End of the Spear

Sometimes a film is terrific because it tells a good story. No famous faces, no fancy effects - just a good story. This is such a film. What makes it actually even more terrific is that this film was produced by an independent company called Every Tribe Entertainment. Their byline: "We are storytellers. Every Tribe Entertainment creates films that address globally relevant issues in order to incite a positive impact on the world." How cool is that?

I'll tell you how cool. End of the Spear is a true story about an indigenous tribe in Ecuador that nearly drove themselves to extinction by the routine practice of revenge killings. He gave you a funny look - skewer him... that sort of thing. So this group of missionaries - families - decide to try to make contact, and show them another way. What follows is a story of amazing folly, tragedy, courage and human compassion. We can save the debate on the right of everyman to his own culture no matter how perverse for another day. This is a story about people caring about the lives and well being of other people.

You won't know any of the actors, although Louie Leonardo in a loincloth is hard to forget. The cinematography of this beautiful portion of the Amazon is top notch. But most of all, this is a well told story. Stay for the credits and meet the real people behind the story. Website here.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Sometimes you just have to revisit an old favorite, and tonight I loaded up the old DVD player with this little sleeper from 2005, to share with a friend and love all over again. I readily admit that Robert Downey, Jr. is an actor that I'd love to hate for being the poster child of the inequalities of our justice system ( if he were a poor black boy from LA he'd be doing life for all those little indiscretions,) but he's just so damn talented. But I digress.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is a gleeful little bit of film noir, cheesy detective novel fun, complete with that annoying voice over narration - only this annoying voice over is Downey doing his best deadpan, mile a minute stream of consciousness. Harry Lockhart (Downey) is a two-bit crook who falls into a Hollywood screen test complete with detective training from real PI Perry van Shrike (Val Kilmer.) Van Shrike is slick, tough as nails and very, very gay. Enter lovely damsel in distress Harmony (Michelle Monaghan,) Harry's high school crush, add a reappearing dead girl, and let the mayhem begin.

This is the sort of comedy to relish - with great memorable lines and every hackneyed trick in the book. Harry backtracks and talks to the audience constantly so we're all in on the joke, the story is told in labeled vignettes. The humor is black and there's lots of moments that might offend, but it's all done with such evil glee and the boys are having SO much fun. If you make it past the peeing on the corpse scene without laughing out loud, check your pulse. Visit the equally cheesy website here.

300

Sometimes we watch the movie that somebody else wanted to watch. My "boys" saw 300 about three times each in the theater. The thing made a killing - with production costs of about 65 million, it had a domestic gross of $210,614,939.
So you gotta ask, "why?" Curiosity killed the cat, I guess I only feel maimed.

Frank Miller (Sin City) wrote the graphic novel from which the film is spawned and Frank has a twisted little love affair with really sick violence. Very loosely based upon the battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartan warriors held off the legions of Xerxes, Miller borrows from history what he chooses and embellishes the rest. I mean embellishes, with a capital E - all the Spartan warriors have chiseled abs (airbrush defined) and good hair - all the baddies are tres ugly - throw in a kick-ass queen -everything else is gravy.

Mostly, this is a video game brought to life. The dialogue is cheesy but delivered with good humor. What the boys want is what the boys get - long protracted battle scenes that lurch from real time to slo mo so you don't miss a decapitation or the gallons of CG blood. Who needs a meaningful story? Just throw in some hubris and words like "freedom" and "glory." The visual effects are fascinating if incredibly over the top; with manipulated color contrast and texture. Who expects acting? The costuming is original, creative and effective. Loads of talent and effort went into the battle choreography.

It's just so sad that we still find bloodbaths entertaining. See the website here.