The Best films of 2011 and the rest...
In 2011, we said good bye to Harry Potter and hello to Bridesmaids. We saw films about superheroes fail at the box office and we saw maids show us the way to equality. We saw a silent film at the movies and we cringed when Mars needs Moms.
As in the past I have 5 categories in this list. Best and Worst films of the year. The Surprises and the Disappointments of the year of film in 2011. The last category is what I call WTF, I use this as a way of asking why was this film made and What The _______ were you thinking when you made this film? I will go in Reverse order for the Best Worst, Surprise and Disappointment and in chronological order for WTF.
THE BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR FOR THE YEAR 2011 ARE AS FOLLOWS…
10. Margin Call- It was a small film that took a look at what went wrong with one huge company when the Wall Street Crash happened a few years back. I had heard some great reviews about it and after the film was over I couldn’t believe that a lot more people had not seen this film yet. The film has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
9. The Skin I Live In- Now I had no idea what to think about this film by Director Pedro Almodóvar. I knew that in the past I had liked his film and this one preview just looked interesting about a doctor and his patient. I liked that fact that the story kept me guessing what was next and by the end of the film I knew that I had watched a great film. Now please remember that this film is in Spanish so you might need English Subtitles to watch this film.
8. The Crucible (Korean)-As I had stated in an earlier review of this film, “This film forced Korea to actually see that the devil themselves about the sexual abuse to children.” I have no idea if the laws of Korea will change because of this film. The actual case of this film sure did expose a lot of the reasons the guilty were not properly charged because of the insanity of Korea law.
7. A Separation (Iran)- This was a film that took a look at the middle class of Iran and how the ladies are treated under there law. The film has many twist and many different looks at a crime. The ending was truly what made this film into a classic. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and Original Screenplay.
6. Moneyball. A film that took a look at one person’s new idea of how to scout baseball players and how the game of baseball should be played. The film really made me wonder what would happen to Billy Beane if he had the money that the New York Yankees have instead of what the Oakland A’s have. The film has Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Adapted Screenplay.
5. Kung Fu Panda 2,- This film was kind of a disappointment at the US Box office but did great business in the major Asian Markets and in Korea the film sold over 4 million tickets. I liked it because it told a great story and it just reminded me of many of the classic Shaw Brothers films that I loved from my childhood. The film was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Animated Feature category.
4. The Artist. Now this film is a silent film and will turn off a lot of people who have never seen one in the past. What I liked about it was a great plot and great love story and one heck of a super dog sidekick in this film. The film has Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Art Direction, Original Screenplay, Costume Design, Film Editing and Original Score.
3. War Horse- It was a simple film about a boy and his horse and the path that they traveled to be reunited after World War 1. The film took a look at the war through many different eyes and made you feel for each one along the way. The film has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Original Score.
2. The Descendants- I really did not think before I saw this film that I would like it that much, I had liked some of the directors Alexander Payne’s films in the past so I went into this one with an open mind. I really could not believe that George Clooney acting in this film, it wasn’t good it was great and he deserves the Oscar for Best Actor of the year for this film. The film has Oscar nominations for, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Adapted Screenplay and Film Editing.
Now My number one film of the year had no Oscar nominations and never got a wide release in the USA and will be out on DVD in the USA in February and maybe only play at the independents cinemas in Korea but please do not let that stop you from seeing my #1 film of the year..
1.The Way- As I had stated in my earlier review of this film, I had heard that this film had some serious buzz about it being a small film but a great one and after the film was over, I thought that I had just seen the best film of the year and when it came time to make this list I could not think of a better film that I watched this year. The film deals with a father’s loss of his son and how he decides to take the journey that his son was on. It looks at many different ideas at look at like along the way by the travelers and the people that he meets along the way.
Now as we finished the best films of the year we must now deal with 10 films that I never, never, never want to see again nor should anyone else.
The 10 Worst films of the year for the year 2011.
10. Glee: The 3D Concert Movie: Now I have no idea who said that we should make this film based on the somewhat popular TV show but this sure wasn’t a great way to make a film, when I saw this film it want in3D and I sure couldn’t recommend that anyone spend the extra $$ to see it in the 3D format. It was a huge waste of an idea that never needs to be seen again.
9. Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs, Evil- now I have no idea why they made a part 2 to this story when part one wasn’t really that great or original. I had heard that this film was bad before I watched it but I did not think that I would never want to watch anymore films in this series. Please do not make any more parts to this sad tale.
8. The Rum Dairy- Now I have no idea what Johnny Depp was thinking about when he wanted to make this film but after this was over, I sure hope that this was just a onetime mistake and not an idea of future films from this actor. The story, the plot idea of the film just never seemed to flow. It failed on so many different levels and was a huge box office miss for all involved in this film.
7. The Last Godfather (Korean)- From some of the same people who made D-War also made this clunker of a film that forced Director Hyung-rae Shim into bankruptcy after this film failed at the Korea Box Office. All you need to know is that the film had the K-Pop girl band “The Wonder Girls” place in a 1950’s NYC environment, and this was only one of many huge errors and lack of direction that this film had.
6. Immortals- Now this film was also shot in 3D and sad to say, I saw it in 3d. After the film was over I could not believe that I had wasted my time and $4 on this film and was made ever sadder by the fact that they plan to make part 2 to this crap. The film had no direction, no real plot and tried to get by on one badly written script. It should not be released on DVD and all copies burned of this film. And just think I saw 5 worsen films than this one.
5. Gnomeo and Juliet-I just had a bad feeling when I saw this film in 3D and saw that it was going to be a kids story about Romeo and Juliet based on Gnomes. I knew that this film was for kids only but when the kids in the audience hated the film, I knew that this was a truly bad one. This take on the classic love story fails on every level and when I saw children upset hat their parents had taken them to see this film, I knew that this one was going on my worst films of the year list.
4. Puss in Boots- I knew this film wasn’t going be a good as the first Shrek but when it was worse than the last Shrek, I really could not believe it. The story was just horrible and when the children told their parents that they never wanted to see another film about this stupid cat, as I overheard one child tell his, I knew that this was a huge fail on many different levels. And this film was nominate for an Oscar for best Animated Feature, really had me wondering if maybe they saw a director’s cut of this film.
3. Jack and Jill-Now I know that the majority of Adam Sandler’s films in the past have been juvenile humor and I have liked most of them, until this one. I have no idea who told him that this idea was funny but the more the film played the worst it got and by the end of the film, I never wanted to see this film again and made me doubt if I ever want to see another one of his films again. A huge misfire for all those involved.
2. Conan (2011) Once again a 3D film attempt and once again, I could see no reason for the 3D in this film, I knew that trying to remake a film could backfire but this one was just bad. No real plot, no real flow and an actor who never could deliver a straight line and never had me believing that he was Conan. A huge mistake and a huge $$ loser for all involved.
Now the last 9 were bad film but my #1 lost a lot of money, caused a studio/production company to quit making films and Disney knew that this film was going to be bad and they still released it and the film cost a rumored 200 million to make surely made this the Worst Film of the year.
1. Mars Needs Moms- When I first saw the preview of this film, I just had a bed feeling that this was going be a bad film. After I read the first wave of reviews I really thought it was going to be bad. After I watched the film I knew it was a bad film and really asked why Disney released this 3D mess to the general public. They won’t release “Song of the South” on DVD but they released this crap to us and they knew it was crap. At least I had a free ticket for this film or I would have really wanted my money back for this one. Please do not watch the film, rent it, download it nor let your children watch it. It just was that bad of a film.
Now the 3rd part of the list is what I like to call the surprises of the year. These are usually films that no one thought would so well or were expected to be failures.
10. Sunny (Sseo-ni) (2011)(Korea) Not much was expected about this film about a lady and her female friends but the Korean audiences loved it with ticket sales close to 7 million. It took a look at a girl and how she kept the same group of friends from her school years into her adult life. A real surprise film.
9. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close- When the previews showed that this film was not about 9/11 but about the days after it, this film could have been a huge disaster. The film showed how a boy dealt with the loss of his father and him trying to figure out why. The film has 2 Oscar nominations for Best Film and Best Supporting Actor.
8. Attack The Block (UK) Now who are you going to call when aliens have invaded your block of England and no one believes you. I had heard this was a good film but I was not expecting this great of a film with such a simple idea. It has a great story and believable kids who are trying to save their block from the aliens.
7. The Muppets-Now I knew that this film was either going to be a small hit or a huge failure but after the film was over I was glad that I watched it. What I really liked about it was that the music for the film was written by Bret McKenzie, Flight of the Conchords fame. It just gave the film that little extra and especially with Chris Coopers rap evil song, it was over the top but I loved it.
6. Fast 5-Now this film could have been the final in the series but with the addition of “The Rock” and some great action scenes (and sad to say one very bad plot of the film) the audiences just wanted more from these actors.
5. Courageous-In the Christian film market what you usually get is a small budget with a limited audience but this film found a decent size audience and made a huge profit for all involved, The idea of police officers having to deal with their faith after an incident was a very simple idea but it worked.
4. Super 8- Basically it was J.J. Abrams ode to his childhood when he shot his early films on super 8 film. That is what I though when I went to see it but while I was watching it the film just got better and better. What you see is an alien that has been captured by the US Government and it has been unleashed on a small town. It shows the horror of an alien attack, a boy’s first love and him dealing with the loss of his mother. It was a lot of different ideas together that ended up making on great film.
