Waiting for Intermission: Review of “13 Score” and “House of Oddities: The Story of the Atrocity Exhibition”

Monday night became movie night for many of Chatham’s film students and faculty as they gathered in Eddy Theatre to watch independent films from their colleagues. The first film reviewed by the Chatham Community was “13 Score,” directed by Don Gabany and Chatham faculty member Max Walters.

A classical horror movie that didn’t disappoint on the blood and gore, “13 Score” was able to mark itself in classic horror of the film world. From an awkward first date, undercover police, and professional wrestlers affiliated with the mob, no one was safe from the cursed anniversary at Conley Lake.

Sacrifice and love, literal heart snatching, and zombie fighting make this film stay at a fast pace. For setting, traditional western Pennsylvanian hills create an ominous feeling in the crisp air of a fateful Halloween night. With a little investigation into the paranormal, the viewers find themselves asking if we truly need to know what is in the beyond.

I was never much for gore or horror growing up, but the story and plot of “13 Score” intrigued me enough to keep me watching through the blood. The idea of a lingering curse of cannibalism with an unknown origin could keep any classic horror fan entertained. With an added bonus of the 1753 curse turning unsuspecting carnival lovers into flesh-eating zombies, “13 Score” kept it classy.

The second film of the night, “House of Oddities: The Story of the Atrocity Exhibition,” was from another of Chatham’s faculty members, Brian Cottington. Where “13 Score” was strictly blood and gore narrative film, “House of Oddities” is a wonderfully unique documentary film.

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As the story of the Atrocity Exhibition from its first year to its fifth and current year, it is a living art collection of the fantastically strange and bizarre–located right in our fair city of Pittsburgh.

This particular year had been inspired by Steampunk Industrial and the film give an in depth look into the performances and the lives of these beautiful individuals.

Talking with Cottington before and after watching the film, there was a personal feel to the documentary. What audiences often forget within films are the individuals behind the masks of the characters they play.

However, when the viewers are given a rare opportunity to see the mask removed, there is a moment for real life empathy. Audiences can usually experience empathy when the film’s realm of imagination is replaced with the concept of realism.

Most documentary films can achieve concepts of realism easily, but “House of Oddities” maintains the concept of realism while letting artistic imagination run freely. These individuals become more than performers on a heavily lit stage and are able to redefine the meaning of family.

“13 Score” : 2.5/5

“House of Oddities: The story of the Atrocity Exhibition” : 4/5

Waiting for Intermission: Review of “The Judge”

Small towns seem to be the theme for this year’s film releases in the box office. Typically, the main character comes back to a life they wish to forget because there’s a problem at home that he or she chooses to forget by remembering all the problems they have at home, only to realize that they aren’t solving anything by running away from the past. It gives the impression that filmmakers want to have the audience remember where their roots are, even if the memories are too painful for them to bring up.

Hank Palmer, a successful lawyer of Chicago–and therefore one of the most despised men in the game, gets pulled back into his hometown because of the death of his mother. All of his problems that he drove away from one fateful night, 20 years ago, come crashing on him like a beat-up pick up truck. Including his father, Judge Joseph Palmer.

His old life and his old room make Hank regret what good memories he has with his father. After one more argument and insult, Hank finds himself on the plane back home when he gets a call from his oldest brother. His father, a judge for 42 years, is being tried for murder of the first degree.

Swallowing what little pride he has left, Hank returns to the rolling corn fields of his childhood to watch as his father gets bullied by the law for a crime he doesn’t remember committing. Hank, a charismatic lawyer of the Windy City, willingly goes down the dismal road of memory lane to be on the trial of his life.

Robert Duvall (best known for his work in classical movies such as The Godfather, The Godfather II, Apocalypse Now, and Deep Impact) portrays the character Judge Joseph Palmer, who reins his house and his boys just like his courtroom.

