The Devil's Backbone (2001)

Directed by Guillermo del Toro
Written by Guillermo del Toro, Antonio Trashorras and Mavid Muñoz
Starring Fernando Tielve, Íñigo Garcés, Federico Luppi and Eduardo Noriega

After Carlos, a 12-year-old whose father has died in the Spanish Civil War, arrives at an ominous boy's orphanage, he discovers the school is haunted and has many dark secrets that he must uncover. Mainly the mystery of "the one who sighs", the ghost of a little boy who wanders the orphanage.

There are truly no horror films like those of Guillermo del Toro. He has such a way with storytelling, that he does not need jump scares and gore to keep you terrified. He does so with a subtlety and grace of the building tension, until the pot boils over.

Rather than having a monster or ghost the source of fear in his films, he uses them as the victims to the much more real villain of human cruelty. It is certainly a privilege to watch his stories unfold and this is no exception.

Being one of his earlier pictures, "The Devil's Backbone" fells as though it set the course for his career. It also becomes apparent that his style has not changed, not that it needs to. The themes of the innocence of children and their first experience with death has been prevalent throughout his career, and this is no different. It is one of the thing that makes him unique. 

He does not present death as something you should be afraid of. He presents it as the sad, inevitable finale of life that we must all accept. He finds a way to find the beauty and humanity of pain and present it with a sense of calm and solace. He continues to show why he is one of the more unique directors out there.

My Rating: 7/10

Boy (2010)

Written and Directed by Taika Waititi
Starring James Rolleston, Te Aho Eketone-Whitu, Taika Waititi and Maerangi Tihore

Set on the east coast of New Zealand in the year 1984, Boy, an 11-year0old kid and devout Michael Jackson fan gets a chance to know his estranged father, who has returned to find a bag of money he buried years ago.

With the dry-humor that Taika Waititi is known for, this movie will keep a smile on your face for a while after the credits are done. Backed by some great acting by the kids and adults alike, the writing in this is some of the best I've heard in recent memory.

Perhaps it is the setting or time period, but this is one of the most unique coming of age stories I have even seen. Yet, it captures the very foundation of the experience of growing up and makes it universal, so everyone can relate.

Who hasn't dug for buried treasure with their father who

insists on wearing a military helmet and just got out of prison?

I might get a lot of flak for this, as I'm sure many will disagree. But in my opinion, this was a much better representation of childhood than "Boyhood". And much more enjoyable (Not that I didn't enjoy "Boyhood"). That is mostly due to one coherent storyline, rather than the mosaic of moments that created the Oscar nominated film. I highly recommend "Boy" to anyone. Especially those who like quirky films.

My Rating: 8/10

P.S. Sorry about the poor quality of this review. It's 6:30 AM, and it's past my bedtime. I'm quite exhausted.

The Better Angels (2014)

Written and Directed by A. J. Edwards
Starring Braydon Denney, Jason Clarke, Diane Kruger and Brit Marling

The story of Abraham Lincoln's childhood in the harsh wilderness of Indiana and the hardships that shaped him. His rocky relationship with his father, the tragedy that marked him forever and the two women who guided him to immortality.

The beautiful tragedy that was Abraham Lincoln's childhood always struck me with inspiration. When I first read about his pre-political life, I was dumbfounded that a man who had achieved so much greatness came from virtually nothing and gave himself every single bit of knowledge he would need to become the man that this country owes so much to.

Although, many parts of this movie were undoubtedly fictionalized for the sake of the story, I know for a fact that the main plot points of this film are accurate. And the monologue of the narrator is so incredibly poetic and adds so much to the incredible cinematography that this becomes more of a work of art than entertainment.

"There ain't nothin' worth talkin' about. 

Nobody much worth talkin' to… since he's gone."

Produced by Terrence Malick, I was skeptical of this film, regardless of the fact that it was about my favorite historical figure during the time in his life no one talks about. I am usually not a fan of his style of film making and although he did not direct this, it was shot much like a Malick film.

Perhaps it is my love for Lincoln or perhaps this was just done better than any Malick film, but this was a gorgeous movie. I can't quite pick out what is different from this compared to all of his other movies. Perhaps his protégé just has a better grip than he does at his own style. Maybe it's the lack of pretentiousness that is synonymous with Terrence Malick. Despite what the answer to that is, I love this film. 

"I asked him where'd he get so many blatant lies. 

He told me 'when a story learns you a good lesson, it ain't no lie. 

God tells truths in parables.'"

My Rating: 8/10