3.The Lion King (3D)It was a very simple ides, re-release the film for 2 weeks and show it in the 3D format for the blu-ray that was going to be released in a few weeks. Well after a 30+ million first week of release, it stayed strong for a few weeks at the Box office and ended up making 90+ million in the USA for a film that was first released almost 20 years ago, it was a huge surprise.
2. The Help- I thought that it was going to be a small film about the 1960’s south and as more people watched it the better the reviews got for it. The film grossed about 170 million US box offices dollars and has received 4 Oscar nominations.
Now the surprise of the year I did not see coming and when I saw the preview I thought that it wasn’t going to be a good film at all. It ended up getting an Oscar nomination for one of its actors.
1. Bridesmaids- Now I had no idea that this film was going to be a funny as it was and the scene at the Wedding Dress shop was just way too funny. For an “R” rated comedy it gathered an Oscar nomination for Melissa McCarthy and has done well on the DVD market. Please see the film if you haven’t yet, I think both male and female audiences will love this film.
Now the 4th part of this list will be the Disappointments of the year. These films had good buzz or they were given a lot of hype or were highly thought of.
10. Children (Korean: 아이들; translit. Aideul)- This film took a look at a story about missing children from the Taegu area back in 1991 and how the case was mangled by the Korean Police and investigators. If they had stuck with that part of the story I might have included it in the best of the year list but when they added a fictions character that might have been the real killer, it soon became an insult to the kids’ parent and the actual kids themselves.
9. Shame- Now I heard a lot of buzz about this film and how it might get some Oscar nominations, so I went and saw it on one Saturday afternoon. I really could not believe what a bad film this was. If this is edgy and needed to be seen by the indy film crowd, then please excuse me from anymore of English Directors Steve McQueen’s films. After the film I did a quick poll of about 10 people and all 10 of us didn’t like the film that we has just seen and thought it was a huge mistake in film making.
8. In the Land of Blood and Honey- From director Angelina Jolie we got a film about the 1990’s film about the Bosnian War and the horrors of it. The film wasn’t well directed and it really could have used a tighter edit. It was a noble attempt of a film but a mess of a film when you attempt to watch it.
7. J Edgar- A film that was directed by Clint Eastwood that wasn’t that great of a film that really kept going all over the place and really lacked focus. I never for once believed that Leo was J.Edgar and that really hurt the film.
6. Sector 7 (Korean)- This was South Korea’s first IMAX 3D film and if this film is it IMAX future, then hopefully it’s the last one that we will see from this country. Overacting and bad special effects created a monster that no one feared and a few people even laughed at. A huge mistake for Korean film making.
5. Cars 2. This was the first Pixar film that wasn’t nominated in the Best Animated Category since it was first established and whatever heart the first film had was totally lost in this one. I liked the film but not as much as I did the first and thought that it really had too many stories trying to get into the film. It needed more Lighting and a lot less Matter.
4. Hangover 2- If you have seen the first Hangover then you’ve already seen the 2nd one is a common idea about this film and that is sad. It was like the director put himself in cruise control and just redid the majority of the same jokes from the first one into this one and it just doesn’t work. It was like the party moved from Vegas to Bangkok and we are just supposed to like it.
3. Larry Crowe- In what should have been a great film with Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks together in a film ended up being a huge error of a film. The 2 stars never really showed any chemistry together and the film really had too many stories trying to work together and really needed about 20 minutes removed from it
2. The Big Year-Now when I heard that Steve Martin, Owen Wilson and Jack Black were going to make a film together, I so wanted to see it. But I heard that the film wasn’t working after the first day of the showing and the word quickly spread that this film was horrible and died a quick death at the box office. It should have been funny but in the end I didn’t laugh and really left disappointed after watching this sad failure of a film.
Now I was told by many people whose opinion I value that these 2 films were going to be epic and Legendary but after I watched them both, I really couldn’t believe that it was all hype and not much of a film. Even sadder news is that are going ahead with a part 2 to one of these films and killed any idea of a part 2 for the other one.
TIE
1. Green Lantern-All I kept hearing about this film was that this was going to be better than “The Dark Knight” and that this was finally going to be the superhero film that we have all waited for. Well after watching it, I asked a few of the people who recommended this film to me what had gone wrong with this film. They really couldn’t describe it to me and they were really disappointed by this film. A huge 200 million $ gamble that fell by its own weight and a lack of any real good ideas for this story.
2. Cowboys and Aliens- Now this was one of the films that I wanted to see in the summer of 2011 and when I finally got around to watching this film, I really couldn’t believe that this film was actually that bad and that with the 2 stars of the film, Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, that it could actually be that bad, It just never seemed to work and that by the end of the film it was very obvious that this film never should have been made.
Now for the last part of the list I call it WTF! I take a look at bad films or films that should have never been made or just a crap film that no one besides me ever needs to be seen again.
1. Tie. Straw Dogs (2011), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), X Men: First Class, Arthur(2011),Footloose (2011), Dream House (2011), Fright Night,(2011),The 3 Musketeers (2011), The Thing (2011), Scream 4, Big Mama 3
Now this was the year of the horrible remakes that bombed at the box office. I still have no idea who thought that remaking these films was going to be a good idea. I had seen all of the originals and after watching all of these remakes, I really just wanted to do a “Wayne Brady” and choke a Bytch. The 3 Musketeers has a flying ship? Footloose was a country song? The apes were going to lose? These films clearly showed that when film makers try and go back they often fail the majority of the time.
2. Happy Feet 2- so you do a sequel and do not include the love story of the parents that made the first one so great and you wonder why kids ran away from this film instead of towards it when it played at the movies? It was just a bad film with too many stories with no one really making it shine.
3. Thor and Captain America- Were these 2 films made just to entice the movie viewers to see this year’s “The Avengers” film. It was like I was given a 300+ million youtube preview film. Both films were ok but they both needed really tighter edit and a better script.
4. New Years Eve-In what was supposed to be a sequel to the movie Valentine’s Day, that soon didn’t become a sequel but was compared to the Valentine’s Day film. Sound confused? Welcome to this movie, too many stories and not enough time and it’s a mess when it doesn’t work and this one sure was a failure.
5. Sucker Punch- I had heard a lot of great reviews about this film before it came out but after I saw it I sure wondered if we were watching the same film because this was a mess that just never really became clear. A bad script bad actors and a lousy job of directing doomed this film.
6. The Darkest Hour- Now I had some hope for this film when I heard that Russian Director was going to direct this film but after watching it, I really could not believe that he had attached his name to this piece of junk. Bad acting, lousy script and just horrible and pathetic looking special effects killed this film at the Box office.
7. Apollo 18- Now this is part of a new wave of film that supposedly have lost footage that make up a film and this one did look interesting and I liked its preview but after I watched it, I was reminded of an old southern saying, If you put lipstick on a pig and say it’s a beauty queen by the end of the contest it’s still a pig in lipstick! Bad acting, bad script and if this is the truth then please tell me lies, sweet little lies.
This is the end of the year look at movies and here is hoping that 2012 will be better than 2011. Please recall dear readers, I see the crap so you don’t have to.
Monday, February 06, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
2012 Oscar Best Picture Of The Year Movie Reviews
In this article I will review the 9 films that have been nominated for Best Picture of the year, in no particular order and with spoilers.
