DOLPHIN TALE (2011)

Call me sentimental, call me soppy; I love movies like this. There is just something magical about children and their animals. Maybe it is the sense of innocence we associate therewith that makes us all yearn back to a time in our lives when things were a whole lot less complicated.

One day, on his way to school, eleven year old Sawyer (Nathan Gamble) stumbles upon a young beached bottlenose dolphin. It got itself entangled with a crab catching contraption and sustained serious injuries to its flukes (the tail end flipper). However, despite being rescued by Dr Clay Haskett (Harry Connick Jr) and his team of volunteers, they cannot prevent Winter (the name they gave the dolphin) from loosing her flukes. This in turn causes her tail to develop in such a way that it may eventually cause her death. And for Sawyer, who meanwhile grew very attached to his foundling, this is simply not an option. Enters Dr Cameron McCarthy (Morgan Freeman) a prosthetist to come up with a solution.

Based on actual events, this, on the one hand, is a tale of man's true responsibility and commitment towards nature and all its creatures (especially one that is most probably just as intelligent as us, if not more). On the other hand it is a story of what real love and dedication actually entails (pun intended). So, to be honest, you don't even have to have a particular sensitive soul in order to be touched by this film. And yes, you guessed it. I rate this movie 5 out of 5 stars.

Trailer link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ_1eS2Erhk

DOLPHIN TALE 2 (2014)

Usually when a movie is made of true events it is a one-off project. Once it is finished it is over and done with. The story is told; time to move on to the next one. It is therefor very rare that you will find a sequel to the original. But in this case there was a follow-up story to tell, almost just as fascinating as the original.

In the first Dolphin Tale, Winter was adopted by an older female dolphin called Panama. Apparently this is what happens in nature when a baby dolphin looses its mother for whatever reason. It is then adopted by another female in the pod in order for it to teach the orphaned youngster to fend for itself. So, when Panama dies (a few years after the first film was shot) Winter is left devastated without her surrogate mother. Even young Sawyer is not able to console her. To make things worse, according to US Department of Agriculture rules, no dolphin is allowed to be kept in captivity without a companion. And so starts the search for a new partner for Winter.

Although the entire cast from the first movie (even Rufus the pelican) is back for this one and the story is every bit as fascinating, this second film just did not have the same lasting impact on me. Make no mistake: if you enjoyed the first one, this sequel is equally recommended as a must-see. But it is for that reason that I rate at a only slightly less 4 out of 5 stars.

Trailer link:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMDymk_gx3A

 The cast

AMERICAN SNIPER (2014)

Someone once said: "War is ugly at the best of times". This film demonstrates exactly that fact. It shows the cruelties of war in all its ugliness. There is no attempt to try and sanitize of justify any of it. And it also brings home the terrible reality that it is always the innocent that suffers most because of it.

The movie is based on the true life story of Chris Kyle (brilliantly portrayed by Bradley Cooper). He was an US Navy SEAL sniper who was also credited with the longest recorded kill shot in US Military history. In this film director Clint Eastwood manages to show not only the soldier fighting in Iraq, but also the family man back home in the States. Although Chris' mission is to protect his brothers in arms at all costs, the atrocities he is witness to also has a profound effect on him as a person. And, in turn, how that effects his relationship with his wife and children.

It therefor fully deserves all the accolades bestowed on it which included an Oscar. But be warned: the DVD has a relatively high age restriction for a reason and is definitely not suitable for sensitive viewers. Still, I rate it 3 out of 5 stars. 

Trailer link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99k3u9ay1gs

 The real Chris Kyle

 

THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PARTS 1 & 2

About eighteen months ago (on 07/10/2014 to be precise) I reviewed the first two movie installments of The Hunger Games. If memory serves me right, I was not too impressed with either of them. According to my records I awarded them only 2 stars each. And I am afraid the third and last installment (released in two parts) did not fare any better.

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) agrees to become the face of the symbol of the revolution. Peeta Mellard (Josh Hutcherson) has been captured and brainwashed by president Snow (Donald Sutherland). And with all the Districts united under the banner of the Mockingjay, the final showdown between the Capitol and the rest of Panem looms ominously.

Make no mistake, by no means is this a bad film. It dots all its 'i's' and crosses all its 't's' as is expected of a movie of this kind and genre. But compared to the barrage of similar movies we saw in the recent past (Harry Potter, Twilight and The Maze Runner to name but a few) The Hunger Games does not offer anything new or vastly different from what we saw in any of these movies. That is the main reason why I give it only 2 out of 5 stars as well.

Trailer links: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXshQ5mv1K8

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zVaD7t39w8

 The cast