Departures 2008

      Daigo Kobayashi is a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved.  As a result of the process, he finds himself without a job.  Daigo decides to move back with his wife to his old hometown because living expenses are less in this area.  He will look for work and start over.  He answers a classified ad entitled "Departures" thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency.  He discovers that the job is actually for a Nokanshi or encoffineer.  This is a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life.  His wife and others despise the job, Daigo takes a certain pride in his work and begins to perfect the art of Nokanshi.  He is acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death.  Also between the departed and the family of the departed.  The film follows his profound and sometimes comical journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living.

     Soon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) learns that his orchestra is disbanding.  His life as a cellist has been a safety net and this regular income vanishes.  Daigo doesn’t know how he will pay for the new cello?  He dreads going home to tell his wife his bad news.  He decides his only choice is to sell his new instrument and to try to find another line of work.  His confidence has been crushed by these new developments.  They must have a more simple life away from the bustle of city life.  The house they move into is the empty home of Daigo’s mother, she has passed away.   Daigo finds his childhood cello and he begins to play his favorite tunes again.  He starts his new job but he feels hesitant and completely unaccustomed or prepared for his new profession.  4* (I liked this movie)

130 min Drama directed by Yojiro Takita and written by Kundo Koyama with Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosure, Tsutomu Uamazaki, Kazuki Yoshiyuki, Kimiko Yo, Takashi Sasano, Tetta Sugimoto, Toru Minegishi, Yukari Tachibana.

Note:  Imdb 8.1* out of 10* with 49,237 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 80% with 108 critic reviews 92% with 50,000+ audience scores, Metacritic 68 out of 100 with 17 critic reviews 7.9 out of 10 with 62 user scores, Roger Ebert 4*, Letterboxd 3.9* with 187 fans. 

Special Note:  Masahiro Motoki learned how to play a cello for the earlier parts of the film.  The Japanese title "Okuribito" means "the sending (away or off) of people" (as in: people who send) but this word is not normally used in Japanese.   Although the character of Mika was initially planned as being the same age as Daigo, the role went to pop singer Royoko Hirosue.  He had previously acted in Takita's Himitsu (Secret) in 1999.  Takita explained that a younger actress would better represent the lead couple's growth out of naivety.  In a 2009 interview, Takita stated that he had cast "everyone who was on my wish list".  

Mistakes:  The main protagonist (Masahiro Motoki) has his cheek cut during filming of a scene.  This is covered in subsequent scene.  In the next scene both the cover for the cut and the scar of the cut are gone?

The Swiss Family Robinson 1960

     This film is based on a novel written by Johann David Wyss.  A family in route to New Guinea is shipwrecked on a deserted tropical island. They are forced to remain on the island because of damage to the ship and the pirates that are roaming these islands.  They create a home on the island and it is centered around a huge tree house.  The family begins to explore the island and its wildlife.  Plenty of adventures ensue as the family deals with issues of survival and the pirates.  The brothers must learn how to live on the island with an uncertain future ahead.

     This is a Disney movie about an 18th-century family.  Although there's no bloodshed, the violence looks real as the Robinsons do battle with a wide array of animals.  Sharks, tigers, snakes and other wildlife as well as the pirates.  The pirates attack the family and they appear as Asian stereotypes.  A teen girl is stereotyped as a helpless damsel unable to survive in the wild without the help of the teen boys.  The Robinsons fight, kill and injure the pirates with swords, rifles and a variety of improvised defenses such as homemade grenades, explosives, rocks, logs and a pit occupied by a tiger.  Animal lovers will not like the way the youngest child captures wild animals to keep for himself.  The teen brothers joke that by the time they get off the island, they won't care about the age of the women they encounter??  3* (This movie is OK) (My review is lower number because of the treatment of animals during this time period!!)

126 min, Adventure directed by Ken Annakin and within by Lowell S. Hawley with John Mills Dorothy McGuire, James MacArthur, Janet Munro, Sessue Hayakawa, Tommy Kirk, Kevin Cocoran, Cecil Parker, Ando Ho, Milton Reid.

Note:  Imdb 7.2* out of 10* with 14,605 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 82% with 22 reviews 78% with 25,000+ audience scores, Metacritic 61 out of 100 with 6 critic reviews, Common Sense Media 4* out of 5*, 1* educational, sex, 3* role models and violence, 4* positive messages, Amazon 4.8* out of 5* with 6844 reviews. 

