Conviction (6/10): An inspirational tale about the devotion a sister has for her brother

“I'm sorry you wasted your life on this. Your brother killed that woman.”

Inspired by a remarkable true story in which a sister practically gives up almost two decades of her life in order to save her brother who has been convicted of murder and has been sentenced to life in prison. It’s an amazing and inspirational story, but unfortunately the film suffers from being overly manipulative at times and too conventional. Conviction has Oscar bait written all over it, and despite having a heavy clichéd script the excellent cast elevate the film and make it worth recommending. Many people remember Tony Goldwyn from his villainous role in Ghost, but he has also directed a couple of rom-coms. This is the first time he directs a fully dramatic film and it suffers from being overly sentimental at times (the score is way too melodramatic). 

The film is saved however by its excellent cast. Hillary Swank is amazing as this working mother who decides to put her personal aspirations aside to help save her imprisoned brother. In order to do so she decides to finish High School and go through law school. Not an easy task considering Betty Anne has two children to maintain. Sam Rockwell plays Betty’s brother, Kenny, who was arrested in 1983 for a brutal murder. Betty and Kenny had been very close since they were young because their mother was constantly working so we get several flashbacks of them spending their childhood days breaking into nearby homes and dreaming of a better life. This always got Kenny into trouble with the local authorities. Years later, when a woman was found brutally murdered in a trailer near to Kenny’s place he was the first suspect. After some incriminating evidence against him he is sentenced and that is when her loving sister decides to dedicate her life to free him. The degree of devotion she has for her brother is unprecedented and truly inspirational.

The question one asks throughout the film is how far Betty is willing to go to help her brother considering it has led her to lose her husband and any attempt to have a life of her own. It has even affected her relationship with her two children, played by Owen Campbell and Conor Donovan, who feel neglected at times. There isn’t one second in which she questions what she is doing and takes it more as a responsibility and a debt she has for her brother. Swank gives a powerful performance and her devotion to Kenny is completely believable. Rockwell is also great as Kenny in both the prison scenes and in some of the flashback scenes where we see some of his wild behavior. He plays his character extremely well, up to the point where you are never really sure wether or not this guy is guilty for the crime he has committed. The only person who seems convinced about his innocence is his sister and that made the film all the more compelling. 

Minnie Driver plays Abra Rice, one of the law students who befriends Betty and helps her on the case. Her relationship with Betty could’ve been explored a bit better, but the entire focus of the film was on Betty’s devotion and effort to try to free her brother so she is only introduced as this friend who helped with the case. The family dynamics between Betty and her children and between her and her ex husband is barely touched upon because the filmmaker’s devotion was focused on the relationship between the two siblings. It didn’t hurt that they were played by Rockwell and Swank, two extremely talented actors. I’m a huge fan of Sam Rockwell and I could personally watch anything he does so I might be a bit biased but their relationship in this film is what sold this movie. Melissa Leo has some small scenes in the film, but her presence is always welcomed. The film has its flaws and at times the pacing of the film does begin to drag and feel repetitive, but the performances more than make up for it at the end.   

Ghost (6/10): One of the top hits of 1990

“It's amazing, Molly. The love inside, you take it with you.”

Only one film beat Jerry Zucker’s Ghost at the U.S. Box Office in 1990 and that was Home Alone, but Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore’s romantic fantasy managed to take everyone by surprise as it topped other films like Pretty Woman, Dances With Wolves, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Total Recall, Goodfellas, and even the sequels for Die Hard, The Godfather, Robocop, and Back to the Future. What is surprising is that this ghost tale still remains such a beloved classic to this date, thanks in most part to the amazing chemistry between Swayze and Moore and to the fantastic soundtrack performed by The Righteous Brothers. I don’t know however, if this film would’ve worked without Whoopi Goldberg’s hilarious supporting performance (which won her her only Oscar) considering the story doesn’t really pick off until she enters the picture. Of course that overly emotional touching scene at the end is what everyone probably remembers (and the reason why this film won an Oscar for Original Screenplay), but I don’t think it has aged too well. The film is entertaining, although it is cheesy at times and the visual effects don’t live up to today’s standards. What surprised me the most when I saw this is how well it balances those melodramatic moments with the comedy, because I always believed this film was a romantic tale from beginning to end, but it really is more of an action comedy with several twists along the way (albeit predictable ones). There is no doubt that the universal premise of wanting to believe that our loved ones are still with us when they pass away to protect and guard us is what really sold this film and Ghost easily manages to tell that story with two likable actors sharing a strong chemistry together.

The film opens by introducing us to a lovely couple, Sam (Patrick Swayze) and Molly (Demi Moore), who’ve just bought a property and are ready to make their dreams a reality. Carl (Tony Goldwyn) is Sam’s good friend and work partner at the bank who is always there supporting him and Molly. However, their dreams are shattered when Sam is murdered after a thug tries to steal his wallet one night. Sam’s spirit remains on Earth and he discovers that this wasn’t simply a robbery and that Molly’s life is also in danger. He must warn her before it’s too late, but no one seems to see or hear him. That is until Sam meets a psychic named Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) who will try to convince Molly that she can speak to her dead lover’s spirit before it is too late.

