My Grading System

A+ = Masterpiece (I hold back on this one.) / A = Great. / A- = Really Good. / B+ = Good. / B = Decent (Serviceable). / B- = Flawed but okay (For those times there's something redeeming about the work). / C+ = Not very good (Skip it). C = Bad. / C- = Awful. / F = Complete Disaster (I hold back on this one too).

Note on Spoilers: I will try to avoid ruining a story by going into too much detail. But if I wish to include some revealing points to my analysis I will try to remember to add a separate spoiler paragraph.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Blue Jasmine (2013)

Woody Allen does it again, creating a wonderful dynamic film with skillfully crafted characters and a story with memorable emotional depth. It’s clearly a modern reflection by Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire and proof one can use another artist’s work to create something new and completely relevant. Jasmine is a former spoiled rich house wife who must live with her lower-class sister, Ginger, after losing everything when her husband was arrested for fraud. Told out of sequence the audience gets to see a confident, clueless woman transform into a desperate and delusional mess. What helps make this already excellent film work as well as it does is Cate Blanchett. The entire cast is brilliant but she’s amazing. This 2014 version of Blanche DuBois is even more complex and monstrous, yet a heroine that I felt bad for even if I felt she got exactly what she deserved. The last shot of the film will stay with me for a long time. Grade: A-
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