Taylor Swift’s Fortnight Video Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

What is the true meaning of Taylor Swift’s new single – Fortnight – video? Directed by Taylor Swift herself with photography by Rodrigo Prieto (The Irishman, Killers of the Flower Moon) the video is quite unusual in its deep meaning visuals, at least within Swift’s prolific and divergent videography, so if you are wondering what is really going on in the video, just keep reading.

1 ^ What is going on the Fortnight video?

The video of The Tortured Poets Department’s first single – Fortnight – is divided in 5 sequences:

Sequence # 1: Taylor wakes up in a rather twisted bedroom. Disorientated at first, she is not quite sure to know where she really is. Suddenly, a nurse enters the room, walking across the ceiling, and administers a pill to Taylor. Once she swallows the pill, not entirely unwillingly, she is released from the chains binding her to the bed. She walks to the closest mirror and she cleans her face revealing Post-Malone’s tattoos appearing one by one.

Sequence # 2: Now Taylor exits through a door, finding herself in a typewriting room, where she begins working and we see Post-Malone in front of her. The scene implies there’s some kind of restrained feelings among them, only expressed by tender glances.

Sequence # 3: In an empty, desolate landscape strewn with typewritten paper, Taylor and Post-Malone lock eyes, holding hands. In this sequence they show true and authentic love to each other, laughing, hugging and kissing. But in one point they look at each other in disbelief.

Sequence # 4: Taylor is tied to a electrocution machine. She is about to receive electroconvulsive therapy by a team of doctors including Post-Malone and Ethan Hawke. When the machine is activated, Taylor is tortured but the malfunction of the electrical system forces Post-Malone to intervine. He and Taylor look at each other in complicity, while he unplugs the machine.

Sequence # 5: The final sequence depicts Post-Malone calling from a payphone, while Taylor is on top of the phone booth, under a pouring rain. Finally Post-Malone emerges from the box, his hand reaching to intertwine with Taylor’s. This sequence cuts back and forth between the moment under the rain and some flashbacks from Sequence # 1 and #2.

2 ^ What is real and what is not real in the video?

The only two sequences that are actually real are Sequence # 4 and Sequence # 5. In the video, a woman portrayed by Taylor Swift is locked in a mental facility, being treated, or more quite, being tortured with electroconvulsive therapy. But she has some kind of reciprocated connection with the doctor portrayed by Post-Malone, to the point he sabotages the torture machine. The final sequence implies Dr. Post-Malone has released Taylor from the facility. Next, we see him trying to call someone to help them while he reaffirms his love for her.

Sequences #1, #2, and #3 are delusions, each one deeper than the last. These fantasies portray a warped reality created by Taylor’s damaged mind. Fueled by the medication she takes, in these delusions it is evident Taylor is convinced Dr Post-Malone really loves her, but she is unsure if he’s really committed to set her free or if he prefers to let her stay in the facility, prisoner of her own mind. We know these sequences are only fantasies because when Taylor is finally released and she is with Dr. Post-Malone under the rain, the fantasies start to break down, and now the only thing that matter is the reality with him.

What do you think? Do you have another explanation for the video? Write it down in the comments.

Ambulance ^ Ending Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

What would you do if the only way to save a life is by committing a crime? Is it worth risking your life, and lives of innocent people to save just one person? Would you sacrifice someone you love, for doing the right thing?

The above are the main questions around Michael Bay (Bad Boys, Armaggedon, Transformers) drives Ambulance, a fairly effective mix of action, chases and yes, even some drama. Now, if in the midst of the shootings, the betrayals, the medical procedures and the personal traumas you are wondering what the heck was going on, do not worry, right now and without further ado, we’re going to deeply analize Ambulance!

1 ^ What is the story of Danny and Will? Why are they brothers if one is white and the other is black?

Danny (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Will (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) are actually orphans. Or at least their biological parents did not take care of them, leaving them in the U.S. child protection system, where a cruel bank robber they identify as LT adopted them, more with the intention of training them as help for his operations, than as sons as such. However, the two boys formed a bond of brotherhood.

