Who lives, who dies, who tells your story

I really hope at least one of you gets the title reference. The idea behind it kind of relates to the film Im going to be talking about in this post. The film is called The Imitation Game and it's based on the true story of Alan Turing and his contributions to the success of the Allies during World War II. More than that, it's also the story of how this incredible war hero, someone who helped create so much of the technology we take for granted today, was treated horribly by the very people he had worked to save. 

The film opens up in what appears to be a man sitting in an interrogation room, and another man walks in a throws a folder on the table. The screen goes to black and the audience hears a voice telling them to pay attention, because if they don't they'll miss things. Important things. This voice over almost makes the audience feel like they are being talked to directly by the main character and it makes them pay close attention to what is going on in the story afraid of missing something. It is later revealed that that voice over is from the interrogation scene from later in the film where Turing tells his story to the officer seen at the very beginning of the film. 

The film follows a three time line story structure linking them together through similar themes. They focus on three different points in his life: his childhood, his time at Bletchley Park, and the time during his arrest. This way of telling the story really helps the viewer learn a lot about Alan Turing and why he is the way he is. The whole idea of the film is judgment and how you shouldnt just someone by things that they cant change such as looks, brains, or sexual orientation. Alan Turing was an incredible brilliant man who was one of the only people who decided to tackle the problem of solving what was thought to be an unbreakable German code during World War II. Enigma had over 159 million million million different possibilities for the answer, and the Germans changed the code every single day making it even more difficult to break the code. The film focuses a lot on the hardships of cracking this code and how difficult it truly was on him. 

After all this man did for his country during the war one would think he would be treated fairly well afterwards. This however is far from the truth. He continued his work into a field of study pretty much started by himself until it was discovered he was a homosexual, which at the time was illegal. He was convicted of indecency and put on hormonal therapy which severely messed with his mental abilities. The irony of this ending is that they treated just like the computer/machine that Turing theorized in his famous paper. They treated him like he was a computer that could just be reprogrammed and have his settings altered. This movie is one of my all time favorites because with most historical films they tend to focus on the event rather than the person, but with this movie its a little bit of both. They tell the story of the event, but they mainly use it to tell the story of the man. 

photo credit: https://twitter.com/imitationgameuk

Philomena

One film that I couldnt wait to see after I first saw the trailer was Philomena. Staring Steve Coogan (Night at the Museum, Around the World in 80 Days) and Judi Dench (Skyfall, Casino Royale) and based off a true story, the film follows journalist Martin Sixsmith and an old woman named Philomena Lee on the journey to find her son who was taken from her when she was a young girl. The child was stolen from and given up for adoption without her consent by the nuns who she lived with at a convent when she was young. Decades later she is introduced to a former BBC Correspondent named Martin who decides to do a a human interest story on this woman and help her find her missing son. [SPOILERS AHEAD]

The two go on an interesting journey together starting with the very unhelpful nuns at the convent where she was forced to work. While there, Martin discovers that the nuns had in fact been lying about losing the records in a fire when in fact they burned them in a large bonfire to hide what they had been doing. With the little information they can get, they manage to trace him from that small town in Ireland to the United States where most of the adopted children ended up going. The two make the voyage overseas to Washington DC where they discover that Martin had actually met her son before. Her son's name changed from Anthony to Michael Hess and he was a prominent member of the Republican National Committee during the Reagan Administration. When Martin still worked for BBC he had actually met her son at the White House. The two go and meet one of his colleagues where they find out his was gay. His colleague also gave them the name of his adoptive sister where they find out he died of AIDS and get the name of his partner. While with his partner the biggest plot twist of all happens. Her son had actually gone to the convent in Ireland looking for her but the nuns lied and said they had no way of contacting her since she gave him up. Their journey literally came full circle as she discovers her son was actually buried in Ireland at the very convent that Philomena had visited multiple times trying to find him.

Even though she had the right to be angry and rude to the nuns about lying to both her and her son and keeping them apart forever, she wasnt. She forgive them for what they did and told Martin that she doesnt want to hate anybody and how his anger "must be exhausting." Her story is published to help bring to light the tragedies that happened to these young unwed women in Ireland who are still trying to find their children.