1. The Artist- I had read a lot of good reviews of the film before I saw it in the movie theaters and to be honest I really wasn’t sure what to think about the film before I sat down and watched the film. I t was the year 2011 and I was going to watch a new silent film. (I had seen old silent films in the past and wasn’t sure how it would work in the present time.) The idea of the film is simple enough, a boy on the way down the film industry meets a girl that is on her way up and it is all because of a new invention in the movies, a film with sound. What I really like about the film was the dog, Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier, who plays the male’s lead dog in this film. In every scene that the dog is in, the dog becomes the comedy of the film. After watching the film, I was thinking that I had just seen an idea of a film that might not translate to the modern audience. If you like silent films then I think that you’ll love this one, if the idea of a silent film is new to you then please see this if it plays in the Korean theaters. I loved it because it told a great story and I never really knew what was coming next and by the end of the film, I was happy that I had seen a great film that need to be seen. Grade: A
2. The Descendants Now with George Clooney either I have loved his films (Up in the Air, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Ocean 11-13, O Brother, Where Art Thou?)Or I have really hated them (The American, The Ides of March, Letherheads, Michael Clayton, The Good German) I have very rarely had him in the middle. SO going into this film I knew that it had great word-of-mouth and that the film was directed by Alexander Payne. I loved his film “Sideways” and was looking forward to seeing this film. It is basically about 2 paths that Matt King (George Clooney)has to take. We are shown that his wife is now in a coma and will not recover and that the machine keeping her alive will be turned off. It is discovered that she had an affair and that Matt knew nothing about it. The 2nd part of the film is that Matt is the sole trustee of sole trustee of 25,000 acres of untouched land on the island of Kaua’i, passed down from his ancestors. The trust will expire in seven years, and the family has decided to sell the land and Matt has to decide who to sell the land to.The rest of the story I will leave unspoiled for you. What I really liked about this film was the way that George kept dealing with these 2 main issues and how it is affecting his 2 daughters in this film. I really believed that this was his family and that he was trying to keep it all together and he really was not sure how to do it. The more I watched the film, the more I believed what I was seeing. The magic that was in the film “Sideways” was also in this one and when it was over I was really glad that I had watched this film and I understood why George is getting serious Oscar talk for his role in this film. Grade: A
3. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close- When I first saw the preview of this film the trailer screen had the words, “This is not a film about September 11th, it’s a film about the days after.” I had no idea if I even wanted to see this film because of all of the anger that I still feel for almost 3,000 people killed on that day. I then decided that the film had a shot of getting the best picture nomination and that well. Why not see the film? After I watched the film, I was glad that I watched it. The film is a simple one, it is about a child who has no idea why his dad died on that day and how he has to live with it. The film never states it but it is implied that the son has some special needs and it was his father that truly understood how to deal with him while his mother at first is shown that she doesn’t know how to handle him. The child finds a key in his father’s belongings a year after the event and decides that this is there last adventure together and that he must find the mystery of this key. The journey of this key is what makes this film from a good one into a great one. You see a child trying to make logical sense of insanity and you see that he really isn’t doing a good job with it so he must go on this last treasure hunt that he thinks that his father set up for him. Along the way he meets a man only called the “Renter”, it is the scenes with him and the voice messages from his father on September 11th that left the audience with a hit that they did not see coming. The film ends with the adventure complete and the boy tries to go on without his father. Please see it when you get the chance. Grade A
4. The Help- Now I had heard that this was a small film that had made a lot of money by the time I got around to watching t and I hadn’t read the book about the film and I knew it was about the 1960’s in The Sothern part of the USA. I knew the history of that era so I really wasn’t sure what I was going to see but after I saw it I am sure glad that I did because it was a great film about stupidity and injustice. The idea of the film is very simple, a College Graduate returns home and want to write a book about the maids in the 1960’s but instead of one story she gets many and when the book becomes a huge best seller, then the film really takes off. I kinda had the feeling about how the film was going to end and when it ended in that manor; to me it was the only way the film could truly end. It made the film from a good one into a great one. If you are unfamiliar about the USA history of this time then this film will definitely educate you to what was going on in that part of the world. Please see it when you get the chance. Grade A
5. Hugo- Sad to say once again a lot of people saw something in this film and I sure wasn’t one of them. I found the film to be a complete waste of viewing and it just never clicked for me. If you like the director’s prior films then this one will be a surprise, I guess I was just expecting a better story that what this film delivered. Grade F
6. Midnight in Paris- Now with being a critic for many years I have come to realize that there are directors that I like and there are some that I just do not like and sad to say Woody Allen has always been one who’s films I have never understood why so many critics seen to like. So when I heard that this was his most popular film in years I decided that I was going to get a copy of this film and watch it to see if I would like this one. Well sad to say, to me it was the same old reason that I hate his film, a plot that went nowhere, too many stories trying to mix together and once again a smug director thinking that he is actually clever by some of his little trademark trick that I saw throughout this film. If you like his film I think that you are going to like this one, if you are like me and you don’t, then this film really won’t change your mind about him. The only time I smiled thought this film is when it was over and the credits rolled. Please pass on this film. Grade C-
7. Moneyball-Since my favorite sport in the world is baseball, knew he story of Billy Bean before I went into this film and I knew what the Oakland A’s had achieved since he became the General Manager of them. I knew the term “ Moneyball” and what it meant. So when I went to watch the film, I really wasn’t expecting that much. This soon became clear to me that I was wrong about my first thought about this film because the more it watched this film, the better it got. I must admit that I though the casting of Jonah Hill was a huge mistake but while I was watching the film it became real clear to me very fast that he was exactly what the film needed. The scenes where he and Brad Pitt work together to make “Moneyball” work were great and I can’t believe that Hill could actually act. So I wasn’t that much surprised when Hill was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The film is a great look at the attempt of a few men to try and change how players are scouted. Please see it when you can. Grade A
8. The Tree of Life- As I said earlier there are directors that I like and some that I hate and then there are some who I just don’t quite understand and sad to say The director of this film, Terrence Malick has always been one of them. I really had no idea what to think about this film before I saw it and after I saw it, I still had the same idea, I really never could grasp what the director was attempting in this film. After I watched it and wanted to get more opinions about this film and when I read that one of the actors in this film, Sean Penn, had the exact same questions that I had about this film, I knew that I want the only one. I have heard rumors that there was a 6 hour cut of this film and maybe this film need to be one day restored back into that cut because I really did not get where this film was ever going. I hope that his next film will be better because I can see no reason why this film was nominated for Best Picture. Please pass on this film at all cost. Grade F
9.War Horse- As I kept watching the many previews for this film, I couldn’t help but wonder would I actually like this film? After his last 2 films, Tin Tin and Indy 4, I was wondering had the director, Steven Spielberg, lost his way. I am happy to report that the director not only made a good film, he made a great one. As this reviewer has stated in the past that he is a history major and a former US Army soldier, I take a very hard look at historical films and look for their accuracy. Sometimes the lack of accuracy doesn’t bother me (Gladiator) or the total lack of the truth (Braveheart) will really turn me off on a film. I kept thinking about that before I went in to see the film and wondering what I would see in this film. I can say that I saw a film that I, historically, that I actually could believe in. The idea of the film is very simple, a boy learns to train and love a horse. World War one has started and the British need all horses for the war effort and his horse is sold and the horse goes to war. For the rest of the film I was reminded of this fact, of the million horses that were sent abroad from the UK, only 62,000 returned, the rest dying in the war or slaughtered in France for meat. World War 1 had a massive and indelible impact on the male population of the UK: 886,000 men died one in eight of those who went to war, and 2% of the entire country’s population. The film is shown through the Horses reaction and to what happened to him. The bells scenes made that fact very clear to me in the film. My favorite part of the film is when the horse is trapped in barbed wire and a German and British Soldier both work together to free the horse. The sheer lunacy of this moment in the War made me believe in the film more, the film then takes you where usually dramas will take you, so you won’t be surprised by it but you might actually like it. The ending was pretty easy to see coming but after the adventure of this film, this is the way that this film had to end. After the film was over, I realized that I would want to add this film to my collection and to show it to people who need to see that great films are still being made in 2011. Please see it when it plays in South Korea. Grade A+
And if I had my vote it would be for “The Descendants’ based on these 9 films. Please try to see all of these films on DVD, VOD, or at the local CGV.
In this article I will review the 9 films that have been nominated for Best Picture of the year, in no particular order and with spoilers.
1. The Artist- I had read a lot of good reviews of the film before I saw it in the movie theaters and to be honest I really wasn’t sure what to think about the film before I sat down and watched the film. I t was the year 2011 and I was going to watch a new silent film. (I had seen old silent films in the past and wasn’t sure how it would work in the present time.) The idea of the film is simple enough, a boy on the way down the film industry meets a girl that is on her way up and it is all because of a new invention in the movies, a film with sound. What I really like about the film was the dog, Uggie, the Jack Russell terrier, who plays the male’s lead dog in this film. In every scene that the dog is in, the dog becomes the comedy of the film. After watching the film, I was thinking that I had just seen an idea of a film that might not translate to the modern audience. If you like silent films then I think that you’ll love this one, if the idea of a silent film is new to you then please see this if it plays in the Korean theaters. I loved it because it told a great story and I never really knew what was coming next and by the end of the film, I was happy that I had seen a great film that need to be seen. Grade: A
2. The Descendants Now with George Clooney either I have loved his films (Up in the Air, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Ocean 11-13, O Brother, Where Art Thou?)Or I have really hated them (The American, The Ides of March, Letherheads, Michael Clayton, The Good German) I have very rarely had him in the middle. SO going into this film I knew that it had great word-of-mouth and that the film was directed by Alexander Payne. I loved his film “Sideways” and was looking forward to seeing this film. It is basically about 2 paths that Matt King (George Clooney)has to take. We are shown that his wife is now in a coma and will not recover and that the machine keeping her alive will be turned off. It is discovered that she had an affair and that Matt knew nothing about it. The 2nd part of the film is that Matt is the sole trustee of sole trustee of 25,000 acres of untouched land on the island of Kaua’i, passed down from his ancestors. The trust will expire in seven years, and the family has decided to sell the land and Matt has to decide who to sell the land to.The rest of the story I will leave unspoiled for you. What I really liked about this film was the way that George kept dealing with these 2 main issues and how it is affecting his 2 daughters in this film. I really believed that this was his family and that he was trying to keep it all together and he really was not sure how to do it. The more I watched the film, the more I believed what I was seeing. The magic that was in the film “Sideways” was also in this one and when it was over I was really glad that I had watched this film and I understood why George is getting serious Oscar talk for his role in this film. Grade: A
3. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close- When I first saw the preview of this film the trailer screen had the words, “This is not a film about September 11th, it’s a film about the days after.” I had no idea if I even wanted to see this film because of all of the anger that I still feel for almost 3,000 people killed on that day. I then decided that the film had a shot of getting the best picture nomination and that well. Why not see the film? After I watched the film, I was glad that I watched it. The film is a simple one, it is about a child who has no idea why his dad died on that day and how he has to live with it. The film never states it but it is implied that the son has some special needs and it was his father that truly understood how to deal with him while his mother at first is shown that she doesn’t know how to handle him. The child finds a key in his father’s belongings a year after the event and decides that this is there last adventure together and that he must find the mystery of this key. The journey of this key is what makes this film from a good one into a great one. You see a child trying to make logical sense of insanity and you see that he really isn’t doing a good job with it so he must go on this last treasure hunt that he thinks that his father set up for him. Along the way he meets a man only called the “Renter”, it is the scenes with him and the voice messages from his father on September 11th that left the audience with a hit that they did not see coming. The film ends with the adventure complete and the boy tries to go on without his father. Please see it when you get the chance. Grade A
4. The Help- Now I had heard that this was a small film that had made a lot of money by the time I got around to watching t and I hadn’t read the book about the film and I knew it was about the 1960’s in The Sothern part of the USA. I knew the history of that era so I really wasn’t sure what I was going to see but after I saw it I am sure glad that I did because it was a great film about stupidity and injustice. The idea of the film is very simple, a College Graduate returns home and want to write a book about the maids in the 1960’s but instead of one story she gets many and when the book becomes a huge best seller, then the film really takes off. I kinda had the feeling about how the film was going to end and when it ended in that manor; to me it was the only way the film could truly end. It made the film from a good one into a great one. If you are unfamiliar about the USA history of this time then this film will definitely educate you to what was going on in that part of the world. Please see it when you get the chance. Grade A
5. Hugo- Sad to say once again a lot of people saw something in this film and I sure wasn’t one of them. I found the film to be a complete waste of viewing and it just never clicked for me. If you like the director’s prior films then this one will be a surprise, I guess I was just expecting a better story that what this film delivered. Grade F
6. Midnight in Paris- Now with being a critic for many years I have come to realize that there are directors that I like and there are some that I just do not like and sad to say Woody Allen has always been one who’s films I have never understood why so many critics seen to like. So when I heard that this was his most popular film in years I decided that I was going to get a copy of this film and watch it to see if I would like this one. Well sad to say, to me it was the same old reason that I hate his film, a plot that went nowhere, too many stories trying to mix together and once again a smug director thinking that he is actually clever by some of his little trademark trick that I saw throughout this film. If you like his film I think that you are going to like this one, if you are like me and you don’t, then this film really won’t change your mind about him. The only time I smiled thought this film is when it was over and the credits rolled. Please pass on this film. Grade C-
7. Moneyball-Since my favorite sport in the world is baseball, knew he story of Billy Bean before I went into this film and I knew what the Oakland A’s had achieved since he became the General Manager of them. I knew the term “ Moneyball” and what it meant. So when I went to watch the film, I really wasn’t expecting that much. This soon became clear to me that I was wrong about my first thought about this film because the more it watched this film, the better it got. I must admit that I though the casting of Jonah Hill was a huge mistake but while I was watching the film it became real clear to me very fast that he was exactly what the film needed. The scenes where he and Brad Pitt work together to make “Moneyball” work were great and I can’t believe that Hill could actually act. So I wasn’t that much surprised when Hill was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The film is a great look at the attempt of a few men to try and change how players are scouted. Please see it when you can. Grade A
8. The Tree of Life- As I said earlier there are directors that I like and some that I hate and then there are some who I just don’t quite understand and sad to say The director of this film, Terrence Malick has always been one of them. I really had no idea what to think about this film before I saw it and after I saw it, I still had the same idea, I really never could grasp what the director was attempting in this film. After I watched it and wanted to get more opinions about this film and when I read that one of the actors in this film, Sean Penn, had the exact same questions that I had about this film, I knew that I want the only one. I have heard rumors that there was a 6 hour cut of this film and maybe this film need to be one day restored back into that cut because I really did not get where this film was ever going. I hope that his next film will be better because I can see no reason why this film was nominated for Best Picture. Please pass on this film at all cost. Grade F
9.War Horse- As I kept watching the many previews for this film, I couldn’t help but wonder would I actually like this film? After his last 2 films, Tin Tin and Indy 4, I was wondering had the director, Steven Spielberg, lost his way. I am happy to report that the director not only made a good film, he made a great one. As this reviewer has stated in the past that he is a history major and a former US Army soldier, I take a very hard look at historical films and look for their accuracy. Sometimes the lack of accuracy doesn’t bother me (Gladiator) or the total lack of the truth (Braveheart) will really turn me off on a film. I kept thinking about that before I went in to see the film and wondering what I would see in this film. I can say that I saw a film that I, historically, that I actually could believe in. The idea of the film is very simple, a boy learns to train and love a horse. World War one has started and the British need all horses for the war effort and his horse is sold and the horse goes to war. For the rest of the film I was reminded of this fact, of the million horses that were sent abroad from the UK, only 62,000 returned, the rest dying in the war or slaughtered in France for meat. World War 1 had a massive and indelible impact on the male population of the UK: 886,000 men died one in eight of those who went to war, and 2% of the entire country’s population. The film is shown through the Horses reaction and to what happened to him. The bells scenes made that fact very clear to me in the film. My favorite part of the film is when the horse is trapped in barbed wire and a German and British Soldier both work together to free the horse. The sheer lunacy of this moment in the War made me believe in the film more, the film then takes you where usually dramas will take you, so you won’t be surprised by it but you might actually like it. The ending was pretty easy to see coming but after the adventure of this film, this is the way that this film had to end. After the film was over, I realized that I would want to add this film to my collection and to show it to people who need to see that great films are still being made in 2011. Please see it when it plays in South Korea. Grade A+
And if I had my vote it would be for “The Descendants’ based on these 9 films. Please try to see all of these films on DVD, VOD, or at the local CGV.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
The top 10 conservative movies of the modern era
By Nile Gardiner
Two years ago I produced a list of the top 10 conservative movies of the last decade, which sparked a good deal of debate among film fans on both sides of the Atlantic. I’ve produced a sequel, a list of the ten best conservative films of the last half-century, from the 1960s onwards. I plan to eventually write a list of the top ten conservative films of all time, where the likes of On the Waterfront (1954) and High Noon (1952) will certainly be leading candidates for inclusion.
As I noted in my 2009 post, this is a list of cinematic treasures that have “advanced a conservative message, ranging from strong support for the military and love for country to the defence of capitalism and the free market. These are all brilliant movies that conservatives can be inspired by, and which are guaranteed to offend Left-wing sensibilities in one way or another.” I include four films from my first list: Master and Commander, Black Hawk Down, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Pursuit of Happyness.
These are movies that I believe can and will inspire conservatives and conservative leaders. They are not necessarily made by conservative film-makers, however, and the majority of directors on this list are not known for their political views. Some ideologically liberal directors have made great conservatives movies. Steven Spielberg for example is a politically liberal figure who consistently makes films that advance conservative values. The second film on this list, Zulu, was directed by Cy Endfield, who was wrongly blacklisted during the McCarthy era and forced to work in exile abroad in Britain.
In recent decades Hollywood has been a bastion of liberalism, but at the same time its studios have produced and distributed some major hit movies that have a conservative outlook or message, not least because, as Gallup has found, conservatives significantly outnumber liberals in the US population as a whole and form a major part of the cinema-going public. Witness the recent success for example of Sandra Bullock's The Blind Side, a film that grossed more than $300 million for Warner Brothers in 2009.
Below are films that conservatives can be taken to heart in both the United States and Great Britain, movies that celebrate conservative values, the defense of the free world, deep-seated patriotism and individual liberty.
1. Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson, 1981)
Chariots of Fire is one of the greatest British films of all time, and a truly conservative masterpiece. It received seven Academy Award nominations in 1982, winning four including Best Picture, Score (by Vangelis), Original Screenplay and Costume Design, and also went on to win Best Film at the BAFTAS. Ben Cross and Ian Charleson played the athletes Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell who competed for Britain in the 1924 Paris Olympics, both winning gold medals, in the 100 Metres and 400 Metres respectively. The superb supporting cast included Sir Ian Holm, Sir John Gielgud, Nigel Havers, Patrick Magee and Lindsay Anderson. Chariots of Fire exudes patriotism, tradition, faith, honour and sacrifice in a magnificently inspiring motion picture that captured the hearts of cinema goers all over the world. Produced by David Puttnam, Chariots led a renaissance of British cinema in the 1980s, including a string of major hits including Gandhi, A Passage to India, The Mission, and The Killing Fields. In accepting his Oscar, the film's writer Colin Welland famously declared "the British are coming" – and how right he was.
2. Zulu (Cy Endfield, 1964)
Arguably the most influential war film of the modern era, Zulu is a magnificent tribute to the tremendous bravery of the 140 British soldiers of the 24th Regiment of Foot who defended the small mission post at Rorke’s Drift, Natal, in the face of thousands of Zulu attackers during the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879, winning 11 Victoria Crosses in the process. At the same time the film honours the great courage of the Zulu impis, who died in the hundreds during the battle. The film featured a breakout performance by a young Michael Caine, who brilliantly played Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead, alongside Stanley Baker’s Lieutenant John Chard, stunning cinematography by Stephen Dade and a rousing score by John Barry. Made in the dying days of the British Empire in Africa, Zulu was strikingly old-fashioned even for its day, in its heroic depiction of the British warrior ethos at the height of the Victorian era. Zulu is one of the only films of the modern age that chose not to condemn or vilify Britain's imperial heritage, but instead highlighted the extraordinary courage of the men who fought and died in defence of the largest and most benevolent Empire the world had ever seen.
3. Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 1998)
Steven Spielberg has made some of the best and biggest movies of the last four decades: Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Schindler’s List to name but a few. His finest film though is Saving Private Ryan, inexplicably overlooked for Best Picture at the 1999 Academy Awards in favour of Shakespeare in Love. His soaring tribute to the bravery of American soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy in June 1944 was a powerful reminder of the huge sacrifices made by an earlier generation in the defence of freedom. It is a reminder that the defence of liberty comes at great cost. It should be essential viewing for every US president as he takes office. It is a truly humbling film that depicts the horror of war in unflinching detail while illustrating the magnificent courage of those who laid down their lives for the United States on the European battlefields of World War Two.
4. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Peter Weir, 2003)
Peter Weir’s unashamedly old-fashioned and visually stunning adaptation of Patrick O’Brian’s novel is one of the greatest odes to leadership ever committed to celluloid. Australian director Weir has made many terrific films, including Gallipoli, Dead Poets Society, The Year of Living Dangerously, and Witness, but Master and Commander was the pinnacle of his career so far. Nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, it should be essential viewing for any Commander-In-Chief. Russell Crowe delivers a immensely powerful performance as Jack Aubrey, Captain of HMS Surprise, a British warship that hunts and ultimately captures a far larger French adversary during the Napoleonic Wars. Set in 1805, it is an epic tale of heroism and love for country in the face of incredible odds, and a glowing tribute to the grit and determination that forged the British Empire. Needless to say, it should be shown at the next EU summit by the UK delegation for the benefit of Nicolas Sarkozy when he gets on his high horse and starts lecturing Britain about French superiority.
5. Rocky (John G. Avildsen, 1976)
Sylvester Stallone has been one of the most successful conservative movie stars of his generation, and rose to fame in the 1977 Best Picture winner Rocky. Made for less than $1 million, Rocky was the underdog that went on to beat All The President’s Men, Taxi Driver and Network at the Oscars, with Stallone nominated for Best Actor for his performance as humble boxer Rocky Balboa who rises from poverty to become a world champion. The film sparked five sequels, culminating in the terrific Rocky Balboa in 2006, and the series has pulled in more than $1 billion at the US and worldwide box office combined. Produced largely on location in Philadelphia (out of the reach of the powerful film industry unions), and featuring a dynamite score by Bill Conti, Rocky was an incredible success filmed in the space of just 30 days. Conservative to the core and deeply patriotic in outlook, the Rocky films are a celebration of American values and individualism, and have come to embody the nation’s tremendous fighting spirit and love of liberty.
6. The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 1978)
The Deer Hunter came away with five Oscars, including Best Picture, Director and Supporting Actor, and is one of the most iconic dramas of the 1970s, alongside the likes of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Alan J. Pakula’s All the President’s Men and William Friedkin’s The French Connection. But in contrast to several other major Vietnam-themed films of the time, which include Apocalypse Now and Coming Home (and later Platoon and Full Metal Jacket), it cannot be described as an anti-war treatise. Michael Cimino’s visceral masterpiece was attacked upon its release by some critics for its portrayal of the Vietcong as a sadistic, brutal enemy, with its infamous Russian roulette sequence featuring Robert De Niro, John Savage and Christopher Walken as American prisoners held by the North Vietnamese. It even prompted a walkout at the 1979 Berlin International Film Festival by delegations from a number of Communist countries led by the Soviet Union. It is undeniably patriotic, with the film ending with a moving and unforgettable rendition of “God Bless America” sung by the film’s main characters, including a young Meryl Streep. A truly great film, The Deer Hunter is an American epic that three decades on still packs a powerful punch.
7. The Killing Fields (Roland Joffe, 1984)
Despite the huge destruction wrought by Communism in the 20th Century, disappointingly few films have addressed its evils. A notable exception was Roland Joffe’s searing The Killing Fields, the story of American journalist Sydney Schanberg (played by Sam Waterston) and his interpreter and fellow journalist Dith Pran, set against the backdrop of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. The film’s harrowing depiction of the Cambodian genocide between 1975 and 1979 is simply unforgettable, conveying the full horror of Pol Pot’s savage killing machine and inhuman forced labour camps that wiped out up to two-and-a-half million people. Pran’s character, played by Oscar winner Haing S. Ngor, was himself a real-life survivor of the Killing Fields. The British film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning three, as well as the BAFTA for Best Film. The Killing Fields is an uncompromising portrait of a brutal Marxist tyranny, and a warning to the world never to allow this kind of barbarism to be repeated.
8. Black Hawk Down (Ridley Scott, 2001)
Sir Ridley Scott’s searing depiction of the ill-fated US raid on Mogadishu in 1993, which left 19 American servicemen dead, was released just months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States and the launch of the War on Terror. Based on the book by Mark Bowden, it won Academy Awards for Best Film Editing and Sound, and Scott was nominated for Best Director. Many critics enthusiastically dubbed Black Hawk Down an anti-war film, and it is in some respects a cautionary tale about the perils of nation-building. But I regard it above all as an extraordinarily powerful and deeply patriotic tribute to the heroism and bravery of the US military, faced with overwhelming odds in a hostile city dominated by brutal Somali warlords, a story of incredible sacrifice and camaraderie in the heat of battle.
9. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Peter Jackson, 2001, 2002, 2003)
All three parts of the Lord of the Rings trilogy were breathtaking pieces of cinema – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and finally The Return of the King, which won Best Picture at the 2004 Academy Awards. J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of Lord of the Rings, was a devout Catholic and conservative, and a close friend of C.S. Lewis at Oxford. His vision of a mighty battle between good and evil in the realms of Middle Earth was brilliantly transferred to the screen by New Zealand director Peter Jackson, perfectly fitting a post 9/11 world where the forces of freedom found themselves pitted against a barbaric enemy. A two-part prequel to the trilogy - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again – will be released in December 2012 and December 2013.
10. The Pursuit of Happyness (Gabrielle Muccino, 2006)
This Will Smith classic, based on the autobiographical bestseller by Chris Gardner, is one of the most compelling, heart-felt tributes to the free market and the value of individual responsibility ever made. Smith plays an impoverished entrepreneur from a humble background in 1980s San Francisco who through sheer determination and strength of human spirit defies all odds to become a stockbroker with a top investment firm, before making his fortune. Smith’s character embodies the can-do spirit of Reagan’s America, and rejects the welfare state in favour of the capitalist ideal, while bringing up a young son on his own. The Pursuit of Happyness is an inspiring and often deeply moving tribute to the American dream, and one of the great conservative movies of this generation.
Runner-up
The King’s Speech (Tom Hooper, 2010)
The King’s Speech thoroughly deserved its Oscar success last year, sweeping the major awards for Best Picture, Director, Actor and Original Screenplay. As I wrote after seeing the film on its opening night in Washington: “Anyone who doubts the Special Relationship is alive and well in the hearts of the American people should see this film in a US theatre and listen to the rapturous applause it receives. The King’s Speech is undoubtedly one of the best British films since Chariots of Fire, with stunning performances from Colin Firth as George VI and Geoffrey Rush as his unconventional Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue. Tom Hooper’s period drama is a hugely inspirational and moving film that is a triumph for British cinema. It is also deeply patriotic in its portrayal of a stammering, shy monarch who ultimately overcomes tremendous odds to lead a nation at war in the face of a totalitarian enemy.”
Honourable Mentions
These films didn’t make the final list, but deserve recognition for their contribution to conservative values, ideals and principles:
Dirty Harry (Don Siegel, 1971); A Bridge Too Far (Richard Attenborough, 1977); Who Dares Wins (Ian Sharp, 1982); Uncommon Valor (Ted Kotcheff, 1983); Rambo: First Blood Part II (George P. Cosmatos, 1985); Field of Dreams (Phil Alden Robinson, 1989); Henry V (Kenneth Branagh, 1989); Top Gun (Tony Scott, 1986); Shadowlands (Richard Attenborough, 1993); Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994); Gladiator (Ridley Scott, 2000); We Were Soldiers (Randall Wallace, 2002); Tears of the Sun (Antoine Fuqua, 2003); Hotel Rwanda (Terry George, 2004); The Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson, 2004); The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006); United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006); Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone, 2006); Katyn (Andrzej Wajda, 2007); 300 (Zack Snyder, 2007); The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008); Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, 2008); The Blind Side (John Lee Hancock, 2009); 5 Days of War (Renny Harlin, 2011).
By Nile Gardiner
Two years ago I produced a list of the top 10 conservative movies of the last decade, which sparked a good deal of debate among film fans on both sides of the Atlantic. I’ve produced a sequel, a list of the ten best conservative films of the last half-century, from the 1960s onwards. I plan to eventually write a list of the top ten conservative films of all time, where the likes of On the Waterfront (1954) and High Noon (1952) will certainly be leading candidates for inclusion.
As I noted in my 2009 post, this is a list of cinematic treasures that have “advanced a conservative message, ranging from strong support for the military and love for country to the defence of capitalism and the free market. These are all brilliant movies that conservatives can be inspired by, and which are guaranteed to offend Left-wing sensibilities in one way or another.” I include four films from my first list: Master and Commander, Black Hawk Down, The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Pursuit of Happyness.
These are movies that I believe can and will inspire conservatives and conservative leaders. They are not necessarily made by conservative film-makers, however, and the majority of directors on this list are not known for their political views. Some ideologically liberal directors have made great conservatives movies. Steven Spielberg for example is a politically liberal figure who consistently makes films that advance conservative values. The second film on this list, Zulu, was directed by Cy Endfield, who was wrongly blacklisted during the McCarthy era and forced to work in exile abroad in Britain.
