Rating: R16 - Contains Offensive Language, Sexual Themes and Content That May Disturb.
Duration: 170 mins.
Genre: Drama, Biography.
Actors: John Malkovich, Johnny Depp, Samantha Morton.
Director: Laurence Dunmore.
Release Date: Available Now.
Synopsis
The Libertine follows the brief life of flamboyant 17th Century poet John Wilmot, focussing more on the period of his downfall, during a time when his sexually overt poetry was becoming an issue for his friend King Charles II, who himself was struggling to keep hold of his power…
The Reality
Any movie with Johnny Depp is bound to be an interesting one, and in The Libertine, Depp doesn’t disappoint.
But don’t be under any delusions, this is not the family friendly Pirates of the Caribbean, this is a movie that a lot of people will find hard to watch. It’s a movie that forces the viewer far outside of our comfort zone as we witness a character that cares only for his own enjoyments and the stroking of his ego.
Perhaps I’m being a little harsh, for if we look a little closer perhaps we will see in John Wilmot a man trapped in a prison of his own making. A man so addicted to sexuality that he gains little if any pleasure form it. Someone who’s addiction has lead him so far down that his life is not only consumed by it, but leads him into the darker folly of alcoholism. Indeed we are told during the closing stages that Wilmot hasn’t been sober for the last five years.
So what do we get from a movie that shows the debaucherous life of such a man?
We get to see several things. For one, John Wilmot was a man who broke out of the box, who lived a life of liberty, who refused to be moulded by societies constraints.
And yes, this is a good thing, if done with the respect and love to those around us. Sadly, John Wilmot did it only for himself, which brings us to another outstanding feature of The Libertine; it shows with no restraint the folly of such a life. It shows not only the evaporation of enjoyment through the ravages of addiction, but it also quite plainly portrays the physical result of a life lived without a though of the consequences.
Finally it shows in a powerful way that no man is beyond redemption. When confronted with his own mortality and the suffering that Christ endured, Wilmot conceded that there was a better way, and in his final days turned his life around.
The Look
Johnny Depp as you might expect seems to relish his role as John Wilmot, and plays it with a passion that sweeps the viewer effortlessly into his life. This is aided by some great period sets, with the murky, almost overbearing English climate pervading the entire movie with a subtle undertow of hopelessness.
The makeup department, used so subtly for the most part comes out in force as Wlimot’s life starts to degrade into the ruination of hill illness and disfigurement, leaving the viewer at times wondering if that is still Johnny Depp.
Of course with the subject matter at hand, and do take note of the censors warning, there are a number of gratuitous scenes that many viewers will find uncomfortable, but if you take time to think about the movie afterwards, these scenes will likely seem less gratuitous, rather just visual clues as to Wilmot’s true character.
Food for thought
Does a life of liberty only give freedom when love for others is the motivating force?
ANZAC Day + Maori TV = Priceless
I don't really have much time for Maori Television - to be honest I thought it was a waste of money.
But today I was browsing the TV guide looking to see what ANZAC themed stuff was on tonight to watch and every channel bar one has there usual programs one. The only deviation from what they would normally show was a live broadcast of the dawn services.
The exception was Maori television. They had committed the entire day to ANZAC strories and programs.
Good on ya Maori Television.
But today I was browsing the TV guide looking to see what ANZAC themed stuff was on tonight to watch and every channel bar one has there usual programs one. The only deviation from what they would normally show was a live broadcast of the dawn services.
The exception was Maori television. They had committed the entire day to ANZAC strories and programs.
Good on ya Maori Television.
Thank You For Smoking
Rating: M - Contains Sex Scenes & Offensive Language.
Duration: 88 mins.
Genre: Political Comedy.
Actors: Robert Duvall, William H. Macy, Katie Holmes, Rob Lowe, Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Sam Elliott, J.K. Simmons, Adam Brody, Cameron Bright, David Koechner.
Director: Jason Reitman.
Release Date: Available Now.
Synopsis
Truth is a commodity, and Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is paid big money to spin the truth. He’s on a mission to make us forget the dangers of smoking, and there is no one better at it than Naylor.
Of course there are plenty of people out to get him, kill him or expose him, but Nick Naylor take it all in his stride.
Until he meets Heather Holloway, and lets his guard down…
The Reality
Thank You For Not Smoking makes the assumption that we already know that smoking is dangerous for your health, and uses this to its advantage. An over the top dark comedy that will have you laughing at the absurdity of the situations and characters, whilst at the same time wondering just how much of what you hear in real life is actually the truth.
Using humour, improbable situations and loveable characters, with no real assertion as to who is the real bad guy, Thank You is a wild ride that pokes fun (and points the finger) at big tobacco, liquor, gun manufacturers, obesity, politics, newspapers, talk shows, broken families, in fact no one is really safe.
Broadly based on Christopher Buckley’s book about the abuse of truth, Thank You is a timely classic that illuminates the role of truth in modern society and begs us to ask the question; how far should we control or distort the truth?
The Look
Thank You is a classy product. Possibly not a big budget Hollywood blockbuster in styling, but just look at the list of actors; It’s a solid and authentically memorable movie, not only for the message, but for the passionate acting of the key players.