Special Note:  Director Ken Anakin reveals on the DVD commentary that the trapped zebra was subjected to electric shocks to make it move about??  This is a practice that is now illegal in Hollywood movies.  Neither Roberta nor the pirates appear in the 1812 novel on which this movie was based.  A huge fan of this movie, George Lucas named Anakin Skywalker after director Ken Annakin.  After the passing of Annakin in 2009, George Lucas denied that he had named the character Annakin Skywalker after the respected director?  Tommy Kirk in the role of Ernst Robinson considered quitting at one point because he was so desperately homesick.  Kirk had an early career with Disney.  This movie took in $40 million, around $367 million in today's money making it one of the most successful family movies ever made.

Mistakes:  A reference to Napoleonic Wars places the film's setting between 1804 and 1815.  Actress Janet Munro is shown clearly wearing the straps of a 1950's-era bra?  The crew is said to have abandoned the ship during the storm.  This seems highly illogical?  In the days before inflatable life rafts, the only escape vessels on board would have been small wooden life boats similar to a canoe.  It's hard to imagine a canoe fairing any better in a storm at sea than a large sailing vessel? 

The Hurt Locker 2008

      This film is an intense portrayal of elite soldiers who have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.  They are tasked with disarming bombs in the heat of combat.  James is a new sergeant and he takes over a highly trained bomb disposal team during a violent conflict.  He surprises his two subordinates Sanborn and Eldridge by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat.  He is behaving as if he's indifferent to death??   As the men struggle to control their wild new leader, the city explodes into chaos and James' true character reveals itself in a way that will change each man forever!!


     The Hurt Locker is a tough, serious, moving and very well put together film.  Jeremy Renner and all of the other actors are outstanding.  Language is frequent and there is realistic use of salty expressions used in a war zone.  Violence is prevalent, many explosions, a person has a bomb strapped to them and is blown up.   A boy's body is found with a bomb inside his body and is it is gruesomely removed.   Characters have close calls and blood is shown splattering after characters are shot.  Many people are shot and killed, two soldiers have a brief brawl and a few punches are exchanged.  There are many examples of positive role models.  The main character, Will James is a 'live on the edge' kind of guy and he enjoys the thrill of nearly dying??  This quality is not one that would be particularly called good?  Later in the movie, Will realizes how he puts others in danger with his actions.  He is brave to the point of foolishness and calm in tight and dangerous situations.  But, it can be dangerous to be too fearless?  A little fear can be an equalizer!!  5* (I really liked this movie)
 
131 min, Drama directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal with Jeremy Renner Anthony Mackie, Brain Geraghty, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, Evangeline Lilly, Christian Camargo, Christopher Sayegh, Nabil Koni, Sam Spruell, Sam Redford, Feisal Sadoun, Barrie Rice.

Note:  Imdb 7.5* our of 5* with 427,036 reviews, Common Sense Media age 17+, Rotten Tomatoes 97% with 289 reviews 84% with 50,000+ audience scores, Roger Ebert 4*, The Guardian 5* Peter Bradshaw, Metacritic 95 out of 100 with 37 critic reviews 7.3* out of 10 with 1523 user scores.

Special Note:  Filmed in the country of Jordan.  Access was denied for a week of filming at a U.S. Military Base in Kuwait.  Director Kathryn Bigelow claims that no scene filmed was left out of the final cut.  The expression "the hurt locker" is a slang term for a situation involving trouble or pain.  This can be traced back to the Vietnam War.  According to the movie's website, it is soldier vernacular in Iraq to speak of explosions as sending you to "the hurt locker.”  The bomb disposal outfit worn by actor Jeremy Renner was authentic apparel.  It was director James Cameron who convinced his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow to direct this film.  She originally had planned on doing another project and wasn't sure about doing this film.  Cameron read the script and told her she should to do this film.  It ended up earning her an Oscar nomination and an award for Best Director.  In fact, the film was nominated in nine categories against Cameron’s Avatar (2009).  Hurt Locker won six awards including Best Picture.  Cameron himself said, "I wouldn't bet against her.”
 5* (I really liked this movie)

Mistakes:  One character says an Iraqi with a video camera is preparing a clip for YouTube.  The scene takes place in 2004 and YouTube was created in 2005.  Specialist Eldridge plays Gears of War on an Xbox 360 when Colonel Cambridge enters the room to counsel him.  The Xbox 360 was first released 2005 and Gears of War debuted in November 2006 but the setting is Baghdad in 2004.  In the movie, all soldiers are wearing the digital ACU (Army Combat Uniform).  In the opening scene taking place in Baghdad in 2004, the first units to be issued the ACU did not receive them until February of 2005.  The correct uniform for the time period would have been the three color DCU (Desert Combat Uniform).

