Category: 2010s

Posted on 2022-03-05 | No Comments |

The Settlers (2016)

Though obviously important to world politics, especially as an odd battleground in American politics, I just don’t have enough in me to delve deep enough into the great history of Israel and Palestine to form an honest, educated opinion on the modern situation there. This documentary is a starting point into one point of contention between the two parties: Jewish settlers into the West Bank. It offers a frightening, unguarded view into the zealous nature of some of these individuals, flouting international law by continually pushing into the area with the support of right wing leaders locally and abroad. Many have no interest in peace with their neighbors while firmly believing their cause is justified. While the film only presents a one-sided view, it does offer enough of the history as a starting point to help along a neophyte like myself.

Posted on 2022-02-28 | No Comments |

Censored Voices (2015)

Days after the end of the 1967 Six Day War, a pair of kibbutzniks travelled to other kibbutzim and recorded testimonials from soldiers who were returning from battle. These conversations were heavily censored by the Israeli army until this film was produced. The audio from the interviews is paired with archival footage and current mostly nonverbal reactions from the men who provided the interviews. Almost universally the men agree with the common narrative that it was a just war, but that is juxtaposed with the feelings they have regarding the actual fighting of the war and especially the aftermath. I try to keep a mostly neutral view with regards to conflicts in the Middle East as I have never been there and have little knowledge of the history, but I can understand why the Army tried to suppress this material as it offers an unflattering version of events and questions some of the legends that spurned from that war.

Posted on 2022-02-24 | No Comments |

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

This is my third King Kong film and thus far my least favorite. Set during the 1970s, it offers a Heart of Darkness theme with members of a secret government organization joined by Vietnam War soldiers and a war photographer to hunt down Kong. It lays heavily on the era setting with a constant jukebox of songs. Kong isn’t even the main antagonist on the island. Instead skull crawlers that remind me of the monkey creatures in Temple Run are the real enemy. The group never actually leaves the island with Kong and Brie Larson, as the main female character, isn’t Kong’s love interest but also doesn’t have much else to do than take pictures she supposedly isn’t going to share with anyone. In fact there are so many extra characters that there were some I didn’t even notice were part of the expedition until halfway through the movie. What the film does have going for it is that’s very beautiful. Kong is impressive from every angle, but even those visuals are more about style than substance.

Oscar Nominee: Best Achievement in Visual Effects

Posted on 2022-02-22 | No Comments |

Lady Macbeth (2016)

In rural 1860s England, Florence Pugh finds herself in a loveless marriage to a controlling older man. When he leaves their estate on an extended business trip, she relishes her newfound freedom and begins an affair with a servant. Once she has relinquished the constraints foisted upon her, she stops at nothing to prevent them from returning. Beautifully filmed, the strength of the work totally lies in Pugh’s powerful performance.

Posted on 2022-02-22 | No Comments |

Red Tails (2012)

The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of predominantly Black American fighters during World War II. This ostensibly tells their story. Filled with an incredible cast, there’s nothing by way of character development, no sense of a life for any of them beyond fighting in the war. Hotshot pilot David Oyelowo is given a romance with an Italian woman, but it feels really out of place since none of the other men even mention romantic partners and there is a lot of time spent on this sole storyline. There’s some racial strife, but it’s quickly brushed over. The entire film is gorgeous, shown through an over-saturated color filter. The fighting scenes really look like cut-scenes to a video game with even the dialogue during those scenes sounding like it comes from a fighting simulator. I unfortunately don’t remember much of my viewing of The Tuskegee Airmen but this makes me want to watch it again hoping it offers something more.

Posted on 2022-02-21 | No Comments |

Top Five (2014)

In a vein similar to Before Sunrise, engaged comedic actor Chris Rock and reporter Rosario Dawson spend the day getting to know each other while she interviews him walking around the streets of New York. The two don’t have a lot of romantic chemistry, but there is quite a natural flow between them as the day progresses. There are also a LOT of celebrity cameos sprinkled throughout that liven up the film. It’s generally entertaining but mostly forgettable. It also has some questionable messaging about women in relationships and includes a tale of a sexual assault committed by one of the main characters that is played for laughs.

Posted on 2022-02-21 | No Comments |

The Hunt (2012)

Teacher Mads Mikkelsen has been having a tough time recently: the school he worked at closed and the best job he found was as a kindergarten assistant, his ex-wife does not want to share custody of their son, he’s lonely and alone. Things begin to look up for him on all of those fronts until his best friend’s young daughter develops a crush on him and makes a statement that is heavily misconstrued. The adults around him infuriatingly act without thought or deliberation in reaction to what they think of this information. I know some people who can’t watch cringe comedy. For me, a film like this is just as difficult. It’s literally suffocating for me as things collapse all around Mads and he is powerless to stop it.

Oscar Nomination: Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

Posted on 2022-02-20 | No Comments |

Olympic Pride, American Prejudice (2015)

Many people know the story of Jesse Owens, but don’t know that in 1936 seventeen other Black American athletes also travelled to Nazi Germany to compete in the Olympics. The group consisted of track and fielders, weightlifters, and boxers because many of the other Olympic sports were still segregated in the United States. Starting from the point where there was debate on whether or not the United States should even field a team, this film does a great job covering the experiences of these participants, contrasting to great effect the experiences under Nazi policies to the United States’ own issues on race, which continued even after the athletes arrived in Germany despite quite a bit of success at the Games.

Posted on 2022-02-17 | No Comments |

Inherent Vice (2014)

I’ve been occasionally surprised into liking some of Paul Thomas Anderson’s films, but this is not one of them. A middling Anderson work, it’s a convoluted hippie detective noir told from the perspective of Joaquin Phoenix’s perpetually stoned out detective. Initially asked by his ex-girlfriend to intercede in the abduction of her current lover, he is further embroiled in a conspiracy of sorts when he is hired out on two other cases. It seems to all comes clean in the end, at least for Phoenix and the cases he was hired to solve, but it’s not entirely clear as his perspective is definitely unreliable and I’m not even sure some of the characters weren’t figments of his imagination.

Oscar Nominations: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay; Best Achievement in Costume Design

Posted on 2022-02-16 | No Comments |

Birds Like Us (2017)

This is one of the ugliest animated films I’ve ever seen, almost uglier than Antz. While I’d love computer animated films to have some variety in their aesthetic, this ain’t it. Somehow an adaptation of the Persian poem, The Conference of Birds, birds live under the canopy of a giant tree and have forgotten how to fly. They are ruled under a reign of terror and coercion by the condors. A group of random bird, including a mixed breed couple, escape to later follow a path to enlightenment. I can only think the incredible voice cast (Jeremy Irons, Alicia Vikander, Jim Broadbrent) had no idea what the film would look like or the details of the weird plot before signing on to participate.