The sets and locations run in harmony with the script, and everything looks normal. It looks just like you’d imagine it would.
It just feels right, believable, just like all the lies we believe every night at 6 O’clock.
Food for thought
If truth is a commodity, what can we do to place more value on authenticity?
Rent or buy?
Thank You is worth watching again, buy it!
Duration: 88 mins.
Genre: Political Comedy.
Actors: Robert Duvall, William H. Macy, Katie Holmes, Rob Lowe, Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Sam Elliott, J.K. Simmons, Adam Brody, Cameron Bright, David Koechner.
Director: Jason Reitman.
Release Date: Available Now.
Synopsis
Truth is a commodity, and Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is paid big money to spin the truth. He’s on a mission to make us forget the dangers of smoking, and there is no one better at it than Naylor.
Of course there are plenty of people out to get him, kill him or expose him, but Nick Naylor take it all in his stride.
Until he meets Heather Holloway, and lets his guard down…
The Reality
Thank You For Not Smoking makes the assumption that we already know that smoking is dangerous for your health, and uses this to its advantage. An over the top dark comedy that will have you laughing at the absurdity of the situations and characters, whilst at the same time wondering just how much of what you hear in real life is actually the truth.
Using humour, improbable situations and loveable characters, with no real assertion as to who is the real bad guy, Thank You is a wild ride that pokes fun (and points the finger) at big tobacco, liquor, gun manufacturers, obesity, politics, newspapers, talk shows, broken families, in fact no one is really safe.
Broadly based on Christopher Buckley’s book about the abuse of truth, Thank You is a timely classic that illuminates the role of truth in modern society and begs us to ask the question; how far should we control or distort the truth?
The Look
Thank You is a classy product. Possibly not a big budget Hollywood blockbuster in styling, but just look at the list of actors; It’s a solid and authentically memorable movie, not only for the message, but for the passionate acting of the key players.
The sets and locations run in harmony with the script, and everything looks normal. It looks just like you’d imagine it would.
It just feels right, believable, just like all the lies we believe every night at 6 O’clock.
Food for thought
If truth is a commodity, what can we do to place more value on authenticity?
Rent or buy?
Thank You is worth watching again, buy it!
Pulse
Rating: M - Contains Horror Scenes.
Duration: 104 mins.
Genre: Supernatural Horror.
Actors: Ron Rifkin, Brad Dourif, Ian Somerhalder, Christina Milian, Kristen Bell, Kel O'Neill, Samm Levine, Rick Gonzalez.
Director: Jim Sonzero.
Release Date: Available Now.
Synopsis
This remake of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Japanese horror hit "Kairo", sees a troubling spate of suicides after students come face to face with a ghostly apparition. The female hero, Mattie, discovers a connection to a computer programme that her boyfriend (and the first to commit suicide) was working on. It’s a programme that is still sending out a signal even though the computer has long since been unplugged…
The Reality
What starts out as a pleasing by the numbers remake of a Japanese classic, soon falls into the teen scream realm, without the clichéd essentials to make it what it’s trying to be.
Essentially the movie tends to stumble around in the dark, much like the characters are doing as they feverously try and discover what’s going on with the world around them.
A door to another realm has been opened and ghostly menaces are infecting everyone that they come in contact with and causing them to commit suicide after a couple of days of neurotic behaviour.
Of course, consistency goes right out the window as one of the students (why do bad things always start with students?) gets sucked into the wall and disappears, instead of the usual suicide.
Then Mattie’s best friend who has been infected can’t take it anymore so just spontaneously combusts into a cloud of ash.
As if that’s not enough, in one scene where our heroes are trying to escape, the ghostly grim reapers suddenly take physical characteristics and attack with gripping, clawing hands.
Inconsistencies aplenty.
The Look
Having only a bad pre-release screener to watch, quality isn’t something I can accurately comment on, but one thing I will say is that there is a clever and very nice transformation as the infection spreads past the campus and into the city. The whole landscape starts to take on a darker, rundown look, and the colour even seems to be slowly sucked out of the film
Food for thought
This is a spiritual horror, which may account for the lack of ‘horror.’ Some people tend to find the spiritual more fearful, but for me I need a more earthly fear. So why is it that the spiritual side of horror is often the one that scares people?
Rent or buy?
Rent it.
Duration: 104 mins.
Genre: Supernatural Horror.
Actors: Ron Rifkin, Brad Dourif, Ian Somerhalder, Christina Milian, Kristen Bell, Kel O'Neill, Samm Levine, Rick Gonzalez.
Director: Jim Sonzero.
Release Date: Available Now.
Synopsis
This remake of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Japanese horror hit "Kairo", sees a troubling spate of suicides after students come face to face with a ghostly apparition. The female hero, Mattie, discovers a connection to a computer programme that her boyfriend (and the first to commit suicide) was working on. It’s a programme that is still sending out a signal even though the computer has long since been unplugged…
The Reality
What starts out as a pleasing by the numbers remake of a Japanese classic, soon falls into the teen scream realm, without the clichéd essentials to make it what it’s trying to be.
