tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40799862108486286372024-02-07T05:53:55.565-08:00a blog about a lot of thingsSports. Finance. Films. Music. Literature. Travel. Food&Drink.Economics. That's all my interests. I thinkShashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13916141681231149004noreply@blogger.comBlogger189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-27561738264258777042020-06-04T05:58:00.000-07:002020-06-04T05:59:21.617-07:00Best Films of the Decade - 2010s - Third Part11.<b>Get Out (2017)-</b> Directed and written by <i>Jordan Peele.</i><br />
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Horror seems to be an excellent medium to describe racism and it's somewhat amazing how obvious it seems in hindsight. One of the best debuts of a director in recent times, with a script that amps up the tension marvelously and serves up a twist in the tale that was impossible to see coming. Normally horror movies are seen as niche, but this film was popular with the wide audience and also at the award ceremonies further proving everyone was able to be captured by the film's quality. There has been talk of the film fitting into horror-comedy, probably due to Peele's comedy background, but while it is never laughably funny but does serve as a clever satire on the state of racial affairs.<br />
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12.<b>The Death of Stalin (2017)</b>- Directed by <i>Armando Iannuci.</i> Written by <i>Armando Iannuci, David Schneider and Ian Martin.</i><br />
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Few topics are as ripe for satire as the workings of communist governments (provided one can try to overlook the tragedies which litter the histories of the regime), which probably explains why humour is largely seen as dissident in such regimes. An excellently acted feast of absurd scenarios and hilarious schemes and counter schemes, which always has the underlying air of menace and the unease that it might have been a faithful reflection of the times. Like <i>Get Out, </i>this too might be able to fall under the horror-satire category.<br />
<i><br /></i>13<b>.Call Me By Your Name (2017)-</b> Directed by<i> Luca Guadagnino.</i> Written by <i>James Ivory.</i><br />
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<i><br /></i>Every part of this film about nostalgia is artistry. Almost literary in its depiction of romance and with gorgeous settings and performances dripping in sensuality, there hasn't been a coming-of-age story like this in a long time, if ever. The film fluctuates between overstating and exposition to subtlety and introspection but always seems to balance these seemingly contradictory tones through masterful direction. And points to the dad character for being the most understanding parent on screen and giving the speech everyone wishes they'd heard as a teenager.<br />
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14.<b>Drug War (2013)</b>- Directed by <i>Johnnie To</i>. Written by<i> Wai Ka Fai, Yau Nai Hoi, Ryker Chan and Yu Xi.</i><br />
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A lot of personal bias here as I'm a major fan of crime films as well as Hong Kong cinema. But the movie is excellently crafted and paced with the necessary quality in its action scenes but in fact does not have as many set piece scenes of action that perhaps one may expect for this type of film. What really allows the film to shine though is the pacing and direction which ramps up the tension and crafts an intelligent and well structured storyline that serves to keep viewers enthralled. Johnnie To has done this type of film before several times but in this, his first action film shot and set in Mainland China he tweaks his style just enough to deliver an instant classic.<br />
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15.<b>The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)-</b>Directed and written by <i>Wes Anderson</i>.<br />
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A director known for unique designs and colours, coupled with scripts filled with bizarre characters and winding dialogues, finds possibly his perfect combination here. A story within a story filled with a lot of side stories, the eponymous hotel and its staff and surrounding characters seem to be a perfect fit for the highly stylized and joke filled adventure story. Ralph Fiennes and Willem Dafoe especially, but all of the cast as well, have performances that are perfectly placed. The subject history would suggest that a comedy adventure caper wouldn't work for Eastern Europe in the 1930s, which makes it all the more impressive for pulling it off.<br />
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16.<b>The Lobster (2016)</b> - Directed by <i>Yorgos Lanthimos</i>. Written and directed by <i>Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou</i><br />
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<i>Manchester by the Sea </i>was a good film but the fact that it won best original screenplay at the Academy Awards over <i>The Lobster</i> is illogical. <i>The Lobster </i>is easily one of the most unique screenplays by a director who excels in strangeness. Taking the plot points of having to find a partner or be turned into an animal with the focus on similarities as a basis for relationship potential, the film takes a hilarious look at dating and superficiality in the modern world. Modern romance is frequently absurd but it has never looked more apt than searching for superficial connections to avoid becoming a lobster.<br />
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17.<b>Arrival (2016)</b>- Directed by <i>Denis Villeneuve</i> . Written by <i>Eric Heisserer.</i><br />
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A big budget alien movie with zero fight scenes and no major action considerations at all is definitely a rarity but the excitement of the film is in no way impacted by a lack of emotions. Serving to lean in on the topic of communication may not be a sci-fi trope but the film dives deep into what is possible in the sci-fi medium to bring up many philosophical questions and further question the limits of understanding. Excellently lead by Amy Adams (who never seems to have a bad performance in any role) the film is one that should further pull away the idea that sci-fi (and genre cinema) cannot be intelligent and quality film-making.<br />
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18.<b>Burning (2018)</b>- Directed by <i>Lee Chang-Dong</i>. Written by <i>Lee Chang-Dong and Oh Jung-mi</i><br />
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I'm firmly convinced the best thrillers of the millennium have all come out of Korea. With the customary focus on class warfare and revenge, this film is as intense and unforgettable as anything the director has done. Full of twists, it is a film that constantly shifts the idea of what is real and what secrets are held by anyone. Multiple watchings are needed but it still takes a lot of thought into trying to unravel everything. More than the dense script, it's also a film about untangling the complexities of societies and the factors that guide aspects of life and if they can be changed.<br />
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19.<b>Certified Copy (2011</b>)- Directed and written by <i>Abbas Kiarostami.</i><br />
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A minimalist film that seems a throwback to the Italian and French films of the sixties or the romance films of the early 2000s that focus on couples such as <i>In the Mood for Love </i>and <i>Before Sunset </i>, it shows a director who was already an expert putting on an exhibition. With a character focused film, it's key to have excellent acting which was delivered by Juliette Binoche (as expected) and William Shimell (unexpected in his first role). On display is the director's ability to craft scenes poignant with small actions and the reflection of reality in the dialogue which ranges a gamut of emotions.<br />
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20.<b>What We Do in the Shadows (2015)</b>- Directed and written by <i>Jermaine Clement and Taika Waititi.</i><br />
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<i><br /></i>The time was right for a vampire comedy. What made this one so good, other than the blend of the horror and comedy elements (which always work well together since horror that doesn't scare you makes you laugh) was the choice of a mockumentary style. The reality TV style look at vampires complaining about modernity and struggling with computers as well as debating whose turn it is to do chores makes the film one of the most unique takes and most hilarious as well. Extra points for showing vampire timelines from Nosferatu up to<br />
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SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-89749840986532873042019-12-13T06:16:00.000-08:002019-12-13T06:28:33.576-08:00Best Films of the Decade - 2010s - Second Part<br />
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As always, a giant list. The first 10 can be pretty much interchangeable depending on my mood.</div>
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21. <b>John Wick (2014)</b>- Directed by <i>Chad Stalehski</i>. Written by <i>Derek Kolstad.</i><br />
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<i> </i>Keanu Reeves already had experience as the face of an action franchise but it's possible in the future that we remember more for John Wick than as Neo. A film that came out of almost nowhere and managed to simultaneously be a homage and a way forward for action movies. Building off of an extensive source of knowledge of the films of John Woo, Jean Pierre Melville, anime and spaghetti westerns, it's the closest anyone has come to replicating the Gun-Fu Hong Kong classics. The well crafted world of John Wick keeps expanding too, with even more additions to the series in the works. Long may it continue.<br />
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22. <b>Blade Runner 2049 (2017)</b>- Directed by <i>Denis Villeneuve</i>. Written by <i>Michael Green </i>and <i>Hampton Fancher.</i><br />
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<i> </i>A sequel to one of the most beloved and acclaimed sci-film films of all time, more than two decades after the original, was always likely to annoy more people than it enthused. But the sequel manages the perfect balance of paying homage to the original while carving out its own space as well. Building off of the original narrative of complex and puzzling storytelling set inside a visually compelling world, it's entirely possible there might be future stories coming out of the world where replicants exist.</div>
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23. <b>The Handmaiden (2016)</b>- Directed by <i>Park Chan-Wook. </i>Written by <i>Park Chan -</i><br />
<i>Wook </i>and <i>Chung Seo-Kyung. </i><br />
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I'm not sure when the actual Korean film boom started but I first heard about it via <i>Oldboy </i>by the same director, who's continued to produce quality cinema in Korean since then (<i>Stoker </i>was the misstep in Hollywood). With period pieces the focus can go onto the costumes and sets, and while those are understandably excellent, the characters and the plot are the main drivers of this erotic suspense film. Full of manipulative characters and a plot full of twists, the attention is rarely fully drawn away from the storyline despite it being a film full of excellent and breath-taking erotic set pieces.<br />
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24. <b>The Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)</b>- Directed and written by <i>Taika Waititi. </i><br />
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There are very few directors doing regular comedy films of high quality and Waititi might be the best of them all. I first discovered his work with <i>Boy (</i>during a period where New Zealand seemed like an interesting place for migration) and since then he's only gotten better. This film is probably the best example of a comedy-drama in execution. Sam Neill and Julian Dennison are perfect with the odd duo stuck together going through adventures in the gorgeously shot New Zealand landscape (New Zealand as a location remains the star of most movies that are shot there. Even in spectacles such as Lord of the Rings). While these adventures become even more absurd, the chemistry deepens even more. The right touch of pathos is injected but never allowed to linger enough to colour the film into a depressive nature that could easily happen (primary topics are death and foster care, after all). In the end, a perfectly balanced and often hilarious escapade.</div>
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25.<b>Whiplash (2014)</b> -Directed and written by <i>Damien Chazelle. </i><br />
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Very much an actor's film, with amazing performances by J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller. The word most used to describe the film is intense and for a film about an aspiring jazz drummer at a conservatory, it's a measure of that intensity that the closest parallel seemed to be the first half of <i>Full Metal Jacket. </i>While it probably misrepresents the idea that being a successful musician is about practising to exhaustion and eliminating all else, it definitely captures the feel of a world where it can feel like just that</div>
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26<b>.Parasite (2019)</b>- Directed by <i>Bong Joon-Ho</i>. Written by <i>Bong Joon-Ho and Han Jing-Won</i>.<br />
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Might be the best film the director has done, and that's saying something (he's done <i>Memories of a Murder & The Host) </i>. A comedy that has more tragic undertones than many dramas, concerned with the tragedy of the class system and the attempts to transcend one's place in life and the possibility it may all be futile to even attempt this. Song Kang-Ho might be one of the most underappreciated actors in the world together (outside of Korea anyway) and he's perfect again as the slightly bumbling, slightly inspired patriarch who guides his family to and around the giant house (the director built the set himself) where the action takes place. This is one of those films that seems both immediately relevant and yet timeless. It'll stick with you after you're done.</div>
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27.<b> Won't You be My Neighbour (2018)</b>- Directed by <i>Morgan Neville</i>.<br />
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I didn't watch a lot of Mr. Rogers growing up. PBS didn't really come around till I was too old to appreciate the show. This allowed me to discover not just this film but the entire world of Fred Rogers that I knew about only tangentially. Full of archival footage as well as interviews with people close to him, it is one of the most genuinely uplifting things I've seen in a long time, it's really no mystery to understand why the man was beloved and gave hope to so many. Underlying the whole thing is the philosophy of how children should be educated but entertained and although the word iconic tends to be used about anyone of earlier generations, the film really does seem to solidify the importance of one of the most beloved entertainers of a generation.</div>
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28.<b>Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) </b>- Directed by <i>Edgar Wright</i>. Written by <i>Edgar Wright and Michael Bacall. </i><br />
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Directing both <i>Baby Driver </i>and <i>Three Flavours Cornetto </i>trilogy, Edgar Wright would have already been a personal favourite. But adapting one of my favourite comics just added extra points. The film is largely perfectly populated, with Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead perfect as Scott and Ramona. The comic book as a movie often works but the film and the comic often have little in common. In this case, the comic book and the movie work perfectly with all the special effects and dialogue perfectly in sync with how they'd been used in the comic. Capturing all of the high energy, youthful strangeness of Scott Pilgrim isn't easy, but they managed to do it. Extra points for keeping the Toronto location. It's not often I see my hometown in films and not as a stand-in for some other city.</div>
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29. <b>The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)</b> - Directed by <i>Martin Scorsese.</i> Written by <i>Terence Winter</i>.<br />
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While movies about the financial system are usually for a specific audience and can be more technical than fun, the films about the people that work on Wall Street are almost always uproarious celebrations of excess. While the director and the star have said the film doesn't celebrate Jordan Belfort, it certainly doesn't criticize him. What it does do is show the often hilarious lifestyles of some of people in the financial industry at that time, in a world dominated by drugs, sex and the need for more money to fuel the lifestyle. Leonardo DiCaprio's performance is perfect and hits the right notes of intensity bordering on manic with high ambition and arrogance. Although he would eventually win his Oscar, I'd still say this was one missed out on.</div>
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30.<b> Drive (2011)</b>- Directed by <i>Nicolas Winding Refn</i>. Written by <i>Hossein Amini.</i><br />
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If someone told you Daft Punk was involved in creating the film, you'd believe it. With a soundtrack and visuals that seem to be right out of a music video, there's rarely been a film more stylish. The film is pretty dark and filled with graphic violence, with most of the characters unable or unwilling to suppress violent urges and unable to find a way out of the existentialism of their lives. A well-written and well-shot film that manages to find the perfect note for every single scene, capturing the disparate notes of the crime story and the love story and developing them into a consistent symphony.<br />