In recent decades Hollywood has been a bastion of liberalism, but at the same time its studios have produced and distributed some major hit movies that have a conservative outlook or message, not least because, as Gallup has found, conservatives significantly outnumber liberals in the US population as a whole and form a major part of the cinema-going public. Witness the recent success for example of Sandra Bullock's The Blind Side, a film that grossed more than $300 million for Warner Brothers in 2009.
Below are films that conservatives can be taken to heart in both the United States and Great Britain, movies that celebrate conservative values, the defense of the free world, deep-seated patriotism and individual liberty.
1. Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson, 1981)
Chariots of Fire is one of the greatest British films of all time, and a truly conservative masterpiece. It received seven Academy Award nominations in 1982, winning four including Best Picture, Score (by Vangelis), Original Screenplay and Costume Design, and also went on to win Best Film at the BAFTAS. Ben Cross and Ian Charleson played the athletes Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell who competed for Britain in the 1924 Paris Olympics, both winning gold medals, in the 100 Metres and 400 Metres respectively. The superb supporting cast included Sir Ian Holm, Sir John Gielgud, Nigel Havers, Patrick Magee and Lindsay Anderson. Chariots of Fire exudes patriotism, tradition, faith, honour and sacrifice in a magnificently inspiring motion picture that captured the hearts of cinema goers all over the world. Produced by David Puttnam, Chariots led a renaissance of British cinema in the 1980s, including a string of major hits including Gandhi, A Passage to India, The Mission, and The Killing Fields. In accepting his Oscar, the film's writer Colin Welland famously declared "the British are coming" – and how right he was.
2. Zulu (Cy Endfield, 1964)
Arguably the most influential war film of the modern era, Zulu is a magnificent tribute to the tremendous bravery of the 140 British soldiers of the 24th Regiment of Foot who defended the small mission post at Rorke’s Drift, Natal, in the face of thousands of Zulu attackers during the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879, winning 11 Victoria Crosses in the process. At the same time the film honours the great courage of the Zulu impis, who died in the hundreds during the battle. The film featured a breakout performance by a young Michael Caine, who brilliantly played Lieutenant Gonville Bromhead, alongside Stanley Baker’s Lieutenant John Chard, stunning cinematography by Stephen Dade and a rousing score by John Barry. Made in the dying days of the British Empire in Africa, Zulu was strikingly old-fashioned even for its day, in its heroic depiction of the British warrior ethos at the height of the Victorian era. Zulu is one of the only films of the modern age that chose not to condemn or vilify Britain's imperial heritage, but instead highlighted the extraordinary courage of the men who fought and died in defence of the largest and most benevolent Empire the world had ever seen.
3. Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 1998)
Steven Spielberg has made some of the best and biggest movies of the last four decades: Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Schindler’s List to name but a few. His finest film though is Saving Private Ryan, inexplicably overlooked for Best Picture at the 1999 Academy Awards in favour of Shakespeare in Love. His soaring tribute to the bravery of American soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy in June 1944 was a powerful reminder of the huge sacrifices made by an earlier generation in the defence of freedom. It is a reminder that the defence of liberty comes at great cost. It should be essential viewing for every US president as he takes office. It is a truly humbling film that depicts the horror of war in unflinching detail while illustrating the magnificent courage of those who laid down their lives for the United States on the European battlefields of World War Two.
4. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Peter Weir, 2003)
Peter Weir’s unashamedly old-fashioned and visually stunning adaptation of Patrick O’Brian’s novel is one of the greatest odes to leadership ever committed to celluloid. Australian director Weir has made many terrific films, including Gallipoli, Dead Poets Society, The Year of Living Dangerously, and Witness, but Master and Commander was the pinnacle of his career so far. Nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture, it should be essential viewing for any Commander-In-Chief. Russell Crowe delivers a immensely powerful performance as Jack Aubrey, Captain of HMS Surprise, a British warship that hunts and ultimately captures a far larger French adversary during the Napoleonic Wars. Set in 1805, it is an epic tale of heroism and love for country in the face of incredible odds, and a glowing tribute to the grit and determination that forged the British Empire. Needless to say, it should be shown at the next EU summit by the UK delegation for the benefit of Nicolas Sarkozy when he gets on his high horse and starts lecturing Britain about French superiority.
5. Rocky (John G. Avildsen, 1976)
Sylvester Stallone has been one of the most successful conservative movie stars of his generation, and rose to fame in the 1977 Best Picture winner Rocky. Made for less than $1 million, Rocky was the underdog that went on to beat All The President’s Men, Taxi Driver and Network at the Oscars, with Stallone nominated for Best Actor for his performance as humble boxer Rocky Balboa who rises from poverty to become a world champion. The film sparked five sequels, culminating in the terrific Rocky Balboa in 2006, and the series has pulled in more than $1 billion at the US and worldwide box office combined. Produced largely on location in Philadelphia (out of the reach of the powerful film industry unions), and featuring a dynamite score by Bill Conti, Rocky was an incredible success filmed in the space of just 30 days. Conservative to the core and deeply patriotic in outlook, the Rocky films are a celebration of American values and individualism, and have come to embody the nation’s tremendous fighting spirit and love of liberty.
6. The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 1978)
The Deer Hunter came away with five Oscars, including Best Picture, Director and Supporting Actor, and is one of the most iconic dramas of the 1970s, alongside the likes of Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, Alan J. Pakula’s All the President’s Men and William Friedkin’s The French Connection. But in contrast to several other major Vietnam-themed films of the time, which include Apocalypse Now and Coming Home (and later Platoon and Full Metal Jacket), it cannot be described as an anti-war treatise. Michael Cimino’s visceral masterpiece was attacked upon its release by some critics for its portrayal of the Vietcong as a sadistic, brutal enemy, with its infamous Russian roulette sequence featuring Robert De Niro, John Savage and Christopher Walken as American prisoners held by the North Vietnamese. It even prompted a walkout at the 1979 Berlin International Film Festival by delegations from a number of Communist countries led by the Soviet Union. It is undeniably patriotic, with the film ending with a moving and unforgettable rendition of “God Bless America” sung by the film’s main characters, including a young Meryl Streep. A truly great film, The Deer Hunter is an American epic that three decades on still packs a powerful punch.
7. The Killing Fields (Roland Joffe, 1984)
Despite the huge destruction wrought by Communism in the 20th Century, disappointingly few films have addressed its evils. A notable exception was Roland Joffe’s searing The Killing Fields, the story of American journalist Sydney Schanberg (played by Sam Waterston) and his interpreter and fellow journalist Dith Pran, set against the backdrop of the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. The film’s harrowing depiction of the Cambodian genocide between 1975 and 1979 is simply unforgettable, conveying the full horror of Pol Pot’s savage killing machine and inhuman forced labour camps that wiped out up to two-and-a-half million people. Pran’s character, played by Oscar winner Haing S. Ngor, was himself a real-life survivor of the Killing Fields. The British film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning three, as well as the BAFTA for Best Film. The Killing Fields is an uncompromising portrait of a brutal Marxist tyranny, and a warning to the world never to allow this kind of barbarism to be repeated.
8. Black Hawk Down (Ridley Scott, 2001)
Sir Ridley Scott’s searing depiction of the ill-fated US raid on Mogadishu in 1993, which left 19 American servicemen dead, was released just months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States and the launch of the War on Terror. Based on the book by Mark Bowden, it won Academy Awards for Best Film Editing and Sound, and Scott was nominated for Best Director. Many critics enthusiastically dubbed Black Hawk Down an anti-war film, and it is in some respects a cautionary tale about the perils of nation-building. But I regard it above all as an extraordinarily powerful and deeply patriotic tribute to the heroism and bravery of the US military, faced with overwhelming odds in a hostile city dominated by brutal Somali warlords, a story of incredible sacrifice and camaraderie in the heat of battle.
9. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Peter Jackson, 2001, 2002, 2003)
All three parts of the Lord of the Rings trilogy were breathtaking pieces of cinema – The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and finally The Return of the King, which won Best Picture at the 2004 Academy Awards. J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of Lord of the Rings, was a devout Catholic and conservative, and a close friend of C.S. Lewis at Oxford. His vision of a mighty battle between good and evil in the realms of Middle Earth was brilliantly transferred to the screen by New Zealand director Peter Jackson, perfectly fitting a post 9/11 world where the forces of freedom found themselves pitted against a barbaric enemy. A two-part prequel to the trilogy - The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and The Hobbit: There and Back Again – will be released in December 2012 and December 2013.
10. The Pursuit of Happyness (Gabrielle Muccino, 2006)
This Will Smith classic, based on the autobiographical bestseller by Chris Gardner, is one of the most compelling, heart-felt tributes to the free market and the value of individual responsibility ever made. Smith plays an impoverished entrepreneur from a humble background in 1980s San Francisco who through sheer determination and strength of human spirit defies all odds to become a stockbroker with a top investment firm, before making his fortune. Smith’s character embodies the can-do spirit of Reagan’s America, and rejects the welfare state in favour of the capitalist ideal, while bringing up a young son on his own. The Pursuit of Happyness is an inspiring and often deeply moving tribute to the American dream, and one of the great conservative movies of this generation.
