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The Work (2017)
Raw and Intense
Anybody who has had any kind of meaningful therapy knows one unequivocal truth...if it isn't HARD it's not effective.
This movie at its core is a thoughtful examination of group therapy for MEN....the presence of any female would have changed the dynamic entirely.
Men on the outside get up close and personal with real life CONVICTS...there could probably be an interesting movie made solely about any of these men but the movie doesn't linger on their stories....what this therapy (and this movie) does is focus on the themes that ALL men struggle with...betrayal, hurt, loss.
My voyeuristic side wanted more of the back story of the convicts but the movie wisely did not dwell on that...another truism about REAL therapy is that it often leads to more questions than answers.
Lorena (2019)
Surprising and Intelligent
We all know about the severed organ.....I was a teenager when the story broke and the sensationalism surrounding it simply CAN'T be overstated. What this series manages to do is not an easy feat....the actual ORGAN becomes the least interesting part of the story. This series explores a lot of issues which are sadly just as relevant as they were in 1993. We get an in depth look into the characters of John and Lorena and are given ample information to draw conclusions without ever being TOLD what conclusions to draw. John Bobbitt is a brute with a long, documented record of abuse against women. He is NOT an intelligent or insightful person, yet I wasn't totally devoid of sympathy for him. Lorena on the other hand is thoughtful and purposeful and has turned her life into a meaningful one, yet I still have a nagging suspicion that she was TOTALLY lucid when she did the deed. In short, this is not a story of good vs evil....it is much more nuanced. Even in todays day and age rife with mass shootings and hate crimes I suspect that this same crime would be just as newsworthy as it was in 1993. One of the Escorts at the Bunny Ranch said the most poignant quote in the entire series...."You have hundreds of female circumcisions every day in Africa but one man gets his P*N&S severed and the world comes to a screeching halt"
Sicario (2015)
Once in a Lifetime Performances
I'm very surprised that this movie doesn't have higher user reviews. The acting is top rate across the board. I'm glad to see Josh Brolin getting these juicy roles...always thought he was underrated. Del Toro is always brilliant and but this is without question the performance of his career. As a men with nothing left to lose and nothing left to fear the tension lies in not knowing how much humanity is left in him. He is the embodiment of a soul damaged beyond repair. There is no hope, no repentance, no salvation and he knows it. He fulfills his destiny without pleasure or passion...he avenges his family with the cold exactitude of a surgeon performing his 100th surgery. Josh Brolin's character has a broader agenda with the Cartel as a whole while Del Toro has a singular objective. The juxtaposition between the Del Toro character and the young, new agent played by Blunt is subtle and nuanced. A lesser movie would have made the Blunt character MORE vulnerable and susceptible. She is definitely changed forever by her dealings with Del Toro and the movie allows you to question, momentarily, whether she will be able to touch a deeply buried crevice in his soul. Maybe she was...but he knows who and what he is and willfully doesn't allow access even to himself.