Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr, 2001)
The film opens with a gorgeously staged 10-minute long unbroken shot, portraying a young idealistic man composing a dance of the solar system on drunken bar patrons. It's a perfect setup for what very well could have been a masterpiece, but sadly it was not to be.
Viewed as a whole, the film could be understood to be a metaphor for struggle and societal decadence in Soviet-era Hungary, but sadly there's not enough material giving credence to that effect - Tarr would rather have the bulk of his film be about characters walking, greeting each other and having one of the characters do a menial task, until the same sequence of events is repeated in the next scene. Many of these scenes are shot in a very similar structure as well, undermining Tarr's undoubtedly vast talents as a director. The struggle that is manifested by a threatening migrant force takes a backseat to these mundane scenes until a violent confrontation near the end of the film, and it feels unjustifiably dramatic to a near-comedic extent - where was this struggle in the rest of the film? Another reoccurring element of the film is the portrayal of a decaying whale, trapped inside a trailer and parked in town square for attraction. The scenes accompanying this whale are easily the best beside the opening scene.
I can't say I'm a stranger to films grounded in reality, but if Tarr decides to shroud his reality in mundanity, who am I to say that this film is anything but mundane? It isn't ever really boring, because if there's one thing Tarr is really good at, it's moving his camera in such a way that captures the viewer's attention very effectively - but it did leave me wondering why I was watching what I was watching. There is undeniably a lot of underlying beauty in this film, but if Tarr's intention is to keep it buried within, so be it. 7/10
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (J.J. Abrams, 2015)
Good and serviceable action movie that is mostly faithful to Star Wars mythos, but not much else. Abrams continues his trend of reviving beloved sci-fi franchises with bombastic action thrillers, and this time he managed to make something that's neither offensive nor terrible. The good: the action is well directed, the film is never boring and is mostly well paced, and the audiovisual aspects of the Star Wars aesthetics are spot-on. Also, Han Solo was fun to watch as a grumpy old guy and Kylo Ren was easily the most fleshed out character in this whole film.
...And the not-so-good: first of all, this film is all action. It moves too rapidly for its own good. The characters can't have quiet scenes for themselves, to the extent that the characters of Finn and Rey are almost entirely based on comedic reactions they make during the action, and a huge amount of plot points are resolved purely through contrivance just so we could get back to the action faster. A key aspect of a successful action movie is to pace the action with moments of calmness, for both the sake of the audience and the characters. The characters need moments of rest to maintain the illusion of vulnerability and allow them to brace for more challenges, which drives the tension in the action, and the audience needs rest so all the action doesn't blur into a visually exhausting mess. Even Mad Max: Fury Road understood this concept very well, and that film was essentially one long chase scene. It becomes difficult to internalise the struggle the characters go through and what their motivations are when they're given no time for contemplation.
Second of all, this film is too safe. If there's one good thing that can be said about the prequels, it's that Lucas wasn't afraid of expanding the Star Wars universe. This film, on the other hand, is almost entirely about retreading old ground. We're all aware of the "A New Hope remake" meme at this point, but even beside the obvious narrative symmetry, the story introduces very little that sets this film apart and gives it its own identity. It is serviceable in giving instant gratification for the "Star Wars vibe" and reintroducing old and familiar characters, but I have to wonder what kind of lasting legacy this film is going to have. I think this film will be seen as too much of a nostalgic riff on the original trilogy, and I hope they can steer the franchise in a more original direction for Episode VIII.
Leaving this review on a positive note, like I said in the beginning, this is a good film. It's well directed, well acted, mostly well written and overall I enjoyed it. But it's hard to give this film much praise beyond "technically competent". 7/10