Norman: Clitish

Accent Film Entertainment

Official Site: www.normanthemovie.com
Director(s):  Jonathan Segal
Writer(s): Talton Wingate
Producer(s):  Kim Blackburn Bowen, Rich Cowan, Dan Keston, Hawk Koch.
Starring: Dany Byrd, Emily VanCamp, Richard  Jenkins, Adam Goldberg. 99 min.

How long can  a person carry out a monumental lie? Norman (Byrd) carried his lie about having cancer until it nearly destroyed his relationships, especially the one he had with his newly found beautiful girlfriend Emily (VanCamp). Was Norman selfish for being so dishonest? After experiencing severe loss, and yet to experience more severe loss, evidently Norman was emotionally troubled.  Pretending to be a cancer patient  with only three months to live had very little to do  with the troubles at home, at least directly.  Given the context in which the lie was committed, one can criticize Norman for his dishonesty, but also acknowledge that his situation may induce erratic behavior, such as suicidal thoughts. 

Norman described himself as an "incredibly sad kid" with "nothing to look forward to." The loss he suffered along with dealing with his sick father (Jenkins) shaped Norman into  a troubled teen with a bleak outlook.     

Accent Film Entertainment

Norman conjured up the lie in a heated argument with his best friend. It was suppose to be a harmless lie, but  the lie grew faster than Norman could control. After a while Norman noticed people were nice to him because he was supposedly dying. His best friend became more understanding. One of the kids who was mean to him apologized. Norman's popularity grew but for  the wrong reason. Emily is the one person who was nice to Norman regardless if he was dying with cancer or not. However, the magnitude of the lie was such that it jeopardized the happiness he found in his relationship with Emily.

Accent Film Entertainment

Incredibly,  even when Norman faced immense pressure to confess, he carried on the lie to exhaustion. To be fair, On several occasions Norman tried to tell the truth, but it seemed people were willing to explore the tragedy of the  lie rather than accept the tragedy of the truth, which was Norman was miserable from dealing with what appeared to be an  insurmountable loss, and the  sickness of his father. The

Accent Film Entertainment

 film made a good attempt at being a dark comedic  drama. Frankly it was just dark and dramatic. The subject matter overwhelmed the film to the point one overlooks the humor. Great performances by Richard Jenkins, Emily VanCamp, and Dany Byrd. This was a truly engaging independent film. Not a masterpiece. But worth watching. Metacritic.com rated the film 60/100 with mixed reviews. Rottentomatoes.com granted the film nine fresh tomatoes to five rotten ones for a favorable review. I'll give it an 80.  

Snow White and The Huntsman: A Bad Apple

Universal

Official Site: www.snowwhiteandthehuntsman.com
Director(s): Rupert Sanders
Writer(s): Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, Hossein Amini 
Producer(s): Sam Mercer, Palek Patel, Joe Roth,
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Toby Jones.  Rated: PG-13. 127min. 

The most interesting character in Snow White and The Huntsman is Ravenna(Theron). Her love of beauty contrasted by her hatred for men makes her incredibly complex; almost feminist. Ravenna's hatred of men stems from her belief  that men only love women as long as they stay beautiful other than that there is no use for them. In a world of pillage, she was taught beauty is refuge from misfortune, and possibly even death. Nurturing this belief, beauty translates into survival, and adoration. Most importantly, beauty translates into power. Therefore, a vehement pursuit of youth and beauty is the sole purpose of Ravenna in keeping her power. This certainly has not made her a happy person.

Universal

Angry, controlling, dependent, and narcissistic, Ravenna cares very little for the people suffering in her kingdom. Youth and beauty are not infinite. Ravenna must kill young beautiful women to keep her ageless, but only the murder of one young woman would grant her immortality. Her name is Snow White.   She is the opposite of Ravenna. Loving, brave, and blessed with good will, Snow white threatens Ravenna's reign by existing as the angelic hope, contrast to a demonic woman that has drained the kingdom of color and smiles. Not trained as a warrior, Snow White is still

Universal

brave enough to a lead an army of men and some dwarfs to conquer the evil imposter Queen Ravenna to restore the kingdom to grace.  As with most summer block busters, Snow White and The Huntsman was visually impressive, decorated with ample special effects.  All the creatures in the film were mesmerizing. I wish there were more of  them. The casting for the film was just right. Initially, I had some reservations about Kristen Stewart as Snow White but she conquered my doubts, as her character conquered Ravenna. Perhaps one can liken Snow White to Joan of Arc and Ravenna to Elizabeth Bathory.  

Universal

History Aside, the film was entertaining, but not mind blowing. The production was awesome.  The final battle was good, but not powerful. Regardless, I'm glad to see this version of Snow White on the big screen. Confession time. In the back of my mind, I'm  just waiting for Dark Knight Rises. Admittedly, it is affecting my critique. Until I watch this upcoming masterpiece, every movie will be subject to my disorder which is an obsession with Christopher Nolan's directing. Metacritic.com rated the film 57/100 for mixed reviews. Rottentomatoes.com granted the film 77 fresh tomatoes to 86 rotten ones for an unfavorable review.  I'll give it an 80.  