Over time, however, a difference developed between the two. When LT died – apparently in a situation where Will and Danny had to choose between them and him – Danny decided to continue with the business of LT and Will, decided to go to fight with the army, to change his focus on life. Will eventually married and started a family, with the problem that his daughter had a fatal disease, whose only hope was an experimental treatment not covered by insurance.

2 ^ What’s the problem with Cam?

As Cam (Eiza González) told Danny, when she started on Medicine School, she managed to complete 3 years, after which she started using. She lost everything and once she tried to get her life back, the conviction that she should pay for ruining her own life prevented her from having meaningful relationships, like the one she had with Collin Waters. Cam is aware of this issue, because within her phone contacts, there is a psychiatrist. However, she does little to nothing to fix this problem, because -as she tells Emt- on his first day, she doesn’t like to get attached to anyone at all. Neither with his co-workers, nor with his patients. The only thing she has in mind is to fully fulfill his tasks and his work, which she believes, is the only thing she can do to fulfill her karma.

3 ^ What was Danny’s plan and why did he need Will?

Danny and his army of thieves had the goal to steal 32 million dollars from the Federal Bank, in downtown Los Angeles. The plan was to subdue the employees, take the money, take it to Randazzo’s vehicle, flee and then distribute the money. Danny had reason to distrust his team, as all of them were extremely unstable and would not hesitate to kill him just to have a better chance to run away and escape. Danny needed Will, because he knew that he could protect him, and it was precisely because of that, that the Hell’s Doors were opened.

4 ^ What went wrong in the robbery? Why did Will shoot Zach?

Officer Zach was simply interested in asking out Kim, one of the Federal Bank workers, and his partner, Officer Mark, encouraged him to do so. Zach entered the bank, and realizing what was happening, he indirectly alerted the police who immediately closed the building. Zach, trying to be of use in taking down the criminals, attempted to subdue Danny, and Will shot him.

5 ^ Why didn’t the LAPD just blow the Ambulance’s tires?

Well, because then we wouldn’t have a movie. But hey, the script was a bit bold in trying to logically explain this gap. The police were trying to protect Zach’s life and to some extent Cam’s. Cam were in position in the bank building, after Mark’s emergency call, but once on the way, Danny and Will kidnapped her, leaving Emt out of the vehicle.

According to the film, the Los Angeles Police could not afford to provoke a situation in which two innocent people could die in front of the entire country, since the persecution was on national TV.

6 ^ Why did Will save Zach and Cam?

Will helped Cam do Zach’s bullet removal surgery, after which the internal bleeding stopped and she was able to stabilize him until the end of the film when he was treated at a specialized medical center. Likewise, Will also saved them both from being taken by Papi (A Martinez), who demanded them as insurance against the police. Of course Papi’s intention was to abandon them and use them as a decoy while they escaped.

7 ^ Why did Danny and Will go to Papi? What was his plan?

Because the police literally had them surrounded. The only way was to confuse the Police about which ambulance they were requesting and in the midst of the confusion to flee, now to another country, because they were already fully identified.

Danny offered Papi 8 million dollars, of the 16 he still had, to get a fleet of ambulances out, and to help get his own, painted a different color, for what they needed Castro. But Papi also added an ambulance with a bomb to neutralize the police. When this happened the brothers were to report to Papi, who demanded the two hostages, which Will refused. When Papi found out about the death of his right-hand man, Roberto, Danny and Will teamed up to take down the team of criminals. And run away… again.

8 ^ Why did Cam shoot Will?

Well, Cam already knew that Danny or Papi wanted to get rid of her, now that they were safe and sound, the only option she seemed to have was to run away, but if someone stopped her, she would be lost, so when she saw the door of the ambulance opened, the windows being covered by green paint, she didn’t realize it was Will, and she fired. Danny asked Cam to save her brother, while he was driving, until he understood that she was the one who had shot him. Now, with Cam’s help, the police have relocated the ambulance. Danny was lost.