His sons (portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr., Vincent D’Onofrio, and Jeremy Strong) all had different views of how the house should run. Rules are what run the country; rules are what ran the house during Hank’s childhood.

While watching the film, I was waiting to see which character would tell the other the giant, “I’m sorry”–the apology that the audience waits for in the conclusion.

Who gets the most sympathy from the audience? The law bound judge, the mentally challenged younger brother, the delinquent turned lawyer, or the brother with the stolen dream? Family issues arise, as the past never seems to be forgotten when unwanted, while the truth remains a distant memory. When the plot slowly begins to unravel and the questions are soon answered, I noticed the impeccable similarities between Hank Palmer and Joseph Palmer. It is ironic that Hank became the man from which he tried to run away.

Rating: 4/5

Waiting for Intermission: Review of “This is Where I Leave You”

The feeling that you have achieved everything you wanted, that you have accomplished the perfect plan, can be attractive to anyone. However, for Judd Altman, (Jason Bateman), everything came to a screeching halt when his perfect wife cheated on him with his boss.

Going through an emotionally draining divorce, Judd gets a call from his oldest sister, Wendy (Tina Fey), who informs him the terrible news of their father’s passing. Judd then finds himself moving his life back home to connect with his grieving family for the next seven days.

Traveling to a showing in Monroeville at midnight with my roommate and friend in tow, I thought I would fall asleep due to the warm setting and soft music of the film. Yet, I became wide-awake just to witness for myself how the film was going to end.

The Altman family captured my attention with their realism, drastic measures, and their over-the-top, no-boundaries honesty. But in the end, they were still a family that cared so deeply for one another.

The Altman family would accept just about anything that would be cast in their path: the mother, whose fame came by writing about the development of her children (much to the embarrassment and resentment of her children); the oldest son, who stays to become the ‘perfect son’ but fails to impregnate his wife; the overbearing sister, who regrets leaving the love of her life behind; and the youngest brother, who destroys any responsibility and accountability for his actions.

Judd welcomes his old life like an old ally, if only to escape the reality of the betrayal of his wife. This band of socially difficult misfits come together to mourn the loss of the father–the only sane person in the family.

Sometimes you have to go home, to find out where you got lost.

The film encourages the audience to follow Judd as he reconnects with his old home to realize just how much he was missing from his life. But instead of trying to solve himself, to come to the next step for his ‘perfect life’ plan, he realizes that it’s alright not to be okay. No life can be worth living without imperfection. Life is crazy and unfocused, not filled with intricate faultlessness. The characters of this family aren’t portrayed with problems to be later fixed in the end. A person’s flaws are meant to be accepted.

4.5/5

Waiting for Intermission: Review of “The Giver”

We all know how it feels when the film industry takes one of our favorite books from childhood and tries to turn it into a profit. Films can never compete with the imaginations we, as children, create for the impossible. With that being said, the film, “The Giver” managed to give us as much imagination as it possibly could, had we been born in a world of dystopia. From the mind of Lois Lowry, we are able to imagine a community where there is no color, no emotion, no memory, and as a result, no pain.

The Community, created after “The War”, controls everything, even the climate and time by using the latest technology to signify night and day. Drones fly high in the sky and record every detail in the Community.
Since birth, every individual is watched by order of the Council. People are divided and assigned everything based on calculations taken from the Community’s records. Everything is artificial, right down to the trees surrounding them.

Each person must apologize before they speak while the other must acknowledge their apology. “Precision of language” is taught in each year of school to prevent emotional confusion. Where there is no love, there is no hate. Where there is no happiness, there is no despair. To be content means that the Community will run strong.

Unfortunately for our main character, Jonas, he was born to be dangerously curious about everything. Graduation day arrives and all groups of the Community advance to the next section.

Throughout his training, Jonas learns pain, sadness, war, and self-destruction. However, in return for all these fateful truths of the “real” world, Jonas discovers beauty, joy, thrill, and love.