Runner-up
The King’s Speech (Tom Hooper, 2010)
The King’s Speech thoroughly deserved its Oscar success last year, sweeping the major awards for Best Picture, Director, Actor and Original Screenplay. As I wrote after seeing the film on its opening night in Washington: “Anyone who doubts the Special Relationship is alive and well in the hearts of the American people should see this film in a US theatre and listen to the rapturous applause it receives. The King’s Speech is undoubtedly one of the best British films since Chariots of Fire, with stunning performances from Colin Firth as George VI and Geoffrey Rush as his unconventional Australian speech therapist, Lionel Logue. Tom Hooper’s period drama is a hugely inspirational and moving film that is a triumph for British cinema. It is also deeply patriotic in its portrayal of a stammering, shy monarch who ultimately overcomes tremendous odds to lead a nation at war in the face of a totalitarian enemy.”
Honourable Mentions
These films didn’t make the final list, but deserve recognition for their contribution to conservative values, ideals and principles:
Dirty Harry (Don Siegel, 1971); A Bridge Too Far (Richard Attenborough, 1977); Who Dares Wins (Ian Sharp, 1982); Uncommon Valor (Ted Kotcheff, 1983); Rambo: First Blood Part II (George P. Cosmatos, 1985); Field of Dreams (Phil Alden Robinson, 1989); Henry V (Kenneth Branagh, 1989); Top Gun (Tony Scott, 1986); Shadowlands (Richard Attenborough, 1993); Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994); Gladiator (Ridley Scott, 2000); We Were Soldiers (Randall Wallace, 2002); Tears of the Sun (Antoine Fuqua, 2003); Hotel Rwanda (Terry George, 2004); The Passion of the Christ (Mel Gibson, 2004); The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006); United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006); Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone, 2006); Katyn (Andrzej Wajda, 2007); 300 (Zack Snyder, 2007); The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008); Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, 2008); The Blind Side (John Lee Hancock, 2009); 5 Days of War (Renny Harlin, 2011).
Friday, January 06, 2012
Movie Review. The Flowers of War (simplified Chinese: 金陵十三钗; traditional Chinese: 金陵十三釵), previously called Nanjing Heroes and 13 Flowers of Nanjing.
The film is based on the novel The 13 Women of Nanjing by Geling Yan, and has been selected as the Chinese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards.
As I have said in many prior reviews that I am a History teacher and I have a very bad habit of looking at these type of "Historical Dramas" and either really loving them or just flat out dismissing them due to the historical half-truths and lies that are shown in the film.
I knew that I was going to have a heck of a time with this film because it was made about an event that I have studied from many different sides and that is the 1937 Nanking Massacre.
(Now I am going to ask if you have no idea about what happened back with the historical story before you go see this film then please read this link. I never want to hear another story like I heard after I saw Titanic, when a 18 year old girl stated to her friends, 'I didn't know that the Titanic sank!"
For the rest of the review I will assume that you now know about this event.
With a cost of about US$ 94 Million, this will be the most expensive Chinese film ever made and the fact that it was directed by Zhang Yimou (2002 Hero, 2004 House of the Flying Dagger and 2006 Curse of the Golden Flower, were 3 of his previous films that I really loved), I was looking forward to seeing this film. (Please remember about the dialogue of the film, it was shot about 40% in English and the rest in Mandarin Chinese, So when it comes to Korea you might have a heck of a time trying to follow the film without English subtitles.)
I was ok with the film for about the first 8 minutes and then I saw a clear sign of the Chinese Propaganda start to enter this film with the Heroic Chinese soldier stand against the Japanese and I felt that every time the film went to him, I should have stood up and heard the PROC (Peoples Republic of China) National Anthem. I felt that this really hurt the film and took away from the story.
(Now to clarify a point here in the film, Prior to the outbreak of the war, Germany and China had close economic and military cooperation, with Germany helping China modernize its industry and military in exchange for raw materials. More than half of the German arms exports during its rearmament period were to China. Nevertheless the proposed 30 new divisions equipped and trained with German assistance did not materialize when Germany withdrew its support in 1938, because Adolf Hitler wanted to form an alliance with Japan against the Soviet Union. Link to why Chinese Troops are dressed like Nazi soldiers in this film. (I did notice a few reviews of this film confused about this point and I wanted to give a reason why they were dressed in this way.)
To me, the film could have been the next step of China's entry into the world cinema stage but fails on a few reasons that I let other peoples voices speak.
From Twitch
In the end I am left conflicted by THE FLOWERS OF WAR. On the one hand it is an impressively staged war drama and a frequently exhilarating experience, from which I honestly feel many viewers can get quite a lot. On the other hand, it is a blinkered, unbalanced and frustrating portrayal of the Japanese that makes no attempt to explain, question or even understand their behavior. Because of the film's narrow perspective on this particularly troubling chapter of history, it is very difficult to recommend, despite its many strengths. What can be said with some certainty is that THE FLOWERS OF WAR will reach a wider audience than many of China's other recent militaristic dramas, but it is unlikely to win the Chinese Film Industry many more supporters in the long run.
From Leo in Canada
This movie stumbles upon a extremely sensitive topic in Chinese history, and should be treated seriously.
My great Grandmother's village during wartime was ransacked by the Japanese army with her barely escaping. Being a Chinese Canadian, I almost walked out of the theatre half way through the movie the moment I saw prolonged rape scenes of children.
Yes, during the Nanking massacre, Chinese children and even infants were raped and slaughtered like animals. Yes, Chinese women were raped repeatedly and bayoneted between the legs. Yes, it was a dark and inhumane time in Chinese history. But that does not justify the over exaggerated yet artistic camera work on prolonged rape and murder scenes of children and Chinese Women.
It seems the director was trying to evoke a certain emotional reaction by referencing random scenes from fiction films like grindhouse, yet falls flat with plot holes such as when Chinese soldiers lined up to be killed in a row, or the ludicrous storyline for 2 women to be wandering outside the church, then gang raped and killed by the Japanese soldiers.
I’m unsure if the director even have a clue as to why events of Nanking took place. Before the Japanese even arrived in Nanking, The KMT pulled out of Nanking with soldiers looting, killing and beheading other Chinese believed to be CCP officers, leaving locals (or what’s left of them) to fend for themselves, yet in the film, they’re branded glorious heroes. The CCP during this time were hiding in caves and could only use guerrilla warfare against the Japanese. When the Japanese surrendered, Chairman Mao refused payment from the Japanese for war crimes (hence no proof of what happened in Nanking), and he even thanked them for weakening the KMT in order for the CCP to rise in power.
All in all, what I felt after walking out of the theatre was disgust for the director's lack of sympathy and respect for real history, while capitalizing on utilization of high end camera work for scenes of rape, pedophilia and brutality.
In a nutshell, these 2 voices state why this film should have been a great one but ultimately fails in the end of it.
The actual historical event was horrific enough but to make it into a fictional story with obvious PRC or CCP tie-ins to make the Army look more heroic that it actually was, to me is an insult to the victims and actual survivors. The director had an excellent chance to tell a story that needs to be told and sad to say, this film will will not satisfy anyone's search for the real story of Nanking.
Readers, it is my recommendation that you pass on this film and find other films about this subject that go more into the detail of "Hell on Earth" back in 1937.
Grade. C-
The film is based on the novel The 13 Women of Nanjing by Geling Yan, and has been selected as the Chinese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards.
As I have said in many prior reviews that I am a History teacher and I have a very bad habit of looking at these type of "Historical Dramas" and either really loving them or just flat out dismissing them due to the historical half-truths and lies that are shown in the film.
I knew that I was going to have a heck of a time with this film because it was made about an event that I have studied from many different sides and that is the 1937 Nanking Massacre.
(Now I am going to ask if you have no idea about what happened back with the historical story before you go see this film then please read this link. I never want to hear another story like I heard after I saw Titanic, when a 18 year old girl stated to her friends, 'I didn't know that the Titanic sank!"
For the rest of the review I will assume that you now know about this event.
With a cost of about US$ 94 Million, this will be the most expensive Chinese film ever made and the fact that it was directed by Zhang Yimou (2002 Hero, 2004 House of the Flying Dagger and 2006 Curse of the Golden Flower, were 3 of his previous films that I really loved), I was looking forward to seeing this film. (Please remember about the dialogue of the film, it was shot about 40% in English and the rest in Mandarin Chinese, So when it comes to Korea you might have a heck of a time trying to follow the film without English subtitles.)
I was ok with the film for about the first 8 minutes and then I saw a clear sign of the Chinese Propaganda start to enter this film with the Heroic Chinese soldier stand against the Japanese and I felt that every time the film went to him, I should have stood up and heard the PROC (Peoples Republic of China) National Anthem. I felt that this really hurt the film and took away from the story.
(Now to clarify a point here in the film, Prior to the outbreak of the war, Germany and China had close economic and military cooperation, with Germany helping China modernize its industry and military in exchange for raw materials. More than half of the German arms exports during its rearmament period were to China. Nevertheless the proposed 30 new divisions equipped and trained with German assistance did not materialize when Germany withdrew its support in 1938, because Adolf Hitler wanted to form an alliance with Japan against the Soviet Union. Link to why Chinese Troops are dressed like Nazi soldiers in this film. (I did notice a few reviews of this film confused about this point and I wanted to give a reason why they were dressed in this way.)
