The TV Addict 

CITY OF MEN
The film that spun out of one of the best films of the last ten years (2002’s CITY OF GOD), emerges as one of the best films of this year. Narrowing the focus somewhat from its predecessor, CITY OF MEN is a heartfelt and humane coming of age story. The film follows two best friends (beautifully acted by Darlan Cunha and Douglas Silva) who struggle with growing up in the face of a violent gang war that breaks out. Inevitably their paths split, but in the end they come back together having learned to overcome their surroundings, their past, and their own limitations to face their responsibilities to themselves and each other. It’s the greatest trick the film pulls. You’re thinking you’re watching an intense, soap-opera like gangster film (and in a way you are), but in reality you’re watching one of the more mature, probing stories about young men growing up positively in spite of their circumstances to come along in a while.

Overall rating: A-

THE RUINS
Though not nearly as terrifying as Scott Smith’s novel (probably because of how much worse my imagination made things), THE RUINS is effective in that does capture what made Smith’s novel disturbingly enjoyable in the first place: it’s horrifying and frightening portrayal of the mental/emotional deterioration of people stuck in an increasingly dire survival situation. It’s what helps get one through the simple characters, the “villain” of the piece getting short thrifted (compared to the book), and the somewhat rushed and de-clawed ending. In that sense THE RUINS proves that with heightened dramatic intensions the trappings of the horror genre can be transcended, and an effective little film can emerge. Also, if nothing else, the film deserves credit for proving that killer plants can be scary. Take that, M. Night Shyamalan and THE HAPPENING.

Overall rating: B-

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Over at Cinematical they have an interesting discussion going regarding the recent slew of Iraq War movies. Though the original author (Gene Novikov) spent most of the article questioning whether these movies have been the failures they are being made out to be, his prompt at the end of it regarding why people are maybe avoiding these films and not making them successful - at least at the box office - has inspired many intelligent, interesting and revealing responses from visitors of the site.  Definitely worth checking out.

Personally, I actually do avoid these films generally because, well, I know war is bad. I don’t need a film to convince me of that. Most of all, I don’t want to be spoken down to, like I don’t know war is horrible and bad things happen it, and that somehow these movies are going to change my entire perspective about the world. I’d be seriously shocked to hear that anyone who did see these films suddenly had their eyes opened.

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