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SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-11869642002529418452019-12-02T06:33:00.000-08:002019-12-02T06:33:54.040-08:00Best Films of the Decade - 2010s -First part<div>
As always, a giant list. The first 10 can be pretty much interchangeable depending on my mood but the ones below are pretty fixed. Open for debate, of course<br />
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31. <b>Udaan (2010) -</b> Directed by <i>Vikramaditya Motwane</i>. Written by V<i>ikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap. </i><br />
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A debut out of immense quality and a film that sticks with you long after you've seen it. The subject matter of father-son relationships could easily go into the overdone or heavily dramatic in a bad way. While remaining a serious and dramatic film, the control over the storyline without allowing any slippage into melodrama is magnificent. The story is not a new one, with the tale of an over-controlling father and a sensitive child, but the performances and the script make it possible to have a fresh feel.<br />
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32. <b>Nostalgia For the Light (2010)</b>- Directed and written by <i>Patricio Guzman</i>.<br />
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A very poetic film telling a story about the past, both the recent past and the past so historic that it predates all life on the plant. By merging the astrologer's search for the history of the universe with the searching of the Atacama desert by archaeologists, many of them who are in fact searching for an ending to the story of what happened to family members who have disappeared. The military dictatorship of Pinochet is central to the film, which focuses on the past with the intention of using the past to show the path to a better future. By stating this premise, it directly contradicts the national mindset of forgetting the past and establishes the women searching for the true story of what happened as the heroes of the film.</div>
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33. <b>Coco (2017)</b>- Directed by <i>Lee Unkrich. </i>Written by <i>Adrian Molina and Matthew Aldrich</i>.<br />
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Pixar rarely does anything that isn't exceptional and their films are broadly loved. I saw this in a packed theatre on a Friday night in a French town, with classmates from six different countries. And we all loved it. The themes that the film touches upon are universal, while the narrative is an extremely specific and lovingly detailed dive into aspects of Mexican culture. A film about death and being forgotten and the bonds of family linking the past to the present, is not something one would expect to find in a children's movie that'd be categorized primarily as light entertainment. But the film never gets too heavy or too macabre and the excellent soundtrack frequently leaves the viewer moved. I'd guess everyone who watched it considered calling their parents after it was done.<br />
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34. <b>Midnight in Paris (2011</b>)- Directed and Written by <i>Woody Allen. </i><br />
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It's hard to mention a Woody Allen film without getting into a discussion about the director himself. It's understandable and skipping the discussion may not ever be possible. But we may never see another film like this one. One which is so heavily steeped in the past and tradition, full of memories of a bygone era that was bygone long before most people's parents were born and yet manages to capture not only the idea of the time but immerse viewers into it. It's a masterpiece of comic vignettes and while the storyline is never extremely well developed, the characters more than make up for it. Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali especially is a inspired choice.</div>
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35. <b>Inside Job (2010)</b> - Directed by <i>Charles Ferguson</i>. One of the first documentaries I saw about the financial crisis while I was still an undergraduate and a film that became essential to much of my preparation for postgraduate exams in Finance. It isn't easy to make a film on financial systems interesting (although it is usually very entertaining to make films about the individuals who work in finance) and it is also very difficult to explain the myriad influences which lead to the financial crisis of 2008 in a way that can be understood by a broader section of filmgoers. The director with ample help from narrators shines light on the confusing and irresponsible activities by the major players leading up to the crisis and manages to break things down while delivering enough of a moral stance without ever letting things get too preachy.</div>
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36. <b>Attack the Block (2012)</b>- Directed and written by <i>Joe Cornish</i>.<br />
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I'm still not sure if this film is horror or comedy (it's definitely sci-fi) but whoever thought up of furry alien monsters with glow in the dark mouths full of fangs, is a genius. A rare British film in the scifi action domain, with enough British dialogue that one might consider needing subtitles, the character development focusing on a teenage gang forced to defend their block gives enough moments for comedy as well as drama as they do a lot of growing up very quickly. A lot of the quality of this film comes from blending the familiar (we've seen a lot of London in films and a lot of aliens too ) in a setting that they don't usually coexist in. There's been recent talks of a sequel which would be perfect.<br />
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37. <b>13 Assassins (2014)</b> - Directed by <i>Takashi Miike. </i>Written by <i>Daisuke Tengan.</i><br />
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<i> </i>Takashi Miike is probably my favourite director from Japan because I love action films and there's few directors working now who keep doing good action films (hoping John Woo gets back to it soon). Inevitable comparisons to <i>Seven Samurai </i> will arise and for good reason. This film focuses equally on a captivating story as well as excellently crafted and choreographed fight scenes. But to be sure, the long and enthralling final battle scene (it runs about 45 minutes) is the star of the show. Especially because there's unlikely any other director who could imagine it and then pull it off.<br />
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38. <b>Logan (2017) -</b> Directed by <i>James Mangold</i>. Written by <i>James Mangold, Scott Frank and Michael Green.</i><br />
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Wolverine as a character is often interesting and regularly violent but usually goes more towards the cinematic, overdone violence than the gritty, realism type. <i>Logan </i>may be the best X-Men film because it is not at all like any of the others. The character is never usually shown as vulnerable (he has regenerative healing, after all) but by negating this aspect, the film takes on the tone of a film noir or a western. Very much the opposite of the recently popular superhero films, the violence here is more towards <i>Sin City </i> than <i>Avengers</i>, with a lot of time spent on the characters and their emotional journeys. The film is a potential blueprint for the way superhero movies can adapt (in the way <i>Deadpool </i>shows the adaptation to comedy or parody) for a more noir feel, especially without the over reliance on CGI. Might we in future consider this as the start of a film movement akin to revionist Westerns? Unlikely, but perhaps.<br />
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39. <b>Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2013)</b>- Directed by <i>Nuri Bilge Ceylan</i>. Written by<i> Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Ebru Ceylan and Ercan Kesal.</i><br />
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When the film starts with "Once Upon a Time In", it's generally a measure that it'll be an epic story and usually a mark of quality ( Sergio Leone and Quentin Tarantino come to mind). A long story of a murder investigation, it follows the expectation of a crime mystery film but never follows these expectations too closely. The film takes interesting meanders and moves at a rhythm somewhat close to real life, which rarely moves linearly. These departures keep things interesting and also harder to follow. An enjoyable challenge.<br />
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40. <b>The Great Beauty (2013)</b> - Directed by <i>Paolo Sorrentino</i>. Written by<i> Paolo Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello</i>.<br />
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They don't really make films like this anymore. Rome only shows up in movies when foreigners or criminals are present. The lives and loves of the decadent Romans of the Berlusconi era are more rarely found on film. But Rome is still cinematic and Sorrentino gives an expansive and gorgeously shot film full of decadence and the darkness that comes with it. Like Fellini before him, the director pens a tale of spiritual and moral emptiness and the hollowness of trying to fill one's days with anything and everything to pass the time. It was the movie I didn't know I wanted and quotes from it have been peppering the advertising copy of events I've been to in Italy since then.</div>
SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-59428406776499451102019-07-28T01:00:00.000-07:002019-07-28T01:00:37.763-07:00A Land Imagined<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Despite my general appreciation for the cinema of
Asia, Singaporean films are not my area of expertise. In fact, I think I haven’t
seen any at all (at least that I can recall as explicitly Singaporean, though
some Indian crime films have had scenes set there when the gangsters are in
exile and possibly <i>Crazy Rich Asians </i>) before I watched <i>“A Land
Imagined”.</i> This was a film I was inclined to like and have heavy bias
towards because it fit into many categories I appreciate. A film about
immigration embedded into a noir mystery, set in a city I have a lot of
appreciation for, it was always likely I’d enjoy the film. In the end, my bias didn’t
matter because <i>A Land Imagined </i>turned out to be one of the better films I’ve
seen this year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s a film that starts out with a conventional enough
narrative of a detective, world weary and aged, looking for a missing person
and having to go to the seedier parts of the city to get information. The story
could have gone towards a normal neo-noir narrative but chooses not to. In fact,
this isn’t a film that captures you because of the narrative. The storyline is
hard to follow and becomes downright trippy by the end, where it’s less clear
how much is reality and imagination. There’s a reason for this. The characters
spend a lot of time communicating online through the world of online game and
both protagonists (the detective and the missing construction worker) both
suffer from insomnia. So the film captures that feeling that everyone
who’s suffered through a day after not get enough sleep for a while understands
all too well. Reality seems hard to grasp then.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As I’ve said, this isn’t a film for the storyline as
much as it is for the sub-narratives. If ever a film showed the opposite of
another, then this one is the world away from <i>Crazy Rich Asians. </i>Every character
in the film, other than the detective, is an immigrant and much of the film
focuses on the lives of the construction workers who are working on land
reclamation projects. The director chooses to focus on the living conditions
and friendships that spring up across these people, from different backgrounds
and nationalities, brought together by circumstance. And it is in these scenes,
where they discuss home or ambitions, that the movie feels the most poignant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At its core, the film seems to be about loneliness. Yes,
characters meet and talk and are rarely alone but still the film positions them
as outsiders. Certainly, they are excluded from the city they are building and
expanding and even from each other it seems that the attempt to find connection
is never fully realized. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">While the film is far from perfect, there’s definitely
a lot worth watching. And it seems that the future ones from this director may
be even more interesting as this attempt to cover a less seen side of Singapore
could bring further fresh stories if pursued. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-57204449399545242342019-04-07T10:19:00.000-07:002019-04-07T10:19:16.054-07:00Project Gutenberg: A review<br />
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The thing about Hong Kong crime movies that are filled with
action is that I have a hard time being objective about them. Like many people
who are in their thirties now (and even older), I grew up watching a steady
diet of Hong Kong cinema. For much of my childhood I was convinced Hong Kong
was one of the most dangerous places in the world (mostly the fault of Johnnie
To and John Woo’s films). I have never tired of the Hong Kong gangster film,
much as I have never tired of the Western. And the fairly recent resurgence of
quality crime movies coming out of Hong Kong has been something I didn’t even
realized I missed until the revival and so I’m even inclined to let a few bad
movies slide. However, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Project Gutenberg </i>isn’t
one of the movies that needs to get a bye since it’s a thoroughly enjoyable two
hour ride into the world of counterfeit money creation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With a cast frontline of Chow Yun Fat and Aaron Kwok, the
film already comes with classic actors of the golden period of Hong Kong cinema
(at least, that’s what the nineties were for me). The movie is pretty dense
with a lot happening, especially in the second half. As much as it would seem
to be the kind of film that’s focused on the classic era of crime movies, there’s
a lot of the film that takes a new approach, though director and writer Felix
Chong does show off his aptitude for giving us a film that’s got a lot of
twists in it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Chow Yun Fat has been a bit inconsistent in his films in the
recent past but this movie is one of the better ones he’s done in a while. The
entire film is as strongly acted as it is written and the acting may be the
strong point of the film although we should consider it’s the script that sets
up the foundation for the performances by giving a lot to work with. The
storyline itself is set up a lot like a heist film with a lot of attention
being put onto the technical details of money counterfeiting. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The technical details of the first part of the film means this
section of the movie feels a lot slower than the second half which adds details
and changes course several times. It certainly can feel as though a plot driven
crime drama got mashed together with a big budget action movie after the first
hour. However, it just about works because of the excellent acting and because
the script is confusing enough to keep the viewer interested but not so
convoluted to stop you from being able to follow or care.<o:p></o:p></div>
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While the script may slack a bit at times, the action set
pieces that are provided instead more than make up for it especially if you’re
a fan of shootouts and explosions. While the film won’t approach Chong’s
earlier works like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Infernal Affairs </i>(it
does seem like he’s trying to hit this level due to all the plot twists and disguised
intentions) it definitely is a great way to spend a couple hours and it never
fails to be entertaining.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-45393836509459089052019-03-02T04:07:00.002-08:002019-03-02T04:07:59.187-08:00Have a Nice Day (Hao Ji Le): A Review<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some of the best movies are the ones that feel
familiar while telling new stories. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Goodfellas
</i>is thoroughly distinct from any other mafia film but by including familiar
themes about “made men”, it allows us to approach the film from a feeling of
familiarity. Revionist Westerns also set new interpretations of stories within
a familiar setting. And, of course, it’s even possible to take a fairly similar
story and place it within an entirely new landscape (such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Avatar).<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Have
a Nice Day </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">is one of those films that seem as though
you’ve seen it before and also, remains like nothing you’ve ever seen before.
With a storyline that seems to have been heavily influenced by Tarantino (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Reservoir Dogs, </i>in particular) and an
animated style that brings to mind <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Waltz
with Bashir, </i>this is a movie that certainly springs out of familiar territory.
But influences are only tangential, and the final product is wholly original.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It’s a film set in a bleak industrial town, dominated
by construction and factories where the only sparks of light are flashing store
signs and headlights. The characters move into the film with breakneck speed,
all seemingly united by their lack of money or lack of happiness. In summary,
it’s a crime film about a stolen bag of money that keeps changing ownership.
