Nuremberg

A generally well-produced TV-Miniseries, with a particularly shocking second act. It doesn't deeply challenge issues, but informs, historically and emotionally.

The Nuremberg trials were a series of prosecutions run jointly by Allied nations in the wake of World War 2, to sentence the captured Nazi leaders for war crimes carried out under their command. Nuremberg was produced in 2000, starring Alec Baldwin as cheif prosecutor Robert Jackson, and Brian Cox as Hermann Göring - the former second in command of Nazi Germany, who establishes himself as a very Hitler-esque figure, with his radical ideas backed by incredible charisma.

The film portrays Jackson as idealistic, and Göring as conniving. Jackson is determined that the Nazis be given a fair trial; that justice be served. Göring is determined to exploit the court system to escape his fate. The two serve as tent poles for the two sides of the case, but there are a plethora of other characters and subplots revolving around them.

Touching The Void

Based on a true story, Touching The Void delivers an extraordinary tale of human survival, with breathtaking re-enactment that packs emotional punch.

In 1985, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates attempted to climb the west face of the Siula Grande - a 6.3km ascent that had never yet been completed. The pair climbed alpine style; this meant no camps halfway up, and no more equipment than the two of them could carry. Joe admits, in hindsight, they were a bit stupid.

Touching the void is a 2003 documentary based on the book by Joe Simpson, detailing their climb, and almost fatal descent. The film uses talking heads (that is, interviews with the climbers themselves), along with performed re-enactments filmed on location at the slope, to convey their struggle to survive, and the brutal decisions each had to make.

The Bourne Legacy

Awkwardly woven into the plot of the previous trilogy, The Bourne Legacy does as it's supposed to: it cashes in on past successes, and delivers a good enough film to sell tickets.

Sometimes sequels can be great things. They can develop a character, expand a world, explore new ideas, deliver new thrills, and make a healthy profit for the movie industry - all built upon the foundation of an earlier film. The Bourne franchise has had its fair share of this; The Bourne Identity was a well paced, well executed spy thriller that broke a dry spell of good spy thrillers (just have a look at the Bond movies coming out then). The Bourne Supremacy took the idea further - introduced new well-integrated characters, better explored Jason Bourne's motivations, and dialled up the action to boot. The Bourne Ultimatum improved on everything in Supremacy, and tied things up nicely with a happy - and importantly, non-violent ending.

The Bourne Legacy takes that fantastic foundation, chucks it in the dumpster, and goes on to tell its own mediocre story that taints the beauty of the first three films.

Batman & Jesus

This is an assignment I submitted for University. The task was to write a review of 800 words, for a film currently in theatrical release.

Because I had already done over and above this for Batman, and wasn't really interested in trying to condense all those thoughts, I decided to use 800 words to layout (in brief) the parallel between Batman and Jesus.

Once again, spoilers follow...

The Dark Knight Rises

       An Analysis of Metaphor

If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, then you become something else entirely… A legend, Mr. Wayne

-Ra’s Al Gul, Batman Begins

The Dark Knight Rises is the final instalment in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. The films track the journey of Bruce Wayne, an orphaned billionaire who takes on the alter ego Batman in order to fight crime, and save the city of Gotham from destruction. In this tale, Nolan creates a parallel in Batman to that of Jesus Christ. The most obvious points of reference for this metaphor are in the death and resurrection of Jesus in the Christian tradition, as compared with Batmans’ in the final film – each as a sacrifice on behalf of the people.  Jesus is also invoked on a deeper level by the construction of Bruce Wayne’s character, and the way the trilogy deals with themes like, justice, compassion, hope and discipleship.