MOVIE REVIEW: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

Movies about the Holocaust are a cathartic experience for me; whether fact or fiction based, they always serve as a reminder to my sense of humanity and assessment of my moral compass when viewing from either perspective of the Nazis or the prisoners. It is painful to realize in the 70 years since the war began, that genocide is still a major world issue, but stories and accounts are the ray of hope that makes awareness and action possible. It is for that reason I welcomed The Boy in the Striped Pajamas with open arms, and despite minor historical liberties, manages to be an effective and powerful film with a slightly different message than those of us who are familiar with these films would expect.

In the early 1940s, young Bruno moves into the German countryside from Berlin with his affluent family after his father, a high-ranking officer in the SS, is comissioned to preside over a remote working camp. Restless from the isolation, Bruno wanders toward the camp boundaries and encounters Shmuel, a young Jewish boy the same age as him. The two bond over the bewilderment of their predicaments; their naivetee punctuated by their chance meeting occuring simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. As time passes on and the veil of secrecy from Nazi propaganda is slowly pulled away from the family's eyes, the boys also gradually become aware that the work camp is more harrowing than they expected; and tragedy looms in their wake.

In war, the first victims to suffer are generally children. We as global human society send minors to fight our battles, and brainwash those of elementary age with propaganda. The most heartbreaking thing of all is neither side, whether you're looking at the "enemy" or the "ally", typically fully understands why this is happening. That is why I felt this film struck that chord beautifully, and actually has a theme that resonates stronger with the loss of innocence as a result of the horrors of war. Sure, historical accuracies can be questioned, such as why Shmuel got away with survival in the camp for such a long period of time, but that isn't quite the film's main purpose. I was so drained after watching this film, I had to go straight to bed. But in the end, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas managed to exceed my expectations. On top of teriffic acting and a haunting score by James Horner, this is a film I will remember for a long time.

9/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: Man on Fire (2004)

Man on Fire is a thriller that I had been meaning to see for a long time. On first glance, it seemed reminiscent to one of my favorite films Leon: The Professional, and I was curious if this was the case and how it might expand on any similar themes. What I got was something good, but strikingly different from what I expected. Man on Fire brings a gritty, urban, mystery story along with some strong visual flair that evokes the style of John Woo; even the comic book-style subtitles needed at certain points are a precursor to the technique implemented in Slumdog Millionaire. It's all fine and dandy, but only by the time the film's second act begins.

In Mexico, John Creasy is an ex-CIA hitman hired by a wealthy Anglo family to serve as a bodyguard to their young daughter, Pita. As Creasy settles into his new home and job, he takes on an extra, unanticipated role as a father figure to Pita; something he never understood how to do at any point in his life. When Pita is kidnapped by druglords in exchange for a hefty ransom from her family, Creasy sets out to clean up the local drug cartel, and uncovers some dirt on his employers in the process.

Man on Fire has a slow buildup that consists of mainly seeing the developing bond between Creasy and Pita. While this seems necessary, it felt a bit perfunctory in front of my eyes, and in contrast to the rest of the film, almost like added scenes in a hypothetical "extended-version-DVD". The acting was pretty good, but the characters and writing seemed a little unbalanced at times. For example, while it's fun to see Creasy roast Mexican druglords into carnitas, he's surprisingly sloppy at times for an ex-CIA hitman. For starters, you'd think as a bodyguard, he'd at least wear a Kevlar vest after taking a max of three bullet hits to the torso and surviving the duration of the film...or maybe he's Chuck Norris? Also, I felt a little more exposition on his backstory would've been more appreciated, rather than resorting to making him a cookie-cutter, hardened warrior. Nevertheless, the film satisfied my action craving, but undoubtedly, there was still some room for improvement.

7/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: Let Me In (2010)

Let the Right One In, a Swedish vampire-romance film between two children was everything Twilight should have been, and deserves over half the attention that the latter, pedestrian, disaster-of-a-vampire-film turned out to be. Now we have an American remake, Let Me In, which is more of a re-imagining of sorts that draws upon the original literary source material a la last year's True Grit. While it presents some stylistically interesting departures from how I originally came to know the beautiful story, I had a problem shaking the overall feeling of deja vu which made the two films seem almost too similar to one another.

In the early 1980s, a bullied young boy named Owen, living in an apartment complex in New Mexico befriends his new neighbor; a shady young girl named Abby. What Owen doesn't realize is that Abby is in fact, a vampire, and her serial-killer guardian assists in her dirty work in order to provide her the sanguine sustenance she needs for her survival. When the curiosity of outsiders and Owens bullying start to go to a head, the two decide to take matters into their own hands.