But, it’s not exactly that straightforward of a film. With characters such as a
technology-obsessed hitman who wants to use the money to start a business as an
inventor to a driver who wants to take his girlfriend for plastic surgery in Korea,
it’s as interesting to hear why the characters want the money as much as to see
them try to get it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.bajanreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/haveaniceday_Crop.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="800" height="228" src="https://www.bajanreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/haveaniceday_Crop.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The film also has some pretty unusual departures from
the standard storyline that’d be expected; with a musical piece about going to
Shangri-La stuck into the middle of the film and frequent philosophical
discussions about entrepreneurship and freedom by side-characters who barely enter
the film’s main story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bleak and extremely violent, this world of small-town China
that’s depicted is bleak and seems to be a place that everyone wants to get
away from. In that sense, it’s a bit like the films of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Jia Zhangke </i>but a lot more brutal in its depiction. Needless to
say, I’m surprised it got past the censor board in China but I’m pretty happy
it did as it’s one of the most interesting things I’ve seen in a while.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">To make it even more impressive, director Liu Jiang
did almost the entire film himself over the space of three years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-24081624163109240332017-08-08T08:12:00.000-07:002017-08-08T08:12:01.692-07:00Irrational Market: The problem with valuing the Neymar transfer<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Irrational Market: The problem with valuing the
Neymar transfer<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Note: I am aware that the transfer fee of £200 million was
set by Barcelona as a release clause and so was not determined on the market at
the time by PSG. I am also aware that the value of the release clause was set
in a large part as a fee thought too high to really pay and to prohibit a move
before the end of Neymar’s contract and not solely as Barcelona’s idea of the
worth of Neymar. However, this article will assume largely that the estimation
of £200 million as the value of Neymar’s release clause was chosen as a value
of worth and not with a prohibitive element.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At the time of writing, Brazilian footballer Neymar is the
most expensive footballer in the world following his transfer from FC Barcelona
to Paris Saint Germain for €222 million (£200 million). This fee breaks the
previous record of €105 million (£89.2 million) paid for Paul Pogba by
Manchester United in 2016 and as this new record is more than double the old,
it seems unlikely this record will be broken during this transfer season.
However, this massive increase does raise quite a lot of questions. Is it
likely that in one year the market for players has inflated by more than 100%?
Surely not. Pogba and Neymar are quite different players, after all. But if the
market has not increased massively, then how do we determine how much a player
is worth?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/styles/feed/public/thumbnails/image/2016/10/30/14/paul-pogba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="768" height="300" src="https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/styles/feed/public/thumbnails/image/2016/10/30/14/paul-pogba.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Do we expect Neymar to then be worth his £200 million at
any point as based on his potential?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There has been a deluge of articles denouncing Neymar for
his supposed greed and a trickle of those stating he is better off moving to a
team where he will be a star. I am not particularly interested in Neymar’s
motivations. He may have moved because he prefers the wine of Paris to the sangria
of Barcelona; he may have moved because he prefers Notre Dame to Sagrada
Familia. Also, I do not believe that his transfer is bad for football because
the transfer market does not directly affect the good and bad of football to a
great extent. Not at least without subsequent activity on the pitch. However,
the value of Neymar’s transfer is of interest because it does raise questions
on what factors drove the price to £200 million. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The market for football players is not rational. Players
are not bought solely for what they are worth at the moment but a massive
amount is paid for potential. Neymar is undoubtedly one of the best players in
the world but it is extremely likely that, at 25, there is still potential for
even further growth. Of course, there is no such thing as a guarantee in
investments. Footballers may not live up to potential, as a cursory look at the
timeline of most expensive players will show. However, there are a few common
factors in what may cause a player to be valued at a very high price and
barring a few outliers it is rare that an expensive footballer will not be able
to fall into a small bracket of age and playing position.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Age is one of the primary factors in estimating the worth
of a footballer. Age is intrinsically linked to potential as footballers do not
normally have a long career and their years at the top of the game are
extremely short as well. Few footballers play past the age of 35 and it is a
very small group who continue to play at a high level for an entire season at
this age (Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the exception and not the norm), hence making it
illogical to splurge a large fee on a player at this age. In fact, the most
expensive footballer sold after 30 remains Gabriel Batistuta who was sold to Roma
for £25million in 2001. At the same time, Zinedine Zidane was sold to Real
Madrid for £47 million which would remain the record transfer fee until 2009
when Christiano Ronaldo moved to Real Madrid for £80 million. Both Ronaldo and
Zidane were major stars but Ronaldo was 24 at the time and Zidane, 29. They
were both considered among the top 3 players in the world at the time and had
won the FIFA World player of the Year in the previous year. Zidane’s advanced
age can be explained by the fact that he was a late bloomer and also that he
had an unparalleled track record of success, starring in France’s 1998 World
Cup and 2000 Euro wins. Despite this impressive track record of success, Zidane’s
move was still greeted with scepticism due to his age and was seen in the
context of Real Madrid needing to assemble a squad of superstars to go with their
brand. His tenure at Madrid was extremely successful, as he scored a memorable
volley which won his team the Champions League final but it shows the extent to
which age can be a marker of potential value.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Neymar and Ronaldo have moved for record fees at similar
ages but the Neymar fee far exceeds the one for Ronaldo despite Ronaldo moving
at a younger age. This discrepancy cannot be explained solely by inflation nor
by variation in success. Both Ronaldo at 24 and Neymar currently have won similar
amounts of league and cup trophies in Europe. Neymar has two La Liga titles
with Barcelona and Ronaldo had won three Premier League titles with Manchester
United. They both had won the Champions league once prior to moving. Neymar has
also won the Paulista championship three times with Santos as well as the Copa
Libertadores. It may be possible to make a claim that Neymar’s accomplishments
in Brazil suggest a higher level of accomplishment but it is unlikely this has
factored in to PSG’s thinking. In fact, prior to appearing at Barcelona the
question of Neymar’s adaptability to European football was frequently raised
due to his style of play being sometimes more individualistic than team
inclusive. This question was firmly answered by his success at Barcelona, a
team known for passing and team play.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/e1/44/6d/e1446d8c43cd7ca05715c8cbcf3c3380.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="465" height="400" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/e1/44/6d/e1446d8c43cd7ca05715c8cbcf3c3380.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The reason why Neymar can be valued so much more than
Cristiano Ronaldo is because the limit for Neymar’s potential is viewed as
higher. In 2009, Ronaldo was one of the best players in the world but was not
really expected to develop further. Instead he was seen as at peak level and it
was a question of remaining at this level. Of course, Ronaldo has since
modified his style and gone to further heights with spectacular goal returns
every season. But this was not expected at the time of the transfer and so was
not acknowledged in the price. Ronaldo was bought to continue at a high level. He
had already been the key player at a major European club and this was to be his
role at Madrid also (despite the buying of Kaka and Benzema at the same time,
it was fairly clear that Ronaldo was the star acquisition). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The price for Ronaldo, was then, the price for continuity
and not of potential. Then, we can assume that the price of one of the top forwards
in the world was £80million in 2009. Taking an inflation rate of 14.2% and
assuming we could find an exact equivalent, then that sale now (in 2017) would
be £92 million. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Coincidentally, the inflation rate to 2016 at 11.9% brings
the price to £89.2 million which is exactly the price paid for Paul Pogba.
While these are clearly not the same type of player and Pogba’s price is
assumed to capture the value of his potential (United did not pay this price
for Pogba to continue at the same level he had performed at for Juventus,
especially since Pogba will have more of a main role at United), the market
cannot really have been said to gone too far off track at least up to last year
at first glance. It is hard to find a similar player to price as equivalent to
Pogba as few centre midfielders have been sold at record prices. The nearest
equivalent is Juan Sebastian Veron, sold to Manchester United in 2001 for £28.1
million which would have meant with an inflation rate of 35.6%, then Veron in
2016 would have cost £36.1 million. Though both moved from Serie A in Italy to
United, Veron did not have as much success there as Pogba and was three years
older.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What the slightly off-topic paragraph above would have
shown, is that there are any number of exceptions and extras that come into
calculating the price of a footballer. So, then, can we estimate the value of
potential? We can try.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The closest estimate we can make of what potential would
cost in isolation, if such a thing were possible, would be to find a footballer
who has not yet begun to play. This is impossible. Unless the footballer is
very young, there will be someone who has seen him play at youth levels. Hence,
the closest we can get is if a footballer has been bought before making his
senior debut. Since FIFA restricts buying of minors, we will have to find a
player who moves at age 18 or 16 if moving within the European Union. The
closest we can find is the fact that Real Madrid have bought Vinicius Junior
from Flamengo for £39.6 million. Junior was 16 at the time of the sale in 2017
(he will not move until 2019 when he is 18). This price was agreed on before
Junior had played a single minute of first team football. A forward, he has
scored no senior goals at this time, after 12 appearances. This transfer will
have been valued on the basis of his youth club and national youth appearances.
Let us assume this £39.6 is cost of pure potential for a forward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Another estimate we can make for potential is what would be
the price of the player minus the expected price by inflation. Can we find a
player similar enough to Neymar that we can consider him to be an exact fit,
adjust the price from when he was sold to now for inflation and work out the
gap? I would like to propose Cristiano Ronaldo in 2009 and Gareth Bale’s move
to Real in 2013 can help to estimate. As said earlier, Ronaldo’s £80million
move in 2009 would be expected to cost £92 million now. His move would have
been expected to cost £86 million in 2009. Bale moved for £85.3 million when he was 24. Hence in 2017
this move would have been expected to cost £90 million at an inflation rate of
3.2%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In summary:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Player<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Price
(actual)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Price
adjusted for inflation in 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Gap <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Ronaldo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">80<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">92<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">108<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Bale<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">85.3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">90<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">110<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Neymar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">200<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">200<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 112.7pt;" valign="top" width="188">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Now, things become less clear again. If we assume £39.6
million is the cost of pure potential, then there is still about £70million
left unaccounted for in the Neymar transfer. Of course, this £39.6 million is
for a player who has no track record of success but the track record of success
will have been captured in the actual price as adjusted for inflation. Out of
the £70 million, we must assume that a significant proportion of this is for
the potential of Neymar as based on his success and the expected future level.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> Do we expect Neymar
to then be worth his £200 million transfer as based on his potential? Let us
again oversimplify the point. If Neymar is worth £200 million, even taking into
account potential then do we expect him to develop into a player whose value is
more than double that of any previous player? For this price, this is a
simplistic idea, but is it reasonable to assume Neymar will develop into twice
the player Cristiano Ronaldo was in 2009? This is far too simplistic as in 1997
Ronaldo of Brazil moved to Inter Milan for a then record fee of £19.2 million
which would have been equivalent to £29 million in 2009 at an inflation of 33%.
The market changed drastically over those 22 years and since inflation cannot
explain the massive jump to give us Neymar’s transfer value, the market has
clearly changed again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We can then assume that perhaps the £70 million is the
price of the development of Neymar being seen as a fairly sure investment (as
sure as can really be in football, at least) and the extent of his development.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/gettyimages-52939923.jpg?w=960&strip=all" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="800" height="454" src="https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/gettyimages-52939923.jpg?w=960&strip=all" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In another aside, it has been suggested that the massive
transfer of Neymar may have had a partial non-football reason. Both PSG and
Barcelona are associated with Qatar with Qatar Sports Investments being
outright owners of PSG and contracted in a strategic partnership with Barcelona.
There is little speculation of collusion as Barcelona were not particularly
keen to sell Neymar and have no dependency on QSI to the extent that they must
act against their wishes. But Qatar being associated is relevant, due to the
diplomatic crisis that Qatar faces in being cut off from other Gulf States
diplomatically due to accusations of aiding terrorism amongst other things. Hence,
against this background, Qatar is attempting to signal they have financial
power and are relevant despite attempts to sanction them. The transfer and part
of the £70 million may have a component of signalling in it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i/?img=/media/motion/ESPNi/2017/0804/int_170804_Neymar_Ill_help_PSG_become_the_best_in_the_world/int_170804_Neymar_Ill_help_PSG_become_the_best_in_the_world.jpg&w=738&site=espnfc" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i/?img=/media/motion/ESPNi/2017/0804/int_170804_Neymar_Ill_help_PSG_become_the_best_in_the_world/int_170804_Neymar_Ill_help_PSG_become_the_best_in_the_world.jpg&w=738&site=espnfc" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="738" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As fun as this article was to write, the £200 million was
not signalled only by the market but was the release clause for Neymar as
determined by Barcelona. It was widely seen as prohibitive as it was assumed no
one would pay it. The market is irrational to the point where a prohibitive
clause becomes reality. In this case, the fact that Qatar wanted to signal they
could make the trade no matter what may have been the biggest factor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-80203219333923640942017-08-06T07:24:00.000-07:002017-08-06T07:24:11.154-07:00Pricing Football Transfers: The market is flawed<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pricing
Football Transfers: The market is flawed<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Football transfers have been increasing the maximum asking
price possible for a footballer since the beginning of the professional era in
the early part of the last century. It is not expected that transfer prices
would decrease since due to inflation the price of few things have decreased
from the last century to now. However, football players exist in a market that
has become increasingly flush with money due to revenues from television and
the cost of a football player now is far in excess of what would be expected
under inflation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.danielgeey.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/transfer.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.danielgeey.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/transfer.png" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Football transfer fees are difficult to estimate in terms
of being a good deal because there is little that is sure. Football and form is
fragile and a good player in the past is not guaranteed to be so in the future.