       

Men In Black 3: Trust The Pie

Sony Pictures

Official Site: www.meninblack.com
Director(s): Barry Sonnenfield
Writer(s): Etan Cohen, Lowell Cunningham
Producer(s): Joyce Cox, Laurie Macdonald
Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, and Jemaine Clement. 
Rated: PG-13  


We were introduced to K and J  about 15 years ago. J was just a rookie; K was just, well K. From the beginning there was a focus on K's lack of emotion.  Constantly wondering what happen to K, and how and why  he became so exanimate, J was mildly fed up. The third installment of  Men In Black  was really about K's history explaining how J became part of his life. Involved in this origin narrative is "Boris The Animal" played by funny man Jemaine Clement of  Flight of The Conchords.  

Sony Pictures

Traveling back in time to battle with Boris, J teams up with a very young and relatively vibrant K played by Josh Brolin.  The duo must collaborate to stop Boris from initiating a full invasion of the planet. While entangled  in this struggle to save the world, J discovers how important K is to the survival of the species. Naturally, J has to convince K of his importance in an event that is yet to  happen, and J must learn to use technology from the past to secure the future of humanity.   

 

Sony Pictures

The formula this franchise has used to secure a stable following has not changed. Creative wacky creatures are all there but all of the special effects were magnified by  brilliant writing. It's touching to see what J endured to help his partner of 14 years, despite how much he dislikes K's grumpy nature. Ultimately, J discovers how much K cares for him in return in way he would have never known.  A noteworthy character is the fifth dimensional being who was indispensable in helping the duo anticipate Boris's next move. Much credit has to be given to the writing for creating such an entertaining, strange, brilliant, and kind character with a remarkable  ability that is essential to reaching the climax of the film.   

The content of the film is consistent with the previous two films. 
Very entertaining. However this film brings the audience closer or involves the audience more into the friendship of J and K. As with the previous films, this sequel did not disappoint. Metacritic.com rated the film 58/100 with mixed reviews. Rottentomatoes.com  granted the film 138 fresh tomatoes to 62 rotten ones for a favorable review. I'll rate it an 83.

A Noble Lie: Oklahoma City 1995

A Noble Lie is a detailed two hour documentary on the investigations related to the major figures of  the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, featuring interviews  of citizens, lawyers, politicians, journalist, and law enforcement officials who provide accounts presenting a case that there may have been a government coverup. While the facts in the film seem to build a strong case for suggesting a coverup, the "why" of the topic is not answered. Why would the government install blockades to prevent the "truth" from coming out? That is the puzzle to be put together. 

The SCAD (state crimes against democracy) theory was proffered; explaining how efforts to expose government wrong doing is treated.  There is no mention of motive in the explanation of  SCAD theory in the documentary. Taking away second amendment rights was suggested by  Alex Jones, but the actual reasons behind a possible government coverup remains to be discovered. In total, the documentary was well produced with stimulating facts, and  critical commentary.

Prometheus: David

20th Century Fox

Official Site: prometheus-movie
Director(s): Ridley Scott
Writer(s): John Spaihts, Damon Lendilof
Producer(s): Ridley Scott, Tony Scott  
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Alba, Guy Pearce, Logan Marshall-Green.  

Dr. Shaw (Rapace) and Dr. Holloway's( Green) archeological discovery led them on a two year voyage funded by the Weyland corporation to a planet that may be key in revealing  the origins of humankind. Hoping to answer the ultimate questions of why humans exist, and who created them, both doctors lead a crew of  specialized professionals into a very dark cave like pyramid not only  to be astounded by existence of life, but life that possess matching human DNA.  Elation from this historical discovery subsided after Dr. Shaw came to understand,  the beings that created humankind also wanted to destroy it. 


The production was god like in detail, something Ridley Scott is known for. The grand scope of the ruins of the alien civilization appeared advanced while concurrently antiquated. At some point David ( Fassbender) was wearing a head piece with large protective eye wear that appeared contemporary, and not very futuristic. Beyond that, there is  nothing to complain about. The production added immeasurable value to the validity of the alien genesis of humankind, extinguishing doubt, an advanced civilization could not have engineered homosapiens.    

The pace of the film was good. There was no lag. Each scene had a definitive point that one could clearly  understand. But the action in certain scenes were simply satisfactory, but not amazing. Too often I was awaiting, and yearning  to be possessed by a detail that was bold or earth shattering, only to be satisfied by a detail that was simply interesting. The grand reveal was not so grand. The ultimate questions were only partially answered making me feel the entire film was one big tease.     

Has Prometheus lived up to the hype? To a degree. Claiming this film was a disappointment would be unfair since it was well directed, acted, produced, and written. There was something missing. More action perhaps, more meaningful alien interaction,whatever was missing, this film inflicted me with cinematic blue testicles. Metacritic.com noted a favorable review of 64/100. Rottentomatoes.com granted  a favorable review with 146 fresh tomatoes to 50 rotten ones.  I'll rate it an 83.