9 ^ Why did Will kill Danny?

Desperate, believing that his brother was dead or about to die, and with the police surrounding him and without any support, the only thing left for Danny was to die, and the only thing he had to do was take down the person who helped foil his crimes. Danny planned to kill Cam and then immolate himself, but seeing that his brother was about to become a version of his father, Will – who was not yet dead – took his brother’s life, leaving Cam alive.

10 ^ What does the ending of Ambulance mean? What is the message of the film?

In the end, Danny apologizes to Will before he dies. The cops were willing to let Will die, but Cam, attending to her commitment to her patients, helped him up with the help of Mark, who also felt responsibility, as Will helped Zach. Finally, Cam gives him the part of the money for the treatment of Will’s daughter, and Will stays in the hospital, while Cam visits Lindsay, the girl she saved in the first scene of the film.

Danny apologizes to Will because he finally understood that it was his actions that brought him to that critical situation where they were both about to die. Cam understood that behind a criminal, there is always a story, a human face, and that a life is something much more complex than she believed. In the end Will is alive, but he will end up in prison, although with the satisfaction that his wife will be able to have money to pay for her daughter’s treatment.

But the most significant scene in the film is when Cam visits Lindsay. At the beginning of the film, Cam had declared that she could not be feeling affection, neither for the patients, nor for the colleagues, because they were just work. In the end, Cam realizes that the best way to heal is to let those bonds surface and emerge as naturally as they did with Will, and even with Danny, and if he could with them, why not with Lindsay or with Emt? ?

Even when we punish ourselves for not being perfect, that punishment does not have to be forever.

Questions? Annotations? More doubts? The comments section is open just below so feel free write. See you in the next installment of Ending Explained here at El Sabanero X.

Red Dot | Netflix Movie Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

Directed by Alain Darborg, and starring Nana Blondell and Anastasios Soulis, Punto Rojo is a very good sample of what Scandinavian cinema can bring to the Big Screen, when there is a nice budget behind it. After all, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland are global powers in producing crime and suspense literature, from which we have seen a glimpse with Stieg Larsson Millennium trilogy and his iconic characters Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist. .

Now, if in the midst of all the murders, suspicions, and northern lights, you are still wondering what is going on at the end of this film, do not worry. It is time for Red Dot: Explained.

1 | Why is this movie called Red Dot?

It is a nice reference to a specific scene of the movie, where the main characters are terrified to see someone is pointing them with a red dot sight, in the spot where they were camping to see the northern lights.

2 | Where and when do the events of Red Dot take place?

Chronologically, the film begins with David Daftander (Soulis) graduating as a Civil Engineer, the same day he proposed to Nadja (Blondell) and they plan to move to Stockholm .

A year and a half later, marital problems between David and Nadja forced them to go on an excursion to Björndalen, (Bear Valley). Taking into account that the northern lights could be seen on that site, we can narrow down the search to two Swedish provinces: Norrbotten and Lappland. Taking into account that there are no masks, or biosecurity protocols, we could well place Nadja and David’s excursion in 2019, and David’s graduation in 2017.

3 | What happened the day David proposed to Nadja?

After that weird marriage proposal in the toilette, David was driving his car, but suddenly Nadja was trying to take his pants off. David, obviously excited, tried to help her, but he took his eyes off the road and ended up running over Olof, Tomas and Mona’s son.

4 | Why didn’t David and Nadja help the boy and run away?

Although Nadja tried to convince David to stop and call the police for help, David was convinced that it would ruin the life that was just beginning with his graduation as a Civil Engineer, and convinced her that he would turn himself in later.

And finally he was putting it off, until finally marriage, work and life, ended up convincing him that it was useless to waste his life. The funny thing is that neither Nadja nor David seemed to be moved, or worried, much less felt guilty, because once the accident happened, they dedicated themselves to following their lives as if it had never happened.

5 | Who killed Boris, David and Nadja’s dog?

