Reviews

Heavy is the film that tackles the subject of child soldiers. Not many will go into this territory period.

The themes present in War Witch (2012) reveal the depths of darkness within humanity. Death, destruction, greed, redemption, trauma, war, and life are some of the many concepts touched upon.

The story starts in an unnamed sub-saharan African country that could easily be the DRC or South Sudan but obviously tries to avoid direct criticism of any one country. A rebel group called the Flying Tiger Rebels attacks a young girl name Komona's small village. The kill and kidnap Komona, forcing her to shoot her own parents or have them chopped up by machete.

The group resembles real-life child soldier groups like the Lord's Resistance Army. All the soldiers, including the warlord, Great Tiger, believe in magic and mysticism. Rituals are performed by the young soldiers; charms are kept; "magic milk" is drunk by the soldiers for visions.

Komona claims to see the dead when she drinks the "magic milk" tapped from trees. These ghosts help her know the position of government troops and gives the rebels an advantage. This leads to Great Tiger promoting her to his "war witch." He also gives her an AK-47 that was charmed by a wizard.

Another magical character is called the Magician. A young boy who has albinism, he makes and believes wholeheartedly in his charms. He also takes a liking to Komona, showing her his ceremonies and sneaking her foods.

Eventually, Magician takes an opportunity to escape with Komona. They wander around and start to bond through their trauma. In a much needed lighthearted subplot, Magician searches for a white rooster that Komona's father told her was required for her to give her hand in marriage. The attempt to settle down to a normal life at Magician's uncle, the Butcher.

Unfortunately, the young couple's happy marriage is short lived. The rebels find their "war witch" and kill Magician. A year passes and Komona finds herself a soldier again and pregnant to her commander. She uses her cunning to kill him.

From there, Komona makes her way back to her uncle-in-law the Butcher's house. He accepts her as his own daughter. However, her ptsd and fear for being killed has her being progressively more violent. She wants to bury her parents especially as they now haunt her regularly.

The film ends with Komona going back to her home village to bury her parent's remains. On the way she gives birth, alone. She and her new baby, Magician, then get a ride back towards the Butcher's house.

The plot is very well paced and, while grim. Tries not to be too dark or overly graphic. They leave the worst scenes to the viewer's imagination. At the same time, the culture of superstition, spirits and animism surrounds the film and feels like another character. Having done some research into African synchronism, the minute details are well written and displayed in the film to give it that realistic edge.

I recommend for anyone interested in harsh realities war-torn countries face right up to the present.

A high.

The Message is a very simplistic story. It recalls the life of the prophet Muhammad from approximately 610 CE to the end of his life. It is told in the epic mold of Ben-Hur or the Ten Commandmants. Interestingly, the film follows the tenet of Islam of not displaying Muhammad, so he is never directly shown but has his followers and adversaries do all of the talking for him as stand-ins.

The story is well-known to Muslims as well as various people who have studied religion. Muhammad receives the word of God from the angel Gabriel in a desert cave in Mecca. Muhammad begins to gain followers with his message of one God with he being his messenger.

However, as with most prophets, this is not well regarded with the Meccan authorities. Pilgrims come to a religious shrine shaped as a cube (Ka'ba in Arabic) that was said to be a holy shrine of Abraham himself. By the 7th century however it has turned to a place full of various idols, hundreds in fact with different followers and customs. This pilgrimage is profitable to the authorities and Muhammad's religion is seen as a threat.

Soon, persecution of the Muslims begin. An Abyssian slave name Bilal is an early convert on hearing of the equality of all men under Allah. He is reprimanded by his master but is rescued by being purchased and freed by Muhammad's friend Abu-Bakr. These persecutions reach a zenith when it is found authorities had brutally killed 2 converts.

Some Muslims flee to Abyssia to their tolerant ChristianKing, the rest languish in the desert until Muhammad is asked to mediate a dispute for the warring tribes of Medina. Muhammad agrees on the condition the city converts to Islam.

