Kim Gentes

Safe... for heaving your cookies.

Summary: If you absolutely must see a romantic drama, I suppose you won't be committing complete artistic and intelligence suicide by watching this film. But almost.

Full Review: You know the drill. It's date night. It's time for the little lady to pick out some romantic comedy or drama squeeze to appease the cupid-impulse that seems to be prodded back to life almost monthly by silly things like Valentine's Day, Anniversaries and birthdays. This time, she picks out the latest love story that most reminds them of some even more terrible love story from past theatre visits. "Oh no", you think to yourself, remembering back to The Notebook, "I can't be the only guy in the theatre again, with all those weeping women crooning over a sappy plot." 

But you know what? You love this woman. You aren't going to sit by and let some salute to machismo keep you from showing her that she is worth a couple of hours of humility just to be by her side. So you muster up your courage and face it like a man.

"Damn it, Jim", you think, "we're putting the engines at 110%".

So off you go, driving like mad to make the movie on time. You get there. The parking leaves you about 16 football fields away from the front entrance. You sprint ahead to get the tickets. She walks calmly to the theatre entrance. You wince ever-so-slightly as they rake you for $23.00 for two tickets. You smile and let your sweetheart go sit down in the theatre while you take another beating for a small bag of stale popcorn (that someone had stored in a garbage bag, no less) and watered-down soda. After rushing into the theatre, you realize you aren't late at all. In fact, your slight happiness turns sour after 25 minutes of previews that play after the supposed start time of your feature film.

Finally, it starts. Queue the opening scene. Abused wife running away from terrible home life. Escape to stereotypical "little-town" on the Carolina coast. Start new life. Find tall, handsome, single dad who is raising two kids- and who somehow seems to know less about kids than the beautiful, run-away wife who never had kids. The whole thing unfolds like the seeming clockwork of a widget factory from the 1950's postwar industrial machine. One shiny, predictable romance coming right up!

You enjoy the odd cutsie line, laugh at the two or three well-placed chuckles, and smile at the real love of your life sitting next to you, knowing that the agony and pain of this scriptless, thoughtless film will be over soon. Even though the romance movie was corny, you feel like you have dodged a bullet. You might even give the film a "C-" rating just because your sweetheart liked it and you didn't completely convulse through the entire film (as you did with The Notebook).

And then it happens- the most stupid, idiotic, half-baked, tag-on ending you've ever seen. Some marketing whiz who can't be bothered to write a real book or movie script thinks they will throw a "hail Mary" in to try to make this movie about something deeper, more important. But their attempt at quasi-spiritual transcendence is so inane, so inconsistent to the plot, and so unbelievable as any real art, it makes you want to tear your jacket and bite through the plastic arm of the chair that you are sitting on.

For those who don't escape seeing this movie from just plain old common sense, (or because you think that seeing "Safe Haven" will be a requirement for your love life) I have just one recommendation- leave after the appropriate people are rescued and the story seems to be happily concluded. Don't watch the last frames of this movie where the man gives his beauty a letter. It's pure BS. You've been warned.

For parents, the danger in seeing this movie is less about the offensive material they will see- though there is threatening behavior and violence- than it is about the questionability of any parent who would allow their child to see such dumb film making. Heed the movie's MPAA "PG13" rating, if for no other reason than limiting the damage to our future artisans in the next generations.

Amazon DVD Link: http://amzn.to/VBTDl5

Review by Kim Gentes

Impossible to explain. Unbelievable to experience.

Summary: The 2004 Tsunami that plunged across the coast of Thailand (and other countries in Indian Ocean basin) is one of the largest natural disasters in recorded history. Inside that event, this movie uncovers the story of one family. Following them from their vacation to the terrible event to their languishing journey to survive and reunite. It is human, evocative and realistic.

Full Review: I went to this movie without having seen any ads or promotion to it, except for the trailer I watched on my cell phone while looking for the movie times at our local theatre. What intrigued me was the claim of this movie being a true story. Not based on, or set in events, but actually the true story of a family. I am very glad I went to this movie.

Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor star as the parents who experience the unthinkable tragedy of the 2004 tsunami that devastated the coastal areas of Indonesia, Thailand and many other southeast Asian countries. To give away much of the setup or story would be to deny you the experience of the movie. I won't spoil that for you. But the movie is excellent in its pacing, its character drama and even its portrayal of trauma and its physical and psychological effects that are the aftershocks in real human lives.

