The Act of Killing – 9
Ever seen a documentary that could be considered an epic? Welcome to this world. This is the highly acclaimed documentary that has emerged as the favorite for the Best feature-length documentary Oscar, and what a journey it is. Director Joshua Oppenheimer spent 8 years in Indonesia and emerged with a story of revolution that will repulse you and probably haunt you. You’ve never seen anything like this, and you might wish you hadn’t.
In 1965 and 1966 Indonesia purged itself of “communists” and “Chinese” with a brutal cleansing of over a million people. Much of the mayhem was carried out by a group of sanctioned gangsters, who are profiled and revealed in this movie. Their frame of reference is American gangster movies and they are willing participants in this movie making. Rather than just have the old gangsters talk about their dastardly deeds, the genius of this film is that Oppenheimer asks them to reenact the executions they performed. Let me tell you, these reproductions are as difficult to watch as anything you’ll ever see. These are horrible people doing horrible things. They show no remorse as they tell their sordid tales. Or, are they beginning to realize the brutality of it all? You be the judge.
In 1965 and 1966 Indonesia purged itself of “communists” and “Chinese” with a brutal cleansing of over a million people. Much of the mayhem was carried out by a group of sanctioned gangsters, who are profiled and revealed in this movie. Their frame of reference is American gangster movies and they are willing participants in this movie making. Rather than just have the old gangsters talk about their dastardly deeds, the genius of this film is that Oppenheimer asks them to reenact the executions they performed. Let me tell you, these reproductions are as difficult to watch as anything you’ll ever see. These are horrible people doing horrible things. They show no remorse as they tell their sordid tales. Or, are they beginning to realize the brutality of it all? You be the judge.
Jack Ryan: Shadow
Recruit - 9
You’ll like this movie if you like
a. Surprises
a. Surprises
b. Tom Clancy
c. Financial
espionage
I couldn’t have been more surprised by how much I liked this movie. It is action packed and actually has some unique moments. Captain Kirk Chris Pine plays Jack Ryan and he’s a CIA agent in deep cover on Wall Street when he discovers a Russian plot to bring the US to its financial knees. His handler, played by Kevin Costner puts him into operations and he’s off to Russia to match wits with villain/director Kenneth Branagh who plays a Russian tycoon not named “Yuri,” which is a surprise right there.
Keira Knightly plays Jack’s fiancée and she gets caught up in the action as well, bringing a great sense of jeopardy. What makes this work is the plot. Fights, Bombs, Espionage, Terrorism, Financial collapse – it’s all here and only Jack Ryan can save the USA. Don’t know why, but I was on the edge of my seat.
I couldn’t have been more surprised by how much I liked this movie. It is action packed and actually has some unique moments. Captain Kirk Chris Pine plays Jack Ryan and he’s a CIA agent in deep cover on Wall Street when he discovers a Russian plot to bring the US to its financial knees. His handler, played by Kevin Costner puts him into operations and he’s off to Russia to match wits with villain/director Kenneth Branagh who plays a Russian tycoon not named “Yuri,” which is a surprise right there.
Keira Knightly plays Jack’s fiancée and she gets caught up in the action as well, bringing a great sense of jeopardy. What makes this work is the plot. Fights, Bombs, Espionage, Terrorism, Financial collapse – it’s all here and only Jack Ryan can save the USA. Don’t know why, but I was on the edge of my seat.
August: Osage County
– 5
You’ll like this movie if you like
You’ll like this movie if you like
a. Soap operas
b. Meryl Streep
c. Family Dysfunction
I couldn’t have been more surprised by how much I disliked
this move. While Meryl Streep is amazing
as usual, she is also amazingly unpleasant to watch. This was a grueling gruesome 2 hours of
dysfunction that starts with a suicide and deteriorates from there. Julie Roberts looks like her lips could
detonate at any time as there is one unpleasant reveal after another. Well done, well-acted, and well, I wished I’d
stayed home and caught up on True Detective.
All is Lost – 7
You’ll like this movie if you like:
a. Robert Redford
b. Sailing and Sinking
S c. Seasickness
All year long the word was that Robert Redford’s nearly
wordless performance would win him a career-culminating Oscar for Best
Actor. Then the holiday movies came
along and he got blown out of the water.
Or, he wishes he had, because this movie is two hours in a water tank
that is laced with some strange editing, and important stuff that appears out
of nowhere as his sailboat sinks into the ocean after a storm. Redford is excellent, but it’s a role dozens
of actors could have played, and I wouldn’t have bought it from any of them
either. Nice try, but I'll take Three Days of the Condor.
