1) FILM / TELEVISION
THE BATMAN - Directed by Matt Reeves, (HBO MAX)
I know I know, everyone knows The Batman is out, and probably, many of you have already seen this gem. But I can’t get enough of this film. I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the biggest fan of the Superhero Mega flicks that we have been bombarded with over the last fifteen years or so (minus Iron Man, Deadpool, and the Batman films, mainly because of one Christopher Nolan).
But I have to say The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves is a visual masterpiece and a thrilling ride of a movie. I keep coming back to watch it, sectioning myself off into the various phases of filmmaking throughout different scenes, studying this film like a college final. If you like dark and gritty films, this is one to have on constant stand-by in your movie collection. Robert Pattinson gets the nod, two “5 Cool Things” in a row, along with a solid cast of Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, Colin Farrell, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, and Andy Serkis. Holy crap Batman, that’s a lineup.
The cinematography by Greig Fraser (Dune, The Mandalorian, Killing Them Softly) takes you back to a David Fincher styled Seven in his inspiration. No doubt in that. (*Check out #5 below for the details on this)
And let’s not forget about Michael Giachinno’s score to this film. It is an absolute brilliant combination of notes, “borrowing” certain bars from the master himself, John Williams, and his Star Wars score.
The sound editing is spot on, with all of Pattinson’s punches landing heavily through the theatre sound system of your choosing. And that car chase sequence…well, if you haven’t seen it yet, enjoy.
2) MUSIC / PODCASTS
alt-J, “THE DREAM” (ALBUM) - (English Indie Rock)
For me this album has been a revelation in musical composition. I have enjoyed listening to alt-J for years now, but to me, “The Dream” album puts this band on a whole new level. It is indescribable in words, so I will let the album do the talking. If you are looking for something fresh, something original, something new to soak in, then I highly recommend listening to this album, volume up, all the way through. Each song takes you in a new direction, winding you through a maze of musical texture and emotion.
Album link on Spotify:
I also love the music video for the song The Actor, featuring sublime choreography:
3) ART
THE SON OF MAN by Rene Magritte, 1964
The Son of Man is a 1964 painting by the Belgian surrealist painter René Magritte. It is perhaps his best-known artwork.
Magritte painted it as a self-portrait. The painting consists of a man in an overcoat and a bowler hat standing in front of a low wall, beyond which are the sea and a cloudy sky. The man's face is largely obscured by a hovering green apple. However, the man's eyes can be seen peeking over the edge of the apple. Another subtle feature is that the man's left arm appears to bend backwards at the elbow.
About the painting, Magritte said:
“At least it hides the face partly well, so you have the apparent face, the apple, hiding the visible but hidden, the face of the person. It's something that happens constantly. Everything we see hides another thing, we always want to see what is hidden by what we see. There is an interest in that which is hidden and which the visible does not show us. This interest can take the form of a quite intense feeling, a sort of conflict, one might say, between the visible that is hidden and the visible that is present.”
- Wikipedia
4) BOOKS / WRITING
MARCEL PROUST, Excerpt from IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME
“We believe that we can change the things around us in accordance with our desires—we believe it because otherwise we can see no favourable outcome. We do not think of the outcome which generally comes to pass and is also favourable: we do not succeed in changing things in accordance with our desires, but gradually our desires change. The situation that we hoped to change because it was intolerable becomes unimportant to us. We have failed to surmount the obstacle, as we were absolutely determined to do, but life has taken us round it, led us beyond it, and then if we turn round to gaze into the distance of the past, we can barely see it, so imperceptible has it become.”
– Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time
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5) PHOTOGRAPHY / CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE CINEMATOGRAPHY OF THE BATMAN - (A Video Essay by Patrick Tomasso, Youtube)
Patrick Tomasso, on his Youtube channel, puts together a great video on the excellence of cinematographer Greg Frasier’s work on The Batman. For anyone interested in the style of filmmaking, this is a must watch:
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