Unbroken

 
The son of Italian immigrants, Louis Zamperini had a rough childhood. Immersed into an unfamiliar place, Louis started down a destructive path at a young age. It wasn't until his older brother Pete noticed Louis running faster than he'd ever seen anyone run - and as a result encouraged him to try out - that he soon found himself trying out for the high school track team and turning his life around. Running took him all the way to the Olympics before World War II halted his career. Louis enlisted as a bombardier and served on a B-24 Liberator until he and his crew were shot down over the Pacific Ocean and stranded for a total of 47 days before being rescued by the Japanese. Louis was brought to a POW (prisoner of war) camp where he spent over 2 years being tortured and being forced to work for the Japanese in three different camps in Japan. The only thing that kept Louis alive was his faith, the memories of his family back in the United States wondering if he was still alive, and the advice of his brother Pete: "If you can take it, you can make it".

If you've never heard of Louis Zamperini, I highly suggest you seek out both the movie Unbroken, as well as the book of the same name it's based on. His is a very inspiring tale of one tragedy after another, and yet being able to remain...well, there's no other way to say this, unbroken in both mind and spirit.

I personally haven't read the book yet (that's one of my goals for the next couple weeks), but what I can say in regards to the movie is that while I thought it was fantastic, there were some parts I wish had a little bit more depth put into them than what made it into the final film. In the trailer for Unbroken, there's a scene where the main Japanese antagonist Mutsushiro Watanabe orders the entire prison camp to line up and throw punches at Louis Zamperini. In the film itself, that same scene didn't have the same emotional depth as I was hoping because it felt like the scene was just kind of glossed over, as if it wasn't really all that important. I personally thought it was important because it coincided with the theme of "If you can take it, you can make it". There were one or two other scenes that were the same way, one during the beginning of the film when Louis is trapped on a life boat with two other men. In the trailer Louis is exasperated at one of the men who keeps complaining and saying over and over that they're going to die. Louis finally throws up his hands and exclaims "We're NOT dying!". In the movie, that same scene happens, but he doesn't have the same level of intensity in his outburst as he did in the trailer. It might seem trivial to complain about such a small thing in the whole movie, but with an inspirational story such as this, for me things like that take away from the overall emotional sincerity of Unbroken.

While the movie as a whole could have benefited from more emotional depth, pretty much everything - and everyone - else hit it out of the park. Jack O'Connell was perfectly cast as Louis Zamperini, capturing the essence of a man put under monumental amounts of stress and pain no ordinary man could possibly endure. Takamasa Ishihara was absolutely ruthless as Mutsushiro Watanabe. I strongly encourage people to seek this one out.

Exodus: Gods and Kings

If you had someone tell you that you were adopted and you were actually descended from a group of people (Hebrews) who were slaves to the people you grew up with (Egyptians), you might think that person was insane. So it is with Moses - he grew up his entire life among the Egyptians as the son of the Pharaoh. Over the years, he knew he was different than the rest of his family, he just never realized how different. Yet, when a Hebrew man named Nun comes to him and tells him the truth, Moses refuses to believe it until his birth mother and sister confirms it. Once Moses's adopted brother, the Egyptian prince Ramses, finds out, Ramses has Moses banished from Egypt. Moses spends several years wandering the desert, eventually coming to the land of Midian where he meets and marries a woman named Zipporah and spends his days as a shepherd. One day when Moses is tending to his sheep, he witnesses a burning bush on a mountain, and out of the bush comes a voice who identifies Himself as 'I Am'. Moses doesn't believe in any gods, so he initially writes off the encounter as a weird dream. It isn't until a young boy later appears to him that he realizes it is the God of his people, the Hebrews. God instructs Moses to go back to Egypt and convince Ramses - who is now the Pharaoh - to set the Hebrews free from slavery.

Before I get into my thoughts about Exodus: Gods and Kings, I must first caution my Christian friends and readers: Do NOT go in to Gods and Kings thinking it's going to be a literal adaptation of the Biblical story of Moses that you know. While some aspects where kept intact (more on that later), there are some major differences from the actual story, and the story that made it onscreen. I think you should see it, but keep an open mind as you do.

For all its differences from the Biblical tale, as its own story Exodus: Gods and Kings is actually very well done. Most of the acting was believable (though I wish Aaron had been given a bigger role, he barely had any lines throughout the entire movie), the special effects were great, especially during the 10 plagues sequence. While the movie as a whole was obviously NOT Biblical, there were several things that I could see how it could have happened that way. Moses is portrayed as a military leader after growing up in Pharaoh's palace, and at one point shown in battle alongside Ramses. Even though the Bible doesn't specify whether he was a military leader or not, I could believe that happening. During the scenes where Moses and God are discussing what will be occurring whenever Ramses refuses to release the Hebrews, Moses questions God's motives several times. In almost every adaptation up until Gods and Kings, Moses has been portrayed as following God's orders without question. I found it interesting (in a good way) that Moses is portrayed here as having trouble following God and questioning almost every decision. To me it made him almost more human than previous adaptations.

