The Importance and Danger of Violence in the Movies

by Brian Kesler

I've had something on my mind a lot lately: Violence; particularly as it is portrayed in the movies. It is something that both draws and deflects audiences from a film, and it's a subject I have some very strong feelings about, and I want to share them with you.

One of my all-time favorite films is, and forever will be, 'A Clockwork Orange.' Stanley Kubrick's mind-bending science-fiction/horror film is daring, well made, and provokes thought from its audience. It was also banned in the United Kingdom upon its release in the early seventies. It was banned because it inspired thoughts and feelings from those who watched it which made them uncomfortable and nervous. With most every person I've ever sat down with and showed the movie, the reactions have been: walking out and leaving me to watch the film by myself; sitting through the film, but outwardly showing disgust and outrage; sitting through the film with an eery, congealing tension and silence; telling me I must be sick and twisted to like such a movie.

A movie that came out fairly recently, is rated PG-13, with general applause and admiration is called 'Taken.' The movie was a box-office smash that people called, "fun," "enjoyable," "awesome," "touching," and "entertaining."

The movie 'Taken' is about a man who travels to Europe to save his daughter, who has been sold into the Muslim sex trade, at any costs. It is an action/thriller, with plenty of guns and torture devices. A scene in which the protagonist brutally tortures a man for information is sending a political message that it's okay to torture for the better good. The ends justify the means. Other than that scene, there is no underlying message to the violence the plays through the rest of the picture. The protagonist mindlessly shoots and kills anyone who gets in his way, even if it means killing a man in front of his wife. Car chases ensue, buildings explode, and those damn Muslims get what's coming to them as the audience watches and enjoys people being shot one after another.

There is no blood in 'Taken.' Therefore, the violence is only for entertainment value and, therefore, PG-13.

While there is no blood in 'A Clockwork Orange,' either - at least not explicitly - it originally received an 'X' rating. Since Stanley Kubrick's death, the film has been made available on DVD and the rating has been dropped to 'R.' But it doesn't change people's perception of it as a vile movie.

Let's review real quick: So far, the general consensus is that violence that entertains is good and violence that disturbs is bad.

Yes, 'A Clockwork Orange,' is disturbing. It is disturbing because Kubrick is deliberately manipulating the photography, music, editing, performances, colors, and sound to create a sense of dementia and vileness to the acts being committed. In the film's most famous sequence, the villainous Alex (played by Malcolm McDowell) beats an old couple in their home while dancing and singing Gene Kelly's 'Singin' in the Rain.' He kicks the old man on the off-beat, laughs as he stuffs golf balls in the mouths of the innocent victims, knocks down bookshelves, and proceeds to cutting off the woman's clothes with scissors and raping her in front of her husband.

Let's dissect this scene. The majority of the shots when Alex kicks and beats the couple are wide shots with back-lighting, making the physical violence mostly non-apparent. Kubrick cuts in close-ups of the couple's terror-stricken faces in between these wide shots. He uses a wide angle lens on these close-ups, which distorts the picture and gives a sense of madness and tension. As Alex continues to sing, he runs into the living room, knocks down bookshelves, which fall directly toward the camera, and dances on a desk. Most of the scene involves that. He goes back to the woman, cuts off her dress and we see another wide-angle close-up of the man and one of the woman before the scene finishes.

So, keeping with 'Taken,' this sequence doesn't show blood, only shows physical violence from a distance, and cuts before we actually see any sort of rape. Rape is simply eluded to - 'Taken' also eludes to rape, by the way. So, what is it that makes people enjoy 'Taken,' but be disgusted with 'A Clockwork Orange?"  'A Clockwork Orange' actually thinks that violence is something disturbing and not a game.

