Anarchist_Rationale

Denis Villeneuve has succeeded in creating that rarest of films: a very late sequel that respects and improves upon the original. Blade Runner 2049 expands the canvas of the first film with new locations and characters, all of whom feel authentic and true to the tone and themes of 1982’s Blade Runner . I thought it was magnificent in terms of setting and imagery and it packed an unexpected emotional punch which was absent in the first movie. I wanted to see it twice before I wrote my review and I am confident in saying it is superior to the original film while remaining tonally and esthetically consistent. I loved it. Foremost, I loved the story – complex without being hard to follow and never violating any continuity laid down by its predecessor. There were plot twists I could see coming but then the revelation would have more dimension than I was expecting. There were also genuine surprises in a couple of scenes. The cast is wonderful, with everyone well-suited to their roles (...

A quiet, sad and poignant character study about victimhood and the consequences of evil acts, yet at its heart there is a sweetness that helps offset the darkness. Brendan Gleeson plays the local catholic priest in a very quiet but powerful performance. The film opens with him in the confessional booth receiving a death threat from the other man in the booth, someone local whom he knows yet cannot see. The following seven days leading to the priest’s execution track him as he appears to take stock of the situation in his community and what comes to light is a feeling of loss, of a way of life that is disappearing and the uncertain future that lies ahead. In many ways it reminded me thematically of Hell or High Water in the way it depicts that sorrow of things lost that you never really appreciated while they were yours. The motivation for the killer is a sort of revenge for the crimes of the catholic church in Ireland which he personally suffered from. Throughout the film the...

This weekly blog is intended (like most people’s) to be a space where I can talk about the things I’m interested in. I’ll be using it to post critical reviews of movies, books and whatever else I might want to unload my mind about. In general, I’m going to keep things as positive as I can because there’s already enough negativity out there and I would rather spend time focusing on the things I like rather than the things that upset me. I am a rational anarchist. I believe nobody has any right to tell anyone else what to do, but that the limits of anarchy make it unworkable in groups larger than a hundred or so individuals. I think with this many people around, impersonal rules are an unfortunate necessity, but I will only respect the ones that seem fair, in my mind. There is no excuse for injustice or abuse of power and as people and populations change, so must the rules that govern us, meaning they should always be challenged or at least suspected. Art and culture are my pass...