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Sylvia Plath: Inside the Bell Jar (2018)
Well made but incomplete
I was amazed by the quality of the documentary and enjoyed the film very much. It provides a clear look into Sylvia Plath's youth and early life without avoiding some issue that seems a little bit intimate. It also illustrates the social environment, the condition, and general sense of the time when she grown up in the 50's. Generally speaking an informative and intriguing document. The only thing that bugs me is the ending and how the relationship between her and Ted Hughes was presented. I do know there are these conflicting views between the two sides of the Atlantic ocean, and there is this view that her suicide is the result of a more deeper, pervasive psychological issue, but simply stating that "her marriage with Ted Hughes has ended" without any detail is strikingly incomprehensible. I couldn't quite understand how an event which has such a fundamental psychological impact on one's life can be (probably) intentionally ignored in such a context. But maybe, just maybe, we don't have to mention that because we all know what happened?
Carrie (2013)
5 reasons of why I prefer the remake
I think it is unfair to say that the remake will never be as good as the original. I don't prefer the newest one for no reason; actually the storytelling of the 2013 Carrie is to me, the best among all three. The reasons being that it provides the space for actors to better building their character, it has a more sophisticate approach to deal with the issues (bullying, religious fundamentalism, family issue, etc.), the story line is clearer, a better cinematography, and of course, much better special effect. Personal characteristics: When we saw Julienne Moore using seam ripper to stab her leg, when we saw the scratch/scar in her arm, and when we saw Carrie's reaction when she heard that the school was going to call her mom, we can easily feel the complex relationship between Carrie and her mom. The previous two versions did not give us any sense of how much does Margaret White love her daughter; there was so much love, maybe too much, was given to Carrie, but we never noticed that before. In the scene before the prom, while Carrie locked her mother in that tiny room, she said "I love you mama", suggests that she didn't have a strong feeling of hate, but rather a sympathy to her mother. So far, Julienne Moore is the best Margaret White, but this does not suggest Patricia Clarkson, also a very good actress, was not acting well in 2002's Carrie, I believe it was simply because there wasn't too much acting in the 2002 Carrie. As for the 1976 Margaret, probably the director (Brian De Palma) didn't really know any religious fundamentalist. Storytelling approach: The water volleyball scene in the beginning (not the very beginning but the beginning) of the 2013 Carrie was as good as the 1976 beginning in the dressing room; I really can't make a choice between these two. But there were many other subtle settings or takes that tell us the whole story of this event. For example, the scene while Chris Hargensen's father was threatening the school that he was going to take legal action, we knew that Chris Hargensen's father has a questionable parenting approach. Also, there were several scenes that were focusing on the social activities of those school students, and these built up what a nowadays high school probably is. And there was a very important scene in the laundry in which Carrie's mother was working demonstrated how the relationship Margaret had with the society; in the 1976 version, it was demonstrated by a scene in Sue's home where Margaret was trying to convince Sue's mother to go to some sort of religious event. And in 2002 version, while the director (David Carson) was attempting to use the flashback method, he probably failed to process the most important element, the characteristics. Storyline: I have to say, a horror movie is a horror movie, there is nothing we don't understand in a horror movie. But if you do think about how reasonable the story can be, you will than watch the movie differently. If you think about how fast a girl can walk in the night, you will know there was no way Chris was driving toward Carrie (she should have gone already). And things such as why Carrie's mom wanted to kill her daughter or why Sue was going to the prom with her boyfriend being with Carrie are both points that are relevant to the storytelling. And it is obvious that the 2013 version has done more work than the previous two. Cinematography: Maybe because Kimberly Pierce is a female, or because her version is newer, or simply because they got a better cinematographer/team, the cinematography of the 2013 Carrie is, from my point of view, the best. When you see Carrie floating/flying toward you, that's what I'm talking about. Special effect: Special effect is a technology thing, so I don't think anyone is to blame if something doesn't look real. In fact the special effects, which were used in the prom scene, in 1976 Carrie were already very good if we use a 70's standard. But I have to say the violin (scary) sounds and frame moving part (sorry I don't even know how to describe that "thing") were so annoying in the 1976 version. In terms of the 2013 version, the special effects were well-done; the car crash scene was, to me, delicious
If you are a special effect lover, you will hate the fact that there weren't many killing scenes. For the 2002 version, oh I have to say it was creep, I mean, too bad. So yes, my favourite Carrie (the movie) is the 2013 version. But strangely my favourite Carrie is Angela Bettis, not Chloe Grace Moretz, not Sissy Spacek, even though her acting was almost perfect. It is very interesting that Chloe is the most persuasive actress for this character, because Sissy was 27 in 1976 and Angela Bettis was already 29 while she played the role as a high school student, yet Chloe didn't look like a victim of school bullying (she is now only 16) at all, not because she is not good at acting (see "Let Me In" and "Hugo"), but maybe because she is too strong in terms of personal characteristics. By the way one, she said she never watched the 2 previous versions, so the Carrie in this version was totally her own style. By the way two, beauty does not have any effect on the possibility of being bullied. And Obviously Julienne Moore is the creepiest Margaret ever; there is no doubt about her acting performance. (But I still want to say I actually expect more from Kimberly Pierce.)