The Great Gatsby Review

Is "The Great Gatsby" really that great? Find out with my review.

Whenever I post stuff on Facebook related to the visuals used by Baz Luhrmann in this film, I always say that Great Gatsby is "Stylishly Tragic". And it actually is in more ways than one.

Quick disclaimer here, this is a review for the movie so no discussion about character devs, no nothing about how much assholes and dicks and generally manipulative bastards some of the characters are. If I find the time I could probably do that.

Alright visually speaking Luhrmann manages to take us into an eye-candy of a film. All the party scenes were so nice to look at at the beginning that I was half wishing that would never end. The colors just leap out of the screen especially if you catch the movie in 3D. Everything here was designed to look cool while at the same time stay loyal to the period.

The plot itself is easy to track. If this is going to be your very first introduction to F. Scott Fitzgerald's work then you'll be happy to know that the adaptation is faithful to the source material. So that means that the unfortunate things that happens to the characters still happen.

Leonardo DiCaprio was awesome here. He was great (no pun intended) as Gatsby but I feel like this is NOT the movie that will give him his much-deserved and very elusive Oscar Best Actor award. But the old sport is definitely getting there. 

Tobey Maguire and Joel Edgerton did stunning portrayals of Nick Carraway and Tom Buchanan respectively. In fact there were moments where they even outshined DiCaprio. Oh and if you're wondering if Maguire did that classic face of his, the answer is yes. So is DiCaprio's often meme'd face from Inception. That one's present in the movie as well. 

Carey Mulligan looked beautiful onscreen and in 3D. She just doesn't do justice to the Daisy Buchanan that was running in my head while reading the book. Oh and massive props to Luhrmann for adding in Elizabeth Debicki and Isla Fisher as they were so gorgeous in this flick.

And while we're still in the subject of plot structure and all that, I find "The Great Gatsby" weak when it comes to how it was composed. Just weak, not flimsy. I mean c'mon, half the movie was all about the effects and the exposition and the showcasing of all the cool toys that Luhrmann has in his employ. I was half thinking that he would probably kill to have the same technology when he was doing 'Romeo + Juliet' and 'Moulin Rouge'. Depending on what type of film viewer you are here's the breakdown of what to expect from 'Gatsby':

- First Part boring/ Second half interesting
- First half stunning/ Second half dragging. 

Take your pick. 

The other big thing about "The Great Gatsby" was the soundtrack which I find very, very favorable. Jay-Z's songs make an appearance here including "Empire State of Mind" and "100 Dollar Bills". It's a fresh way of sparking interest in a movie that's based on a pre-Depression novel for the younger generation. My only gripe, they gave so much 'screentime' on Lana Del Rey's "Young and Beautiful". 

One last gripe in this film is that the second half is filled with lazily animated quotes from the book. It's nice to look at but don't you think its a bit lazy to actually put those words down. Plus its double overkill. Maguire was practically reading the dialogue from the book while he's typing away and then we need to see that as well. Surely there could've been other ways to show those scenes. It's like putting in a screen cap of a screen cap. 

Overall, I'm going back to my quote on this film 'Stylishly tragic'. It's a double edged sword. 'The Great Gatsby' is filled with symmetry here and there. Like the character Gatsby, its got so much razzle-dazzle and sparkle and then ends with a really sad note. 

Photos appear courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Verdict: 8/10

"The Great Gatsby" is now showing in your favorite theaters. Special thanks to Warner Bros. Pictures Philippines and the Power Plant Mall. 

You might want to check out my feature on The Great Gatsby OST.

Carey Mulligan Captivates as Daisy in "The Great Gatsby"

She wowed critics and audiences with terrific performances in “An Education,” “Drive,” “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” and “Shame.” Now, Carey Mulligan adds another strong female character in her repertoire as he plays Daisy Buchanan in Warner Bros.' heart-stopping romantic drama, “The Great Gatsby.”

Daisy is the phantasmal object of Jay Gatsby’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) obsessions, ethereal and completely captivating, especially her voice, “the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down as if each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again,” as author F. Scott Fitzgerald describes her in the novel from which the film was based.

Daisy is Gatsby’s “green light,” his “enchanted object” beckoning from across the bay, but forever out of reach, “high in a white palace the king’s daughter, the golden girl…”

Tobey Maguire, An Intriguing Outsider in 'The Great Gatsby'

The pivotal role of Nick Carraway in Baz Luhrmann’s reimagining of “The Great Gatsby” is played by Tobey Maguire, who co-stars with one of his closest friends, Leonardo DiCaprio.

Maguire recalls, “I got a call from Leo and he said, ‘I just talked to Baz and he’s thinking about doing The Great Gatsby ... He was talking about me for Gatsby and you for Nick. He’s in town… What are you up to tonight?’ So, the three of us got together and hung out for a few hours, and then I picked up a copy of The Great Gatsby and read it for the first time.”

