Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam

The movie uses real letters written by US soldiers for it’s narration.  The film is archive footage, together they convey the personal experiences of the men and women that served in Vietnam.

This movie grabbed me and didn’t let me go, at the end there were tears filling my eyes.

“I would rather to have had you for twenty-one years and all the pain that goes with losing you, than never to have had you at all. -Mom “

This is one of those movies that I think everybody should see–08/10

Mel Gibson’s epic about William Wallace and his fight for freedom from the English.

This is my favorite movie.  It is just remarkable.  Every time I watch it, it affects me.  I love the story and soundtrack.  I have yet to see a movie come even close.  It is simply unparalleled for me.  I would marry this movie if I were available.  Let me count the ways I love this movie.  There is only one thing I have against it.  In one of the battle scenes, there are two extras that look like they are playing footsy with their swords.  It is so hilarious when you catch it.  Oh well.  It still has the best speech I have heard from a movie.  Love at first sight with this one.

“And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom!”

10/10

Whale Rider is directed by Niki Caro and based on the novel of the same name by Witi Ihimaera.  Keisha Castle-Hughes was nominated for an Oscar for her performance.  A young girl must summon the strength to lead her struggling people.

A touching story that I enjoyed very much.  Castle-Hughes does a great job.  The scene where she reads her piece is very powerful.  All of the characters are realistic and well-portrayed.  The scenery captures an island way of life and the movie overall has a great feel to it.  The ending, which is very staged and could have been a disaster, comes off as touching and eloquent.  Great small film.

” My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider.”

9/10

Bella is the first movie from Alejandro Gomez Monteverde. It has won several awards from film festivals around the world.

This movie captivated me in a way that I did not expect.  I enjoyed this movie very much.  The film is so mellow and relaxed as it strolls along like the two characters through New York City.  I am an eternal pessimist and this movie is the exact opposite of my viewpoints on so much of life.  The movie tries to show you the taste of home-cooked food, the pleasures of friendship, the beauty of scenery, the enjoyment from family, and ultimately the redemption from mistakes.  That sounds like a goddamn Hallmark card, but in my opinion, it is presented subtly and authentically.  The movie made me want to be a better person.  Even though I am pulled by the darker side of life, I can’t help but admire this movie as a true work of art.

“It took four years of my life.  I took everything she had.’

9/10

Mystic River is a very dark drama from 2003.  It is directed by Clint Eastwood and was nominated for six Academy Awards.   Sean Penn and Tim Robbins won best actor and best supporting actor respectively for their roles in the film.

The film begins with a child abduction by a priest and it doesn’t get any happier from there.  Our setting is the tough south side of Boston.  The groups of friends from the abduction scene are our main characters and they are getting to be middle aged.  Dave is the boy who was abducted and he has a child of his own, but there is something off about him, possibly something left over from his abduction.  Jimmy is the hardened criminal turn blue collar father with two kids and a hard cutthroat wife.  Sean is a detective and all these characters are reunited after Jimmy’s daughter is murdered and Sean begins an investigation.  Coincidentally, Dave arrived home covered in blood the same night of the murder.  The only person who knows of this is his wife.  He explains to her that somebody tried to mug him after he left the bar.  Her suspicions grow after there is nothing in the paper or the news.  She actually comes to the conclusion that he is the murderer and goes to tell Jimmy.  Jimmy gets him drunk and threatens Dave out by the river.  Dave is scared for his life and confesses to a murder he did not commit.  Jimmy murders him.

I really loved this movie.  The acting is really well done.  The characters are bitter and harsh from their frigid environment.  It is a simple life with simple rules.  Their misapplied concepts of justice produce a vicious cycle that consumes the neighborhood.  As Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”

“Because it’s like I told the girls.  Their daddy is a king.  And a king knows what to do and does it.”

9/10

Memento is a 2000 film from Christopher Nolan, who most people know from his directing of the latest Batman installment, the Dark Knight.  This film was up for two Academy Awards, but did not receive any.  the plot is centered around a man who cannot form new memories and as a result has to live his life making notes and even tattooing information on himself.

SPOILER ALERT

I really liked this movie.  The movie has an interesting premise, but the real thing that makes it interesting is the way the film is presented backwards from chronological end to beginning.  We are confused at first thinking our guy is a well-aimed vigilante avenging the brutal murder of his wife, but , in the end, we realize that he is someone attaching meaning to his difficult life on an endless and quite disturbing quest of murder.  Further doubt is cast on the protag here as his last victim claims the his wife survived and that Leonard is in fact Sammy Jankis.  I really enjoyed the acting in this film.  This film to me is centered around how affected our reality is by our presumptions of it.  Our protag, due to his circumstances, has to jump to conclusions and that is ultimately his unwinding into a delusional serial killer.  Regardless of the theme, this movie will take you on an intriguing ride with a simple yet sharp feel to it.

“Will I lie to myself to be happy?  In your case Teddy, yes I will.”

9/10

Paths of Glory is one of  Kirk Douglas best performances as Col Dax,  working to save his men from being shot as cowards. Everything about the movie is well done. There is no bad acting,  the pace,  photography and dialogue are some of the best you’ll ever see. Scene after scene is more powerful than the one preceding. It’s a classic movie, deserving a place on anyone best movie list.

“There are few things more fundamentally encouraging and stimulating than seeing someone else die. “

09/10 Watch this movie! It’s one of the best war movies ever made.

This movie was based on a novel by Jodi Picoult. Anna Fitzgerald’ sister has had cancer since a young age. She was “engineered” to have her sister’s exact blood type. She was used for many extreme surgeries including bone marrow transplant at 11 years old and was getting ready to give her sister, Kate, a kidney. She goes to a lawyer for the rights to her own body. If her sister doesn’t get the kidney…she will die, and Anna knows this. The story is told through the points of view of the entire family, including the lawyer. This movie shows how one sickness effected the entire family. It made me cry throughout the movie, but I still think it was over all a good movie. 9/10.