Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

“You still living a trail of human wreckage, or have you retired?”

“Why? You looking for a date?”

            I have never been interested in aliens. The subject/topic bores me. I know the argument is that the universe is gigantic that we cannot possibly be the only ones living on a planet somewhere. I get it that argument it makes total sense to me. I want to believe it but I kind of cannot. I feel the same way about ghost and the paranormal I want to believe it I do think it is fascinating but I do not really believe in it. Needless to say when a topic deals with aliens my ADHD riddled brain loves to take a hold and zone me out. Despite the main plot dealing with aliens I did give Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull the benefit of the doubt because it is an Indiana Jones movie and he is one of my absolute favorite movie characters. While Kingdom of the Crystal Skull gets a lot of slack for several reasons, including the fact that it is about aliens, it is a fun modern Indiana Jones adventure.

            In the middle of the desert a group of Soviet soldiers manage to infiltrate a United States military storage site. The group is led by the no nonsense Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett). She has one of her men open the trunk and take the famous archaeologist Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) out. Spalko needs Indy to find a certain object that had been found and stored away in 1947 and Indy was one of the people brought to the site in 1947. Indy tries to tell Spalko that he has no idea what the object is that he and a whole bunch of scientists were taken to the site with the windows of the blacked out. He has an idea and asks for a compass and some gun powder. The magnetic hand on the compass and the gun powder immediately go in one direction. The Russians and the archaeologist rush towards the object. The object is an alien with a crystal skull. Indy sees this as an opportunity to get away especially since his friend Mac, who was also brought to the storage site, reveals he is a double agent and is now working for the Russians. Indy manages to get away. He thinks he made it into a nice quiet picturesque American neighborhood but when he discovers that all the people are mannequins he realizes he is on a test site for a nuclear bomb. He climbs into a lead lined refrigerator just in the nick of time.

            Indy is apprehended by FBI agents who believe that because of his associations with Mac is now also a Russian spy himself. He is vouched for by a General Ross who worked with Indy during WWII. The vouch is not enough for the FBI nor for the college Indy teaches at and he is put on indefinite leave. While on a train away from the college Indy is approached by a younger greaser called Mutt Williams (Shia LeBeouf). Mutt tells Indy that their mutual friend, the old Professor Harold Oxley (John Hurt), had gone down to Peru to search for a crystal skull and disappeared. Not long later his mother Mary Williams went looking for Oxley and was kidnapped. Indy looks around the dive they are sitting in realizes that there are men in black suits watching them. The men come over to their table, they are Russians looking to bring Indy with them. Of course Indy with Mutt’s help, gets away.

            Mutt had handed Indy a letter written by Oxley. Back at his place, Indy finds that Oxley wrote the letter in Mayan. Following the clues Indy and Mutt travel down to Peru. They find Oxley had had a mental breakdown and was thrown in a cell. He drew on the walls and Indy sees that the old man left clues to where the crystal skull can be found. In their first quest Indy and Mutt are captured by Mac and the Russians and brought to their camp site. Spalko is there and she tries to show Indy the power of the skull. She wants him to believe in it just like she does but he just is not buying it. During their stay at the camp they find Mutt’s mother is there. Indy is beyond shocked that Mutt’s mother is actually his old flame Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen). Once again Indy manages to get himself and Marion and Mutt and Oxley away from the Russians. They almost get ahead of the bad guys until Indy and Marion get stuck in some quicksand. Marion confesses that Mutt is actually his son, Henry Jones III.

            Just like the original three Indiana Jones movies, Indy and his crew work and fight to outsmart the bad guys to rescue history and the save the world.

