MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS - English
Movie Name: American History X
Directed By: Tony Kaye
Music by: Anne Dudley
Starring: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D’Angelo, Jennifer Lien
Year of Release: 1998
Duration: 119 Minutes
Review:
A movie that had me shook with its plot, themes and performance; American History X (1998) is terrifyingly fascinating.
The film revolves around a reformed Neo-Nazi trying to change the thoughts of his brother who is intent on following his footsteps. American History X is a live-wire and it deals with the themes of masculinity and the roots of racial hatred in America.
I really have to gush over Edward Norton’s performance for a bit. It was intense. Think about Robert De Niro in Raging Bull or Al Pacino in Scarface, Norton’s Derek Vinyard character role was despicable, violent, and assertive all at the same time. From the shocking first 15 minutes all the way to after his character gets released from prison, Edward Norton was immaculate and did not put a foot wrong in this film.
It’s an extremely confronting piece of work and much of it works with the in-your-face treatment it gives the audience. It aims to be controversial and give the people exactly how it should be. I like how the film was taken partly in black and white to show the difference between past and present but also to make the scenes in the past more ugly, loathsome but realistic.
However, I felt that as much as the director tries to paint a blatantly aggressive version of how dangerous racism and hate-crimes are; the movie subliminally makes Derek Vinyard look... absolutely cool. You can’t help but love him. Even in the film’s most cringe-worthy and disturbing portion, where he brutally murders someone; the scene had a slow-motion direction that stylized the character. Was this intentional perhaps? Was the director trying to highlight our sense of duality? While we might hate what Neo-Nazi’s stand for and their atrocities, do we actually love the swagger, style and intensity of their creed? Are we in some small parts of our heart in awe of Derek Vinyard’s psychotic intensity?
American History X (1998), contentious.
Movie Name: Troy
Directed By: Wolfgang Petersen
Music by: James Horner
Starring: Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana, Diane Kruger
Year of Release: 2004
Duration: 163 Minutes
Review:
Inspired by Homer’s “The Iliad”, Troy (2004) is an epic period drama film. I’ve heard way many contrasting reviews about this film and it honestly goes down to whether you personally like it or not.
Along with all the Long, bruising battles and cliched storyline, Troy does not really offer anything new. It’s really the director’s tribute to Homer with a few bits of extra twists. Honestly, I found Troy to be a good film. Packaged decently, Troy chronicles the ancient war between Greece and Troy. Brad Pitt gives a marvelous performance as the titular character and his supporting cast of Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom did justice to their roles. Notable mentions of the film would be the intense battle between Achilles and Hector as well as Achilles’ conversation with King Priam. These two moments really stood out for me. While not many critics were fond of this, but I personally liked how the director decided to side step the Existence of the Greek gods, and turn their heroes to somewhat mortal. I also liked how the director reimagined the death of Achilles.
We all know the story of how Achilles became immortal. He was dipped in the river Styx, which was supposed to offer him invulnerability, but his Mother held him by his ankles and therefore, since the ankle was not washed; his “Achilles heel” became a source of weakness that led to his downfall. In the movie, Achilles took three arrows to his chest and one arrow to his ankle but he rips off the chest arrows before he dies. Leading the other Guards to think he died from a wounded ankle, thus protecting the myth surrounding him. While Troy is an adaption of the Iliad, the director turned it into a blockbuster version of it, so it can really deviate from what you know from the mythology.
Troy (2004), an Epic eye candy.