This movie put my head in a strange place. It started out normal enough, interesting and funny with a hint of despair. As it went on, it got harder to understand, downright confusing at times. There were scenes I found myself tired, wanting it to just get over already. But for its existentialistic theme, it was perfect.

I don’t think this type of show is for everyone. I would even bet most people will hate it. But for those of us who often see life through bland colored glasses, I think it makes some sense, teaches a few things, and even offers hope.

The movie was sometimes sweet, sometimes sad, often sardonic. At times it seemed to drag on way too long. Caden spends so much of his time trying to understand himself and figure out “why,” that he forgets to live. His efforts to make sense of his life are so extreme (he stages a grand play to reenact his entire life in an attempt to understand it) that it robs him of new experiences. He lives life by looking in the rear view mirror, searching for meaning and answers. And the answers are dismal; we are alone, there isn’t a higher purpose, and there isn’t rhyme or reason to our existence. But what else would you expect from this type of movie? The irony, however, is that these particular answers exist only because he wants more from life than living. When living isn’t enough, it’s a bitter road. Wanting more is either an insatiable and disappointing quest or a delusional existence.

(The next section has spoilers and harsh language in the movie quote)

Read the rest of this entry »

I wasn’t happy when I saw a trailer for this movie last year because it was eerily close to the plot of the book I had started writing several months prior. It’s an independent film and it took months before I was able to finally get it from Blockbuster. I actually requested it because they hadn’t picked it up yet and within a couple weeks it showed up in their database and then in my mailbox.

It had a surreal feeling feeling to me. A drab world. Short camera shots that capture simple everyday events and string them together to paint a depressing meaningless place. Our hero, in an attempt to escape the void, signs up to test an experimental drug and gains special powers.

As his life takes on new meaning and he strives to use his powers for good, we watch his antics play out in the same old boring world the movie opened with. As a result, I found myself laughing without smiling. There is both humor and tragedy buried in every scene that seem to blend like a sweet and sour sauce. The end result is confusingly interesting, thought provoking, and highly entertaining.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not easy for me to convince three teenagers, simultaneously, to sit down and watch a movie as a family. I have to use every ounce of my parental influence to get them to “just try 10 minutes.” If after 10 minutes they lose interest, they bail and I don’t protest. Based on the trailer, I had a hunch we’d all really like this show. I was so right.

Catinca Untaru, a six year-old girl from Romania, steals the show. Children are, generally, inherently cute but poor directing, filming, or lame attempts to exploit our tender emotions for kids can make me hate a movie. I read that in many scenes of The Fall cameras were hidden to help Cantinca feel spontaneous. Many of the scenes diverted from the script but the filming continued. The result is dialogue that reveals innocent misunderstandings, child-like questions, and some of the sweetest humor I have ever seen. The story is wonderfully creative, bizarre at times, and full of color and dreamlike scenes.

Read the rest of this entry »

I might have missed this one but the limited blu-ray choice at Blockbuster forced me to give it a chance. When I saw all the independent film festival awards it won, I decided to give it a try. I wasn’t disappointed.

The style of animation is really cool, artistic and different. It’s worth watching for that reason alone, but not why I recommend it. Watch this show for the insight it offers into the difficulties people have faced in Iran over the past 30 years. Before I lose most of you, let me add that the story is wrapped around a girl whose teenage adolescence/coming of age experiences are touching and heart wrenching. Not only does she struggle with issues faced by any typical teenage girl, she must also deal with the fact that her country is fighting a war and a radically changing government regime. I was fascinated by the peek into the Iranian world.

Read the rest of this entry »

I would like to know how many people, like me, identify with Chris McCandless. I suppose most of us have a love/hate relationship with wealth and possessions. Sometimes I feel right on the edge of turning and walking away…like Chris. The closest I’ve come is walking away from good jobs because it just didn’t feel right. With nothing else lined up, I step into the unknown…somehow things have always work out. I think I’ve managed to stay a responsible parent through all my issues. Several years ago I ripped apart a dollar bill in front of my kids and threw it away. It was only a buck but they still talk about it. I’ve got a $50 bill in my wallet right now. I’d love to burn it…but I can’t bring myself to do it.

Chris gave away his $24,000 trust fund to charity, turned down a new car from his parents, burned his money, and wandered around the western United States meeting people and experiencing the land. His final adventure was living in the wilds of Alaska for several months. It’s not spoiling the ending to tell what happened, it was all over the news. When I say it was his final adventure, I mean it literally. He left behind journals, pictures, and friends to help tell his story.

“Rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness…give me truth.”

Read the rest of this entry »

I know that world history is tainted throughout with racism, but I had no clue about what happened in Australia in the 1930’s. This is the true story of three girls who were taken from their homes because they were of mixed race and then put into a containment camp. Some of the crazy ideas that mankind has fashioned and executed are downright disturbing. Tearing children away from loving families can be a cheap way way to draw a tear, but that isn’t the focus of this show. It tells the inspiring story of Molly, a 14 year old girl, who escapes with her younger sisters and treks 1500 miles through the Australian Outback to get home. She knows the fence runs right to her village, so they follow it across the continent avoiding the police and rangers searching to capture them.