Essentially the movie tends to stumble around in the dark, much like the characters are doing as they feverously try and discover what’s going on with the world around them.
A door to another realm has been opened and ghostly menaces are infecting everyone that they come in contact with and causing them to commit suicide after a couple of days of neurotic behaviour.
Of course, consistency goes right out the window as one of the students (why do bad things always start with students?) gets sucked into the wall and disappears, instead of the usual suicide.
Then Mattie’s best friend who has been infected can’t take it anymore so just spontaneously combusts into a cloud of ash.
As if that’s not enough, in one scene where our heroes are trying to escape, the ghostly grim reapers suddenly take physical characteristics and attack with gripping, clawing hands.
Inconsistencies aplenty.
The Look
Having only a bad pre-release screener to watch, quality isn’t something I can accurately comment on, but one thing I will say is that there is a clever and very nice transformation as the infection spreads past the campus and into the city. The whole landscape starts to take on a darker, rundown look, and the colour even seems to be slowly sucked out of the film
Food for thought
This is a spiritual horror, which may account for the lack of ‘horror.’ Some people tend to find the spiritual more fearful, but for me I need a more earthly fear. So why is it that the spiritual side of horror is often the one that scares people?
Rent or buy?
Rent it.
Next Gen V8?
Here's some news I've been wanting to hear ever since the release of the XBox 360...Publisher and developer Codemasters would like the public to know that there is a new Motorsport video game currently in the works over at its studios. Expected to arrive in 2008 for PC and "leading consoles", the title will be known as Race Driver One.
But you see, this game is not entirely new. It is actually the third generation of the much-loved racing title from Codemasters. What we are talking about is the TOCA (DTM/V8 Supercars) Touring Car games that ran from 1997 to 2000. After that, it became known as TOCA (DTM/V8 Supercars) Race Driver series from 2002 to 2006.
If you want to have an idea how this game will look like, just take note that Race Driver One will be powered by middleware Neon. It is the same brilliant engine behind the soon to be released Colin McRae: DIRT. Codemasters Studios Executive Producer Gavin Raeburn said,
As each generation of gaming formats shifts up a gear, so does this series and Race Driver One is set to evolve the previously headlined TOCA (DTM/V8) titles as much as DIRT has the Colin McRae series. Combining our racing heritage with the Neon engine, Race Driver One will create a world that goes far beyond the traditional boundaries of Motorsport gaming.
Currently, information about this game is quite limited. We just know that the in-game circuits feature locations through Europe, U.S., Japan, as well as other popular areas. There is also a career mode where players can build their own team to rank number one in the world.
Codemasters added lastly that the Neon engine will be enhanced and expanded to deliver new level of visual detail, physics, and car damage system.
Sweet... 2008 can't come soon enough...
Lost Game? Groan.
In their most recent official podcast, ABC's LOST producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse confirmed that the upcoming game adaptation will be arriving on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
Typically, adaptations cater to as many consoles as possible so as to guarantee they hit the same market as those who watch the TV show. Is this an indication that the PlayStation 2's time is coming to an end, or is developer Ubisoft Montreal focusing more time and effort on delivering a title whose graphics are on par with our expectations for the newest generation of console?
Said Cuse approximately 25 minutes into the podcast, "[Developer Ubisoft Montreal] came down here the other day and did a demo on some of the stuff," while Lindelof remarked, "very impressive," in response to what they were shown. We don't want to imply that television producers know what makes great games, but as fans of the show, we are comforted that progress is being made on the title. No release date has been mentioned.
Typically, adaptations cater to as many consoles as possible so as to guarantee they hit the same market as those who watch the TV show. Is this an indication that the PlayStation 2's time is coming to an end, or is developer Ubisoft Montreal focusing more time and effort on delivering a title whose graphics are on par with our expectations for the newest generation of console?
Said Cuse approximately 25 minutes into the podcast, "[Developer Ubisoft Montreal] came down here the other day and did a demo on some of the stuff," while Lindelof remarked, "very impressive," in response to what they were shown. We don't want to imply that television producers know what makes great games, but as fans of the show, we are comforted that progress is being made on the title. No release date has been mentioned.
Too Human Update
If you're Denis Dyack and the crew over at Silicon Knights you've had a rough time since last year's E3. The company unleashed on the gaming press and attendees the stunningly awful demo for Too Human, which ran like a stuttering flip book and played like a poor man's God of War -- like cat food is all you've got left to eat poor. Dennis Dyack is now breaking the silence by plopping a big ol' exclusive over at IGN and saying Too Human is too different now. He just wants people to M.I.B. flashy-thingy last year's demo from their memory. The big shiny reveal for this too new Too Human is the very ambitious four-player cooperative mode that can be played over Xbox Live.
Dyack says, "With Too Human, we're trying to seamlessly integrate multiplayer with the single-player. If you're really going to do that, you should be able to jump in any time, anywhere and go on a 15-minute mission with friends or play five or six hours straight if you want to. In order to do that, the world has to be pretty open and hub-based so you can jump anywhere and come back very much like Diablo."