Going into it I had heard the controversy surrounding the fact that the main cast was all white people; after watching it, I have to agree. I might have been ok with one or two people here and there, but the cast should have been closer to how the people of that time and region looked like. I also didn't like turning the Hebrews into rebels who resorted to sabotaging the Egyptians by destroying crops, supplies, and other things before the 10 plagues happened. That's one part that wasn't very believable to me. Moses' banishment was kind of an afterthought instead of being one of the important parts of the story, as the reasoning behind it was just that he was Hebrew instead of it being that he murdered an Egyptian guard beating up a Hebrew slave. Probably one of the biggest things I didn't like about the movie was how it portrayed God as a 12 year old boy, who was honestly really bratty at times. It made God look like some angry deity instead of a just and holy God.

Overall, even though I didn't like the major changes to the original Biblical story, and the whole all-white cast controversy, I thought as its own vision Exodus: Gods and Kings was a very well done adaptation of one of the most important - not to mention most popular - stories in the Bible. I would urge people, especially Christians, to see it.

John Wick

They say a dog is a man's best friend, and in the case of John Wick, it is completely true. John found the dog (whose name is Daisy) on his front porch, and after reading the card that came along with it he realized Daisy was a gift from his wife who passed away a few days earlier. Daisy and John soon became inseparable, with Daisy often riding in the passenger seat with John wherever he went. Daisy helped John slowly get over the pain of losing his wife, to the point where he felt like he had a new purpose in life. A few days after the funeral, some local thugs break into his house, steal his car and murder Daisy. Enraged, John Wick vows to make the people responsible pay. Unfortunately that means going after his former employer: Russian mob boss Viggo Tarasov and his son Iosef. You see, as a former hit man for the Russian Mafia, John Wick is not someone you want hunting you down.

Much like the Expendables series and Escape Plan, John Wick is a throwback to the great action flicks of the '80's and early '90's, where there was a simple, yet concise plot with a lot of action and one-liners.  While this year hasn't exactly been stellar in terms of the quality of films released save for a select few, John Wick is a welcome escape from your typical tent-pole fare. If you're looking for a smart action flick with twists and turns you don't see coming, then John Wick is probably not the film for you. For action film fans, you do not want to miss this one. It's a wild ride that doesn't stop until the credits roll. I've honestly never been that big a fan of Keanu Reeves, but even I have to say that he is fun to watch as the titular character.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

In the final chapter of The Hobbit, the dragon Smaug has been awakened by Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, as well as Thorin's companions, and as a result he unleashes his fury upon the unsuspecting town of Laketown. In order to kill Smaug and save Laketown, a lone man named Bard uses iron harpoons to try and pierce the almost impenetrable skin of the fire-breathing beast, eventually finding Smaug's heart through an opening in the armor-like skin. As Smaug falls to his death, celebration is cut short as the gravity of the situation sets in. The people of Laketown have lost everything, and they now look to Bard to lead them. In an effort to save his people, he reaches out to Thorin to honor their agreement of a portion of the treasure in exchange for getting rid of Smaug. However, Thorin is overcome with greed for the treasure, as well as power, so he backs out of the agreement and turns Bard and his people away. In time, as word spreads throughout Middle-Earth that the dragon Smaug is dead, other races travel to the mountain in a quest to claim what they believe is rightfully theirs: Thranduil, king of the elves; Bard and his people from Laketown; the dwarven army led by Thorin's cousin Dáin; and finally the orc and goblin army led by Azog. The danger of Smaug may of ended, but the Battle of the Five Armies for control of the mountain has only just begun.

Peter Jackson's vision for The Hobbit comes to a close with the third and final chapter, The Battle of the Five Armies. While the series as a whole doesn't hold a candle to the epicness that was The Lord of the Rings, The Battle of the Five Armies is a wonderful and fitting end to the series. The action is better, not quite as drawn out as the previous film (though it does feel like it overstays its welcome at times, especially in the final battle). Seeing Smaug in action when he attacks Laketown was a cool sequence, despite it being something I wish The Desolation of Smaug had focused on more. As with the two previous Hobbit films, there are events added that were obviously not part of the book; however, I am glad Peter Jackson left specific important plot points alone - ones that I won't specify here.The best part of the movie actually occurs in the credits: Billy Boyd (who played Pippin in The Lord of the Rings) returns to sing an original song he wrote called The Last Goodbye specifically for this final chapter.

Granted, even with all the things I did like, the inclusion of Legolas was still a big mistake to me. His inclusion still never seemed to add anything to the story other than to connect The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings. He also yet again either had way too much makeup or CGI used on him that made him almost unrecognizable at first. The continued love story between the elf Tauriel and the dwarf Kili was an unnecessary addition as well that, to me, took away from the main story. I didn't mind the characters themselves, I just didn't like the whole love story part of it.

That being said, this journey into Middle-Earth - which began in 2001 with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - has easily been one of the best cinematic experiences I've ever had. I'm not ashamed to admit that I was a little sad when the credits rolled for this final movie. I can only hope that in the years to come either The Silmarillion (as well as other stories from Middle-Earth) makes its way onto the big screen, or someone is able to do something similar of this magnitude and recreate the magic of seeing stories such as this come to life.