Characters of The Place Beyond The Pines

The Place Beyond the Pines, why do you make me feel sick to my stomach? To clarify, that's a good thing since I can't remember the last time a film moved me so deeply. And that's due to the characters. They are human beings with emotions, flaws and independent thoughts. Not words that actors speak after learning them from a piece of paper. Every time I go to the cinema and I see the trailer I get a bit teary in the eyes. From a freakin' trailer...

I chose the most important characters to analyze and explain. I also want to say that I was most impressed by the cast and can't name anyone who would have let the film down in any way. But be warned, make sure you've seen it before you read it because it contains spoilers! 

Luke

portrayed by Ryan Gosling

    Ryan Gosling seems to be playing the same parts again and again. But he does it so well. The mysterious man whose past is equally mysterious suddenly wants to take care of a girl and a baby and takes part of a bank robbery. *cough*Drive*cough*. But when Gosling's character in Drive was quite emotionless and distant then Luke had a more softer side and was less calculated. And didn't crack anyone's skull open with a wrench. The scene in the church - breaks my heart. He eventually did the best that he knew to do and failed. The choices he made basically decided the lives of Avery, Jason and AJ. 

    This makes me think of options and whether we have any. I don't mean fate. Fate is something set by God, Universe or whatever floats your boat. I'm talking about how things go without having any control over it. Ultimately events like that are game-changers. Luke didn't decide to have a kid. It happened. It was in his nature to want to take care of Jason. Not a choice. Well his decision was influenced by the fact that he grew up without a father. Robbing banks was just an unavoidable action that was conditioned by the circumstances. Yes, we could now argue that what I'm describing is fate. But then... Don't we decide our fate for ourselves? How can we when we don't get to choose? 

   Where I'm getting at... Luke was a victim of life. We can't judge him for trying to be a good father. But the attempt of doing so affected people who never even met him.

Avery

portrayed by Bradley Cooper

    Avery might as well be the most conflicted character I've seen in a long time. Bradley Cooper did him justice in every way. He starts out as a rookie cop who happens to have a law degree and happens to be at the wrong place at a wrong time thus he encounters Luke. They are in the same room for about three seconds but those seconds decide the life of both... Or the death. 

    Avery makes a mistake that comes from being inexperienced. He kills a man, leaves a son without his father just because he couldn't handle a situation. Then invades the personal space of Luke's family, though at first unknowingly. Later he tries to make it up. Fails. And so he lives with a burden that ruins the relationship with his wife and son. He learns how the men he counted as friends were stealing and how the so called higher power did nothing to make it right. 

    Avery had a good relationship with his father. Eventually he even took his father's advice to tackle politics. It was almost ironic as he was giving speeches about "doing the job" and putting bad guys away when he hated himself for killing Luke. 

   The biggest conflict for Avery was the label he was getting everywhere - hero. He was called a hero when he had shot a man to death and left a small boy without his father and feel as an outsider. Luke was counted as a regular low-life criminal who had it coming for him when he was only trying to provide for his son. The world is not black and white, turns out.

   The son of Avery, AJ, also suffered. Avery could not stand to look at his son anymore as he felt the guilt inside burning with injustice. Why should AJ have a father when Jason wouldn't? So he distanced himself.

    As The Place Beyond The Pines left a lot of questions in the air it did solve one problem. They gave Avery his chance to apologize. In the middle of the woods, on his knees, tears falling from his eyes, he said the words that would change the course of Jason's, AJ's and his own life. 

Jason 

portrayed by Dane DeHaan

    He was the boy who didn't know who he was before he knew who was his father. He was lonely, a misfit and seemingly always the odd one out. So much like his father.

    I do think that Jason is the prime example of lack of choice in life. Despite the best efforts from his mother and Kofi he still ended up on the path that might have always been intended for him. Rash boy as he was, it was destined for him to be troubled. Might it have been and his father had lived, he would have been on the other side of the fence. On the side where he wouldn't have threatened anyone with a gun and would have considered his options more rationally. Yet he wasn't. He put a gun to a hero's and politician's head and probably would have killed him. He would have. It's difficult to understand an action so... mad. Did he consider it as revenge?

    Dane DeHaan might just be the new Jack Nicholson. The layer of emotions this boy is able to project in a single shot is admirable. I can't say Jason will be the role he will be remembered after though. 

AJ

portrayed by Emory Cohen

     AJ might be the biggest victim here. It wasn't his father who robbed banks. His father was a hero who couldn't just stand to look at his son the same way anymore because of the guilt. Growing up with the distant father AJ was destined to get in trouble. Get in with the wrong crowd. At one point he even displayed his aggression that was due to, most probably, his father. Even though Jason didn't grow up with his biological father he always had Kofi, who filled the role the best he could. In contrast, Avery as the biological father, might have been less of a dad than Kofi was. So here comes out a kid who looks up to his father, hoping to get some attention and not getting what he's doing wrong. 

