The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

A bit under the weather and didn't want to subject other movie goers to my cough this weekend so...this is last weekend's films I didn't get to yet.

Friday night saw a trip to the theaters for a small film that has had a lot of acclaim. I found it a very engrossing film dealing with the subject of the holocaust through the eyes of a German child whose life was completely untouched by war and sorrow in the beginning of the film.

The film is in English and stars David Thewlis (Father) and Vera Farmiga (Mother) as the two main actors I'd recognized from other films. Also Rupert Friend who I'd seen in Pride and Prejudice. Given these two films he hopefully won't be typecast as a heavy like Sean Bean has spent much of his career on film.

The film follows a boy who is the son of a decorated German soldier who gets a 'promotion' to commandant of a concentration camp and moves his family there. His wife, daughter and son are unaware of the nature of the camp or his work. They are told the camp is a 'farm.'

The boy is lonely having left all his friends behind in the city and befriends a a boy who he thinks works at the farm and not is imprisoned in the concentration camp.

This is a very good film. Striking and devastating at the ending. Not for the faint of heart. Certainly worth seeing. I'd give it an A-.

Twilight

I saw Twilight last night. I really wasn't expecting much. I thought it would only play well to the tween girls. I do like vampire films if they're done well. This was not bad. It had enough vampire lore to make it interesting. Added some new ideas like vampires being outside during daylight hours which would make them more formidable and invincible.

Since the story really revolves around a romance the chemistry between the two leads is very important. Edward and Bella had a definite pull to one another. I wanted to know more about the other vampires in the 'Cullen' family and the rogue vampires, but there wasn't too much character development there. I don't know if there was more in the book or not. I haven't read any in the Twilight series. Let's just say it intrigued me enough to perhaps read it.

Beautiful settings and scenery from the Pacific Northwest. And it helped the vampires hide in the open. I'd give the film a B or B-. Slightly above average.

If you want to see a vampire film more intriguing in theaters right now Let the Right One In is a Swedish film about a 12 year old vampire and a neighbor boy who is subjected to school bullies and becomes her friend. Most definitely more violent and bloody than Twilight too. I'd give it the same B or B- rating but you remember it far longer than the beauty of the vampires in Twilight. It is in Swedish with subtitles.

BTW, last post for Slumdog Millionaire I knew there was one more film I wanted to mention as a must see this year. It was The Visitor with Richard Jenkins. Another great small movie. Completely character driven. So if the Academy members haven't seen them...Slumdog Millionaire, The Visitor, In Bruges and Iron Man. Those were the four best I've seen this year so far...