Midnight Express (1978)

I'm not sure why, but I love prison movies. This one is even based on a true story. It won the Golden Globe for best Drama Motion picture, was nominated for 6 Oscars and won two.. but not Best Picture... which it lost to The Deer Hunter which I gave a 9/10. Tough year.

We start the film with Billy Hayes [Brad Davis] strapping two kilos of drugs to himself in a low lit room. He then heads to the airport in Turkey with his girlfriend attempting to catch a flight home. He makes it through baggage claim with no issues even though he looks quite suspicious. When the passengers arrive at the plane they find armed guards checking the passengers one-by-one, turns out there have been several bombed planes in the last week and Hayes didn't bother to turn on the news. He is caught, and almost shot until they realize that it is "just drugs" and not a bomb.


Thanks to the help of the American consulate, he is told that he can be let go if he can lead them to the person that sold him the drugs. Hayes decides to make a break for it instead and is caught trying to run. He is given four years for possession, but the system is corrupt, and 4 years is long enough for them to re-try him for the smuggling a week before his sentence is up and is given life. To this point he has been patiently waiting for his release, but this changes everything. His mental state changes drastically and his goal of escape solidify.

A rare 10/10 for me, I would be happy to add this to my home collection, and if you haven't seen it... you should.

Vote: 10/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077928/

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3 Idiots (2009)

This Bollywood comedy stars Aamir Khan, who is probably the most popular actor in India at this time. He stars in films such as Lagaan, Rang De Basanti, Earth, and Like Stars on Earth.

The only one of those that I have seen is Like Stars on Earth, and I did enjoy it. I gave it a 7/10. This one is about a kid who is thought to be a lazy student but thanks to a good teacher [Khan] he is inspired to become a good student. The 7/10 was because the film is close to three hours, it breaks out in song and dance several times, which works with the kids movie theme.

This movie is about three college students. Khan plays the son of a rich Indian family who puts learning above grades. There is a good moral to the story, but the breaking into song and dance in this film just does not fit. Maybe this is normal in India, but I didn't like it. The head professor, I'm guessing he is the dean... it wasn't very clear to me, is made to look like a moron. I'm not sure why he had to be so over-the-top stupid with crazy hair, a lisp, and crossed eyes; I found this whole dynamic ridiculous.

Late in the film Khan's character is re-united with the girl he loves. It has been 10 years and he has made no effort to contact her? This is just stupid, and played off as comical, I didn't think this was in any way realistic. For a 2 and a half hour commitment I wasn't very impressed with this film. It is about college electrical engineers, so that was one saving grace for me.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1187043/

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When We Leave: Die Fremde (2010)

This was the 9th out of 10 foreign films from last year I really wanted to see. Sadly Life, Above All STILL isn't out on DVD, but is projected for a Dec. 6th, 2011 release.

I can't say I knew anything about this one other than it was really depressing... and boy is it. The film is about a Turkish woman in Germany that leaves her husband. Coming from a culture that forbids this activity he becomes alienated from her family. Her husband beat her and her child so she is forced to rely on the German government to provide assistance to basically hide them. She goes back to school and gets a job, but her constant efforts to still be part of the family only anger the men in the family.

This is an all around sad and depressing film. So sad that I couldn't sleep when finishing it and had to switch gears and watch a comedy for half an hour before I could get it out of my head. there is no silver lining and really no message to this film. It really is just an effort to bring light to modern day oppression that some women still face. Good point, but not something I want to commit two hours to.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1288376/

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Even the Rain: También la lluvia (2010)

Gael García Bernal [The Motorcycle Diaries, Y Tu Mamá También, Babel] and Luis Tosar [Miami Vice] [the two guys on the poster] star in a movie about a filming crew trying to shoot in Bolivia amidst the locals protesting the governments privatization of the water supply. This film was Spain's submission to the Oscar Foreign Film race, and was short listed but did not receive a nomination.

The film they are shooting is actually a controversial film about Christopher Columbus and how the Spanish people treated the indigenous people. So it is only that ironic that the local people are fighting mistreatment from the current government at the same time. The crew actually has to do some inward reflection to see if they actually believe what they are preaching on film. Do they really care about these people? Karra Elejalde plays the man they cast as the rebellious leader of the natives that fight the Spanish on film, and he happens to be a leader off film against the government and water company.

