The Lobster (2015)

The Lobster takes a story that has been told a million times and puts an outlandish twist to it to tell some cold truths to its audience. It is set in the near future but that aspect is only there to give the sense that the subjects can not exist in the present but could twenty years from now.

The introduction scene sets up the strangeness that is to come with a shocking scene that automatically locks in the attention of the viewer. David, the main character, is a man whose only company is a dog. He speaks in a mechanical reluctant tone as if he himself questions every sentence he says. David gets sent to The Hotel, a place in which single people get turned into animals of they do not find a partner within their forty-five day stay. The strange prospect of the film is what keeps the viewers attention; you want an explanation but you will not find one unless you think a layer above the literal events that happen. The settings of the film are very claustrophobic, only what is needed is shown and what is shown is intentional.   

The Revenant (2015)

Releasing The Revenant in theaters at the end of 2015 redeemed that whole year in the movie world. That film was a breath of fresh air after dozens of cash-grab flicks. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Glass, a living father who wants nothing more than the well-being of his family in the midst of the violent conflicts between the whites and the Native Americans with which he connects. Tom Hardy plays a hateful Fitch, a man who cares about no one but himself. Although Fitch causes a lot of damage to Glass, he is not the main character that he has to overcome -  nature is.

From the close-ups to the wide aerial shots, every frame of the film is stunningly captivating. The story combined with the beautiful imagery makes for an immersive and thrilling experience. You feel the chilling cold that Glass feels and you feel his fear when he hides from enemies. It will make you think twice about going hiking or camping in the woods. This movie is sure to become a classic man-vs-wild one.

The Kite Runner (2007)

The Kite Runner is an adaptation of Khaled Houseinni´s novel of the same name about an Afghan man haunted by his past. The film begins with a young Amir in Afghanistan at what would be the peak of his friendship with Hassan, his best friend. Amir betrays Hassanś trust by not defending him from a traumatizing experience.

The exposition of the movie felt more complicated than the rest of it as if the director got lazy after the first third of the story. The exuberant filmography and the solid character development was mostly replaced with fast paced dialogue. The child actor playing Amir had more emotional range in his performance than his adult counterpart; in fact most of the acting felt mechanical after the exposition of the plot.

This movie is watchable but it is in now way close to a masterpiece. It’s a nice flick to watch when you feel like watching a movie with a risky PG-13 rating.

The Ridiculous 6 (2015)

Netflix’s The Ridiculous 6 is a recent comedy flick starring Adam Sandler as Tommy/White Knife, a white man adopted by Native Americans after his mother was killed. White Knife finds his five brothers - each with radically different personalities - on his journey to rescue his father who gets kidnapped by the bandits his owes money to.

This movie’s comedy is in no way revolutionary or unexpected. It relies on ridiculous stunts, absurd images, and crude humor to get its laughs from the audience. I did not expect this movie from Netflix especially following Beasts of No Nation, a serious award-worthy film.

If you don’t get offended easily and are willing to simplify your mind and expectations then you will enjoy The Ridiculous 6 as a goofy adventure movie.

It’s a funny movie if you let yourself enjoy it.  

Minority Report (2002)

Minority Report is a science fiction movie set in the year 2054 starring Tom Cruise as John Anderton, the Chief of PreCrime in Washington D.C.
In this movie the crime rate in Washington D.C has dropped to almost nothing because of a new program that allows crimes to be stopped before they happen. John Anderton must find a way to clear his name before he gets arrested when he is accused of committing a crime in the future.
Overall this movie can be considered to be a psychological thriller because of its main theme is questioning the ethics of seemingly good things provided by the government. Although a huge portion of the film is fiction, a great deal of it can be applied to some present day issues.
Minority Report has the upbeat action that you can expect from a movie starring Tom Cruise while providing deeper messages to the viewer. I did not like that many things remained unexplained or underdeveloped but that does not stop the advancement of the plot. Further explaining what the PreCrime program is and how it works could have made it easier to get into the world of the film.
Other than the underdevelopment of some crucial plot points, this movie is very enjoyable to watch.

Narcos (2015)

Based on real events, Netflix’s Narcos tells the story of Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura) - the most feared Colombian drug lord of the late 1970’s and 80’s - and how DEA agent Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook) tries to bring him to justice. The first few minutes of the show lands you right in the middle of the action then back to the beginning of the story making you wonder how it all got to the chaos. By the end of that episode you will have a clear sense of the characters and what their motives are and when the credits roll you’ll be relieved that there are nine more to go. You won’t keep watching because of pesky cliffhangers but because you really want to know what happens next.

The main story splits into Escobar’s urge to get more powerful and Murphy’s goal to catch him. The protagonist is clearly supposed to be Steve Murphy but Escobar’s character is played so vividly that you can’t help but secretly root for him (until you remember that he was a real person). Narcos takes you deep into the Colombian crime world without tacky one-liners or stale visuals that will bore you. A great portion of the show is political but an average person should be able to get a sense of what is happening. The second season is currently in production so there is more Narcos in the future.

p.s. Unless you speak Spanish really well, you should put subtitles on because - other than the fact that the story is set in Columbia - many of the major interactions in the story are not in English.

Schindler's List (1993)

If you’re used to watching 90 minutes movies then Schindler’s List is one that you really need to clear your schedule for because its runtime is 3 hours and 15 minutes. As someone who was not into historical nonfiction, this movie made me more opened to that genre as a whole.

This movie is based on the true story of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a man who used his power as an industrialist to save hundreds of Jews from dying in the Holocaust. The movie starts with Schindler at a Nazi party setting his willingness to swim with the sharks to save people from the horrible things that would come. Then you will follow the building anxiety of the European Jews as their lives change in the early stages of the Holocaust. Liam Neeson portrays Oskar as a man who struggles to hide his good intentions even around though he cares about.

The whole film is in black and white except for few striking details shown in color to increase their significance. This choice of Steven Spielberg gave the movie the bleak tone needed to convey his message to his audience, there was nothing to distract the audience from the raw realities shown. This made the cold winters colder, the deaths more cruel, and the emotions more vivid which makes the fact that the movie is based on reality even more chilling to its audience.

This film not only conveys the panic of the Jewish people but also the life of someone who chose to stand up to the Nazis in the height of their power. It serves as both a warning for history not to repeat itself and a reminder that good people exist.

You should check it out whether or not you like historical nonfiction.