There's also the issue of context. As I said earlier, the torture sequence in 'Taken' is a political statement, but that is the only sense of thinking the film asks of its audience. It sees violence as a way to entertain. A few dozen men killed is okay as long as it's fun. 'A Clockwork Orange' actually has something to say about the nature of violence and society's inconsistencies in that area. It is important that we feel disturbed by Alex committing violence against the couple, against a homeless man, against his own friends, and against an old cat lady, because each one of those people get their revenge on him later in the film. And what's most intriguing is that, instead of being glad that Alex is getting what he deserves, we feel the same sort of disgust and distaste in regards to the violence being committed against him. Again, Kubrick accomplishes this by manipulating his devices. By making these sequences just as disturbing as the earlier ones, Kubrick asks the audience to evaluate their views on vengeance. Does Alex really deserve this? Are these once victims better off by torturing and turning the tables on him? People don't like the strain of actively thinking and pondering.

But, that's not all. The overlying theme of Kubrick's film is about agency and humanity. When Alex is imprisoned, the government decides to rid the evil from him once and for all. They put him in a straightjacket, strap him down and pry his eyes open with metal clamps. They put all sorts of wires and gadgets on his head and force him to watch violent and sexual films. Eventually, Alex starts feeling nauseous when watching the films, but no matter how hard he tries, he can't close his eyes. When Alex is "cured," he is released into society again. His victims get their revenge on him, and because of his new condition, he vomits and burps as they water-board him, beat him to the ground, and compel him to jump to his death. Something unexpected, however, also happened to Alex in his shock therapy sessions. The underscore to the movies he was forced to watch happened to be Alex's favorite composer: Ludwig Van Beethoven. The therapy not only makes him sick when he sees or thinks violent or sexual acts, but also when he hears his favorite piece of music: The Fifth Symphony. It is a symbolic plot device to show that Alex has lost his humanity. He is like an orange with a clockwork within it. An orange is supposed to be juicy and sweet. Sometimes, they are sour and rotten. But that's the price we pay. We are all free agents and none of us should be forced to be something we are not. This theme is a compliment, by the way, to the Mormon faith, which proclaims that Satan would prefer we be forced to be decent people, but Jesus suggested we should have free agency.

So, this movie, 'A Clockwork Orange,' which kills off less people than 'Taken,' has the same blood content, shows violence to be a disturbing and vile act rather than an entertaining one, and actually uses violence to make the audience think about the nature of revenge and agency, is controversial, vile, and disgusting and 'Taken,' which never shows the consequences of violence, is "inspirational."

This is backwards thinking, and I can't begin to comprehend it.

The Gleek Critique: "On My Way" Episode

Rachel and the New Directions perform at Regionals... and WIN!  Image property of Fox.

by Jack Garcia

Last night's Glee was probably one of the best episodes of this third season.  It was an emotional roller coaster!

After being spotted at Breadsticks, with Kurt, Dave Karofsky is outed as gay and subsequently tormented and bullied at his new high school.  The unfolding events are shown to us through an emotional montage intercut with Blaine singing Young The Giant's "Cough Syrup."  It was heartbreaking to see Karofsky pushed to the edge like that, and he steps onto a chair just before commercial break.

Later we discover that his suicide attempt wasn't a successful one (thank God), but the students and faculty at McKinley High are all pretty torn up about it.  Mr. Schuester leads a group discussion on suicide and shares that he once thought of ending his own life as well when he was in high school.  Then the students all talked about the things in their futures that they looked forward to most to remind themselves that life is worth living.

The show then devotes the next twenty minutes to Regionals, because local tragedy or not, the show must go on.  Sebastian has had a change of heart, and he and The Warblers dedicate their performance to Dave Karofsky.  Immediately following their two numbers, New Directions performs a set of three songs, so we are basically treated to five songs in a row.  All of which have an inspirational "life is worth living" kind of feel.

The third act is focused on Finn and Rachel's marriage, because realizing that life is short, they've decided not to wait any longer.  After they win at Regionals, the group heads to the courthouse to support Finn and Rachel--even Quinn has decided she will be there.  But on her way, Quinn's bug gets smashed into by an oncoming truck and the words "To be continued" appear on the blacked-out screen!

Oh, Sue Sylvester is pregnant by the way... but the identity of the father is something we will also have to wait for!  And the wait is over a month!

