Capote

Before you continue, I must provide this disclaimer:  I wrote this post originally for my other blog (it has to do about my adventures as a wanna-be writer - check it out here) so it's going to be a slightly different feeling post. My language and tone is going to be slightly different and most noticeably will be the absence of capitalization. Don't ask me why; I just don't feel like capitalizing  on my other blog. This is however, a film I watched on Instant Netflix so here it is! Enjoy!

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it is rare that i sit down to watch a movie, and find myself scouring the kindle store for a specific book as the credits roll. rare, but not non-existent. such an event happened this very morning... the coincidence of said coincidence and this post is shocking, i know, but let me tell you all about it.

image from imdb.com

i remember quite a buzz about the entertainment world when this movie first came out seven or so years ago, but was too young (13 or 14) to watch such a film, let alone appreciate it. as i have grown, along with my passion for literature - especially dark and edgy literature - this film has stayed on my radar screen waiting for the right time. a week or so ago i realized that it had shown up on my instant netflix queue as a recommended movie. i didn't have the time to start it just then, as i knew it would warrant my full attention, and made a note to watch it as soon as possible.

this morning wasn't exactly the ideal time, but as i was looking for something mindless to turn on for noise in the background as i worked, i couldn't turn away from it. i knew that it was going to be good, but i seriously underestimated just how much it would touch me.

now, when people say a movie or song or book "touched them" it tend to think of an emotional lovey-dovey, nostalgic kind of connection; not the raw, gut-wrenching, draining experience i had at the hands of this story.

for those of you who know nothing of truman capote, or his non-fiction novel in cold blood, i will tell you enough to get you interested without spoiling anything. below is the description from imdb.com followed by my own, slightly more detailed and interesting synopsis.

truman capote (hoffman), during his research for his book in cold blood, an account of the murder of a kansas family, the writer develops a close relationship with one of the killers, perry smith.

what the official movie bio doesn't tell you, but you quickly realize, is just how much of an emotional journey captoe takes as not only a writer but a person in general. what makes this film so exquisite is how well it connects you on multiple levels with capote via hoffman. during many points in the movie i felt myself chuckling to myself and at others, on the verge of tears. to say that i found myself on every stop of the emotional spectrum would both be a hyperbole and an understatement. to say that would imply a sense of cheesiness that would betray the raw side of humanity that this movie shows.

as phenomenal as the writing of this film is, the true reason for such a connection with the audience is the lead actor: philip seymour hoffman. hoffman has played roles in a few of my favorite films (most notable of which include; pirate radio, moneyball, and the big lebowski) and as such i am no stranger to his merits as an actor. after seeing this movie though, i can say that this, hands-down, was the role of his lifetime.

as much as i would like to continue ranting and raving, i cannot do so without boring you to tears or spoiling the rest of the movie for you. regardless, it caused me to instantly download the book the film is about (in cold blood - for those of you who can't remember) and want to recommend this to all my literature-loving friends and readers. and so, without further ado, i bid you this:

go to instant netflix right this instant and watch capote. grow as a person and as an appreciator of fine literature. then! go get the book and grow even more!

official rating: 9.5/10!

The Final Countdown

Well, up to this point I've been fairly with my adventures into the world of Instant Netflix, but sadly that has come to an end. And as if seeing my win streak come to an end wasn't bad enough, it had to come at the hands of the worst kind of movie. You know those movies where you keep watching because you think the end might redeem the entire movie... and then it doesn't? That is exactly what kind of movie The Final Countdown was.

Made in 1980 and staring Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen (those names were the reason I watched the movie), The Final Countdown tells the story of the U.S.S. Nimitz as it time travels back to December 7, 1941. The idea was that with the Nimitz's modern day firepower the would be able to prevent Pearl Harbor from happening again, and the entire movie it seems like it will do just that - which would be kind of bad ass if you ask me. The shoot down a couple Japanese Zeros, take some prisoners, rescue a Senator, and even launch a strike force to intercept the Japanese Zeros as they approach Pearl Harbor.

