Blackfish

First Hit: Extremely powerful film about why we need to stop using animals, in this case Orcas, for our amusement and profit.

The story starts with a tragic event of Orca trainer Dawn Brancheau being killed by Tilikum an Orca in an Orlando, Florida Sea World show.

Tilikum had a history of being a little aggressive towards humans (out of frustration?) because of the constant attacks (scraping) he received from other female Orcas he was penned up with.

The film also notes that this frustration may have also derived from the life it had to live. One of the worst parts is that with a history of behavior no trainer knew of how how many times penned Orcas have attacked humans. 

An interesting additional note is that in the wild there are no reports of Orcas being aggressive towards humans. The film explores the possibility that Orcas have a unique and powerful social system, feelings, and are extremely intelligent.

The story of how captive Orcas are captured as small babies, ripped away from their mothers, and made to live in small pools of water is simply disastrous and heartbreaking. Many of the people featured in this film are former capturer’s of these mammals and trainers of the fluid black beauties and help to make this film come alive as their regret and shame for not seeing the truth earlier, drove the film’s point home.

Everyone thinking of going to a trained Orca or porpoise/dolphin show needs to see this film and then decide whether they want to promote this cruelty. A bit of information from the film that startled me:  Less than 1% of all wild and free male Orcas have a bent (flopped over) dorsal fin while almost 100% of captured male Orcas have this problem.

Gabriela Cowperthwaite and Eli B. Despres wrote this powerful exposing film while Cowperthwaite directed this perfectly. I also want to applaud the interviewees for sharing their truth.

Overall:  A must see.

The Incredible Shrinking Man

First Hit:  I saw why this film made me a fan of films. It opened a wonderful door to amazing story-telling.

In 1957 I saw this film. It was the first film I saw and as a young boy I was thoroughly moved. Last week I was able to see this film again and believe me – it holds up extremely well.

With all the modern technology of today to make things bigger and smaller I was worried that I would get caught up in the “how does it look” syndrome when comparing it to today’s technological abilities. This baby holds up well.

Yes there are scenes that are not as seamless as what could be done today, but overall it is well done. However, the real delight is that this story is told in a tight 81 minutes, covers all the bases, and ends with a philosophical statement and view that is spot on wonderful.

In brief, Scott Carey (Grant Williams) is enveloped for a few minutes in a cloud that may be radiation. When this film was made the cold war was in full swing and radioactivity from a nuclear bomb was ever present. What happens is that he begins shrinking slowly after a couple of weeks. He continues to shrink until he gets a temporary fix for a month or so.

But then he starts shrinking again until he is towered over by a matchbox. How he deals with this change, what he discovers about himself (at the very end) makes up this wonderful story. The special effects are very good and hold up extremely well.

Williams is extraordinary sublime and does an amazing job of having the audience believe he is truly shrinking and how it feels to be an outcast. Richard Matheson wrote the screenplay from his novel and it totally works. Jack Arnold directed this film with intelligence and his command of special effects and how to use them well is amazing.

Overall:  This film solidified how a good film can stay with someone for many years. This one lasted 56 years and re-established that a great film can affect its audience for years to come.

The Way Way Back

First Hit:  Very well acted film about a very young man finding his self-esteem and himself.

There are lots of young men who have had or are having the feeling of just being worthless and not of value.

At the opening of the film, Trent (Steve Carell), Pam (Toni Collette), Steph (Zoe Levin) and Duncan (Liam James) are headed to Trent’s summer beach house for an extended vacation. Duncan is asked by Trent, his mother’s boyfriend, what is his number?  “How do you rank yourself between 1 and 10?” Duncan doesn’t want to answer, is clearly irritated with the question, and reluctantly responds with “6”, “I’m a 6” he says. 

Trent laughs off this number and immediately says “I think you’re a 3.” Then he tells him why he’s a 3 and none of it is helpful to young Duncan. In fact it puts yet another wall between him and Trent. He hates being in this situation, wants to be with his dad (who now lives with young girl in California) and hates that his mom has chosen this man to be with.

They drive up to the house, the neighbor Betty (Alison Janney) is waiting to “get the party started”. Betty is divorced and has two kids Susanna (AnnaSophia Robb) and Peter (River Alexander). Trent and Betty invite other neighbors Kip and Joan (Rob Corddry and Amanda Peet respectively) and their regression into too much drinking, smoking dope, and sexual dalliances begins.

To get away from the adult madness, Duncan starts taking off every day on a bike just to get away. Eventually he finds his way to the area’s "Water Wizzin" which is a water park. Here he meets Owen (Sam Rockwell) who immediately sizes Duncan up and makes it his business to help the kid find his way.

All through this film we are given views into the incongruent nature and behavior of parents and the effects on young teenage kids who are also looking to find their way into adulthood.