The Pros:

• Tears, tears and more tears!  Oh, I was crying like a little baby within the first ten minutes of the episode.  Pretty pathetic, huh?  But this is a pro because I LOVE when Glee pulls at my heartstrings!  I thought Blaine's song was a powerful backdrop to a bullying epidemic that is far too real amongst today's teens.
• The songs performed at Regionals were awesome as well.  The Warblers performed "Stand" and "Glad You Came" which were pretty dang good, although Sebastian is no Blaine when it comes to vocals.  No wonder New Directions won! 
• New Directions' set list included a mash-up of "Fly"/"I Believe I Can Fly (Nicki Minaj/R.Kelly), Kelly Clarkson's "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)" and Halestorm's "Here's to Us."  It was like a concert full of chart-toppers right in the middle of the show!
• Jeff Goldblum continues to slay me as one of Rachel's fathers.  He's seriously so funny... and his reaction shots are perfect!  
• On that note, I enjoyed how the parents are trying to plot to stop the wedding!  Very amusing.
• Kurt and Karofsky had a very nice scene together in the hospital, and I'm pretty dang positive those two are going to end up together.  Just you watch.
• I like when Sue is being a softy.  :)
• Ending on a cliff-hanger was genius.  Genius!

The Cons:

• As if the clown judge at Sectionals wasn't creepy enough, Regionals has a vampire on the panel.  WTF?
• Mercedes' mention that they were planning to send Edible Arrangements to Karofsky sounded like product placement at the worst time.
• How did a last-minute wedding have such a nice wedding dress and bridesmaids dresses?  And how was Quinn going home to get hers when she just barely decided to go at all?
• I think we're looking at something like a 7-week hiatus...  :(

From the Queue: 'Vertigo' (1958)

by Brian Kesler

The first half of Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' is anything but perfect. There are plot holes, pointless sequences, and dropped plot developments. The second half, however, is so close to perfection that it almost makes up for the first half entirely, which is why it's seen as Hitchcock's masterpiece.

Like 'Psycho,' the plot for 'Vertigo' is not what we think it is. This review is abound in spoilers, so if you'd prefer to be surprised, steer clear. It begins as a sort of metaphysical mystery. A man hires a private detective with a fear of heights to follow his wife, whom he believes is occupied with the spirit of a dead historical figure. The detective, Scottie, is Hitchcock's favorite actor, Jimmy Stewart, and the woman has all the attributes of the typical Hitchcock femme fatale. She has blonde hair, pulled up tightly and pinned at the neck. She wears a gray dress-suit. Her face is pale, her eyes are bold. The first time Scottie sees her Hitchcock freezes the camera on her profile. He follows her to a floral shop, to a museum, to a graveyard, a Spanish mission cathedral, and - in an inexplicably stupid scene - to a boarding house. They all have something in common. They all have some connection with the dead Carlotta.

When Scottie follows her to the San Fransisco river and witnesses her jump in, he rescues her and takes her back to his place where they fall in love. Together they try to solve this mystery. He takes her to the Spanish mission, trying to get her to remember something, anything, that might connect her to Carlotta. He's searching for the missing piece of the puzzle. He doesn't find it. She runs to the top of the mission tower and, with his fear of heights, he fails to run after her. She jumps and breaks her neck.

At this point, the movie still has an hour to go. We never get a direct answer to these questions of resurrection, of the boarding house, or the mission cathedral, or of their importance, other than that they are not. After a hallucinatory, abstract nightmare that haunts him with the memories and images of Carlotta, Madeleine, the mission tower, and his extreme case of vertigo, Scottie ventures into the streets of San Fransisco and sees a group of young women and the profile of a girl with anything but Hitchcockian attributes. Still, there's something about that profile.

Her name is Judy. He follows her and tells her she has a striking resemblance to his dead lover. She's cold and haughty and refuses his offer of a date. His sadness, however, compels her to agree finally, and he leaves. She starts packing and writes a letter to him, telling him that she is indeed Madeleine. Woa, what? Confused! She wasn't actually Madeleine, but an actress trained to make Scottie believe she was and be a witness to her suicide. His client had already broken the real Madeleine's neck and flung her dead body out the window of the tower.