We see Medina and the Muslims start to thrive in their new home. War looms however as the Meccans confiscate all property of the exiled Muslims. War between the two sides ends in a truce with victories traded.

The Meccan authorities begin to convert en-masse as the discipline, piety and virtue of the Muslims is shown throughout. The film ends with the Muslims entering the Ka'ba and smashing the various false gods.

The film is interpaced many lessons, laws and dictates of the Quran. It really shows the peaceful and charitable nature of Islam. Unlike the modern Kings of Saudi Arabia or various emirs and sultans of the Persian Gulf, or their regressive interpretations of Islam. Islam teaches us to understand and lift our neighbors as they are us; clothe and feed them as we would our brother and sister. To not look up or down at our fellow man or woman but to see them as an equal under divine jurisprudence.

This film recaps dramatically one of the most important parts of the revolution. Prior to 1794, Danton and Robespierre had been friends and political Allies. Danton led the Paris commune with the sans-culottes whereas Robespierre was undisputed leader of the left wing jacobin club. Both were members of the Montegnard and used populism to push out rival factions like the girodins and to execute the former king Louis XVI.

Personally, the two men were total opposites in demeanor. Danton was a tad cliché as a Frenchman who loved his women and wine as much as a party. Whereas Robespierre was a workoholic prude who put his virtuous man into practice by obstaining from luxury or even marriage to live as a sort of civil servant monk.

Soon after their victories within the French state, many plots unraveled to sour the two men politically. Danton stepped down from the Commitee of Public Safety right as the reign of terror started bubbling over in French society. Robespierre entered the committee and became the leader, although the other members were just as guilty for the crimes of the terror.

The film begins right as Danton had returned to Paris to reenter politics. He finds however his position has been considerably weakened and cannot see eye-to-eye with Robespierre's vision. There is little trust between the two; Danton sees Robespierre as uncompromising and tyrannical; Robespierre sees Danton as corrupt and a potential dictator himself with his populist appeal. The two attempt to reconcile to no avail.

This is the interesting aspect of the film is the reality of these two heroes of the revolution going from friends to enemies. A very poignant scene occurs when Danton is received by adorning crowds as he exited his carriage while Robespierre is looking down from the third floor of his Paris apartment.

As the committee of public safety debates arresting Danton, Robespierre remains on-the-fence. As rumors, accusations of corruption and counter-revolution circulation Paris, Robespierre makes a final plea to Danton and later Desmoulins. Neither are receptive, however.

Finally Robespierre, seeing his own downfall in the decision, agrees to the arrest. A show trial hastily proceeds to the predetermined verdict. Danton then meets madame la guillotine.

The consequences and lessons from the first French republic are still extremely relevant to today. Wealth inequality, justice, virtue, terror, despotism, the role of government and many other aspects of the revolution began as seeds here in the practical (and in the theoretical in the enlightenment). Unlike the American revolution that also bore from out of the enlightenment, the French state was already politically heterogeneous and misgovernment and stagnation had left deep wounds within the nation. This film captures some of the lost promise of that revolution and how it imploded. Highly recommended film.

This remake of the 1940 Pinocchio leaves a bad taste in your mouth. A lot of the changes made were not for the better. The additions were either pointless, an attempt to trendy, or just plain bad. Let me go into them a bit:

The Good:

-The Stagecoach driver was a decent character, but much less devious and foreboding as the original.

-The voice actors seemed pretty good and almost hold up to the original.

-Tom Hanks changed Geppetto's character into a more bumbling and absent-minded father. I thought he did well with what he had to work with.

-The CGI Honest John, Gideon and the various shots around 19th century Italy.

The Bad:

• Pinocchio is too good. In the book and the 1940 version, he is easily tricked and puts himself in bad situations; he was not kicked out of school but superfluously decided on suggestion of Honest John and Gideion to be an actor. He doesn't learn and quickly finds himself on pleasure island. He misbehaves and eagerly joins Lampwick in nefarious mischief.