     Emory Cohen did a performance that didn't stand out due to the subtlety of it all. It was only the

 second time around when I noticed how well he captured the essence of the environment and reflected it. I also noticed this strange controversy where AJ was more like Luke was. More macho yet emotional. While Jason seemed to be more similar to young Avery - bit the odd one out. 

Robin

portrayed by Ben Mendelsohn 

    Robin was the character closest to a real person. He lied, told stuff the way it suited him but at the same time he had a big heart and a simple mind that made me appreciate him. He was also more than a simple mechanic. He knew exactly when to stop with the bank robbing business - he was smart. That didn't stop him from making stupid decisions though. Like cutting up Luke's bike. 

    I found it interesting that after many years he considered Luke his friend. Even after Luke put a gun in his mouth. 

    I'd like to see a backstory to Robin. How he ended up where he was and why he was that way. It would make an interesting story to see. 

written by Benni

Thoughts on... Star Trek Into Darkness

Well, this seems to be a Star Trek week. Which is great since I love Star Trek... I love the concept of Star Trek. When it comes to Into Darkness I'm not sure.

I've seen the 2009 film more than I can count. I know the lines and shots which was proven in the last post. So the expectations were high for Into Darkness... And it didn't fail me. This time everything was more spetacular than it was before. Colors were brighter, characters funnier, though what bothers me was that some of the jokes were cheap. I can't tell whether it was also like that with the first film. It felt like the characters were falling into their own stereotype and like they weren't people, more like actors bantering while in character.

The sequel's villain was better though. Benedict Cumberbatch, I love you. This guy has an extraordinary talent. The wrath (pun not intended)* that he brought out as John Harrison kind of scared me. 

Now let's talk about the elephant in the room that is the second act. That was a disaster. Everything before and after the temporary-villain was pret-ty good. And then bang - a huge military spaceship that makes you think Darth Vader has jumped Universes. Oh worry not, just a power-hungry unexplained character with no depth. Had I been on Star Trek's writing team, I would have campaigned to change that part. It felt like a filler that didn't turn out very well.

We could have invested that time in John Harrison and getting to know him since he was a very guarded and manipulating guy that rarely showed his true colors.

You know what... Now that J.J. Abrams is directing Star Wars, a crossover would be cool. And it could be a spin-off. How about Chewbacca on Enterprise?

I could go on about what was wrong with Into Darkness but I still have to admit liking it. There was a lot of lazy writing that is unforgivable. Still, it's Star Trek.

*The Wrath of Khan, anyone?

Written by Benni

Star Trek: Cinematography & The Beauty of a Film

Part of why I love Star Trek (2009) so much is the beauty that the film is approached with. J. J. Abrams has his own signature shots that he uses throughout this film and as it came apparent recently, in Into Darkness also. 

The most obvious one is the light shining straight into the camera. That method is used constantly, mostly in close-up shots and it gives Star Trek this distinctive look modifying the colors and spicing up a shot that otherwise would be pretty boring.

Then there is the shaky-cam. Oh, don't we love the shaky-cam. The best example for it is the scene where Kirk sits behind a table after a bar fight, face bloody with napkins out of his nose. That particular shot has stayed with me ever since I saw Star Trek for the first time in a cinema. What it does to me is that it gives a sense of intimacy and spontaneity to the scene... with a sprinkle of rawness. It is difficult to demonstrate this through a screenshot so I suggest looking out for it when watching Star Trek.

 

The color scheme is very well thought through. My favorite being the frozen planet where Kirk is 

dropped on. Starting from the pale blue of ice going to the dark blue cave contrasted by bright orange 

and finishing up with the strange green of the hallway and the earthy palette of Scotty's lab.

Everything is based on blue. Even all the posters used for promotion were blue. When I think of Star Trek  I think of blue. The other colors might as well be there only to support blue like Uhura supports Spock. But as Uhura they are no less of importance. They are rich and full creating a symbiosis with dark undertones.

Abrams has this one shot where the camera makes a 90 degree turn. With this film here, it's when Spock is before the Vulcan council. It was also used in Into Darkness. It can be used only once in the duration of the film. It's too much of an unique shot to make it a regular thing.

This scene up here particularly stands out to me. Firstly because of the color of the uniforms. Deep red contrasted with dark grey. It also creates an early contradiction between Spock and Kirk highlighting their differences. Then when it comes to the rest of the composition, I find that it is almost perfect. Kirk being a bit blurry while still dominating the shot and Spock completely focused but almost pushed out of the frame. The combination of grey and red uniforms creating some still movement. Whatever that means. Well, what it means is that even as a screen capture this scene 

is vibrant. What's ruining the clean look of it is those damn legs up in the left corner. 