The cooperative mode will have players utilizing different character classes in a team structure. There are five initial classes to choose from and more will be available through downloadable content -- the talk of downloadable content in the piece smacks of trying to regain lost development revenue, otherwise why not just put it in the game upfront? Dyack says the single-player campaign is balanced differently from cooperative to keep players on an even playing field.
IGN talks about the game a bit saying, "It's functional, it's fun, but so far it lacks the graphic umph that we would like to see accompany the combat scenes, especially since they play such an integral role to the game ... the fluidity, which drops below 30 frames per second, should be locked." Dyack says they haven't optimized the frame rate yet (video after break) and that they're going "to hit a solid 30 frames per second." We hope so ... we really hope so. Last year's lashing will be nothing compared to what Silicon Nights will experience after an extra year of development and delivering another Too Human flip book simulator.
Dyack says, "With Too Human, we're trying to seamlessly integrate multiplayer with the single-player. If you're really going to do that, you should be able to jump in any time, anywhere and go on a 15-minute mission with friends or play five or six hours straight if you want to. In order to do that, the world has to be pretty open and hub-based so you can jump anywhere and come back very much like Diablo."
The cooperative mode will have players utilizing different character classes in a team structure. There are five initial classes to choose from and more will be available through downloadable content -- the talk of downloadable content in the piece smacks of trying to regain lost development revenue, otherwise why not just put it in the game upfront? Dyack says the single-player campaign is balanced differently from cooperative to keep players on an even playing field.
IGN talks about the game a bit saying, "It's functional, it's fun, but so far it lacks the graphic umph that we would like to see accompany the combat scenes, especially since they play such an integral role to the game ... the fluidity, which drops below 30 frames per second, should be locked." Dyack says they haven't optimized the frame rate yet (video after break) and that they're going "to hit a solid 30 frames per second." We hope so ... we really hope so. Last year's lashing will be nothing compared to what Silicon Nights will experience after an extra year of development and delivering another Too Human flip book simulator.
Eragon
Rating: PG
Duration: 104 mins.
Genre: Action & Adventure, Fantasy.
Actors: Rachel Weisz, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Robert Carlyle, Jeremy Irons, Alun Armstrong, Sienna Guillory, Christopher Egan, Tamsin Egerton, Joss Stone, Edward Speleers.
Director: Stefen Fangmeier.
Release Date: Available Now.
The passion and creativity that went into creating the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy showed just how great fantasy could be. It also set a way to high benchmark for all other fantasy movies that might follow after it.
Now a few years after the passion and hype that surrounded Tolkien’s literacy masterpiece, we find ourselves in a galaxy far, far away, but in a land and time strangely familiar to Peter Jackson’s vision of Middle Earth.
But this time it’s not a small hobbit we slowly focus on, rather a young Skywalker, I mean, a young Eragon, whose life seems strangely familiar.
He’s a young boy who’s parents have left him, he’s being bought up by someone else who sees him as his son.
Destiny is suddenly thrust upon him, and because of this destiny, those he loves are slaughtered. Taken under the wing of a wise older man, Eragon has to learn how to use the skills that come with his destiny, but his arrogance, foolishness and immaturity means that his path to glory will be fraught with hard lessons.
It seems that young author Christopher Paolini was a tad influenced by George Lucas’s infamous trilogy.
Not that this is a bad thing, it’s just another stumbling block. Much like the casting of John Malkovich in the role of the evil king Galbatorix, a role totally mis-cast for Malkovich’s distinctive acting style.
What Eragon does have, and it has it is spades, thanks probably to the Star Wars influence is a great old fashioned good vs evil story line, with some great spiritual insight.
The evil wizard Durza, we are told is possessed by demons, and this is where he gets his power form. But to gain the good power that is due a Dragon Rider, Eragon must first understand the word.
Indeed as I mentioned before, it wasn’t even Aragon that sought out his destiny, but the Dragon sought him out. As if that’s not enough, when Eragon turns his back on the Dragon and sends her away. On calling her back, she proclaims that she never really left him.
Sadly however, spiritual insight doesn’t make a great movie, and the screenwriter and director have made this story into a disjointed journey that doesn’t flow as it needs to, and haven’t the passion for it that Jackson did for his opus.
It’s this mis-mash of styles and influences, without the proper love for an established classic that will make most people see Eragon as a cheap shoddy Tolkien rip-off.
Of course, had Lord of the Rings not been made into a movie yet, Eragon would probably be setting the benchmark.
Food for thought:
Do you let fear control you or use it to make yourself stronger?
Rent or buy?
Rent it, you'll be embarrassed to have this alongside Lord of the Rings in your DVD collection.
Duration: 104 mins.
Genre: Action & Adventure, Fantasy.
Actors: Rachel Weisz, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Robert Carlyle, Jeremy Irons, Alun Armstrong, Sienna Guillory, Christopher Egan, Tamsin Egerton, Joss Stone, Edward Speleers.
Director: Stefen Fangmeier.
Release Date: Available Now.
The passion and creativity that went into creating the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy showed just how great fantasy could be. It also set a way to high benchmark for all other fantasy movies that might follow after it.