The special effects, visuals and cinematography on this film are exceptional. If you can see this while it is still in theatres do so. If you miss it, be sure to watch it in surround sound in a theatre experience. The sound and visuals are astounding and pull you into the experience. Go see "The Impossible". It is an exceptional film.

For parents, this movie should be reserved for children that are 9 and over. Extensive scenes of disaster carnage are not as graphic as they might have been, but they do not lack the sensitivity to uncountable bodies, broken lives and lost families that were effected. There some nudity but only in the most tragic sense- a woman whose shirt it torn in the storm, a destitute man walking without shorts- these are sad reminders of the dehumanizing conditions of tragedy, not sensationalism. Because of the fear and pain the films images can invoke, parents should consider heeding the movie of its MPAA "PG13" rating. 

Amazon DVD Link: http://amzn.to/ZykIJq

Review by Kim Gentes

Inspired. Well acted. Thoughtful.

Summary: Heroic lives can sometimes turn into schmaltzy stories when Hollywood gets a hold of them. This is the fear I have whenever I see a movie that says it is a "true story" or "inspired by real events". "Unconditional" is a movie whose preview warns you it is based on a real life. But rather than retreat into a script of stereotyped plot mechanisms and clichéd character lines, this movie soars. It is a film about life and love that doesn't rely on chapters with romanticised epigraphs of why life really matters.

Full Review:  Samantha Crawford and Joe Bradford (played by Lynn Collins and Michael Ealy respectively) are two adults whose lives have re-intersected after having been apart since childhood. The stories of their intervening years were markedly different. Joe's life was a redemptive story of "meeting God in prison" that led him to a life of serving at-risk children. Sam's life was of the childhood artist whose idyllic adult marriage and young adult experience turns terribly tragic with the death of her saintly husband.  The two main characters had grown up as best friends in grade school, but after drifting apart beyond childhood, are reunited by a seemingly random event in which their paths cross again.

Once reunited, Sam and Joe learn about each other's lives and it is in this context that the movie unfolds. The story told is both for their learning and ours. Because this is a film of tragedy turned to redemption, it can be easy to expect, and in turn dismiss, the impact of its virtues as tediously moralistic (or worse, religious).  Yet, "Unconditional" doesn't run aground of trite "pop spirituality" as a plot device to rescue our characters from otherwise missing important themes.  Collins and Ealy play their parts with finesse that provides their characters with personal warmth contrasted by broken humanity. You enjoy the story as it unfolds. You grasp the tension of their narratives. You are brought into the plot and find yourself engrossed in the idea that hope may actually win the day.

As a Christian, I have always been interested in seeing quality art and media that reflected personal glimpses into real faith. But I, conversely, have seen so much half-hearted, poorly-produced modern media (done in the name of Christian values) that the potential of a strong story is lost in a schmaltzy presentation done by sub par participants. Let me be clear, "Unconditional" is the first film I have seen that has modern film chops while exploring hopeful, spiritual possibilities. It's not a hackneyed "Christian film". And thank God.

Parent-rating wise, the film has some scenes and concepts which are disruptive for kids below 10 years old, though it's almost certain nothing here would be shocking to kids who have watched any prime time TV. The MPAA rating for the film is PG-13, primarily for some brief violent scenes and themes. I won't go against that rating. It seems apt, if not conservative.

Are there momentary pauses of heroism and sentimentalism to bask in? Yes, but none are too long or unbelievable and all fit the story. In short, the story and acting are so intriguing and delightful they center the gravity of the film to its characters, keeping it well grounded. The direction and visuals are given both well done. Poor cinematography and effects are the points in which other films with low-budget or weak leadership often bleed out on a film- you see none of that in "Unconditional".  This is the first time, in a long time, that I've been emotionally engaged in a movie and not felt guilty for it- this story has the ability to grip you.

I strongly encourage you to consider seeing this movie. It may be warmly emotional, but it forecasts the movie style and expectations well in both the previews and the promo copy script. I highly recommend "Unconditional!" Go see it!

Movie link: http://unconditionalthemovie.com/

Review by Kim Gentes

Heartache. Rage. Reconciliation.

Summary: Sadly, we don't get to determine most of the tragedies that enter our lives. Most times, all we have is our choice in how to responsd. This film is about the choices we make. Some to bring calamity on others. Some to respond to unthinkable tragedy brought upon us. This is a character film, reaching to the very depths of what drives and motivates us. It's not a fairy tale, but it is truly excellent.