Based on the classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Great Gatsby” follows would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz, bootleg kings, and sky-rocketing stocks. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy (Carey Mulligan), and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without of the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.

A Cool Lineup for The Great Gatsby OST featuring Florence + The Machine and Jay-Z

“The Great Gatsby” writer/producer/director Baz Luhrmann and collaborators Shawn “JAY Z” Carter, an executive producer on the film, and Anton Monsted, its executive music supervisor, revealed the lineup for the movie’s soundtrack which encompasses the broad spectrum of musical styles represented in this energetic re-telling of the classic text. The joint announcement was made recently by Warner Bros. Pictures and Universal Music Group’s Interscope Records.

Drawing on his unique and unrivalled position in popular culture, JAY Z (with collaborator and the film’s executive music consultant Jeymes Samuel) has worked with Luhrmann and his team on the project over the past two years, translating the Jazz Age sensibility of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel into the musical equivalents of our own times, through the blending of hip-hop, traditional jazz and other contemporary musical textures.

Luhrmann stated, “F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel is peppered with contemporary music references specific to the story’s setting of 1922. While we acknowledge, as Fitzgerald phrased it, ‘the Jazz Age,’ and this is the period represented on screen, we—our audience—are living in the ‘hip-hop age’ and want our viewers to feel the impact of modern-day music the way Fitzgerald did for the readers of his novel at the time of its publication.”

The Great Gatsby Unreels New Trailer and Main Poster

As the opening of “The Great Gatsby” approaches, Warner Bros.' marketing campaign kicks into high gear with the release of the film's new trailer and main one-sheet art. 

“The Great Gatsby” follows would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz, bootleg kings, and sky-rocketing stocks. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without of the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.

Django Unchained Review PART !

Here's my take on the "Django Unchained" directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Academy Award Winner Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson. The film will be locally distributed by Columbia Pictures Philippines and opens March 13 with an R-16 rating. 

Tarantino releases his 'love letter' for the Spaghetti Western genre in the film and it's an interesting mix of violence and metaphysical discussions of Freedom. There's a lot of great things to love (or like) about Django Unchained from the visuals, to the humor to the action right down to the themes in the film. 

Also before I proceed, I'd just like to point out that I'll keep things simple. Lots of reviews have already been released using high-fallutin' words and I don't want that. I don't want to use a lot of fancy snazzy terms that other reviews used for their review of Django so I'll make it simple. 

Jamie Foxx plays the titular Django Freeman, a former slave who buys his freedom from bounty hunter Dr. King Schulze (Academy Award Winner Christoph Waltz) and later goes on a blood-soaked mission to rescue his wife Broomhilda Von Shaft from rich plantation owner Calvin Candy (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his Uncle Tom archetype butler Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson). The movie is set in the Southern states from Texas all the way to Mississippi and occurs two years before the United States Civil War just so you know.

I love the visuals here in the film. Django Unchained is set in different locales native to the story and to America. There's snowy mountains and rough terrains like badlands and even the basic sleepy town. Since this is a Tarantino film, you can be damned sure that thing the guy who also directed classic films like "Kill Bill" and "Inglorious Basterds" will play with the settings. One great example here is the use classic blood spurt on cotton plants. This of course happens in Big Daddy's plantation (Big Daddy is played by Don Johnson). This is also very symbolic in the sense that this completely ends the days of Django living as a slave. 

Another thing that might appeal to you in Django Unchained is the thematic use of the Germanic myth 'Ring of the Nibelung' to shadow Django's quest to rescue his wife Broomhilda Von Shaft.  I believe the right term to use when a film draws parallels to a myth is called monomyth. That's what Tarantino used in this movie. In the original myth, the epic's hero, Siegfried had to overcome three obstacles before reaching his beloved wife Broomhilda. He had to scale a high mountain (which might be the analogy for Big Daddy), bathe in the blood of a dragon (Calvin Candy) and in the end he had to go through hellfire in order to win back Broomhilda. It's amazing how Tarantino used all three and still manage to develop a pretty good flick. 

The music is pretty awesome here. Of course Tarantino'd be stupid if he didn't call in the superb stylings and scorings of Ennio Morricone. The main title track, Django is a throwback to the classic Western and Spaghetti Westerns that prevailed in the 70s and 80s. Luis Bacalov and Rocky Roberts provides the first track which pretty much got me hooked. Other tracks in the OST that appeared in the film was "Who Did That To You" by John Legend which is a nice mix of modern themes together with classic sensibilities. Awesome shit. 

Thus ends part 1 of my review for Django Unchained. The film is now showing with an R-16 rating from the Philippines' MTRCB. No cuts whatsoever so you should steel yourself for the violence and the racial slurs and Jamie Foxx's junk.

Fashionably Tragic Character Posters for "The Great Gatsby"

Warner Bros. Pictures has released six character posters from Baz Luhrmann's upcoming adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic "The Great Gatsby."