Having really enjoyed Let the Right One In, I was determined to view Let Me In with an open mind. The trouble is, there wasn't really a whole lot stylistically, aside from the cinematography and art direction, that allowed me to disconnect those feelings of overly-embellished familiarity. While the acting and directing are quite good, I was still yearning for the tragic, gruesome subtlety of the Swedish version. Let Me In is played out more like a contemporary horror film, complete with explicit gore and loud scares. I can accept that fact as this is supposed to be a re-imagining, but again, it distracted me from my interest in how the relationship between Owen and Abby was supposed to develop. There's a lot to enjoy in Let Me In, and fans of the original will probably find it entertaining, if not, somewhat indulgent, in the tradition of most American remakes.

7/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

I hadn't originally planned on seeing The Adjustment Bureau, and the trailers, which made it seem like a poor rip-off of Damon's The Bourne Identity and The Matrix set my expectations low. But as I was watching it, I was somewhat surprised and slightly pleased by how the story actually defied the conventions and precedents established by it's own advertising campaign. What I got out of it, was a decent film that made a pretty serviceable adaptation of it's original source material.

Towards the end of the last decade, David Norris is a charismatic politician who is cooling his heels after abruptly losing the New York senate race. One night, he encounters a mysterious woman, Elise, whom he falls in love with, only to lose contact with her when a group of equally mysterious men known as "The Adjustment Bureau" reveal to him that they are in control of his and every human being's fated destiny on Earth, and that his own is not to be involved with Elise for the sake of losing any potential he has towards being contributory to humanity. Norris resists and a large-scale chase sets in between him and the team in a struggle over free will.

Adapting Dick's stories to film has often been a tricky task; especially when the works are short stories. The impression I get is that there's only so much plot to cover, you either fill in the blanks with artistic license or you pick a point in which to stop. Thankfully though, the screenwriters seemed relatively respectful towards this notion, so the pace and atmosphere of Adjustment Bureau are spot-on. It's a lot different than what many caper-film fans may be used to - there's only two scenes of violence, and most of the story is propelled by the romance angle. Could it have been more gripping? Probably. It's very good light entertainment at it's best. At my highest recommendation, it's something you can bring your significant other to and equally enjoy out of both genres it represents being relatively inobtrusive to one another.

7/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: Last Tango in Paris (1972)

Somewhere online, I caught wind about the recent death of actress Maria Schneider to cancer. Her life story seemed pretty tumultuous, and much of it seemed to have precipitated from making her breakout film - Last Tango in Paris - an erotic drama that apparently was somewhat of a sleeper hit in the 70s, starring Marlon Brando, and featuring several steamy encounters between him and her that were responsible for the film's dubiously earned 'X'-rating (it's still NC-17, today). Curious on how the film has held up, as well as the story, I decided to check it out.

After the suicide of his wife, bereaved loner, Paul, wanders the streets of Paris in a nihilistic trance. One day, he encounters Jeanne, a nubile young woman who is engaged to be married to an equally-young filmmaker. When Jeanne runs into Paul again after trying to rent an apartment, the two set off a sexually charged affair that is marked by a no-strings-attached attitude, and a promise to remain anonymous towards one another, in order to receive what would appear to be emotional therapy from raw, human contact. Paul begins to complicate matters though, when he falls for Jeanne, and vice-versa.

Last Tango is a slow film, a characteristic that I've noticed of Bernardo Bertolucci. He's not a dynamic filmmaker when it comes to visuals, but very much so when it comes to characterizations. In which case, the acting here provided by Brando and Schneider is fantastic; there are spates of improvisation from Brando that are just downright funny at times, due to the spontaneity. But unfortunately, the film does go through some lulls and some may be disappointed to find out it's not as prurient like the poster may imply. While the few sex scenes are rather graphic, they're not portrayed in a sleazy, pornographic manner. I'd say it's still worth checking out, if you're interested in marginally artsy dramas. Just don't watch it too late so that you may give it your full attention.

7/10

Peace,
- Jon

MOVIE REVIEW: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

Wow, this is Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time? Disney, what in God's name did you do to one of my favorite video games when I was a kid? Wouldn't it have been a lot interesting if you stuck with swordfighting turban-clad guards in spike-lined dungeons in order to rescue the princess? Why does Jake Gyllenhaal sound like he's dubbed with that pseudo-British accent? I wasn't really this clueless throughout the whole movie, but I did feel like it left a lot to be desired.

