Charlie Browne Tobia

**“I once buried two Arabs in a wall over there…** **Facing Mecca, of course.”** This comedy KILLED. One of the greatest satire mockumentaries to ever do it. These niche filmmakers just took the idea of satire, documentary style filmmaking and just transformed it into this witty, gruesome and yet brilliant film that just goes well and beyond past the limits of suitable filmmaking. Though a lot of the time I am not a huge fan of the ‘found footage’ style of filmmaking, this was less of it trying to act ‘scary’ and more of it actually utilizing the style and telling stories with it. Even though it is the handled style, it actually killed when it came to the camera work. It wasn’t sloppy and intrusive, it was actually making the viewing more immersive and visceral, which I absolutely loved to see this style of filmmaking actually being put to good use for once, which is what puts this film aside from the others. The storytelling in this film is classic. It had everything when it came down to that relentless French satire humor. One minute, you’re actually getting invested into the story and the characters, almost feeling for them. Next minute they are raping women and killing children. It’s a masterclass in filmmaking when it comes to direct cinema, and how the whole script and dialogue felt like it was just improvised straight then and there by the actors. The plot and narrative was just wild as a whole, being this camera crew doing a documentary style film on a serial killer that just goes around killing people for fun. It’s a unique character study to say the least, but then the camera crew starts becoming accomplices to this man’s heinous crimes, then everything starts to roll down hill. The thrill of getting involved becomes overwhelming, and as the film crew start to get involved, they eventually get picked off one by one. It’s brilliant in telling a story then wouldn’t happen in real life, but it acts almost as it is. After watching La Haine, I asked someone I know if there were any kind of films like it that I would like. Then them suggesting me this really itched that spot for me, and if you love La Haine and haven’t seen this, I would definitely recommend this, as they both share some qualities when it comes to humor and story. I watched this gem on YouTube, though the quality and aspect aren’t great, it’s still a great viewing. I’m glad I watched this, as now I do know that there is still hope for me when it comes to liking the ‘found footage’ style of filmmaking, as it might not be exactly a low quality camera or a cam corder for instance, it still had that sense. Just not as intrusive and god awful as the Blair witch project. Overall I highly recommend this French satirical masterclass in filmmaking that truly shows how great ‘mockumentary’ is when it comes to styles of filmmaking. And yet again, not a film you would want to watch with the family.

Inherent Vice is the perfect example of what kind of detective I would be. If I haven’t made myself clear enough, I would be Doc Sportello. Just cruising down the LA shoreline, smoking doobies and getting up to no good with Josh Brolin and Owen Wilson.  Inherent Vice did let me down a bit as I did think it would’ve been a lot better, but the plot was just a little to much rushed and all over the place, to the point where if you missed out on 5 seconds of dialogue, you couldn’t say what the main motive was even if you had a gun to your head. And I did think this film was just a kick back and take in the show, but thinking that I wasn’t trying to focus in on the storyline as I thought it was going to be pretty self explanatory, but it was far from it. So for a lot of the film I was basically playing catch up. And it wasn’t even my fault as it was written pretty poorly and probably could’ve chosen a different novel to base a film off, but hey, I said it before and I will say it again, anything Paul Thomas Anderson touches, he turns it into gold. And he did very well with what source he had.  I have to say, as in any other PTA film, the acting was truly astonishing and immersive. Especially with Phoenix, as he just takes the show away in any film or project he’s in. Considering he was in two PTA films and starred in them, he has outdone himself on every aspect. He and Josh Brolin really made the film it was and they both could really fit their assigned roles. Two extremely diverse characters that have suspiciously natural chemistry that is hard to deny. And that scene where Detective ‘Bigfoot’ just smashes down the door and starts chowing down on a doobie and some grass with paper, was the funniest shit I had seen in a while. Fucker just came and went like he wasn’t there. Yet again comedy gold from Paul Thomas Anderson. Overall personally I did enjoy this film, even though the writing was all over the place and you had to keep really close attention to the developing plot and dialogue, I still recommend this film, just maybe not to watch it with your family.

**“You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. And you my friend, dig.”** The Good The Bad and The Ugly lives up to the name of the most substantially impactful films in the western genre and the greatest of the genre as a whole. And for me, it lived up to the hype, and then some. Just the sheer buildup and pacing that commences throughout the 2hr and 40 minute runtime was a true cornerstone to that stressful and Nerve-racking ending that just sums up the film as a whole. That end duel scene was about ten times more stressful than the Paul Atreides duel in dune part 2, and that is saying a lot. And you notice in both of those films the longer runtime which can be crucial when a final showdown commences, as it lets you develop along with the character a lot more and has higher stakes because of that emotional connection that you built up throughout that longer runtime. A true key piece to the impact this film made on others was most definitely its stellar score, that was composed by none other than Ennio Morricone. It’s played throughout the film in different cuts and varied edited variations, which just makes that final segments score all that better. The scene where Tuco runs through the graveyard, searching for the grave whilst playing that masterful score was just an amazing lead up scene to that final showdown. Just the way Sergio Leone spins the camera, tracking tuco through the graves whilst making the visual more and more blurry by the frame was just a masterful shot for a masterful scene with a breathtaking score that was well beyond its time for filmmaking in general, let alone the western genre. The fact this film came out in the 1960s was completely mind boggling and especially viewing this masterpiece in 4K made it all that better. Before coming into this film I had never known that the good the bad and the ugly were went to be three people, for I thought it was a figure of speech that told us about the morality and immorality of the old western. And although it was mostly about that, just add in three greatly acted and written characters and I would’ve hit the nail on the head. The story mostly consisted of 3 characters, the good one, the bad one and the ugly one. The good one being a man of morality and a believer of the justice system, the bad one seeking more in life and willing to commit any immoral action to get what he want, the ugly is a man of betrayal and selfishness that doesn't have sympathy towards others. And all of these characters being very well portrayed in the setting of the west and brilliantly acted was just an amazing viewing experience that tossed me from emotion to emotion for the entire duration of the film, and that’s what ingredients you require to craft a masterpiece. Overall this was masterpiece in visuals and audio that was substantial to the revelational advances in not only westerns but filmmaking in general, and I couldn’t recommend this work of ark enough if you haven’t seen it yet.