This film was not at all what I was expecting. When you watch this kind of film you pretty much expect a happy ending, and when one doesnt happen it kind of just leaves you hanging in disbelief. The only issue I have with this film is that it felt way to rushed at the beginning and the viewer was just immediately thrown into this story. Other than that I love the dialogue between the two characters and how the story is told. While in a way it does demonize the nuns a bit, Philomena is there to remind the viewer of forgiveness and how holding a grudge and being upset cant change anything. The film I believe is a great lesson on forgiveness and moving on. Even when you have the right to be upset, do your grieving and move on. Don't dwell on your anger too much or it can destroy you as it almost does to Martin at the end. This film is one I highly recommend everyone seeing, but definitely have the tissues ready.


photo credit: http://netflixlife.com/2015/09/25/50-best-movies-on-netflix-philomena-is-added-to-the-ranking/

A Man Out of Time

Steve Rogers started out as a small kid in Brooklyn who didn't like bullies and turned into America's hope for defeating the Nazi's during World War II. Steve, or Captain America as most people know him, was an experiment in a "new breed of super soldier" through the US Army. He became a lot more than people realized when he saved the world from Hydra in "The First Avenger." Cap was later discovered frozen and still alive after decades of being an icicle in a ship. In the first Avengers movie we see Steve begin to deal with all that has changed since he'd been asleep; but, it's not until "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" that we really see Steve coming to terms with his situation.

Steve Rogers holds his values very close to his heart, and is rarely compelled to compromise. When Steve first wakes up from the ice he tries to just jump back in and follow orders; but, he finds out from Fury during this film that America isnt the same place it was when he left. He discovered that people are willing to sacrifice those values that were once more important than anything else, "by holding a gun to everyone on earth and calling it protection." It's at this moment that Steve begins to show his frustration and anger towards not only what happened to him, but what people are letting happen to the world. The beginning of the movie opens with this conflict of interest between Steve and Nicholas Fury, the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. when they discuss compartmentalization and how they need to take the world how it is and not as Steve would like it to be.

After this conversation Steve goes on a little reminiscing tour through DC and visits the Smithsonian exhibit on himself and goes to visit Peggy Carter from the first film. After his little visits to these places he goes to visit Sam, a man he met at the beginning of the film, where he is leading a meeting at the VA about learning to deal with their baggage. This is done on purpose because this is what Steve is struggling with and needs to hear. It is also during this scene where Sam, Falcon, explains how he lost his best friend in battle. His story is almost identically to the story of how Cap lost his best friend Bucky. And it's not accidental that the next scene is the first scene where the audience sees the Winter Soldier, who you later find out is in fact Bucky Barnes who survived the fall from the train.

One of my favorite things about this film is that all of the action sequences advance the plot in some way. They arent just thrown in there because why not. They make sense and dont feel forced. They even use deception in the mall in order to avoid an action sequence. In my opinion this movie is an almost perfect balance between character development and action sequences. It's not without it's faults of course, but the good definitely outweigh the bad. This movie is definitely one you want to see, especially if you like the Marvel movies. Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Iron Man are in my opinion the jewels in the Marvel Universe crown.


photo credit: http://www.designbolts.com/2014/03/18/captain-america-the-winter-soldier-hd-wallpapers-facebook-covers/

Elle Woods for President 2016

If you've never seen Legally Blonde Im going to need you to get off this post right now, get on Netflix and watch it immediately. And then since you're there you may as well watch the second one too. Reese Witherspoon plays the incredibly intelligent and energetic Elle Woods in this beloved film. The film starts off portraying her as an unintelligent, crazy, sorority girl who does nothing but obsess over her boyfriend. After her boyfriend breaks up with her (she thought he was going to propose, ouch) she decides to become what she thinks he wants in a woman: a law student. Elle then throws herself into her final semester of college studying and skipping Greek Week to study for the LSATs and trying to get into Harvard Law School to follow her boyfriend. She manages to make into Harvard and heads off to the biggest wake up call of her life.

