“Babylon” – unequivocally, stands next to the director’s previous works. It can be seen that Damien absorbed all the director’s and screenwriter’s experience, revealing to the audience his next, stunning picture.

The movie describes the 20s of the film industry in Hollywood, the moment when sound movies replace silent movies. The main characters Manny (Diego Calva) and Nelly (Margot Robbie), dream of getting in touch with the work related to the movie. The only quick way to get such a job is through big and crazy parties of famous producers. At one of them Nelly gets an invitation to shoot, and Manny gets a job as an assistant to silent movie star Jack Conrad (Brad Pitt). Who is just dreaming dreams of perfection and change in the movie industry. But those very changes in the form of the arrival of sound cinema and changing the conditions of its production, put the main characters in very difficult, and some in desperate situations.

Repeatedly, movies have shown what the work of an actor really is (“Birdman”, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”), but the history of the 20-ies no one touched. So this, the first look at the filmmaking process of silent movies looks very entertaining and, surprisingly, crazy. When 7-8 movies are shot simultaneously, in the middle of some deserted field, an epic medieval battle of three hundred actors is filmed side by side. The shooting process itself is shown perfectly, when everything goes wrong: one of the actors did not come, the last camera broke, the weather got bad, and many other nuances of the profession, which are invisible to the viewer, and which he does not think about when watching this or that movie.

The very title of the movie – Babylon is, of course, a biblical reference. Babylon in the Bible is the city that god used to judge people, and in general Babylon has become the personification of the power that opposes god. Like a god bringing justice by changing people’s fates, the imminent changes in the movie ruin the lives of the main characters. Manny and Nelly, who just got their chance to touch the coveted profession, inevitably face insurmountable difficulties in the form of transformation of silent movies into sound movies. Adapt to which, it turned out, is much more difficult than many might have thought. The specifics of the acting profession, the method of shooting, recording sound, the need to memorize the text put before the protagonists huge difficulties, to cope with which some are destined, some are not, and some have to end with work and the dream of a lifetime.

Not only the inner kitchen of movie production changes, but also the owners who make money on this movie. All the main characters, who yesterday were having fun at crazy, depraved, immoral parties, are forced to take part in social gatherings that are disgusting to them. And in all the “big” people they see only hypocrisy, falsity, pretense and debauchery (remembering the scale of debauchery of the parties of the main characters, this point is questionable). The apogee of the arrival of new rules in the movie industry for the main characters is represented by James McKay (Tobey Maguire), who being a rich, influential man has no idea about beauty, art and cinema in particular. But it is people like this who are ready to allocate money for movies and promote their “brilliant” ideas.

But in any case, the heroes are faced with insurmountable obstacles, in the form of new rules to which they have neither the ability nor the desire to adapt. Therefore, all the main characters come to their only logical finale, which none of them could not avoid.

The most revealing looks like the fate of the hero Brad Pitt, who most of all dreamed of change, perfection in the movie, but cope with the new trends like other heroes could not. Despite all the aspirations and efforts in sound cinema, he could not achieve success, which forced him to star in second-rate films of mediocre quality. Being a star in silent movies in the past, having a lot of money, great experience, in the new realities, he becomes no one needs. And to be needed for the actor is the most important need, and no money, awards will not overshadow the fact that the audience laughs at the work of the actor.м

The post Babylon movie review appeared first on Jen-InCinema.

In the Senate, the leaders of the patrician party convince Caesar’s old friend, Pompey the Great, that Caesar has become a threat to the prosperity of stately Rome. The closer Caesar’s legions advance toward Rome, the more tensions rise between his close soldiers and the civilians, the closer to the denouement of a conflict that will change the course of history forever.

The creators of “Rome” as if they were playing a children’s game “Connect the dots and get a picture”, and the role of dots were all known historical events – battles, assassinations, rise of emperors, wars and so on. But the trick is that the creators connected these dots not by any means straight lines: bare facts neighbor with very free interpretation of characters, motives and human relationships, as a result of which sometimes the brain simply explodes. For example, once you get acquainted with Cleopatra here, you will never be able to perceive the Egyptian queen in any other way.

As a result, “Rome” is a specific look at history through the lens of modern drama. The show is extremely interesting – after the series, I’m tempted to go to Wikipedia and read the biographies of all the characters without exception, and if you’re as stoned as I am, you’ll get to Caesar’s memoirs, along with Cicero’s writings. An unexpectedly interesting read, yes.

In addition, after watching the series, you can’t help but think about how much Roman culture is imprinted on modern culture – what can I say if even the names of two months (July and August) are derived from the names of two characters in “Rome”.

Of course, the actors play brilliantly – without them there would be no immersive effect at all. Many faces are known from the same “Game of Thrones”, but even not particularly popularized British and Scottish actors show the highest class of acting. And you can see that they were trained very hard, achieving a perfect hit in the image.

In general – I desperately recommend to watch it. And let “Rome” is not as spectacular and rich as the top modern series, but it’s a really great show – old wine is never bad. Great characters, drama, a sea of memorable scenes and dialog, thick atmosphere and a basic course of ancient history – all in a package. And let it not chop anyone in slo-mo, as in “Spartacus”, but the characters are shown as living people, and that’s the most important thing.

The post Rome appeared first on Jen-InCinema.

One day they both realized that the feelings exhausted themselves, and London left the life of the hero. But the girl left, and the pain remained. Trying to dull the agony of a broken heart, Sid goes into all sorts of trouble, silencing himself with whiskey and drugs. In vain!

Realizing that his life is meaningless without his beloved, the hero decides, by all means to see London and either persuade her to return – or die. But he will have only one try: if he does not manage to do it today, he will never manage to do it again – tomorrow London leaves the city forever.

“London” is a gorgeous super-emotional movie about love and, partly, about philosophy. And even its action takes place not in the UK, but in America. Although there is still one Englishman here with an appropriate accent – Jason Statham. London is the name of the girl with whom the main character, Sid, broke up six months ago. The movie is built on Sid’s memories and returns to reality. He has not yet forgotten his beloved and cannot let her go. And this evening there will be a farewell party about London’s departure from the city… to which Sid is going to come, on his way having brought a new acquaintance, Bateman.

The thing that hooked me about this movie was the camerawork in “the very toilet” where at least half of the movie takes place. The idea was that while Sid was talking to Mallory, for example (played by Joy Bryant). – the camera focused on the real characters, then on their reflections in the mirror, then on their reflections in the mirror in the mirror – that is, on the opposite wall! Focusing and unfocusing happened constantly during their dialog, which added to the impact of their words in no small way.

Dane Cook also made a cameo here – the last movies I saw with him were the funny comedies My Best Friend’s Girl and Good Luck Chuck.

The post “London” by Hunter Richards appeared first on Jen-InCinema.