Furthermore, young players frequently fall short of expectations. A football
transfer has to capture the current worth of the player, the worth of the
potential of the player (which is closely linked to age since players tend to
hit peak performance in their 20s) and the demand and supply for the type of
player.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The current worth of the player should be guided by
inflation and the worth of the potential is subject to analysis by experts in
scouting. It is the third point, the demand and supply, where it seems that the
market is not behaving logically. While we cannot expect that footballers will
be sold for lower prices than in the past or even lower prices than expected
due to inflation regularly, it should be expected that some players move at
exactly the price in the past occasionally. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It may not be immediately obvious why this is so. This is
because a footballer is not an exact commodity. A striker is not the same as a
goalkeeper and will not be priced as such. Furthermore, at times there have
been few good forwards and at times (such as now) few good defenders. Hence, it
would be expected that now, defenders cost a lot but with the quality attacking
players available, some should be less expensive than they were in the early
2000s when good attacking players were not as frequently found (though perhaps
the amount of good defenders at the time affected the goalscoring records).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://contexts.org/files/2016/03/Goals-per-Game-across-Euro-Leages.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="686" data-original-width="800" height="547" src="https://contexts.org/files/2016/03/Goals-per-Game-across-Euro-Leages.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A comparison should help with showing the difficulty in finding
logical price points. While midfielders play in a variety of positions and so
pricing can vary, strikers generally can only be one type if bought for a large
sum. Clubs only break the bank for a guaranteed goal scorer when buying a
striker (as useful as poachers, target men and second strikers are, they don’t
really get sold often and in fact are finding opportunities increasingly
limited in the modern game). Hernan Crespo moved to Lazio in 2001 for £25
million at the age of 26; Andriy Schevchenko moved to Chelsea in 2006 for £30.8
million; Gonzalo Higuain moved to Juventus in 2016 for £75.3 million. Both
Higuain and Schevchenko were 29 at the time of their move and all the players
moved from Serie A with Schevchenko being the only player to go abroad. All the
players had years of success in Serie A and Schevchenko had recently won the
Ballon D’or and top scored the Champions League and Serie A. Higuain had also
top scored in Serie A with 36 goals, equalling a record standing since 1930. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In 2016, at an inflation rate of 35.6%, Crespo should have
cost £33.9 and Schevchenko should have cost £36.67 at an inflation rate of
19.1%. Crespo’s move, had it happened in 2006 would have been expected to cost
£28.47 at an inflation rate of 13.9%.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.gazzetta.it/Foto%20Hermes/2004/07-Luglio/23/shevacrespo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.gazzetta.it/Foto%20Hermes/2004/07-Luglio/23/shevacrespo.JPG" data-original-height="542" data-original-width="800" height="270" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In summary:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 127.35pt;" valign="top" width="212">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Player<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 64.1pt;" valign="top" width="107">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Year<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Price
sold(actual £)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Expected
Price (2016, inflation)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Amount
over expected<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 64.1pt;" valign="top" width="107">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 127.35pt;" valign="top" width="212">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Hernan
Crespo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 64.1pt;" valign="top" width="107">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2001<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">25<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">33.9<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">41.4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 127.35pt;" valign="top" width="212">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Andriy
Schevchenko<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 64.1pt;" valign="top" width="107">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2006<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">30.8<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">36.67<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">38.68<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 127.35pt;" valign="top" width="212">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Gonzalo
Higuain<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 64.1pt;" valign="top" width="107">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">2016<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">75.3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">75.3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 86.45pt;" valign="top" width="144">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The value unaccounted for exceeds the expected price for
both Schevchenko and Crespo. Now, it is easy to say that Higuain is not the
same player as the others and so not an exact fit. This can be agreed upon.
However, Higuain is older than Crespo and hence has less potential and has less
pedigree than Schevchenko. The sale of Higuain for a price of £75.3 was greeted
with derision by many fans due to his age and also for the perception that
Higuain does not perform well in important games. The second part of that
statement is debatable but in assuming Higuain to be inferior in terms of like
for like quality, perhaps it makes the estimate more viable. (Fans of the
Premier League can state (with hindsight) that moving from Serie A to England
is no guarantee of goals and they would be right. But no transfer is guaranteed
to score and it seems unlikely that Darren Bent or Robbie Keane who scored
comparable goals in England during the 2005-2006 season would have been better
to spend £30.8 million).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.101greatgoals.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gonzalo-Higuain-may-2016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.101greatgoals.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gonzalo-Higuain-may-2016.jpg" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This comparison shows clearly that transfers are not in
line with inflation, with all other factors being held constant. It also seems
that the market has moved even for adjacent goods. Strikers are judged by goals
and rarely by potential. A goal machine tends to have an eye for goal at a
young age and even if the goal quantity is low, goals per match or per minutes
played will be high. There is no logical reason for strikers to be overvalued
unless they are scarce and with record goal tallies all over European leagues,
this is not the case. But midfielders and forwards (not pure strikers) are
valued on potential and this potential has pulled prices upwards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It is not easy to gauge pure potential. There is no market
for potential, after all. It is not a distinct entity that can be bought and
supplied. The best approximation at the moment is the fact that Real Madrid
have bought Vinicius Junior from Flamengo for £39.6 million. Junior was 16 at
the time of the sale in 2017 (he will not move until 2019) and had not played a
single minute of first team football. He had, however, scored many goals at
Under-17 level for Brazil, with 7 goals during Brazil’s win at the South
American Under-17 championship. This is not a guarantee of quality. Since 1997,
only Edwin Cardona and Milovan Mirosevic, for Colombia and Chile have top
scored this tournament and then gone on to play for the senior team. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media.bongda.com.vn/resize/455x513/files/duong.nguyen/2017/06/16/2-1411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.bongda.com.vn/resize/455x513/files/duong.nguyen/2017/06/16/2-1411.jpg" data-original-height="513" data-original-width="455" height="400" width="353" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Assuming the value of potential to be £39.6 million, it
explains the difference between the prices expected for strikers and the
actual. These strikers would not have been bought for their potential but to
continue to score at the same levels. But, the price of potential seems to be
embedded in the market, even when it isn’t really relevant. After all, if many
sales are for midfielders and forwards who must have the price of potential in
their price except in rare cases, then this price is now a common part of market
price. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Rationally, the price of strikers should be lower than
those of forwards and midfielders. But it is not. Either strikers are being
bought at prices that include potential, when there is no need for this. Or
strikers in the past were severely undervalued, which seems impossible since
lower goal scoring tallies and more defenders of quality being present actually
made it harder to find good strikers and hence they were at a premium.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If we assume £39.6 million is a fair price for potential,
then midfielders and forwards are largely being sold for a fair price taking
into account inflation plus potential. Defenders command a high price due to
scarcity, much as strikers did around the turn of the century. But strikers
should not be extremely expensive and should have seen price deflation. The
fact that all the prices are going up irrationally seems to indicate that the
transfer market is in a bubble.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Reasons for the bubble are unclear. It is likely that
during the off-season transfers are the most common way for clubs to stay in
the news and transfer speculation keeps clubs relevant during social media
during the off season. There is surely more to it than this, as during World
Cup years transfer speculation remains rife though this is perhaps understandable
since for many this is a chance to showcase value. The fact is, on their own,
transfers are important due to their ability to capture headlines and signal to
fans that their club is preparing for the next season. It also shows ambition.
In that sense, the transfer serves not only as a boost for the team but also as
an extravagant way to show the manager is serious. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It is becoming increasingly difficult for clubs to buy for
a small fee, even if it was possible. Arsene Wenger has spoken about the fact
that he would be ridiculed if he bought a player for less than £1million and
tried to insert him in the first team. This is logical. It is not that a player
cannot be good enough to play at the top level for such a price. The market is
not rational and it is possible players are undervalued as well as overvalued.
But if we assume potential to be worth £39.6million and the fans, who may not
be aware of the figure, see a player bought for a small figure they will still
assume there is not any value in this purchase. At the extremes of the market,
it takes a lot of belief that the market is totally irrational or that the
manager can really beat the market to not assume that a player who was sold for
£1million is worth buying. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://i1.wp.com/sportingtribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wenger-spend.jpg?resize=678%2C381&ssl=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="381" data-original-width="678" height="223" src="https://i1.wp.com/sportingtribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/wenger-spend.jpg?resize=678%2C381&ssl=1" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This is reducing the chance of discovering new unknown
players by bigger clubs, though it should not affect the chance of younger
players. But for players who are not in bigger leagues, the chance of moving
may be ever decreasing. This is not a problem by itself as there are many good
players in major leagues to choose from. But it is irrational to close sectors
of the market and focus on overpriced places only.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The fact that prices by position do not fluctuate but
increase means that the market is not behaving logically. Television revenues
may have played its part in funnelling money into the transfer market (though
with declining viewership, the bubble might pop eventually) but it is unlikely
that these revenues alone will keep things going. The market may continue to
increase forever. There is no reason for it not to. Markets may remain
illogical for a long time. However, a logical outcome of an illogical market is
a concentration of wealth. If only rich clubs can afford players, they can
hoard the best players and make it harder or impossible for others to
challenge. We may see superteams be the norm in the future. Is this a good
thing? This is also subjective. But a debate about super-teams or underdogs is
another thing altogether.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-54018177223525085012017-05-28T09:09:00.000-07:002017-05-28T09:09:25.428-07:00Black Butterfly: A Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Black Butterfly, a remake of the 2008 French film, seems to
draw heavily on other films about writers in thriller and horror situations.
Most obvious are the comparisons to <i>Misery
</i>and <i>The Shining, </i>down to the
shared names of the lead characters in those films and in this one. Overall the
movie has much to recommend it, in theory, but little to distinguish it. The
basic concept is fairly similar to <i>Misery,
</i>in that a once-popular writer is held hostage (though not by a fan in this
case).<o:p></o:p></div>
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The hostage taker this time is the drifter, Jack (played by Johnathan
Rhys Meyers) who saves the writer Paul (played by Antonio Banderas) from being
beaten up in a diner. He is later picked up on the side of the road by Paul.
After reading Paul’s latest work, Jack and Paul come to an “agreement” where
Jack helps Paul out of his writer’s block. The film attempts to make points about
storytelling and the craftwork for creating believable works. Unfortunately,
most of the dialogue about storytelling seems to be little more than “write
from experience” with Jack threatening Paul with a knife to make his writing
more realistic.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Write from experience might have been a good idea for the
screenwriters to stick to since the film itself suffers from attempting to take
the viewers on an unnecessarily complex series of twists. The film also suffers
from moments where credibility is stretched. The entire sequence of motion is
set into play by Jack saving Paul from a fight with a truck driver. This fight
was entirely set up by chance and it seems unlikely the final scenes, with all
the implications, would have been set into motion by luck.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Furthermore, in the
sense of menace around the small town, with reports of murders throws the aura
of fear around so much that it seems unlikely anyone would pick up a stranger.
Jack, as played by Rhys Meyers, is unnerving enough from the outset that the
fact that someone would pick him up and offer to house him, even for a day, stretches
belief. With him then in the house, why he lets him stay and doesn’t pick up on
the warning signs of clearly sinister intentions seems even less believable.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With that being said,
both the performances of Banderas and Rhys Meyers are what drive the film which
at times seems to be a double protagonist play in the style of Harold Pinter.
Their engaging performances, more than the writing (which is rare for a
thriller) are what capture the attention and retain it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The problem with the final scene is that it stretches credibility
and insults the intelligence of the viewer. Without this small scene, the film
still has occasional issues but is mostly engaging and definitely entertaining.
The twist before the final twist is not exactly great but it sits well enough.
It is the final twist that pushes the boundaries of belief one step too far.
