This Must Be The Place (2011)

Directed by Paolo Sorrentino
Written by Paolo Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello
Starring Sean Penn, Judd Hirsch, France McDormand and Eve Hewson

Cheyenne, a retired rock star living off his royalties in Dublin, returns to New York City to find the man responsible for a humiliation suffered by his recently deceased father during W.W.II.

In a role that seems to contradict itself, Sean Penn plays a quiet, mild-tempered former rock star who seems to be trying everything he possible can to not be a cliché. This alone makes for an interesting character, but the filmmakers try to add more, unnecessary elements to make the movie more deep than it needs to be.

The first act is remarkably engrossing. The mannerisms and voice of the character Penn created was an astonishing change from the norm. The study of who this rock star really was after all of the lights and cameras were away and after he grew out of his drug habits was worth making a full-length movie. But they didn't focus on that too long.

In an attempt to make a statement that had already been made in the first five minutes, the writers decided to add the element of a dying Father who was held at Auschwitz during WWII. This played less like a genius twist in the story and more like a cry for an award. The plot had already been set and with the destination not having changed at all, the entire middle forty-five minutes just seemed gratuitous.

Sean Penn gives a killer, toned down performance that rivals many of his other roles. It's just a shame that it is wasted on half of this film. Despite a few technical editing problems (that are more of a personal opinion), I really enjoyed the beginning of this movie. It felt a lot like a Coen Brothers film. But the last half just killed it for me. It was trying to be something it just simply wasn't.

My Rating: 5.5/10

In the Name of the Father (1993)

Directed by Jim Sheridan
Written by Terry George and Jim Sheridan, based on the book by Gerry Conlon
Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite, Emma Thompson and John Lynch

In the midst of the IRA terrorist attacks in London, an Irish man named Gerry Conlon, along with ten other Irish citizens are convicted of crimes they did not commit. Sentenced between 4 years to life for their various convictions, the eleven innocent Irish men, women and children all served their sentences while maintaining their innocence. Until fifteen years later, when an English lawyer discovers a Police cover-up.

An infuriatingly true story of corruption and government conspiracy and the prejudice of all Irish citizens in England during the 1970s, "In the Name of the Father" shows just how easy it is for a police force to lie and affect innocent lives in order to get the illusion of results. In a so-called "Democracy", where the government is there to protect their citizens, they create a veil of lies and destroy the lives of eleven people.

It's a film that will make you think and ask just how accurate our judicial system is today. The truly terrifying thing in this case is that no police officers or detectives were ever charged for their crimes. The government protects it's own despite the cruel and unjust actions they are guilty of.

I'm no lawyer, but I'm pretty sure that this constitutes as a mistrial…

only unfortunately for Guiseppe Conlon, it was after he had died.

This is the kind of movie that will make you angry while you watch it. You won't believe you are hearing what you're hearing and you find it even harder to believe that the antagonist succeeds, thus creating a two-hour and fifteen-minute movie instead of a forty-minute, anti-climactic one.

As usual with Day-Lewis, his acting is on point. And being from Ireland himself, I'm sure this story hit close to home for him. With every movie I see him in, new or old, I am amazed at just how good of an actor he is. He is recognizable, yet has a tendency to disappear in his characters. Remarkable.

My Rating: 8/10

'71 (2014)

Directed by Yann Demange
Written by Greggory Burke

Starring Jack O'Connell, Sam Reid, Paul Anderson and Sean Harris
A young and disoriented British Soldier is accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the deadly streets of Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1971.

I don't know much about what happened in Belfast in the early 70s. Pretty much my extent of knowledge is that it was a bitter hatred and violence between Protestants and Catholics in the area and while it's not nearly as bad as it once was, the violence still occurs occasionally today. But this film really peaked my interest in the subject.

As all "behind enemy lines" stories go, Gary Hook must safely find his way back to his barracks without being detected. But this shows an entirely different side. While similar movies have a clear protagonist group and antagonist group, you can't really trust anyone throughout it's duration. So many unexpected things happen that you rarely feel at ease for the protagonist. It always feels as if he's in danger.

It is an intense, heart pounding story that grabs you at the very beginning and doesn't let go until the credits roll. Even when there was a lull in the action, I couldn't help but feel that something was afoot. It is a riveting thriller that explodes off the screen keeping you in a state of shock and bewilderment that something like this happened between adjacent neighborhoods.

My Rating: 7.5/10