Unbelievable, True Story, and Epic are but a few terms used to describe this absolutely amazing film from Korean director Je-kyu Kang. My Way tells the story of two childhood friends whose lives are drastically changed when they are both forced to enlist in the Army. WWII serves as the backdrop for an almost Shakespearean story about friendship, passion, loyalty and pride. The only thing more amazing than the scenes and sequences in the film is the fact that it’s all based on true events which have only recently come to light in the last 6 years. During the time when pre-WWII Korea was being colonized by Japan, many Korean workers were employed…
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G-S-T Review…Think Like A Man
Human beings have looked to books for centuries trying to find out just what makes the opposite sex tick. Men Are From Mars, and Women Are From Venus were very popular books but Steve Harvey’s “Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man” has been racing off shelves. In it Harvey gives women an insider’s perspective into the workings of a man’s mind. Just as you ladies always assumed there’s not much going on up there but now the book makes it easier for women to get what they want. Four friends are all at different points in their lives. A mixed bag of successful, reluctant and middle of the road individuals, they are all looking…
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G-S-T Review…Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee is a heartwarming documentary filmed by the dedicated crew of Disneynature, an independent film label of The Walt Disney Company. The film was co-produced by Disneynature and the Jane Goodall Institute, directed by Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield and narrated by Tim Allen. It is the fourth original film from Disneynature. The film was shot over three years in the tropical jungles of the Ivory Coast and Uganda. During the filming process the unimaginable happens…Oscar loses his mother and is eventually “adopted” by a fully-grown male chimpanzee. Most people would see the trailer or poster for this movie and skip right over it. It’s unfortunate, because this really is…
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[DIFF Review]…Escape Fire
How many pills would you take to feel better or at minimum numb your pain? 2, 5, how about 64…a day? That’s one of the stories explored in Matthew Heineman’s affecting documentary. Escape Fire covers prescription addition, the numbers of the health care industry and more. The documentary starts by describing the term “Escape Fire” and tells of the 1930’s smoke jumper Wag Dodge whose actions coined the phrase. It’s a fascinating premise especially when applied to the crisis in the US Health Care System. We’re told the answer is right in front of us but when the US spent 2.7 Trillion dollars last year, really where and how do you start? Many…
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[DIFF Review]…Extraterrestrial
Timecrimes (or Los cronocrímenes) is perhaps one of the best loved time travel films out there, aside from Back to the Future, The Time Machine and Primer of course. In Nacho Vigalondo’s latest feature, Extraterrestrial, he treats us to a more humorous affair with a mixed bag of great romantic comedy-esqe tropes. There’s a lovely female lead, the unsure of himself male lead, even a quirky neighbor. But the difference here is that all those familiar elements are set against the back drop of an alien invasion. To fans of Vigalondo’s previous work, the Cary Grant/Merna Loy level of goofball antics in this film might seem like something out of left field, but that’s…
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[DIFF Review]…Compliance
One of the more controversial films of the 2012 Dallas International Film Festival (or any Festival really) is Craig Zobel’s harsh reality-based account of a phone prank pushed entirely too far. Likened, in theory, to the Milgram experiment, Compliance tells a tale of the desire to appease (or comply with) authority figures gone wild. It’s a story too unbelievable to be true but is and, as the film shows, if you layer something ever so slightly, you can push any one past better judgement and far beyond their breaking point. Compliance starts with an already stressed fast-food manager Sandra prepping for what will be a normally busy Friday. Everything from…
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G-S-T Review…The Cabin In The Woods
A love letter should feel familiar. They should have a lot of the same qualities one would expect. But what if that letter was also a loving critique? That’s exactly what Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard did with their horror film The Cabin In The Woods. Yet, despite how smart and searing the film can be as a criticism, it stands as equally entertaining for fans and non-fans of horror. All of that isn’t to say that the film is lacking in thrills or blood. The violence is brutal and creative enough to keep from feeling ho hum. Especially in the first half, while the second becomes something else entirely.…
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G-S-T Review…Bully
Every kid on the planet has either heard or said that old phrase “sticks and stones can break your bones but words will never hurt me“. Well, turns out, it’s not as true as our parents and educators led us to believe. Just like those sticks and stones, words do hurt and sometimes they cut very, very deep. Throughout the making of this powerful film and its ongoing ratings battle, The Weinstein Company has backed director Lee Hirsch’s eye-opening documentary about bullying in schools. Kids have always been self-conscious and nervous about fitting it but Bully explores stories about individuals and their families to show that bullying is a real problem…
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G-S-T Review…Detention
(Author’s note: a few weeks ago I participated in a round table interview with Detention director Joseph Kahn. That feature was published over on my site, A Constant Visual Feast; it makes for a great read in conjunction with the review itself. Go here to read the interview if you haven’t already!) There’s really no good preamble one can fashion to properly introduce Joseph Kahn’s sophomore feature length film, Detention, in a review; temptation and delusions of wit both want to nudge me into describing it as a film so utterly, enthusiastically, uniquely bonkers that it would behoove any cinephile to pay the purchase price of a ticket to watch it.…
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G-S-T Review…American Reunion
The fourth cinematic installment of the America Pie series (add to it 4 DTV films which brings the total to 8 ) American Reunion gets back to where it all started. Most of the kids from East Great Falls High have moved on and with the upcoming 10 year reunion (really it’s 13) they see how their lives come full circle. Jim, Oz, Kev and Paul have done pretty OK for themselves, though in Stifler’s case it seems all he’s done is spun in place. Containing the same level of raunchy humor that made the first movie a hit, the gang is now back for a forth helping of Pie and…
