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jen_john93
Reviews
In the Heart of the Sea (2015)
Different is good . . .
This movie was refreshingly different from most movies. Almost jarring in its realistic portrayal of mid-1800's people and attitudes, warts and all. I loved being taken out of my movie rut.
While munching my popcorn, I felt I was on board the tall-masted sailing ship, dodging the lines, ducking the booms, grabbing the rails to stay on board during heavy seas, the salt water crashing over everything. Just taken in completely. At age 50+ I actually jumped at the scary parts.
This movie is everything a movie should be.
Beautiful cinematography. Great casting, directing, acting, staging, costuming, special effects. The 1820's coastal town (created by special effects) looked real. The re-creation of how life was and how people of the time spoke and behaved was superb - and jarring. We tend today to think we're superior to past generations, by comparison we're just soft.
The script tells a true story and Ron Howard is a wonderful storyteller. As corny as it sounds the cliché about being transported to another time is true here.
I paid for the whole family to see this, plus the conce$$ion$, and I got my money's worth. Thank you, Ron Howard!
America: Imagine the World Without Her (2014)
Can you handle a challenge to your common assumptions?
Knowing this was a documentary was crucial. It is not a "docu-drama" nor mere polemic. It is gimmick-free and startlingly factual.
D'Souza comes from the perspective of an immigrant from the Third World (Bombay, India) who is in a unique position to compare the USA to other nations by way of personal experience.
By comparing the history of the human race to the history of the USA, D'Souza shows where America realistically fits in. He examines some claims of notable critics of the USA and deals with those claims in an intelligent, factual and fair-handed way.
An opening scene that portrays George Washington in battle against the British Redcoats kicks off the hypothetical question, what if America never existed? What would the world look like today - the good and/or the bad?
This movie will provoke thought and challenge your assumptions. Excellent pace, stimulating scholarship, well chosen topic material, spot-on narration, concise interviews with heavy-hitter scholars such as Alan Dershowitz of Harvard Law School, beautiful cinematography, solid musical score.
Take your family, talk about the movie afterward. You will be thinking about what you see - for a long time.