david fincher | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: The American

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Darren

The American is a slow-moving introspective film. Director Anton Corbijn seems to be trying to evoke Sergio Leone, with the story of an American hired gun lying low in a small Italian village. Slow-moving and subtle, The American feels quite meditative for most of its runtime, although it does occasionally seem almost comatose. Still, George Clooney makes for a convincing leading man, adding a great deal of depth to an archetype we’ve seen countless times before. While it’s a little too slow for its own good, it’s never less than beautiful and often fascinating.

Beautifully shot...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Anton Corbijn, Coldplay, Corbijn, david fincher, george clooney, Ian Curtis, jack, Las Ventas, Music video, non-review review, review, sergio leone, Spaghetti Western, United States, Vevo, youtube | 4 Comments »

Metro Film Fight Club: The Fighter

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Darren

The wonderful folks over at Ross v. Ross asked me to contribute a very special edition of Film Fight Club, going over the ten Best Picture nominees. I stood in the corner for The Fighter, Marky Mark and what is left of Christian Bale. You can pick up a copy in the morning, or check it out here.

I got this guy in my corner...

UPDATE: Guess what just got put on the IMDb Hitlist? If you guessed Robert Rodriguez’s shoe ad, you guessed correctly, but that’s beside the point. Yep, we’re up there. Thanks to everyone for inviting me to take part, and it was a pleasure to cover the race with a bunch as witty, clever and insightful as that selection.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, Academy Award for Best Picture, christian bale, david fincher, Fighter, King's Speech, mark wahlberg, Melissa Leo | 2 Comments »

Oscar Fatigue and the Pain of a Predictable Race…

Posted on February 21, 2011 by Darren

You know what? At this stage I’ve seen nine of the ten Best Picture nominees this year, and I’m quite happy. There isn’t a stinker amongst them, and all I’m short is 127 Hours (maybe this weekend, before the ceremony). And yet, despite being happier with the field than I have been in quite a while, I have to admit I’ve grown somewhat tired of the Oscars this year. Usually there’s some element of surprise, but everything this year seems so sown up that there’s really no energy left in the race. One need only look at the overwhelming consensus at Awards Daily to get a feeling for how stale the race is. Admittedly there’s generally a frontrunner or two, but this year it seems that most of the major awards might as well be handed out before the ceremony begins (just to make things more efficient).

You'd have to be trapped under a rock not to see the way this race is going...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, academy award for best director, Academy Award for Best Film Editing, Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay), academy awards, david fincher, films, King's Speech, Million Dollar Baby, Movies, Oscars | 9 Comments »

Non-Review Review: se7en

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Darren

We’re currently blogging as part of the “For the Love of Film Noir” blogathon (hosted by Ferdy on Films and The Self-Styled Siren) to raise money to help restore the 1950’s film noir The Sound of Fury (aka Try and Get Me). It’s a good cause which’ll help preserve our rich cinematic heritage for the ages, and you can donate by clicking here. Over the course of the event, running from 14th through 21st February, I’m taking a look at the more modern films that have been inspired or shaped by noir. Today’s theme is “nineties noir” – I’ll be looking at two of the finest noir-inspired films of the nineties.

Although David Fincher has directing credits before se7en (most notably Alien 3), it was this look at a broken world which marked the up-and-coming director as a talent to watch. It’s a movie which works on many levels, entertaining on the superficial surface level while intriguing viewers looking for something just a little bit deeper. I have to say, of all the films I revisited as part of this blogging event, I think I got the most out of returning to se7en.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, atmosphere, brad pitt, crime, Critical Essays, david fincher, Film noir, films, For the Love of Film Noir, For the Love of Film Noir blogathon, For the Love of Film Noir: The Film Preservation Blogathon, Howard Shore, john doe, mood, Morgan Freeman, Movie, Movies, non-review review, review, serial killer, serial killers, Seven (film), silence of the lambs, Sound of Fury, YG Entertainment | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2009)

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Darren

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo is a decently-made little thriller. It’s interesting that David Fincher has been selected to helm the inevitable English-language remake of the film, as it feels like a spiritual companion to se7en. While that Fincher thriller concerned itself with a broken world populated with seven flavours of deadly sin, this Swedish film is only really interested in one. It’s a brutal commentary on what it suggests is a harsh and repressively misogynistic society, one that victimises and commoditises women. However, it veers a little bit too far into sensationalist territory – fixated on the idea that men in positions of authority are inevitably sexual sadists – and its contents make for excedingly grim viewing.