            The cast was fantastic. I nearly died and crapped my pants seeing Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood back together. They are definitely one of my top movie OTPs I love them together so much. Marion is such a feisty character. In Raiders of the Lost Ark she kept Indy on his toes and she does so again in Crystal Skull. I do not know if it is just me but in Raiders you can tell that Marion is the only one he every really truly cared about. Willie in Temple of Doom was just someone to have fun with and Elsa in Last Crusade, well, Elsa was a bad guy but he definitely had a good time with her in one scene. There never seemed to be any chemistry or tension between Willie and Elsa like there was with Marion. Marion’s introduction scene in Crystal Skull is perfect you can still she is the same Marion Ravenwood she was when she was younger. I do not know what more I can say about Harrison Ford. Even in his late sixties at the time he was still kicking ass like a boss. He is and will forever be Indiana Jones. Ford mentioned that the character is not all about the age but his resourcefulness and imagination which has always been the case from the time of Raiders. Cate Blanchett was perfection as Irina Spalko. She is such a great actress it was great seeing her be this Russian bad guy who barely broke a sweat. I am not a fan of Shia LeBeouf but he was good as Mutt he was a good choice to play Indy and Marion’s son.

            Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is definitely not the best of the Indiana Jones movies but I find it enjoyable. The story is not the greatest with the aliens and the crystal skull and the Russians. Some people still complain that the CGI was too much that it made the movie cheesy and to that I say, can you all imagine what Raiders and Temple of Doom and Last Crusade would have looked like with the CGI today? Imagine how insane Toht’s melting face and the ghosts and the snakes in Raiders would have looked like? Chill out. I liked Crystal Skull and since it is a part of the Indiana Jones canon it is absolutely worth watching. 

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

"‘X’ never, ever marks the spot.”

            There are two things in this world from history that tend to fascinate just about everyone: The Holy Grail and the Nazis. The history of The Holy Grail goes all the way back to the earliest centuries. For thousands of years there has been a quest for the Cup of Christ that he used at the Last Supper. The Nazis were leaders of Hitler before and during World War II. They did whatever their Fuhrer wished and stopped at nothing to make his wishes come true. They caused utter destruction and millions of deaths. One story is legend and the other is true. When truth and legend combined to form a story is can be an incredibly interesting one if done right. The third installment of the original trilogy of Indiana Jones, The Last Crusade, combines the legend of The Holy Grail with the insanity of the Nazis to form one of the best movie stories and best movies ever made. 

            The Last Crusade begins by telling the story of how Indiana Jones became Indiana Jones. In 1912 when he was on a trip with the Boy Scouts he encountered men digging in caves in the desert. They were looking for a cross that belonged to Coronado. Indy knows that the cross belongs in a museum and intends to steal it to show his father. He almost gets away with it but slips up on some wood as he is climbing and knocks the wood to the ground alerting the diggers. Indy almost manages to out run them by jumping on a circus train and then running back to his house. His father cares for nothing but what is in front of him and tells Indy to count to calm himself down. Unfortunately, the sheriff arrives with the diggers and Indy is forced to give up the cross. The main digger tells Indy “Better luck next time” and places his brown fedora on young Indy’s head.

            Years later Indiana Jones is on a storm tossed ship once again looking to put Coronado’s cross into a museum. This time he is successful. Back in his classroom at the university where he is a professor, Indiana receives a package but does not have time to open it due to the swarm of students outside his door waiting to speak to him. He climbs out the window only to be stopped by two men in black suits and a car waiting to take him somewhere. That somewhere Indiana is taken to is the apartment of Walter Donovan. Donovan tells the archaeologist that his team he has assembled have found the location of a knight that is part of the lore of The Holy Grail and that his stone shield on his tomb has the site of The Holy Grail on it. Indiana is intrigued but asks why his father, who is an expert on the Grail is not the one Donovan contacted. Donovan informs Indy that his father was working for them but he disappeared in Venice.