It was a remarkable choice of Hitchcock to reveal the secret and all of the twists that come with it at this point in the film and not at the end. She tears up the letter, leaving only the viewer as witness to who she really is. This is not a mystery film, you see. This is a film about a man so obsessed with bringing back his long lost lover that he will take advantage of this girl, manipulate her, force her to color her hair and get her make-up done, force her to dress in Madeleine's clothes and make love with him, everything the way she had done. And she goes along with it because she loves him too.

There is a pivotal point in which she comes back from the parlor. Her hair is the exact silvery blonde it should be, her makeup as subtle and alluring, her gray dress the exact one Madeleine wore. She hasn't done her hair up, however, and Scottie forces her into the restroom to change it. Everything must be exactly as it was. When she emerges from the restroom and Scottie sees her, Hitchcock bathes her in a green light, as though the dead lover has been resurrected from the grave. She smiles and advances, feeding his obsession. They embrace and kiss. The camera circles around them and the background changes to the stable at the Spanish mission as the memories return and Scottie finally has her back in his arms.The expression on Stewart's face is heartbreaking.

Of course, what Scottie doesn't realize is that it actually is her. Hitchcock's pleasure is in letting us watch how Scottie handles discovering what we already know. Without our knowledge of her identity, the final sequence wouldn't be as powerful or as sad.

"Did he train you? Did he rehearse you? Did he tell you exactly what to do, what to say? You were a very apt pupil too, weren't you? You were a very apt pupil! Well, why did you pick on me? Why me?"

That is the heartbreaking cry Stewart yells at the end of the film, when he discovers the woman he loved, the woman he fought to recreate, never existed in the first place. He takes Judy back to the tower and forces her to the top, determined to make it despite his vertigo. At the top, Judy sees a dark figure emerge from the shadows and, overcome with guilt, jumps out the window and kills herself, leaving Stewart alone, confused, and tormented.

By this point in the film, we are at a loss to sympathize with one character over another. It's tragic that Stewart was fooled into falling in love with a woman who never existed and his humiliation over this realization is shared with the audience. However, there is also an element of sympathy with Judy - which is unusual for a Hitchcock film - who we've watched subject herself to the ridicule and torment of Scottie's obsession, all because she will do anything to get him back. At a dress parlor, Scottie makes them stay for hours watching an endless parade of models sporting gray dresses until he finds the exact dress he's looking for. Judy cries and the manager says, "The gentleman certainly knows what he wants." He does. He wants the Madeleine he fell in love with. Even though Judy is the same person, Stewart is reaching for something unattainable. He will never have her back no matter how much he tries, and that is what makes 'Vertigo' a masterpiece.

Movie Reviews: The Vow to Keep Safe the Extremely Beautiful and Dangerous Artist in Black

by Jack Garcia

It has been a while since I have written a movie review!  School and work, coupled with moving into a new place have really distracted me from it I guess.  I’ve still gone and seen some movies, I just haven’t gotten around to writing about them.  So in order to catch up, I’ve written seven mini-mini reviews.  Super short and sweet.

And speaking of sweet… do you know what the greatest movie theater snack in the world is?  Reese’s Pieces and popcorn TOGETHER!  I’m telling you, it’s life-changing!  Eat it!  My friend Michelle turned me on to it and it’s so good I snacked on some while writing this post…

Beauty and the Beast 3D AWESOME!

Starring the voice talents of Paige O’Hara, Robby Benson and Angela Lansbury, Disney’s timeless animated classic was re-released into theaters in 3D.  While, I still don’t care one way or the other about 3D, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my favorite Disney movie up on the big screen.  The love story is enchanting, the songs are memorable, and the animation is beautiful.  No wonder it was the first animated movie to ever be nominated for an Academy Award.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close ADMIRABLE

Young actor Thomas Horn has a breakout performance as Oskar, a boy troubled with the loss of his father in the tragedy of 9/11.  I really thought he did a fantastic job as the odd protagonist.  His late father (Tom Hanks) has left him with a mysterious key which motivates him to search all over New York City for the lock it fits, dealing with his own issues along the way—including the patchy relationship with his mother (Sandra Bullock).  The story may be completely unbelievable, but his suffering is real and I enjoyed the film.