Although the racist brothers, Jarmo and Rolle, were the main suspects, since they had a confrontation with David and Nadja for hitting the truck, and then in retaliation, having scratched their vehicle with racist nicknames, the truth is that those who assassinated Boris were Tomas, Mona and their pal Einar.

6 | What was Tomas’s plan?

The plan was basically to make Nadja and David pay for the death of Olof. He moved near them, became their friend, and then when the occasion was opportune, he set them up, sending them to Björndalen, where the idea they had was to kill them. .

Of course, Tomas was very sure that he did not want to kill them quickly, they wanted to make them suffer.

7 | What went wrong with Tomas’s plan?

Tomas thought it would be easy to locate Nadja and David because they did not know the area, however they were able to escape and hide thanks to the snowstorm that covered the area. The fact that the racist brothers were in the area didn’t help either, because Nadja and David kept hiding from them, thinking they were responsible. They even killed Rolle, and burned Jarmo.

8 | What does the end of Punto Rojo mean?

In the end, Nadja and David get trapped in Einar’s house, and Tomas eventually plans for David to wound Nadja in the belly. However Einar could not bear the sadism of Tomas and stopped him. Jarmo ended up complicating the matter even more. In the end Jarmo and Einar died in that house.

Nadja and David managed to escape, but David was in such bad shape that he gave Nadja the option to flee. David was willing to die at the hands of Tomas, but Nadja returned carrying Rolle’s gun. What she was not expecting was that Mona, Tomas’s wife, was also around with a gun, so he ended up with a shot to the head.

In the end, with Nadja’s corpse next to David, Tomas saw that it was no longer necessary to murder David. At that point he had already lost everything.

9 | What is the message of the movie?

We must take responsibility for our actions. There is a temptation to believe that we can get away with what we do, but just as David ended up paying handsomely for the damage he did, by trying to escape responsibility, the same can happen to us.

Questions? Annotations? More doubts? The comments section is open just below so feel free write. See you in the next installment of Ending Explained here at El Sabanero X.

The Little Things | Movie Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

Directed by John Lee Hancock ( The Blind Side ) and starring three Top A-List actors (Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto), The Little Things is an interesting twist on the crime scene suspense genre, dubbed by some as neo-noir, genre highlighted by the prolific David Fincher and his classics Seven and Zodiac .

Now, if this so-called twist, the serial killers, the accidental murders, the obsessions and traps, you are still wondering what is going on at the end of this film, do not worry. It is time for The Little Things: Explained.

1 | Joe Deacon is the killer?

Let’s get straight to the point. One of the big surprises of this film is the moment in which it is revealed that of the three young women murdered under the bridge, only two were there when the police arrived. The third, who was not next to the other two, called Mary Roberts (Anna McKitrick) was accidentally killed by Deacon, when in the middle of the search of the crime scene, the girl appeared between the bushes and the detective, thinking that it was the killer behind him, shot her on the chest.

Then, in a flashback scene we see that Sal (Chris Rizoli) and coroner Flo Dunigan (Michael Hyatt) covered up for Deacon, who in a process of anxiety generated by his obsession, ended up losing his marriage to Marsha, and suffering a heart attack, before moving on to Kern County, working as a Sheriff.

2 | Where and when do the events of The Little Things take place?

One of the curiosities that first comes to mind in the film is that there are no cell phones, the forensic technique is very lousy, and the computers still work on MS-DOS. Obviously, this film is located before the popularization of Windows, so together with other clues, such as the dates in the newspapers, we can place the movie in 1990.

And considering that the murder of the three girls that obsesses Deacon occurred 5 years earlier, this would occur in 1985.

Now, the killings occur in the Los Angeles area, and what they call «The North,» in which they include Kern County, where Deacon was exiled, is not as far north as you – someone who is not an American living in California – might think. Actually, Kern County is a not that far from Los Angeles, about 180 kilometers (111 miles) away, which can be covered in less than two hours on the I-5.

