The Emperor’s New Clothes (2001)

Tags

Comedy, Drama, Romance

 

How would it be
Do you think, do you think,
If a giant of men were required to shrink,
If a shaker and mover who loved his own name
Who terrorized armies and reveled in fame
Were forced to live simply, obscurely, and sad,
Assuming, of course, he did not first go mad?
I would be curious, and yet if it were so,
I doubt that the world and I ever would know.
________________

MPAA rating: PG

Sometimes a film is blessed by perfection in casting. Ian Holm is such an ideal Napoleon Bonaparte, both in talent and height, that he’s played “the little corporal” three separate times, in the mini-series Napoleon and Love, in Time Bandits, and lastly in The Emperor’s New Clothes, a semi-comedic revisionist account of Napoleon’s post-exile days based on a Simon Leys novel.

We all know Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena after the Battle of Waterloo, but what we don’t know (supposedly) is that he switched places with a deckhand lookalike (also played by Holm) and escaped back to France. Why do we not know such a story? Because the plan failed in complete secrecy. While the fake Napoleon enjoyed being famous and pampered a bit too much, the real one endured the yoke of obscurity only to find unexpected appeal in the romance of a simple life, one that didn’t involve conquering the European mainland.

The Emperor’s New Clothes could have been a stronger film and doesn’t inject its clever concept with as much humor as I would expect or hope, but it’s a satisfying one even so. While strong supporting roles are filled by Iben Hjejle as Napoleon’s love interest and Tim McInnerney as her jealous suitor, Holm in his double role is the star of the show.

At first, his Napoleon grumbles over the injustice of his lack of recognition and support, but once he accepts it, he becomes what Napoleon might have been without his despotic mindset, still a brilliant strategist but one bent on less militant pursuits, like distinguishing himself as the best melon salesman in Paris. Yet if you don’t think that the real Napoleon would give up his ambition so easily, the film doesn’t either and offers a hauntingly persuasive twist to make his acceptance and the story as a whole more credible. While the revisionist theory could have had a more humorous bent to it, The Emperor’s New Clothes brings Napoleon Bonaparte down to a relatable level and gives him a far more fulfilling fate than his real-life counterpart.

Best line: (Napoleon, preparing to leave St. Helena) “Six years of English cooking… six years of staring at these dreary walls… and at your gloomy face. You’re quite ugly, did you know that? I haven’t had the heart to tell you.”   (Louis) “Yes, sire.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
437 Followers and Counting

 

Doctor Strange (2016)

Tags

Action, Fantasy, Superhero

 

Our lives seem like a universe,
And yet they’re but a dot,
An inch upon a larger road,
An integer within the code,
A minute of an episode,
One tangle in a knot,
A drop within a mighty sea,
A twist within a tapestry,
The start of a soliloquy
We’ve barely even thought.

For how much larger must it seem
To One who knows its end.
Perhaps we’ll know the more we dream
And someday comprehend.
____________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

I love Marvel movies, and as much as I want to agree with most other reviewers that Doctor Strange is one of the best Marvel origin stories, I can’t quite bring myself to say it. Based on the visuals alone, it’s a cinematic wonder that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible. Storywise, I find my feelings similar to how I felt about last year’s widely loved blockbuster, namely Star Wars: The Force Awakens: I liked it a lot, but…. While most people don’t seem to mind the but, it necessarily tempers my praise.

What Doctor Strange gets right from the very beginning is Strange himself. Benedict Cumberbatch is so ideal for the role that I honestly cannot see anyone else donning the red cape. Early on, he essentially brings the same selfish arrogance of his Sherlock Holmes persona to the MCU, somehow making the audience feel invested in a conceited jerk of a surgeon. At first, he’s at the top of his field, but like Tony Stark and Thor before him, his vanity backfires. He’s humbled by one of the worst examples of distracted driving imaginable, and desperate to find healing, he journeys to Kamar-Taj in Nepal and discovers a more supernatural answer than he was expecting.

