ceesky

Oscar has sadly in a way turned out to be a popularity contest more than what it should really stand for...anyway, if it were true to its thrust (and let's just imagine it to be so), then Clint Eastwood's Hereafter should definitely have gotten the highest honor in the Academy as Best Picture and Director for 2010. It doesn't take a cinema expert to appreciate how seamlessly woven together each and every frame is in telling such a beautiful and relevant story. One of the best qualities of an Eastwood film is that he walks the audience right through the landscapes of the film. And, in our times, what we need more than ever are films that not just amuse us with clever, stylistic writing or production work, but stories that convey messages of humanity and in a very positive way. Without having to say in lines what lessons we have forgotten about mankind and the ways that we should be relating and being sensitive to one another, the film speaks it out for you...and, the take-home prize is a viewing so rewarding and even life-changing. Take-home effects like these are a rare find in our much hyped and materialistic age, so when masterpieces come out like this one, the Academy should take much more proper notice. Kudos to the remarkable cast lead by Matt Damon, Cecile de France and the very touching performances of the Mc Laren twins. So glad to see Steven Spielberg having a hand too on the film as Executive Producer...his touch is still very much reliable..but most of all, the gold should be given to Mr. Eastwood (writer, director, composer). In terms of artistic standards in the calibre of Leonardo (we know which one of course), he really is everything in one.

This is one of the best and beautiful horror films that I've seen and I'm sure others have one way or another retained the images that are so eerie yet majestic in a sense because of one, we have this marvelous setting, the elaborately mystical house to begin with ...and because of careful direction along with characters that are goodness, not stoned as prevalent in today's standards, there is a genuine and yes, scary feeling you could walk away from when watching the film. The elements of the house and the characters are in perfect symbiosis...you keep your eyes open because the perspective of every character that enters in each floor and room are in a way, extensions of each other...what a classic way of enjoying films that don't rely on convoluted plots and/or reading the psyche of the enemy as if its mind is stretched to a 100 ft. deep. Nothing is far too complicated here and it makes for a pleasurable experience. It's an awe to watch the scenes unfold in this film...the images are hidden dialogues for themselves and this saves the audience from over-analyzing things. If you want to get spooked anytime of the day on the pleasure of your simple couch and TV, I think The Haunting works....and the wonderful thing is that after, you can go about doing your normal things. The 'haunting' starts and stops when the movie's finished. Simple!