James is sublime. He fully captures the boy who has little self-esteem. His walk, look, and manner of speaking are spot-on perfect, a truly outstanding performance. Collette, is very good as Duncan’s mom who would like to trust a man in a relationship again and goes beyond her comfort zone to find out if the relationship with Trent will work. Carell is very good as the jerk guy who is trying to be friends with Duncan but asserting his alpha maleness to keep control of things. Levin is good as Trent’s daughter who doesn’t like what she is seeing and wants to grow up too soon. Robb is very strong as the girl who reaches out to Duncan and is touched by his path. Rockwell is extraordinary as the guy who never grew up but wants to help young guys find their way. Janney is very good as the nosy, drinks too much, and innocently flirtatious neighbor. Nat Faxon and Jim Rash wrote and directed this film and their spot-on screenplay and direction brought this film home elegantly.

Overall:  This is a wonderful film and truly a joy to watch.

White House Down

First Hit:  A very entertaining action film that touches on our political subjects in a sometimes humorous way.

I’ll be open in saying; I didn’t have much hope for this film because it arrived in the theaters so shortly after another recent White House takeover film previewed.

However, this film is heads and tails above the other one. Black President Sawyer (played Jamie Foxx) has a quirky way of arriving to the White House when coming home by helicopter; he requests that the crew do a fly-by of the Lincoln Memorial. This is something that could be congruent with President Obama because of the association of Lincoln and slavery but highly unlikely.

This is why this film is interesting. It gives us a view of our President that makes him human. Cale (played by Channing Tatum) is a member of the Speaker of the House’ security crew, is divorced, doesn’t spend enough time with his daughter Emily (played by Joey King) and wants to get his life together by becoming part of the Presidential Secret Service.

The President is not liked by the head of the Secret Service as well as multiple Republican leaders in the Senate and House. Overall, the film is somewhat suspenseful, except there are clues early in the first few moments of the film telling the audience who the two main opponents to the President are. One specific scene told me exactly who was spearheading the take-over of the White House and to me it wasn't subtle enough.

This film, explores in different ways, the control of the government by special interest groups (arms makers), race perceptions (black President), party differences (Democrats and Republicans), gun use and laws surrounding gun use, computer sabotage, and our governments’ chain of command.

The essence of this film is, through motive of revenge, certain government officials want President Sawyer out of office so that his call for getting out of the Middle East can be reversed.

Foxx is really very good and funny, at times, and I just loved the line, “let go of my Jordan’s”. Tatum is very good as the guy who has been lost but is doing what he can to make it all right. King is sublime. She is amazing as the President admiring daughter of Tatums'. Maggie Gyllenhaal is very good as the number 2 person in the Secret Service. James Woods brings the right amount of intensity and strictness of belief to his role as head of the Secret Service. Richard Jenkins is effective as Speaker of the House Raphelson. James Vanderbilt wrote a strong, funny, and politically astute screenplay. Roland Emmerich did a very good job of making this unrealistic scenario fun, topical, and interesting.

Overall: This film is worth the price of admission on multiple levels.

A Hijacking

First Hit:  A serious and interesting film about what a high-seas hijacking might entail.

My curiosity about how Somali pirates get on-board the huge freighters to hijack them, made me want to see this film.

It starts by showing Peter Ludvigsen (Soren Malling), the CEO of a shipping company, negotiating a deal with a Japanese group. He’s matter of fact, unemotional, and clear about his objective.

The other part of the story is about Mikkel Hartman (Pilou Asbaek) a cook on the ship that gets hijacked. The third main character is the Somali pirate’s negotiator Omar (Abdihakin Asgar) who wants to make sure that he is not classed with the pirates, but hired to negotiate a settlement because he speaks multiple languages. Mikkel is highly attached to his wife and child who are awaiting him to return home.

When the boat he’s on is hijacked, Peter insists on negotiating the release of both the boat and the crew. Omar suggests that the initial price asked by the pirates is $15M US. Peter’s counter offer is $250K. Omar uses Mikkel as a pawn to drive emotion into his bosses' negotiation tactics. 

The distance between the two sides makes for a long protracted negotiation and as one of Peter’s consultants tells him, time is a western concept and means nothing to the pirates. Meanwhile the during the 4 month negotiation process the film goes back and forth between Peter at corporate HQ and Mikkel, the ship, and its crew in the middle of the ocean.

Asbaek is very good as the sensitive cook who misses his wife and child. At one point he gets very angry and slams his fist on the table, but the rest of the time, he is a quiet force. Malling is excellent as the supposed heartless negotiator. He’s anything but heartless and knows how to put on the face and mental attitude to make his negotiations work. He does everything he can to hold the line required to make it work. Asgar is very good as the Somali pirate negotiator. Tobias Lindholm wrote and directed this film and made it really work.

Overall:  Although I didn’t learn how the pirates get on these huge freighters from their small boats, I did feel as though I learned how this process works.