The Artist ADMIRABLE

I loved that this Oscar-nominated movie was in black-and-white, I loved that it was a silent film, and I loved that it was highly reminiscent of the movies made back in the Golden Age of cinema.  Silent film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) struggles to stay in the business when “talkies” emerge, and his fall makes way for Peppy Miller’s (Berenice Bejo) rise to fame.  The film is funny and charming with some impressive camerawork and storytelling and the two have some great chemistry together.  However, my excitement and anticipation for the movie had my expectations far too high, and I somehow felt unsatisfied.  I can’t pinpoint any real reasons, other than that it felt like Singin’ in the Rain without the singing.

A Dangerous Method AVERAGE

In this drama about early psychoanalysis, Michael Fassbender plays Dr. Carl Jung—a colleague of Sigmund Freud’s (Viggo Mortensen)—who is developing his methods while working with a crazed patient named Sabina (Keira Knightley).  Jung eventually takes Sabina on as his mistress… and not a lot happens besides that.  For me, Knightley did the most outstanding acting in the movie, while Fassbender and Mortensen were just good.   The drama had interesting moments, but overall was fairly dull.

The Woman in Black ADMIRABLE

One of my professors referred to this as  “the new Harry Potter movie” and for many I’m sure it’s hard to separate Daniel Radcliffe from his lifelong role as the boy wizard.  However, I didn’t have as much trouble believing him to be a married, young father in this Gothic horror movie.  Although he spends most of his time quietly creeping around a dark, scary house, I thought he did well in it.  The movie is simple and understated, and manages to create a chilling atmosphere and scare quite often.

The Vow AWFUL

This movie suffered from an identity crisis: it wasn’t sure if it was a chick flick or an indie drama, and frankly it wasn’t either.  Rachel McAdams plays a woman who gets in a car wreck and wakes up with amnesia.  She doesn’t remember her husband (Channing Tatum) at all, and he has to do his best to make her fall in love with him all over again.  The majority of the movie is Tatum earnestly trying to woo her and McAdams looking at him with complete indifference.  Not exactly the chick flick we were wanting.

Safe House AVERAGE

This movie was pretty decent, and I found myself having a lot of fun watching it.  Ryan Reynolds plays Matt Weston, a CIA agent looking after a safe house.  His job seems dull until a dangerous criminal Tobin Frost (Denzel Washington) is brought in.  The safe house is attacked, and the two men must escape together.  As an action flick, I thought it had all of the necessary requirements:  a cool car chase, some awesome fighting, and even some male bonding.  Definitely worth seeing.

The Gleek Critique: "Heart" Episode

Jeff Goldblum and Brian Stokes Mitchell guest star as Rachel's gay dads!  Image property of Fox.

by Jack Garcia

Happy Valentine's Day!

The crazy, tone deaf girl Sugar is suddenly super popular in the glee club.  Not only did she give enough money to the group for them to perform at Regionals next week, but she is also throwing a huge "Sugar Shack" Valentine's Day party and they are all invited.  But who will be her arm candy?  Both Rory and Artie are fighting for her attention, and Artie thinks he has won when he sings her a super romantic song.  However, Rory gives Sugar a sob story about having to return to Ireland and she feels bad enough for him to be his date.  But is he lying?

Rachel's gay dads are very supportive of her plan to get married to Finn.  In fact, maybe a little too supportive.  They invite Finn and his parents over for a special Valentine's Day dinner where they toast the happy couple.  They also tell Rachel and Finn that since they are going to be married soon anyway, they might as well just spend the night together!  The kids are shocked (and so was I), but it's all done in the hopes that the two will realize they aren't ready to be married.  Sure enough Finn and Rachel are arguing faster than you can say "Stephen Sondheim," but they are still determined to make their relationship work.