One thing everyone in this film seems to take for granted at the beginning is how intelligent Elle Woods truly is. She is constantly looked down upon because she likes to party, likes shopping, and wears a lot of pink. What they forget though, is this girl got into Harvard Law School, one of the most prestigious law schools in the country. You have to be pretty smart to make it there, and unlike her former boyfriend she got in all on her own and wasn't wait listed. Even though she is constantly looked down upon and often times humiliated by classmates and professors she is always true to herself. Her bright pink wardrobe and natural blonde hair isn't exactly the norm for the law profession, but she doesn't care. She is very driven and knows what she wants and will always go after it. Elle is the prime example of how just because you don't fit people's expectations doesn't mean that you don't belong there.

Lets talk the what people think of as intelligence for a minute. The people at Harvard looked down on her because she was fashion major in college and they believed her to be lesser than them because she didn't study history or law instead. They believed fashion and hair care maintenance to be useless information not worthy of them to know,; however, this information ends up helping Elle solve her first case, save an innocent woman from prison, and shock everyone in the process. Most girls like her are seen as shallow, vain, and stupid for knowing things like this, but Elle proves that this information is useful and not to mention, difficult to learn. She rattles off fashion information about stitches and fabrics like its everyday knowledge and stops a worker from thinking she can take advantage of her simply because she's a blonde. Elle Woods is intelligent and if she wasn't she never would've made it to Harvard.

She goes through a transformation throughout the film and her motivations change as she matures and discovers who she is. She goes from wanting to win back her boyfriend, who she later turns down at the end of the film, to wanting to work at a law firm and become a lawyer. She also helps change one of the characters (her ex boyfriends new fiance) and they both ditch the guy and become best friends. This act is rare in Hollywood is probably one of the reasons that this movie is still so popular among women.

photo credit: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0250494/

I know my value, anyone else's opinion doesn't really matter.

     In the show, the leader of the SSR is easily swayed and manipulated by corporate powerhouses. He's too scared to stand up and fight for what's right. He just rolls over and plays dead whenever trouble arises. Peggy is the complete opposite. She doesn't know the meaning of the word surrender. She'll walk into something knowing 100% that it's a trap without a drop of fear on her face. She has no problem with a challenge. In fact she relishes it. That's what this show is about. It's about this incredible woman who has to face all these impossible odds and gender stereotypes and overcome them to prove everyone wrong. This is a valuable lesson to learn not just for women but for everyone. Everyone is going to face impossible odds sometimes, and sometimes it's easiest to just role over and give the person what they want. The hard part is fighting. Fighting for what you believe in and never giving up even when everything is against you. Peggy doesn't give up and refuses to let her frustrations get the better of her. At the end of season 1 she says one of my all time favorite quotes (which I just so happen to have hanging on my wall next to me right now), "I know my value. Anyone else's opinion doesn't really matter."