With this kind of film, there is little new material to work with and it is no
surprise that writers try too hard to make things seem fresh. They did not
succeed in this time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-3965044414175007792017-05-06T03:12:00.004-07:002017-05-06T03:12:47.891-07:00Sleepless: A review<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Sleepless: A Review<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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<a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjEwMDAyOTM4OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMzc4MjMyMDI@._V1_UX182_CR0,0,182,268_AL_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BNjEwMDAyOTM4OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMzc4MjMyMDI@._V1_UX182_CR0,0,182,268_AL_.jpg" width="434" /></a></div>
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*Spoilers*<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Sleepless</i> is by no
means an original film. This is not entirely a problem when watching an action
movie since entertainment value supersedes originality, but with a vast number
of action films being produced, having an original storyline would add points
to a film of this genre. A remake of the French film <i>Sleepless Night </i>, this adds to the feeling that the viewer has seen
it all before. The ability to know what is happening before it happens is not
ideal when the movie needs to really capture the audience’s attention by
building tension.<o:p></o:p></div>
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However, this is not a bad film. While it does possess a
number of clichés and the entire crooked cop storyline can feel a bit rewarmed,
this is a solidly entertaining film. The problem is that for fans of action
films, they’ll have seen better done versions of every set piece. The chase
scenes have all been done before as have the gunfights in parking garages and
fistfights in kitchens. Not every film can show us a unique action sequence
like John Woo but if we have to see things we’ve seen before, it’s reasonable
to expect the standard to match. But, the issue with the film lies really in
execution of the familiar.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The storyline doesn’t help either. There are many attempted
twists to the story but they never really land. From the opening introduction
of Jennifer Bryant who is completely sure that something is rotten at the
police force followed by the immediate confirmation that government issued
ammunition was used at a crime scene to the torture scene that happens in the
middle of a baseball park for little reason other than to show the criminals
they’re dealing with are bad guys, there’s a lot that seems contrived.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Plot holes are an issue as well. The fact that the Novak,
the crime boss who wants the cocaine, meets with the crooked cop who happens to
have picked up the cocaine and works for him but doesn’t mention the fact that
he’s done so then leading Novak to continue to search for it is one of the main
issues. Having every single person in Las Vegas have a gun in their glove
compartment, while convenient for the film, isn’t particularly believable
either. Having Vincent run through the entire film while bleeding profusely
from a stab wound also brings to mind the question of if he should have bled
out by now.<o:p></o:p></div>
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By stating the film
is not a bad film, I mean that someone who is unfamiliar with action films and
tropes will miss the clichés. Action
film fans will have nothing special to speak about after the film is done and
even those who are not fans will have trouble remembering this film in the
future. Its decent entertainment but isn’t at the forefront of the genre. The
issue is not all lack of execution but it seems a lack of ambition. The film is
content to be a standard film of the form but has a talented enough cast and
decent source material to be better than it was.<o:p></o:p></div>
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SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-33843570346445931892017-05-05T06:36:00.002-07:002017-05-05T09:29:39.230-07:00Marvel Netflix Series: The Villains<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Marvel Netflix Series: The Villains<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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<i>Filled with spoilers
below<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Over the past few months I’ve watched <i>Luke Cage, Jessica Jones </i>and <i>Daredevil
</i>in that order, so I’ve watched them all out of order. While this means I
wasn’t really able to appreciate the interlocked nature of the series and
really spot cross-series links when they showed up (a lot of the time) it did
allow me to take each of the series from a stand-alone point (as much as that
is possible when Marvel movies and television series have been around since
forever and I’ve been reading comics pretty much my whole life).<o:p></o:p></div>
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The series are all more distinct than they are similar but
one of the uniting threads is the quality of the villains they face. In <i>Luke Cage</i> this means Cottonmouth (played
by Mahershala Ali, who seems ever present and excellent these days) and Mariah
to a lesser extent although the character of Diamondback doesn’t match up to
those two and seems like a late and not as well thought out entry (for every
season of these shows, I’ve thought at one point or another that 13 episodes
might be too much since the narrative strains somewhere between halfway and
episode 10). Mariah, especially, is interesting in her descent from corrupt
politician who wants the best for her neighbourhood most of all to a more dark
and sinister character. Unfortunately her rise coincides with the killing off of Cottonmouth (by her) which deprives us of one of the smoother but still ruthless villains. Cottonmouth is noteworthy especially for his willingness to be a villain. Unlike Mariah or Fisk in <i>Daredevil </i>he isn't interested in the city and making it better. He wants things better for himself.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In <i>Jessica Jones, </i>Kilgrave remains one of
the most entertaining super powered villains in recent memory because of the
depth in which they try to psychoanalyze him. Sure, mind control is pretty
scary but Kilgrave is a supremely evil character whose warped sense of the
world may be due to the fact that he has no idea how to exist in a world where
he’s never had to hear no. It doesn’t make him any less evil (choosing to do
unethical things is a choice, despite the reasoning) but it does make him much
more relatable. After all, ethics are pretty subjective and he’s never had
parents who told him (or could tell him) what was right or wrong. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Wilson Fisk is undoubtedly the best character of <i>Daredevil’s </i>first season. The second
season of the series is quite good as well but without a strong central
villain, it lacks the focus of the narrative. The return of Stick and Yoshioka
plus the introduction of antiheroes like The Punisher and Elektra are welcome
additions (especially The Punisher) but the episodes in season two featuring
Fisk (rapidly on his way to owning the Kingpin moniker) are the best in the season.
His manipulation of Frank Castle which sends him on the way to the incarnation
of the Punisher is magnificent. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Fisk rules the screen in season one because of the
originality of his character. We’ve seen Kingpin for years in <i>Daredevil </i>comics as well as in <i>Spiderman </i>so getting originality into
this character is a decent achievement. Having the character with a redone
backstory involving killing his father (also, is the entire cast of <i>The Wire </i>hired by Marvel for this
series?) immediately adds credibility to Fisk’s way of seeming like a man who
is childish in his actions. While violent and manipulative in a very adult way,
Fisk’s mannerisms and voice seem like he’s always on the verge of either crying
or screaming. Fisk’s love for Vanessa and his desire to do everything to please
her also has a childlike romanticism to it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Without strong antagonists, series are not set up to
succeed. In the past it was enough to have villains who were caricatures which
would be made up for by the heroes commanding the screen. But as heroes have
become more troubled and complex, the need for complex villains has arisen as well
(it was well overdue). Hopefully the trend of quality villains continues into
future seasons and series as well. <o:p></o:p></div>
SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-30996804979540096212017-02-23T01:12:00.000-08:002017-02-23T01:12:07.733-08:00Oscar Predictions-Film Awards (i)-2017<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Picture</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><b>Most likely winner : </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">La La Land. </i>A heavy favourite and much has been written about the race between <i>La La Land </i>and <i>Moonlight </i>for the best Picture prize as representative of the two types of movies that pick up Oscars. <i>La La Land </i>is a backward looking film in the sense that it draws heavily on the history of film and is influenced by the past. It is a good film and despite having a bit of a backlash recently on its treatment of jazz and its female protagonist, it is a spectacle in every sense of the word.</span><br />
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<b>Backup Pick : </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Moonlight. </i>The best odds on this right now are 9/2 which is enough for second favourite but not really close (<i>La La Land </i>is at 1/9). While <i>La La Land </i>is backward looking and a film about the movies and making movies, <i>Moonlight </i>is a far more unique film. It isn't an original story or even an uncommon one; but it is a rarely portrayed one. Films in African-American communities that have a heavy drug component are common but too often cliche. Coming of age films in African American communities with any gay references are rare. This is a film that transcends stereotypes.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">Most deserving : </span><b style="font-style: italic;">Arrival. </b>A total longshot at 100/1 and definitely underrated. I think it's the best movie of the year and Denis Villeneuve is one of the best directors working today. It's not expected to make a good film out of the intricacies of communication methods but it's been done here. The film is a slow-burn thriller from start to finish and while many other films are good in the list, there's not others as original and entertaining as this.<br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Adapted Screenplay</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>
<b>Most likely winner : </b><i><b>Barry Jenkins & Tarell Alvin McCraney for </b>Moonlight. </i>This is a film that tells a story that is familiar. Drug problems in African American communities, problematic and distant parent figures; these are not new themes and can become dull quite quickly. It is the strength of the script that these familiar themes are never boring or cliched but always portrayed to give the viewer the ability to make their own decisions on what is being shown. It is difficult to show and not impart a skewed view. This takes trust of the viewer and this script trusts the viewer.<br />
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<b>Backup Pick : </b><i><b>Luke Davies for </b>Lion. </i>Second favourite at 8/1 but this one I don't agree with. The film starts strongly and after the frantic opening half it's inevitable that the second part would lag, but I think it drags too much. The closing scenes also seem a bit rushed and perhaps slightly overdone in the attempt to get the viewer to really feel the emotions. Solid enough but the strength of the film is in the acting and not the screenplay.<br />
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<div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><b>Most deserving :</b><i><b>Eric Heisserer for </b>Arrival. </i>The novella is highly scientific with a lot devoted to mathematical methods and Fermant's least time principle. It is a great read but it doesn't set up well for a film because it's very much a stop-and-think kind of book. Hence it's a great achievement not just to adapt the novella but to catch the essence of the novella into the screenplay keeping the nuances of mathematical logic on the storyline but also making a movie that is essentially about linguistics a compelling one.</span><br />
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</div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Original Screenplay</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;"><b>Most likely winner : </b><i><b>Damien Chazelle for </b>La La Land. </i>A front runner but I think the strength of the film lies in the acting (mostly by Emma Stone) and the music (composed by Justin Hurwitz, lyrics by Pasek and Paul). This means that the script's storyline, with its flaws about the saving of jazz (though there is a discussion about jazz evolving, so it's not as ignored as many articles make it out to be) and the female lead having a mostly passive role (when she was clearly the best person in the film) fall on Chazelle. The film is strong and the script is not a bad one, but it has more flaws in it than others nominated (such as <i>The Lobster, Hell or High Water </i>and <i>Manchester by the Sea).</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><b>Backup Pick : </b><i><b>Kenneth Lonergan for </b>Manchester by the Sea. </i>The strength of the film is in the acting and the strong emotional performances shown by the actors. But an actor can only flesh out a performance so far without a quality script. Everything in this script set the actors up with what they needed for a captivating performance. In this sense it is the type of screenplay that becomes a foundation for the film rather than the driver, and it is a strong foundation indeed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;"><b>Most deserving: </b><i><b>Yorgos Lanthimos and Efthimis Filippou </b>for The Lobster. </i>As far as original goes this is one of the most original screenplays of all time. A wholly bizarre black comedy that seems more like a Theatre of Absurd play than a 21st centre movie. Mostly straight-faced satire on the silly obsessions modern society has with modern relationships of the "you complete me" kind. The best movie about relationships in a long time is a dystopian one where single people get turned into animals if single too long. This is as original as it gets.</span><br />
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SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-7867319740227166612017-02-17T00:30:00.000-08:002017-02-17T00:31:05.008-08:00Oscar Predictions -2017-Acting Awards<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;">
Oscar Predictions -2017-Acting Awards</h3>
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<b>Most Likely Winner: Casey Affleck </b>as Lee Chandler in <i>Manchester by the Sea. </i>This award is not as much of a lock as it once seemed to be. Affleck's allegations of sexual harassment are getting more play in the media which could hurt his chances. And also, no award is sure when Denzel Washington is in the race. This takes nothing away from Affleck's performance in the film which is nothing short of exemplary. He's managed to portray a wide range of emotions in this very emotional film and hits all the right notes. Moving between immature to world-weary as the film moves, it manages to be one of the strongest portrayals of a emotionally suffering character in recent memory.<br />
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<b>Backup Pick: Denzel Washington </b>as Troy Maxson in <i>Fences. </i>Denzel's win in the SAG awards is what has been widely credited as turning this Oscar into a two horse race (which it definitely wasn't last year after <i>The Revenant</i>).<i> </i>Unlike recent years where the actors go through harsh conditions or drastic physical changes to get the award, here it's only the power of the acting itself that drives. This is a flashy and powerful part, which definitely shows its origins in the theatre. Troy Maxson is the most important person in his life and every single scene is about him, no matter how many other characters are in the room. It's that strong of a performance.</div>
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<b>Most Deserving (My Pick): </b><b style="font-size: 13.2px;"> Denzel Washington </b><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">as Troy Maxson in</span><span style="font-size: 13.2px;"> </span><i style="font-size: 13.2px;">Fences. </i><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">Paradoxically I want Denzel to win because <i>Fences </i>was not an excellent film. <i>Manchester by the </i>Sea and <i>Hacksaw Ridge </i>are still good films which are buoyed by good acting. <i>La La Land </i>is good despite Ryan Gosling not because of him. Even Viggo Mortensen doesn't drive <i>Captain Fantastic </i>as much as Denzel (and Viola Davis) do to <i>Fences. </i>Without the acting this isn't even watchable. </span></div>
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<b>Most Likely Winner: Emma Stone </b>as Mia Dolan in <i>La La Land. La La Land </i>might sweep the Oscars and if so owes a large debt to Emma Stone who is magnificent in it. To say it was a natural fit is overused but totally accurate as Stone does everything in this musical like if she's been preparing for this part all along. Despite being given very limited space to work with by the writers, Stone lights up every scene and her performance was reason enough to see the movie. </div>
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<b>Backup Pick: Natalie Portman </b>as Jackie Kennedy in <i>Jackie. </i>The academy loves Natalie Portman (though not as much as they love Meryl Streep who got a clear courtesy nomination) and they definitely love films about real historic characters. This sets up Portman as a strong second in the race. Just because it's the kind of film the Oscars like doesn't make it undeserving however. Portman hits all the notes to show the rawness of grief following her husband's death. It's fair to say that her performance was expected to be good by her past record but the quality on display makes it possible to put this as her best performance yet.</div>
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<b>Most Deserving (My Pick) : Isabelle Huppert </b>as Michele Leblanc in <i>Elle. </i>Huppert has been one of my favourite actresses since I saw <i>The Piano Teacher. </i>I can't remember seeing her in a bad film and this is no exception. I'm not one to overuse the word empowering (or care to use it in discussion of film merit) but there's no getting around it this time. Huppert's performance turns a cliche film trope of rape into a complex portrayal of a response (perhaps not everyone may see the film as empowering). It's one of the most original takes on a rape-revenge film just for the lightness of portrayal in what is usually a heavy handed genre. Without Huppert's self-assured performance it could have easily fallen flat.<br />
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<b>Most Likely Winner: </b><b style="font-size: 13.2px;">Mahershala Ali as </b><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">Juan in </span><i style="font-size: 13.2px;">Moonlight. </i><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">One of the best movies of the year (I'd really say only <i>Arrival </i>or <i>The Salesman </i>are better) is made better by Ali's performance. The entire movie shrugs off stereotypes about the black experience in America, shown in this portrayal by Ali as sympathetic drug dealer, Juan. It's not exactly uncommon to have drug dealers shown to be complex humans but usually it's within the context of the crime trade (where they're shown to be honorable or motivated by past tragedy). Juan becomes a role model and a makeshift father, putting the criminal aspect of his character firmly in the background (though not dispensing with it entirely, giving more opportunity for Ali to display his ability to convey guilt and emotion).</span><br />
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<b>Backup Pick: Dev Patel as </b>Saroo Brierley in <i>Lion. </i>The win at the BAFTA has put Patel as second favourite, going ahead of Bridges. I have to say I didn't care for this film a lot and it's really only watchable because the acting is very good (much like <i>Fences). </i>The film is filled with cliches and the storyline seems to do its best to be emotionally manipulative. It is not the film you'd expect good acting because it seems to call for overdone. This is where Patel shows his quality. Everything seems to suggest making the role over the top, so his nuanced and measured approach into showing the character becoming more consumed by his obsession with discovering his own past makes the character really come alive.<br />
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<b>Most Deserving (My Pick) : Jeff Bridges as </b>Marcus Hamilton in <i>Hell or High Water. </i>I really like Westerns and crime films and although Jeff Bridges has been playing the same gruff and grizzled characters of rural America for what seems like at least a decade, I'm never tired of them. His Texas Ranger is great, spending most of the film figuring out criminal behaviors while piling good-natured insults at his religious, Native American-Mexican partner. Definitely the most entertaining character in the film and in the climatic scenes, the most determined as well. I want him to win but not so much that I'll be annoyed if Ali picks up the award.<br />
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<b>Most Likely Winner: Viola Davis </b>as Rose Maxon in <i>Fences. </i>There's a bit of boring controversy by the fussy about whether this role was actually one which fell under Best Actress criteria instead of Best Supporting (basically the opposite of when Kate Winslet won Best Actress for <i>The Reader </i>even though most felt it was a supporting role). I'd say it definitely is supporting even though she's the main actress just because of how much Denzel dominates the film. But her supporting role is one which really grounds the film and she plays a perfect foil to the main character, being the voice of reason at times but regularly going up against her husband. At 1/50 to win, this one is almost a sure thing.<br />
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<b>Backup Pick: Michelle Williams </b>as Randi in <i>Manchester by the Sea. </i>Probably very unlikely to win which is unfortunate as she's very good in this film. However she's a bit underused and on the bench a lot, even when she's on the screen since the focus is very much on her ex-husband in the film. In that case she can be said to be a supporting character but the her portrayal is solid enough that you want to see more of her and hear her story as well. It is another good role for Williams who is quite good at delivering emotional performances but it seems unlikely to be enough for the Oscar.<br />
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<b>Most Deserving (My Pick) :</b><b style="font-size: 13.2px;">Viola Davis </b><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">as Rose Maxon in </span><i style="font-size: 13.2px;">Fences.</i><b style="font-size: 13.2px;"> </b><span style="font-size: 13.2px;">By the end of the film it's her character who can be said to have made the most changes and moved her state from exceptional weariness to be able to show and express the strength she has inside. It's a great portrayal of immense endurance and just like with Denzel's performance, the movie wouldn't be able to stand without the strength of the acting. Also, I think Viola Davis is one of the best actresses currently working and criminally underrated.</span></div>
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SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-31709887403426187712017-01-22T02:08:00.000-08:002017-01-22T02:08:00.806-08:00La La Land: A review<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="FR-CA">La La Land: A review<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i>La La Land </i>has
recently won 7 awards at the Golden Globes, breaking the record for most wins
by a film in a single ceremony. The diversity of the awards it has won at the
Globes (if you take awards seriously, which can be a bit of a personal choice) suggests
its strong on a number of fronts. By winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best
Screenplay as well as both lead awards for acting and the awards for score and
song, it is reasonable to assume there’s quality in every aspect of the film.
