Category: Uncategorized

Every child wants to explore and find something, does she not? Who among us hasn’t wandered on purpose into uncharted territory only to have a parent scold and call you back. Charlie Hunman and Robert Pattinson are men doing that, as every kid fantasizes. Hearing of an ancient, lost civilization of people in the Amazon, they are determined to find it.

The Lost City of Z (2016)
PG-13 | 2h 21min | Adventure, Biography, Drama | 21 April 2017 (USA)

A true-life drama, centering on British explorer Col. Percival Fawcett, who disappeared while searching for a mysterious city in the Amazon in the 1920s.
Director: James Gray
Writers: James Gray (written for the screen by), David Grann (based on the book by)
Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller

Against the motherland’s warning, they set out and discover many clues about a civilization that far predates Christianity. As a result, they ambition is fettered because the English don’t seem interested in knowing of something like that. Hunman’s character makes a speech at one point stating “Bigoted Christianity” probably doesn’t want to learn from this older and possibly more successful civilization.

This film has been rightly criticized as being long and at times dull. Still, if you’re looking for a true story that takes on the traditional thought of our civilization, including Christianity, I think you will enjoy it. I know I did.

7/10

At time of publishing, this film was streaming on Amazon Prime.

This is an acting study of Idris Elba. He plays the commandant with such vigor and hateful passion, he steals the show. The oter boy actors are also excellent. Elba is turning them into killers by the minute in this film and it’s something to behold.

Beasts of No Nation (2015)
Not Rated | 2h 17min | Drama, War | 16 October 2015 (USA)

A drama based on the experiences of Agu, a child soldier fighting in the civil war of an unnamed African country.
Director: Cary Fukunaga (as Cary Joji Fukunaga)
Writers: Cary Fukunaga (written for the screen by), Uzodinma Iweala (based on the novel by)
Stars: Abraham Attah, Emmanuel Affadzi, Ricky Adelayitor

American adolescent children and young men, boys especially, should see this film. I don’t think young men that enlist in the military always have the necessary background knowledge of what it truly means to kill. In Africa, these young men are snatched away from their parents and forced to march with the land military. At that point they use machetes, guns, and whatever they have at their disposal to march and kill then repeat.

This film is hauntingly good yet at the same time repulsive. Elbas’d character shows us what it means to never surrender in this African civil war. If for no other reason, film fans should see this to study the excellent acting Elba does. Because there isn’t much variance in what happens, nor explanation, it lost points but it is still highly recommended. I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

8/10

At time of publishing, this film was streaming on Netflix.

An 8 episode miniseries had better be a good mystery. In this case, you’re sitting through 6 full hours of USA Network mystery/thriller, expecting something big at the end. Jessica Biel is a big pull, she stars in it and co-produced it. But is it worth all the hype?

The Sinner
TV-14 | 1h | Drama, Mystery, Thriller | TV Series (2017)

A young mother tries to find out what’s causing her to have violent tendencies.
Creator: Derek Simonds
Stars: Jessica Biel, Christopher Abbott, Dohn Norwood

This review contains spoilers. This story starts interesting. You have a woman who has never been violent, a mom and wife on a beach who all of a sudden in front of her husband and child proceeds to stab a man sitting on the towel in front of her. She gives no reason other than the fact that she told him to turn down his music. This character is played by Jessica Biel.

The investigator on the case (Bill Pullman) becomes obsessed with the case. He can’t accept she would do such a think without a reason. He goes hot on the case finding clues here and there, getting chided by his colleagues for helping a clear murderer try and figure out what happened. A side story deals with his own demons of a sexual nature and his marriage that is quickly crumbling.

Christopher Abbot plays a similar character to what we usually see from him: the cool New Yorker who can snap at any moment. He adds very little to the suspense or story. By the 6th episode I could see they had nothing to unearth. I was right. This film draws you in under false pretenses and leaves you with a very weak explanation for the crime. It was fun watching because I expected something. At the end there was no worthy explanation and it felt like I’d wasted 2-3 episodes’ time. I would like to see more shows like this but with a plot that justify the initial tension of the crime.

6/10

The early scenes of this film are normal and mundane. You have a simple couple setting out to take a sightseeing romantic vacation. Very son into it, everything goes haywire which makes for some of the best British black comedy. Director Ben Wheatley throws decorum aside and delivers a no-holds-barred project like only he can.

Sightseers (2012)
Not Rated | 1h 28min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime | 10 May 2013 (USA)

Chris wants to show girlfriend Tina his world, but events soon conspire against the couple and their dream caravan holiday takes a very wrong turn.
Director: Ben Wheatley
Writers: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram | 1 more credit »
Stars: Alice Lowe, Kenneth Hadley, Steve Oram

We have a term here in the states for folks like these: white trash. They bring no honor to their kind and lack “class.” This is a couple in that category for sure. We watch them go through their misadventures and there are no limits to what they’ll do. One might kill out of unfounded jealousy while another will burn an enemy down. Let’s be real, this won’t be winning any high-brow awards. Still, there is plenty of hilarious material here from the twisted mind of Ben Wheatley. I for one loved it!

8/10

America has really never been a caste-free society. The rich get richer and the poor get the picture. In this film we get a direct camera lens view into what it is like for the poor in a resort town of Florida. More specifically, it’s focused on a mother and daughter trying to survive while living in a daily rate motel.

The Florida Project (2017)
R | 1h 51min | Drama | 10 November 2017 (UK)

Set over one summer, the film follows precocious six-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Disney World.
Director: Sean Baker
Writers: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch
Stars: Brooklynn Prince, Bria Vinaite, Willem Dafoe

I’ve been a student of the culture of poverty every since I started teaching in an inner city environment. There are all sorts of observed rules you wouldn’t thin of unless you lived in it. For example, the kids in poverty know when the churches and bakeries put out the day old bread and they are there ready to pick it up. There’s nothing shameful about this, it’s survival. In this film we see various ways the poor survive in this environment. It’s often touching, sometimes maddening, and yes entertaining. This is a valuable relic because as it entertains it educates about an unseen part of our society. I can’t get enough reminders of why some people do the things they do to survive in the culture of poverty.

Sometimes as a human race we can look to a culture to remind us what it is to be sensitive and human. In this film, we follow a hapless grocery store clerk in Queens who is just trying to see his son after he has been separated from him when his wife died.

Menashe (2017)
PG | 1h 22min | Drama | 28 July 2017 (USA)

Within Brooklyn’s ultra-orthodox Jewish community, a widower battles for custody of his son. A tender drama performed entirely in Yiddish, the film intimately explores the nature of faith and the price of parenthood.
Director: Joshua Z Weinstein
Writers: Alex Lipschultz, Musa Syeed | 1 more credit »
Stars: Menashe Lustig, Yoel Falkowitz, Ruben Niborski

I felt among these characters. It watches really like a documentary but I checked and it’s not. These are actors playing from a script and the emotions they evoke are significant. Whether its through watching the father work in the store or spending quality time with his son, the film shows that even this highly traditional culture holds the same bonds that we do as sacred.

Please note the film is entirely in Yiddish so if subtitles aren’t your thing, you should avoid this one. It made remember how special my kids are and how much I would do if asked to stay with them. The traditions of this Hebrew culture are also addressed which I found very interesting as well. This is a great watch for any human. 9/10