     My ultimate favorite Marvel superhero is as underrated as they come, and also easily forgotten about. Agent Peggy Carter's first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was in Captain America: The First Avenger. She was a strong, hard working and incredible capable agent of the SSR who not only helped train Captain America, but inspired him to be more than a dancing monkey. Peggy is more than just Steve Rogers love interest. She is responsible and strong and more than capable of taking down anyone who gets in her way. Peggy is such a popular character that Marvel decided to create a spin off series all about Agent Carter and her adventures after Steve is pronounced dead. This series comes at a perfect time within the Marvel world as Peggy is one of the founders of S.H.I.E.L.D which was just dismantled in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. It's an interesting time for these to be airing because it gives Marvel a chance to fully explain the creation of S.H.I.E.L.D and why certain scientists were brought in to work for them in the beginning.
     The show starts off explaining the situation Peggy is currently in. She's being unappreciated at her job and being treated more like a secretary rather than a qualified field agent. Then Howard Stark shows up and asks her to commit treason in order to help him recover his stolen inventions and prove his innocence. This conversation sets up the entirety of season 1 of the show. This will not be the first time Agent Carter goes off on her own and ends up cracking the case because her male counterparts refuse to listen to her unless its to ask for their lunch order. Ms.Carter is is constantly belittled in post-WWII society due to her gender and though it bothers her considerably, it never fully effects her ability to do the work she tasks for herself. Even when other people get the credit for her work simply because it's just not possible a woman just saved the entire city so there's no way she was involved, she doesn't let it phase her. Yes she gets frustrated, but she knows how to handle it and how to manipulate them in a way that gives her more freedom.
     While she does have love interests in the series, they are never the true focal point of any episode. She has two men, of whom she is very much interested in, but she never sacrifices who she and what she wants for them. Ms.Carter does not need a man in her life (except Mr.Jarvis cause they're bffs) and she never puts her relationship with either of them above the mission and above herself. She puts it off to the side and says okay we'll deal with this thing later its not important right now. She never thinks about anything other than the mission and protecting people from those who want to hurt them. Once the mission is over then she'll take some time for herself, but overall Peggy's true love is her job. What made her and Steve such a good pair was how dedicated they both were to their jobs. They loved what they did and understood that sometimes they didn't come first.
     Agent Carter is strong willed and never takes no for an answer, The show gets a chance to explain to people just how amazing this woman is and how talented she can be. And this post basically turned into a giant rant about how much I love Peggy Carter more so than an analysis but she's to underrated not to talk about. The show is all about female empowerment and how women can be just as powerful and strong as men can be no matter the job they are tasked. Agent Carter is the perfect example for people everywhere about how to act in the face of adversity and how to overcome it. I highly recommend watching this show as it shows so many parts of the Marvel Universe that we love today. For example you get to see the Howling Commandos, the place where Black Widow was trained in the Soviet Union, Jarvis in the flesh, Howard Stark, and the creation of S.H.I.E.L.D. Plus the characters in it are wonderful and incredibly three dimensional. It's a wonderful show that I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys the Marvel Universe.

photo credit: http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/Agent_Carter_(TV_series)

Age Of Ultron and why it's my least favorite Marvel Movie

     Im sorry this post is a couple weeks behind. I got really sick and was unable to post for awhile. Im feeling a lot better now though and will be get back to talking about my favorite (or in this case least favorite) films.

     I know a lot of people who really enjoyed Age of Ultron (AOU), and truthfully if it had come at a different point in the Marvel Universe I probably would've too. In my opinion, it's as if Iron Man 3 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier never happened in this film. The characters almost appear to go backwards in their development. In Winter Soldier Steve is unsure whether or not he wants to continue in his military career, but in AOU he is suddenly all for it and is at home there. With Tony, he goes from having a panic attack just from the mention of New York City, and now he is suddenly talking about flying through a wormhole in space like it means nothing to him. Yes the film implies that time has passed but what happened during their adventures is not shown or talked about so it's impossible for the viewers to understand the developments, especially between Natasha and Bruce Banner. 

     My biggest issue with this film is the relationship between Bruce and Natasha. How can Natasha go from being terrified of the Hulk to suddenly being comfortable enough to touch his hand? It doesnt make sense. The only character in this film who I believe acted as they normally would was Bruce. He gets to a point where he is tired of everyone using him for the Hulk, which is exactly what Natasha does and that is why he leaves at the end of the film. A vulnerable Natasha does make sense after the events of Winter Soldier and how she began to show a more vulnerable side to Steve; but, what does not make sense is her sudden change of heart towards the Hulk. Maybe it wasnt sudden in the story line, but on screen and whats shown to the viewers (not in the implied timeline) it is random and appears out of nowhere.

     The film also has a lot of pointless action sequences. The final sequence is incredibly long and gets quite boring after the first 10 minutes. There's no purpose for the action sequences to be that long and that flashy. At least not at all of them. Yes it is an action movie and its Marvel so those two things are expected. but if you dont deviate sometimes and all of your films are set to the exact same template its going to get old real fast. I think that's why I like IM3 and WS so much. It's not just filled with action sequences for the sake of having an action sequence. There is good characterization as well as a well paced film. Ultron has no pace and is all over the place. It's boring frankly. There are some good one liners but that's about all this film has to offer. To me it just feels like a filler movie. It's just there to tie things together and set up the next one. The next one being Civil War, which the first reviews are coming in for now and frankly I cant tell if Im excited or scared, probably a little of both. 