The school's Celibacy Club is now called the God Squad (perhaps because none of them are actually celibate?), and Mercedes, Sam and Quinn are all in it.  Their newest member is Joseph Hart, a formerly home-schooled hippie who Quinn describes as a "teenage Jesus."  They decide to sing "vocal valentines" to raise some money for their club, but face a moral predicament when Santana pays them to serenade Brittany for her.

Meanwhile, Kurt is receiving valentine cards, candy and "gorillagrams" from his "secret admirer" who he assumes to be his ailing boyfriend Blaine.  But in the end, it turns out the man in the monkey suit is actually... get ready for it... KAROFSKY!  Yes, Karofsky finally admitted what we've known since the beginning, that he's in love with Kurt.  Kurt, of course, is dating Blaine so he had to turn Karofsky down... but not before one of Karofsky's classmates overhears the whole conversation.

The Pros:

• Who wouldn't dream about Tony Danza?  Ha ha!  I loved Jeff Goldblum and Brian Stokes Mitchell as Rachel's gay dads!  They were funny and likable and the best part of the episode in my opinion.
• The Glee Project winner Samuel Larsen debuted tonight, and I enjoyed his vocals on "Stereo Hearts" by Gym Class Heroes (along with Sam and Mercedes and Quinn).  I also liked the God Squad's mash-up of "Cherish/Cherish."
• Mike and Tina's first duet as a couple (as far as I can remember) was super cute!  Their rendition of Nat King Cole's "L-O-V-E" was great and I liked how it was intercut with Rory and Artie's battle over Sugar.
• Even Principal Figgins knows Finn and Rachel are known as "Finchel."  He is down on the lingo.
• Artie's "Let Me Love You" by Mario had me swooning!
• Still not a huge fan of Rory's character, but I really thought he sounded great on Michael Buble's "Home."  He does well with ballads!
• Although the song was a last-minute decision to pay tribute to the late Whitney Houston, I really loved Mercedes' rendition of "I Will Always Love You."  Her voice is so beautiful... and so is she!  She rocked that red dress at the end!
• "We're going to have dessert... and then we'll commence with the teenage love-making."  Ha ha... Parent of the Year goes to Jeff Goldblum!
• Blaine's triumphant return (in a super awesome heart-shaped eye patch) made my heart happy.  And "Love Shack" was phenomenal!  That song by the B-52s is already awesome and fun, and their rendition of it at the Valentine's Day party was filled with so much gleeful energy!  I would pay good money to go to a party like that!

The Cons:

• Sam was a male stripper... why is he on the God Squad?
• Why is Mercedes all self-righteous all of a sudden?  Kurt is like her best friend, but she can't serenade Brittany and Santana?  At least they all got over it by the end.
• And Mercedes, why would you say no to Sam?  That boy is cute!

Listmania! The Best Films of 2011

by Brian Kesler

The Academy nominated nine films for Best Picture this year, because their new preferential voting system stipulates that only films with 5% of first-place votes among Academy member ballots are eligible to make it on the list. Given those new rules, many of the nominations were somewhat shocking, including - but not limited to - 'The Help,' 'The Tree of Life,' and 'Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.' With their new voting rules, it is now possible for a film on limited ballots to receive a nomination rather than a film on many ballots in positions other than first place.

Since the Awards are on the horizon, I've compiled my list of favorite films from this year. To be open and fair, I wasn't able to catch many of the highly talked about films from this season. Films like 'Shame,' 'Take Shelter,' 'Melancholia,' 'A Separation,' 'The Iron Lady,' 'Martha Marcy May Marlene,' 'We Need to Talk About Kevin,' 'Carnage,' 'Another Earth,' 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,' etc. I usually release my worst films of the year along with my best films of the year. I've been able to do this in past years because I've been nondiscriminatory in my movie-going habits. This last year, however, money was in issue, and I made a point of avoiding movies that were generally categorized as drivel. That's not to say I didn't see some clunkers, including 'Abduction,' 'I Don't Know How She Does It,' 'Apollo 18,' 'Footloose,' 'Dream House,' and most notably, Paul W.S. Anderson's abomination, 'The Three Musketeers.'