I do not belittle the visual mastery on display here, which I can best compare to Inception on steroids. After an initial confrontation between Kamar-Taj’s Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and rogue sorcerer Kaecilius, where an entire city block wraps up on itself, it seems like the visual effects team were holding back during Strange’s initiation, one or two psychedelic mind trips notwithstanding. Yet that was only so that they could go full-on bonkers when Kaecilius returns. Ignoring the fact that the actors are just waving their hands around in real life, it’s amazing how gravity, space, time, and perspective fluctuate with incredible ease, and it truly seems that images and actions are limited solely by the imagination. The time manipulation of the final battle is especially awe-inspiring, clever, and quite different from the typical explosive endings Marvel is known for.

What all these Oscar-deserving effects cover up, though, are some uninspired stock characters. I could see Tilda Swinton trying to make her Ancient One more engaging than a typical wise mentor type, but she only half succeeds, though her final scene does carry emotional weight. Chiwetel Ejiofor as Strange’s compatriot Mordo and Benedict Wong as a librarian named, uh, Wong barely made an impression on me since they too fell into the wise, solemn master stereotype, with not enough humor to escape it. Oddly, I’ve seen Rachel McAdams’s love interest getting most of the character criticism elsewhere, but I thought she filled her small supporting role quite nicely.

The script too falls a tad short, not only in the humor department that we’ve come to expect from Marvel, but in the preponderance of mystical mumbo-jumbo that I can only take half-seriously. I appreciate Christian director Scott Derrickson softening the main character’s occult roots (much like how Thor’s godhood was explained through extradimensional advancement), but a lot of the meaningful lines seem overly familiar, starting with the clichéd “Forget everything that you think you know.” My VC was vastly more negative than I, probably because the mumbo-jumbo caused her to tune out at times, since she couldn’t always keep up with all the names and spiritual terminology, not having any experience heretofore with Strange in the comics. I suspect watching Doctor Strange again with subtitles will improve her opinion and mine in time. (My MCU tastes are just different than most, I guess. My VC and I both immediately loved Ant-Man, but Guardians of the Galaxy took some warming up to. Give us time; we’ll love almost all of them eventually.)

Once again, this whole review feels like one big complaint, but I did indeed like Doctor Strange. I think it’s one of the weaker origin stories, but it has some excellent strengths going forward, especially Cumberbatch (who I really wish would meet Martin Freeman’s character from Civil War now that they’re both in the MCU). Also, despite disliking the weak or undeveloped reason behind one character’s falling out with Strange, I’m definitely excited for the possibilities that the two requisite after-credits scenes imply. Doctor Strange may not be among my favorite MCU chapters, but the groundwork that it lays gives me high hopes for the future.

Best line: (Kaecilius) “How long have you been in Kamar-Taj, Mister…?”
(Dr. Strange) “Doctor!”
(Kaecilius) “Mister Doctor?”
(Dr. Strange) “It’s Strange!”
(Kaecilius) “Maybe, who am I to judge?”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
437 Followers and Counting

 

Genre Grandeur – Gregory’s Girl (1981) – Rhyme and Reason

Almost forgot! Here’s my review of the Scottish coming-of-age romance Gregory’s Girl, which I contributed to MovieRob’s November Genre Grandeur for Scottish films.

MovieRob

For this month’s first review for Genre Grandeur – Scottish Films, here’s a review of Gregory’s Girl (1981) by SG of Rhyme and Reason

Thanks again to Gill of WeegieMidget Reviews for choosing this month’s genre.

Next month’s Genre has been chosen by Becky of Film Music Central. We will be reviewing our favorite Cyberpunk Movies.

According Wikipedia –

Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a future setting that tends to focus on society as “high tech low life” featuring advanced technological and scientific achievements, such as information technology and cybernetics, juxtaposed with a degree of breakdown or radical change in the social order.

Please get me your submissions by the 25th of Dec by sending them to cyberpunkbecky@movierob.net  Try to think out of the box! Great choice Becky!

Let’s see what SG thought of this movie:

_________________________________

Gregory’s Girl (1981)

Our first love is something unique.