Full Review: Watching movies is often an escape from the real world- an attempt to see heros and heroines succeed, lift our spirits and make us laugh.  A way for us to remove ourselves from the drudgery of "real life" to enjoy the "good life". This film, "Five Minutes of Heaven", is none of those things. Rather than escaping from the painful reality of life, it plunges into the deep end of dispair that is a literal hell on earth for the very real people who live in the blunt force world of criminal acts, lifelong grief and unescapable loss.

The film, directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, is meant to be a pseudo documentary of "reality show" in which Liam Neeson's character, Alistair, prepares and meets James Nesbitt's character, Joe, after many years separated a cold-blooded assasination perptrated by the former and witnessed by the latter.  This film is actually "inspired by true events", which seems believable enough. The setting is Northern Ireland, amidst the death and terror of sectarian violence brought on by murderous factions of Catholics and Protestants. In that context, Alistair plots and executes a plan to kill Joe's brother, for no real reason other than they lived as two people in the opposite camp of the world of the tinderbox that was Northern Ireland's violent 1970s.

Joe witnesses the act and is left not only traumatised, but shamed by his remaining family who can do nothing with their grief but pile accusations on the 10 year old Joe. Alistair, however, finds his life eventually turning 180 degrees away from the violence of his past. Eventually, he not only rejects the violence he once perpetrated, he works for years to bring a message of reconciliation and call for families and communities to reach out to young people who might be tempted to turn to violence in similar situations.

All this comes to a head when a peacemaking, reconciliation group asks to film a meeting between the two people. What happens is not only unexpected but gritty. In the end, the movie is about reality, not pie-in-the-sky reconciliation. But it gets to the truth about why people do things at such base levels, and what possible hope there is for lives torn by such tragedy.

I would say that Liam Neeson was stellar and deserves awards for his acting- and I'd be right. He is truly in command of his character and never faulters. But it really ends up being James Nesbitt's film. Not just in time of screen minutes, but in power of his performance. Nesbitt becomes the horrific, sad, lost, angry and even hopeful boy and man that we all fear and believe he must become. All the while, we hope for better. He makes us hope. Nesbitt makes this film have such power and honesty, he really stands above Neeson- which is an almost impossible task.  Because both do such an amazing job, the plot, timing, emotions and characters all fit into the realm of perfection.

This is a film which is laden with cursing and overwhelming emotional scenes. It is for no child under 15, in my opinion. Even older children will be shaken by this film internally, as will adults.

If you have a chance to watch this film, do not hesitate. It is one of the best films in the last 5 years. Really, it's that good.

Amazon DVD Link: http://amzn.to/Q8xx4t

Review by Kim Gentes.

A truly special movie.

Summary: Ingenious story, focused acting, indie grit visuals and daring direction that doesn't falter; content warnings- some offensive language, some violence and drug use. In my opinion, this movie is not for anyone under 15.  Serious emotional and adult concepts that will be too much for any child.  Again, this movie is rated R, and is not for children.

Full Review: We all strive to be something important in life.  To make a mark, to be involved in something significant.  We want to love and ultimately be loved for who we truly are.  We want to be special. To someone.  Les Franken (played by Michael Rapaport) is just just like you and I.  He is looking for that time, place and relationship in which life fits, your contribution counts and things matter.

But like so many of us, the outward signs for Les are not harrowing his uniqueness in the universe.  Quite the opposite. From his job, to his friends, to desolate outlook on his daily existence, Les's life is a deluge of despair all quietly festering in polite secrecy to the rest of world. 

Until today. Les gets a chance to join a study for a final trial on an anti-depressant drug.  In fact, the drug becomes all Les dreams- or more aptly- Les becomes all he dreams.

The story and preview market the movie as though it were some smart-neck comedy, but it is far from that.  With blisteringly wry pathos "Special" delivers an unnerving look at the human soul.  Simplistic at times and broken, as we all are, it reverts to the disparity between emotional hopes and the blunt force trauma of reality. There are plenty of coy hyperboles here, but all hit you like a sledgehammer instead of a joke.  In the end, the movie watcher feels like the only joke has been in the shallow portrayal that Hollywood film so often (otherwise) makes of real people's problems.

This movie was brilliant, but it is not for everyone.  If want a chuckle, don't go here. If you want an answer, you're not looking in the right spot either.  But sometimes to find a crumb of truth, you need to search for something found only in pain and failure.  And into this world you go, with Les as your guide. And if you can handle the journey, you will indeed find something Special.

Amazon Link : http://amzn.to/UKJlKW

Review by Kim Gentes.