PS Zion
Parables

Teaser: Definitely the funniest movie of this group, it is also one of the best. Armand and Albert Goldman are a gay couple; Armand owns a cabaret called The Birdcage, and Albert is the club’s star drag queen. Armand’s son, Val, meets with him one night to declare that he is engaged to a woman and that the young couple wants their families to meet. What Val initially leaves out is that his fiancée Barbara Keeley is the daughter of ultraconservative Republican Ohio Senator Kevin Keeley. This news does not deter Armand, who decides to do whatever he can to make his son happy, even if it means pretending to be straight for the meeting. As expected, the meeting is disastrous for a multiplicity of reasons that will amuse and entertain the viewer.

Review: It is never easy for someone to change their ways; it requires just the right reason. The Birdcage shows that the love that the parents have toward the children is the catalyst to help them see the world from a different point of view. At first, Armand is resistant to pretending to be something that he is not, but he becomes more accepting once he sees how happy his son is. The same can be said for Senator Keeley and his daughter. Yet, the difference between the two is that Senator Keeley completely changes his outlook on life once he sees that a gay couple acts the same way as a straight couple. Accepting all people is an important message that we should take to heart, or, as they would say at The Birdcage, “We are family!”

© 2012 Philip S Zion

Teaser: Based on true events, City of God follows the life in a favela [shanty town] of Rio de Janeiro from the 1960s to 1980s. The favela is known as “the City of God.” The story centers around two main players, Buscapé and Zé Pequeno, and how they handle the same situations differently. Buscapé constantly dreams of escaping the City of God and making a name for himself by becoming a photographer. Zé wants to become the gang boss of the City of God and acquire as much power, drugs, and women as he can. Though both go about their own lives, they constantly run into each other or into the same situations; they just react to them differently. Eventually, Buscapé does leave for the greater part of Rio de Janeiro and achieves a successful professional life, while Zé does indeed become the gang boss of the City of God.

Review: City of God has elements of neo-noir, romance, crime, passion, dreams, and more. The fact that it is based on actual events makes it a very powerful and sometimes disturbing film, but it is a worthy film that everyone needs to see. In life, we are always faced with choices that will influence us, no matter how small. The film is able to do what life cannot; it shows the different choices and the different points of views that they affect. It is critical to remind ourselves how our actions impact the world and beings around us.

© 2012 Philip S Zion

Teaser: Definitely an unusual film, A Clockwork Orange contains many elements, including but not limited to satire, humor, fright, politics, and metaphors. However, none is more relevant than the very idea of human nature, which is embodied in everyman Alex. Alex is a troubled and self-titled “ultra violence” teenager, getting into gang fights and even raping a woman. One day he goes too far and gets caught after he murders a woman. Instead of serving time in prison, Alex opts for intense psychological treatment. Afterwards, Alex can never act out or even think of violence and lust without his body causing him a great deal of pain. At first, it seems like everything is okay. But this decision has an unexpected effect.

Review: Alex is a symbol for everyone in the world. All of us go through rebellious phases, most often during our teenage years. The redemption comes at the end as Alex thinks of the debauchery. There is a difference between thinking about something, and acting on those thoughts. If some stranger handed you a million dollars to hold while they went to the restroom, you would think about taking the money, and you are lying to yourself if you say otherwise. However, it’s highly unlikely you would act on those thoughts. A Clockwork Orange is a cautionary tale that shows the “ultra-violence” future should we ever act out all our evil thoughts.

© 2012 Philip S Zion

Teaser: A Clockwork Orange and WALL-E are both admonitory films depicting a dark outlook on the future. The Color Purple is a painful reminder of a dark past. In today’s world, there is racism, violence and hate, but these factors were compounded during the early 20th century. Few people had it worse than black women. The Color Purple follows the hard life of Celie Harris. By the time she is a teenager, she has already had two children, both taken away at birth by her father. Soon, she is forced to marry “Mister” Albert Johnson, who treats her worse than a slave, by beating her physically, verbally, and mentally, while committing other horrific acts. Every time joy starts coming into Celie’s life, like her sister Nettie, Albert stamps it out. The last straw is when Celie finds that Albert has been keeping Nettie’s letters away from her for years. She stands up for herself and leaves Albert, cursing him by saying everything he did to her will come back and hurt him. Celie goes off and begins rebuilding her life while Albert falls into ruin. Upon having an epiphany about how bad a man he has always been, especially towards Celie, Albert takes all of his money to bring Nettie and her family from Africa to reunite with Celie and give them a good start in a new chapter of their lives.

