12 Years a Slave

Movie: 12 Years a Slave

Major Actors: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Taran Killam, Paul Giamatti, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Michael Fassbender, Sarah Paulson, Lupita Nyong'o, Brad Pitt

Rating: R

Best Audience: Adults only

Review:

The film "12 Years a Slave" is obviously a huge Oscar contender this year, and for good reason. It depicts the true story of a free man living in New York who gets abducted and sold into slavery. Historically, what happened to Solomon Northup happened to many others. The difference is that Solomon was able to escape and write a book about his journey.

One thing I liked about this movie was that it showed an accurate depiction of slavery void of sensationalism. As a matter of fact, director Steve Mcqueen did not even skim the surface of the horrors done to enslaved humans in that time period. The film shows beatings/whippings, rape, division of families, murder/lynching, and humiliation. It does not show the more sadistic forms of torture, which I won't even begin to list, due to my own inability to stomach those things.

The reason that I think Steve McQueen overlooked the more sadistic side: That was not the point of the film. The film focused more on the psychological struggle humans experience during slavery. If McQueen added a scene where a slave gets boiled alive (which happened), that would have taken the focus away from Solomon's internal struggle. Solomon had to constantly decide whether to keep his head down and do what he was told or fight for what he wanted. He was faced with that decision every day of his enslaved life, and he did not always make the same decision. Sometimes he fought; sometimes he knuckled down. One of the best quotes in this film was "I don't want to survive, I want to live." I felt like that line summed up the whole film.

I also appreciate the fact that this film does not perpetuate division between "whites" and "blacks." It emphasizes the oneness of humanity. Steve McQueen is certainly a directorial artist. The casting was excellent. So many good actors! Chiwetel Ejiofor carried the film. Michael Fassbender and Sarah Paulson were excellent villains. Paul Dano's character will absolutely make your skin crawl, and Lupita Nyong'o will break your heart.

You may want to emotionally prepare yourself before going to see this film, due to the intensity of the subject matter.

World War Z

Movie:  World War Z
Major Actors: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Matthew Fox
Rating: PG 13
Best Audience: Older children, teenagers, adults

Review:

I liked a lot about World War Z.  As a zombie movie, I appreciated some originality.  At times, the zombies acted more like insects than drones or rabid animals, so that was different.  I also liked how they solved the zombie problem.  I won't give it away, but it is a solution that has not been used in any other zombie films.  I loved how they actually used the word "zombie."  Many zombie films shy away from using that word. 

I thought much of the film was unrealistic.  Here I will spoil a few minor things (that won't spoil the movie for you if you haven't seen it).  Israel built a huge wall around the city and were completely sealed off from any zombies at all.  The reason they built the wall was discussed, but I did not think it was a valid/realistic/plausible reason.  Also, Brad Pitt survives a horrendous plane crash.  That was not realistic at all.  I know it's a fictional movie, but even within the zombie-movie world, you have to make the major plot points believable!

We won't even talk about the fact that the movie is absolutely NOTHING like the book.  At. All.

I did not like the movie's pace.  Usually films are slow at the beginning and fast-paced at the end.  This film was the total opposite.  It started out going super fast up front and the last 30 minutes of the film were very slow.  That was unusual. 

The worst thing about this movie is that it was not very character driven.  The movie does not give you a reason to form a connection with any of the characters (not even the main character).  To me, that is the most basic element a good movie needs and that element was simply not there.

If you go see this movie, you will be very entertained if you are not picky about its flaws.  If you are a picky movie-goer, you will not enjoy this.  If you go to movies for action, explosions, and guts, you will like this.