The Grey

John Ottway is a man who is employed to make sure that the wildlife in the Alaskan wilderness does not interfere with a group of men working in the oilfields. Whenever a wolf comes too close to the men Ottway shoots it before it can attack. After their shift is over and it is time to head back home, the plane they are riding in suddenly hits a major area of turbulence, causing the plane to crash. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, Ottway and the remaining survivors must fight the bitter cold and hungry wolves in order to have even a remote chance of rescue.

The Grey is a very, very tough film to watch. It's depressing, giving the viewers what feels like a false hope that the situation will end well. What's interesting though is the fact that The Grey is not just a film about a group of men trying to survive. It's also a critique on the existence of God and an afterlife. It seemed as if The Grey argued that there is no God or afterlife, and that we must learn to survive on our own. There were times when it felt like it wanted to believe in God or even an afterlife, but couldn't. For instance there are several times where characters make what could be considered a little prayer up to God, but they are met by silence except for the howling of the cold, biting wind and the wolves around them. There is very little of what I would consider positive. The only positive things that come to mind would be the fact that all of the survivors (especially John Ottway) are willing to risk their lives for each other, giving their all in order to make it out of their ordeal alive. There are also a couple of survivors who stay firm in their faith to the very end.

The Grey may not sound like a good film to see, but I would recommend this one because you can use it as a good starting point in a discussion on the topics of God or an afterlife. I don't recommend it for anybody under the age of 15 due to the R-rating for language, graphic, disturbing images and the heavy thematic material; however, if you let your kids see it, it can be used as a good tool to help your kids understand the messages that the film has.

The Avengers

In 2008, at the end of the credits of The Incredible Hulk, Robert Downey Jr., a.k.a. Tony Stark/Iron Man uttered 5 words that would keep comic book fans on the edge of their seats for the next 4 years: "We're putting a team together". Now, in 2012 The Avengers has taken the box office by storm, beating records right and left for profits.

The world is on the brink of disaster as Loki, who we met in Thor, has threatened war on the planet. To save the world from Loki and bring him to justice Agent Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. has called for the creation of the Avengers Initiative, a program to bring the world's best superheroes and combine them into a powerful team. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow are brought together to thwart Loki in his grand scheme to conquer the world and humiliate his brother Thor.

The Avengers is, quite simply, amazing. Everything from the dialogue, the extravagant sets, and the characters all are top notch. I did find a couple of problems within the script, such as some explanations on the backgrounds of The Hulk and Black Widow, but they were so small that they don't take away from the overall experience. I loved watching the chemistry between each of the superheroes. The Avengers just came out but I already can't wait until Avengers 2 comes out. I can't wait to see what else Joss Whedon has up his sleeve. This is one you do NOT want to miss.

The Departed

The Departed is the American adaptation of Infernal Affairs, an action film from Hong Kong in 2002. Set in Boston, it tells the story of two men, one an undercover police officer infiltrating the mob and the other a member of the mob infiltrating the police force. Each man realizes there is someone tipping off the police and the mob, so it's a race against time to root the other out before their cover is blown. Colin Sullivan is thought to be an upstanding citizen, doing his best to uphold the law. This makes him the perfect choice to be a mole for mob boss Frank Costello because no one suspects him.  Billy Costigan on the other hand, has a somewhat tainted background due to a few of his family members having ties to Frank Costello and the mob. The Boston police force assigns him to infiltrate the mob because of his background. What follows is a crazy, fast-paced set of events in a race to uncover each mole.

I know I am going to be pretty much the only one of my friends who says this, but I personally did not care for The Departed. I'm normally ok with R-rated action flicks, but The Departed seemed to go overboard in its content. It did have me on the edge of my seat wondering which mole was going to be found out first, and it did have a couple twists that I definitely did not see coming. It also does have fantastic performances by Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Leonardo diCaprio, Jack Nicholson, and Martin Sheen. Despite all of these things, I unfortunately couldn't get past the fact that this is a brutally violent film. The Departed has to be the most violent film I have seen since Saving Private Ryan, Apocalypto, or even Passion of the Christ. Every time a character gets shot blood flows like a raging river. It also had way more language than I have heard in an R-rated film in awhile. I counted over 200 f-bombs alone, most of them seem like they were uttered by Jack Nicholson (not a huge surprise there). I felt that much violence and language was unnecessary. I was ok with the R-rating, I just wish Martin Scorcese would have toned it down a little.

I really wish I could recommend The Departed, but I can't due to the excessive violence and language.