The Jack Ryan movies are some of my favorite and this one is no exception. Money laundering, drugs, a Presidents personal vendetta, an illegal war..."Clear and Present Danger" deals with all these, lead of course by our main character, Jack Ryan, played by Harrison Ford, one of my all time favorite actors.
There are many things to appreciate about this film. To start out with, I really like how they portray Jack Ryan's relationship with his wife. When the you know what hits the fan, we see Jack sitting down with his wife where its implied that he has just told her everything that's happened. We also see him reach for her when hearing bad news and I just have to say, it is so nice to see a Hollywood movie portray a married couple so well and so healthy.
I also appreciate how these films deal with the fight for good, the importance of ethics and doing what is right, even when great risks are involved.
Overall, even though this film is very intense, if you're looking for a good intriguing, and yes, intense movie, you should enjoy this story. Oh, and James Earl Jones is in it too, which tells you its gotta be good.
-Bethany
The Jack Ryan films have always been favorites of mine. For the longest time, "Clear and Present Danger" was my favorite until it was de-throned by "Sum of all Fears." "Clear and Present Danger" weaves a story of politics, spooks, special ops, and Colombian drug lords. The film does a great job of matching action and excitement with the fact that the film's hero (Jack Ryan) played by Harrison Ford is an analyst (and in management at Langley by the time this film happens.) Ryan seems like a person that we might know, and he is someone that I connect with. The film's antagonists call Ryan a 'boy scout' in a derrogative sense, calling him a black and white rule follower. I appreciate this part of the character. It is how I try to act as well, and in today's film and TV culture it seems like there aren't very many heroes that are as honourable as Ryan. The optimism of the mid-90s is alive and well in this film. This film makes me proud of America's clandestine services, even as the film's President and some of his staff torpedo the country's reputation and abandon some of it's troops in an illegal paramilitary war, Jack Ryan is there to restore the balance, rescue the troops, and even face congress to answer for the mistakes of others. That in itself must have been Jack Ryan's greatest challenge ever.
-David
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Saturday, January 7, 2012
"Chocolat"
Chocolat. A delightfully delicious film that will make your mouth water and your hidden passions emerge. Or so the main character would hope. The story takes place in a small town in France where the people practice a Puritan style of life, specifically during Lent, cutting themselves off from any kind of pleasure, including the pleasure of Chocolate. In comes a woman and her daughter who help awaken some of the townsfolk to what they have been missing. One humorous example is a woman who finds that a specific type of chocolate helps awaken her husband's lack of passion.
Then we have Alfred Molina, the mayor of this town and the one most resistant to enjoying the passion of Chocolate. He gives a brilliant performance as does Judi Dench and Johnny Depp, who is quite nice to look at I might add.
The message of the film is summed up quite nicely at the end, an appropriate place I suppose, where the young minister speaks about how we shouldn't focus on what we shouldn't do and who we shouldn't include, but rather on what new things we can experience and who we can include in our lives. The character says it much better than I, but overall this is a very enjoyable film that will leave you searching in the cupboards for some dark chocolate to indulge in far after the film is through.
-Bethany
Chocolat is in the genre of films that I tend not to enjoy watching, but do appreciate greatly once I sit down and invest myself in it. I suppose I would classify it as a drama, but it is one that has a deal of humor (dark though it often is,) and despite my misgivings, I find myself appreciating much that this film has to offer. Five academy award nominations probably could have given me a clue.
'Chocolat' is the story of a little french village trying to become unstuck from the middle ages, and finding its own Renaissance through chocolate. This chocolate is brought by a traveling choclatier Vianne, and her lovable daughter. The duo soon find themselves at odds with the strict and overbearing Mayor of the town (played brilliantly by Alfred Molina) but they also find allies in a crotchety old French grandmother (played by Judi Dench,) and the abused wife of the town's bar owner.
Chocolat is a story that leaves one hungry not only for sweets, but also for the chance to go out and try something new, to meet new and interesting people, to have an adventure. The priest near the end of the film puts it best when he says (paraphrased) that we should not focus on what not to do, and whom not to include, but on what to do and whom to include in our lives. And as the narrator summed up his sermon, perhaps not the most eloquent, or fiery statement ever made from a pulpit, but certainly a message that we all can take to heart.
-David
Then we have Alfred Molina, the mayor of this town and the one most resistant to enjoying the passion of Chocolate. He gives a brilliant performance as does Judi Dench and Johnny Depp, who is quite nice to look at I might add.
The message of the film is summed up quite nicely at the end, an appropriate place I suppose, where the young minister speaks about how we shouldn't focus on what we shouldn't do and who we shouldn't include, but rather on what new things we can experience and who we can include in our lives. The character says it much better than I, but overall this is a very enjoyable film that will leave you searching in the cupboards for some dark chocolate to indulge in far after the film is through.
-Bethany
Chocolat is in the genre of films that I tend not to enjoy watching, but do appreciate greatly once I sit down and invest myself in it. I suppose I would classify it as a drama, but it is one that has a deal of humor (dark though it often is,) and despite my misgivings, I find myself appreciating much that this film has to offer. Five academy award nominations probably could have given me a clue.
'Chocolat' is the story of a little french village trying to become unstuck from the middle ages, and finding its own Renaissance through chocolate. This chocolate is brought by a traveling choclatier Vianne, and her lovable daughter. The duo soon find themselves at odds with the strict and overbearing Mayor of the town (played brilliantly by Alfred Molina) but they also find allies in a crotchety old French grandmother (played by Judi Dench,) and the abused wife of the town's bar owner.
Chocolat is a story that leaves one hungry not only for sweets, but also for the chance to go out and try something new, to meet new and interesting people, to have an adventure. The priest near the end of the film puts it best when he says (paraphrased) that we should not focus on what not to do, and whom not to include, but on what to do and whom to include in our lives. And as the narrator summed up his sermon, perhaps not the most eloquent, or fiery statement ever made from a pulpit, but certainly a message that we all can take to heart.
-David
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