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The Way Back (I) (2010)
7/10
Worth watching but gets sidetracked
24 March 2011
Warning: Spoilers
*spoiler* "For both book and movie" I wanted to like this movie allot more than I did, if you read the book, I can't really understand why they deviated from the original story so much and why they added some unnecessary characters.

Suffice to say that in the book the escape was much more structured, the harrowing trek to the Siberian camp not told in the movie and the interrogation scenes were watered down and told in a different way.

The unity of purpose and resilience of the group and the depth of these individuals were not really drawn upon neither were all of the people that assisted them in their journey. The extraordinary unselfish hospitality of the Tibetans or their communal culture was hardly depicted at all.

In the end the movie just ran out of steam and I would have appreciated an additional layer of realism, one that would have better exemplified the determination of the human condition on a level that I don't think was truly successful in the film. This movie should be more about the people and not just the visuals.

I attribute this to the lack of 'pace' in the movie 'forgive the pun' and a weak screenplay. I still liked the movie but it missed the mark to becoming a true 'classic'. I understand that a movie is not supposed to be the book but in this case even though the acting was superb, it missed the depth of the human element that the book exalted.
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8/10
Resurrection ship. The beginning is the end. Ouroboros
22 October 2009
After a very disappointing final episode of the series that answered and revealed naught, the plan finally digs deeper into the motivations and questions that a created construct has about it's creator and what it means to develop into an evolved human prototype. From my estimation the plan is both the beginning and the definitive ending of this exotic and brutally honest space opera. It brings full circle the entire series. The fact that it is pieced together like an elaborate jigsaw puzzle is apropos in my mind.

The eternal recurrence, that this has all happened before, this is a complex morality tale that both satisfies and justifies many unanswered questions that I had, it places its brand upon the entire series and I can now breath a sigh of relief that this was truly one of the best dramas in television. No longer a hurried, convenient open exit, the end is now the beginning and so we must continue to wonder and to speculate on what the idea of humanity really means.
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The Prestige (2006)
8/10
Observation that irks me but still a great film
17 August 2007
Warning: Spoilers
The Prestige is a very good movie and I have watched it several times. I found the acting, rivalry and drama to be superb. However having read biographies of the Great Man Tesla and I would recommend you do as well, as he was the father of AC current, robotics and radio, and led the life of an obsessive compulsive Genius, giving his patents away to Westinghouse, ruined financially in the end. My difficulty with the end of this movie is one of knowledge. Tesla creates a machine that can duplicate animal or thing, yet does not possess the foresight to duplicate the thing he needs the most, the financial ability to become independent, by replicating the money he needs so much and to turn his dreams into reality. I understand this is just a movie and all movies have flaws but this one slip spoils it for me somewhat but it is still worth the watch.
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Apocalypto (2006)
8/10
Apocalypse all over again
20 June 2007
This is a magnificent film, despite the warranted criticism of the Director's personal life and how the film was stifled and stalled by controversy unjustly so. Too bad because this story is epic and monumental, a clash of cultures, sophisticated but primitive civilization encroaches upon those who live by the reality of the self-sustaining jungle, immersed by the understanding of their nature.

It wasn't so long ago that we existed in a world of distorted ritual and superstition, (we still do) where once we had alchemy we now have chemistry. Where once astrology held sway. Astronomy is now the herald of the day. The symbolism of this movie works on so many levels. How the increasingly impoverished Mayas used the science of the eclipse to eclipse the fact of their own empires demise. Using science and observable fact as a mask for sacrifice and superstition. Themes repellent and relevant for today and a warning to those who steal ritual from nature to use as a means of control and power through shock and awe and fear in this we are all diminished by this spectacle of grandeur.

Then there is the Shaman's apprentice bound to his own domain and the world his culture created gaining power as the run goes on. Jaguar sacrifice, man becomes jaguar, and in his own element the hunt is on. The hunter becomes the hunted. The goal is born out from the will of the individual, the rescue and survival of his family and culture combined to himself, his own identity becomes the retreat into the wilderness as an answer to preservation.

We are all striving to survive in these changing times what matters are the quality of our intentions and the nobility immersed in our deeds.One culture advances and the other retreats, or is it just the other way around? I guess the point is does the purity of 'Eden' reside in its simplicity and the idea of living within your means? No matter how flawed this may be.
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9/10
Watch it and spread the word, start a diary, tell your story.
24 April 2007
This is one of those feel good movies and sure it is cliché. But it shows us that changing your point of view is possible. We usually will go the way of the mob; most people do not take the time to critically think. Why, because thinking is difficult it is hard to do. If it were easy the world wouldn't be so fragmented. So align yourselves with people that have that spark and move forward together.

Human thoughts, human actions, human outcomes, this is one message that this movie teaches. Find a mentor and be a mentor to others. Everything starts from within, every word every action heals or harms. Simplistic sure, but everything starts from that seed of an idea and I wish that everyone can have an encounter with a teacher that inspires and helps you along.
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