Holiday Films

Now that I’m back in the swing of things, school’s started again, and Professor Henderson has resumed her incessant drone which sounds similar to Charlie Brown’s teacher. Wah, wah, wah. Because of this professor induced boredom, I turn to more interesting pursuits, one of them a review of Holiday films. I don’t intend to give an in depth review of each film I saw, simply my brief thoughts on the film and my initial impressions. Of course, as I am writing this some time after I saw certain of the films, the initial aspect may slide into a delayed response. With that in mind, here it goes.

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA

For fans of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia Chronicles, this movie probably serves as a long awaited dream come true. The film remains loyal to the original story for the most part, the only change a Disney inspired sanitization wherein the kids are sent to the country to avoid the Blitz rather than because their parents are dead. It is an unfortunate change because the orphaning of the children provides a major motivation for their behaviors and actions, motivation which seems hollow and unreal without those pivotal deaths. Otherwise, the movie plods forward step for step by the book. The director adds nothing of his own to the film and the only emotional high points come during the climactic battle, a watered down version of some of the tamer shots from Lord of the Rings. All in all I was not impressed and don’t recommend this film for general audiences.

KING KONG
Peter Jackson’s childhood dream comes to the big screen in a big way. He managed to rescue a lackluster plot and provide a character driven adventure which moves the audience through a large spectrum of emotion. The special effects are incredible, moving from recreations of Depression New York to a twenty minute dual between King Kong and three T-Rex dinosaurs. Jack Black turned in an excellent performance with a series of laugh provoking expressions. Naomi Watts and Adrien Brody also did exceptional work against their computer created co-actors. If for nothing else, this movie deserves to excel on Jackson’s ability to turn what was a mediocre idea into a well done and interesting film. Unfortunately, it’s up against Narnia, which seems to be taking a large chunk out of its box office take. Either way, this film should cement Jackson and his team as first rate film makers who are worthy of making any movie they damn well please.

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

A love story between two cowboys, Brokeback Mountain, is one of the best romances I’ve seen in a long while. In a genre that traditionally succeeds by stamping gay on the cover and marketing to a starved audience, Brokeback Mountain succeeds as a quality story with quality craftsmanship in its portrayal. Writing, directing, and acting all turn in professional performances highlighted by Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams characters; Ledger specifically showing a new side to a traditionally romantic comedy heavy career. Moving and emotionally draining, the movie portrays the realistic struggles and difficulties many homosexuals face. From broken homes to disappointed expectations to brief moments of love and passion, Ang Lee shows the entire gamut. A little slow, and possibly too faithful to the original story, Brokeback Mountain falls under my recommended titles.

MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA

Interesting, slow, and beautiful; this film has all three elements, and that’s really all I’m going to say about that for now.

SYRIANA
A surprising combination of Crash and Spartan, Syriana comes in as my favorite Holiday Film. An intricate plot cuts among numerous characters all involved in the oil industry and the backroom dealings that occur in order to accomplish their individual economic expectations. The filmmakers develop their characters effectively, and sympathetically, and paint the United States oil industry as a rather nefarious organization. Only rarely does their message come across as heavy handed, and is definitely subsumed in the forward action of the story. The movie further excels in the fact that George Clooney fails to ruin the film, which says a great deal for it. One of the top ensemble films I’ve seen, this is a must see and I highly recommend it.

And with that, in my hurried, middle of Torts class, way, I am done with my Holiday film review, and almost done with today’s Torts class.

Ordinary Heroes

In December, I read Scott Turow’s latest book Ordinary Heroes and wrote a review in the thought of publishing it in the school paper. It’s a little clunky, and I may revisit it before the newspaper comes due, but I thought I’d put it up, as I’m sitting in Torts and bored out of my mind. So here it is, my mediocrely written book review.

By eschewing his customary setting in contemporary Kindle County, a fictional Midwest city based on Chicago, Scott Turow creates a memorable trip through the dangerous battlefields of World War II Europe. Inspired loosely by experiences of his own father, and written in an attempt to come to an understanding of the experiences of the Greatest Generation, Ordinary Heroes relates the tale of a man’s search for his father’s past and the father’s search for self-realization.

David Dubinsky’s father never spoke of his time in Europe during World War II. He kept his adventures secret until the day he died. Only then did his son discover letters in the attic that referred to a passionate love affair and a clandestine imprisonment. Driven to discover his father’s history, and opposed by his tight-lipped mother, Dubinsky crosses the country to recreate a forgotten life. A breakthrough in detection comes when he meets his father’s wartime lawyer and receives a memoir written to explain the decisions which landed Stewart Dubin in jail.

A lawyer for the Judge Advocate General, Dubin is charged with the investigation of an OSS spy, a task which proves more difficult and slippery than he ever imagined. Faced with conflicting accounts, a charming spy, and his equally charming mistress Dubin struggles to reconcile the military’s word with the spy’s. His efforts take him on a daring OSS raid, to the front lines during the German’s last, gasping effort at the Battle of the Bulge, and into the heart of a sultry Gypsy who threatens to unravel everything in which Dubin believes.

Well crafted and easy to read, Turow masterfully recreates the environs and incidents that affected many soldiers during the Allies’ final push into Germany. Always the lawyer, he portrays these events from the point of view of another lawyer, a conflicted man who longs for battle and struggles to understand the mind of the common soldier. Although filled with detailed description of WWII France, Dubin’s journey is distinguished by his interior monologue, a primary feature of Turow’s narrative, and an effective method to promote reader identification with a likeable character.

By turning to the past, Turow unearths a rich and multi-faceted world for a new generation of readers. Thick with stunning revelations of character, Ordinary Heroes is foremost a novel of ordinary people who strive to accomplish extraordinary things. It leaves the reader with a feeling of hope, and a belief that even the little things in life make a difference.