Stand by Me

Rob Reiner, 1986

IMDB

4/5

Stand by Me is not just a movie about a group of boys searching for a rumored dead body. That's all secondary. It doesn't really even matter if there even is a body at the end of their journey. Stand by Me is just an honest coming-of-age piece that will force any man watching to revisit their youth. The rapport between the four boys is identifiable to any grown man. Their world was a world that existed long before bullying was considered a punishable crime. They were living in a world where spankings were expected, getting picked on was the norm. When cold cuts cost $1 and the older men were slicking back their hair and driving fast cars.

Very much like Gordie recalls his youth after seeing a newspaper article, this film conjures up memories of your own youth. That group of friends that you would spend the summers running through the neighborhood with. Back then, they seemed like they would be life-long companions. Little did you know they were just those people who were there at that particular point in time. Those friends come and go. But for that little blip in time, they are your guides... your mentors, your support.

The film goes down as another one of Stephen King's masterpieces that made the successful transition to the big screen. King has a way of capturing the essence of relationships between people. He has also displayed the ability to see things through the eyes of children as he did in his 1986 novel It. There is a lot more to this movie than a fat Jerry O'Connell "sincerely" drinking game. It's a portal to your own past, when you had your whole life in front of you and the companionship.

Bloodline

Glenn Kessler / Todd Kessler / Daniel Zelman, 2015

IMDB

4/5

Bloodline is a very different piece of episodic television. We have now been spoiled by amazing pilots, episodes that completely pull us in upon first viewing. Many years after Lost (possibly the greatest pilot of all time), the standards are basically set and expectations are always high. Honestly, Bloodline's pilot isn't all that great. It's undeniably bold, you have to give it that. Not many writers have the balls to show the final events of the season in the first episode. That sort of tactic exudes confidence in the sense that you feel self-assured that everyone is going to stick with it waiting to see WHY what happened actually happened. And for a couple of episodes, you sit there wondering if you really did see all that you really needed to see. You decided to hang in there because of the veteran cast: Kyle Chandler, Ben Mendelsohn, Sissy Spacek, Sam Shepard. But then, there's a shift. It's actually hard to reflect on the season and determine when exactly this shift is, but it's somewhere around the fifth episode. The amount of character development in such a short period of time is stunning. You get pulled into the dysfunctional family dynamic and you don't want to leave. The series is so menacing and yet so alluring. The dream sequences, past memories constantly resurfacing in their present moments, talking to imaginary figures. All while trying to run a family business and dealing with the same conflicts that many families do in terms of competitiveness and jealousy. Anyone with siblings likely will identify with many of the conflicts that arise, hopefully without the whole murder and criminal elements at play. The series really serves as a coming out party for Ben Mendohlson who is just fantastic in his Danny character. But it doesn't stop with him, the series is perfectly cast. Not one bad performance. Everything is so well executed that by the conclusion of the first season you really don't want to leave the Rayburn Inn. And that's strange because you've spent enough time there by the 13th episode to realize how foreboding the place can be when you get off of the beach and venture inside.

Europa Report

Sebastian Cordero, 2013

IMDB

2/5

A group of astronauts are deployed on a mission to Europa, one of Jupiter's moons where there is suspicion of alien life or at least the evidence of past life.

So many films in the found-footage genre use the less is more device when it comes to employing something freaky or creepy. There is an expected build-up of tension, suspense, anticipation. Sometimes, like the foundational found-footage genre-creator The Blair Witch Project (a personal favorite that gets a lot of praise on this blog), it's a device that's used very effectively. There you are getting a gradual increase in the amount of creepy stimuli. At first it's just a little pile of sticks in the woods. Then it's the chilling cries of a baby. And then of course the climax at the house. It's about pacing, accumulation and then release. Structure.

Here, you wait for delivery that just never comes. It starts off as a little flash on the screen that one of the astronauts sees from the ship. Then it's another flash. Then it's another flash with some camera distortion. Then some more camera distortion. You continue to get teased and teased for the duration of the film and by the end it's just not enough. The documentary-style interviewing recounting that events that occurred feels faulty and unnecessary. The set design is impressive in regards to the space craft and it's endless surroundings, but there are points in the film where you just want to get off the damn thing and explore. There are no rules set in stone in terms of a story like this, it can go anywhere. But it's supposed to be a Sci-Fi Thriller. Instead of any thrills it has the mildness of Contact without the quality. Its a film that feels too restricted, too minimal. Upon looking back to some of the much better space movies: Blade Runner, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Alien, Starship Troopers, Moon... Europa feels very scant and very forgettable. 

Antarctica: A Year On Ice

Anthony Powell, 2014

IMDB

3/5

Antarctica is like Alaska to some of us. An unforgiving landscape, isolated, frigid. One of the last pure, natural territories. And yet, while it does seem like a rather uninviting place, there is something so fascinating about going there. Maybe its the adventurous nature to it. A continent at the bottom of our planet, very difficult to actually get to. In essence, logistically, it's like visiting another planet. Our technological advances have made it possible to stay there for an extended period of time. This documentary is about the people who do just that. These people, all employed by various countries and in a wide variety of positions, spend anywhere from a few months to years on "the ice" (as many of them call it). They basically live in airtight dwellings that resemble space stations. Their occupational duties consume most of their time, but there are gaps here and there where they can engage in recreational activities. With limited resources and restricted mobility, they have to work with what they have to pass the time. DVD's, Emails, reading,  conversation. There are periodic shipments of cargo to Antarctica that arrive in shipping containers that bring goods to everyone there. But its the little things that make this film interesting. What if you want a beer at the end of the day? Is it even possible to get a cold one in your hands? These types of things come up. Not so formally answered, but you do see an annual celebratory dinner event where multiple bottles of red wine fills the tables. We learn that no pets or children are allowed on the continent, so the whole living with your family is out of the question. How is the internet service you might ask? Well, it's there. But it's presumably satellite based, so probably not that good or reliable. You see that although they are completely removed from their families and friends, freezing their asses off, and heartsick over things we take for granted here (like avocados)... They are still happy to be there. So happy that many of them return season after season. It's a very fascinating piece of work filled with some stunning photography of the frozen continent and a lot of interesting people who are bold enough to venture to the bottom of the planet to spend some time there.