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Reviews
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
More than a pleasant surprise
I honestly had no idea what to expect walking in to this film; the trailer was laughable, intriguing at best, and although everything I heard was positive, it was also vague, as if to preserve some precious secret. What caught me off guard was that the secret was blatantly obvious: Brokeback Mountain goes beyond the boundaries of any particular genre. There is, in large part, romance, but it can almost be looked on as a seriocomedy at points as Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) fall for each other in a kind of awkward, stumbling fashion. You've likely all heard the story by now: boy meets boy, boys fall in love, boys drift apart, boys attempt to overcome obstacles to retain their love. Not exactly a standard Hollywood story-- and this is what makes it so good. It's a touching account, a bittersweet love ballad in filmic form; it's not just two men having sex, it's two people attracted on the basis of personality and companionship. It's safe to say this is groundbreaking. Never has the cinematic mainstream seen something so counter-culture based, yet still sound in terms of quality and staying power. With exceptional performances by each and every actor, a haunting, equal parts sparse and full score, and so much more than two teen idols hooking up. This is an intensely emotional experience, far beyond the barriers set by usual mainstream movies. A-.
Swing Kids (1993)
It don't mean a thing...
It's hard to find a film that accurately depicts how the youth of Germany reacted to the Nazi movement during World War II. While this particular movie may not be the best at portraying the way things were, it does a wildly entertaining, bang-up job of showing what one sector of that world may have looked like: the swing kids. With their controversial music and underground dance parties, the kids felt as if they could rebel without really rebelling. Here, we focus on three young boys with unkempt hair and an initial inability to conform: Thomas (Christian Bale), Peter (Robert Sean Leonard), and Arvid (Frank Whaley, who tragically has obtained perhaps one or two roles worth of noting since). Thomas and Peter are coerced into joining the Hitler Youth, while Arvid lags behind, finding himself torn between supporting his friends and sticking to the music. Conflicts of interest arise, violence and hatred becomes more and more widespread, and friends and family alike are split up over the issue of who's right and who's safe. Although the narrative and editing styles are fairly average, and no real new ground is broken, this is a genuinely fine film in teaching diversity, individuality, and holding to one's scruples. The performances turned in by the three leads, Kenneth Branagh, and Noah Wyle are remarkable, and it is worth a watch, perhaps a few.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
An all time favorite
I can't accurately explain how I feel about this film. Easily one of Burton's finest, Nightmare tells the tale of Jack Skellington, the unspoken ruler of Halloween Town. Jack, the Pumpkin King, has tired of the yearly celebration for which the town owns its name, and longs for something more. On a long, lonely night, he literally stumbles upon Christmas Town, filled with lights and pleasant sounds and completely absent of death. On his return to Halloween Town, Jack, enchanted by this new place, attempts to explain its splendor to the rest of Halloween Town. It is lost on almost all of them, except for the lovelorn Sally, who longs to be closer to Jack. Eventually, the town's inhabitants come around and, in response to Jack's request, make Christmas theirs for the year. Danny Elfman and Tim Burton never disappoint, and the marriage of Elfman's music and voice with Burton's production is nothing short of magical. The characters--the confused leader Jack, the hopeful and lost Sally, the villainous Oogie Boogie, and (perhaps most delightful of all) Boogie's cronies Lock, Shock, and Barrel, to name a few--are beautifully fleshed out and entertaining beyond description. This film takes you in and does not lose you its full running time. It is one to go back to again and again; there's always something new to pick up on, a twist you hadn't quite caught. A children's film, and yet considerably darker and more mature, The Nightmare Before Christmas can catch anyone's eye, no matter how old or young they are. I'd recommend this to, well, the world at large.