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VC Pick: Continental Divide (1981)

Tags

Comedy, Romance

 

While some prefer a city life
With urban pleasures close at hand,
Still others call for space and land,
For rivers clear and mountains grand,
And do not seem to understand
A noisy, city life.

Some love the woods unpopulated;
Some love the bustling avenues;
And some appreciate both views
And do not know which one to choose.
To pick but one and one refuse
Sometimes is complicated.
____________________

MPAA rating: PG (should be PG-13 for language)

My VC had me watch Continental Divide some time ago, and I never remembered it being anything special, aside from the unlikely casting of John Belushi as a romantic lead. He plays Ernie Souchak, a provocative newspaperman who pushes too hard on a crooked politician and, for his own good, is sent to the Rocky Mountains to write a story about eagle expert Nell Porter (Blair Brown). Helpless as he is and remote as they are, Nell grudgingly agrees to allow him to stay in her cabin, and we all know what can happen when this attractive woman and…well, this man share a cabin for an extended period of time. Yet, eventually they must deal with the fact that the two of them have different homes and different passions that will inevitably keep them apart.

Seeing Continental Divide again, there’s still nothing that would make this a favorite romance of mine, but it was far better than I recalled. The script isn’t as funny as I would expect for a John Belushi film, but the screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan (Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Big Chill) still establishes two likable characters even before they become lovebirds. As mismatched as they seem at first glance, Belushi and Brown do share some burgeoning chemistry so I see why my VC sighs that “they make such a cute couple.” Yet, what makes the film special is the mountainous setting and Nell’s nature-centric lifestyle; the expansive vistas of Colorado offer a gloriously romantic backdrop to the log cabin love affair.

Continental Divide often has the look and feel of a TV movie, and my VC thinks it would have made a promising TV spinoff, if not for Belushi’s death months after its release. The film eventually presents the expected challenges of a long-distance relationship, and while the resolution won’t please everyone equally, the relationship on display is worth some charming optimism.

Best line: (Souchak) “The air was thin. She was average cute. She was the only girl up there. The air was thin!”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
437 Followers and Counting

 

Spectre (2015)

Tags

Action, Drama, James Bond, Thriller

 

The past has haunted me before,
Mistakes, heartaches I tried to flee,
And when at last I think they’ve gone,
I find not everyone’s moved on,
Sometimes including me.

My enemies have bones to pick,
A few more personal than most.
When bullets make their presence known,
I’ll gladly help to pick the bone
And silence any ghost.
________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

After the exceptional storyline of Skyfall, it was certainly a difficult task for the next installment in the Bond franchise to match it, and it’s not very surprising that it doesn’t. Spectre is a solid Bond adventure, but even with Sam Mendes returning as director, it pales next to its predecessor, if only because it returns to predictable action-movie formulas.

Spectre does start in style, with a long flowing shot that follows a masked Bond from the Mexico City streets up to a sniper position on a hotel roof. The subsequent destruction and helicopter chase exemplify what makes Daniel Craig’s Bond so entertaining in the action department, but after he returns to London for a slap on the wrist, he sinks into suave spy mode with the same ease. From investigations into yet another mysterious international organization to rendezvous with women and an old foe, the plot does what one would expect of a Bond movie, and all of the supporting “good guys” do excellent work with it, including Ralph Fiennes’ M, Ben Whishaw’s Q, and Léa Seydoux as the latest Bond girl named Madeline Swann, who has an interesting connection to Bond’s past adventures.

However, it’s the villains who are the biggest letdown. After Javier Bardem’s malicious Silva in Skyfall, Christoph Waltz fails to make as much of an impression, which is a shame since we know he can play an expert villain. Part of the problem is that he’s absent from the picture for too long, floating in and out of events more like a plot device than an evil genius. Another character is so obviously working for him that I’m not sure if that was meant to be a surprise, especially when he’s played by the clearly untrustworthy Andrew Scott (a.k.a. Moriarty on Sherlock). The sad part is that Waltz’s character is meant as Bond’s arch-nemesis but isn’t given the screen-time or strong motive to warrant that title, even with his supposed mastermind status over Bond’s past exploits.