SPOILER ALERT: This movie isn't worth watching and I'm going to straight up tell you why. Right as the Japanese planes come into sight of the high-powered, loaded for bear American strike force.... the storm that brought the Nimitz to the 40s appears again and the Captain recalls the fighters and they come back to the present. End of story.

I'm not even that upset that they turned back. It's that at the end of the movie, I ended up right where I started having gained absolutely nothing. They have one little attempt at the very end when they bring back a guy the Nimitz left behind on an island and now he's all old and stuff, but it was a weak attempt to save a movie that was past saving.

So for the first time ever, I'm steering you away from an Instant Netflix movie - unless you happen to like wasting 2 hours of your life and getting nothing in return... I knew that it would happen eventually, but with my long string of success, I'm feeling somewhat bitter about the inevitable. In order to make myself feel better I'm immediately going back to Netflix and try and watch something redeeming.

Hope you guys are having a great start to your summer!

Official Rating: 4.5/10 (some props for the beginnings of a cool idea - but then wimping out at the very end)

Trollhunter

Wow! It's been a crazy long time since I've posted to this blog, let alone done a Netflix confession. I figure it's past time and I'm just gonna jump in!

Just look at that film cover! That about explains this movie in a nutshell. Yes, it just so happens to be another foreign language film (apparently I have an obsession with those) and yes, it is yet another lost footage film. It more or less says all of that in the little Netflix bio and because I've been hesitating on this movie for months. Finally I brought myself to sit down and watch it. I took the whole afternoon and turned out the office lights and didn't do anything else.

To be completely honest, I was incredibly surprised by how much I enjoyed the movie. It's the story of a government Troll Hunter who is secretly charged by the TSS (Troll Security Service - Yeah.. it's that intense) to keep all of Norway's trolls under tight wraps from the public eye. Fortunately for a couple of college-aged filmmakers he's getting tired of his secret lifestyle and is searching for a way out, even if it means punishment at the hands of the Norwegian government. Doubly lucky for the filmmakers is the fact that something mysterious has all the trolls stirred up and making trouble!

The thing I liked about this film - and probably why I like a lot of foreign language films - is the fact that I was familiar with absolutely none of the actors in this film. The best thing about not knowing any of the main actors is how you're always surprised at how good the talent is. I love George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Meryl Streep just as much as the next guy, but there is definitely something refreshing about seeing a new face every now and then. And, it goes to show that there is acting talent outside of Hollywood, America - you just have to know where to look for it.

A fairly decent plot line makes up for the lacking special effects that come with a low budget film making Trollhunter a surprisingly good film to watch on a rainy afternoon. It's not incredibly scary, but at the same time isn't something you'd watch with the kiddos. I wouldn't put this at the top of your queue; there are better movies out there. What I would do instead is save it for a day when you've watched the months batch of good new releases when there isn't anything else to watch.

Overall Rating: 7.5

Red State

This is a movie that for some reason, most likely mere coincidence, has been popping up wherever I look.  On Instant Netflix it almost always comes up on my recommended list because of other dark, gritty movies I've seen and for one reason or another I kept stumbling upon it on IMDb.com - arguably one of the most addictive sites on the web to date.  Finally I had a day with no school or work and shockingly no homework either so I sat down and finally watched it.

The summary that pops on Netflix (see below) didn't exactly move me to the edge of my seat; hence why it took me so long to actually watch it.  Generally when the words "sinister agenda" are used in a movie I'll pass for mere lack of creativity and use of generic cliche.  But... I gave it a chance because John Goodman is in it and when he is in a non-kids movie I'm almost always willing to watch it.

"Set in Middle America, a group of teens receive an online invitation for sex , though they soon find fundamentalists with a much more sinister agenda."

A rather dashing picture of Mr. Goodman;
known for his disheveled characters.