Up to this point Jerry Zucker was known mainly for co-directing satires like the classic Airplane!, Top Secret!, and Ruthless People. Prior to his solo directorial feature debut in Ghost, he had helped write the screenplay for Naked Gun as well, so he was mainly known for his work in satires. Many probably believed this ghost story was just another satire and so the romantic story took everyone by surprise. I’m sure Bruce Willis was regretting not having accepted to co-star along with his wife at the time, and that may be the reason why he accepted to star in The Sixth Sense years later. It’s a different film but it does seem to borrow certain ghostly elements from this romantic tale. I did find it kind of ironic that in the 90’s you had these actors standing next to each other being forced to act as if they couldn’t see one another, while now you actually have actors forced to talk to characters who aren’t there but thanks to the magic of movies and CGI are easily placed later.

My Review: Divergent (6/10)

"I don't want to be just one thing. I can't be. I want to be brave, and I want to be selfless, intelligent, and honest and kind. Well, I'm still working on kind."

Let me start off by saying that I had no prior knowledge of Veronica Roth's novel which this film is based on so I can't make any claims on how faithful the adaptation is. Although I will say that 5 minutes into the film I kind of got a feeling that this futuristic dystopian story had some similarities to The Hunger Games which made me wonder if Divergent was not yet another one of Suzanne Collins' novel adaptations. The main reasons why this film was among my most anticipated films for 2014 were director Neil Burger, for his unique work in Limitless and The Illusionist, and Shailene Woodley who has been terrific in just about every film I've seen her in. So I was greatly disappointed when I discovered that Divergent, which had a heavy message aimed towards young adolescents about not being labelled or categorized and discovering who you really were by following your own path in life, was being a bit hypocritical in its approach considering it can easily be categorized as yet another generic and formulaic teen romantic adventure film full of cliches. This was far from Burger's previous films which I found unique, perhaps due to their indie approach. However having said all this, I still found Divergent entertaining enough to mildly recommend it thanks in most part to the Shailene Woodley's lead performance. I'm not Divergent's target audience, but I think adolescents and young teenagers will love this film and their expectation will be fulfilled. They are the only reason why  the planned sequels will get to be made, but the truth of the matter is that this is a much lesser film than The Hunger Games and will easily be forgotten in time.

Vanessa Taylor and Evan Daugherty adapted the screenplay from Roth's novel setting the story in a futuristic dystopian Chicago where people live confined inside wired walls. They are also divided into five factions based on their virtues. Their is Abnegation who represent the selfless, Dauntless the brave, Erudite the intelligent, Candor the honest, and Amity the peaceful. The Abnegation faction are the ones in charge of governing the city considering they are selfless and always put others first. They are merciful people. Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) and her brother, Caleb (Ansel Elgort) have been raised by their parents, Andrew (Tony Goldwyn) and Natalie (Ashely Judd), in this faction, but when they turn 16 they are free to choose the faction they feel they belong with. Before they decide they must take a test which basically tells them what faction they really belong to, but they are free to decide on their own. Everyone always fits into one faction, but if you make a wrong choice you could end up factionless (homeless). When Tris takes the test she discovers she's one of the few people who is divergent (meaning she has basically all the virtues from every faction), but she must keep it to herself because these people don't fit in to this dystopian society where being different is viewed as something dangerous. When the day comes for Tris and Caleb to make their decision she ends up choosing Dauntless, who are basically in charge of the security and enforcing order in the city. Knowing that faction comes before family she must bid them farewell, and her training with Dauntless begins. At first she doesn't fit in due to the extreme physical and intense psychological tests that their instructors, Four (Theo James) and Eric (Jai Courtney), make them go through. If she doesn't pass the initiation program she will be sent with the factionless, but at the same time if they discover she is divergent, she could be killed so the adventure begins (and of course the romance as well).

I enjoyed the performance from the young actors in this film and I think Woodley had great chemistry with James. A lot of people had issues with his performance, but I thought he was very believable and pulled it off well. The cast elevate this film and make the film's extended running time worth the while. There are some beautiful scenes that work really well in Divergent, I loved the cinematography and the dream sequences were probably the highlight of the film. There was also a scene where Tris went down a canopy line through the destroyed buildings that looked pretty cool. The story is formulaic and has its flaws. It felt melodramatic towards the end and tries too hard to leave audiences hooked for the sequel. The first part of the film suffers for taking to long to set things up and introducing each character, but once we are with Tris in Dauntless as she goes through the initiation process the film picks up. The film also fails to engage the audience as to why the divergent are so dangerous to their society, but it all seems to rely on the message the film is trying to give to young teenagers. It is a metaphor playing on the fear of adolescents of finding their place in society and discovering who they really are. It wasn't the film I was hoping for, but I am feeling merciful today so I will give it a passing grade.