Friday, July 23, 2010

Running the Sahara

View Date: 12/5/09

Many people think that running a marathon is either commendable or absurd. Some would say, “Why push the human body to those lengths?” Others are of the opinion, “It is amazing what those runners can do, but I can never push my body like that.” This movie takes any reaction one might have and multiplies it by thousands.

This movie is about a group of three runners who decide to undertake the challenge of running across the Sahara desert. It takes the runners over three months to make the trip with pitfalls along the way. There are the physical hardships of running that distance in the heat of the desert, but there are also issues as sandstorms, terrorist activity, and obtaining government permission to even enter certain countries.

The movie mainly focuses on the three runners and thoroughly explores their motivations and emotions towards this run. The viewer is also introduced to the families, crew, and support staff of the athletes. This was really nice to see being an athletic supporter of a distance runner myself.

There were times that I really wanted to hit the main organizer/runner of this trek. I understood that he was doing this for the experience and was of the mindset that it should keep going until the end no matter the costs. But his refusal to understand the need for people to leave before the end of the journey, even after being told that such things would happen if the trip ran long (which it did by about 20 days) really left a sour taste in my mouth. But in the end, things seemed to be smoothed over.

Would I recommend this movie to everyone? No. It was very well made and an amazing story, but I feel that many people would not truly become invested in the story. However, if you are or know a distance runner and understand the struggles they go through to complete a standard-length race, you will appreciate this film. There is some beautiful scenery, but the main focus of the film is the goal

10 words or less: Good movie for distance runners and their loved ones.

The Lincoln Assassination

View Date: 12/4/09

This history documentary provided an in-depth look into the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. It explored the reasoning and planning of the culprits as well as the aftermath and how things may have turned out differently if Lincoln had not died.

I have watched many of these pieces. This one did not particularly stick out to me as either good or bad. It was pretty average in my book, with nothing really making it stick out from any other piece on this specific topic.

10 words or less: Average and forgettable.

Sex, Lies, and Videotape

View Date: 11/30/09

This movie by Steven Soderbergh is the story of a sexually repressed woman who learns that her husband is having an affair with her sister. When an old friend of her husband comes to town, she is drawn to him and learns his secrets, particularly about a certain sexual fetish he has.

I realize that was a really poor summary for this interesting movie. One of the main things I noticed about it was the lack of background music. I felt that it heightened the acting and dialog, and made the movie a bit more unusual.

I had been told that this was one of James Spader’s creepiest roles before having seen it. I actually feel this was one of his least cruel roles he played early in his career. He was consistently known as a heel or bad guy, and still plays those characters well. But I kind of liked his character, and admired his conviction for telling the truth even when difficult.

Overall, I appreciated this movie. I don’t think I would have as much if I had seen this earlier in my life, but it sat well with me now. I saw the artistic value and recognize now just how different it was from the movies being made in the late 1990s.

10 words or less: Unique movie even now.