Rush - More of a character study than a traditional sports film, I really enjoyed Howard's latest. I have admired Brühl's work since Goodbye Lenin (a great film by the way) and thought he was fantastic in Inglorious Basterds, but I actually think this might be his best role yet. Hemsworth also does well as the likeable rogue, but as with their real life counterparts it's the duality of the two very different actors which make it such a fascinating watch.
Senna - This film has been on my 'Must Watch' list for years but I just never got around to it. Having enjoyed Rush so much, however, I began to feel guilty for having never watched this highly regarded documentary based on F1 Driver Ayrton Senna.
I was not at all familiar with the man's life, those that are might have a different experience, but I was absolutely blown away by this film. I will not go into specifics for those that wish to watch the documentary fresh as I did, but I was particularly intrigued by certain questions the film raised about nationalism and it's ability to include and exclude, and the importance of national heroes.
Highly recommended.
Undefeated - Again, this was a documentary that I had been meaning to watch for quite some time, but I always seem to find it more difficult to make time for documentaries than I do for Movies or TV. In any case, I managed to catch this on TV just a few hours ago and thought it was engrossing.
As with Rush and Senna, the topic itself (in this case Football of the American kind) was of no interest to me. Having said that, I found myself being carried away by the story of an underdog Football team, a team in every way affected by the school's history and the socioeconomic circumstances of the area.
There were, however, certain segments of the film in which I felt the presence of the camera more than I would have liked. On more than one occasion I had considerable doubts that the reactions and statements from those participating in the film would have been the same had the camera not been on them at that moment. To a certain extent that is unavoidable, but in those moments (which tended to be highly dramaticised) I began to consider how this documentary had been constructed rather than focusing on the people themselves, which is never a good sign.
It is, however, a story with plenty of heart and some genuinely admirable people that is well worth watching.
Topic: Rate the last movie you've seen (Read 1553148 times)