Review: The redemption in The Color Purple is more personal than it is in the previous entries. This film needs to be viewed by all so that we can learn from the mistakes of the past and create a better future for all.

© 2012 Philip S Zion

Teaser: Creation is a partial biological and partial fictional film about the life of renowned scientist Charles Darwin during the pivotal moment in his life when he wrote On the Origin of Species. Unlike the cold-hearted and logical scientist as he is often portrayed, Darwin is seen as both a family and initially religious man who is incredibly close to his eldest daughter, Annie. When Annie dies, Darwin begins to question every value he holds dear, including God.

Review: Two prevailing themes are “faith” and “questing.” Darwin is tormented by society and his own faith, yet cannot help himself from searching for the truth to answer the questions that his daughter’s death has left him. As we all know, Darwin would eventually publish his book that has his friend Thomas Huxley declare that he has “killed God.” Though Darwin was ultimately left with more questions than answers, he realized that life is the continual questing for the answers and the faith that answers will come after enough searching and hard work.

(c) 2014 Philip S Zion

Teaser: This suspenseful thriller is filled with shadows. Set in Sweden in 2002, journalist Mikael Blomkvist is set to go to prison in six months for libel when reclusive billionaire, Henrik Vanger, hires him to help solve the mystery of his niece’s death forty years earlier. Although Vanger does not know exactly who did it, he knows it had to be a member of the large and questionable Vanger family. As Blomkvist investigates, he meets hacker Lisbeth Salander, who is interested in helping with both the murder and his own case.

Review: Without giving away spoilers, the film can be gritty and admittedly disturbing, yet mature. It never feels as though it’s exploiting anything or anyone while showing the sometimes-uncomfortable truths in the world. All the characters have demons and ulterior motives. They feel like real people with purposes living in the real world instead of either falling into a cliché of the genre or becoming faceless puppets. Although in Swedish, the dialogue is superb and nothing feels missing or like extra padding. Being nearly two-and-a-half hours in length, it could be understandable that some people would turn away, but once you engage with the story, you are glued to your seat until the credits roll.

(c) 2014 Philip S Zion

Although it never won awards during its initial release, the silent film is perhaps the best example that, like math and music, film can be a universal language. In 2012, a film critic poll by the British magazine Sight and Sound voted it the 8th best film ever made, and in 2014, the magazine voted it the best documentary of all time.

Teaser: The synopsis is simple enough; a man takes his new camera and films happenings around him. These range from the theatre, to trains, to the factories and downtown’s hectic streets (in the Soviet Union). There is no story and there are no actors. Throughout the film, the audience is allowed and expected to make up their own stories and interpretations from the sequence of images. It is because of this that the film would best fits into the categories “vision” and “beauty.” 

Review: I argue “vision” because the film does present a somewhat ideal interpretation of society and how everything has its place and works like a massive machine, or camera. As the cameraman films the world around him, you realize that, as the audience does see his camera shots at times, he too is being filmed with another movie camera, making him an ideal cameraman. He is made to be innovative and the next major development in the art and cultural world willing, at times, to take crazy risks and make sacrifices for his art.

At the same time, there’s “beauty” because everything actually happened. There are no computer graphics and although there are funky and creative edits, everything is real. As a train rushes towards the audience, one may find him/herself holding their breath and hoping the train will pass by overhead without harm. One’s pulse quickens with all the hustle and bustle of traffic in a time before roads and automobiles are the sophisticated feats of engineering they are today.

And yes, the cameraman is at times hanging off the side of a train or straddling two moving cars without the assistance of safety devices or a stunt double. These elements allows much to still be learned from the film nearly 100 years later, and there is a certain thrill knowing that it won’t run out of lessons in another 100 years. It has stood the test of time and its influence in all art forms can never be understated.

