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Bae-sim-won (2019)
The Magic Of Watching "12 Angry Men" For The First Time
There are certain things that I thought are completely impossible.
First - for any mass to travel faster than the speed of light, you know, the famous equation E=MC2 sort-of proves it.
Second - to create a film either based on or inspired by the original "12 Angry Men."
( If you have not watched the original, drop whatever you are doing, watch the original. Re-watch it 15-20 times over the course of 10 years. Come back and watch Juror 8 for maximum effect )
Unfortunately, it would seem to me, that I have now been proven wrong on at least one of the two impossibilities.
To this day, I felt that any director who even thinks of attempting to re-create 12 Angry men, must be clinically insane and is willing to bet his career on the impossible (Such as the Russian "12", which is horrible. Don't waste your time).
However, not only did the director of Juror 8 beautifully re-capture the magic of the original, but he also added his own spice - humor, localization of the motives, storyline, and much more. As a result, I feel that Juror 8 is a masterpiece in its own right.
To the director: I love you and I hate you for making me both cry and laugh at the same time. However, and more importantly, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me re-experience the beauty of watching 12 Angry Men afresh. After 15+ times, it just wasn't the same anymore, and I could never capture that first original screening. Today, I have.
D.
The Messenger (2009)
An often overlooked movie that you will remember...
With the amount of highly popular and good movies that came out in 2009, this one, it seems, got lost. Which is unfair, as this is a brilliant movie, deserving a lot more Oscar nominations and wins. Especially when it comes to the superb acting and a very powerful directing.
In fact, I can not even compare it to the more popular and Oscar crushing movie - The Hurt Locker. In my opinion, the two do not even stand close. In the Hurt Locker, I felt like taking a nap somewhere in the middle, this movie on the other hand kept me hooked and I could not stop thinking about it for days after I saw it. It is beyond my comprehension why this movies is so underrated, except for maybe brilliant marketing and high budgets of other movies of 2009.
Despite this fact, the team behind this movie has managed to create something truly real. The characters are fully developed and the acting is amazing. This movie touches you one a very real level, you feel a connection, you understand what the characters are trying to tell you. This is not some made-up story to get Oscars or a movie made simply for the money, it is something more. Something which is often missing in movies of our time, its hard to think of a word to describe it, but in lack of a better term I am going to say its got a soul.
It would be interesting to see what people of this profession think about the movie, and war veterans in general. In any case, this a fantastic movie to see, think about and remember.
Moon (2009)
Brilliant, fresh, interesting, thought provoking... but...
The movie in itself is very well done, especially considering the budget for the film. Moreover I applaud Duncan Jones for making such a well thought through movie, as his debut. The spoiler is only in the last paragraph of this review.
The actors have played their roles very convincingly, and have managed to convene the emotions and atmosphere very well to the viewer. Overall the performance is great. Kevin Spacey has a great voice as Gerty, however it might be a minor problem for those for who his voice is way too familiar.
The special effects and music were also very well done, thanks to Duncan Jone's background in low budget special effects from the advertising industry. This created a very good feel for the film.
The story is well developed and is very intriguing, thought provoking and generally interesting with a few good twists. One is challenged to question technological development, global warming, the progress of the human race, moral issue and so on.
But, and its not a small but, its more like a HUGE BUT! (*** HERE COMES THE SPOILER, PLEASE DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO SPOILERS ***) If the human race has gone so far as to be able to make very good clones, artificial intelligence, harvest on the moon etc. Then why on earth do they need clones/humans on the moon in the first place? The only thing they would be good for is for making mistakes (As the movie shows so very well), wouldn't it be easier to just have the whole process automated? Humans are generally very prone to make mistakes, unreliable, need a lot of resources, sleep 6 hours a day, don't do their work effectively, etc. So why would they have them there? This was a major problem in my perspective and forced me to give this movie a 7 instead of the 8.5 that it deserves on many other aspects. Great movie overall though.
Shrink (2009)
Underrated. Brilliant, Simple, Real.
If you are an IMDb addict like myself who has set himself or herself strict guidelines as to the minimum score and/or number of votes, then this movie is one of those films that are underrated. Personally, I broke my rule of a minimum of 7.0 rating due to the fact that Kevin Spacey was in the picture. Very glad I did so. In fact, I am going to cancel all rulings based on this movie alone.
Before I go on, I must say that it is understandable why the movie is underrated. The movie develops at a slower pace than what the average movie fan is used to and it definitely lacks the suspense moments, action, thrills and so on. However it has so much more to compensate for it. Intricate character development, superb acting, deep and very well though through screenplay and dialogues, makes this movie a brilliant and yet simple unique creation.
It makes you think about your own lives, the lives of those around you. Everybody has got problems, everyone has got issues, its not just on the big screen. Often, the stories of those around you are far more profound than what you see on the screen. The screenplays and movies have tried nearly every possible scenario, every possible plot. Directors and screenwriters, alike, try to deliver ever more complicated and twisted plots that the movie watchers would be surprised by. This movie strikes all that, it forgets Hollywood and delivers something unique and true to humanity. It brings you down to earth and sheds light into the lives of those around you, on something that happens to a lot of us, everyday.
As always, Kevin Spacey delivers a top notch performance. This is the movie that you would want to see more than once, maybe it is one of those movies that you would be willing to watch twice… in a row. I believe that there is something to be found in this movie upon each new time that you watch it. It is definitely one of the best movies in the past year or so. Simply brilliant.