The individual posters feature Leonardo Di Caprio as Jay Gatsby, Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway, Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker, Isla Fisher as Myrtle Wilson, and Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan

NECA to Release Django Unchained Dolls

Here's a quick look at the Django Unchained dolls from NECA featuring titular character Django (Jamie Foxx) and Schultz (Christoph Waltz).

Schultz played by Christoph Waltz, the man who rescues Django from slavery...

Electro err I mean Django with the silent D. 

Stephen is Candy's right hand man. A very vile and sinister old man played by Samuel L. Jackson

Check out the other characters after the cut...

CHARACTER POSTERS FOR DJANGO UNCHAINED

Check out these cool looking character posters for the film "Django Unchained" starring Jamie Foxx, Christophe Watz and Leonardo DiCaprio. The film is directed by Quentin Tarantino.

The character banners of “Django Unchained” has just been officially launched by Columbia Pictures.

DJANGO UNCHAINED TRAILER 2 NOW STREAMING

Due to open in the Philippines early next year, “Django Unchained” is the latest masterwork from Oscar-winning filmmaker Quentin Tarantino and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz and Kerry Washington.

Set in the American South two years before the Civil War, the film revolves around Django (Foxx), a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Waltz). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles – dead or alive.

The Great Gatsby Opens in Manila in May 2013

BURBANK, CA, September 20, 2012 – Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ “The Great Gatsby” will open early in the Summer 2013 season, hitting theaters on May 10 in the U.S. and Canada, with an international rollout beginning the following week (including the Philippines on May 15, 2013).

The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, and Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

Meet the Cast of Quintin Tarantino's Django Unchained

The personal appearance of the cast of Columbia Pictures' new epic adventure “Django Unchained” was one of the major highlights of the “Summer of Sony” event, held recently in Cancun, Mexico.

Gracing the event were Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington and Quentin Tarantino, who wrote and directed the film.

Set in the South two years before the Civil War, “Django Unchained” revolves around Django (Foxx), a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Waltz). Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles – dead or alive.

Success leads Schultz to free Django, though the two men choose not to go their separate ways. Instead, Schultz seeks out the South’s most wanted criminals with Django by his side. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda (Washington), the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago.

Django and Schultz’s search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie (DiCaprio), the proprietor of “Candyland,” an infamous plantation where slaves are groomed by trainer Ace Woody (Kurt Russell) to battle each other for sport. Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen (Samuel L. Jackson), Candie’s trusted house slave. Their moves are marked, and a treacherous organization closes in on them. If Django and Schultz are to escape with Broomhilda, they must choose between independence and solidarity, between sacrifice and survival…

“Django Unchained” is produced by Stacey Sher, Pilar Savone and Reginald Hudlin. The executive producers are Harvey and Bob Weinstein, Michael Shamberg, Shannon McIntosh, and James Skotchdopole.

“Django Unchained” will be released in the U.S. on December 25, 2012 by The Weinstein Company, and in the Philippines in early 2013 by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Visit www.columbiapictures.com.ph to see the latest trailers, get free downloads and play free movie games.

Six New Images from Django Unchained featuring DiCaprio and Foxx

I don't know about you guys but I certainly am hankering for some old school cowboy shoot'em up especially after falling hard for the game "Red Dead Redemption". By the way this film "Django Unchained" is directed by Quintin Tarantino and stars Jamie Foxx.

Here's the official press release from Columbia Pictures:

Titanic 3D Review - A Trip Down Memory Lane

Reviewing "Titanic 3D" from 20th Century Fox starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Also directed by James Cameron.

So its been 15 years ever since the world first got its taste of the magic and the tragedy of the RMS Titanic as done beautifully by director James Cameron. And now with the the centennial of the Titanic tragedy, 20th Century Fox together with Cameron himself is reinventing the classic tale of Jack Dawson and Rose Dewitt Bukater for a new audience by converting the film into full stereoscopic 3D.

Titanic Fun Facts Before Watching Titanic 3D

Here are some cool Titanic fun facts that you should know before seeing the re-released movie on the big screen once more.



"The tragedy of Titanic has assumed an almost mythic quality in our collective imagination," Titanic filmmaker James Cameron says. "But the passage of time has robbed it of its human face and vitality. I hope that Rose and Jack's relationship will be a kind of emotional lightning rod, if you will, allowing viewers to invest their minds and their hearts to make history come alive again."

Traveling on a ship physically designed to prevent them from ever meeting, third-class passenger Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and first-class passenger, Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet), have taken the ultimate risk -- to defy the oppressive social conventions of their time and fall in love.

Titanic 3D Gets a New Release Date in the Philippines

ABOARD WITH THE KING OF THE WORLD AND ROSE IN “TITANIC” 3D

Return to the deep as 20th Century Fox brings back “Titanic” in 3D to the big screen on a global theatrical release on April coinciding with its 100th anniversary since sailing. Opening April 7th in the Phils., the most celebrated film in history is presented to an untapped new generation of audience in 3D format.