Friday Film: Trio

This week has been a good week for me movie-wise. On the flight back from Taipei, I managed to catch We're The Millers. I've heard a lot of good things about this movie, how it's downright hilarious and worth watching in theatres, but I was pretty disappointed with it. It's your run of the mill American movie with crappy things happening to them yet they are able to escape all of it unhurt. It made me laugh somewhat, chuckle more like it, but it was not worth the hype in my opinion. Overall, it was a good movie to catch on a flight where you have time to kill but not something I would actually pay to watch.

After crashing for 5 hours due to the early flight, I had time to recuperate, so I decided to watch Fruitvale Station. I saw it on the list of movies on the flight and remembered how I had goosebumps watching the trailer a few months back, so I decided to watch it at home in the comfort of my bed. Oh boy was that one of best decisions I have ever made. Throughout the movie, you know things will not end well, so Dread is constantly nagging at you in the back of your mind as you learn to love and relate with Oscar Grant played by Michael B. Jordan. Needless to say, I ended up crying my eyes out at the end. This is a movie on racism and how the police aren't always the good guys.

On the same night, I was browsing through The Film Fatale's Best of 2013 list and came across Blackfish. It's an eyeopening documentary on killer whales held in captivity in SeaWorld. Former SeaWorld trainers talk about their experiences and how issues have been covered up from the public. There are so many things that happen behind the scenes and are covered up so well that we are ignorant to them all, this documentary opens your eyes to these issues. Prepare some tissues, although they will never fully help.

Here we face extremities, We're The Millers is lighthearted and a good watch for dull afternoons whereas Fruitvale Station and Blackfish are hard hitting movies that require emotional strength as well as boxes of tissues. So go ahead, pick your poison.

Till then,
Happy New Year.