Quentin Tarantino Q&A at The Hollywood Theatre (12/29/2015 - Portland, OR)

I attended the Roadshow presentation of The Hateful Eight in 70mm and then was treated to a surprise guest appearance by Quentin Tarantino himself! This is the video I got of the Q&A. Enjoy!

Welcome!

Hello prospective and returning readers! Welcome to my blog! Here I will try to post my thoughts on as many films as I can, among other things if they inspire me enough. As I start out on this new venture, bear with me as I come into my own and develop my writing. I hope to create a unique voice that will be interesting and enlightening to read. Film criticism is an art form just like the films that inspire them and I hope to contribute to that art in a thoroughly thoughtful way.

Thank you for taking the time to read my work and I hope you enjoy yourself and learn a little more about the films out there for you to see. Hopefully I can point you in the right direction!

Read on Macduff!

                                                                                    -Bailey LuBean

"The Stanford Prison Experiment" - Review

Respect Your Authority

In August 1971, psychology professor Philip Zimbardo conducted an experiment with select graduate students in the basement of Stanford University to explore the effects of prison life on the human psyche. To do this, he hires 24 male volunteers from on campus and splits them up into two groups: 12 prisoners and 12 prison guards. He converted his space into mock prison cells and a prison yard and then began his simulation, making sure the guards remembered the contract they signed that stated that they were not allowed to physically harm the prisoners. The results that followed shocked the public and is now referenced in nearly every textbook on psychology. Now in 2015, director Kyle Patrick Alvarez has assembled a group of promising up and coming actors and created a cold piece of film-making that is undeniably impressive but will most definitely alienate some viewers with its psychological brutality.

"We Are Your Friends" - Quick and Dirty Review

This could have been something really cool. It had all the elements it needed to be a really nice modern coming of age movie with some sweet tracks, but the energy it starts with and the energy it ends with utterly flat lines during the rest of the movie for incredibly long stretches of time. It never recovers. Then in comes a plot twist that while cliche could have been really dramatic is completely unearned and feels like an absolute joke trying to be melodrama. So while there are great performances from Zac Efron and Wes Bentley, some cool music, and the occasional burst of creative energy from the director, this is a total mess of lethargy that never realizes itself to be something unique. It is a really boring missed opportunity.

If you really must see this, it is now available on DVD. It didn't make enough money to have a blu-ray release. That rarely happens, but honestly I am not surprised that no one went out to support this thing.

Grade: D+.

"The Danish Girl" - Review

Identity Struggles

Alicia Vikander and Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl

There is a common frame of thinking whenever we arrive at "Oscar Season" when you see advertising for a prestige picture obviously up for the running for awards. These films, especially ones that have some sort of "daring" gimmick like a specific time period, a social issue, or an intimate struggle/illness, are often called "Oscar bait"; meaning that they only exist to be begging for awards attention. The Danish Girl is one such film that is being labeled as Oscar bait. It takes a hot button social issue, throws a transformative performance by an established actor in to portray that issue, and is set in an old time period packed with potential for elaborate costume and make-up. However, like the titular character Lili, this is an unwarranted label by the basic masses that only ever has gives an impression of a film's surface that does not acknowledge their true soul or meaning. Good films always have more than the surface. They have an inner identity that shows through, distinguishing them from the rest of the pack. For this reason, I do not support the labeling of films as "Oscar bait". I only judge films based on if they are successful in portraying the tone or message that they set out to show. If a comedy makes me laugh, it succeeds to me. If a thriller thrills me, it succeeds. If a period piece film that is meant to inspire and provoke emotion moves me and is accurate in its portrayal of that time period, it is successful. The Danish Girl earns its marks, but only just. It is an exquisitely made piece with tremendous and haunting performaces by its leads, but is a film that ironically is not sure of its true identity. It has a beautiful surface and while its importance is definitely evident, it leaves one needing when it comes to baring its deeper soul.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" - Review (Spoiler-Free)

Waking Up After a 30 Year Sleep

Adam Driver as Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Well, the Force woke up, and it's here to stay.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a return to a world we did not know how much we missed until we are there once again. It is wonderfully old-fashioned while also innovative in its look and craft. It is a return to brilliance for a saga that has been down for way too long.

"The Big Short" - Review

Ignorant of the Bubble

Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Brad Pitt, and Christian Bale in The Big Short

How can such arrogance and ill will be so hilariously portrayed while still being just as maddening? This is a film that shows the depravity of peoples' greed and the blindness it creates in detriment to those less fortunate than the ones with the wealth and power that creates it and it is so entertaining. The Big Short is the most entertaining film that your college professor will inevitably show in you economics class. It is respectful of its audience that may not know the jargon involved in American economics, Wall Street, and the housing industry. It is gut-busting in the most intelligent way possible while still painting a clear picture of the seriousness of the topics it explores. If Spotlight was meant to be an expose on the things that define us as individuals, The Big Short is the expose on the things that define us as a society.

"Spotlight" - Review

Fight Against Silence

The ensemble cast of Spotlight

We try to live our lives in a way that help us feel safe and in a way that gives us purpose. Humans naturally are curious creatures and always search for answers to our questions, whether they are small and inconsequential or they are questions that explain our very reason for existing. What if the answers for your existence are the variables making you unsafe and hurt? Sadly, there are people out there who manipulate a person's need for purpose and meaning to silence them when it is for their benefit. Thankfully there are people who seek to put a spotlight on these victims who are pushed into silence, but how can one spotlight shine enough light on an entity larger than any of us. Spotlight is based on the very true story of a few brave journalists who hoped to shine that light on one of the biggest organizations in human history: the Catholic Church. It is also one of the best films of the year.

"The Night Before" - Review

'Tis the Season to Get Wrecked

Seth Rogen and his buddies love to make movies about lovable morons getting into shenanigans while also getting really stoned, whether they are surviving the apocalypse or they are trying to assisinate foreign world dictators. This formula has worked surprisingly well for them and they have produced many fairly successful films. While they may not always tread new ground, they have always been entertaining. "The Night Before" is Seth Rogen and companys' first foray into the Christmas movie genre and again their raunchy tastes in humor are put to good use, but this time around there is the surprise of a heartwarming story and character dynamic. It is this character dynamic and clever script that gives the typical drug related and raunchy humor a welcome warm tone that is perfect for the holidays and is a treat for anyone who could use a good laugh that is backed up with genuine heart.