The visual side of the whole film is established on movement. Shots change so quickly that your brain barely has time to register anything. I guess that's why I always find something new when I watch Star Trek. A way to solve the movement problem is using far distance tracking shots that also add some believability. I remember first seeing these kind of shots in Battlestar Galactica and I thought that that was rad. Still think so.

written by Benni

The Most Memorable Characters From Harry Potter

     I recently started up with reading the entire Harry Potter collection again and I am already halfway through, thus I thought that making a short list or a reminder to all Potterheads out there would be a great installment to the blog. I guess I am an late bloomer when it comes to the wizarding world, but nonetheless I am a true witch at heart. So I thought that making a list of my own favorite and the most memorable characters is due. Though I must offer a warning of some sort. I am an out and proud Slytherin, so being the snake that I am, you will see my fellow housemates here. The characters are not listed in a ranking order and do not worry, Voldie is not included. I might be an evil little snake at times, but even I draw the line at old noseless.



Bellatrix Lestrange
I am aware of the fact that she is one crazy bit*h, but I can't help to like her. Bella is a completely deranged pureblood and the most loyal servant the Dark Lord could ever wish for. And she serves him because she actually wants to and does not deny or hide the fact that she does. So I salute her for being loyal to the end and believing the great cause even if it was a shitty one. And I cannot leave out the fact that Helena Bonham Carter is a true talent and deserves to be praised.

Luna Lovegood
Loony Luna, the slightly odd Ravenclaw princess, who might seem a little off her rocker. She is sweet and cares deeply about the ones she loves. Luna is not afraid to show who she really is and her quirkiness is what makes her who she is. There is always this odd one out, who has difficulties making friends, but in the end wins everyones approval and proves to be a true friend in every sense of the word. Luna is a prime example. And when it comes to Nargles, I believe you, Luna.

Rubeus Hagrid
Who doesn't like Hagrid? He is big and just down right cuddle-able. Hagrid might seem a bit gauche and dense at times, but really he's a teddy bear. From his first encounter with Harry, he has cared deeply about the boy and has tried to protect him from all the evil in the world. He loves his animals, no matter how many heads they have. He is sensitive and a kind soul, so he will turn on the waterworks if necessary.

Severus Snape
Snape, the man who never smiles. I must admit that he is one of my favorite characters through out the entire series. He hates Harry because of his father, understandable when the man stole away the love of his life. What I love about the man is his sarcastic and cold front, but the insecure and little dark boy inside. His ordeal as a spy, tolerating the Boy-Who-Lived and ultimately revealing his feeling towards Lily, did make my icy heart melt and I actually shed a tear for him.

Sirius Black
I don't know if it's the fact that I like Gary Oldman or because I like dogs, but I was, for the lack of a better word, crushed when Padfoot fell through the Veil. I mean, one does not simply do something like that. But he managed to capture my attention nevertheless. I think it is safe to say that Sirius was a less crazy version of Bellatrix, but I guess it does run in the family.


Lucius Malfoy
With the risk of sounding like a completely corrupted snake, I must admit that I don't even care about the fact that he is a Death Eater and a real bad guy. Yes, he is a cruel bastard, who likes his money and power, but at the end his family came first to him. He might not say it or even show it, but he does care about Draco and Narcissa. And of course I felt sorry for him at some point. Blame it on my Slytherin nature, but Lucius kind of grew on me. But can you blame me? I have suddenly developed a strong affinity to blonde hair and a snarky tongue.  

Fred and George Weasley 
The Weasley twins, also known as the pranksters, are a dashing duo that can entertain you, but still hex you into next week. They are lovable and we all want to have brothers like that. I am fairly sure they were wrongly sorted into Gryffindor, because they have a lot of Slytherin qualities in them as well.

Draco Malfoy
What is it with me and Malfoy men? Draco, to me, is a confused and misunderstood child. He believes what he has been taught and his petty rivalry with Harry is actually unjustified. He an insufferable brat, a snotty git, who whines when he doesn't get what he wants and constantly hides behind daddy Lucius. But that's the Draco he started out as, not the young man that he ended up being. He did his duty to his family, constantly looking for praise. He is a complexed character, if you can see behind the appearance and snobbish attitude.

Dobby 
As a free elf, managed to save Harry's arse and protect him many times. He was Dobby's saviour after all, as he managed to trick none other than Lord Malfoy himself into freeing the squeaky little elf. It was the single saddest moment when Dobby moved onto greener pastures. I literally cried, as if my own family member had died. Try crying in a room packed with people, who look at you like you're E.T, and cannot understand my weepiness over the moment. 
    
So here you go, some of my favorite witches and wizards. The list is rather short, but if I were to include all characters I like, it would be a long list. Feel free to share your opinions and suggestions, I am always happy to listen fellow witches and wizards. 
Anyway, I'm off riding into the sunset on the back of a Hippogriff, hoping for a happily ever after with a certain blonde.