The film’s technical aspects also feel more pedestrian next to Skyfall. After that initial continuous shot I mentioned, the artistry Mendes showed in the past is hardly noticeable, and the action scenes feel born more out of necessity than creativity. One kidnapping car chase, for instance, takes place in the snowy Alps, and Bond decides to pursue in a small plane, begging the question how he intended to rescue the hostage from the air.

I sound like I’m being harsh, don’t I? It’s a James Bond movie, and I shouldn’t expect much, but after thoroughly enjoying Skyfall, it was hard not to feel a bit let down by Spectre. Nevertheless, taken by itself, formula and all, it’s still an entertaining mission and a deserving member of the Bond franchise. It fits comfortably among the franchise’s second tier, making it probably my least favorite of the Daniel Craig movies, but on the List-Worthy level of Bond’s older, more conventional escapades.

Best line: (C) “You can’t tell me an agent in the field can last long against all those drones and satellites.”   (M) “Yes, you have information. You can find out all about a man, track him down, keep an eye on him. But you have to look him in the eye. All the tech you have can’t help you with that. A license to kill also means a license not to kill.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (tied with the older Bond movies I’ve seen, which are headed up by A View to a Kill)

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
437 Followers and Counting

 

Cold Comfort Farm (1995)

Tags

Comedy

 

The golden orb shone on the heath and lazily it flew,
While muddy plows and barren cows belied a murky charm.
The water troughs reflected back the sky’s pathetic blue,
When Flora Poste arrived to host the old Cold Comfort Farm.

The quarters of the Starkadders had stood for centuries,
And honestly it looked it in its gloomy disrepair.
But deep beneath the seedy heath were possibilities,
And that’s why ‘twas a lucky thing that Flora Poste was there.
_______________________

MPAA rating: PG

I checked out Cold Comfort Farm from my library based on the whimsical description on the back, which made it sound like a British version of Chevy Chase’s Funny Farm, but it’s something else. Based on a Stella Gibbons novel from 1932 and released first on the BBC, then in theaters, it’s a makeover lark with a humor that seems to defy easy categorization. Perhaps that’s because the charm is meant as contrast between the bourgeois sensibilities of Flora Poste (Kate Beckinsale in one of her first roles) and the hyperbolic gloominess of her rural Starkadder relatives with whom she goes to stay at Cold Comfort Farm.

Determined to live off of her relations while working on a novel, Flora appeals for invitations and picks Cold Comfort in Sussex because it sounds “interesting and appalling” as opposed to the others, which are just appalling. There’s a strange old-world charm to the Starkadders, who continually refer to Flora as “Robert Poste’s child” and use fake archaic words like sukebind, scranlete, and clettering. Since the original book was meant as a parody of dreary rustic novels, it’s no surprise that the tone was as if the most melancholy portions of Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre were played for laughs. Despite the large cast of characters, most of them have a moment to shine, such as Judith Starkadder (Eileen Atkins) with her Frau Blucher-like gravitas, her husband Amos (Ian McKellen) who delivers a fire-and-brimstone sermon that would make Jonathan Edwards quiver, their son Seth (Rufus Sewell) who loves the movies, their other son Reuben (Ivan Kaye) who hopes to run the farm himself one day, and several other colorful personages, all subjugated by the oppressive hand of Aunt Ada Doom (Sheila Burrell), who is haunted by seeing “something nasty in the woodshed” when she was a child. (Boy, that was a long sentence!)

After innocently asking if she might change a few things, Flora quickly takes it upon herself to bring this motley crew into the modern age, encouraging them in different ways to crawl out from under Aunt Ada’s thumb. Flora might have seemed like an overly nosy busybody, but Beckinsale plays her with earnest confidence in her self-appointed roles of matchmaker and wish granter, efforts met with surprising success. By the end, two questions on which the plot seemed to hang are entirely ignored in favor of blithe wish fulfillment, but it’s hard not to be won over by the appeal of a happy ending.