     Though I really dont like this film, I do recommend seeing it. It has some funny moments and things that you need to see for the next films, but dont expect a lot from it. 

photo credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peONizo8PbU 

Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist

Tony Stark is all of those things listed above and so much more. In this post I want to talk about what is, in my opinion, one of the greatest superhero movies of all time: Iron Man 3. Most films of the genre end with the battle and the heroes saving the day and woohoo all is great and life is swell. What's interesting about IM3 is that the story takes place after the battle. Things happened to Tony during the battle of New York (The Avengers) that would seriously mess a person up mentally. What I love about this film is that the screenwriters didn't portray Tony as unscathed. He's scarred like anyone would be after flying through a wormhole into space thinking you were going to die and then falling back down to earth and your best friend, who happens to be a giant green rage monster, catches you and saves your life. IM3 shows the downsides of begin a superhero and also helps explain his actions in later films that led to the creation of Ultron who you know tried to kill everyone on earth. Tony Stark loses his suit and is shown for what he truly is: human.

Tony loses a bit of himself after the battle of New York. His wit and charm is still there but he has more of a darker tone when he says things or does things. He tries to hide it but slowly realizes he cant always do that. The first instance we see this in the film is when he's out to lunch and some kids ask for him to sign a drawing they did of him going through the wormhole. Upon seeing this something happens to him that makes him run out of the restaurant thinking he was poisoned; however, Jarvis informs him that he just had a panic attack. One of my favorite things about this movie is how it portrays mental disabilities, such as panic attacks, and doesn't try to sugar coat it. He has them multiple times throughout the film and they are always shown in their entirety. Here is this superhero, who millions of people look up too, suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This subplot is all about Tony finding himself and reconciling with who he is as Iron Man. The entire middle part of the movie he spends out of the suit with a little kid named Harley and has to solve everything without his gadgets. Even without Jarvis. Tony goes completely on his own and has to figure out who he is and how to stop the villains with nothing but his brain.

The film doesn't have a lot of action sequences such as earlier films like The Avengers and Iron Man 2. What it lacks in action though, it makes up for with superb character development. Tony Stark is the control freak of all control freaks. He is a man of science who desperately needs to be in charge of the room and control everything that's happening in it; however, after New York that changes. He just fought off an alien invasion and flew a bomb through a wormhole into outer space. I don't think control is exactly what he's feeling right about now. So now that suddenly he can't explain what happened and the science behind it he has to go back and re-evaluate his entire life. Imagine tomorrow finding out that everything you ever though to be true was a lie. Anyone would struggle with that. That's one of my favorite things about the film is that it shows that even hero's suffer this way. And at the end of the movie, Tony isn't even the one who saves the day and beats the villain. It's his girlfriend Pepper that ends the fight against Killian (villain of the film).

One of the unsung heroes of the film is Harley, the young boy who Stark spends a lot of his time with in the film. Tony discovers that he wont be able to have the suit for his next attack and has another panic attack. Harley basically says okay you cant have what you're used to, so go make something else to help. Without Harley Tony never would've been able to help stop Killian and who knows if he would have reconciled with who is he and the problems he experiences. That moment is the last panic attack we witness Tony having, showing the importance of Harley's words.

The superhero genre is usually filled with lots of action and little character development; but, Iron Man 3 does the complete opposite, and it works. With so many films in the Marvel Universe non-stop action would get boring and repetitive and would sacrifice plot to add more action sequences so the plot makes no sense with the rest of the films *cough cough Age of Ultron cough cough*. Iron Man 3 is, in my opinion, what all superhero movies need in their sequels. Personally I'm not a fan of one or two dimensional characters. They're boring. Iron Man 3 expanded the characters and who they are and created some incredible three dimensional characters that were beautifully crafted. Only to have it all torn down and ripped to shreds up the monstrosity that was Age of Ultron... but we'll talk about that next week.


photo credit: http://www.comicsonline.com/2013/05/movie-review-iron-man-3/