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REVIEW: Prisoners [2013]

2013/09/172013/09/18 Jared Mobarak

“Pretty soon all that stands between you and being dead is you” The question is simple: How far would you go to save your child? The dynamics, however, are more complex when the man reconciling his soul to those ends is one who’s held God’s love as a beckon of security close to his heart. Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners opens with Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) saying an “Our Father” as his son Ralph (Dylan Minnette) readies to kill his first deer. The words have a calming effect, one that’s helped this…

REVIEW: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [2011]

2011/12/192014/05/21 Jared Mobarak

“It’s how we’re taught about strangers” If Stieg Larsson had lived long enough to see his The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo become an international sensation worthy of two cinematic adaptations in less than two years, I wonder which he would have approved of more. It’s easy to disregard David Fincher‘s remake as nothing more than an Americanized version of a top-notch mystery thriller already wowing audiences across the globe and much harder to praise it alongside its predecessor. While I’ll admit to finding the telepathic translation device turning everything…

REVIEW: Män som hatar kvinnor [The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo] [2009]

2010/05/202011/08/24 Jared Mobarak

“They always think I’ll show mercy” There is no better director in Hollywood to helm Stieg Larsson’s Män som hatar kvinnor [The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo] than David Fincher. It is the perfect mix of Zodiac’s journalistic detecting and Se7en’s dark, religious-based murders. I can only see one problem—Niels Arden Oplev has already brought an adaptation to screens and it is every bit as good as it can be. Would Fincher bring someone uniquely his own to the project? For sure he would, and I’ll admit that I eagerly…

REVIEW: The Hire [2001-2002]

2010/04/122011/08/24 Jared Mobarak

“BMW recommends that you always wear your seatbelt” After watching the Parallel Lines series, my desire to revisit BMW’s The Hire was too much to contain. This thing was a cultural phenomenon, doing what no one had ever done, with a medium still untested at the time. Back in 2001, households across America were still learning about the internet; installing their dial-up connections to surf for mostly news articles and sites without too many images for quick access. Looking to tap into a market that could target its demographic of…

REVIEW: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button [2008]

2008/12/222011/08/24 Jared Mobarak

“It was nice to have met you” It’s an unlikely source, but an effective one—David Fincher giving us a heartbreaking tale of love discovered, lost, found, and forever enduring. The man responsible for bringing to screen the ultra-sick mind of a serial killer in Seven, the warped sensibilities of Chuck Palahniuk with Fight Club, and the dark streets of a city in fear with Zodiac has crafted a beautifully lyrical film of love and its always-difficult journey. Based on a short story from F. Scott Fitzgerald, screenwriter Eric Roth has…

REVIEW: Zodiac [2007]

2007/03/272011/08/24 Jared Mobarak

“I am not Avery” Two David Fincher films in two years? Is that even possible? With The Curious Case of Benjamin Button finishing filming this year for a 2008 release, we get the director’s sixth film, Zodiac. While we do get some vintage Fincher style throughout the proceedings, this is very different from his other movies. As much a real life story film as one can be, Zodiac goes through the years chronicling the hunt for the serial killer that got away. There isn’t the graphic gore quality we’ve become…

Top 15 Films of 1995

1996/01/032020/03/31 Jared Mobarak

(short and sweet and to the point; culled from watching 40 releases. constantly updated as i catch up to those i missed. click poster for review if applicable) #15: Billy Madison directed by Tamra Davis #14: Get Shorty directed by Barry Sonnenfeld #13: Dead Man directed by Jim Jarmusch #12: La Citè des enfants Perdus[The City of Lost Children] directed byJean-Pierre Jeunet #11: The Usual Suspects directed by Bryan Singer.. #10: Before Sunrise directed by Richard Linklater.. #09: Dead Man Walking directed by Tim Robbins #08: Casino directed by Martin…