• Locking up Strombolli and the whole extra storyline of his assistant is useless. There was little law and order in 19th century Italy and corruption, extortion, and bribery were just a part of life.

-Lampwick is unlikeable in this version; the scene of him turning into a jackass has almost no impact or meaning like the 1940 version.

-While tobacco and alcohol use is not in-vogue with Hollywood nor Disney these days, in the 1940 Pinocchio it showed the negative effects of kids doing these activities and were teachable moments. I feel removing them and sanitizing the film takes away the agency of children to interpret the meaning and make proper decisions using the allegory.

-There is one particularly bad scene where Pinocchio summarizes his experiences to Geppetto for no apparent reason; We watched the movie...

• The added, unnecessary characters

• Random meta "jokes" to appease the Disney masses. From cringe-mentioning Chris Pine and influences. The cuckoo clocks in the original always made me laugh, the ones in this version are just "nods" to various other Disney media - a pat on their own back.

• Jiminy Cricket is not nearly as likeable and works a bit stiff.

-Mostro is a whale; not a monster

As I typed out this review, the stars were being subtracted regularly. It is safe, cleansed, uneventful, uninspired fluff from Disney and is the problem with most of their remakes and a lot of modern cinema today.

This film is very interesting. I had never seen it but was aware of it due to the great documentary "Walt and El Grupo" (2008) which detailed Walt and his animators trip to Latin America in 1941.

The Good:

The film captures the cultures of Brazil and Mexico very accurately, with their unique dress and dance paid specific attention. The film goes surreal at times with a past tense narrator who argues with his past self, crazy fireworks and entering of books and interaction between the animated birds and live actors, coming across like a dated Roger Rabbit at times. At other times it also resembles a Latin American Fantasia, with bright colors and great music inspired by the region.

The bad:

The story goes from being relatively structured to going off the wall and it seems like the animators weren't sure how to end it. Also Donald becomes very perverted in behavior that would come across very poorly in the modern day. It seems relatively benign at first but almost takes over the second half of the movie.

Overall it is an odd gem of a film and I liked how different it was. It took chances and definitely succeeded for the most part. I would recommend it.

I did not review the first film but think it is necessary to review the second because of the way the two compliment one another.

Two years have passed since the events of the first movie and we get Sugata immediately getting into a scuffle with an American sailor who is abusive towards a young rickshaw driver. This leads to one of the main plots of the story: eastern martial arts (judo, jujitsu, karate) against western prizefighting.

The other main plot in the story is Sugata coming to terms with his judo, skills, wins and the effects it has on other people. Including an overwhelming sense of guilt for winning matches against Murai and Higaki. We find out Murai has died, although it is not clear if their match in the first film was connected to his death. Higaki's character, much like the first film, is one of the most interesting. He has gone from being the arrogant antagonist of Sugata to a mere shell of his former self, willing to help Sugata defeat his own misguided brothers.

One of the more disappointing aspects of this film is the marginalization of Sugata and Sayo's romance. While they do touch on it, they barely develop it as I (and surely others) would have liked to see. Especially considering how pure and vital it is in the first film.

The best aspect of the film is Sugata's realization of self and merging his path of who he wants to be with who he is. The last moments of the film really reflect that and you feel as content as Sugata does in the end.

The Kurosawa Sanshiro Sugata films watched together as a whole make both films better as they really add depth and expand on the characters (outside of Sayo). And while each individual movie I gave 7 stars, if they were one complete movie I would give it 9 stars because of how some aspects, plots and characters are better known between the two films.

This work, directed by Cecil B. DeMille is based on the book The Admirable Crichton. The film has some interesting commentary on social standing in society.

In the film, Crichton plays a loyal butler to a wealthy, posh London family. He is immaculate at his job and keeps all the rest of the staff in line with proper etiquette and manners. His biggest problem is that he is hopelessly in love with lady Mary; the newly engaged heiress who happens to be a spoiled brat. In one notable scene, she takes an opulent bath with various soaps and perfumes. It is a display the over-the-top luxury the overclass held at the time. The other main character, Tweeny, is a maid who is enamored with Crichton.

