Blue Valentine (2011) movie review

  This is another movie that I would recommend in my pre-valentines day reviews called "Blue Valentine". Movie directed by Derek Cianfrance starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. Shows how much of a bitch it is to be in a relationship sometimes. This movie got me through a tough relationship a few years ago and it taught me how to learn and enjoy this good kinda pain. Like in (500) days of summer this is the ultimate realistic relationship movie. Its got unexpected pregnancy, abortions, a husband who keeps trying so hard to do good but always screws up, and a wife who will never give her husband a chance to do the right thing. This goes to show how a relationship can really put you in a shitty place in life like dealing with someone you never even knew and somehow found you attractive enough to get pregnant. Some scenes in this movie wreak of sexual and emotional tension that can sting quite exquisitely! Also another interesting thing about it is that it switches between the building and falling of these two individuals relationship going back and forth between time. The cinematography is pretty dark and realistic, creating a somewhat depressive mood throughout the movie. Soundtrack is very great having songs that play very well into the movie like "You and Me" by Penny and the Quarters and You always hurt the ones you love by the Mills Brothers. Although this movie at times is pretty bleak and depressing to watch, it really teaches a true lesson about love. Grade: A-

Shame (2011) review

Lately since Ive been thinking its February and Valentines is around the corner I will be doing a few reviews on some of my most favorite romantic movies that I feel are important to cinema.

   Movie stars Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan. Directed by Steve Mcqueen. Story is about a young and ambitious businessman named Brandon in New York who has a strong habit that is killing him inside. His lust for women is his biggest weakness yet its what drives him and makes him into another person. In person he is a reserved, shy, and somewhat awkward guy. In one scene in the movie he gives this woman in the subway cart he goes to work in a smoldering and very predatorial stare that speaks about him in words that cannot describe. The scene is so poetic with the background score and the woman appears to be very aroused by him and is squirming in her seat. She quickly gets off her train, and while Brandon persues her he catches a glimpse of her wedding ring and as she walks further away from him he starts to lose her and finds himself alone in a crowd full of people in the middle of a subway. I love movies that really show how the loneliness can catch up to a person when they live in a big and unpredictable city (Taxi Driver, Drive, Midnight Cowboy, Catcher in the Rye book ect.) I also like movies that are realistic and have a theme of intimacy and love because it can teach people so much about human relationships. In this movie however, Brandon finds that his addiction is not only hurting himself but others in his daily life. His sister played by Carey Mulligan starts to insist on moving in with him because she seems to be the kind of person who is tossed from place to place. Overall this movie is a very intensely sexual and aesthetic experience with great lighting and cinematography. Grade: A.