Upon starting the movie I became worried because it seems just about as interesting as "sinister agenda" made it sound.  I was frustrated because 20 minutes or so into the film John Goodman still had yet to make an appearance.  And just when I was about to give up and head back to the main browsing screen there was a cut to Goodman being woken up by a phone call in the middle of the night.  Thankfully, upon his appearance the movie began to pick up.  I always think it's funny how a single actor can influence the quality of a film otherwise destined for apathy and a general lack of appeal.

The film still suffers from a slight over-doing of the uber-fundamentalist crackpots and sex crazed teenagers but makes up for it in the response thereof.  Capitalizing on the remaining humanity left in a few of the fundamentalists and the internal struggle of Goodman's character to stage a cover-up to save face for the ATF, the directors of Red State recover from a dismal beginning to finish with a relatively strong anecdote that portrays the faults of human nature.

Overall Rating: 7/10

The Wave

 

I must admit that I've found myself on a bit of a foreign film spree.  This is my second movie in a week that I've watched that was entirely not English.  The first was a film called 9th Company, a Russian movie on the daunting experiences of a Russian military company stationed at the most outward post - forgotten by the retreating main body of the military.  **Blog soon to follow.

The second was this gem of a movie about a school teacher in Germany who conducts a social experiment in response to his class telling him that they believed a dictatorship could never again rise in post-Nazi Germany.  Unfortunately, his social experiment The Wave (Die Welle) goes terribly wrong when a few members take it to the next level.

It was really interesting and a little disturbing how cool I thought the idea was before I realized what was happening.  It wasn't long before more or less innocent behavior typical to a bunch of teenagers caught up in the newest rage became overshadowed by the sentiments of a few extremists. Over the course of this week long "class project" the movie shows a variety of responses to the social unit known as The Wave ranging from companionship and improved self-image to bullying and exclusion.  But without fail the group begins to implode and the teacher is forced to move in order to stop it.

The interesting thing wasn't completely about the fact The Wave has it's own self-adopted uniform, salute, code of honor, and leader with a name like Heir Wenger (pronounced Vanger).  It was the fact that as I was watching all of this happen I was shocked and somewhat terrified at the notion that the actions of the movie kids weren't far from what I would expect from real kids today.  With an ending that leaves you no option save but to think... this movie will make you question any "class projects" your teacher is suggesting.

Overall rating? 8.5/10

Letters from Iwo Jima

It seems that every now and then Instant Netflix releases a truly well-done movie.  Letters from Iwo Jima, directed by Clint Eastwood, is one of those gems.

The film casts a different light on the well-documented and important WWII battle for the Japanese island of Iwo Jima by telling it from the perspective of the Imperial Army forces charged with the suicide mission of defending it to the death.  What made the movie powerful was actually seeing the stories of these Japanese soldiers and hearing the types of letters that they would have sent home.

What is truly saddening is the fact that Japanese strategy called for "no Japanese survivors" and that every Japanese soldier had to kill 10 American soldiers before he could die honorably in the hopes that it would result in such massive American casualties that Washington, D.C. would think twice about setting foot on Japanese soil again.  In the grand scheme of things the 6,000+ American casualties and 22,000 Japanese deaths were not enough to stop the Americans from using Iwo as a bomber/fighter-escort base.

Actor Ken Watanabe

As for the film itself, I was moved by the performance of Ken Watanabe (recently in Inception) in his portrayal of Japanese General Kuribayashi.  Watanabe does an excellent job, as always, of transforming himself into the man charged with the hopeless task of stopping the massive war machine that was the US Marines.  In the movie we see him, along side of friend an tank commander Lt. Ito (played by Shido Nakamura) struggle with the knowledge of their futility and their responsibility towards their men, Japanese honor, and the primal fear of a useless death.

Another emotionally captivating war movie

As far as war movies go, Letters from Iwo Jima isn't as much the shoot 'em flick as it is akin to We Were Soldiers in the sense that it focuses more on the emotional toll and effects on humanity than it does on the action and violence that is war.

It's not a movie that leaves you feeling incredibly good.  But it is definitely worth the watch if only for the greater appreciation and respect for soldiers fighting war, no matter whose side they're on.