Cold Comfort Farm may not be a typical country farce, but its unconventional wit and talented cast (including Stephen Fry, Freddie Jones, and Joanna Lumley, by the way) make it an entertaining amusement.

Best line: (Amos) “There’ll be no butter in hell!”

Or for a line more indicative of the film’s Jane Austen-ish wit:

(Charles, Flora’s friend) “Do you ever think of getting married?”
(Flora) “I believe in arranged marriages, don’t you?”
(Charles) “Rather out of date.”
(Flora) “Not at all. I’ve always liked the phrase, ‘A marriage has been arranged.’ When I feel like it, I’ll arrange one.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
437 Followers and Counting

 

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)

Tags

Action, Animation, Drama, Superhero

 

Insults bring about turmoil.
Injuries cause blood to boil.
Sin and sufferings embitter,
Making spite a heavy hitter.
Malice merits some requital;
Are not victims so entitled?

Vengeance is a worthy cause
For those who follow their own laws.
And when reprisals hit their mark,
The soul falls further into dark.
Revenge does what justice intends,
But when it starts, it never ends.
___________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

I love animation, whether it be Disney, Pixar, anime, or any number of cartoons on television, so I’ve never thought of myself as prejudiced against animated media. (Would that be called an animationist?) My VC is of that mind, considering animation to be, if not inferior, then at least less effective than live action, and we’ve had some strong disagreements on that front. However, I’m split over the various DC animated films that have been released direct-to-DVD over the last decade.

While they all seem to attract excellent voice casts and usually critical appreciation, I can’t help but feel they are second-tier animations. Why else would they be released direct to DVD? The few I’ve seen have been good, but even acclaimed ones like the two-part The Dark Knight Returns seem to fall short of greatness because, well, they’re animated. No, now I feel guilty for even saying that. It’s not that they’re animated; it’s that the animation seems less of an effort and causes me to lower my expectations, even though The Dark Knight Returns is undoubtedly better than, say, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

All this debate is to provide context since I’ve now seen an animated DC film that does stand toe-to-toe with its live-action cousins. Batman: Under the Red Hood holds to the much darker trend in the DC animated universe, evident right from the beginning, where the Joker (John DiMaggio) mercilessly beats the second Robin/Jason Todd with a crowbar and Batman (Bruce Greenwood) arrives too late to save his sidekick. Jump ahead five years to Gotham City, in which a new vigilante called the Red Hood (Jensen Ackles) keeps criminals in line by becoming a feared crime boss himself. As Batman investigates this lethally skilled foe, his past confronts him in ways he never expected.

Deserving of its 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, Under the Red Hood would have been fantastic enough with its explosive action sequences, but the triple confrontations between Batman, the Joker, and the Red Hood cut right to the heart of Batman’s morality. He and the Red Hood agree that criminals must be kept in line, yet their methods are diametrically opposed, with killing as the great line that Batman refuses to cross, for reasons rarely so compellingly delivered. Their final faceoff provides both tragedy and food for thought, an epic clash of moralities backed by the dark madness of the Joker. This version of the Joker is memorably malicious and unpredictable, and even if DiMaggio still sounds a little like his Adventure Time and Futurama characters, he once again proves how playing the Joker brings out the best in an actor, even a voice actor (except Jared Leto, that is).

Watching Under the Red Hood, I was tempted to throw it into the good-not-great category, but animated or not, it’s a mature and outstanding Batman movie. I wish the ending wasn’t so ambiguous, but this film gives me hope that perhaps other DC cartoons will be better than I’ve given them credit for.

