Tag / barbara hershey

by Jaime Rebanal

The Last Temptation of Christ Review: A Thought-Provoking Meditation Upon Faith and One of Scorsese’s Best Films

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I was at one point a devoted Roman Catholic, but now I find it so difficult to bring myself to commit to religion whether it be to believe in it or to reject it outright. When one would initially think of a title like “The Last Temptation of Christ,” an ardent Catholic may respond to say that the content is blasphemous because Christ is an image of perfection, one who stands for everything good within the world on behalf of another authority. But among the most important factors to consider when watching The Last Temptation of Christ is that it is not a film based on the Gospels but rather a controversial novel by Nikos Kazantzakis and it also happens to be directed by a Roman Catholic – and that man is none other than Martin Scorsese. But when you watch a film like The Last Temptation of Christ being told from those eyes, what makes it such an accomplished effort is how it feels most in touch with Scorsese’s own spirituality.

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by Jaime Rebanal

Black Swan – Review

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I’ve soured on Darren Aronofsky heavily over the years: I remember when I first saw Requiem for a Dream and initially I thought that it was an emotionally draining experience and now it only ever manages to ring me as exploitative of its own characters’ misery at the hands of an agreeable message. But this was not something I found to be exclusive towards said film, because Black Swan, which may very well be his worst film yet, only manages to rub me in the wrong way for similar reasons. But for the many shortcomings of Requiem for a Dream, it never felt condescending in the way that Black Swan was, among many reasons it has only ever managed to leave such a bitter taste in my mouth. It seems so insistent that perfection leads to equally perfect art, and it’s a product so explicitly mechanical its own message only falls down upon itself and the one thought that came to my mind after finishing up read: “this is why I hate Darren Aronofsky.”

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