Source Code (2011)
A US soldier keeps going back to the last eight minutes of a man’s life before a bomb kills him to investigate who the bomber is and to prevent the next attack in real life.
Sound confusing? I know and I apologize for that description. But this movie has a somewhat complicated premise. Basically a guy has the ability to go back to the last eight minutes of a person’s life and he has to keep going back to these eight minutes so he can find out who the bomber is, who in the real world is still out there. I’m making it a lot more complicated than it needs to be, but just check it out. The movie is not hard to follow.
Source Code does have plenty of exciting and funny moments which keeps the flow of the storyline going. Jake Gyllenhaal performs really well to become this man trying to solve two problems going on at once. The science fiction element is done well enough to give a new and crazy perspective of how precious life is. If you’re looking for an intelligent film and some good entertainment, Source Code provides all that. It is a worthwhile experience.
Sucker Punch (2011)
A young woman is forced to the asylum after a horrible incident involving her family and step-father. Now, before she undergoes a horrible procedure, she has to escape from the ward by bending reality and creating her own reality.
Sucker Punch is a movie that mixes a lot of genres and turns it into one weird, but entertaining view. While there have been bad reviews, it is because critics compare movies to the great ones. This kind of movie requires you to just accept what is going on and enjoy the ride. However, when I watched Sucker Punch, I really did not expect to see what I saw. Depending on your views and how you watch the movie, you can enjoy the movie or think it was a bit weird. It’s one of those movies where either you like it or you don’t (I thought it was both good and weird).
To me (the critics kind of miss this point), I like the movie because it’s actually one of the first movies where it bends fantasy and mixes it with reality and then mixes it again. Unlike other fantasy/reality twisting movies like The Matrix orInception (both are good movies by the way and definitely something to look out for) Sucker Punch actually goes all the way in delivering the craziest kinds of elements and putting them together. There are samurais, dragons, robots, Nazi zombies, a brothel, zeppelins, and the list goes on. It really feels like an imagination gone wild and that’s the point of the movie. Plus, the movie has a really sweet soundtrack. This movie is not made for everyone, but it really can be a good film for some.
The Hurt Locker (2010)
An Army Bomb Technician and his squad go through day to day life in present-day war-torn Iraq.
The Hurt Locker is an eye opening film. If you want to watch a film about soldiers in Iraq, this is definitely it. There is no commentary on the war itself and there is no thought about politics or why we are at war in Iraq. This is just all about the soldiers who can only do what they have to do: live and complete their mission and tasks.
I have never been to war, but I can imagine that this film is pretty close to what soldiers are experiencing on the other side of the world. It truly gets the audience to feel the environment in Iraq. There are many scenes of tension as well as scenes of the down time soldiers have. While most war films all have the anti-war theme, The Hurt Locker does a fantastic job trying to stay unbiased especially since the main character, whether if he is insane or not, loves to be a part of the war. There is a reason why this film won the Oscar for Best Picture and why the film’s director, Kathryn Bigelow, became the first woman to receive the Oscar for Best Director. This is a film to really look out for.