Confronted with these harsh realities, Jonas quickly uncovers that the Community is fake. He is faced with difficult choices about his own life and the lives of the Community, affecting the calculations of his future.

While watching the film, I couldn’t help but imagine how life would be if our own form of a Community were to form. The Community was designed to disregard hate, misery, greed, and all other terrible emotions.

To be given the chance to forget every horrible memory you and the entire world have ever had seemed perfect. However all the colors in the world would disappear.

We would forget love, joy, and happiness. No one would have individuality; everyone would be exactly the same. We would never be able to dream. In order for the world to forget how to hate, we would also forget how to hope.

The film showed a world where people accepted what life was, but they forgot how to live. Jonas began to see colors throughout the film in very subtle changes, from the color of an apple to his friend’s hair.

However, his moment of revelation didn’t happen until The Giver shared a memory of a sunrise in full color. In that moment, it teaches us that life shouldn’t be lived by avoiding any pain we might experience, but how courage can shape our world into something wondrous.

Rating List: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Waiting for Intermission: Review of “Captain America: Winter Soldier”

In the purgatorial void between “The Avengers” and the upcoming sequel, Marvel fans have been treated to sequels portraying the heroes in the next stage of their narratives. Without forcing exposition, sequels can take the time to flesh out characters and adapt them for the modern age.

No hero is better suited for evolution than Captain America, who questions his role in the latest Marvel release “Captain America: Winter Soldier”. In this film, Captain America (Chris Evans) searches for his role in an increasingly militarized United States and S.H.E.I.L.D. operated by the mysterious Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). When an assassin known only as the Winter Soldier starts hunting down members of S.H.E.I.L.D., Cap and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) work to uncover of the greatest historical conspiracy in world history. While an action-packed two and a half hours, the film neglects essential responsibilities in recreating the American hero.

Like all post-“Avengers” films, “Winter Soldier” possesses the advantage of character development. One could argue Captain America as a frontier hero, existing on the outer edge of society while vying for inclusion through updating himself on movies, music, and history. The film presents an interesting opportunity to redefine the characteristics of Captain America, a fact the character of Phil Coulson alluded to in “The Avengers”. Those knowledgeable in the history of the Vietnam War recognize connotations of ‘Winter Soldier,’ referring to a speech delivered by Secretary of State John Kerry, detailing the horrors faced by soldiers coming home from Vietnam.

This speech gained public attention, fueling criticism of the American presence in the Asian theater. Captain America, a relic of post-WWII optimism, must deal with the growing domestic feelings of isolation through philosophical discussions with Nick Fury. The film advances these themes by subtly introducing issues of American foreign policy: militarization, rise of numerous actors of foreign policy, and their battle for influence. This interpretation appears as over-analysis, but considering the importance of comics to convey societal context, the film establishes political literacy for an isolated public.

Of course, this film offers more than analysis for history and political science nerds. It continues the strong slew of sequels leading out of “The Avengers.” Chris Evans commands—so to speak—his return to the role of Captain America while maintaining remarkable chemistry with Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow. Marvel fans will also enjoy the connection with the cannon and fill some of the holes the first film left behind. With that being said, some problems remain.

The film could have ended a have ended a half hour earlier, removing some unnecessary battle scenes and repetitive dialogue. While Black Widow did not receive the full Marvel film treatment of becoming overtly sexualized, moments of flirting generated false suspension. The real tension laid with Captain America searching for his role in modern society. The film presents this opportunity for transformation but it fails to materialize.

Cap perpetrates traditional notions of the American identity, lacking in representation. Removal of this tension weakens the film’s complexity, making “Winter Soldier” the weakest of the post-“Avengers” Marvel sequels.

