silence

Watch the official trailer for Martin Scorsese's new movie Silence. Starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver and Liam Neeson, see it in theatres December. Martin Scorsese's SILENCE tells the story of two Christian missionaries (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) who face the ultimate test of faith when they travel to Japan in search of their missing mentor (Liam Neeson) - at a time when Christianity was outlawed and their presence forbidden.

I'd like to preface this review by stating that I saw this film through the eyes of a believer in God. With that said, this is arguably one of the more challenging films I've ever seen about Christianity.

Set in 17th Century Japan, during a time when people are killed for being Christians, this story shows the lengths on how far people would go to stop the spread of Christianity, and how far people would go to practice Christianity even if in secret. While the argument about whether the Japanese people of that era should believe in the Christian God or not are put in the forefront here, the answer the movie gives us is deceivingly more complicated than it may superficially seem. It definitely opens things up for interpretation, but being that Director Martin Scorsese is a Catholic, there is still a little bit of bias shown here in favor of being a believer. 

Visually the film is spectacular to look at, with many gorgeous settings to admire. The minimalist musical score works really well too, especially considering the name of the movie. As for the story itself, it's historically epic, and quite the experience to go through. The premise seems simple and straightforward enough, but it gets more and more complicated as it progresses. The feeling of oppression and persecution, to the struggle of keeping the faith, are just some of the primary themes shown to us. There's also a lot of plot points that will likely get a strong emotional reaction, and some scenes will even play out differently among different people because of the subject matter. 

At the primary center of this story is the Christian Missionary Father Rodrigues; played by Andrew Garfield. He is our surrogate character that we are suppose to experience this journey with, and I would go so far to say that Scorsese himself is reflecting on his own faith through Rodrigues. Wow what an incredible acting performance by Andrew Garfield here, in a very emotionally powerful role. Along with Garfield, the supporting cast are also terrific in this, from Adam Driver, Yosuke Kubozuka, Issei Ogata, and Liam Neeson. Keep in mind that the main point of view of the narration is through Father Rodrigues' eyes, so you won't have the luxury of getting many alternative plot perspectives from the rest of the huge Japanese cast of characters.

As an adaptation of the 1966 novel of the same name by Shusaku Endo, and arguably also a remake of the 1971 Japanese film adaptation, Martin Scorsese went all out here to create one of the best work he has ever done in his life. It truly feels like a personal passion project, with a deliberate vision, and definitely the work of a master film maker. I should mention that this film does have a run time of 2 hours and 41 minutes, so it'll really ask a lot from an audience that might just find the whole thing slow and boring. Personally, it kept my immediate attention all the way through, and I wouldn't have minded if it was even longer. 

LOVED IT  enjoyedititsokayitsmehitsterrible

hidden figures

HIDDEN FIGURES is the incredible untold story of Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe)-brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation's confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world.

Considering when this based-on-a-true-story movie is set in, and the leading characters are African American women, there is a huge emphasis on the subject of racism and sexism that is shown in this film. It also seemed like there were scenes that the movie took some liberties with, to create some solid dramatic moments to hook the audience; there are some comedic ones too. You know what? It worked. It worked really well.  

This is undeniably a crowd pleasing story about underdogs beating the odds to make history by their achievements. Sure the plot progression of the movie moves along as expected, there isn't any real true stand out surprises, and there aren't any fancy visuals. In a film making point of view, it's all just fine. However, did I mention how it just works, and is such a crowd pleaser?

Directing and writing aside, this movie probably wouldn't have worked if it wasn't for the fantastic leading actresses, Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae, playing the inspiring real life characters that are Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson, respectfully. These are real people that everybody needs to know about, and this movie giving them more exposure is only a good thing. It's also a good thing that this movie is actually pretty good too. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

bright lights : starring carrie fisher and debbie reynolds

Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds premieres Saturday, January 7 at 8PM, only on HBO. Subscribe to the HBO Docs YouTube: http://itsh.bo/10r45k3 HBO Docs on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hbodocs HBO Docs on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HBODocs HBO Documentary Films homepage: http://itsh.bo/I83ODm. HBO Documentary Films on HBO GO® http://itsh.bo/kUIs4w. HBO Documentary Films on Connect: http://connect.hbo.com/documentaries It's HBO.

If you didn't already know who Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher were, then this is one of the best documentaries about them. Along with son/brother Todd Fisher, this is a very enjoyable look at this family that's constantly surrounded by the bright lights of Hollywood. As a documentary, it does chronicle their history as a famous family, their career in the entertainment industry, and how they deal with it in their own ways. However, this film is really more about who they are as people, and how amazing their mother and daughter relationship is. 

Debbie Reynolds is just an absolute joy of energy that is always ready to entertain, and Carrie Fisher is an incredibly out spoken woman with a fantastic sense of humor. Seeing the two of them interact with each other, and how they are ideally best friends as a Mother and Daughter, as well as huge fans of each other, is so very inspiring. Just watching this film, you would have wanted to know this duo personally, and not necessarily because of their stardom, but because of who they are as people. 

The both of them lived through a lot in their lifetime, and this documentary does not shy away from pointing out their low points, to contrast the high points. In several scenes, Debbie and Carrie share things that are quite intimate and personal, whether it be a shocking revelation, or a humorous one. That's what this documentary shows us, seemingly innocuous moments that bring the two to life, to go along with the big glitz and glamour that's required of them as part of the entertainment industry. 

From beginning until end, this documentary thoroughly entertained me. Which is fitting, because since the very beginning of their lives in the entertainment industry, Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher will forever entertain us for the work they have done, and for who they are as people. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible

a monster calls

A visually spectacular drama from acclaimed director Juan Antonio Bayona ("The Impossible"), based on the award-winning children's fantasy novel. 12-year-old Conor (Lewis MacDougall) attempts to deal with his mother's (Felicity Jones) illness and the bullying of his classmates by escaping into a fantastical world of monsters and fairy tales that explore courage, loss, and faith.

This movie is a little bit relentless in letting us know how 12 year old Connor O'Malley is in such a sad state of affairs in life. One can even say that it's too aggressive in getting that point across to us. The tone of the film can be overly dour and melodramatic, with very few scenes of levity, that it just might be a turn-off for some viewers to put up with. The animated sequences at least provide a nice change of pace to the narrative, and the talking tree that is the monster is generally very entertaining. Speaking of animation and a talking tree, this movie is undeniably visually impressive to watch as well. 

If there is a primary purpose to see this movie, it is for the thematic message that it is conveying to us. Although I think the important lesson it is giving is targeted more for young adults around the lead character's age who are going through similar struggles, there are some insights that an adult could also appreciate. As lessons go though, this one is deep in sadness, despair, and frustration, which are feelings that the movie audience themselves might also go through with the story as it moves along.

I'll have to admit though, that for a story that feels like it's trying really hard to make me very emotional with all the sadness it's showcasing from scene to scene, I felt oddly detached for most of the movie. I say "most" of the movie, because the last 20 minutes contains scenes that are emotional powerhouses done brilliantly, that it dares you to not feel anything for the characters. Those final acts are a fantastic grand reward for seeing through the movie. It helped that it also has a solid cast of actors from Sigourney Weaver, Liam Neeson as the monster, Lewis MacDougall who excellently carries most of the movie as Conor, and a very strong performance by Felicity Jones who I feel steals every scene as his Mother. 

lovedit  ENJOYED IT  itsokayitsmehitsterrible