Defiance

      Ah, screw it. I'll just do a bunch of entries today since I can. I had quite a bit of time on my hands yesterday so why not a movie? Next one on the list was a film called, "The Debt". Starring Tom Wilkinson, Sam Worthington, and Helen Mirren, this movie really caught my caught my attention. The trailer made the movie seem like it was in a class of it's own and I was super excited. But guess what? Most of the playable movie links were taken down and the ones that were still up had freakish lags to them. Truth be told, I just wanted to see Sam Worthington turn into his Toruk Makto-self and ride off in a banshee. If none of you got that reference...shame on you. In the end, I turned to Edward Zwick's 2008 production of "Defiance," for a good watch. 

      Starring Bond, Sabertooth, and Billy Elliot, "Defiance" was about the journey of three brothers and a Jewish community who are under the oppression of the German militia. Actually, it was Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell. Alright, the joking stops now. By facing the tribulation head-on, these three individuals prove that when facing a calamitous situation, one should never find themselves alone.There's a special place in my heart for movies about the hardships of brothers and how they deal with adversity. It's probably because I always wanted an older brother to look up to and experience life with. Don't get me wrong, there's no one like my sister, but I've always wondered what life would have been like if I wasn't the oldest. Anyway, movies like these, in their own way, allow me to experience it.

      I'm finding it difficult to do a review on a movie about one's experiences during the Holocaust because even though there are mainstream actors in this movie, the baseline story wasn't fiction. The holocaust really happened and millions upon millions of people were killed off like animals because of the irrational Anti-Semitic ideals. So with that in mind, know that I will be only reviewing this movie on a cinematic standpoint. Otherwise, it just wouldn't be fair would it? I might seem to take the matter lightly, but rest assured, I will never understand the true, for the lack of a better word, "torment" that was felt during this time.

      Where do I start with this movie? Should I start with it's incredible soundtrack? Yes sir! Right off the bat, the first thing I noticed about this movie is its noteworthy music. James Newton Howard showed his meticulous genius when crafting the underlying compositions to this movie. (I'll put some links in the sidebar.) Does his name sound familiar? Howard orchestrated several pieces for blockbuster movies such as "Blood Diamond", "The Dark Knight", and "The Sixth Sense," just to name a few. "The Green Lantern" doesn't count. The beginning sequence just did it for me. You know what else did? The German accents. If it wasn't for the English subtitles, I would have had absolutely no idea what they were talking about but, nevertheless, subtitles or no subtitles it all sounded right to me. I understood. Sometimes you don't have to know translations. All you have to know is how to read emotions. 

      Not everything about this movie was remarkable. There were scenes that seemed a little too empty to have been kept in the movie. The film was more than two hours long and if you have useless undeveloped scenes lingering around, to make a long story short, it's not going to be welcomed well by the viewers. Although in scarce amounts, there were cheesy lines recited between Schreiber and Craig. And finally, the only other negative aspect I could think of is the lack of on-point acting done by Bell during the first couple of minutes of the movie. Here's what it comes down to. Would I press the replay button on this movie? No. I mean, Schrieber was definitely the one to watch, but there was nothing too special about this one other than the history it's based on.