tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842104168403310590.post8450191336620787033..comments2024-03-06T09:18:21.987-08:00Comments on The Works and Genius of David Fincher: Fincher / Kubrick: A Richard Kelly Review of "Gone Girl"Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842104168403310590.post-90407742731123643332014-10-12T11:25:08.900-07:002014-10-12T11:25:08.900-07:00"From there, for me, it's all downhill. D..."From there, for me, it's all downhill. Did my look change or Fincher became too aware of skills and visual trademark to the detriment of story's sake?"<br /><br />I see it completely differently. With Zodiac his stories became much more sophisticated. The substance started to get as much attention as the style. Acting became really interesting. Say what you want about Benjamin Button, but Brad Pitt gives a very good performance in this movie. Definitely one of the highlights of his acting career. Same with Jessie Eisenberg, so far the role in The Social Network is his best. After that Rooney Mara gave a captivating performance in Dragon Tattoo. And now a mesmerizing performance by Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl, worth of every single award. I love Se7en and Fight Club they both feature great performances but I tell you, right now acting in Fincher movies is ten times better then it was back then ;)<br /><br />"His TV ventures reinforced the impression that his moviemaking skills were devaluated : he edited his movies faster, used elevator music (yeah definitely not and Raznor fan). He no longer crafted, he manufactured."<br /><br />Again, I disagree ;) His TV ventures will help to reinvent the medium. He put Netflix back on the map. House of Cards is TV at it's best. And I hope his version of Utopia will raise the bar even further.<br /><br />"And what I'm worried about as a Fincher "supporter" is that it seems he's becoming a bit lazy in the sense that he doesn't try to go beyond what he makes very well."<br /><br />Benjamin Button and Gone Girl cannot be more different :P Same with Dragon Tattoo and The Social Network... and I could go on and on. Each movie in his filmography is unique, unlike anything he made before. In my eyes he constantly reinvents himself.<br /><br />Gosh, I sound like such a fanboy. But I really think that the last few years (this one included ;) ) has been really great and that his career is on the right track.mikeznoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842104168403310590.post-92150730169252284462014-10-11T16:58:23.745-07:002014-10-11T16:58:23.745-07:00I understand your point of view Gould event if I d...I understand your point of view Gould event if I don't share your opinion. I worship Fincher (and Kubrick) since I'm 12 (I'm 18 now) to a point that you can't even imagine and not only his work in cinema, advertising and music videos but also what his work reflects of him and of his personality. But I'm not the kind of person that will tell you : "every single film he makes is going to be great cause it's a Fincher movie" even if he hasn't made bad movies since the beginning of his career in my opinion. <br /><br />I loved Gone Girl, even more The Social Network (that I've seen 12 times, once a day for 12 days only in theaters). I am not a huge fan of The Dragon Tattoo though even if it's still great. <br /><br />For me, Benjamin Button is such a tremendously beautiful movie and it's a really dark film if you really think about it. It has a melancholic and really dark tone, very similar to The Game's opening scene from the childhood of Nicholas, that nobody else than Fincher could have bring to it. Benjamin Button is actually, in my opinion, one of his most personal films with Zodiac.<br /><br />And what I'm worried about as a Fincher "supporter" is that it seems he's becoming a bit lazy in the sense that he doesn't try to go beyond what he makes very well. For the moment, he hasn't made his true cinematic masterpiece in my opinion even if Zodiac nearly reached that. And the problem is that now he's slowly shifting towards TV and repetitive style in movies and I think to truly make his mark among the greatest in film history, he's going to have to reinvent himself to achieve the film of his life !Michanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842104168403310590.post-55421680250250596902014-10-11T14:03:04.578-07:002014-10-11T14:03:04.578-07:00I've been an admirer of Fincher before the cri...I've been an admirer of Fincher before the critics turned their vests or box office smiled to him eventually. I remember seeing Alien3 in an empty South Carolina theater, and twice by the way. Se7en blew me away, the perfectly framed serial killer movie, hell painted like a work of art. The Game, a 'minor Fincher', was an enjoyable roller coaster executed with perfect precision, even if ending was not a real one. Fight Club remains one the best novel adaption ever. Clever and provocative. Unmatched critic of our consumer society so far. Zodiac the ultimate Fincher masterpiece, when critics started to realize he was more than a 'music video director', but also an hors pair actor's director.<br /><br />From there, for me, it's all downhill. Did my look change or Fincher became too aware of skills and visual trademark to the detriment of story's sake? Button, left alone some glimpses of real darkness, felt like Forrest Gump remade by Fincher. All his creative powers felt wasted when seeing Social Network. A useless tale of millionaire brats. Dragon Tattoo was beautifully crafted no question about that but the editing was so fast you didn't care about the characters and you felt like Fincher was just looking forward to ending the movie as fast as possible. His TV ventures reinforced the impression that his moviemaking skills were devaluated : he edited his movies faster, used elevator music (yeah definitely not and Raznor fan). He no longer crafted, he manufactured.<br /><br />Now Gone Girls to me just confirms the bad trend. Sure it's very faithful to the novel, perfectly cast and beige and blue shot. But what is there to feel excited about? Pretty much nothing. Fincher directed his War of Roses, his dark comedy. He stuck so much to the original material there's no surprise, nothing's at stake. There are some truly amazing dark moments, incredible shots that I felt belong to a thriller Fincher should have made. I'm still waiting for that a Fincher to be back. Fincher is best when he makes thriller.<br /><br />Gouldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00536252718503711608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842104168403310590.post-42518607815648559172014-10-09T09:43:18.517-07:002014-10-09T09:43:18.517-07:00that IS Fincher. definitive marks> the push-in ...that IS Fincher. definitive marks> the push-in tracking shot on extreme close-up at 0:10, the subsequent sudden staccato pan between the monitors, the follow of the abrupt body move with a long lens (0:35), the hard lighting on faces that uses the nasal bridge opening to reveal the opposite eye (0:10, 0:18, 0:26), the puffy lighting style & the edgy bluish tones... and the rest are exctly the Ridley Scott-influenced choices that all the Propaganda boys eventually picked up and upgraded.<br /><br />anyway, someone should ask Fincher on a Q&A if he assumes the paternity for this commercial :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842104168403310590.post-68225080326559512382014-10-08T10:10:46.365-07:002014-10-08T10:10:46.365-07:00OK, now I will obsess about this commercial. It...OK, now I will obsess about this commercial. It's very fincheresque indeed :) Very interesting find. Thanks.mikeznoreply@blogger.com