Movie #31 - Samsara

Sore head from too much partying over Christmas and New Year?  Here is the movie tonic to soothe your pain and make you think a little bit deeper about life....

Samsara is a visual treat, a documentary of images with no dialogue, no subtitles and no explanation.  Just a guide to the world around us, filmed over a five year period in 25 different countries.  It opens with some stunningly beautiful images of structures built in remote locations, followed by Mother Nature at her peak, and traverses through several different facets of modern life such as workers in an industrial factory, pilgrims praying at Mecca, outback Australia, an American family with their guns held proudly (little bit shocking after the recent gun debate in the US), sprawling housing estates bordering onto the Egyptian pyramids, poor people digging through mountains of rubbish for treasures, fishing villages, Buddhist monks making art, luxury hotels, ladyboys in a dance off on stage in Thailand etc etc.  It circles back around at the end for some lovely green scenery and back to our Buddhist monks.

The film literally gives you no indication of where or what you are seeing, prompting you to make your own assessments and let your mind wander at will.  The soundtrack, when they are not using silence to underscore the power of the image, is beautiful (featuring Aussie Lisa Gerrard quite a bit for those who know her) and stirring.  There is definitely an agenda here around spirituality and vegetarianism, but the message is so subtle that some may completely miss it and it's not rammed down your throat. Here's a link to the movie's website if you want to read a little more about it and see the trailer - ttp://barakasamsara.com/samsara/about

What I got out of this movie was a greater appreciation of my work (I'll never say my job is boring after seeing what some people do for what I imagine is very little money), the country we live in (clean, democratic, still relatively close to nature) and the thought that maybe there is more we should all be doing to stop the world being destroyed by our own waste, violence and urban sprawl.  It also gave me an idea of a few places I'd like to visit soon, possibly before they disappear or are degraded.  But there is also still so much beauty in the world too.

If you want something a little different and have the patience for just under 2 hours of images (I have to admit, the orderly part of my mind wanted a little sub-time with the country and city of each place and I struggled against the urge to play the guessing game each time) then I highly recommend seeing this movie in a cinema with a good screen and sound.  Immerse yourself in the world outside yourself and you will see some of the most powerful images you might ever see.  There are certainly a couple I don't think I'll forget for a long time, particularly those of some very unique individuals who are filmed just staring into the camera. 

Movie #30 - Wreck-It Ralph!

"Wreck-It Ralph" is a new movie from Disney who have surprisingly taken this long to try to leverage video games into the movies.  It follows Ralph, who is the big bad guy that destroys everything in an arcade game similar to Donkey Kong.  Fix-it Felix is his nemesis, the shiny hero who fixes everything he breaks and gets all the kudos from the apartment dwellers in the game.  But Ralph is sick of being the bad guy, lonely and unloved and living in the garbage dump.  He longs to be a hero, accepting medals and having friends.  Even his bad-guy support group (a fantastic play on AA and one of the best scenes that was sadly given away in a lot of the trailers) can't shake his feelings and Ralph decides to 'go turbo' and find another arcade game where he can be a hero.  This leads him into a series of adventures through other games, mainly the first-person shooter 'Hero's Duty' and Mario Kart style 'Sugar Rush', as Ralph tries to figure out his true place in the world.

The graphics are pretty amazing in this, and I didn't even see the 3D version (planning to).  The concept is extremely well thought out - what happens inside the video games when the arcade is closed and we're not looking - and provides so many jokes and nostalgic feelings for gamers.  I think non-gamers would still get a lot of enjoyment from the storyline though, which has a lot of heart.  The movie was directed by Rich Moore, who has never made a movie before but has helmed some pretty popular episodes of the Simpsons and Futurama, so you know you're in good hands.  The voices of John C Reilly (Stepbrothers, Talladega Nights) as Ralph and Sarah Silverman as lil racer Vanellope are perfect for their roles, as are most of the other main characters as well.  I was watching 30 Rock the other night and sadly now when I see Jack McBrayer (Kenneth the page) I am just thinking of Fix-it Felix instead.

Any adults in their 20s, 30s or 40s who have wasted away time in a video arcade or playing the early 8-bit games will definitely find a lot to love in "Wreck-It Ralph", as will older kids who will love the graphics and bright colours.  Young kids might be a little bored, as a lot of the jokes and action will sail straight over their heads.  I took my 5 year old nephew to see this, he's already a Nintendo kid who loves Mario and Sonic along with being obsessed with Angry Birds anything (hilariously he bought his dad Angry Birds pyjamas for Christmas this year).  He got a bit bored in places where there was more talk than action, and thought it was long, but he was good and didn't ask to leave.  He still said it was cool.  Not enough Sonic the Hedgehog!  A huge sugar rush and a good holiday film.