You know, there’s a special kind of magic that happens when a television show gets a second life as a feature film. For Joss Whedon’s Firefly, that magic was Serenity (2005). As a filmmaker and someone who spends my days shaping the visual… Read More »Serenity (2005) – Cinematography Analysis
I don’t just watch The Fugitive (1993) I study it. It’s one of those rare 90s thrillers that manages to be a massive blockbuster pulling in over $300 million and seven Oscar nods while maintaining a gritty, artisan soul. Tommy Lee… Read More »The Fugitive (1993) – Cinematography Analysis
Manchester by the Sea is that film. It’s a masterclass in understated devastation. Jody Lee Lipes and Kenneth Lonergan didn’t just make a movie; they built a window into a specific kind of Massachusetts grief the kind that’s cold, quiet, and… Read More »Manchester by the Sea (2016) – Cinematography Analysis
When I think of films that manage to be visually sumptuous yet narratively potent, Brian De Palma’s The Untouchables (1987) is usually the first one that comes to mind. Siskel and Ebert famously called it “a great looking movie,” noting the… Read More »The Untouchables (1987) – Cinematography Analysis
Apocalypto (2006) is the latter a cinematic gut punch. It’s a raw, primal epic that manages to feel ancient and immediate all at once. Mel Gibson’s vision was ambitious: plunge a modern audience into a pre-Columbian Mayan world via a relentless… Read More »Apocalypto (2006) – Cinematography Analysis
Pride & Prejudice (2005) is undeniably in that second category. It’s a film I return to constantly, not just for the romantic sweep, but for its exquisite visual architecture. It takes Jane Austen’s narrative and turns it into a living, breathing… Read More »Pride & Prejudice (2005) – Cinematography Analysis
The interesting thing is that Moon (2009) hits all the classic “big corporate” sci-fi notes we saw in Alien or Blade Runner, but it does it on a catering budget. The cinematography isn’t trying to show off. It’s surgical. It’s about making a tiny set… Read More »Moon (2009) – Cinematography Analysis