Now a few years after the passion and hype that surrounded Tolkien’s literacy masterpiece, we find ourselves in a galaxy far, far away, but in a land and time strangely familiar to Peter Jackson’s vision of Middle Earth.
But this time it’s not a small hobbit we slowly focus on, rather a young Skywalker, I mean, a young Eragon, whose life seems strangely familiar.
He’s a young boy who’s parents have left him, he’s being bought up by someone else who sees him as his son.
Destiny is suddenly thrust upon him, and because of this destiny, those he loves are slaughtered. Taken under the wing of a wise older man, Eragon has to learn how to use the skills that come with his destiny, but his arrogance, foolishness and immaturity means that his path to glory will be fraught with hard lessons.
It seems that young author Christopher Paolini was a tad influenced by George Lucas’s infamous trilogy.
Not that this is a bad thing, it’s just another stumbling block. Much like the casting of John Malkovich in the role of the evil king Galbatorix, a role totally mis-cast for Malkovich’s distinctive acting style.
What Eragon does have, and it has it is spades, thanks probably to the Star Wars influence is a great old fashioned good vs evil story line, with some great spiritual insight.
The evil wizard Durza, we are told is possessed by demons, and this is where he gets his power form. But to gain the good power that is due a Dragon Rider, Eragon must first understand the word.
Indeed as I mentioned before, it wasn’t even Aragon that sought out his destiny, but the Dragon sought him out. As if that’s not enough, when Eragon turns his back on the Dragon and sends her away. On calling her back, she proclaims that she never really left him.
Sadly however, spiritual insight doesn’t make a great movie, and the screenwriter and director have made this story into a disjointed journey that doesn’t flow as it needs to, and haven’t the passion for it that Jackson did for his opus.
It’s this mis-mash of styles and influences, without the proper love for an established classic that will make most people see Eragon as a cheap shoddy Tolkien rip-off.
Of course, had Lord of the Rings not been made into a movie yet, Eragon would probably be setting the benchmark.
Food for thought:
Do you let fear control you or use it to make yourself stronger?
Rent or buy?
Rent it, you'll be embarrassed to have this alongside Lord of the Rings in your DVD collection.
Footy Legends
Rating: PG – Contains Low Level Offensive Language.
Duration: 93 mins.
Genre: Australian Drama.
Actors: Peter Phelps, Claudia Karvan, Jason McGoldrick, Shane McDonald, Emma Lung.
Director: Khoa Do.
Release Date: Available Now.
Footy Legends has a couple of sub plots running through it, but it’s main focus is all about never giving up, no matter how insurmountable the odds may seem.
It’s a film about seven guys from the worst suburb, in the worst city, in the worst country in the world. They’re a bunch of no-hopers.
Together however, on a field with a pigskin ball, they become something else.
Dysfunctional and downtrodden, with no body on their side these unlikely heroes decide to chase their dreams, and along they way, they manage to bring a community to life, and infuse everyone around them with the all to precious commodity of hope.
Food for thought:
Do you have a dream worth fighting for?
Rent or buy?
As uplifting as it is, Footy Legends is unlikely to warrant a second look, rent it.
Duration: 93 mins.
Genre: Australian Drama.
Actors: Peter Phelps, Claudia Karvan, Jason McGoldrick, Shane McDonald, Emma Lung.
Director: Khoa Do.
Release Date: Available Now.
Footy Legends has a couple of sub plots running through it, but it’s main focus is all about never giving up, no matter how insurmountable the odds may seem.
It’s a film about seven guys from the worst suburb, in the worst city, in the worst country in the world. They’re a bunch of no-hopers.
Together however, on a field with a pigskin ball, they become something else.
Dysfunctional and downtrodden, with no body on their side these unlikely heroes decide to chase their dreams, and along they way, they manage to bring a community to life, and infuse everyone around them with the all to precious commodity of hope.
Food for thought:
Do you have a dream worth fighting for?
Rent or buy?
As uplifting as it is, Footy Legends is unlikely to warrant a second look, rent it.
An Inconvenient Truth
Rating: PG – No notes.
Duration: 93 mins.
Genre: Documentary.
Actors: Al Gore.
Director: Davis Guggenheim.
Release Date: Available Now.
Al Gore does something very clever in his documentary An Inconvenient Truth. He makes it a moral issue rather than a political one.
This is an important distinction, because nothing is going to happen unless Gore gets people motivated. Global warming will never make it onto the political agenda unless the majority of the voting populus puts it there.
Weather or not it disserves the attention it has been getting cannot be convincingly argued in a review, but An Inconvenient Truth has convinced me for the need to change.
Al Gore has the charisma of a Rob Bell Nooma, with the careful sarcasm of Michael Moore, albeit a lot more careful and polished. It’s this combination of approachability, humour and scary facts that make this scientific mumbo jumbo a compelling and interesting watch.
Whatever your views are of global warming or Al Gore, you should seriously put any negative preconceptions to one side and give this documentary a go; it will probably change the way you feel.
