Zero Dark Thirty

A powerful film, though it was difficult for me to get through the first 45 min. of CIA operatives torturing enemy combatants, but perhaps that is what the writer/director Ms. Bigelow wanted – if so, she succeeded. I believe the beginning could have been edited to ten minutes or less. However, the wait was worth it and the rest of the movie was much more espionage driven and suspenseful. There is some controversy about the blending of fact and fiction, and the use of torture, but that did not bother me at all. From the outset, I was completely brought in to the world of the CIA and our fight against Al Qaeda. The characters were interesting and well developed, though it seemed the main character played by Jessica Chastain remained the same youthful and high intensity female CIA agent throughout the entire movie. Perhaps she changed emotionally during the 12-year span of the movie – her growth could have been emphasized a little bit more. The plot, which most of us lived through, was engaging and even though it covered over a decade, it was nicely paced. It was interesting to relive some of the terrorist attacks and to be reminded that we are still at war. Zero Dark Thirty is military slang for 30 min. past midnight – often considered the darkest hour of the night. It is also the time, Pakistani local time, when the special operation to kill Osama bin Laden occurred. You have to look closely at the clock just above Jessica Chastain to see this fact in the movie – a nice touch by Bigelow. Hopefully now, in 2013, we are beginning to emerge from the darkness...Definitely worth a rental.

Django Unchained

Quintin Tarantino has created another masterpiece. I enjoyed every moment of this two-hour and 45 min. roller coaster ride of entertainment. I was engaged from the very beginning. I love Westerns, especially the old Spaghetti Westerns and Tarantino did an excellent job paying respect to that genre, while adding his own unique modern twists and techniques. I believe this is Tarantino's best move since "Kill Bill." Quintin Tarantino is able to create a certain unique atmosphere with his movies that no other writers, producers and directors have been able to successfully copy. It starts with an excellent story and superb characters. A bounty hunter, Christoph Waltz, and his freed slave partner, Jamie Foxx, make a powerful and dynamic duo. Waltz, even though he is a vicious bounty hunter preferring to collect his reward with dead bodies, for reasons that are not totally believable or clear, has a certain moral code and empathy for his black partner and his bleak situation – together they set out to find and free Django's wife. Throughout the movie, their dialogue and actions made me cringe at times and smile at others. I burst out laughing during the scenes when the white people in the movie were aghast at seeing a black man riding a horse. Of course, they did not refer Django to slaves as blacks, but use the "N-word" throughout the movie – some critics and people found this offensive, I just thought it gave the movie a realistic sense of the times and an accurate portrayal of the pre-Civil War Southern United States. Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L Jackson, and the other supporting actors were all very believable and did an excellent job. I love Tarantino's ability to create suspense through dialogue and painstakingly choreographed scenes – even when there is not a lot of physical action on the screen, the subtle movements, expressions, and careful use of language create a palatable tension. Then suddenly the movie explodes with violence and gore! Amazing, mesmerizing, entertaining! If you're a Quintin Tarantino fan you will love this movie, if you're not, I still believe it's worth watching.

Seven Psychopaths

If a movie about psychopaths can be considered funny, then this film fits the bill. It is as violent and intense as it is comedic and touching. It's really a story about friendship. Colin Farrell plays a likable drunkard trying to make a living in LA writing a movie script – he starts off with no ideas, just a good title "Seven Psychopaths." His best friend, Bill Rockwell, supports him, even going as far as creating his own version of a psychopath to be included in the script. Christopher Walken is another psychopath – friend with an amazing story. I always loved the understated comedy of Christopher Walken – and this movie is just perfect for him. The money he and Bill Rockwell make  from stealing dogs goes to pay for cancer treatment for Walken's psychopath wife. While Colin struggles with his script, his two friends continue to steal dogs in the neighborhoods of LA, and collect the monetary rewards from unsuspecting owners. Unfortunately, they steal a cute Shitzu from a gangster and bona fide psychopath, Woody Harrelson. These four actors do a superb job! And the supporting actors and actresses are so unique and well developed that they add significantly to the film. There really are seven psychopaths, each with their own horrible and unique story. The writing is clever, and the story is extremely intense and engaging. I found myself laughing at times, and at other times, cringing from the senseless violence. I immediately began to care about these psychopaths, and hoped that they somehow could escape the hellish world they had created. For adults only, certainly worth a rental!

The Campaign

A senseless comedy full of foul language and crude behavior – sounds like politics! And perhaps it was a good satire of politics today, but instead of being funny. It just felt cruel, crude and sad. Stupid can also be thrown in there! Will Ferrell, I usually enjoy, but in this movie he was just overly loud and over the top. I'm sure there were some scenes which he even couldn't believe he was doing. The other guy, Zach G., From the hangover movies, was actually the better actor and had a more likable character to play – stupid, but likable. Unfortunately, the move was not likable at all. I smiled, perhaps twice, and never laughed out loud. Not even once. The funniest part, which they showed in all of the previews, they actually changed in the movie – it made the change less funny. There were lots of cameos in the movie, but no amount of guest stars could salvage the poor writing and crass humor. Don't bother with this one.

Saying goodbye to Blockbuster

Sadly, I have to cancel my DVD by mail subscription with Blockbuster. I remember when the first Blockbuster stores came to Honolulu, gosh, those were exciting days! Remember going to the video store and being totally amazed at all of the choices on the shelves. My wife, son and I used to spend hours there, sometimes getting so overwhelmed with all the choices that we would end up walking out of the store with nothing! Then came DVDs by mail. What a wonderful service that was... It was especially great for me since my diagnosis with ALS. I could select my movies on the Internet and they would be delivered to my door. Now however, times are changing again and "direct streaming" is the new way to watch videos/TV/movies. Blockbuster has not kept up with the times, and their streaming selection is very poor. I was hoping that they would continue to emphasize movies by mail, but even their availability of new titles by mail has gone below satisfactory. I also prefer Blu-ray, and that has made the availability of movies that I want to watch even more difficult. So, I say goodbye to the convenience of movies by mail and now begin to embrace the wonderful world of "streaming" movies. I think the cost will be somewhat more expensive, but the selection should be more current and immediately available. I will be using Netflix and Oceanic Cable on demand, initially until the next big thing comes along!