And this would be correct.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s Damien Chazelle’s
third film and once again has jazz as one of its central themes. I would love
to say that music is the driving force behind this film but because the script
and acting is so strong, it’s hard to really make that case. But make no
mistake, the songs (it is a musical, after all) and the score play a tremendous
part in setting up the world of the film. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The film is a musical romantic comedy and it’s extremely
rare in the sense that it’s a quality film that can still be tagged as a
romantic comedy. But despite the musical numbers and the sun drenched, colour
saturated palate of the film, it isn’t at all about the sunny fantasy world of
showbiz. The script takes on the gritty reality of the world of artists and the
struggles with authenticity in such a career. Since the film is a romantic one,
the centre of the film is about the effects of an artistic career on the protagonists.
This is a well-trodden theme of films and literature (even Chazelle’s last
film, <i>Whiplash, </i>has the protagonist choose
between a relationship or focusing on his music) and so has the potential to
feel stale. But it isn’t at all because we’re heavily invested in these
characters.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And the reason we care about the characters is because of
the quality of acting. Emma Stone is excellent in this film. She’s generally
been in quite good films but this time it’s a strong lead performance and not a
supporting one. I don’t remember her being in films that required a lot of
choreography, so it’s definitely great to see how much she gets into the dance
moves needed for this film. Gosling is also quite good in the film, especially
on the emotional scenes although you can usually see him focusing on the
coordination for the choreography more than getting into it. But it’s a minor
point.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The strength of the film from a thematic point is how much
it manages to balance drama and comedy. There’s been more serious and
challenging films this year (<i>Moonlight,
Elle) </i>and also more fun ones (<i>Deadpool,
Sing Street) </i>but nothing else really comes close to this film for giving
you the mix of an old-style Hollywood full of singing and dancing like you’d
expect Fred Astaire in mixed with the kind of realism you’d expect from serious
studies of relationships (Asghar Farhadi and Michael Haneke’s films come to
mind). <o:p></o:p></div>
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The movie is a joy to watch from the opening scene (easily
the best opening scene <i>Inglorious
Basterds </i>or <i>Antichrist) </i>to the
closing one (also a great musical number)<i>.
</i>You can pick any reason to watch it from the script to the acting to music
and you’d be justified in doing so. While, I’m slightly tired of the white
saviour narrative in films and especially tired of “jazz is dead. Can we save
jazz?” refrain, it doesn’t hamper the film at all or take away enjoyment. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Easily one of the best movies of the year. Possibly only
bettered by <i>Elle or Zootopia. </i>An
excellent take on relationships and struggling for art with both enough pathos
and verve to make the movie live long in the memory. <o:p></o:p></div>
SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-63757153082280797522017-01-10T14:14:00.000-08:002017-01-10T14:14:00.765-08:00Nocturnal Animals: A Review<div class="MsoNormal">
Nocturnal Animals- A review<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tom Ford hasn’t done a lot of films. This is only his second
and it comes a full 7 years after the excellent debut of <i>A Single Man</i>. Without a history of comparable films and the fact
that the director is a famous fashion designer, you’d expect the film to be
visually stunning. And it certainly is. But it’s by no means the most striking
aspects of the film. The film is excellently scripted (based on Austin Wright’s
novel <i>Tony and Susan) </i>and weaves a
story within a story. The fictional story is strongly linked to the main story
despite being set in two completely different worlds. The main story is set in
the world of high art and the society around it. With beautiful sets and fancy
costumes, it looks like a photoshoot for a fashion magazine at times. Ford
belongs to this world in reality, of course and he seems to be able to make fun
of it. All the characters are unhappy but extremely motivated to seem
successful. This story is supplemented
(or perhaps overtaken) by a secondary story set in rural Texas about a murder
and revenge. The Texas story is introduced into the main in the form of a novel
manuscript given to the main character, Susan by her ex-husband who has
dedicated it to her. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The film presents us with far from a romantic vision of the
world. The sub-story is violent and tense yet manages to never become wholly
hopeless or bleak. In terms of setting up tension and thrill, the first scene
of the secondary story does this better than any film in recent memory
(probably since <i>No Country for Old Men). </i>The
film is not romantic but romanticism is a main theme of the film, as it is
regularly referenced as a foil to the striving ambition of the main characters.
This isn’t a particularly new topic and hence it could have been easy to fall
into cliché but while the takes on the struggle between artist versus careerist
aren’t new they’re also not boring or rehashed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The script is excellent but so are the performances. Jake
Gyllenhaal is excellent in a dual role (he doesn’t really seem to be in much
bad films). Amy Adams and Michael Shannon (also extremely reliable indicators
of the fact that a film will be good if they’re in it) are also quite good with
Shannon especially being memorable as a Texas policeman with strong views on
meting out justice. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Guilt and revenge are also main themes in the film. More
explicitly in the secondary story but also present in the main as the
manuscript itself can be thought of as a type of revenge act. Proving that you
can be successful to people who doubted you is a common story in everything
from rap music to classic literature but there’s a lot in this film that
reminds the viewer of <i>The Great Gatsby </i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>A Single Man</i> could
have been dismissed as a one-off success if one is particularly cynical but <i>Nocturnal Animals </i>is also an excellent
film. It’d be hard to deny that Ford is a filmmaker of real quality and capable
of being as important in the film world as he is in fashion.<o:p></o:p></div>
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SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-60643695823404346982016-12-17T05:51:00.000-08:002016-12-17T05:51:08.811-08:00Sing Street: A Review<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Sing Street: A Review<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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It’s hard to resist comparisons to <i>Once </i>with John Carney’s new film. They’re both set in Dublin and
have romance and creating music as central themes. But really that’s where the
similarities stop. <i>Once </i>is a film with
a limited focus telling a story of two people over a few days. It’s an
excellent film because of this limited scope which is then aided by the low
budget, home style camera work. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Sing Street </i>is
much broader in focus. The central story is pretty simple: boy creates band to
impress a girl. But there’s a lot more going on in this film. Set against a
backdrop of his parent’s crumbling marriage the film also touches on sibling
comradery, difficulty with changing schools, the transformative power of music
and the limits of possibility in a small city. The film itself is halfway
between a gritty kitchen-sink drama and a fantasy story where dreams come true.
It doesn’t sound like there should even be a possible middle ground between
those realms that should work but it does. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The film’s major false step is when the band tries to
recruit the one black student at the school. I understand the 80s were a time
when racial stereotyping was more blatant and that the film is trying to make a
point about comedy of idiocy. But it doesn’t really work at all and it’s a
false note in the rhythm. But it’s not a major drawback.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’d be perfectly happy for John Carney to keep making films about
people making music together. It’s pretty much his niche and no one else can do
films like this. They just don’t have his vision to craft this musical word combined
with a romantic backdrop steeped in reality.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Romantic is probably the best adjective for the story, as
much as musical is for the whole film (musical probably fits the story as
well). Is there anything really more universally relatable than a high school
story about young love? I’d be inclined to think there isn’t. While it isn’t that
setting that drives the likeability of the film, it’s definitely a huge helper.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Soundtracks are what drive this film (as with all the films
from John Carney). The music is excellent, both the original songs and the
popular records of the time (the film is set in 1985). By using everything from
Duran Duran to Hall and Oates, it throws the viewer straight back into the era
and gives them new stuff to have stuck in their heads afterwards. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Possibly one of the best high school films of recent times.