Barring cultural analysis, see the film to prepare yourself for “The Avengers: Age of Voltron” coming out next summer. Or to watch the trailer for “Guardians of the Galaxy”, despite having already watched it on repeat since it was released.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: This is my last movie review after a wonderful three-year career at The Communique. I would like to thank newspaper staff and a community of supporters who believed in my work and made my reviews more intriguing with their scintillating discussion. I am ridiculously proud of the work I accomplished here. To quote from War Kong-Wai’s “In the Mood for Love”: “I didn’t mean to fall in love with you. Feelings just creep up on you like that.”

Waiting for Intermission: Review of “Mud”

Let’s face it: sometimes as college students we do not have the money to see every movie. Most times, our only chances of going to the movies require a surprise gift card from family members. Instead, we rely on the newest releases from Netflix Instant as our opening weekend. Last week, Netflix released the Jeff Nichols film “Mud”, a film that some argue begins the so-called ‘McConaissance.’

The film stars Matthew McConaughey as Mud, a drifter wanted for killing the abusive ex-lover of his girlfriend Juniper (Reese Witherspoon). As he hides away in an island located near a boating town, young boys Ellis and Neckbone (Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland) discover him and attempt to reunite him with Juniper. The film relies on expositional tension, which can appear to drag its pacing, but ultimately becomes a powerful coming-of-age tale with an excellent commentary on space. It only makes sense, then, that this film marks McConaughey’s transition into more serious roles.

Water plays an important role in terms of setting and character. It provides one of the first establishing shots as audiences are introduced to Ellis and Neckbone, two young boys on the verge of puberty. Coupling these images are tight shots of the shacks and tiny docks making up the boating town, heightening a sense of claustrophobia.

As the boys take to the river, the quiet solitude of the river becomes a metaphor for the town itself. While gathering at a water source as means of economic opportunity entails a collective experience, the isolated nature of the river echoes the hushed lives of the citizens of the boating town, such as with the divorce of Ellis’ parents or the secretive neighbor Tom (Sam Shepard).

As the film centers on Mud, Ellis, and Neckbone, it is also about the society of the boating town. Water represents the fluid nature of characters. For Ellis and Neckbone, the fluidity comes from their status as being on the verge of puberty. For Mud, the fluidity calls attention to his status as a drifter and his mysterious composition history.

Lastly, water acts as a border, cutting off the boating town from the mainland society. This border intensifies the mystical element of the film. However, little moments acclimate audiences to the realistic setting, such as with Mud’s shirt warding off snakebites or Juniper portrayed as the princess for his St. George. Helping Mud save Juniper allows the boys to escape from the reality of growing up, paralleling Mud’s inability to move beyond his own past. Symbolism of the water adds rich complexity to the coming-of-age film, while reminding audiences that we never stop growing up, as there is always something to learn.

Fans of constant action might find the pacing slow as exposition builds tension throughout the film. However, unraveling tension more powerfully delivers the film’s message of growing up and the constraint of personal history. As a group of assassins converge on Mud to avenge the death of Juniper’s lover, they shatter Mud’s conception of reality. Since Ellis views the love between Mud and Juniper as ‘true love,’ the invasive force of the assassins shatter his illusion of escape, ultimately preparing him to accept his parents’ divorce.

If tension fails to capture audiences, the amazing performance of Matthew McConaughey will turn heads. Though audiences remember his recent Best Actor Award for his role in “Dallas Buyer’s Club”, they forget that “Mud” marked his separation from an established career of romantic comedies, showcasing remarkable variety. Any fans of the cheesy cop films of the seventies will take pleasure in the return of Joe Don Baker as he plays King, leader of the assassins.

If financial limitations keep you in your dorm and you are looking for a movie to watch on Netflix Instant, this one should top your queue.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Waiting for Intermission: Review of “Muppets Most Wanted”

After a long year of papers and presentations, sometimes the best film is one that brings us back to our childhood. Specifically, our childhood devoted to Jim Henson. Recently the Jim Henson Company released a triumphant return of everyone’s favorite felt characters. Director James Bobbin comes off the success of this last film and brings it for the new sequel “Muppets Most Wanted”.