Honorable Mentions: 

'Moneyball'
'The Ides of March' 
'Jane Eyre'

10 - 50/50

It's hard to do a comedy, let alone a comedy about cancer, and get recognized as one of the year's best films. I like quiet comedies that focus on characters and let the humor flow naturally from real life situations. It's important that a comedy not only make us laugh, but make us care genuinely about the characters. This film certainly achieves that.


9 - Bridesmaids 


I just made a point of saying I like quiet comedies, and this one is anything but. It is, however, smart and endearing - even among the crude and outrageous punchlines. 'Bridesmaids' took it upon itself to make the 'R' rated comedy a woman's territory, and it gets an A+.


8 - The Descendents 


Doubling as a comedy and a drama, Alexander Payne's latest entry gets more points for the latter. Some of the timing on the comedic bits falls flat, but the raw emotionality of the film more than makes up for it. It's a hard thing to have a spouse on the verge of death. It's entirely more difficult to realize that spouse has been cheating on you.


7 - War Horse


Taking it's cues from old John Ford movies, 'War Horse' is a World War I drama that makes us realize the value of every life, enemy or otherwise. It's rare that I'm swept with overwhelming emotion in movies, but a scene in which Joey the horse runs frightened and confused through no-man's land and ends up tangled in a mass of barbed wire succeeds in being, not only the most technically brilliant scene of the year, but the most devastating.


6 - Rango 


An under-appreciated animated film, 'Rango' is also a sophisticated Western. With quirky and barbaric humor, amazing visuals, and creative storytelling, 'Rango' manages to surpass Pixar's entry as the best animated film this year.


5 - Drive


Ryan Gosling gives a performance rivaling Robert DeNiro in 'Taxi Driver,' as The Driver, an emotionless machine who drives for races, the movies, and the mafia. He becomes eerily obsessed with a woman played by the enchanting Carey Mulligan and her young son. When her husband is released from prison, however, things gets complicated.


4 - The Artist


It's no secret that I'm obsessed with silent movies, so this was a particular treat. With sophistication and emotionality no dialogue can hope to achieve, 'The Artist,' wins as a romantic comedy with a lot of heart. This film has sequences of sheer genius and craft. It reminded me heavily of another French film, 'The Illusionist.'

3 - Hugo 


Another film that dedicates itself to the silent movie, 'Hugo' is the best excuse for 3-D filmmaking. An adventure involving a boy who lives in a clock, his automaton, a cranky toymaker, and the girl with the heart-shaped key, the sheer entertainment value and joy wafting from the screen is impossible to resist. Intertwined with the true and tragic story of the life of film pioneer Georges Melies, 'Hugo' is an ode to silent movies and the magic and imagination they still provide us with today.


2 - Midnight in Paris


Woody Allen's best film in nearly two decades, I dare anyone not to fall in love with this picture. The love story is charming, the setting romantic, the story hysterical, and the characters legendary. Any lover of modern American literature and anyone with any degree of francophilia won't be able to get enough.

1 - The Tree of Life


In a year of so many delightful and endearing films, this film is not among them. This is the most ambitious film about the nature of evolution since '2001: A Space Odyssey.' Though that film is much better and more profound, this film has an added element of humanity missing from Kubrick's masterpiece, through the study of man's relationship with God. The film jumps between America in the 1950s, twenty-first century corporate America, prehistoric times, and beyond the veil of earthly existence. The jumps are jarring and may put some people off, but the sheer ambition of trying to capture the very nature of our existence is intriguing and the film's quietness only draws the viewer in more closely to these characters and situations. Terrence Malick makes a film once every several years, and his devotion to perfection rivals only Kubrick.

