The Master

The Master

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson 

Written by: Paul Thomas Anderson 

Photography: Mihai Malaimare Jr. 

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams. 

County: USA 

Year: 2012   

 It's been five years since Paul Thomas Anderson released his irrefutable masterpiece, There Will Be Blood, which was a surprising commercial success, although it was duly robbed at the Academy Awards by the Coen's No County For Old Men (Also a good film, but not as good.)  

 Freddie Quell is lost. An aggressive drunk who hasn't been able to hold on to a job or a woman since his departure from the navy at the end of the war. His paths cross Lancaster Dodd, know by some as The Master.  

 Lancaster Dodd is the leader of a philosophical movement, or to be more frank, a cult, known as The Cause. There are many parallels between Lancaster Dodd and his Cause with L. Ron Hubbard and his church of Scientology. This is purely subjective, but for me, The Master extended a representation of Cults but also of all organized religion. Religion not being something Paul Thomas Anderson has shyed away from in the past, it's one of the prominent themes in There Will Be Blood.    

 It's hard to know what I think of The Master. I do know that I definitely liked it, but it's such a heavy film, with all the subtext and everything, I feel like I've only seen half the film. I imagine it'll be much like my experience with David Croenberg's Videodrome; I liked it from first viewing, but it wasn't until my second or third viewing that I realized what a masterpiece it is.  

 Paul Thomas Anderson has already proved himself as a really special film-maker. I would go as far as to say he's best director working today. There are great directors like Godard and Scorsese who are stilling making films regularly, but their hayday is gone, as of right now, nobody's making better films than PTA is.  

 The film stars Joaquin Phoenix, who seemed to drop of the radar for a bit, but is back now with a career best performance with a character, reportedly, loosely based on the American author John Steinbeck. 

 You might be fooled early on into believing that Philip Seymour Hoffman is downplaying his performance is this film, but in a subtle and enigmatic way, it's possibly his most towering role. 

Question time. When did you realise how brilliant Amy Adams is? Because she's been around for a while now and it's only just clicked with me this year through The Master and The Fighter, which I caught up on this year and really enjoyed. 

 The film looks stunning, Anderson's direction is masterful as is Mihai Malaimare Jr.'s cinematography. The composition in every shot is inspired and lovingly crafted. 

 The major flaw in The Master is that it didn't so much end as stop. It seems like an recurring problem with Paul Thomas Anderson that he doesn't know how to end films; Boogie Nights had the same problem as did Magnolia and even There Will Be Blood, but that somehow got away with it. 

 The Master is a cinema at a raw level, which will make it unsavoury for many palates . But for cineasts and the likes, you'll probably find it just short of a masterpiece.           

Skyfall

 Skyfall

Director: Sam Mendes  
Written By: Neil Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan
Photography: Roger Deakins 
Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem 
Year: 2012
Country: UK, USA 


Let me start by saying that this is a spoiler free review, however, if you want to go into Bond Number 23 completely fresh, stop reading now. But come back later, ok?

 The James Bond movie franchise reaches it's 50th anniversary this years, going from when Dr. No was realised back in 1962. Although, Skyfall wasn't intended to be an anniversary special, the original release date was 2010, but due to financial troubles at MGM, production was held back for a couple of years. 

 Since '62 we've had a Scottish Bond, an Australian Bond, a How the Hell Does He Do That Thing With His Eyebrow Bond, a Time Lord Bond and a Former Thief Turned Private Detective Bond. Now we have Daniel Craig playing the agent with the licence to kill. Skyfall is Craig's third outing as Bond, after Casino Royale  (which was really good) and Quantum of Solace (which sucked). Craig is the Bond who everyone wants to say is the best Bond, but feel it's too early to say. The emotional, sentimental Bond which was started by Lazenby and expanded by Dalton is perfected by Daniel Craig.

 It's hard to talk about the plot of Skyfall without divulging a plethora of spoilers, big and small. But what Skyfall is about, on a non-superficial level, is the co-existence of new and old. Bond and M are dinosaurs in an MI6 and a world that's changing at a speed they can't keep up with.             

 Skyfall is a Bond first, never before has bond had an Oscar winning director at the helm. Sam Mendes, who's directed American Beauty, Road to Perdition and Revolutionary Road among others gave Skyfall his  love, care and attention. Mendes creates something that is both pensive and stylish, but for all intents and purposes, a Bond film.    

 Not to worry if you're more a fan of corny jokes, sex and expensive set pieces, Skyfall has more than enough of all of those.   

 The real star of Skyfall is cinematographer, Roger Deakins, who has been the DP on nearly all the Coen Brothers' movies post Barton Fink. I long thought Deakins to one of the greatest living cinematographers, now Skyfall has confirmed it. Through stunning lighting and composition Deakins creates something where every frame is a money-shot. Deakins has been nominated for an Oscar nine times but never won, hopefully this time.

 Skyfall's other Oscar possibility lies in Judi Dench reprising her role as Head of MI6, M. Skyfall takes a longer look at the character of M than any Bond film has in the past, in a way the film is more about M than it is about Bond. The legendary thespian isn't someone you expect to surprise you, you go in with high expectations in the first place, but Dench goes above and beyond with this one. And hey, if she can win an Oscar for 5 minutes of screen time in Shakespeare in Love, I don't see why she can't win one for this.    

 The Villain, Silva is played by Spanish actor, Javier Bardem. Although it's not a bad performance, quite good in fact, I would rank it as his worst. Bardem is post famous for his murderous role in the Coens' No Country For Old Men. I find his best performances lie in films in his native language, Spanish and Mexican films like Biutiful and The Sea Inside. 

 It's also nice to see Q get a bigger role than usual, because we all know he's the best character. Ben Whishaw is the new Q, I'm not sure about the whole geek-chic thing, but he's a very good actor. 

 The film is not without fault, I could have done with learning about Bond's childhood, the third act feels more Home Alone than James Bond and the film is overflowing with overt product placement. There's also the confusing bearing of whether it's a sequel, prequel or reboot. At the beginning of Casino Royale it implies that we're seeing Bond from the very beginning of his double-o career, yet Skyfall keeps making light of Bond being old and referencing past films. 

 As an intelligent, well made blockbuster Skyfall gives The Dark Knight Rises an run for it's money. Go watch it, it'll probably be the best film to play in ever theatre this year.