Everything changes when the family becomes stranded on a remote island after their yacht hits some rocks. Soon, it becomes apparent that Crichton and Tweeny, are the only ones capable of self sufficiency. The family that once commanded so much respect and obedience, become subservient to Crichton as he becomes the 'King of Babylon.'

Lady Mary, at first reluctant in the reversal of roles, is now practically a slave to Crichton's whims. Humorously, her and Tweeny fight over who gets to pamper Crichton that day. Eventually, Lady Mary and Crichton are set to wed when a ship is seen and alerted.

Once saved, the old ways quickly reemerge. Crichton, however, wisely chooses to leave the family and marry Tweeny. They leave for America to live out their lives in a more egalitarian society.

I usually get recommendations from friends who love movies, and I deliberately go into the movie "blind" to limit my expectations one way or another. Of course, with Hollywood blockbusters or sequels, it is hard to avoid seeing or hearing something about the film.

Timbuktu is an excellent film. It draws you in with the beautiful cinematography and keeps you there with the story.

Set in historically famous Timbuktu, Mali; we see that the territory has been taken over by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) as the black standard flag of the jihadist group flys.

Their rule of law is strict and adheres to their own interpretation of Shariah. They declare the prohibition of smoking, music, soccer and even hanging out around the ancient town. Their punishments severe, hard lashings. For adultery, the punishment is death by stoning.

Of course, much like most power structures, the rules don't apply to the jihadists. There are many contradictions. They enter the mosque wearing shoes and guns and are promptly kicked out by the imam. One of the commanders visits a woman without her husband present. The same commander smokes regularly.

To make matters worse, there is miscommunication among the local population and the jihadists. The locals speak Tamasheq and some French, whereas the jihadists mostly speak Arabic with some French and English. But the communication is not only linguistically, but culturally.

At one point, a young jihadist soldier comes to propose marriage to the mother of a young Mail girl. Her mother refuses, saying she does not know the man and his proposal is improper, as her husband (the father) is not at home. Almost immediately, the man threatens to take the girl by force, which he later does.

Another time, a group of young men and women play music and sing together, praising Allah. The jihadists arrest them for playing music and for the men and women being together unmarried.

Tensions right hot and seem as though they could give at any moment. A good example being when various men and boys are playing soccer without a ball. As soon as a patrol comes by, they start doing stretches and exercises, immediately reverting back to the match as soon as the patrol departs. The tensions between the imam and the jihadist leadership are another interesting thread in the story.

Give this film a look, you won't be disappointed and it provides key insight to the challenges terrorist groups put on local communities.

Wadjda is an excellent film in that it shows a glimpse of a society from the prospective of the title character, Wadjda, a young middle class girl in Saudi Arabia.

The main conflicts surround Wadjda and her mother. Wadjda wants to buy a bicycle to beat her friend/crush Abdullah in a race. This is very atypical in Saudi society: girls don't ride bikes, it is for boys. This doesn't stop Wadjda, as she enacts a few different schemes to try and raise the needed funds. Unfortunately, she clashes with the school principal, Ms. Hussa. Ms. Hussa attempts to "save" Wadjda by constantly reprimanding her. Eventually, Wadjda decides to sign up for a Qur'an recitation competition to win the money for her bike.

Wadjda's mother is also having problems. She is at ends with her husband, who is constantly away and wants a son that becomes more evident that she can not produce. She is still deeply in love with him. Her other problem is with riding with her dim-witted, easily agitated driver (this was made before women could drive in Saudi Arabia).

One of the best parts of the film is the characters interactions, Wadjda and Abdullah's budding friendship/romance. Wasjda and her mother's slow estrangement her father is particular hard to watch.

This is a potent movie and seems very realistic. They don't tell the watcher what to believe and leave things as are.: (for Westerners) an eye opening look at one of the most conservative societies on the planet.

Everyone involved in the project should give themselves a hand, the did very well.