Best line: (Red Hood, about killing the Joker) “What? What, your moral code just won’t allow for that? It’s too hard to cross that line?”
(Batman) “No. God Almighty, no. It’d be too damned easy. All I’ve ever wanted to do is kill him. A day doesn’t go by I don’t think about subjecting him to every horrendous torture he’s dealt out to others, and then end him.”
(Joker) “Awwww, so you do think about me.”
(Batman) “But if I do that, if I allow myself to go down into that place, I’ll never come back.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
436 Followers and Counting

 

Right at Your Door (2007)

Tags

Drama, Thriller

 

When morn dawns optimistically,
Like all the morns before,
No thought have we for jeopardy
That could be yet in store;

No thought for smoke or lives at stake
Or bodies in the street,
For blasts and chaos in their wake
Or desperate, dazed retreat;

No thought for tears and tattered nerves
And hopes soon left for dead,
Or courage once in vast reserves
Reduced to helpless dread.

No thought for such, and why should we
Let life be worry-marred?
That’s how we maintain normalcy
And why we’re caught off-guard.
_______________________

MPAA rating: R

In the unnerving tradition of The Twilight Zone, Right at Your Door thrusts ordinary people into an  alarming situation, a worst-case scenario that is compellingly realistic because it is so possible. As Brad (Rory Cochrane) bids farewell to his wife Lexi (Mary McCormack) as she heads to work in Los Angeles, a typical day takes a sharp turn when the news reports explosions downtown. His incredulous panic growing, Brad listens as reporters give ever-worsening descriptions of the damage done by a suspected dirty bomb. When Brad tries to reach Lexi and is forced to return home, he and a desperate passerby (Tony Perez) seal themselves into the house with tape and plastic covers, isolating themselves from the reported toxins and anyone who might be infected.

The film’s low budget and limited locations actually work to its advantage, focusing its scope on Brad’s home and increasing the apprehension and doubt of what may or may not be happening. Except for some billowing smoke and ash, most of the disaster is kept to news reports, begging the question of how much we hear is truth, conjecture, or misinformation. The film emphasizes just how little we’d know in a quarantine during a disaster, and as Brad and others must make stressful personal decisions, it’s disconcerting to see how even small impulses or mistakes can mean the difference between life and death.

Written and directed by first-time filmmaker Chris Gorak, Right at Your Door is a potently plausible what-if scenario spoiled only by the near-constant profanity, which, considering the stressful circumstances, is at least understandable. The three main actors emote that fear effectively, selling the tension that might have petered out with less convincing performances. We rarely can tell the best course of action in a disaster, and while everyone hopes they’ll never have to experience it firsthand, Right at Your Door brings that anxiety closer to home than most disaster films even try.

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
436 Followers and Counting

 

Sing Street (2016)

Tags

Comedy, Drama, Musical, Romance

 

(Best sung to “The Riddle of the Model,” see the video at the bottom, and yes, I know the original lyrics are better)

No life is ever perfect.
It doesn’t play along.
How will we ever surf it,
Except to sing a song,
A song with inspiration
In everything we love and hate.
It’s pleasure and frustration
But in a musical debate.

It’s called creativity.
It’s all the work of the human heart.
Few if any can see it from the start.
Positivity
Won’t let it fall apart.
Can you see
The origin of genius?
__________________

MPAA rating: PG-13

Would it be wrong to say that the 1980s had the best music? Sure, there are plenty of modern favorites I have, but it’s amazing how many great songs originated in that decade that has become a bastion of nostalgia of late. It is that music scene of Duran Duran and U2 that is the backdrop for Sing Street, the humble origin story of an Irish high school band clearly inspired by everything ‘80s music did well.

Though young Conor (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) is forced to move to a different Dublin school, where he must put up with bullies and a cold-hearted principal, he goes out on a limb to invite the lovely aspiring model Raphina (Lucy Boynton) to a music video shoot. All he needs then is a band, which he cobbles together from schoolmates and talented acquaintances with surprising ease. Despite some growing pains, it’s clear they’re more talented than your typical garage band, and the music becomes a sort of escape from the oppressive futility of his dysfunctional home life and unpromising future.

