Disc Reviews

I remember the exact moment I learned about this film. I was at the movies; it was the first trailer on the film, and I immediately felt my intrigue build. The trailer didn’t give much away; at the time it felt like a disassembled puzzle joined together by multiple voiceovers, and then the question that tied it altogether was asked: “When was the last time you saw Bin Laden?” After that everything became clear, and I had my first inkling of how important this film was going to be. Once I learned that Kathryn Bigelow would be in the driver seat, I was certain of the film’s importance.

The film starts off with a solid opening, possibly the most fitting opening for the film: black screen and a 911 transmission from a woman trapped inside the World Trade Center on September 11^th shortly after the plane crashed into the building. Cut to 2003; we are introduced to Dan (Jason Clarke, Lawless), a veteran C.I.A. interrogator and Maya (Jessica Chastain, Lawless), a newly assigned rookie agent. At a C.I.A. black site (a C.I.A. controlled holding facility for the detainment of enemy combatants), the two interrogate a low-level Al-Qaeda operative for information that will ultimately help bring them closer to their primary target, Osama Bin Laden.

I think it would be safe to say that ever since Edward Stratemeyer penned The Hardy Boys he has garnered a legion of loyal fans of the popular young adult book series.  For many young readers these books are what planted the seeds for them to later become private investigators or join some form of law enforcement.  Then there were the casual readers like myself who became obsessed with the crime genre and would later move on to edgier writers.  Whatever direction readers may have taken, it’s safe to say that the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew deserve the same respect as other classic characters in fiction like Sherlock Holmes.

I missed out on viewing the first two seasons of the 1977-1979 run of The Hardy Boys, but with each episode being its own self-contained story I was able to pick right up with the story without missing a beat.  For those not familiar with the story, Joe (Shaun Cassidy) and Frank Hardy (Parker Stevenson) are young detectives whose father is a well-known detective, and the brothers simply wish to follow in his footsteps.  In season 3 the brothers have taken a promotion and are now working full time for the Justice Department.

I believe a title change is in order for this movie. For starters, it’s generic and has no appeal; a title should grab you, entice you, and intrigue you. 24 Hour Love does none of that; I understand the title, supposedly time-lining and emphasizing how a single day can alter or destroy the love that exists between two individuals, but after watching the movie, the premise and the title appear to be contradictory. Better titles would have been Love Trials, Unconditional, or my favorite, Commitment. 

The film is broken up into multiple storylines; a few of them reference characters from other stories hinting at the happenings in each of the arcs are occurring simultaneously (that can also be determined by the film’s built-in sequence timeline) but they are otherwise unconnected from one another. The first story entitled “Eternal Love,” covers the topic of jealousy; a husband struggles with his feelings about the relationship between his wife and one of her coworkers. The second story, “Tough Love”, deals with a couple (Flex Alexander and  Tatyiana Ali) who mix business and with pleasure and all the repercussions that come along with it. “Crazy Love,” the most compelling story of the collective, deals with a woman (Lynn Whitfield) who had been taken advantage of by someone she trusted and her confronting him about it. The other storylines featured themes of unplanned pregnancy, financial strains, infidelity, as well as friend betrayal.

The Real Vikings is a DVD collection put out by the History channel and is comprised of three separately-produced programs about the reign of the Vikings.

The last one is the best and is part of the Warriors series hosted by Green Beret Terry Schappert.  Schappert delves into some of the key battles of the early Viking invasions and the methods that made them such effective warriors. In the late 8^th century A.D. the Viking state is disorganized, and the easiest route to fame and glory is through conquest. Conquests then would lead to a rallying behind a leader. In 793 A.D., The sacking of the monastery at Lindisfarne in Northern England sends shock waves through Christian Europe because of its senseless and merciless violence. The Vikings superiority was based on ships which were designed to strike anywhere. Viking warriors were driven by a culture that revered death in battle and made them utterly fearless. It was an honor to be first in battle. They trained relentlessly with many unique techniques and weapons. By the 9^th and 10^th century the Vikings raided anywhere and everywhere unexpectedly, and their mere appearance was often enough to cause their victims to give up. The program also goes into details about weapons, armor, forts, battle styles, and most importantly of all, the invincibility of the Viking war ships.

“Don’t let other cars distract you. Take control of your car. Focus on your own lane. 8000rpm, 2km/h. Give it all you got. Steer now. Thinking will only slow you down…If you lose your drive; you are worse off than a broken car.”

Of course none of that quote is spoken in a lick of English in the film. Thank goodness for subtitles; they allow us to enjoy a film despite not knowing the film’s original language, and Motorway is precisely that: an enjoyment. It doesn’t have the same exact flare of the Fast & Furious series (not including 2 Fast 2 Furious and Tokyo Drift), but it’s original unto itself.