An interesting ingredient is the addition of some rather personal Gore family history, that helps to hit home the urgency of the situation, and gives a glimpse into the drive and passion behind this Inconvenient Truth.
Food for thought:
When you pray, move your feet.
Rent or buy?
Buy, once you've seen it you'll want to show it to everyone you know.
Duration: 93 mins.
Genre: Documentary.
Actors: Al Gore.
Director: Davis Guggenheim.
Release Date: Available Now.
Al Gore does something very clever in his documentary An Inconvenient Truth. He makes it a moral issue rather than a political one.
This is an important distinction, because nothing is going to happen unless Gore gets people motivated. Global warming will never make it onto the political agenda unless the majority of the voting populus puts it there.
Weather or not it disserves the attention it has been getting cannot be convincingly argued in a review, but An Inconvenient Truth has convinced me for the need to change.
Al Gore has the charisma of a Rob Bell Nooma, with the careful sarcasm of Michael Moore, albeit a lot more careful and polished. It’s this combination of approachability, humour and scary facts that make this scientific mumbo jumbo a compelling and interesting watch.
Whatever your views are of global warming or Al Gore, you should seriously put any negative preconceptions to one side and give this documentary a go; it will probably change the way you feel.
An interesting ingredient is the addition of some rather personal Gore family history, that helps to hit home the urgency of the situation, and gives a glimpse into the drive and passion behind this Inconvenient Truth.
Food for thought:
When you pray, move your feet.
Rent or buy?
Buy, once you've seen it you'll want to show it to everyone you know.
As It Is In Heaven
Rating: M – Contains Adult Themes.Duration: 132 mins.
Genre: Festival & Foreign.
Actors: Michael Nyqvist, Frida Hallgren, Lennart Jähkel, Ingela Olsson, Niklas Falk, Helen Sjöholm, Ylva Lööf, Per Morberg.
Director: Kay Pollak.
Release Date: 26th April, 2007.
A successful international conductor finds his career arriving abruptly at a fork in the proverbial road. He is on a life long search for perfection, the kind that can never be attained and his passion for this often overwhelms him.
At the end of yet another concert, where he has strived for perfection by giving it his all, Daniel collapses with a heart attack.
Fortunately for us, and this wonderful story, the heart attack isn’t fatal.
On the ride home form the hospital; Daniel Daréus confides in his manager that he can’t seem to find this perfection that he has set for his life’s goal. His manager brushes him off by saying the audience loves him, and then unintentionally sobers Daniel with the knowledge that his life is booked out for at least the next eight years.
Such is his dismay at the prospect of being unfulfilled in his current situation that he seeks solace in the anonymity of his small childhood town, a town that in reality holds no pleasant memories for him.
On his arrival he discovers two things, the first being; the child-like joy of being free – a feeling that he wasn’t allowed to feel as a child prodigy – and the realisation that anonymity would never be his.
Demands are bestowed on him by the small local populus, and in time he relents and agrees to help out with the small church choir.
What we perceive to be a rag-bag of a small village choir, Daniel sees as an opportunity. An opportunity at a new life, teaching people outside of his – and their – comfort zone.
However, by pushing the boundaries Daniel soon discovers all is not as it seems in this tranquil Swedish village.
Jealously rears it’s ugly head and causes all manner of problems, not least of which is with the local pastor who mistakes life for sin, and has no room in his heart or his church for grace to bloom.
There are many layers to this movie, but the overriding theme is that of grace. A grace that can transcend a village’s secrets, a grace that can bring healing to a community too afraid to speak up, a grace that can breathe new life into people who have all but forgotten what it is to love one another.
Through methods that are far from conventional, accepting all who come, Daniel not only shines as a somewhat socially inept beacon of hope, but also finds the inner transformation that will ultimately set himself free as well.
Though unintentionally, the movie, through its musical achievements by way of normal people, manages to achieve a passion that defies convention and causes the viewer to contemplate more than just the physical side of life.
A remarkably inspiring movie that will move you to tears and stay with you long after the credits have disappeared.
Food for thought:
Should love only show itself in a predictable form?
Rent or buy?
A delightful morsel such as this should be savoured many times.
World Trade Center
Rating: M – Contains Low Level Offensive Language.
Duration: 124 mins.
Genre: Drama.
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Stephen Dorff, Frank Whaley, Michael Pena, Donna Murphy, Patti D'Arbanville, Jude Ciccolella.
Director: Oliver Stone.
Release Date: Available Now.
Oliver Stone wisely chose to tell a story that took place in the September Eleven attack on New York, rather than trying to tell the whole story.
He also used restraint when it came to showing the first strike, forcing the viewer to feel the impact rather than see it, which proves to have far more punch than had he tried to re-create an image that we all have seared into our brain through the media’s over exposure on the day.
As with the recent Maria Full Of Grace, World Trade Center starts off as a routine day, that can only be described as slow and boring. This slow methodical pace draws the viewer into the lives of the two Port Authority Police Officers that Stone uses to tell his take on the 9/11 stroy.
There is absolutely nothing special about these two guys; John McLoughlin (played by Nicolas Cage) is a seasoned cop who has given far too much time to the force and not enough time to his family, and Will Jimeno (played by Michael Pena) is a young rookie who still sees the wonder around him.