The film has an interesting dynamic with these two aspects, but it fails to create any deep ties between these two at the same time. The more interesting dynamic is between the two directors. Bernal starts as the main character and I didn't feel he performed very well in this film, his character also seemed so adamant about the story they were trying to get on film. Tosar's character starts as a jerk and seems to make the most positive change through the film, at first he exploits the natives and casts them well under what he would if they shot this in Spain. When Elejalde's character confronts him about this, he sees the error in his way and becomes a better person. It actually reminded me of a reading from church I heard the same morning I watched this:

"What do you think? A man had two sons; and he went to the first and said, `Son, go and work in the vineyard today.' And he answered, `I will not'; but afterward he repented and went. And he went to the second and said the same; and he answered, `I go, sir,' but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the harlots believed him; and even when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him.
-Matthew 21:28-32

I think this should have been the 5th nominee instead of "Outside the Law." But it was still only my 5th favorite.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1422032/

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Bridesmaids (2011)

Kristen Wiig has to be the funniest actress in a leading role right now. After watching her in roles with no freedom... Adventureland, Extract, Date Night, etc she has really shown how funny she can be as of late. She took Paul from being a joke to decently funny, and in her first film as a lead she really excelled.

Wiig is the latest Saturday Night Live comedian to hit the big screen and she has been actually making the weekly show worth watching again. [Along with Andy Samberg]. This film is not a comedy you watch with your parents. It is the kind of humor you would expect from the Farrelly Brothers [Dumb & Dumber, There's Something About Mary, etc] or Adam Sandler [except funny]. Unlike those companies that cater to male humor, fart jokes, etc. This one really does the same thing with women.

The female cast was excellent. Rose Byrne as the "new rich friend" Helen that Annie [Wiig] competes with. Maya Rudolph as the best friend Lillian [also from SNL, I honestly don't find Maya very funny, she was actually more of a serious character in this film, giving Annie's crazy character some balance]. Best of all might be Melissa McCarthy who some would say stole the show.

I really don't need to tell you the plot, the cast was good, the film was funny, and you should check it out.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1478338/

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Boys Don't Cry (1999)

Another IMDB Top 250 film from the 2001 Edition that I was able to find in HD. It has been on the Bubbling Under list, which is the 251-500 on imdb. So he has been hovering outside of the top 250 for quite a while, so I wanted to check it out. I really thought this was some sort of lesbian romance film, so I wasn't really looking forward to it, I was pretty much wrong.

The film is based on a true story, and thanks to some message board links on imdb I saw some profile pictures of the real people behind these characters, and I have to say they are a little scary. Hilary Swank plays Brandon, a young man with a sexual identity crisis. Brandon has girl parts and hopes to eventually get an operation to become a man. He has been in trouble for using a fake drivers license and skips a court date after spending some time in a small town in Nebraska. He makes some friends at a bar and falls in love with Lana [Chloë Sevigny]. Lana's mother's friend John Lotter [Peter Sarsgaard] is much older than Lana but has always had a thing for her, he is very leery of Brandon and you get the feeling that this is becoming a dangerous situation.

Peter makes John Lotter a much more handsome man than he is in real life, I think Kimberly Peirce should have cast someone a little more scary in this role, but I don't want to take anything away from Peter's excellent performance. Swank won her first Oscar for this film, and she definitely deserved it. This one is definitely worth checking out.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0171804/

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The Robe (1953)

Winner of the golden globe for the best dramatic film in 1953 and nominated for four Oscars and won two. Another cinemascope release, and one that I was able to find in high def, which made it look really nice.

Starring Richard Burton, who plays Marcellus a Roman tribune who is assigned the task of putting Jesus Christ to death. He then wins Jesus' robe in a game of dice after the crucifixion and becomes haunted by what he has done. He returns to Jesus' home town to learn more about the man he killed and becomes a Christian himself in the process.

I have to say that I was a little bored for the first 15-20 minutes, I wasn't sure how the film was going to develop and felt it was getting to the point in a roundabout way. After the film got going and the plot became clear it was a really moving film. It is the 1950's so in high def it doesn't do the sets favors at some times. It is clear the "night sky" is a backdrop in a studio, but when you look past some of this you really have an excellent film here.

Personally I would have given this my Oscar vote that year over From Here to Eternity.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046247/

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