Posts by Jeremy Butler

Closer to the Moon has quite an intriguing premise behind it. Six people pull off a daylight bank car robbery in the highlight of the socialist era, which we all recognize as a time when crime was believed to be a capitalist byproduct. Mark Strong and Vera Farmiga headline the cast as two members of the convicted six who are scheduled for the crime; however, before they stand before the firing squad, they are ordered to star in a real-life film adaptation of their crime to serve as an educational video.

Despite the gloomy premise, the film is actually very upbeat with the condemned men and one woman essentially making the most of the time they have left rather than spending their time dreading their fate. At one point, Strong’s character actually commandeers the director spot (in the fictional film) for the film due to the director’s inebriation. The film also develops in an interesting way with the details of how the plan for the heist came about as well as the actual heist itself being a mystery until midway through the film. There is further intrigue due to the primary antagonist’s belief of a deeper conspiracy being in the works and his dedication to attempting to unearth it by any means necessary.

Two strangers lost at sea. What to do? What to do? Well, in the case of The Surface, the thing to do is be suspicious of one another and stay on opposite ends of the boat. Or at least that is how we begin. As expected when there is nothing to do at sea and you are trapped, the only recourse is communication and to question the choices that brought you to this particular situation. Trust me, there is plenty of reflection in this tale of two strangers thrown together by circumstance and forced to work together to overcome physical obstacles as well as a few emotional ones.

It took a minute to get my bearings with the story, as the beginning is not big on dialog. The story is almost ten minutes in before the first word is uttered. Instead it focuses on Mitch (Sean Astin) as he goes through basic tasks such as getting up, preparing a pack, and readying his boat before leaving his home. His first stop is to his mother at a treatment facility. Due to his mother’s Alzheimer’s, Mitch engages in a one-sided conversation which gives the first indication into his life, revealing an undercurrent of sadness. I at first surmised the reason for the sadness was his mother’s situation; however, as the film progresses, it is abundantly clear that the reasons go much deeper.

Good Kill is a term used by drone operators to signify whether ordinance have successfully hit the intended target however the term takes on some much more meaning. Ethan Hawke portrays a former jet pilot now transitioning into a position as a drone operator. Day in and day out, he surveillances areas from thousands of miles away periodically eliminating targets that would look to destroy American lives. However when his section is loaned out to the Central Intelligence Agency, the clear cut targets become less clear cut and both his personal and professional life begin to suffer as he struggles with the morality of what he does.

Ethan Hawke is Major Thomas Egan, a former jet pilot transitioning into the position as a UAV operator. Egan is not entirely comfortable in his new position, preferring the inside of a fighter jet to a bunker. Early on, it is clear that Egan is trouble by his situation. Despite being able to go home and be with his family as opposes to being deployed with the possibility of never seeing them again, Egan is as his wife would say is miles away.

Not really sure the title matches the film, but then perhaps there is a hidden significance that I’m not getting. Well, here is a real gritty tale about addiction told within the context of a love story. Animals follows a young couple that appears to be so deeply in love that they are willing to do anything for one another. In fact the only thing that seems to have the capacity to tear them apart is their shared drug addiction. This film really emphasizes the ideal that couples must have a shared interest. Sorry, that was my attempt at humor.

Animals pulls no punches and really shows the gritty side to addiction, all the while attempting to show a love story. Throughout the film, Bobby and Jude commit petty crime in order to support their habit. In the beginning their cons are somewhat impressive and have a sort of elegance to them; however, as withdrawal sets in, the cons become more and more flawed, and their desperation is almost palpable. This is something that was illustrated very well: desperation. In select scenes, I began to feel a slightly bad for them, especially when the pain and agony of their situation began to tear at the one thing that valued, each other. Here is the conflict; it was those scenes when the film had the most effect and was truly compelling such as in the conclusion of the film when Bobby forces Jude to make a decision that will affect their relationship. In truth, you know what his answer will be before he says anything, but you feel a great deal of dread in anticipation.

What is the world coming to when the President is forced to rely on a preteen kid as his only means of protection? Or at least that is what I’d be wondering if I was Samuel L. Jackson in Big Game. In fact, if I was him, I’d probably fire my entire staff after this adventure. Crash-landed in Finland, the President finds himself alone and being hunted with his only ally being a young kid who is undertaking a traditional rite of passage. I have to say, despite the high stakes, the movie managed to keep things somewhat lighthearted, thereby allowing it to appeal to larger audience. Movie watchers are about to see SLJ in a completely different role as the President instead of his usual action-packed roles.

One of the most powerful men in the world is reduced to prey after Air Force One is brought down over the woods of Finland. Seemingly the only survivor of the wreck, President William Alan (Jackson) Moore is found by young Oskari (Onni Tommila), a native boy who was in the woods to complete his people’s traditional hunter rite of passage, which requires spending the night in the woods and bringing back a trophy. Unaware of his surroundings, President Moore must rely on Oskari’s knowledge to survive, all the while attempting to evade the men who brought down his plane for the purpose of hunting him like prey.

“Life is a collection of moments. The idea is to have as many good ones as you can.”

Anton Yelchin’s reaction to the discovery of the existence of an actual block of time carved out for illicit affairs is probably one of the most comical moments of the film. To further explain, Yelchin’s character has a chance meeting with a beautiful older woman and after a few more scheduled meetings discovers that she is in fact married. The funny thing is the nonchalant way in which she reacts to the revelation, commenting that she told him that she was only available during the hours of 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. I now find myself wondering if this a real thing in European cultures. Have other societies set a time block for having affairs? If so, I suppose that‘s efficient.

So do depravity and nobility go hand in hand? Well, that is how it seems to be in the Royals, the EW channel’s faux depiction of the English ruling family. The show does not gain any points for characters, as many of them are cliché archetypes: the unsure heir to the throne, the drug-addicted socialite daughter, the self-absorbed and media-obsessed mother, the depraved and jealous brother of the king, and the noble albeit naïve king. As I say none of these character types are new; but their depiction in this series did manage to pique my interest as well as push the boundaries of what is permitted on network cable. (Let’s face it, eventually all those censors will be done away with completely.) The Royals is a series that will probably have you wondering: is this really how the class really behaves?

The series begins on a somber note as the family is just informed that the eldest son and heir to the throne has died in a mysterious military accident. As expected, this revelation brings about the immediate realization that the second-born son, Liam, is now the heir apparent to the British monarchy. Liam, who never expected to succeed to the throne, now finds his world turned upside down as he must now step up and become the embodiment of what is expected for a king. It is also worth mentioning that the news of his ascension comes the night after engaging in drunken one-night stand with the daughter of the head of his father’s security detail. See, drama already, as not only is Liam’s life changed, but also the life of Ophelia, who found herself drawn to Liam but is unsure now how to fit into his new world. Let’s take a brief pause; this is not new either, so in terms of breaking new ground, there is not a whole lot of that happening in this series. That said, like it all things, it is more about the journey, and it is worth noting that this relationship is one of the biggest influences of the show as well as the purest relationship of the series. Trust me, that will become abundantly clear after you get a load of the other relationships.