There are artists who work on such a large scale that seeing their art in person for the first time can completely change your impression of a piece, no matter how many times you’ve seen it before in reproduction. Some filmmakers are like that too. Take Denis Villeneuve, for instance, who is currently wowing theatrical audiences with the massive scope of Dune: Part Two. He’s just one of a handful of directors, including Stanley Kubrick, James Cameron, and Christopher Nolan, with big ideas and even bigger executions of them. If you’ve only seen their films on a TV screen, you’re missing out on a unique sensation. They may not have a say in how their films are viewed once they’re out in the wild, but their artistic intent is clear—they were meant to be seen on the largest screen possible in a theater with ideal viewing conditions (minimal stray light, a proper projection system, and state-of-the-art sound, for starters). Read More
Say what you will about Zack Snyder, the man loves to craft multiple movies out of a single idea, whether 300 or Army Of The Dead. The latest victim is Netflix’s Rebel Moon, his critically panned 2023 space saga that somehow snagged a continuation—even if the director’s math of millions of people watching part one isn’t necessarily accurate. Think of it as his own little SnyderVerse because Rebel Moon—Part Two: Scargiver is almost here. Read More
It’s been 24 years since Christopher Nolan made a name for himself with his second feature Memento, so enough time has probably passed that heavily borrowing from it won’t be seen as a major crime. Sleeping Dogs doesn’t unfold in backward chronology, but covers similar territory plotwise: Russell Crowe’s amnesiac ex-cop Roy Freeman doesn’t go so far as to tattoo reminders of important details on his body, but he has labeled everything throughout his house with simple instructions for use, and makes sure to end the day putting his TV remote, or anything else he needs as badly, in places where he knows he’ll need to look for the basics. Read More