The girls perform superb. The documentary on the DVD about the making of this movie and history behind the story it as intriguing as the movie itself. The young actresses were picked from rural Australia and faced their own personal struggles as the movie was filmed. They are charming girls and if you follow-up the movie with the documentary you be that much more touched.

The images are beautiful, the story sweet, and the characters moving. It’s another good movie that inspires me to try and do a little more with my life.

If you know me, you’ll quickly understand why I loved this movie. It’s set in South Africa (hoe gaan dit my maat..dang I’m rusty), involves a boy’s passion with his camera, has a cast of troubled youth, addresses poverty, and has plenty of emotional drama. Two young friends find a dead body. One takes his gun, the other his video camera, and they each make use their new toys around the city. As a result, they branch into new directions in their lives which occasionaly cross throughout the movie, creating a nice conflict as the two friends face off from different sides of the track. A young white girl, carrying her own share of issues, becomes involved and introduces a nice flare of romance which does not bode well with her racist father.

This movie sparked several pages of journal writing for me. It touched on teenage issues, the inhumanity of poverty, and the whole Carpe Diem philosophy: what the hell am I doing with my life…wake up Warren! I enjoyed this show and it left me feeling flustered with some of the evils in the world but thankful for the life that I enjoy. I’d have to say watching this show helped make me a better person…or at least wanting to be a better person. Shows that can do that are certainly worth watching.

I must be in the foreign Holocaust movie mode. This one, unlike the last, didn’t just make me sad…it ripped my heart out. How a movie can make my throat tighten, tears well, and stomach knot while at the same time find sweet innocent ways to make me laugh I don’t know. I never would have thought a comedy/drama about the horrors of a concentration camp would ever work. But not only does it work, it excels.

The humor comes from a loving father doing everything he can to protect his young son from the nightmares around them. And maybe that’s why it gets me so much. It’s hard to see any child suffer. That alone is enough to choke me up. But throw in the idea that I have to watch my own children suffer and the knife twists inside me. I want to shield my kids from pain and suffering. I want them to be happy and feel like the world accepts and loves them. Yet there are places where that just doesn’t happen. So as I watch this show and put myself in the place of the father, it melts me. It inspires me to be a better parent to my kids. I certainly don’t face a fraction of his troubles. He shows how parent’s sometimes must resort to extreme measures…even put themselves in harms way if that’s what it takes. It’s hard to imagine the hardships people face around the world. I’m beyond fortunate in my life.

If you don’t sprechen deutsch prepare to read subtitles. It’s also long (2 1/2 hours) but, to it’s credit, I didn’t even realize that until it was over and I saw the time. It’s well done, I can see why it won an Oscar.

I can’t imagine having to escape from my country and start a new life in a hard new land…walking away from wealth and privilege to work on a farm. It’s something that I find myself sometimes wishing would happen to me. It would have to happen to me cause I doubt I’d ever do on my own. But something like that would be good for me.

Life is full of hard knocks. I learn through trial and mistakes. But rough times are not fun so when I watch people struggle in relationships, make poor choices, and push through their trials, I’d like to think that maybe I’m learning something from them. I’d rather learn from their mistakes than have to make them myself. As I experience heartache, anger, and frustration during a movie like this…maybe I’m growing a little bit. Maybe I’ll understand people a little bit better. Maybe I won’t be so judgmental. Maybe I’ll be a better person. With the amount of emotion this film pulled out of me, I have to think so.

There were a few points in this movie I was disgusted. It’s too easy for me to judge people sometimes and some of the choices they made and the things they said pushed my buttons. But I liked the characters and I didn’t want to be angry at them, so I had to let myself understand and empathize with them. Which wasn’t easy because some of the topics are ones that haunt me from my own life. But then, that’s why they pushed my buttons in the first place.

In the end, I resolved my issues with the characters. I certainly can appreciate that life is hard and we all do what we feel we have to in order to survive. We all hurt and feel pain and just want to be happy. Well, most people I know want happiness. Being torn from my home and family, thrust into a the middle of Africa, and then hearing the horrors that befell my loved ones left behind would wring out the best and worst in me. This was a very sweet movie and helped me forget about all of the stupid things I stress about…at least for a little while.

This movie surprised me. It didn’t get a lot of press and my expectations were low. But I’d seen some good reviews and thought it sounded interesting. Moments after I clicked play I remember thinking, “this could be really good.” It had a great start. Then I sat spellbound until the end. I had no idea I had just stumbled across a movie that would end up being one of my all time favorites. Then I watched it the next night again with my daughter. I dont’ know when the last time I even watched the same movie twice was, let alone one night after the other.

It filled me with passion. It angered me. It made me want to stand up and do something to help change the world. It’s an emotional roller coaster through flying daggers, bullets, blood, and mayhem. If you like action, conspiracy, government cover-ups, and seeing somebody stand up to The Man, then I think you’ll enjoy this movie. I just wish they would have played a longer version of the 1812 Overature during the first part of the show.