In Your Eyes

Two seemingly disparate people from different parts of the country find they have a uniquely innate connection that serves to help and bring them closer.  In Your Eyes has an old fashioned, sweet, innocent charm to it that I just love.  It's about love, possibilities, the supernatural, and connections.   I'm an admitted sucker for these type of films and it's been on my Netflix list for a long time. It's an admittedly unrealistic fairy tale, but has connotations of depth for the human condition, especially relevant for us in this age of high tech. So I encourage the person in my eyes (this is one of "our" films) to view this film.

The Accountant

Highly functioning autistic guy uses his skills to get paid by finding discrepancies for criminal organizations until he is targeted. The Accountant has got a great cast in Ben Affleck, John Lithgow, J.K. Simmons, and Jon Bernthal and the story is thoroughly interesting and compelling with twist and turns.  The plot, although good, was pretty convoluted and could really benefit from improvements in writing and editing.  The action and pace later help to offset some of that, but towards the conclusion it's still noteworthy.  It's funny because in some ways, his character could easily compliment his pal Matt Damon's Jason Bourne character.  Let's just forget about his The Sum Of All Fears.

Suicide Squad

Other than to get perhaps some more insight into the whole Justice League saga, I watched this without any real earnestness.  What I got was kind of what I expected from the consensus, but no foul as it was a free dvd to rent.  Suicide Squad, despite it's maniacal characters, lack an edginess in characters and story with the exception of Jared Leto as the Joker and Margo Robbie as Harley Quinn.  The worst of the worst criminals are turned into a team for the government to take down extraordinary threats.  Of course, The Avengers or anything close to it, it isn't.  Sorely lacking are enough backstory content to make one even care about this team of super villains.  Admittedly, the DC saga of films has had a rough and rocky start leading up to the upcoming Justice League film. Suicide Squad seems like a feeble attempt towards that lead up.  A charismatic Will Smith and  the talented acting credibility of Viola Davis barely keep it  afloat.  I was certainly confused throughout the viewing by the questionable comedic tone and or lack of real edgy darkness presented.   DC isn't exactly navigating with the ease of Marvel when it comes to infusing more comedic films to further the larger narrative, as their Ant Man and Deadpool have done with regards to the Avengers.  Suicide Squad might have done better as a series on a network or Netflix like their Legends Of Tomorrow.

Flame & Citron

Starring Mads Mikkelson, Thure Lindhardt, and Stine Stengade, Flame & Citron is a 2008 Danish film based on true events in the underground resistance to Germany in World War 2.  I have to say I really liked this film. True story about spies and deception and betrayal with a really nice film noir element to it and great actors and acting.  Amidst the initial deciphering and orienting oneself about what was going on plot wise juxtaposed with the Danish subtitles, director and co-writer Lars Madsen reveals a world of intriguing characters in this shadowy world that constantly shifts the murky layers of grey among each character, including the Nazis.  There's also an integral romantic plot element to it that makes one think of those great film noir war films of the 40's. Flame & Citron had a lot of success obviously, but it was completely off my radar.  So it was a gem of a film to discover and view and learn about. 

Chronicles Of Evil

This is a really nice hard-boiled crime noir thriller, that we don't see much of nowadays.  I was really impressed with the Chronicles Of Evil.  Like I've said before, the South Korean movies have really been making strides. The twisted plot is just really damn clever and the lead actors  Son Hyun-joo, Ma Dong-seok, and Choi Daniel give really good performances.  It excels in exploring the notions of what it means to be good or bad or perceived as such; and how it unexpectedly manifest itself in a character's circumstances and situations.  Chronicles Of Evil is good and engaging with its twist and turns.  I suspect, maybe in dialogue too, but I'm certainly not fully qualified to judge by Korean subtitles alone.

Firestorm

2013's Firestorm is certainly a more than decent action movie starring Andy Lau.  Unfortunately, it has much more potential than it actually delivers, in terms of storyline and character development; though the performances are good. I viewed this on Netflix and found out later it was originally made for 3D, which has a semi-strange look if you aren't wearing the glasses.  That and the arguably overuse of cgi and other special effects as the climax increases, kind of takes away from the decent cat and mouse police hunt that preceded it.

Floyd Norman: An Animated Life

Chronicling the story of legendary Black Disney animator Floyd Norman, this documentary is a real gem of an American story.  The content and lessons imparted on his still very relevant life in how to live and reinvent that relevance in doing what he loves, is just fascinating  and inspiring from so many perspectives.