Lorna’s Silence 2008

      Sokol and Lorna are two Albanian emigrants living in Belgium.  They dream of leaving their dreary jobs to set up a snack bar.  They need money and a permanent resident status.  Claudy is a junkie and he needs money to satisfy his addiction.  Andrei, the cigarette smuggler must stay for a while outside Russia and he has loads of money.  Fabio is an Italian taxi driver and aspiring gang boss.  Fabio thinks up a clever scheme.  He will pay money to Claudy and marry Lorna so that she can acquire a Belgian citizenship.  Then she will re-marry Andrei.  She will be able to obtain the coveted EU passport and pay a hefty price to Fabio and Lorna for their services.  Like all of the best supposedly thought out plans, this one will not survive the reality of their efforts!! 

      Lorna, the main character is married to an addict and she is also an addict.  She wants to divorce her husband to marry a Russian Mobster and this is just to get money.  Her addict husband won't go away gently at first but eventually he falls in line.  There are other forces at work and those forces demand Lorna's “Silence”!!  It is the silence that becomes a major problem!!  3* (This movie is OK)

105 min, Drama directed and written by Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne with Arta Doibroshi, Jeremie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, Alban Ukaj, Morgan Marinne, Olivier Gourmet, Anton Yakovlev, Grigori Manoukov, Mireille Bailly, Stephanie Gob, Laurent Caron, Baptiste Somin, Alexandre Trocky.

Note:  Imdb 7.1* out of 10* with 8,356 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes, 85% with 98 critic reviews 69% with 2500+ audience scores, Roger Ebert 3 1/2*, Letterboxd 3.5* out of 5*, Metacritic 80 out of 100 with 24 critic reviews 6.9 out of 10 with 19 user scores, Amazon 4.3* out of 5* with 37 reviews. 

Special Note:  Before being cast in the role of Lorna, the only words Arta Dobroshi knew in French were the days of the week.  Slightly far fetched but worthy of 3* (this movie is OK)

The Headless Woman 2007

      This film is centered around Vero and she is an Argentinean bourgeois woman. It is about how her life slowly twists out of control after she hits something, or someone with her car.  This incident changes everything for Vero!!  As Veronica is driving, she is distracted by her cell phone and looks down at it.  By the time she does this, her car hits something but the camera remains in the car.  We see her car shaking and rattling?  Although Vero seems indifferent about the situation, it is clear that it has a toll on her.  She acts different from the Vero that we saw briefly at the beginning of the film.  She is clumsy and seems out of place, barely saying anything.  When she does speak, it doesn't always make sense or have a lot of substance.  This solidifies towards the end of the movie when she goes to retrace her steps to recover her memory.  But in the hospital and the Hotel she stayed, there is no record proving that she was there?  This makes the audience wonder if all this really happened or if Veronica dreamed or imagined it??

     This film is set among an extended wealthy family in ­Argentina.  Maria Onetto plays Verónica and she is an ­elegant, middle-aged woman who works as a dentist.  Driving back from a ­family ­get-together, Verónica hits something with her car.  Her forehead moves ­forward and appears to smash either into the steering wheel or the ­windshield and whiplashes back.  Verónica brakes and for a long, long ­moment, director Martel's camera holds the shot of her profile.  She sits immobile and silent in the car.  Is she in shock?  Is she gazing at what she has hit in the rear-view mirror?  

     For the first time, we see a child's handprint on the driver's-side window?  The handprint, in some kind of nightmarish continuity error appears to change position in the next shot?  But couldn't that just be from the kids who were playing around her car at the party earlier?  This is not an easy film to watch or to understand but the potency with which it resonates in the imagination is remarkable.  There is a spacey, floating style but it is applied to something painful. Relevant but also a psychologically real portrait.  It is demonstrating in both style and content what happens when we go into denial.  You can't quite be certain of exactly what The Headless Woman is about?  2 1/2*  (This movie is so-so)         

87 min, Drama directed and written by Lucrecia Martel with Maria Onetto, Claudia Cantero, Cesar Bordon, Daniel Genoud, Guillermo Arengo, Ines Efron, Alicia Muxo, Pia Uribelarrea, Maria Vaner, Andrea Verdun Maria Juarez.  

Note:  Imdb 6.6* out of 10* with 4802 reviews, The Guardian 5* Peter Bradshaw, Rotten Tomatoes 76% with 54 critic reviews 56% with 1000 audience scores, Amazon 4.1* out of 5* with 55 ratings, Metacritic 81 out of 100 with 12 critic reviews 6.8 out of 10 with 26 user scores, Letterboxd 3.6* out of 5* with 74 fans.

Special Note:  The song playing on the car radio at the time when the accident happens is "Soley Soley" by the appropriately named group Middle of the Road.  This film was chosen for position 89 in the list of the best 100 films of the 21st century by the BBC. 