The Gleek Critique: "The Spanish Teacher" Episode

Ricky Martin guest stars as a singing Spanish teacher on Glee, image property of Fox.

by Jack Garcia

Glee gets bilingual in tonight's episode!  Unfortunately, Mr. Schuester is not-so-bilingual... which really is a bummer considering he's a Spanish teacher.  When a student files a complaint about his lackluster teaching abilities, Mr. Schuester decides to take a night class to brush up on his Spanish.  The instructor, David Martinez (played by guest star Ricky Martin), also happens to be a spectacular performer, so he decides to show off his music skills to the students.  The students really dig him, and their assignment for the week is to sing songs that are in Spanish by latin artists.

Sue Sylvester, finds herself in a similar situation as Mr. Schuester:  a student has complained about her teaching as well.  Apparently Sue has lost her passion for cheerleading and the swim coach is eying her job.  But Sue has bigger aspirations now... more maternal aspirations.  As shocking as it may seem, she wants to have a baby.  And even more shocking is the fact that she wants Will's sperm to do the trick!

Rachel spills the beans about her engagement with Finn to Mercedes and Kurt and both of them are surprised at the news.  Kurt confronts Finn about it, telling him that the real reason he asked Rachel to marry him is because he's given up on himself.  Finn insists that isn't so, but ultimately questions his motives.

Mercedes and Sam talk with Ms. Pilsbury about their feelings toward one another and the fact that Mercedes has a boyfriend.  Ms. Pilsbury helps out with one of her quirky pamphlets.  Will doesn't think her pamphlets are so awesome though, and he snaps at her while struggling with some Spanish translations.  She's hurt, of course, but when some of her pamphlets help out the football team and spread to all the other teams in the district, Will realizes just how motivating Emma's pamphlets really are.  She's such a good teacher, in fact, that she earns tenure.

It is discovered that Becky was the one who wrote about Coach Sylvester and Santana was the one who wrote about Mr. Schuester.  Santana helps Mr. Schue to realize that Spanish isn't his thing, so he convinces Principal Figgins to hire David Martinez as the new McKinley Spanish teacher.  So what will Mr. Schuester teach besides the glee club?  Well, he likes The History Channel.

The Pros:

• I learned something while watching Glee!  By 2030 more than half the nation will speak Spanish as a first language!  See?  It's an educational show.
• Gloria Estefan's "Don't Wanna Lose You" is a beautiful song (growing up my dad had all of her cassette tapes) and I thought Mercedes did well with it... even the parts in Spanish.
• In response to Mercedes, Sam sang a mash-up of "Bamboleo" by the Gipsy Kings and "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias with the other boys.  He sounds even sexier in Spanish!
• Ricky Martin sang twice in the episode, and I enjoyed his duet with Santana the most.  The two of them sang "La Isla Bonita" by Madonna and it was fantastic.  I think it was my favorite song of the night.  The other song he sang with the glee kids was L.M.F.A.O.'s "Sexy And I Know It" which was fun enough, but not really the best to showcase his voice at all.
• I really enjoyed the scene between Kurt and Finn, mostly because I like seeing how the two get along as brothers.  We don't see that enough.
• Surprisingly, I thought Ricky Martin did a decent job with the acting on the show.  He's a singer, not an actor, so I was impressed that he seemed pretty natural with his dialogue.
• Will's apology using his own pamphlets was pretty adorable.
• Sue was pretty funny this episode, and I loved how everyone kept asking "With whose vagina?" every time she mentioned she wanted to have a baby.  Can you imagine a little baby in a track suit?

The Cons:

• Mexican hipster boots??  Why boys?  Why?
• No Blaine this episode because he's still recovering from his eye injury.  Stupid slushie.
• Ricky Martin guest stars but nobody sings a Ricky Martin song?  Where was "Livin' La Vida Loca"?
• Mr. Schuester's Spanish rendition of "A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis Presley goes on my con list.  His matador costume combined with Mike and Brittany running around like bulls was really pretty pathetic.  I guess it was supposed to be... but still.  Even the opening rendition of "La Cucaracha" was less painful to watch.