In ancient Persia, a street-smart youth hoodlum is taken under the wing of the king and raised as his own. As the Persian empire spreads and Princess Tamia, of a rival land is betrothed to the titular Prince Dastan, he becomes wrongfully accused of regicide by his people, when his father is mysteriously assassinated. Taking Tamia along with him, Dastan escapes into the desert, and comes across a magical dagger that can reverse time in the short term. The dagger is what becomes his and Tamia's sole dependant on restoring order to Persia, and the king's ursurper.

Jerry Bruckheimer knows how to produce good-looking films, but rarely ones with a comparable script. Prince of Persia is no exception; with almost entirely nothing but CGI, fight-scenes, and - albeit - very well-choreographed action sequences, I really felt like I was watching someone play a video game the whole time. Or, at least, one long video game movie sequence. The acting was fine, I can get over the casting, since let's face it - by our legal standards, Middle Easterners are de facto caucasian, and these are actors playing roles - end rant. But what the heck was up with Gyllenhaal's accent? It's unlike how he usually sounds, I wouldn't outright call it horrible, it was just...weird. Too bad I can't really find any good parody videos that I would put up.

Despite my criticisms, the action is rather stellar, and I enjoyed a lot of the stunts, sword-fights, and the cliche characters. I did tune out a lot to the overall film though, because the story was just so bland and ill-executed. It's a shame they didn't take the time to work on the script a little more, because whoever wrote dialogue for this was obviously just collecting his paycheck towards summer vacation.

6/10

Peace,
- Jon

Food for Thought: Spaghetti Al Pomodoro

Last year, on Mother's Day, I purchased the book Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit: A Son Remembers as a present for my mother. The book, written by Hepburn's son, is a touching memoir and account of his relationship with his mother, and even included some interesting recipes of hers. One that caught my eye, was Hepburn's recipe for Spaghetti Al Pomodoro (or pasta with tomato sauce, for all us Yanks). Not actually "her's" in the literal sense, but mentioned in the book as a traditional Italian recipe she adopted as her own.

The recipe interested me, because of the use of Roma tomatoes, and that it is quite similar to the rich pasta sauce my mother had perfected, notably with the use of carrots. Needless to say, I incorporated elements from both influences, and created something of my own. The one secret I'll keep is that I'll never mention what brand of Roma tomatoes I actually use, but they're fairly easy to find, and that's all I'll have to say.

- 2 large cans of peeled Roma tomatoes

- 2 celery stalks

- 2 carrots

- 1 small onion

(If you're short on prep time, you can substitute the last three ingredients for a cup or two of mirepoix. Wegmans sells it by the bag in the salad section; one bag will do the trick).

- 2 cloves of garlic

- A handful of mushrooms

- A bunch of fresh basil leaves

- Olive oil

- Red pepper flakes, black pepper, and a pinch of salt, to taste.

- 1 box of spaghetti (or your favorite kind of pasta)

Chop the onions, garlic, celery, carrots, and mushrooms. In a pot, coat the bottom with some olive oil and add the garlic and onions. sauté until the garlic starts to brown, and the onions caramelize and sizzle. Add the celery, carrots, and mushrooms, cook for several minutes. Add the tomatoes and a handful of the basil leaves, washed, and stir. Add the red and black pepper, and salt, along with a drizzle of olive oil. Stir well and let it simmer for 45 minutes. Turn off heat and let it sit for 15 minutes. Cook the pasta al dente, use some olive oil in the water to keep the pasta moist. Serve with the rest of the basil leaves, washed and cut, along with fresh parmesan.

It's safe to say that this dish was a success at my little Oscar Nite bash at my house. A bit indifferent about The King's Speech winning Best Picture, but it's a good movie for sure. I may not be Italian, but it's my personal opinion that the dish tastes closest to the salsa di pomodoro I've had in several local, authentic Italian restaurants in central New Jersey. Anyway, this is a great dish - it's cheap, healthy, and can be made in at least an hour. The sauce even stays fresh for quite a while. I should make more, as I'll probably be craving it, soon...

Also, I really should read up on what's been going on, over in Wisconsin with the unions, but a lot has been going on in my life, lately. Hopefully, I'll get a chance when life slows down a notch. ;-)

Mangia!
- Jon