Medicine in the Movies: The Fountain

Charlene's (mostly) Classic Movie Reviews is hosting a Medicine in the Movies blogathon. The task was to write about a movie where there is some relation to medicine. I decided to focus on Darren Aronosfky'sThe Fountain which is such a beautiful and very underrated movie. The film takes place in the 16th century, in 2005, and in 2500. In the past a conquistador fights in a religious war for his Queen. In the future a man and a tree travel up the sky to reach a dying star. And in the present day storyline a doctor is searching for a cure to save his wife who is dying of brain cancer.

Ed Harris' performances: 1992 - 2001

It's finally time for the second out of four of my posts about all the performances of the great Ed Harris. Last month I wrote, among others, about his big screen debut, first leading role, first performance in major Oscar race contender and his great work in Glengarry Glen Ross (which was last movie featured in last post) (years: 1978 - 1992)

Now it's an even more exciting - and most successful - time in his career to focus on - his first, second and third Oscar nomination, his most well known role to date and a whole variety of characters he portrayed - from politicians and cops through psychopaths and generals to priests and alcoholic painters. There is nothing this man can't do.

Visual Parallels: Logan + Mad Max: Fury Road

It's almost too perfect. Mad Max: Fury Road is my favorite movie from 2015 while Logan is my favorite in 2017. I do realize it's May but in my experience we only get one masterpiece per year. And Logan is that masterpiece. It's not just well done and beautifully acted film with wonderfully crafted story at the center of it, but it also truly stays with you. Just like Fury Road did.

Logan. Our Wolverine.

The strong, silent type. He wasn’t in touch with his feelings. He just did what he had to do.

I always loved Tony Soparno's rants about the archetype of a true man. Someone who simply does the things an honorable man should do, no matter what. Someone who has his own, unspoken code and follows it.

And I can't help but think that Tony Soprano would have loved Logan.

We spent so many years with Logan but not until James Mangold's magnificent film which I have not been able to stop thinking for almost two months now, did we really get to see him in all of his glory. In all of his strong, silent type glory. The ultimate hero, but the hero who feels so very human. In Logan you could take his claws away and it wouldn't change much. In Logan we get to see a hero which is not made extraordinary because of his powers, his claws, or the adamantium covering his bones. We get to see that it is something else that made him so very special.

Colossal

Gloria (Anne Hathaway) is an out-of-work blogger and an alcoholic mess, who, after getting kicked out of her apartment by her boyfriend Tim (Dan Stevens), is forced to leave her life in New York and move back to her hometown.When she arrives she reconnects with her childhood friend, Oscar (Jason Sudeikis) who is an owner of a bar. Oscar hires Gloria as  a waitress and helps her get back on her feet.

When news reports surface that a giant creature is destroying Seoul, South Korea, Gloria gradually comes to the realization that she is somehow connected to his far-off phenomenon. As events begin to spin out of control, Gloria must determine why her seemingly insignificant existence has such a colossal effect on the fate of the world.