In several respects, Sing Street brought to mind Cameron Crowe’s 1970s-set Almost Famous, another film with a great soundtrack of classic tunes. Raphina may not be as enigmatic as Penny Lane, but Conor is just as taken with her as William was in the earlier film, though in this case Conor gets an actual romance. In addition, Conor’s brother bears traces of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character in Almost Famous, with his musical snobbery and creative encouragement. (For the record, I do enjoy Phil Collins music, no matter what Conor’s brother says.) In particular, both films seem to capture a love for the music of the times and a sympathy for the imperfect fellows who develop and appreciate it, sharing that same love and sympathy with the audience.

True, there are things I wish were different, such as the ambiguously optimistic ending scene and the typical caricature of the vilified priest as the bad guy. Nevertheless, there’s a lot that Sing Street does right, especially the music, from background songs courtesy of Genesis, Spandau Ballet, and many more to original hits that sound like they could have been plucked from some unproduced 1985 album. The band’s efforts at producing music videos are as low-budget but quirky as any number of ‘80s videos, while a dream sequence concert of the original song “Drive Like You Stole It” is the marvelous high point of the film and perhaps the musical high point of the whole year. Honestly, I hope it wins Best Song at the Oscars, however unlikely that seems.

Besides the music, the characters feel real, likable, and worthy of support, with Conor especially growing in confidence and even rightly treating the school bully first with indifference and then with compassion. Above all, there’s a certain artistic thrill and satisfaction to watching these young people experiment and create something that’s actually, surprisingly good. With the talent on display, the hopes for their future are implicitly high, and I can easily imagine Sing Street, both the band and the movie, being the object of fond nostalgia in years to come.

Best line: (Raphina) “Your problem is that you’re not happy being sad, but that’s what love is, Cosmo— happy sad.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (tied with Almost Famous)

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
435 Followers and Counting

Sophie Scholl – The Final Days (2005)

Tags

Drama, History

 

‘Tis when we are threatened by powers that be
That mettle is measured and morals are key.

‘Tis easy conceding to dangerous ifs
When everyone speeds toward the same social cliffs.

‘Tis harder to risk reputation and friend
For ethics that many refuse to defend.

‘Tis faith we must have in a world full of spite
To recognize wrong when it persecutes right.
________________

MPAA rating: PG
Language: German (with English subtitles)

One of the key motivators behind the Valkyrie plot to kill Hitler was to prove to the world that not everyone was willing to submit to his oppressive regime. While those involved with Valkyrie were high-ranking officers, the same commitment applied to many German civilians as well, such as the White Rose, the group of students who made their clandestine defiance known through anti-Nazi graffiti and leaflets. An Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, Sophie Scholl – The Final Days is about one of the White Rose’s most famous members, focusing on the resistance movement not in practice but in ideals.

Except for a tense scene of Sophie and her brother distributing the White Rose’s illegal literature, the majority of the film is concerned with Sophie Scholl’s imprisonment and trial and how she responded to the Nazis’ threats and slander. As portrayed by Julia Jentsch, Scholl is a model saint, praying for strength, enduring the knowledge of her fate with faith and patience, and answering her accusers with a calm confidence of spirit. While she denies her involvement at first, the interrogation points clearly at her guilt, and she refuses to show remorse for her support of free speech and all she knows to be right. One especially potent exchange with her interrogator condemns the crimes and standards of the Nazi movement so powerfully that even her opponent seems moved by her convictions, right before an act that implicates him as another Pontius Pilate sending an innocent to death.

A defense of free speech and conscience rights, Sophie Scholl – The Final Days is heavy with dialogue but rich in moral fortitude and quiet courage. The final scenes are restrained yet forceful, and every actor is on point, especially Jentsch as Sophie and Fabian Hinrichs as her brother Hans. Sophie and her fellow prisoners clearly accept their fate with trepidation, but history has proven them as heroes and martyrs.

Best line: (Sophie) “Trucks came to pick up the children at the mental hospital. The other children asked where they were going. ‘They’re going to heaven,’ said the nurses. So the children got on the truck singing. You think I wasn’t raised right, because I felt pity for them?”

 

Rank: List-Worthy

 

© 2016 S.G. Liput
435 Followers and Counting