This film follows the Muppet crew on their first international tour following their reunion. At the same time, the most dangerous frog in the world–Constantine (voiced by Matt Vogel)–has escaped from Russian prison to steal the English crown jewels. Aided by his ‘number two’ Dominic Badguy (Ricky Gervais), Constantine switches identities with Kermit (voiced by Matt Vogel) and joins the tour with the Muppets. Hilarity then ensues in the form of stalled weddings, international police partnerships, and a Russian prison variety show. Complete with fantastic jokes, wonderful cameos, and sharp dialogue, the film reminds audiences why they tuned into the “Muppet Show”.

One of the characteristics so captivating about the Muppets is their self-awareness. Right away, the film breaks the fourth wall by picking up right when the cameras cut at the end of the previous film. The Muppets spend the film’s first minutes discussing possible plots before deciding on going on an international tour. And no opening segment would be complete without a musical number, aptly poking fun at how sequels never compare to the original.

Mixing the self-aware with the self-deprecating provides the backbone for Muppet humor, adding another level of hilarity in addition to situational zaniness. These moments of self-awareness continue throughout the film, with wonderfully snide comments remarking on the disappearance of side characters or how this is actually the seventh Muppets film, making “Most Wanted” not an original sequel. This lower layer of humor not only cuts across generational divides, but also brings in a new army of Muppets fans in general, making it entertaining for all audiences.

The fire for the film’s humor no doubt comes from its over-the-top ridiculousness. From ‘badge-comparing’ contests between the French detective Jean Pierre Napoleon (Ty Burrell) and Sam the Eagle (voiced by Eric Jacobson) to a “Chorus Line” composed of Russian prisoners, the film is unapologetic in its own zaniness. The film escalates the ridiculous factor in a way that does not feel contrite or slow down the overall pacing. Audiences will find themselves laughing from their own disbelief.

As with any Muppets film, searching out for cameos comprises half the fun. This ninety-minute film is a veritable “Where’s Waldo” of celebrities and singers, including Tom Hiddleston, Frank Langella, and Celine Dion. While the first Muppets film since their hiatus was similarly entertaining, “Most Wanted” brings more in terms of chemistry between the Muppets themselves. Now that audiences spent the first time watching the Muppets come back together, we can finally see them doing what they do best: putting on a show everyone will love.

The movie does have some minor hiccups. A few of the jokes become stale quickly and some of the plot devices lose any sort of logic, even for a Muppet film. Thankfully, these hiccups did not become so that the Muppets turn into a caricature of themselves. The film maintains the balance between hilarity and sensible grounding. If you need a laugh in the light of final exams, then I suggest you take the next bus down to the Waterfront and see this movie.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Waiting for Intermission: Review of “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Wes Anderson films have a way of turning audiences into Ralphie in “A Christmas Story”. Upon word that another film is going to be released, fans become excited. Doubt lingers in the back of their minds, but when the film is finally released, audiences discover that they end up with the Red Rider BB gun.

His latest success is “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, centered on the young Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) who goes to work as a lobby boy for the eccentric concierge M. Gustave (Ralph Finnes). During Zero’s stay, one of Gustave’s lovers (Tilda Swinton) is found mysteriously killed, leaving him the prime suspect. With a fantastic cast of actors including Adrien Brody, Saoirse Ronan, and Wilem Dafoe, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is a poignant delight. The film tackles real themes within this zany plot, guaranteed to leave audiences in a bittersweet mood.

Anderson opens his film with a series of frames, starting with a young girl honoring the author who wrote the events behind “The Grand Budapest Hotel”. It then jumps inward to the author as an old man (Tom Wilkinson) explaining his book. After jumping into a flashback of the author as a young man (Jude Law), audiences enter the frame of an older Zero (F. Murray Abraham) as he recounts the events.

