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srahfox
Reviews
Napola - Elite für den Führer (2004)
A good movie.. something more Americans should see.
Honestly I never once thought there was anything gay in this movie. I think a lot of American men might feel that it had gay moments because we are raised thinking men never show affection for one another. Personally I think that if the same hugging scene were shown with woman no one would have called it gay. It's common for two woman to comfort one another when they are under extreme stress. Of course this is only my thoughts on the matter. I do think more Americans (I'm American too so I don't mean this as an attack) need to see movies like this and Downfall. Anything that shows a slightly different view of Nazi Germany than the one we are use to seeing. It's not as if all of Germany woke up one morning and decided to be 'evil'. It was a gradual progression. One we would do well to understand in this day and age. Even the person I saw the movie with said she didn't understand how the Germans could have gone along with what happened. I believe this movie was good for trying to show how a German (youth in this case) could at one point not fully comprehend what the Nazi agenda is. The main character was happy and proud to be where he was at the beginning of the film. Often in life you find that things are not how they seem and by then it is generally too late. Don't watch it for a 'gay' movie, don't watch it for a 'boxing' movie. Watch it to see a view into a young Nazi German mind.
Last Supper (1992)
A very clever movie with an interesting message.
The trick is, what exactly is the message? Starting this movie, when asked if I would kill Hitler if I could go back in time... I likely would have said yes. I mean, it's Hitler. Now I don't know. True, Hilter did some truly evil things. However killing him would also be a form of evil. What if all he really needed was someone to talk to, what if you sat down and talked to the man you meant to kill?
The people in the movie started with 'good' intentions. They would invite people to dinner and try to change their mind. Only if they couldn't would they be given the 'bad' wine. Slowly they stopped trying, and dinner was simply an excuse to get rid of people whom they didn't agree with.
In the end I'm not sure who was 'wrong'. It looks as if the ultimate 'bad' (played by Ron Perlman) kills the students at the end of the movie. What wine did they drink if all the 'good' wine was gone? Yet at the same time... who painted the last painting if they were all killed?
Nightbreed (1990)
Deeper than a Horror Movie
I wish there was a category to place this in other than Horror. It simply isn't. Granted it has it's horrific moments, however I don't feel that makes it a horror film. I will give that this movie could have been better. A million little things could have been changed to make it better.
That having been said I love this movie. I'm often sad that people misunderstand the whole point of it. It has always been clear to me that the point of this movie was to say... things aren't always what they seem. Sometimes 'evil', isn't.
Barker was at a Con I went to and he did a little talk then watch the movie thing. It was very interesting. Many things he wished to put in the movie couldn't be, and a chunk was cut out of the movie that he believed to be long lost. This was a chunk that helped shed light on Boone and his Girlfriend, as well as some other details.
I know some people are bothered by not having more information about all of the 'breed' in the background, however I always felt that gave the movie a more 'real' fleshed out feel. I have read the novella this was based off of as well as many of the comics. Because of this, the movie just always seemed like a staging ground for the whole story. A much more involved story that sadly has never has a chance to live.
Despite all of the flaws this movie might have I believe it has a lot to offer. The 'monsters' are wonderful, very imaginative. While the acting is sometimes a bit stiff there are some very quotable lines. Whenever I watch it I find something new. Keep and eye on Boones chest toward the end. At one point Decker stabs him and shortly after Boone falls on a card table. He ends up with a card stuck to his chest. This card stays there for a while even after Lori pulls the knife out. It stays there until Boone casually removes it. I love that. That was a lovely little detail I thought.
Basically what I want to say is that... if you are looking for a horror movie, don't watch this. If you believe that at times men can be more evil than anything we have ever dreamed up. This is the movie for you. This is a movie about how men destroy what they don't understand or fear.