3 | Did Albert Sparma actually kill the prostitutes and then the girls, including Rhonda Rathbun?

Although the film is generally ambiguous in this regard, the circumstantial evidence collected by Deacon indicates that it was indeed Sparma.

The evidence, the high mileage, the newspaper clippings, the Busch beer, the fast food, the way Tina recognized him, the AAA repair service job and most of all, the erection Sparma had when he saw the photographs of the murdered girls, made Deacon conclude that Sparma was indeed the murderer.

4 | Is there a possibility that Sparma wasn’t the killer?

It could be concluded that indeed, there is no overwhelmingly solid evidence that he is the murderer, but using the laws of probability, it is simply impossible that Sparma was not involved in the murders.

The other kind of crazy option, would be for Sparma to be so obsessed with murder that he knew all those details, and tried to emulate them. The location of the girl on the highway was not leaked to the press, but Sparma had a radio with the police frequencies. Tina partially identified him, but could have been suggested by seeing him handcuffed.

Now, if perhaps individually the evidence is not conclusive, the sum of them, including the fingerprints, the dental marks and the psychological profile that the FBI later took, which partially coincided with Sparma, indicate that in fact, he was the murderer. Two are coincidence, but ten?

5 | Why did Sparma take Baxter to the desert?

If there is any additional proof that Sparma is the murderer, it is the moment when he manipulates Baxter into the desert. Sparma waits for Deacon to get out of the car, to approach Baxter. Sparma knows that Deacon is sure and plenty convinced that he is the murderer, so much Deacon would not hesitate to murder him if he was in Baxter’s shoes.

However, Baxter is not so sure and Sparma knows it. Sparma thinks he can have fun with Baxter by making him believe that he is going to reveal the place where the dead girl is, but making him fail time after time, until he is convinced that he was not the real killer. That’s his game, make Baxter hesitate, to have doubts.

Yet further proof that Sparma is the murderer is that he cannot help but relish the idea that he can murder Baxter’s wife and two daughters. At that moment, when he enjoyed the idea, and that the detective consequently beat him with the shovel, killing him, he – Sparma- showed himself as he is. Or as he was.

6 | What does the end of The Little Things mean? What happens to the red barrette?

In the end Deacon, in an act of reparation for those who ever helped him, decides to completely cover up Baxter, burying Sparma’s corpse and emptying his apartment. Deacon wants Baxter to enjoy his family, his wife and two daughters, and not throw his life away the way he did.

So he sends her that final message where he says «We are not angels», along with a red barrette.

Seeing the evidence and the message, Baxter can start his life anew thinking that he did indeed take the life of a murderer, and not an innocent man. However, in the last shots we see that Deacon actually bought the barrette, he didn’t find it in Sparma’s things.

The point is, Deacon wasn’t going to let Baxter destroy his life, and he was willing to do anything to get it, even lie to him.

7 | Is there a chance that Stan Peters was the real killer?

The point with the doubt about Stan Peters is that he, in effect, committed suicide after being confronted by the police about the dead girls and especially Mary Roberts, to whose name he reacted strangely. But we know that Mary Roberts was accidentally killed by Deacon, not Peters.

Stan Peters does not convey the security that the driver who followed Tina had, and the reason for his suicide would simply he was not ready to go to jail, taking into account the proclivity of the police to tag him as guilty. The reaction to Mary Roberts was perhaps because at some point he met her, followed her and possibly even tried to touch her, and if the police found this they would not hesitate for a second to send him to the dungeon.

8 | What is the message of the movie?

The twist of this film is that more than a quest to find a murderer, it is a character study, on how obsession can destroy someone’s life, and how by learning from the mistakes of others, we can move on, despite our faults

And perhaps even more so, how difficult it is to define someone’s innocence and guilt in absolute terms. Deacon took the life of Mary Roberts, but saved Baxter, and his wife and two daughters as well. There was no solid evidence that Sparma was the killer, but his fondness for female pain revealed him to Baxter.

