Change Your Image
sophietrue
Reviews
The New Americans: Gaming a Revolution (2023)
Bulls, Bears, Belfort, Oh My!
What a way to lean into the futuristic market of money, through the eyes of multiple generations. Throughout the documentary, Timoner weaves the storyline and chapters through a game platform, separating topics through literal levels, incorporating entertaining modern memes that leave you glued to the screen. Feeling as if you are both in an economics or finance class and diving into a multiplayer online room, this keeps the film balanced between entertainment and knowledge. It also really shines a light upon the education regarding today's technological landscape and meaningful tour de force of societal upheaval. This presentation truly dives into the truth behind old systems and why/how they crumbled, all leading into the current future of how the invisible hand plays its cards right.
'TNA' features known names such as Jordan Belfort, Anthony Scaramucci, Shepard Fairey, and even newer faces taking over social media platforms (Taylor Price, Pro The Dodge, Angela Zhang). This just goes to show that currency, green or crypto, is a lot more accessible than it was back in Adam Smith's day and age. The docu paints the world of trading in a thrilling, innovative, yet Catch-22-like manner, showcasing events such as Occupy Wall Street, to RobinHood's rise & fall.
The "vocabulary" words (i.e.: 'NFT,' 'avatar,' 'discord'), made the subject matter felt very interactive and stimulating, as if I had stepped into the digital world myself. I came in knowing barely anything, and left encouraged as a twenty-four year old to hopefully get my feet wet the investing world, as clearly, the game has changed.
Last Flight Home (2022)
Ondi has done it again!
Showcasing the extraordinary superman that her father, Eli Timoner, was, Ondi intricately weaves her audience through the journey of a brave, yet harrowing decision he chooses to make. Never have I thought of death as artful or so intimate, yet 'Last Flight Home' highlights the rollercoaster of pain and tragedy as such in a tremendous way.
The film's score (created by Ondi's fiancée, nonetheless, whom Eli grants a blessing over their love), combined with the shots of sunny suburbia both highlight the close attention Ondi pays to any and every detail while curating a story. Stepping into the role of both daughter and filmmaker, her strength is unparalleled.
Although obviously heart-wrenching, this documentary is filled with hopeful symbolism, religion, a sense of familial union, wisdom, and courage. 'LFH' serves as a memento to the past, present, and the future, leaving its viewers both moved and blown away.
Mapplethorpe (2018)
Raw, mesmerizing, and unforgettably tender in the most significantly vital way.
Being lucky enough to have seen this ineffable piece twice, I still find myself from time to time, stuck on wrapping my head around how seamlessly and beautifully it came together. Upon learning that it all came together in a mere nineteen days (originally given a shorter deadline), that the entirety was shot in 16mm film, and understanding that this had undergone rewrite after rewrite, it just leaves you ajar with awe. Rightfully so.
Somehow, the last thirty minutes always get to me (as in I crack, and droplets of water run down my face); this succinctly and intimate peek into the life of such a imperfect paragon will leave the audience aching and itching to run after a passion in their own lives that maybe they themselves have pushed away.
This is truly, sincerely a film that I would watch over and over again, and not tire of. Each time, there is more to unravel, more depth to each artist and subject, capturing minute details in the literal (and hypnotically captivating) photographs taken by Mr. Mapplethorpe that Ms. Timoner acquired.
There always runs the risk of well-known quotes spoken by the protagonist becoming lost in translation, or appearing too trite, on screen, but Mapplethorpe's phrases such as, "Beauty and the devil are the same thing," and, "...I hold hands with God" do not fall into that trap.
In the span of 102 minutes, Matt Smith pours every ounce of his impeccable talent into this role, beginning as a wide-eyed and bushy-tailed youngster and ending as an enfeebling, 42 year-old invalid that is still unbelievably loyal to his life's purpose. Smith even went as far as losing a fair amount of weight during filming, to achieve the authentically sickly appearance, which is one of countless assets in and on this film that make it all the more genuine and memorable.
It is not only Smith's incredible delivery that made the film what it is, but the entire ensemble: Marianne Rendón, who shares such a touching chemistry with Smith on-screen, that it is impossible to look away. John Benjamin Hickey, is intimately humane playing Sam Wagstaff, Mapplethorpe's longtime partner in all respects. Timoner included Hari Nef, too, whose underrated recognition becomes rightfully and colorfully acknowledged in the duration of the picture. Those are only a handful of the many outstanding performances given, each portrayal's heart on their sleeve.
In short, there is no one else right for the role to so immaculately tell Mr. Mapplethorpe's story than Timoner. It's remarkable, what a feat a biopic can turn out to be when placed in the right pair of hands.