Despite the many levels of consciousness, Anderson demonstrates tight control over these frames. He leads audiences further into the labyrinth of this tale, allowing us to become enthralled with the lavish beauty of the hotel. Anderson’s frame also speaks to the construction of the narrative space, with memory affecting the shape of the tale.

Zero’s memories of the Grand Budapest showcase Anderson’s wonderful control of visual representation. Zero’s timeline shifts between memories as a way to neglect the sadness surrounding his love Agatha (Saoirse Ronan). Even without his explanations, the instability of his frames echoes the emotional pain permeating from his memories.

Leaving the frame, Anderson’s technical mastery helps him investigate realistic themes within a fantastical world. The setting in Eastern Europe, the tension of nationalist war, and quick impoverishment of the Grand Budapest makes clear references to WWII and the Soviet takeover. There is a sense of familiarity to this world, but not enough to retain the film’s mystical element. This fluid nature accomplishes two functions: one, it gives audiences the chance to witness the hotel’s enchanting power as Zero sees it. Two, it echoes the speech the author gave prior to the story where he remarks that fiction is composed of nonfictional elements.

“When you’re a famous writer,” he says, “the characters and stories come to you.” In a twist reminiscent of Anderson’s older films, he reminds audiences that, even though the story exists in a fictional universe, the themes discussed are very real. Anderson’s films are known for their unorthodox happy endings following incredible poignancy. He departs ever so slightly from this formula—and succeeds. He then draws audiences back through the frames, leaving us in delighted satisfaction.

In the realm of Wes Anderson films, “The Grand Budapest Hotel” does struggle in packing the same emotional punch. While the film provides a wonderful zany romp, the relationship between Gustave and Zero exist only through implication. The ‘powerful’ moment of the film where Zero confesses that his parents were killed as a result of war seems rushed and surrounded by the comedic situation of the film. However, Anderson’s witty writing and employing the hotel should not deter you from seeing this film. Preferably as many times as the wallet allows.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Waiting for Intermission: Review of “The Wind Rises”

Animated films contain the power of the visceral experience. These films manipulate color, sound, and texture to fully immerse audiences within a new world. They provide understanding to events through a different form of literacy.

When it comes to animated films, there is no better master than Hayao Miyazaki. He ends an illustrious forty-year career with the film “The Wind Rises”. This fictionalized history follows the life of Jiro Horikoshi (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a Japanese aeronautical engineer.

He strives to create beauty in the rapidly industrializing world of interwar Japan. In the midst of successes and failures, he falls in love with the beautiful Nahoko Satomi (Emily Blunt). With sensational animation and a refreshing portrayal of Japanese history, “The Wind Rises” becomes a kind of “Tempest” performance for Miyazaki, employing imagination to create an intense visceral experience for its audiences.

Miyazaki conveys visceral experience largely through the cyclical theme of wind. Wind reflects the film’s sense of timelessness. Miyazaki displays incredible pacing by establishing only a few time codes throughout the film. Inconsistent time coding physicalizes the slipperiness of time, where whole years can pass in moments.

Any historical context then becomes an invasive force intruding on Jiro’s desires to create airplanes for his people as opposed to warfare. Visceral animation strengthens these themes by making the wind its own character. The wind shimmering through the grass takes on an aqueous quality that instills texture within the film, grounding audiences in both spatial intimacy and time. Even Nahoko is drawn with wind constantly flowing through her hair and dress, making her very presence part of the wind itself.

Animation also provides literacy to events outside western memory. The most prominent example is with the depiction of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923. The beautiful animation shows the Japanese landscape reverberating in thick defined vibrations. Debris floats down from an ashen sky.

Clear transitions from the initial tremor to the aftershock place audiences in this horrific moment. Coupled with nuanced dialogue, animation becomes a platform for western audiences to understand Japanese history. To understand the world of Jiro/Miyazaki’s creation, one must be first welcomed into it.