The Girl from Monaco

     In the not-distant-future, the market has taken over everything thanks to the marketers.  The consumer is king and those who see value outside of the marketplace are enemies of the consumer, terrorists and partisan enemies that the state must dispose of.  Protagonist Jack seems to be at one with the media corporations (after all, his marketing ideas brought the institutionalization of the exchange of sex for enhanced buying power?  But is he somehow involved with the feeble and pathetic resistance movement?  Does he love Cecile, his colleague or is she a pawn in his game?  And what about the mysterious girl from Monday?  Are immigrants from the star system "Monday" really assisting the partisans?

     Bertrand is a middle-aged lawyer and he is sent to Monaco to defend an elderly  woman who murdered a man with ties to the mob.  Against his will, Bertrand is assigned a bodyguard named Christophe.  Their relationship becomes especially strained when Bertrand meets Audrey.  She is a beautiful local weather girl and also Christophe's ex-girlfriend.  Audrey is interested in Bertrand!!  She occupies all his time and distracts him from the trial according to Christophe.  Is this really happening or is Christophe just jealous?  Bertrand can’t believe his good luck when the drop-dad gorgeous Audrey notices him!!  Bertrand knows she is completely out of his league!!  Audrey is the only source of liveliness, spontaneity, color, generosity and a real life force in this film!!!  3* (I liked this movie)

94 min, Action with Bill Sage, Sabrina Lloyd, Tatiana Abracos, Leo Fitzpatrick, D.J. Mendel, James Urbaniak, Juliana Francis, Gary Wilmes, David Neumann, Ryan Bronz, Edie Falco, Paul Urbanski, Michael Cassidy, James Stanley.

Note:  Imdb 5.2* out of 10* with 990 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 47% with 53 reviews 28% with 5000+ ratings, Letterboxd 2.8* out of 5*, Roger Ebert 3*, Metacritic 52 out of 100 with 19 critic reviews, Amazon 4.2* out of 5* with 40 ratings, Eye for Film 2 1/2* out of 5* Amber Wilkinson.

Special Note:  While Cecelia is listening back to test scores, one student's name mentioned is "Warren Cuccurullo”?  This is the name of a guitarist who's played with Frank Zappa, Missing Persons and Duran Duran.  

 

Ice Station Zebra 1968

     This film is based on a novel written by Alistari MacLean.  Commander James Ferraday USN, has new orders, get David Jones, a British civilian, Captain Anders, a tough Marine with a platoon of troops, Boris Vasilov, a friendly Russian and the crew of the nuclear sub USS Tigerfish to the North Pole to rescue the crew of Drift Ice Station Zebra.  This is a weather station at the top of the world.  The mission takes on new and dangerous twists as the crew find out that all is not as it seems at Zebra and that someone will stop at nothing to prevent the mission from being completed!!

     A top-secret Soviet spy satellite using stolen Western technology malfunctions.  The satellite goes into a descent that lands it near an isolated Arctic research encampment called Ice Station Zebra.  This station belongs to the British and the station starts sending out distress signals before falling silent.  The atomic submarine USS Tigerfish commanded by Cmdr. James Ferraday is dispatched to save the Brits.  3* (This movie is OK)

148 min, Adventure directed by John Sturges and written by Douglas Heyes, Alistari MacLean, Harry Julian Fink, W.R. Burnett with Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Patrick McGoohan, Jim Brown, Tony Bill, Lloyd Nolan, Alf Kjellin, Gerald S. O’Loughlin, Ted Hartley, Murray Rose, Ron Masak, Lee Stanley.

Note:  Imdb 6.6* out of 10* with 9,286 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 47% with 15 critic reviews 58% audience scores with 2500+ ratings, Roger Ebert 1*, dvd talk.com movie: good, video: excellent, sound: excellent, Letterboxed 3.1* out of 5*. 

Special Note:  In the era before VCRs, Howard Hughes would call the Las Vegas TV station he owned and demand they run this particular movie.  Hughes loved this film and it aired on his Las Vegas station over 100 times during his lifetime.  The submarine used in this movie was the USS Ronquil (SS-396).  Her hull number was repainted to 509.  The first nuclear powered United States Submarine was the USS Nautilus (SSN-571).  This film was originally shown in Cinerama venues.  In order to put it into these theaters, MGM pulled 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) while it was still having a successful run.

Mistakes:  When Patrick McGoohan and Rock Hudson are in the lab discussing the satellite, as Rock Hudson moves from right to left, the shadow of the boom mike moves across the wall above him.  Submarines are always referred to as boats.  Rock Hudson and other members of the cast frequently refer to their sub as a ship. A true submariner would never do this!!  When Jones was startled awake, the officer says he was in his bunk.  No one in the Navy uses the term bunk.  Rack would be the correct nautical term.  When Jim Brown first enters the Submarine he is wearing his cap.  U.S. Marines never wear their caps indoors.