| Rating: | ★★★★ |
| Category: | Movies |
| Genre: | Mystery & Suspense |
I know that this one is pretty standard thriller drama out there nowadays but The Usual Supects also has one of the greatest acting performances you'll ever see, the thing though is, it is 'that' good and i kinda miss it first time. Spacey's masterful deliverance can only really be appreciated with multiple viewings. And he is just the stand out thespian from an Oscar winning ensemble, including Benicio Del Toro (gee, i've wrote 2 reviews with him inside), Gabriel Byrne, Chaz Palminteri, all at their peak.
The on-screen chemistry is highlighted in 'The Line-up' Scene, where a piece of editing makes the scene a trend setter in the genre. McQuarrie's script deserved the Oscar it earned and Singer's direction should of gotten him one too. He manages to keep the complex film understandable to most casual viewers and he moves the all-star cast around well considering this is his debut film. At least this movie brings him popularity as one of the young prodigy director and end up making the two X Men.
The film is so well written that in every scene i find myself waiting anxiously how the whole puzzle is going to be wrapped up. The main plot is the myth surrounding 'who is Keyser Soze?' a mythical (perhaps) crime-lord around which the whole exposition is set. But i find myself forgetting this while i was taken on a thrill ride of car-jacking, jewel robbery and murder, only for it to re-emerge at the end and pull up one of the better ending twist in the cinema.
If you like to guess the endings of films and feel cheated and outsmarted, then you should still watch this classic at least twice like i did.
The on-screen chemistry is highlighted in 'The Line-up' Scene, where a piece of editing makes the scene a trend setter in the genre. McQuarrie's script deserved the Oscar it earned and Singer's direction should of gotten him one too. He manages to keep the complex film understandable to most casual viewers and he moves the all-star cast around well considering this is his debut film. At least this movie brings him popularity as one of the young prodigy director and end up making the two X Men.
The film is so well written that in every scene i find myself waiting anxiously how the whole puzzle is going to be wrapped up. The main plot is the myth surrounding 'who is Keyser Soze?' a mythical (perhaps) crime-lord around which the whole exposition is set. But i find myself forgetting this while i was taken on a thrill ride of car-jacking, jewel robbery and murder, only for it to re-emerge at the end and pull up one of the better ending twist in the cinema.
If you like to guess the endings of films and feel cheated and outsmarted, then you should still watch this classic at least twice like i did.
one of my favourite movies...!
ReplyDeletei just love the ones with an unexpected twist ending.. like "the 6th sense"... ^^
Yepp, both have that 'in your face' ending. To be honest a couple of weeks after watching The 6th Sense i have trouble going to the bathroom especially at night :D
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of twist ending, what other movie you'd think, pulled it as nicely as these two? I can only come up with Shawshank Redemption, Memento, Fight Club?, Se7en? Anyway, It's kind of funny to see some movie trying to outclever the audience and come up all corny and implausible in the end.
*LOL* :-D
ReplyDelete"the 6th sense" didn't affect me that badly...
but the japanese version of "the ring", ie. "ringu", and the korean "the tale of two sisters" did... :'-P
all those movies u mentioned are my favourites too..!
except i only read stephen king's "shawshank redemption" (probably the few of king's stories that i like apart from "stand by me" & "the green mile", both pretty good movies too), but havent watched the movie yet...
"identity" is s'posed to be based on "the usual suspect"'s kinda twist but it's lame 'n too predictable... a let down... IMHO...
people recommends "donnie darko" and "the mullholand drive", but havent seen either one of them yet as well...
Mulholland Drive is that kind of movie which you either love it or hate it. I fall in the first category. It's quite surreal and thought provoking with twist here and there and it wrapped up like most of David Lynch's movie. Left some after thought hanging in your mind.
ReplyDeleteDonnie Darko in the other hand is not my bread and butter. It's strange because i usually like dark stories but this one fell a lil short for me i guess.
Sigh, about the horror, i don't like to watch em. Can't enjoy and let myself paying to be scared ... hehehe. Especially that Japanese, Korean, even Indonesian horror that seems to be so trendy nowadays.
hehe... love it or hate it... same words i used to describe "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind"... :-P
ReplyDeletethat movie has a bit of a twist too... but the ending is a bit flat... not sure whether you'll like it...
i'm interested in watching "mullholand drive" and "donni darko", regardless... just need to get the motivation to actually go and rent the dvds... too lazy most of the times... *LOL* :'-D
"can't enjoy and let myself paying to be scared", huh? sounds like someone i know... :-D
horror movies can be good and can be a big waste of times (just like any other movies really).... for example, "the 6th sense" was worth it... and so are the two i mentioned previously, IMHO...
i'm definitely not into horror movies of the hack 'n slash type though...
Haven't had a chance to watch tesotsm, from what i gathered [yepp including your splendidly extensive review :D] it's quite an interesting flick.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, regarding The Mulholland Dr. there may be differing perception on each viewer, but there are several commonly held interpretation like the ones on Lost on Mulholland website. Maybe it's wiser to visit the site 'after' you watch the movie tho'. Oh and Fer, if you have time, don't forget to share your thoughts after viewing it, i'd really like to know :)
About these so called 'artsy' movies, to be honest i was a bit torn. Because sometimes i felt that just by making a movie confusing, using some strange camerawork, and throwing some weird plot twists in, doesn't make a movie brilliant. I often felt also that me liking these movies which seems to be for intelligent people, so in the end, i could pat my self in the back and said wow, i am clever, i can understand Mulholland Dr. so i must be in that category, hehehe.
But then again we like or dislike movies based upon the emotional impact they have on us, right? It's not because it's 'artsy' so that i could impress art critic friends and have something intellect to say during coffee break :D. Well maybe to some extends it is true. Hey i like Notting Hill and Sleepless in Seattle for pete's sake ...
hmm.. u might not like tesotsm then... :-D
ReplyDeletethanks for the link...
sure, i'll write up on "mullholand drive" once i get to watch it...
but don't hold your breath.. might be a while yet.. hehe..
for me, i quite like 'clever' movies.. it doesn't need to have strange camerawork or plot twists, etc., as long as the story itself is being told in an interesting, different, or somewhat intelligent way that is not too predictable...
like i mentioned before, "identity" has a so-called plot twist, but the movie itself is not that well done, unlike "the usual suspect".
but for entertainment purposes, i do like movies that are easy on the brain as well... but still, as long as it's not too typical and have a good storyline....
my safe bet is, if the movie is based on a book, then it has potential to be good...
hence, i like "bridget jones' diary" and "about a boy", among others... both based on books.. :-P