Never quite gripping...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Cinema of Sweden, david fincher, film, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Lisbeth Salander, Män som hatar kvinnor, Mikael Blomkvist, Movies, Nazism, non-review review, review, Rooney Mara, Stieg Larsson | 7 Comments »

When Average Just Isn’t Good Enough: Do Better Directors Have Further to Fall?

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Darren

I watched Cop Out at the weekend, and I have to admit it was just about okay. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t consistently funny. It had moments of wit, but they were separated by pointless and boring scenes. It had a talented cast, but didn’t do anything with them. I wouldn’t describe it as a bad film, but I wouldn’t advise you to rent it (or otherwise seek it out). However, there was a stronger and more bitter taste in the air. There was something especially disappointing about the film, because of its director. Cop Out was a Kevin Smith film, and it actually felt a bit worse than it arguably should have because I knew the director was capable of so much more. Am I the only one who tends to be more disappointed by an average film from a talented filmmaker than perhaps even a bad film from an untalented director?

Feels like a bit of a cop out...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, Christopher Nolan, cop out, critics, david fincher, directors, films, francis ford coppola, kevin smith, Movie, Movies, reviews, roger ebert, stanley kubrick | Leave a comment »

Why The Social Network isn’t an “Outside” Choice for Best Picture…

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Darren

I enjoyed The Social Network. Hell, I loved The Social Network. I think it’s easily one of the best films of the year. It has – deservedly in my humble opinion – generated a huge amount of buzz about the Best Picture Oscar. However, the more interesting facets of discussion measure the film against the other favourites, like The King’s Speech or Black Swan. A number of these arguments suggest that The Social Network deserves the Oscar because it is “more socially relevant”, even painting the Oscar voters at a crossroads – forced to choose between a modern film (The Social Network) and a classy but stuffy period piece (The King’s Speech). However, I find this argument rather disingenuous. While the Oscar voters in that situation would undoubtedly be choosing between two solid films, I think it clearly misrepresents the appeal of David Fincher’s deconstruction of the American Dream.

Will Academy voters be getting a friend request?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, Academy Award for Best Picture, academy voters, Citizen Kane, david fincher, dest director, facebook, Hurt Locker, Inception, moment, Oscars, Social Network, the king's speeck, timeless, timely, Vietnam War, zeitgiest | 5 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Social Network

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Darren

Blessed are the geeks, for they shall inherit the earth.

– The Bible. It’s in the back somewhere.

I’m blogging about The Social Network. How post-modern is that?

Should it be the anti-social network?

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Aaron Sorkin, arts, Citizen Kane, david fincher, eduardo saverin, facebook, films, Mark Zuckerberg, Movies, non-review review, review, Sean Parker, Social Network | 8 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Game

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Darren

The Game is perhaps something of a black sheep on David Fincher’s filmography. It wasn’t quite an early work like Alien 3, but it falls between two of his larger and better received works, Se7en and Fight Club. While it contains the same thematic depth which would define Fincher’s work (and continues to), exploring ideas like the nature of social interactions and the hostile world, it isn’t quite as readily accessible as most of his other work. From the outset, it’s almost as though The Game wants you to believe that it is just a set-up, that it’s rigged, that it will have a ridiculous and illogical conclusion, which makes it a difficult movie for the audience to engage with or trust. The Game hinges on the audience (and the central character) being unable to distinguish between the set-up and reality – effectively letting the audience know that they are going to be toyed with, and potentially alienating them. Which is a shame, because it’s a cleverly constructed little film which would be a lot more charming if it didn’t spend so much of its time informing you of how smart it is.

Quit clowning around...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: alien 3, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, david fincher, fight club, film, Game, Michael Douglas, Movie, non-review review, review, san francisco, the game, Wall Street | 5 Comments »

Is Classism Alive And Well At The Box Office?

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Darren

Richard Nixon introduced the phrase “the silent majority” into the popular lexicon, referring to those people who weren’t out protesting or stirring up a storm, but quietly and strongly sanctioning his actions. Since then the term has become almost synonymous with “middle America” or the “the big red middle”, the clear indication that liberalism and activism were traditionally associated with the coasts of the country – specifically concentrated around Washington, New York and California. Whenever loud and vocal protests arise in these regions, expect the more conservative politicians to speak about the silent majority of decent middle-class folks in “flyover country” who don’t make big deals of things and vote with their feet. These are the people, these politicians will tell you, who save their public political expressions for the election day. And so, it would seem, this central part of the country has voted on The Social Network. And silence was certainly there in spades.