IMDB 250 7.8 - Warrior (2011)

Warrior (2011)

Tommy and Brendan are brothers. They haven't seen each other for years and they don't want to see each other. When their father's alcoholism finally broke the family apart, Brendan stayed with his dad and Tommy went with the mother. When each one independently decides to compete in mixed martial arts (MMA) fighting, it's only a matter of time before they meet up again.

I hate MMA fighting. It doesn't interest me in the least. Nevertheless, as a basis for a sports movie, one activity is as good as another. And this movie does exactly what it's supposed to: you get the training montages, you feel the suspense of each punch and counter-punch, you feel the roar of the crowd and cheer at the victories. The movie has two protagonists and also does a good job of not playing favorites. So although it's inevitable that they'll meet for a big fight at the end, it isn't obvious who's going to win.

Every fighting movie is going to be compared to "Rocky". It's not right necessarily, it just is. And so I have a small complaint about a specific moment in the film. The movie sets up a fight of the unknown Brendan going against an unstoppable machine from Russia known as Koba. Automatically my mind goes to "Rocky IV" but I'm thinking that's unfair. Then, surprise, Brendan's worrywart wife shows up at the match to cheer him on and provide plenty of concerned/excited reaction shots. Alright, I'll let that slide too. But then Koba makes his entrance and it goes too far. Koba and his whole entourage are decked out in Hammer and Sickle-themed clothing. Come on, the Cold War was two decades ago and that's "Rocky IV"! You're doing "Rocky IV"!

Although this movie is certainly not "great", in the "Top 250" sense, I do want to emphasize that it is good. It has exciting action sequences but, like "Rocky", the sequences are meaningful because we know about, and care for, the characters involved.

7/10.
Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 357.

IMDB 250 7.7 - Come and See (1985)

Come and See (1985)

"And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."

During World War II, a boy in Belarus decides to leave his home and join a Belarusian resistance force. Sitting between Nazi German and the USSR, Belarus is a fierce battleground. He'll grow up quickly as he faces the realities of war.

The first third of the movie feels like a coming of age tale - the main character, a boy of about 14 fights with his mother, plays on the beach and meets a girl. In these scenes, and in some that follow, some of the acting is poor or overwrought and some of the direction seems amateurish. But these scenes will be overshadowed by what's to come.

Based on true events, the movie will descend further and further down into Hell on Earth. It depicts the horrors of war not in the usual sense of bullets, tanks and the heat of battle. Rather, in the sense of soldiers rounding up an entire town, locking them in a barn and setting it on fire. Or the scene of a man begging for his life as he's being dowsed in gasoline. It's the kind of movie that's so brutal in its subject matter and so matter-of-fact in its depiction, that it's difficult to talk about.

I don't know when you'd be in the mood to witness atrocity but it's undeniable that its depiction here is sobering and extremely powerful.

8/10.
Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 356.

Stefon Finale

Stefon stops by (for the last time?) to offer tourists some hot spot suggestions:



I was thinking that maybe this segment had jumped the shark. Maybe Hader's laughing at his own jokes more than the audience*. Perhaps. But then you get to a thing like "human R2-D2" and you realize that, like it or not, this is a brand of writing you won't find anywhere else.

* In his defense, certain jokes are hidden from him ahead of time so he ends up hearing them for the first time as he speaks. For better or worse, the whole thing is specifically designed to get him to crack.

IMDB 250 7.6 - Tokyo Story (1953)

Tokyo Story (1953)

A grandmother sits with her grandson and watches him play in the grass. "What are you going to be when you grow up? A doctor like your father? ... By the time you become a doctor, I wonder if I'll still be here."

In 1950's Japan, an elderly couple travel to Tokyo to visit their children and grandchildren. But their children lead busy lives and have little time to talk before the couple must be heading home.

These days, that wouldn't be enough to make a movie. "Tokyo Story" is Japanese, it's black and white, it's from the 50's. It's slow, it's quiet, it's reserved. The "dramatic" things that happen here are things like one of the young children becomes cranky or the dad gets called into work unexpectedly.

But if you can wrap your head around all of the above and see past it, there is beauty in its simplicity. It's extraordinary by being ordinary. The grandparents, the parents, the children, the siblings are all characters we know - we are these characters. And this movie allows us to sit with them and spend time with them and examine and observe.

The grandparents live far away so their time with their families is rare and brief. So what do they spend their time talking about? Train times, the weather, what they'll be eating. If any of these characters says ONCE out of every thousand opportunities, what they really feel, what they're honestly thinking or what any other person means to them, it's a major and dramatic surprise.

Are we any different?

7/10.
Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 355.

IMDB 250 7.5 - Ip Man (2008)

Ip Man (2008)

In 1930's China, the task of assigning computer internet addresses (IP addresses) was not trusted to a mere machine. Only a man - a master of counting at the highest level - could be charged with such an important task. This man is the Ip Man.

In the city of Fansho in the 1930's, Kung Fu schools are everywhere. But even with an abundance of martial artists, one man (Ip Man) stands above them all as the most unstoppable fighting machine. When the Japanese occupy during World War II, the Japanese general in charge of Fansho decides to settle the question of Chinese vs. Japanese martial arts. He sets up a(n underground?) fight club and, before long, forces Ip Man to participate.

Ip Man tells the story of a real man,Yip Man, who invented the martial art school of Wing Chung. And THAT sentence is the extent to which I trust "Ip Man" to be historically accurate. The rest portrays Yip Man as a saint, the Japanese as mustache twirling villains and implies that Yip Man was the rallying cry that allowed China to win World War II. I wondered if the U.S. had a hand in that war but the movie didn't say and I didn't have time to fact-check.

"Ip Man" is a Kung Fu movie through and through... with one twist. Remember the old Kung Fu movies from the 70's where all the dialogue is overdubbed? "Ip Man" does that... but it actually overdubs the Chinese dialog with Chinese. So even though there's fake-sounding speech, you still also have to read subtitles. Not that I mind subtitles, I just can't stand when all the dialogue is overdubbed - it's one of the surest ways of taking me out of the movie completely.

Speaking of languages, one of the central characters is a translator. This is because the Chinese and Japanese don't understand each other. That's a little troubling, then, in the scenes when the Chinese and Japanese characters - who needed his services just a few scenes before - speak directly to each other without him. Whoops!

The writing is weak, the directing is serviceable, the editing is average, the music is particularly cliched and, even if the acting is OK, the overdubbing makes sure that it appears weak. Where the movie excels is in the action sequences. The fighting is lightning-quick and meticulously choreographed at the highest level. In that sense, this movie follows in the vein of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (though the physics involved is a little more down to Earth). And it plays all the hits (one vs. one, one vs. 10, 50 vs. 10, etc.) and all of them is complex and extremely well done. And that, and only that, is why this movie is in the IMDB Top 250.

If you're a Kung Fu fan this movie is a must-see. I am not. The only time a fight is interesting, for me, is when I care about the outcome.

6/10.
Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 354.

Anchorman 2 Teaser Teaser

Whammy.




2013?! WHAT?! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Milk was a really bad choice.