they're talking about
First off, I feel I need to preface this by saying I am not some heartless jockish type who violently hates musicals or spectacular movies. I am a great lover of musicals because of their potential to strengthen the emotional beats of any story through the majesty of song. Moments like "City of Stars" in La La Land, which beautifully depicts Seb's resignation in falling for Mia. Or Les Miserables "I dreamed a dreamed" that could melt even the coldest heart due to the plight of the completely defeated Flautine. My all time favorite musical, Fiddler on the Roof, is jammed packed with these moments, right from the start and the incredibly delicate yet spectacular world building opening of "TRADITION!" These musical moments were God damn earned by their story's plots and that is what is surely missing from The Great Showman.
I honestly do not think it is possible to tell the back story of your protagonist as quickly as this movie does! It is a troubling trend nowadays to gloss over the set up of a films hero's life as quickly as possible just to get to the explosive dramatic action of the story, but telling us who and why we should care about a character is absolutely vital for the problems faced by that character to fully hit home. From the little I know about P.T Barnum he seemed to be this incredibly complex and interesting historical figure, so why not explore this in-depth? Do the film makers expect me to do my own deep dive into research into the man, inspired by their superficial exploration of him? I'm not out here looking to get homework after watching a movie, YOU DO THE HOMEWORK! And give me an authentic recollection of his life. It really is not hard and there will still be time for the musical numbers.
And this is not only true for Barnum but so so many characters in this movie. You know you are lying to yourself if you did not feel like you wanted to know more about Zendaya's character? Where in the universe did this this incredible trapezes brother-sister duo come from? Indeed all the performers in Barnums circus were such wasted opportunities to help drive the message of the film home. At the very least they could have homed in on one, the bearded lady perhaps? I know those among you who love this movie are going to say that that would have slowed the "hip and happening" spectacle of this movie down but for the love of God its not hard work to script in same pieces of dialogue (or I don't know even possibly A SONG perhaps?) That gave us a feel for who these damn people are. But no f-that right? Who cares who they were, I mean its pretty obvious the type of life a bearded lady had, right?
Now, you reading this may perceive me of being completely full of shit and some sort of film student, and you would be right! I am still very early on in my studies but the little I have learnt on crafting a story has taught me that every story needs to have an underlying meaning, a lesson the filmmaker wants to teach their audience and indeed themselves through a journey in the lives of characters. As my lecturer says to us, "Tell the audience that two plus two equals eleven, then prove it to them!" Writing stories that can inspire change in the world takes a ton of introspection, research, and diving deep into your own understanding and consciousness of a topic and then presenting your findings to the world and this is what annoys me the most with The Great Showman! If you were to take out the songs in this film it would honestly be the filmic equivalent of reading a Wikipedia page and that is such a shame because of the possibilities presented by the topic it was trying to explore. They could have explored race, the entertainment industry, exploitation, ambition, and presented us with an honest and educational finding on these universal issues, but instead they gave us a series of beautiful music videos.
I am not making my point well here, but if you want to have a look at what true artistry in storytelling can lead to, check out this "Lessons from a screenplay" video about "UP": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulm7bcB2xvY
But I am done complaining about this movie and I didn't mean to rain on all your parades but as a hopefully future filmmaker is worries me that such an artificial story-line can fly under the radar so easily by just adding heaps and heaps of spectacle. If you truly are a lover of films, you should demand with all you have that the men and woman who are charges to creating the scripts are forced to be as accountable as the incredible work done by cinematographers, sound designers, editors, colourists, visual effects artists, production and costume designers, music composers, and ofcourse the actors; all of whom completely and utterly killed the game in The Great Showman, it just a shame the writer put in such a shitty effort.
And go easy on the critics, they love movies just as much as you do...