Les Misérables (2012) - Mini Review

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I went into Les Mis cautiously optimistic. On the one hand it won pretty much every Golden Globe award, but on the other hand it's a classical period-piece musical set in France with a primarily non-American cast directed by the guy that did The King's Speech, so of course it won those awards. I'd just seen Silver Linings Playbook a few days prior, so I was excited to be surprised again by a film of a generally low-quality genre. To put it simply, Les Mis didn't exactly do that for me.

Cosmopolis (2012)

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I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad idea to review Cosmopolis right after having finally overhauled this blog. It’s by no means a mainstream film, and my opinion is sort of controversial. Or maybe that’s a good thing. We’ll see.

Careless Love (2012)

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This marks my first  review for an independent Australian movie. I'm not really sure if I want to do a lot more of these. On one hand I'm supporting my local film industry (my monumental pool of readers would make such a difference, right?), but on the other hand I'm potentially alienating my international audience (that is to say, most of you) by reviewing something you guys will probably have a very hard time finding. I mean, I hadn't even heard of this movie before I walked into the cinema and I live literally 10 minutes away from the vast majority of its locations! Although maybe I shouldn't take this kind of stuff into consideration and should just review whatever I feel like writing about.

In any case, Careless Love is directed by John Duigan, who I hadn't heard of before but apparently  is a pretty big name in the Australian film industry. It follows Linh, a student at the University Of Sydney who has a secret night job as a prostitute. The story is made up of several subplots, each revolving around her interaction with another individual. 

Melancholia (2011)

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Melancholia is a special film, to say the least. It is a difficult film to review, primarily due to its story structure, because the generally accepted and unspoken rule that the reviewer may not spoil anything that happens after the 1^st act cannot apply to such a film. Luckily, I’m writing this review almost a full year after its release, so I can simply follow the method of the reviewers before me.

The film opens with a sequence of extremely slo-mo shots depicting the end of the world, and the film (don’t worry, not a spoiler), through the collision of two planets. There are around 16 shots altogether, and they are all some of the most beautiful images I have ever seen in my life. They really are. The only quarrel I have is that one or two of them lean slightly too much towards photography, rather than cinematography. They just don’t really have enough movement to be considered actual cinematography. But this really the most minor of minor complaints.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)

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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a British-made comedy-drama by director John Madden, famous for the largely adored Shakespeare in Love. We follow seven British retirees as they travel to India for one reason or another, headed to the hotel that gives the film its title. Upon arrival, they discover that the hotel is far less luxurious than advertised, and their experiences transform them all in one way or another.