Often cited as the best director of all time. Kubrick made some interesting films, but his overreliance on symbolism and his heavy-handed approach often works against his films. That said, there's really no way around his work.
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Stanley Kubrick's final film is also his best one, but it's not quite the masterpiece I remembered it to be. The mystery isn't as entrancing, some of the scenes could've used a bit of editing and Cruise isn't as good an actor compared to Kidman, which creates a somewhat awkward imbalance. Bill and Alice are a happily married couple, but then Alice confesses to Bill there was a time she thought about being unfaithful and Bill caves. He visits an old friend and sneaks into an exclusive party, one where everyone is masked and sex is omnipresent. When he is found out, things start to go south. The film could've been at least 45 minutes shorter, without losing much. The cinematography is nice but nothing overwhelming, the soundtrack a little grating and while the performances are strong, Cruise isn't at the top of his game. It's a quality film, with some memorable scenes, but not one of the all-time greats.Read all
A film that has lost some of its shine since I last watched it. The Shining is one of the most iconic horror films and those stand-out scenes (the elevator, the twins, the "Here's Johnny" moment) still stand proud today. It's everything that comes in between that seems to have lost a little polish. Maybe I should've gone for the shorter European release, but many scenes felt a little dragged out. Performances were surprisingly poor too. Tony's voice is irritating, Nicholson could've turned it down a notch and Duvall is simply terrible. The whole "shining" ability feels tagged on as well, which is a bit odd for a film called The Shining. The location is magnificent though. The barren mountains, the kitschy interiors of the hotel, the many colorful rooms. The camera work is solid too and the soundtrack is moody, though Kubrick relies too much on volume levels to create tension. It's certainly not a terrible film, but the cracks are really starting to show.Read all
My final Kubrick. There's no reason why I saved this one for last, I'm just not his biggest fan and this seems to be one of his least-regarded films (though still very popular). It's not quite what I expected (the controversial part of the film is rather weak by modern standards and it's very talky for a Kubrick), which I why I still ended up relatively disappointed with the result. Humbert is an author who rents a room in Charlotte Haze's home. He does so because he has a thing for her daughter, who is barely 14 years old. Charlotte has her eye set on Humbert, which further complicates things, and there's another man who has taken an interest in Charlotte's daughter. The controversy is purely thematic (an older man with a young girl), the film itself is almost all dialogue. Mason and Lyon aren't the best actors though, so their romance never felt very real. The black-and-cinematography is also pretty dull and the runtime is a bit of a hassle, but the film does pick up the pace in the final 30 minutes.Read all