Both start their day in the same way they always start their day, the same way most of us start our days. This is just an ordinary day, and Stone does a great job of portraying this right from the start.
Then the unbelievable happens, a commuter plane flies into the World Trade Center.
Misinformation becomes king as the Port Authority police are called back in, and then sent out to help.
No one really knows what is going on, but there is work to be done amongst the confusion and debris.
McLoughlin is in charge, and knows what he has to do. He asks for a team of volunteers to go with him and help evacuate the tower.
It is a scene that shocks and awes both the veteran McLoughlin and the rookie Jimeno as they and a few others start to gather equipment and head into the lobby.
Then all hell breaks lose as the tower collapses. McLoughlin and his small team rush for cover, not knowing that the whole building is collapsing onto of them.
McLoughlin’s knowledge of the building helps save his life and that of Jimeno, but no one else makes it alive.
It’s here; trapped in the rubble that Stone makes this story into a masterpiece of cinema.
Unable to move, with the rubble slowly squeezing the life out of them, Jimeno and McLoughlin have to rely on each other’s strengths to stay alive.
Relatively unknown to each other they trade stories of their personal lives to not only pass the time, but to keep each other awake, and to make sure the flicker of hope doesn’t go out.
The cinematography in these cramped locations is amazing. The use of light combined with the makeup and short focal lengths on the closely cropped faces brings a reality to their claustrophobic situation, and a nauseating knowledge that their lives literally hang in the balance.
Of course a movie that passes the bulk of its time focused on two men trapped in rubble trading stories would not hold anyone’s interest for very long. Nor would it tell the whole story.
Stone manages this my interweaving the scenes with a few flashbacks, but more importantly he trades focus to the wives and families of the two men.
We get to witness the emotional toil that comes with the pain of not knowing where your loved one is, then the misinformation and confusion, and ultimately the uncertainty of the future.
Then Stone suddenly shifts focus to an almost empty church, where a young man struggles briefly with his calling, he talks to his pastor and explains that God has called him to go to the World Trade Center and help.
Though what neither of them knows is how this ex-marine can help.
But time, and this movie, ultimately show that if you listen to the voice of God, and follow his direction, amazing things can happen.
A story within a story, World Trade Center takes a part of what happened on September 11th, 2001. A day when many of us just stared at our TV screen in disbelief, and draws an story so full of the emotion of that day, but a story so personal that it is much easier to relate to.
It’s a story where death and destruction don’t take center stage, but rather life, and the struggle for it, gets placed in crisp sharp focus.
It’s a place where politics is absent, replaced with faith and humanity.
It’s a story that resonates inside each of us, as we go about our daily lives. And it’s through this story that Stone delivers and enthralling cinematic masterpiece.
Food for thought:
Whose voice do you follow?
Rent or buy?
Definitely buy, it's one you'll want to watch again.
Duration: 124 mins.
Genre: Drama.
Actors: Nicolas Cage, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Stephen Dorff, Frank Whaley, Michael Pena, Donna Murphy, Patti D'Arbanville, Jude Ciccolella.
Director: Oliver Stone.
Release Date: Available Now.
Oliver Stone wisely chose to tell a story that took place in the September Eleven attack on New York, rather than trying to tell the whole story.
He also used restraint when it came to showing the first strike, forcing the viewer to feel the impact rather than see it, which proves to have far more punch than had he tried to re-create an image that we all have seared into our brain through the media’s over exposure on the day.
As with the recent Maria Full Of Grace, World Trade Center starts off as a routine day, that can only be described as slow and boring. This slow methodical pace draws the viewer into the lives of the two Port Authority Police Officers that Stone uses to tell his take on the 9/11 stroy.
There is absolutely nothing special about these two guys; John McLoughlin (played by Nicolas Cage) is a seasoned cop who has given far too much time to the force and not enough time to his family, and Will Jimeno (played by Michael Pena) is a young rookie who still sees the wonder around him.
Both start their day in the same way they always start their day, the same way most of us start our days. This is just an ordinary day, and Stone does a great job of portraying this right from the start.
Then the unbelievable happens, a commuter plane flies into the World Trade Center.
Misinformation becomes king as the Port Authority police are called back in, and then sent out to help.
No one really knows what is going on, but there is work to be done amongst the confusion and debris.
McLoughlin is in charge, and knows what he has to do. He asks for a team of volunteers to go with him and help evacuate the tower.
It is a scene that shocks and awes both the veteran McLoughlin and the rookie Jimeno as they and a few others start to gather equipment and head into the lobby.
Then all hell breaks lose as the tower collapses. McLoughlin and his small team rush for cover, not knowing that the whole building is collapsing onto of them.
McLoughlin’s knowledge of the building helps save his life and that of Jimeno, but no one else makes it alive.
It’s here; trapped in the rubble that Stone makes this story into a masterpiece of cinema.
Unable to move, with the rubble slowly squeezing the life out of them, Jimeno and McLoughlin have to rely on each other’s strengths to stay alive.
