21 Grams

Released: 2003

Runtime: 124 min

Directed By: Alejandro González Iñárritu

Starring: Sean Penn, Naomi Watts & Benicio Del Toro

What is the weight of a soul?  What is the worth of a life?  This is a masterpiece of character development.  The costume, makeup and lighting teams worked wonders.  I am not sure how I feel about the non-linearity.  I think it helped add to our experiencing the characters in that we saw key moments just when it was important for us to know that.  At the same time it comes across as a gimmick at points.

It is interesting to observe the circles in the lives of the characters and how some of the scenes can work as pre or post story arc.  Watts character giving up drugs for her child, Del Toro’s prison suicide attempt and Penn’s hospital stay.  This might point towards a theme of us being bound to ourselves and our unique struggles.

Of course,  despite there being very little physical change between a living body and a dead one, there is obviously a great emotional difference.  The impacts of our actions stretch out further than we can realize and create a beautifully chaotic symphony.  How are you dealing with it?

Technique- 9

Production Quality- 8

Story- 8

Thought Provoking- 7

Entertainment- 6

Bull Durham

Released: 1988

Runtime: 108 min

Directed By: Ron Shelton

Starring: Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon & Tim Robbins

The clash between young and full of talent and aged wisdom is an interesting theme.  Baseball happened to be a great medium for this message.  If only the young could know all that the experienced do, their lives would be much easier.  The co-mentoring of Costner and Sarandon happened to do wonders for “Nuke”.

What we can take away from this is simple;

if you’re young and talented: understand that you’ll be spinning your wheels without some guidance

if you’re experienced: understand the young guys need some pointers and once they get it, they will be the future

if you are neither young, talented nor experienced: understand there are people who are, and you should probably try to be friends with them so they can bring you to the top/ switch majors

Technique- 6

Production Quality- 7

Story- 5

Thought Provoking- 6

Entertainment- 7

I Heart Huckabees

Runtime: 107 min

Directed By: David O. Russell

Starring: Ensemble Cast

This one is a soft ball.  For a comedy, it left nothing to interpretation.  It asks the question, what is the purpose of life.  I love how it makes fun of so many different outlooks and knee jerk reactions to big questions.  Wahlberg’s Character is spot on to the way I have felt so many times.  Wanting to yell, “that is a fact” to some ridiculous claim in hopes that everything will change and then facing the reality, that despite the facts, there is no way to live without it and the best you can do is try a little bit each day.

This movie pokes fun at the way we look at life and helps us realize that despite the fact that sometimes everything seems out of control and hopeless, we can’t take it too seriously.

Technique- 9

Production Quality- 5

Story- 7

Thought Provoking- 9

Entertainment- 7

Big Wednesday

Runtime: 120 min

Directed By: John Milius

Starring: Gary Busey, Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt & Gerry Lopez

This might be the best movie ever made to include surfing.  It is also probably one of the best representations of surfing and the surf culture.  If I ever make movies, I would love to be able to make something that was considered in the same league as Big Wednesday.

The story is a little bit like Citizen Kane meets endless summer.  We see a group of surfers mature during a time that is important to both them as individuals and the nation around them.  Though everyone is a surfer, they represent the diversity within the sport and we are presented with a wide range of priority sets.  From the choices the characters make, we are given a glimpse at what life would be like if we followed similar priorities.  There are themes of friendship and longevity, but what stood out to me the most was lifestyle and the factors that play a part in that.

As a surfer, the correlation was fairly exact for me.  But the relevance of the characters is almost universal.  Matt is talented but would rather enjoy himself than work under pressure to be great.  Jack walks the straight and narrow and has the respect of those around him, but must sacrifice what he loves.  Leroy does what he wants, but must sacrifice the experiences of adulthood because of it.  Finally, Bear has a passion that brings him to the top and sends him right down again and in the end he must pass it to someone else.

So surfing, like anything we enjoy, will always compete with other uses for our time.  Jobs, relationships, and lifestyles will butt head directly against our passion and we all must make a choice as to who will come out on top.  Surfing is particularly hard to work with because waves are inconsistent.  It will not fit into your schedule, you must work around the occurrence of waves.  I’ve seen a lot of unique ways to deal with that.  Some people start their own business so they can be flexible, but they sacrifice security and wealth.  Some people resign to surfing on the weekends and before work, hoping that is when waves will hit.  There are even people who are forced to give it up for time concerns or relocation.  We all have a choice with what to do with our time and how to live.  There is not an easy answer or even a right one, just choices and dealing with the consequences.

Technique- 6

Production Quality- 7

Story- 8

Thought Provoking- 8

Entertainment- 8

The Searchers

Runtime: 119 min

Directed By: John Ford

Starring: John Wayne and a German guy as the Chief Indian

This being my first John Wayne film, I could not understand why people idealize him.  After some reading I realized it is because this is the role he did not normally play and he played it perfectly.  I felt sorry for him.  He was a real character with flaws and depth.  The search for his niece was a goal and it was something to do, a means to a purpose.

I wonder if it is worth it to spend five years to find someone who has been captured.  I think I would fit in with the Indians who would stop chasing something eventually more so than Ethan who would chase it forever.  At some point it seems like there is reason to move on.  When is one life worth two?  When is it worth more?  What if in the search a dozen men died?  I think the struggle Ethan undergoes is one that we can relate to our own quests.  Whether it be a job, a spouse or some possession, it seems we are all searchers.  At some point the search far exceeds the object and it seems that aside from ego, it would be prudent to reevaluate.  Would that be a passionless life?

Technique- 6

Production Quality- 8

Story- 8

Thought Provoking-7

Entertainment- 6