Drama | www.jaredmobarak.com

REVIEW: I Fucking Hate You [2008]

2013/06/032013/07/18 Jared Mobarak

“I didn’t hide it very well, did I?” It isn’t easy to let someone go. The pain, guilt, anger, regret, and lingering love mixes together into a pool of emotion you cannot simply move on from without introspection and time. For some a final meeting can go a long way towards tying loose ends and saying a real goodbye far from the open wound of that initial parting of ways containing little but hatred in your heart. It’s hard to remember good times once they’re over because the heartbreak overshadows…

REVIEW: The Iceman [2013]

2013/05/312014/04/10 Jared Mobarak

“I don’t believe in bad luck” Arrested in 1986 after three decades of murdering an estimated one hundred men, it’s hard to believe another thirty years were necessary before the story of serial killer turned hitman Richie Kuklinski reached the big screen. Based on Anthony Bruno‘s book The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer, Ariel Vroman‘s film brings us up close and personal to the family man’s myriad demons. Possessed by a temper so volatile he would send men to hell for simply rubbing him the wrong way,…

REVIEW: Violet & Daisy [2013]

2013/05/302013/07/14 Jared Mobarak

“I never really talked to a job before” Just because you’re an assassin doesn’t mean you can’t still be a girl too. The titular Violet (Alexis Bledel) and Daisy (Saoirse Ronan) don’t let their work get in the way of gossip, pop music, laughter, or dance. Murder is simply a way to pay the rent and retain some semblance of the childhood young women their age should have. They make a great team and provide a service with the same amount of detachment as any other. Each victim is a…

REVIEW: Hannah Arendt [2013]

2013/05/242014/04/10 Jared Mobarak

“Trying to understand is not the same as forgiveness” Author Mary McCarthy (Janet McTeer) describes the titular Hannah Arendt (Barbara Sukowa) best when berating an emotionally blinded detractor vehemently slandering the German-Jewish philosopher in absentia in response to her reporting on the Adolf Eichmann trial in Jerusalem for The New Yorker. McCarthy dresses him down by saying his “being smarter” is easy while her courage is what sets her apart. No truer words are conjured while watching Margarethe von Trotta’s biographical depiction because Arendt’s internal struggle to reconcile feeling and…

REVIEW: Trouble [2013]

2013/05/222013/07/24 Jared Mobarak

“Character separates the certain few from all the rest” I don’t think I have the objectivity necessary to teach because I interpret everything I come into contact with through my own personal visceral and emotional filter. With film I’m all about whether it speaks to me on a deeper level than pure artifice; if it makes me feel something other than appreciation an the artist who created something I have no aspirations of ever trying to create. I saw it in college when a professor would strain himself at the…

REVIEW: Missed Connections [2013]

2013/05/192013/07/17 Jared Mobarak

“When I think about the soft bigotry of low expectations, I think of dating in New York” Sometimes we must look past formulaic cliché and an overreaching desire to transform a less than trustworthy internet dating tool on Craigslist into a phenomenon used with overwhelming success before realizing entertainment can be enjoyed on levels above or below intellectual stimulation. First-time feature director Martin Snyder and co-writer Marnie Hanel may fall victim to glamorizing a gimmick in order to construct the framework underneath their story, but they don’t skimp on catching…

REVIEW: An Oversimplification of Her Beauty [2013]

2013/05/172013/07/17 Jared Mobarak

“You have an extraordinary amount of faith in the fidelity of your expectations” It’s not hard to view an experimental art film as little more than a pretentious, self-indulgent exercise in futility when you aren’t willing to give it a chance. In a world overpopulated by faux-witty banter between uninteresting caricatures of people engaged in clichéd situations, the mere act of taking the time to watch a personal tale about the meaning of love in a universal context is a victory. Whether or not the viewer likes the piece almost…

REVIEW: Tillman [2011]

2013/05/162013/07/18 Jared Mobarak

“Dad, can we talk about Mom?” Some short films suffer due to their brevity and Tillman is one of them. A fifteen-minute piece depicting a sad-sack car dealership owner named Richard Tillman (Wayne Joseph), the film creates a mood very different from what its synopsis hopes to cultivate. Explained as a portrayal of a father-of-three’s seemingly idyllic life soon unraveling into the depressive reality he’s kept hidden beneath the surface, it’s never shown to possess anything other than ambivalence. Richard is obviously unhappy from frame one and our entry into…

REVIEW: The 10 Commandments of Chloe [2012]

2013/05/122013/07/18 Jared Mobarak

“See the transient beauty of the dairy freeze queen” One of the great things about independent cinema is how filmmakers on a small budget can find themselves taking audiences to places studio projects have no interest in visiting. While Nashville, TN isn’t some hole-in-the-wall dump no one knows about—Robert Altman did make a movie there in the 70s and current pop culture seems to enjoy “Nashville” on TV after all—glimpsing the city through soundstages and glamour shots doesn’t equate to the street level personality endearing it to the common man.…

REVIEW: 33 Postcards [2012]

2013/05/112013/07/17 Jared Mobarak

“In China only a parent can give name” A culturally significant film marking the first official cinematic co-production between Australia and China, Pauline Chan‘s 33 Postcards also provides a moving tale about what it means to care for somebody. Selected to partake in the Tribeca Film Institute program as a screenplay in 2009, its future has always been bright from inception straight through its numerous festival screenings these past three years. A promising start for what’s potentially a lucrative financial partnership, Chan’s access to both countries adds a level of…

REVIEW: Pain & Gain [2013]

2013/05/102013/07/17 Jared Mobarak

“I gotta get a pump” I like when actors not only play to their strengths, but also make a concerted effort to do so. Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson saw an opportunity to have fun playing a couple of bumbling amateur criminals—waiving their salaries along with director Michael Bay for backend deals—and had faith audiences would come to see them make light of their physiques and act the fools. Pain & Gain is a perfect venue for their somewhat limited skill sets as its true to life tale of greed…