Relatively unknown to each other they trade stories of their personal lives to not only pass the time, but to keep each other awake, and to make sure the flicker of hope doesn’t go out.
The cinematography in these cramped locations is amazing. The use of light combined with the makeup and short focal lengths on the closely cropped faces brings a reality to their claustrophobic situation, and a nauseating knowledge that their lives literally hang in the balance.
Of course a movie that passes the bulk of its time focused on two men trapped in rubble trading stories would not hold anyone’s interest for very long. Nor would it tell the whole story.
Stone manages this my interweaving the scenes with a few flashbacks, but more importantly he trades focus to the wives and families of the two men.
We get to witness the emotional toil that comes with the pain of not knowing where your loved one is, then the misinformation and confusion, and ultimately the uncertainty of the future.
Then Stone suddenly shifts focus to an almost empty church, where a young man struggles briefly with his calling, he talks to his pastor and explains that God has called him to go to the World Trade Center and help.
Though what neither of them knows is how this ex-marine can help.
But time, and this movie, ultimately show that if you listen to the voice of God, and follow his direction, amazing things can happen.
A story within a story, World Trade Center takes a part of what happened on September 11th, 2001. A day when many of us just stared at our TV screen in disbelief, and draws an story so full of the emotion of that day, but a story so personal that it is much easier to relate to.
It’s a story where death and destruction don’t take center stage, but rather life, and the struggle for it, gets placed in crisp sharp focus.
It’s a place where politics is absent, replaced with faith and humanity.
It’s a story that resonates inside each of us, as we go about our daily lives. And it’s through this story that Stone delivers and enthralling cinematic masterpiece.
Food for thought:
Whose voice do you follow?
Rent or buy?
Definitely buy, it's one you'll want to watch again.
Maria Full Of Grace
Rating: M – Contains Violence, Offensive Language & Drug Use.Duration: 101 mins.
Genre: Festival & Foreign.
Actors: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Yenny Paola Vega, Guilied Lopez, John Alex Toro, Patricia Rae.
Director: Joshua Marston.
Release Date: Available Now.
Maria Full Of Grace claims to be based on 1,000 true stories.
What it is, is a compelling, if occasionally hard to watch, fictional tale of Maria and her journey to becoming a mule for drug traffickers.
Maria Alvarez is a 17 year old girl from Colombia working minimum wage in a flower packing factory, earning money to help support her mother, her sister and her sister’s baby.
At times it seems to Maria that she has nothing left for her self.
Then she discovers that she’s pregnant, breaks up with her boy friend and finds another.
It’s this new male figure in her life – her father is conspicuous in his absence, whether this is to indicate that he is not around, or just not important in Maria’s life, we don’t know – that knows how she can make a better life for herself; become a mule.
Of course he doesn’t know she’s pregnant, and when she discovers how much she can make, she doesn’t think to tell him.
Despite what it may sound like, Maria isn’t really in it for the money, and the movie goes to great lengths to set the scene of Maria’s life.
You see Maria is representing 1,000 true stories, and as such her life is average. Her happy poverty is real, and her daily routine is uneventful at best.
So whilst the escapism of becoming a mule – it comes with free holiday’s in America – is an obvious pull for Maria, the real reasons she decides to become a mule are based more along the theme of needing a strong male influence in her life, and looking towards the future and how she’s going to raise a child in a household already far too dependant on her merge income.
Maria’s normalcy and her wholesome nice girl from next door is at odds of course with her career path.
When we think of the drug trade, most people will have nothing nice to say about anyone in any part of the chain.
Mules you see are just in it for the money.
But as Maria’s story asserts, we comfortable Westerners have got the wrong picture of these mules.
We see as the movie progresses that these young women have been duped into an industry they have no way of escaping. That they are nothing more than disposable containers to the drug lords, who factor in acceptable loss for every consignment they send out.The glamour that sucks these girls in, is gone the instance they finish swallowing their perilous cargo, when they are warned in no uncertain terms what will happen if they go AWOL with the product.
But Maria stays positive, confident in the belief that this is just a one off, that she can walk away with a little bonus to help when the baby comes.
But life seldom travels the road you think, it should, and Maria is no exception.
The overriding theme of the movie is summed up in one of the closing scenes; at the Airport as Maria is waiting her return trip to Columbia. On the wall in the background is a statement in large letters; “It’s what’s on the inside that counts”.
On reflection of the story you’ve just watched unfold, the statement can be viewed on many levels; for the Drug Lord, what’s on the inside is his income, for Maria what’s on the inside is her future, a human life growing.
And then there’s the spiritual side, where God looks past our outward appearances and looks inside of us to see whom we really are.
It’s Maria’s spiritual journey that is surprisingly missing from this movie. A movie whose title and cover imagery implies some rather overt religious overtones.
But alas, this key part of Maria’s life is left uncovered, and we the viewer are left no quite knowing what in the end was driving Maria on her journey of discovery.
Food for thought:
Who decides the true value of human life?
Rent or buy?
If subtitled dramas are your thing then this is a human drama worth having in your collection, if not, rent it and be enlightened!
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