©  2014 Philip S Zion

Teaser: Behold possibly the most epic tale ever told. In the land known as Middle-Earth, the forces of good and evil are locked in a seemingly endless conflict. The stalemate was created when, thousands of years before, Isildur, son of King Elendil, took the dark lord Sauron’s power in the form of the One Ring. Soon after, Isildur was slain and the One Ring was lost for all time. That is, until Bilbo the hobbit happened to find it in the cave of Gollum. Ignorant of its true nature, Bilbo brought the One Ring back to his peaceful home known as the Shire. For sixty years, all was well, until the spirit of Sauron again unleashed his evil on the world. This forced the wise wizard Gandalf the Grey to entrust the Ring to Frodo, Bilbo’s nephew, to deliver it to the elven city of Rivendell. There, the elf king Elrond informed a council represented by the Free Peoples that the only way to destroy the One Ring was to put it back where it was made, within Sauron’s own kingdom of Mordor. The council elects a fellowship of nine people to be charged with the task, including the ring bearer Frodo. They are met with constant challenge. It is not long before the fellowship loses Gandalf and Boromir and finally splits to go separate ways. Yet hope is not lost.

Review: The Return of the King is the third part of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Frodo and Sam are charged with destroying the One Ring while the rest of the fellowship tries to distract Sauron by leading the forces of men against the armies of Mordor. Gandalf the Grey has been resurrected as Gandalf the White, and Aragorn must accept his lineage as a descendant of Elendil and the rightful King. The film is filled with numerous themes and messages that seamlessly blend together that make this into a magical masterpiece. As you lose yourself in the story, it becomes easy to see how this is one of the best films of all time.

© 2012 Philip S Zion

Teaser: Since its first publication in 1862, Les Misérables has been praised as one of the best novels of the 19th century. This review is of the 1998 film adaptation, although the popularity of the story remains as strong as ever, with another film version set to be released in December of this year [purported to be like the Broadway musical]. Spanning the years 1815 to 1832, the year of the June Rebellion, the story follows the life and redemption of the convict Jean Valjean. After Valjean is released on parole, no one offers him shelter, except a bishop. During the night, Valjean steals silverware and leaves, only to be caught by Inspector Javert and the police. Upon being brought before the bishop, the bishop declares that he gave Valjean the silverware, and adds candlesticks to the “gift” as well.  Shocked by the kindness of a stranger, Valjean swears to become a better man, helping everyone he can. Over time, he becomes very wealthy and acquires a family of his own that includes an adopted daughter, Cosette, and her beloved, a young revolutionist named Marius. In the end, it is Valjean’s willingness to sacrifice his life for the life of another that fully relieves him of his past and allows him to move forward with his new family.

Review: Though Les Misérables is French, its lessons of redemption, politics, philosophy, morality, religion, and justice are universal. Possibly the most important message is treating one’s fellow man like an equal. The younger revolutionists are fighting the older men in power, but so much death could have been avoided if they had just sat down and discussed the issues. In today’s world, especially in America, it seems as though everyone is accusing the other side for creating life’s problems. We need to take the message of this wonderful story, accept our faults, and work together as a unified people to make the world a better place.

© 2012 Philip S Zion

Whether you wish to admit it or not, everyone remembers his/her first love and Moonrise Kingdom might impeccably portray all the emotions one goes through. 

Teaser: In the summer of 1965, two twelve-year-olds find themselves as outcasts in their respective societies but find solace with each other. The orphan and Khaki scout, Sam Shakusky, and his love interest, Suzy Bishop, have been corresponding for the past year as pen pals, but have decided to run away together to make their own home away from bullies and overbearing parents.

Review: As with most Anderson films, the two main characters are not the only ones with problems yet their love for each other arguably makes everyone’s life better in the end. For example, Suzy’s parents decide to work on their marriage and be there more for their kids, and a local police officer gets out of a depressive funk when he takes on new responsibilities as Sam’s adoptive father.  And the audience is left with feelings that any story can have a happy ending if you just let love win.

(c) 2014 Philip S Zion

Teaser: Set during the tense time of early Francoist Spain, Pan’s Labyrinth is to movies as The Brothers Grimm are to fairy tales. The story follows a young girl, Ofelia, as she travels with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, the evil Captain Vidal. Miserable, Ofelia decides to explore a nearby labyrinth and there she meets a faun who tells her that she is actually Princess Moanna, princess of the Underworld. She must face three difficult tasks, or her soul will become human and she will be lost forever. This is a riveting tale.