Definitely one of the best films about music of the century. Undisputedly one
of the films of the year. <o:p></o:p></div>
SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-119326968030591922016-12-10T04:42:00.000-08:002016-12-17T05:51:36.470-08:00Sausage Party: A Review<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Sausage Party: A Review<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have now collaborated on <i>Superbad, Pineapple Express </i>and<i> This is the End</i>. Every single one of
these films can be a strong contender for one of the best films of the year
they were released in and <i>Sausage Party </i>keeps
this tradition going (only <i>The Interview,
</i>while still decent, doesn’t hit the high level of the other films they’ve
written). At some point if this output and quality continues, critics are going
to mark this duo as a new wave of comedy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Comedy films are underrated to the point where it’s become a
stereotype of awards ceremonies that the comedy role won’t win any awards. In <i>Sausage Party </i>(and <i>Neighbours 2: Sorority Rising, </i>the other film the duo wrote this
year) there’s been a secondary theme of addressing more serious issues. This
can have the potential to derail all the fun of the film, as in <i>Sausage Party, </i>the serious theme being
addressed is religion but the writers never allow the film to get away from the
overall feel of intense silliness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Extremely silly humour
is central to this film which is full of food puns and stereotypes ( a
character that’s a bagel has a Woody Allen accent and is constantly sparring
with a lavash). It’s the ridiculousness of it all and the fact that no group
gets spared that really allows all the stereotypes to be used without all
feeling of meanness. It doesn’t really ever seem like the film is making fun of
ethnicities more than they actors think accents are a great source of humour
(which they are). <o:p></o:p></div>
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The storyline is decently thought out and at times thought
provoking. Touching mainly on the existence of god but also dropping points on
blind faith and senseless cultural animosity, it’s not revolutionary themes
being explored. And expecting a brilliant solution to be thrown up at the end
of an animated film about food would be too much. So while the best comedic
orgy scene since <i>Team America </i>might
not exactly be the best ending in carrying the storyline to an end, it’s still
a great end. Because the storyline, as good as it is, is definitely playing in
the background in terms of importance to the quality of the film. It’s all
about the gags.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A lot of the film reminds one of teenage humour when swear
words were used as punctuation and every single thing had a reference to sex or
genitals. It’s probably a film that catches the vulgarity of 14 year old jokes
better than any other. The thing with clever comedy films is that actual out-loud
laughter is rare. Stupidly vulgar films, however, bring out all the belly
laughs and I’m definitely in favour of the latter sometimes.<o:p></o:p></div>
SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-14086363116837750822016-10-13T07:51:00.002-07:002016-10-13T07:52:20.487-07:00Jungle Book: A review<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Jungle Book: A review</u></div>
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Many children count The Jungle Book as a childhood favourite,
myself included. So my expectations for this film were perhaps unrealistically
high, especially as the 1967 film was also one of my favourite films (we had
the VHS copy). It’s perhaps impossible to expect any film to hold up against
such idealistic standards of nostalgia and <i>The
Jungle Book </i>indeed does not match my nostalgic aspirations. It far surpasses
them. This is not a film that is grounded in the past and limited by its source
material. The movie is instead revelatory in every sense. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The movie is revelatory while being faithful to both Kipling’s
original and to a lesser extent, the 1967 film. There is definitely a slight feeling
of classic spirit about the film which is inevitable in a story which we all
know. One of the most striking themes about the film, which I never really got
in the original film, was of how much Mowgli is stuck between two worlds. It’s
pretty much the central theme of the book and the film stays true to the time,
continually reminding us that Mowgli is in a unique place. We worry for the
character and his future. That we would do so knowing the story beforehand is
an achievement of storytelling.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is a film with clear themes even if Mowgli’s place in
the world being unclear is the central theme. Friendship, law of the jungle and
the presence of evil are main subjects of the book and the film as well. In
Shere Khan, brilliantly voiced by Idris Elba (the entire film is voiced by a
superstar cast whose every performance is on target, which must surely be a
first) we have one of the best villains of the year. And we also have the only
character who suggests that the presence of man in the jungle is a bad thing. This
is crucial to the book and makes it easier to empathize with Shere Khan, which
I always think is critical in making a villain real and not a stereotype. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The characters are all very strong with Christopher Walken’s
King Louie and Bill Murray’s Baloo being especially notable. King Louie sitting
on his throne brings to mind classic scenes not of the 1967 film but of Brando
in <i>Apocalypse Now. </i>No one but Walken
could perform as a giant CGI ape and somehow have a performance that you’d say
is keeping in character with what you’d expect from the actor. Murray’s Baloo
is filled with the comedic excellence you’d expect from the actor and it serves
to add further emphasis to the serious parts. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The most striking part of the film is the technical and
visual aspects. Almost all of the film’s landscapes are made with CGI. It’s
possibly the most comprehensive and best use of CGI since <i>Avatar. </i>I’m usually indifferent towards CGI and 3D, especially as
it seems more common that films in 3D only are shot in this format as a gimmick
to draw crowds. <i>Jungle Book </i>is one of
those rare films that is improved by being shot in 3D, like <i>Hugo </i>or <i>Gravity. </i>The filmmakers never overpower us with the sense of
creation but in the end they’ve managed to create an entire world for this movie.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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This may not be particularly child-oriented in the sense that
the film can be a bit scary at times (I’m pretty sure I’d have gotten
nightmares if I’d seen this when I was 6). But it’s certainly innovative and
enjoyable and certainly one of the best movies of the year. Despite take a
hundred year old story and mixing in the elements of a beloved film almost 50
years old, something wholly unexpected was achieved. A totally unique film experience. <o:p></o:p></div>
SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-91510946080223311342016-09-16T06:06:00.000-07:002016-09-16T06:06:05.017-07:00Café Society: A Review<div class="MsoNormal">
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With Woody Allen films, at least in recent times, the viewer
either gets a movie that’s instantly forgettable (<i>Magic in the Moonlight, Irrational Man) </i>or instant classics (<i>Midnight in Paris, Blue Jasmine). Café Society
</i>breaks the trend by falling between these two categories by being neither a
classic nor unmemorable. Drenched in nostalgia like many of Allen’s best films
the movie never really seems to come off as a film instead of incredibly well-crafted
idea and so at times it’s possible to lose interest. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The movie is theoretically about emotion and passionate love
but surprisingly (considering the director) never really manages to find the
right chord that makes it seem like this passion is felt. Jesse Eisenberg is
the latest actor who seems to be playing the onscreen role of a young Woody
Allen and easily nails the role. His scene with the prostitute may be the best
Woody Allen scene not actually starring the man himself. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The film is separated into two main arcs -Eisenberg’s Bobby
moving to Los Angeles and his attempts to make it out there while falling for
his uncle’s secretary Vonnie( played by Kirsten Stewart in an excellent
performance) and his return to New York to run a nightclub with his mobster
brother. The first half of the film is the better with the structure of Bobby
and Vonnie’s relationship and the barriers to it more believable. The second half
seems somewhat rushed and while some of the vignettes are entertaining
(especially those featuring his brother, Ben) they don’t seem to merge
seamlessly enough to stop the story from jarring. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In terms of the technical aspects, this is Allen’s first
film with acclaimed cinematographer Vittorio Storaro (<i>The Last Emperor, Apocalypse Now) </i>and also his first film in
digital. The result is a beautifully shot film which definitely brings the
viewer into the Golden Age of 1930s Hollywood. The scenes in the nightclub
especially are representative of the excellent visuals of the film. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Café Society </i>is
not one of Allen’s best films but it is his best film since <i>Blue Jasmine </i>three years ago. In
sentiment and style it is closer to 2011’s <i>Midnight
in Paris </i>(though my bias will always lean towards a Parisian setting even
on scripts of equal measure, which this script is not) but with repeated
emphasis on older Allen works set in New York. The total movie feels as though
Allen was happy self-referencing rather than challenging himself and while that
isn’t a bad thing when the body of work that’s being referenced is of such
quality, the film never really speaks to the heart. And that’s a problem when you’re
watching a love story. <o:p></o:p></div>
SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-54128939925629338772016-09-09T03:35:00.000-07:002016-09-09T03:35:14.361-07:00Selection Day: A Review<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Selection Day: A
Review<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com/panmacmillancorporatesite/media/panmacmillan/Cover%20Images/Aravind-Adiga/9781509806232Selection%20Day.jpg?ext=jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://www.panmacmillan.com/panmacmillancorporatesite/media/panmacmillan/Cover%20Images/Aravind-Adiga/9781509806232Selection%20Day.jpg?ext=jpg" width="271" /></a></div>
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Aravind Adiga has a reputation as a chronicler of the
ambition of the Indian masses to bridge the gap of inequality. In this, his
third novel, the scope is once again on the effort of members of the lower
classes trying to make it into the exclusive world of privilege but this time the
author goes about it by focusing on modern India’s great love: cricket.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Few things are more
representative of the aspirations of the Indian masses than the dream to be a cricketer.
IPL success stories capture the entire nation's attention and this allows the
writer to detail another familiar Indian character, the entrepreneur who sees
brilliant opportunities everywhere. The cricketers are Radha and his younger
brother Manju, both exceedingly talented and continuously bullied by their father,
who has made a contract with God that his son’s will be the best and second
best batsmen in the wold. They make a less divine contract with Anand Metha who
sponsors them in return for a percentage of their future earnings. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The novel is not a straight story on the pressure of
schoolboy cricket and the potential for it to change the lives of those who
would be invisible. Though there’s enough in that theme for an entire novel,
Adiga expands further by introducing the character of Javed, a wealthy teammate
of Manju who attempts to have the younger brother to attempt to make his own
path in life instead of doing what his father has prescribed. Manju’s confusion and difficulties with his
adolescent sexuality is one of the main drivers of the novel but unfortunately,
it’s also one of the more thinly written parts of the novel. Perhaps it’s
intentional but it seemed as though there was the potential to write deeper
scenes of emotional conflict. When compared to the depth at which Metha
philosophizes on the state of India and the Indian people every time he
appears, it seems like a missed opportunity to not develop the poignancy of the
Javed and Manju story. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A more character-focused author would have made the father
of the boys, Mohan, the lead character of the novel. With his maniacal devotion
to having his sons become the best, coupled with his bizarre superstitions (“No
shaving before turning 21 as it releases hormones into the body”) he’s easily
the most memorable character in the novel. Unfortunately his presence becomes
rarer as the novel progresses and though this is necessary for the story’s
progression, one does wish to see more of him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The novel is extremely readable and the prose flows with
great verve, making it possible to read the novel from start to finish without interruption.
The problem with such a book is that when there’s no reason to stop and think about
things the book can be a bit forgettable. The character of Metha is one of the
most cliché, in the sense that he’s an entrepreneur who drinks a lot and doesn’t
enjoy members of his social class and by having him spout drunken speeches
regularly it becomes possible to gloss over the character, which is unfortunate
because he delivers some of the best lines in the novel (He thinks cricket
exists “to pacify hundreds of millions of desperately horny young Indians of
the lower social classes”). <o:p></o:p></div>
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The entire novel is mostly well-written and like Adiga’s
previous works serve as a broad satire on aspects on India, especially
class-mobility. The scope of the novel is exceedingly ambitious and
occasionally the writing doesn’t seem to convey the entirety of the ideas. But
ignoring those occasional missteps, the novel remains entertaining and worth
reading. <o:p></o:p></div>
SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-37967405287833390652016-09-07T07:01:00.004-07:002016-09-07T07:01:47.808-07:00Everybody Wants Some- A Review<div class="MsoNormal">
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Richard Linklater’s films always make the viewer conscious of
time, whether it’s the years represented in <i>Boyhood
</i>or the hours that go by in <i>Before
Sunrise. Everybody Wants Some </i>details the weekend before the start of
semester for a group of college baseball players. Linklater has stated that he
considers the film to be the spiritual sequel to <i>Boyhood </i>but in tone and style it definitely reminds one of
Linklater’s 1993 comedic masterpiece <i>Dazed
and Confused. </i><o:p></o:p></div>
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The film is quite light on plot but overall follows freshman
pitcher Jake as he interacts with his teammates and navigates his first college
weekend. It’s extremely heavy on the conversation and as expected for the
director (possibly the best writer of dialogue in current cinema?) the characters
go over ideas of varying magnitude which seem to be relevant on a universal
level. Sure, the characters aren’t discussing the biggest ideas in the world
but the philosophies somehow seem to be profound.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s no real story arc in the film. The characters don’t
come up against a huge obstacle to overcome nor do they learn deep insights
along the way. While it might seem meandering if that’s done wrong, in this
case it’s refreshing. The entire film seems like one fun rush of hanging out
with the guys. It’s an almost wholly male dominated film but perhaps by being
set in 1980 it seems to be less of an aggressive masculinity that’s channel and
more of a mellow and chill type. It’s an important feature because if the
characters were all entitled, misogynist stereotypes of athletes the film
wouldn’t work at all. So there can’t be enough praise for writing characters
that are multi-dimensional (and likeable). <o:p></o:p></div>
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Managing to fit a multitude of distinct and memorable
characters can easily overwhelm a film (or worse, the characters don’t manage
to be memorable) but the film finds the balance in putting the right amount of
each character in. From the smooth-talking Finn, aggressively talented
McReynolds to the team’s designated outcast Niles, who has a habit of going on
rants and treating everything way too seriously, there isn’t a single character
who doesn’t seem to fit into the film (even if several are trying to figure out
how to fit into the team). In fact, the characters and their antics are so much
of a draw that it’s almost the end of the film before there’s any baseball at
all. And even if there hadn’t been any, it’s unlikely anyone would have really
clamoured to see more baseball despite the guys talking about the sport fairly
regularly. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The fact that the film is set in 1980 definitely plays a big
role. It’s a decade that’s currently popular for nostalgia as <i>Stranger Things </i>and the <i>Ghostbusters </i>reboot have shown. Whether
the 1980s were a more hopeful time is probably a personal opinion but it does
seem written as this is so. Dale, the team’s only black player, never says a
single thing about his race and neither do any of his teammates. It’s all
written in the sense of acceptance. And, being the 1980s, music plays a huge
role in setting the scene and the soundtrack for this film may be one of the
best for the year. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I’d easily place it as an instant classic and
the only reason it isn’t in the top five of Linklater’s films is that this is
the same director who’s done the <i>Before </i>trilogy,
<i>Boyhood </i>and <i>Waking Life </i>(which shares some of the philosophizing upon ideas
style that this film has , especially in the bong scene). It’s still September
but <i>Everybody Wants Some </i>has a strong
case to be one of the best comedies of the year. Thoroughly enjoyable watching and