It’s the little things, rescuing a friend from disaster, or demonstrating your sadistic nature in a few words, that ultimately reveal who the hero is, who the villain is, and who, ultimately, are the ones who deserve redemption.

Questions? Annotations? More doubts? The comments section is open just below so feel free write. See you in the next installment of Ending Explained here at El Sabanero X.

Outside the Wire | Movie Explained

Publicado el por Carlos Mario Castro

Directed by Mikael Håfström (Rite , Escape Plan) and starring Anthony Mackie, and the rather unknown Damson Idris (Black Mirror) – Outside the Wire mixes some science fiction, with war genre and a good dose of technological suspense.

Now, if in the midst of futuristic border conflicts, state-of-the-art robots and the characters betrayals and ulterior motives you are still wondering what was going on, do not worry. It is time for Outside the Wire: Explained.

1 | Where and when do the events of the film take place?

Outside the Wire takes place in 2036, in the midst of a conflict in Eastern Europe involving Russia, Ukraine, and of course the United States.

2 | What is the war in the movie all about?

In the context of the film, a group of Ukrainian fanatics called the Krasnys aim to integrate Ukraine with Russia, as in the old days of the Soviet Union. Of course, a good part of the Ukrainians does not agree with such an idea, and they have formed a resistance.

The war between the Krasnys and the resistance has been intervened by the UN, trying to mediate with the creation of a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), but the UN left, and the only actor that remained there supposedly on a peace mission was the United States.

Now, something important to note here is that the Krasnys are supported by Russia, and the Resistance, while taking advantage of the help provided by the United States, believes that this presence prevents them from reaching some kind of agreement with the Krasnys. Hence, peace.

3 | Who is Viktor Koval and what is his goal?

Viktor Koval (Pilou Asbæk) is the leader of the Krasnys and his goal is to gain access to Perimeter, a Russian defense system that literally was built to launch a massive nuclear attack against any hostile country to the Soviet Union.

Koval does not really want to join Russia, but to become a nuclear power himself and revive the Soviet Union but under its command.

4 | What is really Leo?

Leo is a state-of-the-art android, capable of having emotions and empathy for human beings, so within his programming he is allowed to feel pain. In 2036 the idea of ​​having robotic soldiers is already a reality with the inclusion in war tasks of the so-called Gumps, rather elemental robots, but with Leo a gigantic leap is taken, since it allows to have a machine with a high level of resistance and strength, capable of generating strategies at quantum speed.

5 | What is Leo’s plan? Why did he bring Harp to work with him?

Within his first-rate analysis, Leo realized that his very existence, that of a prototype of a robotic super soldier, would make the United States, once again, an unparalleled military power, which would make other countries, such as Russia, very nervous to the point to do anything to keep up, as they did with the Atomic Bomb, and thus generate – again – tensions and satellite wars, in the style of the Cold War, with the burden of dead, displaced and orphans that this entails.

In order to force the United States to leave the program, it occurs to Leo that he becomes a threat, but he knows he needs someone who plays the hero to his villain façade. Leo manages to convince Harp that he wants the Perimeter nuclear codes to exterminate the United States and thus prevent it from continuing to intervene in conflicts, which instead of ending, seem to drag on indefinitely.

But Harp calculates very well what Harp is going to do, and really wants the boy to stop him just in time.

7 | What does the end of the Risk Zone mean? What is the message of the movie?

The entire film is Harp’s journey to understand that what he understands as collateral damage, that is casualties from some perspective, necessary to achieve a greater good, have a face and a story, and are not simply numbers used to compare.

In this sense, the film confronts – like many, many other films – the conflict between utilitarianism and the deontological moral approach, in which acts are judged on their moral value, and not on their numerical impact.

In the end, when Harp walks back into his life, he no longer does so as the cold arrogant drone driver, but as a man who understands the meaning of a life, and how everything possible should be done to save it.

Questions? Annotations? More doubts? The comments section is open just below so feel free write. See you in the next installment of Ending Explained here at El Sabanero X.