Review: Much transformation happens throughout this film. First, it is set shortly after the Spanish Civil War during the early years of Francisco Franco’s reign. More important, a girl not even in her teenage years must grow up and face horrors most men wouldn’t dare face, or have died trying to confront. No matter how negative the outlook appears, Ofelia pushes forward with a childlike innocence in believing that everything will work out in the end. And that is the miracle of the film: that she can go through drastic changes and still maintain parts of her former self.

© 2012 Philip S Zion

Teaser: It is rare when we see the pivotal moment when a person changes their entire outlook on life. Earlier in this film, we’ve seen Jules shoot down men without a second thought. Now, he’s changing his entire perception to the point that he does not discharge his firearm even when his life is at risk. This is just one of many transformations that happen throughout the film.

Review: Most of the characters in the film are introduced as hardened people who are forced to go through some kind of epiphany about themselves and life itself. The message really strikes deep due, in large part, to Tarantino’s character development. For its 168-minute runtime, it’s easy for the viewer to forget that there are actors on the screen and believe the events are real. So we are not only about to see the transformation of the people in the story, but we see the transformation of humanity.

© 2012 Philip S Zion

Is it a documentary or drama or just people rambling? Was any of it real or simply a fabrication to keep an audience occupied for one hundred minutes? Why is it that, after thirteen years since its original viewing, this film stuck with me and won’t let go its grasp on me? These are just a few of the questions that Waking Life leaves with you.

Teaser: The film has a basic plot; a car hits an unnamed young man and he then talks to people that try to explain their theories on reality and fiction while trying to figuring out whether he’s dead, sleeping, or ever existed at all.

Review: Although there are a couple cameos such as Ethan Hawke, most of the people aren’t actors, but scientists and philosophers who are sometimes leaders in their respective fields. It was filmed using a technique called rotoscope, which basically means animating live action. The use of this technique in the film makes you further question not only everything you’re seeing, but also what you’re hearing. There are times when the backgrounds simply change and suddenly the movie is in the next scene. This helps creates an impression that the movie itself is alive somehow and trying to communicate with the audience.

In case it’s not already obvious, there is almost no action and the dialogue between the characters is what drives the movie. One of the more interesting sensations is the realization, as the credits roll, that even these so called experts do not have all of life’s answers. Yet that is what makes the movie “imaginative.” At some point, I’m sure you will find yourself saying, “I’ve wondered that myself before.” If the philosophical discussions do not have you taking a slightly different look at life, you do not have an imagination. As the film critic Roger Ebert said about the film, “to not ask questions is a crime against your own mind.”

(c) 2014 Philip S Zion

Teaser: Disney and Pixar are known for creating some of the most beloved children’s films of all time. Yet they are able to make films that are just as entertaining, if not more so, to adults. If you’re a kid, Toy Story is an amazing film about your toys coming to life when you turned your back on them. It’s not until you get older that you realize it’s also about making friends with the most unlikely people. WALL-E continues this tradition, but on a more serious note. Set in the far future, the only inhabitants on Earth are a little robot WALL-E and his pet robot cricket. There is no dialogue for the first half of the film as WALL-E goes about his days alone on Earth, but the emotions that WALL-E conveys are loneliness and longing. His world is shattered one day when a spaceship lands to deploy one robot then leaves. This new robot is EVE, and, for the first time, WALL-E has a true companion. However, after EVE finds a plant, her primary objective, her system hibernates and, once again, WALL-E is all alone. Shortly, the spaceship comes back to pick up EVE, but WALL-E hitches a ride. It takes them to the Axiom, a massive spaceship where the remains of the human race live. Humans have grown so fat that the only way they can go about their daily lives is by being confined to a hover chair which is controlled by the ship’s computer, AUTO. Ergo, WALL-E goes into action.

Review: The ending is the redemption of the human race. In spite of this redemptive conclusion, WALL-E also leaves us with a cautious message. If we continue destroying the environment and give too much power to corporations, WALL-E’s world could end up being ours. And our end may not be so Disney-friendly.

© 2012 Philip S Zion