fun from start to fin</span>SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-18896188372225847512016-09-05T02:57:00.000-07:002016-09-05T02:57:15.352-07:00Victoria: A review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i2.wp.com/www.cherwell.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Victoria1-6.jpg?fit=1000%2C562" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i2.wp.com/www.cherwell.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Victoria1-6.jpg?fit=1000%2C562" height="223" width="400" /></a></div>
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With films that are shot in one take the majority of focus
tends to be on this fact and the difficulty of achieving such a feat. This is
understandable as the difficulty of achieving this has made the production of
any one-shot film an impossibility till the fairly recent past and the
development of digital movie cameras. In 2002, critically acclaimed releases
such as <i>Russian Ark </i>and <i>Irreversible </i>were released and while
there was sufficient regard for the technical aspect of the films being shot in
one-take it was only until <i>Birdman (</i>edited
to seem as one take, not actually one take)<i>
</i>in 2014 that it could really be said the one-shot entered the realm of
regular film criticism. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The posters and trailer for Sebastian Schipper’s <i>Victoria </i>regularly reference the fact
that this film was shot in one take. It remains an impressive feat even if they
do tell us a lot. Filmed in a couple of hours in the Kreuzberg and Mitte
neighbourhoods of Berlin during the early hours of the morning, the director
needed only 3 takes to complete the film. Combined with the fact that the
script is a bare 12 pages and most of the dialogue is improvised, it is an impressive
feat. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The film is not all about the technical effects as there’s more
to a film that just quality camerawork. In fact, despite all the hype about the
camerawork in the advertising the film itself does not flaunt this technical mastery,
leaving lots of time to focus on the story. Led by stellar performances from Laia Costa
and Federick Lau, who progress deeper in character as the film progresses, from
fun and sweet into roles with markedly darker and determined aspects.</div>
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The premise of the film seems very simple and the opening
shots of Victoria dancing in a club and then chatting with a group of guys
after exiting seems like we’re being set up for something along the lines of a
mumblecore indie romance or a Linklater Euro talkie. It certainly seems that
way from the dialogue at the piano between Costa and Lau when they leave the
group and are alone at the café Victoria works at. The film does an excellent
job of bringing the action to another level from the point where we think it’s
done. Only after Lau’s Sonne leaves the
café and we think the film is winding down does the director immediately send
us into an unexpected heist film, filled with action, drama and bad decisions. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Transitioning swiftly into a film about a bank robbery and
getaway, the tension is ramped up into an intense sequence of the setup of the
robbery followed by a surprisingly smooth actual stickup. Just when it seems we’ve gotten the happy
climax via a wholly crazy night out, the director again ramps up the action and
we’re given another action sequence with police shootouts and chases between
(and into) Berlin apartment complexes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s hard to write
much more without giving away too much but the film manages to stride between
the indie beginning and the criminal heist ending successfully. It is a film
that could be said to successfully transition between the two genres and should
appeal to fans of either. Hopefully it could even be the start of further mixes
of these genres. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The film packs a lot into the two hours it runs for. By the
end when we see Victoria at the climax of the film it’s as if she’s lived years
in those hours. That we get this feeling is due to success of Schipper’s
ability to convey a frantic and engrossing film. There may be a sense of
improbability at one or two aspects of the film (would the heist really be that
smooth when done by drunken criminals with no experience?) but the film more
than makes up for these rare moments of disbelief. <o:p></o:p></div>
SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-5509857929795300312016-08-08T04:05:00.000-07:002016-08-08T09:41:03.641-07:00Suicide Squad: A review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Suicide Squad seems to be an attempt from DC to make a film
that’s more subversive and nihilistic than its previous releases. It’s
inevitable that comparisons with Marvel films be made and the closest
comparison for <i>Suicide Squad </i>seems to
be that it would try to capture (some of) the feeling of Marvel’s <i>Deadpool. </i>One of the recurring
criticisms of <i>Batman v Superman </i>was
that the tone was far too dark and depressing. DC seems to have overcorrected
in this film by going too much for quirky.</div>
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In a film where the squad is meant to be anti-heroes and “the
worst of the worst”, it’s telling that the only character who seems even
slightly scary is Federal Agent Amanda Waller. Waller, played by Viola Davis
and Jared Leto’s Joker are easily the strongest characters in the film closely followed
by Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. The problem is that the film is filled with characters
all competition for screen time and as most of them are badly written or just caricatures,
a lot of the film feels like you’re waiting for someone worthwhile to get onto
the screen. Many characters feel like they’ve been added as throwaway bits and
the entire film serves as an example of the worst of superstar casting.<o:p></o:p><br />
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The pacing of the film is eclectic in a way that serves to
make the already muddled plot seem even more haphazard. Flashbacks are a
regular occurrence during the film and while they appear to be there with the
intention of making us aware of the motivations of the main characters they don’t
add anything other than an unnecessary break
taking attention away from the (already dull) main plot. Timing and pacing seem
to be a problem for this director with the attempts at comedy falling flat or
jarring. Harley Quinn was a rarity in this film by being a character with a bit
of personality but the deployment of her comedic lines too often felt annoying
more than clever. <o:p></o:p><br />
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The film’s villains also suffer from a lack of personality
(they are in the main, literally faceless) and the action scenes are about as
exciting as watching someone else play a side-scrolling video game. The mission
and villains seem like someone grabbed them from the first available comic
book. There were surely better options for this film in terms of a plot that
fit. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Lack of personality is the one thing not present in Jared
Leto’s Joker. However, he’s totally wasted in the sidelines of the film. One
would think that with the continual presence of Joker in all the marketing for
the film he’d have a greater role but apparently someone decided one of the
most popular characters in the DC universe needed less screen time than Rick
Flag. On another note, Leto’s Joker is closer to <i>Batman:Animated Series </i>than Heath Ledger’s and possibly the right
style for the rest of the characters was that of the animated series. <o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/53323bb4e4b0cebc6a28ffa2/t/576ebb62e6f2e1d2839cf411/1466874732373/Jared+Leto+Joker" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53323bb4e4b0cebc6a28ffa2/t/576ebb62e6f2e1d2839cf411/1466874732373/Jared+Leto+Joker" width="400" /></a></div>
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The film is bad in a lazy way. With a convoluted plot and
poorly written characters, adding bad editing and overused racial stereotypes
other further sends the film into the irredeemable failure category instead of
the ambitious failure ones. A compendium of action with no point serving as punctuation
for a barrage of empty scenes set to (an admittedly impressive) soundtrack of
classic tunes could be the summary of this film. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Will Smith has been the most bankable actor of the last 20
years and has the ability and personality to be golden in action-comedy films but
is he really first-choice to be cast as a ruthless hitman? Or did the producers
just find the most bankable actor and ignore any other logic? If the
action-comedy tone of the film had actually worked, I doubt that question would
ever arise. <o:p></o:p><br />
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At the time of writing <i>Suicide
Squad </i>has already made $257 million at the box office, so it’s well clear
of the $175 million budget it racked up. In my opinion, <i>Suicide Squad </i>was guaranteed to make money and draw crowds just
because of the popularity of summer superhero films, ratings and quality aside.
Unfortunately the creators of the film seemed to follow exactly that same logic
in creating the film and decided they didn’t need to try too hard since they’d
be covered anyway. It’s the film
equivalent of a participation trophy. <o:p></o:p></div>
SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-84990464143603527512016-07-03T02:31:00.000-07:002016-08-12T10:39:25.595-07:00Travel Writing – Cities- Copenhagen (I)<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="background-color: white;">Copenhagen is an easy city to love. Maybe it’s the fact that
I went in June when the temperature approached 27°C and the sun shone so
brightly that several of my colleagues were the colour of London buses by
lunchtime on the first day. But as I’ve never heard anyone who’s visited the
city say they dislike it, no matter when they’ve gone, I’d be inclined to city
it really is just a lovely city. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">London is a hard city to love, even if you live there. In
fact, it’s hard to love especially if you live there. Paris is either loved or
hated by everyone that has visited it. These cities bring about strong emotions
in people. But Copenhagen, when I was there, brought a general feeling of
calmness and comfort. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">The pace of the city was very slow which probably had a lot
to do with the weather but also the lack of crowds in the city. We stayed less
than 10 minutes from the central station and there was none of rushing and general
busy attitude one would expect from such a central location. Even on a Friday
morning when everyone would be expected to be at work. Maybe a lot of people were on holiday. Many Scandinavian
companies have summer holidays. The logic is understandable since the winters
and long and people would want to make the most of it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">It is not a cheap city. Perhaps on par with London and in
some cases more expensive (though an exchange rate of 9 Danish Krone to 1 GBP definitely
aids in the expensive nature since the currency seems to be a bit
overvalued). But for the expense of the
meals, the quality was very high. One weekend isn’t a large sample size and
perhaps we were lucky in choosing our restaurants but I did not have any bad
meals in Copenhagen. Every meal exceeded expectations to the point where the
price seemed apt or even undervalued. 109DKK for a brunch that was almost large
enough to be two meals and easily managed to be one of the best breakfasts I’ve
had all year seems like a solid investment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Cover charges are a point where the expense can be a lot
(but I don’t go out to bars and clubs that much in London so maybe it’s on par)
since I think 100DKK without a drink included is quite a lot for entry.
Especially compared to Lisbon on last year’s trip €12 for entrance came with 4
beers. But considering we found places close to Nytorv, which seemed to be
popular amongst a younger crowd, it’s not surprising the prices were hiked up.
There’s no exaggeration on it being a younger crowd. Most people in bars on the
first night we arrived in Copenhagen were wearing the <i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;">studenterhue </span></i><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">hat signaling graduation
from high school. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">*<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">On the first morning in Copenhagen
we awoke to the news that the U.K. had voted to leave the European Union. This
was hardly the most auspicious of beginnings and due to the divisive nature, the
entire topic was agreed to not be discussed. To not discuss such an important
event could seem willfully ignorant but really it was impossible to know what
was going to happen (it is still impossible) and discussion would just cause arguments
and disrupt the holiday. In another city it might have proven difficult to stay
away from the topic. In Copenhagen, there was more than enough to keep everyone
distracted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Unexpectedly for the majority of
us, Copenhagen’s waters were warm enough for swimming. Even more unexpected was
the fact that Island Brygge baths, located right in the harbor, was a popular
spot for swimming. Located in the narrow channel of the harbor, with a backdrop
of industrial buildings as well as stylish Danish architecture, it seemed an
area that would be more inclined to riverside activities but not actual water
sport. Many residents could be found sunbathing on the lawns as well as
barbequing and drinking beer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">Beer seems to be popular in
Copenhagen. It might just be a summer thing but pubs were open as early as 9
a.m. and people were already having pints on a Friday morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4079986210848628637.post-67692896090245725872016-07-02T02:32:00.003-07:002016-07-02T02:34:02.708-07:00Travel Writing- Constanta<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Constanta lies around two hours east of Bucharest, on the
Black Sea. With a foundation date of 800 B.C., it is the oldest continuously
inhabited city in Romania. Formerly one of the largest ports in Europe, the
container traffic has reduced since its heyday in the 1990s but it remains the
largest port on the Black Sea. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Conversations with locals have confirmed the suspicion
that the population of the city varies greatly with the season. In the spring
and summer the population of Constanta swells significantly, especially on the
weekends, by people flocking to the beaches and boardwalks. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I visited in March, the presence of tourists was not
immediately obvious. The rail station lies about 2 km from the waterfront
(about 7 lei by taxi) and has the feel of a building that has seen no changes
at all for several years. This is a building which doesn’t feel neglected or
unkempt in any way but one that’s static. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The largest building on the boardwalk of Constanta is the
casino. The most noticeable thing about this building is not that it’s
impressive size but how much more impressive it must have been when it was in
its prime. Now, the building seems more like a ruin from ancient times than
anything as modern as a casino. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The entire city seems to exist in a state of decay. Not
ruins but the sense that the best days had gone and were never coming back.
Almost as if the city had stopped caring enough to update itself after it
realized things were no longer going well. I might be reading far too much into
a quiet spring day in the city and it’s possible coming in summer would mean
visiting a vibrant waterfront. But even if so, it just means the decay of the
city is just stasis. That it only comes alive in summer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At the end of the boardwalk are a multitude of restaurants
built near the docks which specialize in fish and seafood dishes. These are one
of the only places in Constanta that I’d found to be new and updated. With
menus in English as well as Romanian, I imagine that they also cater to
tourists. All the restaurants were housed in tiny shacks that reminded me of
Scheveningen in The Hague.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of the most noticeable buildings in Constanta is the
Grand Mosque. With its tall minaret and distinct Byzantine architecture, it
certainly seems like a relic from the past eras of Ottoman rule. Hence I was
very surprised to learn that the mosque was only built in 1911. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Romania does not have a large proportion of Muslims.
Despite more than 700 years of Ottoman rule in the region around Constanta,
there are very few symbols of the Islamic influence. The inscription on the plaque at the Grand
Mosque state that the building was built as a gift for the Muslim workers in
the region. However, there is also the Hunchiar mosque in the city, which is
also regularly used by the Turkish minority there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The communist era in Romania prioritized secularism and
atheist beliefs, leading to decline in the religious heritage of Romania.
Despite this, in Constanta as in Bucharest, several striking religious
monuments remain. The St. Paul and Peter Orthodox Church stands near to the
boardwalk and is distinctive with its pressed brick walls and metallic domes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ovid Square is the main square of Constanta and is
flanked by the Archeology museum and several other impressive buildings.
Matching its name, the archeology museum seems to be approaching a state of
ruin with several signs around stating to beware of falling debris. Despite
this neglect it remains an impressive sight.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Off of Ovid square are many smaller streets which are packed
with bars and pubs which seem to cater more to tourists.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Even the everpresent
Irish pub can be found. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Continuing in this direction brings one again to the
Black Sea albeit on a sandier and wider expanse than on the side of the port.
Also overlooking the black sea is a Greek church, which is worth viewing
despite its small size. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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SRShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01313055460532314231noreply@blogger.com0