To me, the film could have been the next step of China's entry into the world cinema stage but fails on a few reasons that I let other peoples voices speak.
From Twitch
In the end I am left conflicted by THE FLOWERS OF WAR. On the one hand it is an impressively staged war drama and a frequently exhilarating experience, from which I honestly feel many viewers can get quite a lot. On the other hand, it is a blinkered, unbalanced and frustrating portrayal of the Japanese that makes no attempt to explain, question or even understand their behavior. Because of the film's narrow perspective on this particularly troubling chapter of history, it is very difficult to recommend, despite its many strengths. What can be said with some certainty is that THE FLOWERS OF WAR will reach a wider audience than many of China's other recent militaristic dramas, but it is unlikely to win the Chinese Film Industry many more supporters in the long run.
From Leo in Canada
This movie stumbles upon a extremely sensitive topic in Chinese history, and should be treated seriously.
My great Grandmother's village during wartime was ransacked by the Japanese army with her barely escaping. Being a Chinese Canadian, I almost walked out of the theatre half way through the movie the moment I saw prolonged rape scenes of children.
Yes, during the Nanking massacre, Chinese children and even infants were raped and slaughtered like animals. Yes, Chinese women were raped repeatedly and bayoneted between the legs. Yes, it was a dark and inhumane time in Chinese history. But that does not justify the over exaggerated yet artistic camera work on prolonged rape and murder scenes of children and Chinese Women.
It seems the director was trying to evoke a certain emotional reaction by referencing random scenes from fiction films like grindhouse, yet falls flat with plot holes such as when Chinese soldiers lined up to be killed in a row, or the ludicrous storyline for 2 women to be wandering outside the church, then gang raped and killed by the Japanese soldiers.
I’m unsure if the director even have a clue as to why events of Nanking took place. Before the Japanese even arrived in Nanking, The KMT pulled out of Nanking with soldiers looting, killing and beheading other Chinese believed to be CCP officers, leaving locals (or what’s left of them) to fend for themselves, yet in the film, they’re branded glorious heroes. The CCP during this time were hiding in caves and could only use guerrilla warfare against the Japanese. When the Japanese surrendered, Chairman Mao refused payment from the Japanese for war crimes (hence no proof of what happened in Nanking), and he even thanked them for weakening the KMT in order for the CCP to rise in power.
All in all, what I felt after walking out of the theatre was disgust for the director's lack of sympathy and respect for real history, while capitalizing on utilization of high end camera work for scenes of rape, pedophilia and brutality.
In a nutshell, these 2 voices state why this film should have been a great one but ultimately fails in the end of it.
The actual historical event was horrific enough but to make it into a fictional story with obvious PRC or CCP tie-ins to make the Army look more heroic that it actually was, to me is an insult to the victims and actual survivors. The director had an excellent chance to tell a story that needs to be told and sad to say, this film will will not satisfy anyone's search for the real story of Nanking.
Readers, it is my recommendation that you pass on this film and find other films about this subject that go more into the detail of "Hell on Earth" back in 1937.
Grade. C-
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Movie Reviews: War Horse and We Bought a Zoo
As I kept watching the many previews for this film, I couldn’t help but wonder would I actually like this film? After his last 2 films, Tin Tin and Indy 4, I was wondering had the director, Steven Spielberg, lost his way. I am happy to report that the director not only made a good film, he made a great one.
As this reviewer has stated in the past that he is a history major and a former US Army soldier, I take a very hard look at historical films and look for their accuracy. Sometimes the lack of accuracy doesn’t bother me (Gladiator) or the total lack of the truth (BraveHeart) will really turn me off on a film. I kept thinking about that before I went in to see the film and wondering what I would see in this film.
I can say that I saw a film that I, historically, that I actually could believe in. The idea of the film is very simple, a boy learns to train and love a horse. World War one has started and the British need all horses for the war effort and his horse is sold and the horse goes to war.
For the rest of the film I was reminded of this fact, of the million horses that were sent abroad from the UK, only 62,000 returned, the rest dying in the war or slaughtered in France for meat. World War 1 had a massive and indelible impact on the male population of the UK: 886,000 men died, one in eight of those who went to war, and 2% of the entire country's population. The film is shown through the Horses reaction and to what happened to him. The bells scenes made that fact very clear to me in the film.
My favorite part of the film is when the horse is trapped in barbed wire and a German and British Soldier both work together to free the horse. The sheer lunacy of this moment in the War made me believe in the film more, the film then takes you where usually dramas will take you, so you won’t be surprised by it but you might actually like it. The ending was pretty easy to see coming but after the adventure of this film, this is the way that this film had to end.
After the film was over, I realized that I would want to add this film to my collection and to show it to people who need to see that great films are still being made in 2011. Please see it when it plays in South Korea.
Grade A+
We Bought a Zoo
Now when I saw that Cameron Crowe had directed this film, I knew that I had to see it. I have no idea why, but I have either really liked his films or really hated them in the past with there never being any middle ground on his films. I had seen the preview and knew that the film would have some awesome music but could the rest of the film work and make this review like what he had seen and thus recommend the film to you, the reader?
The film starts off sad when you see that it is a single father trying to raise 2 kids after his wife has died. He tells his brother that he needs a new start because everywhere he goes in this town, he had memories of her. In this thinking he decides to purchase a nice house that has 1 little problem, A zoo comes with the house, and here is where the film takes off.
What I liked about the film was the story of the old tiger in the zoo and how this tiger becomes the lynchpin of the film and when you see it you’ll understand why the tiger hold a very vital part in this film. What I also liked was the young love story of, the son, Dylan and 13-year-old Lily Miska, who also works at the zoo, start a youthful romance, although Dylan is shy and uneasy initially like most 13 year old boys are at this stage of their life.
The movie is based on the story of a real zoo. The zoo in the film is called Rosemoor Wildlife Park and is based in California. The real zoo is named Dartmoor Zoological Park which is located in Devon, England. However, the fictional Rosemoor Wildlife Park is closely based on Dartmoor Zoological Park. The original story was adapted for an American audience and the changes met with the approval of the author, Benjamin Mee.
I thought the film told a good story that could have used a tighter editing but I think that the majority of the readers will like this film when it plays in Korea. Please see it when you get the chance.
Grade. B
As I kept watching the many previews for this film, I couldn’t help but wonder would I actually like this film? After his last 2 films, Tin Tin and Indy 4, I was wondering had the director, Steven Spielberg, lost his way. I am happy to report that the director not only made a good film, he made a great one.
As this reviewer has stated in the past that he is a history major and a former US Army soldier, I take a very hard look at historical films and look for their accuracy. Sometimes the lack of accuracy doesn’t bother me (Gladiator) or the total lack of the truth (BraveHeart) will really turn me off on a film. I kept thinking about that before I went in to see the film and wondering what I would see in this film.
I can say that I saw a film that I, historically, that I actually could believe in. The idea of the film is very simple, a boy learns to train and love a horse. World War one has started and the British need all horses for the war effort and his horse is sold and the horse goes to war.
For the rest of the film I was reminded of this fact, of the million horses that were sent abroad from the UK, only 62,000 returned, the rest dying in the war or slaughtered in France for meat. World War 1 had a massive and indelible impact on the male population of the UK: 886,000 men died, one in eight of those who went to war, and 2% of the entire country's population. The film is shown through the Horses reaction and to what happened to him. The bells scenes made that fact very clear to me in the film.
My favorite part of the film is when the horse is trapped in barbed wire and a German and British Soldier both work together to free the horse. The sheer lunacy of this moment in the War made me believe in the film more, the film then takes you where usually dramas will take you, so you won’t be surprised by it but you might actually like it. The ending was pretty easy to see coming but after the adventure of this film, this is the way that this film had to end.
After the film was over, I realized that I would want to add this film to my collection and to show it to people who need to see that great films are still being made in 2011. Please see it when it plays in South Korea.
Grade A+
We Bought a Zoo
Now when I saw that Cameron Crowe had directed this film, I knew that I had to see it. I have no idea why, but I have either really liked his films or really hated them in the past with there never being any middle ground on his films. I had seen the preview and knew that the film would have some awesome music but could the rest of the film work and make this review like what he had seen and thus recommend the film to you, the reader?
The film starts off sad when you see that it is a single father trying to raise 2 kids after his wife has died. He tells his brother that he needs a new start because everywhere he goes in this town, he had memories of her. In this thinking he decides to purchase a nice house that has 1 little problem, A zoo comes with the house, and here is where the film takes off.
What I liked about the film was the story of the old tiger in the zoo and how this tiger becomes the lynchpin of the film and when you see it you’ll understand why the tiger hold a very vital part in this film. What I also liked was the young love story of, the son, Dylan and 13-year-old Lily Miska, who also works at the zoo, start a youthful romance, although Dylan is shy and uneasy initially like most 13 year old boys are at this stage of their life.
The movie is based on the story of a real zoo. The zoo in the film is called Rosemoor Wildlife Park and is based in California. The real zoo is named Dartmoor Zoological Park which is located in Devon, England. However, the fictional Rosemoor Wildlife Park is closely based on Dartmoor Zoological Park. The original story was adapted for an American audience and the changes met with the approval of the author, Benjamin Mee.
I thought the film told a good story that could have used a tighter editing but I think that the majority of the readers will like this film when it plays in Korea. Please see it when you get the chance.
Grade. B
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
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