Unfortunately, a couple elements of the film may turn away some American audiences. Pacing may come off as slow for those fans of the fast-paced action film. More pressing are the quiet allusions to the atomic bomb. Some moments seem to foreshadow the brutal end of Japanese involvement in the war, including a German engineer’s snide remark that “Japan will blow up.”

Although Jiro muses that his airplane designs—which would be used as Japanese fighter pilots—“fell apart at the end,” no specific references were made to the end of the war. It retains the timeless feeling of the movie, but it just misses what seems to be one of the central messages of the film: imagination can provide escape from the horrors of reality.

If reality becomes destructive, then creative minds are needed to rebuild that society. Even a simple clarification of that societal context, which they mention in detail throughout the film, would have been enough to advance that them without demonizing Jiro or ruining the film’s cultural influence.

For the best enjoyment, watch the film in the original Japanese. Even with English subtitles, this tale carries the most agency in its native language.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Waiting for Intermission: Review of “The Monuments Men”

Check out George Clooney’s IMDb page and one will find a laundry list of acting credits. Notable roles include a vampire hunter, a suave casino thief, a 1930s Odysseus, and an animated fox with a midlife crisis. Within this established career, Clooney has added directorial credits to his resume with his debut film “The Monuments Men”.

The film tells the story of a little-known WWII mission involving recovering art stolen by Hitler during the occupation. Art historian turned lieutenant Frank Stokes (Clooney) leads the mission with a motley  crew that includes an architect (Bill Murray), a French pilot (Jean Dujardin) and the curator of the Met (Matt Damon).

Clooney’s directorial debut suffers from split personalities, unsure of whether it’s a comedy or drama. Stylized technical choices and the saccharine quality weaken the hilarity and chemistry between the actors. The film becomes the WWII version of “Ocean’s Eleven”, but with more cliché music and less Steven Soderbergh.

The first half of the film is arguably the most entertaining for the audience. Clooney presents the film like an episode of “Hogan’s Heroes” or “M*A*S*H”. Fantastic veteran actors such as Murray and Damon develop an assembly of colorful personalities. No one actor steals the show and audiences feel the playful chemistry develop between their characters.

The first half divides itself into a series of anecdotes as the group separates into their individual sub-missions. Clooney constructs these scenes in a humorous matter, whether it involves being pinned down by a child sniper or ousting a Nazi collaborator for housing stolen art. Fresh dialogue informs the humor in these scenes through the seamless witty comebacks between characters.

With the tripping over foxholes and discussions over who will be the distraction for gunfire, one almost expects Hawkeye to appear with a sharp one-liner (although Murray makes a reference to the character with his purple robe, helmet, and untied combat boots). Quick pacing also accompanies the first half, enhancing the light-hearted nature of the film.

At the same time, cheesy stylized effects also mark the film’s first half. Ominous violin music signaling those ‘pesky Germans’ and overt patriotic symbolism can cause some cringing. These flaws potentially accentuate the hilarity of the film when interpreted as a comedy. The first half does not take itself seriously, and neither does the audience. Suspension of disbelief through comedy would have made this film ultimately successful.

Except the tone changes dramatically in the second half. Clooney attempts the emotional pull of war by transforming his comedy into a war drama. Instead of the powerful message, audiences feel as if they are watching a completely different film. Pacing grinds to an aching halt and the characters begin to lose their sense of flavor. The oncoming Russian forces from the east serve to manufacture tension, but they end up becoming a predictable moot point in the film.

Clooney could have rationalized this sudden shift by abandoning the stylistic elements of the first half. Absence of bombastic music would signal to viewers a new realism reminding them about the horrors of war. Unfortunately, these elements remain, culminating with a Disney-esque ending fueled with naïve optimism. Clooney drew us in with the comedic theme, but his infusion of drama only leaves us confused by the end.

If you were able to only pay half the movie admission and watch the first hour, I would recommend seeing this film. The first half is the only part of the movie worth watching.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.