            In Venice Indy and Marcus are to meet a Dr. Schneider. They think the doctor is a man and are pleasantly surprised to find it is a woman, Elsa Schneider. Elsa had been working with Indy’s father Henry (Sean Connery) before he disappeared. They were last together in an old library that had once been a church. The church is filled with symbols and images from the story of The Holy Grail. Indy finds that that X really does mark the spot and that underneath that X is a maze of catacombs where the one Grail knight’s burial place is located. Indy and Elsa find the knight’s casket and the other half of the shield. Indy quickly chalk rubs the shield just before the petroleum all around them is lit. Fortunately they are able to get away but are quickly chased by a group of men who are sworn to protect the site of the Grail. After an epic boat chase Indy manages to get it out of one of the men that his father is being held captive in a German castle.

            Indy and Elsa go to the castle and they split up. Indy finds Henry alone in room. The German are alerted to Indy being there and the head of the Nazis at the castle brings Elsa into the room as if she is a hostage. Henry tries to convince his son that Elsa is one of the Nazis. Indy refuses to listen and Elsa comes over to him and takes the Grail Book.

            Both Joneses manage to get away from the Germans. They go to Marcus and Indy’s old friend Sallah in Egypt. The Nazis also manage to make it to Egypt and they make the race to where the Grail is a very difficult challenge. When they make it to the location Henry is shot by the Nazis to make Indy go through the challenges that were set up as a test for those seeking the Grail. Henry had found clues to the challenges over many years throughout many sources. Indy successfully gets through the challenges and so does Elsa and Walter Donovan. One of the knights of the Grail is still in the room where hundreds of chalices are. He tells them to choose wisely. Donovan is not a historian he has no idea which one would be the cup of Christ. Elsa chooses for him and she purposely chooses the wrong one. Donovan quickly decomposes and turns to dust. Indy, of course, chooses the right one, the one that would be the cup of a carpenter. He brings the Grail filled with water back to his father. Henry drinks it and Indy pours water over his father’s womb and it quickly disappears. The old knight told them that the Grail cannot be carried out of the location no one can carry it over a certain point on the floor. Elsa is a dumb ass and walks over the point and the whole place caves in on them. Elsa falls to her demise after she tries to crab the cup. Indy almost does too but Henry tells him, “Indiana, let it go.”

            Indy, Henry, Sallah, and Marcus are all out of the location safe and sound. All throughout the movie Henry has been calling Indy “Junior”. Puzzled, Sallah asks what is with “Junior”. Henry explains that Indy’s real name is Henry Jones, Jr. and that “Indiana was the dog.” Indy goes by the dog’s name because he liked the dog.

            What makes Last Crusade so much fun, almost more than the story, is seeing Harrison Ford and Sean Connery together. They made the best father/son team. It is really awesome that Sean Connery played Indy’s father because Indiana Jones was based off of James Bond. It was perfect to have the original James Bond come and play Indy’s father. Connery and Ford had great chemistry and they were very funny together.

            Going off of the Bond theme, I feel the need to talk about Elsa as a kind of Bond Girl a little bit. In Temple of Doom, the female lead of Willie Scott was an awful mess. Willie was a mess because she was whinny and needy and annoying as hell and she followed who I consider to be one of the ultimate female movie characters Marion Ravenwood. Marion is THE HBIC she is perfection as a female character. Then George Lucas and the writers follow up Marion Ravenwood with Willie Scott who is one of the worst types of female characters in a movie (can you tell I really, really do not like Willie?). Elsa Schneider was in no way near Marion’s level of female character but she was a HUGE improvement over Willie. She was definitely more the type of a Bond Girl: she appeared to be on Indiana’s side and then she turned out to be duplicitous. Usually in the Bond movies there are two female characters, one of them is good and the one that Bond has a thing with and the other is seductive and bad. In Last Crusade there was no good Bond Girl-type just the bad kind and she worked out so well. I love the way Elsa played Indy and even Henry.

            Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is without a doubt one of the most beloved and admired movies of all time and the out of the Indiana Jones trilogy that everyone likes the best. The story of the Nazis going after The Holy Grail and Indy and Henry having to go on this adventure to find it is so great and so much fun. I remember watching Last Crusade at my grandma’s house on VHS all the time when I was little. I did not even realize until like a couple of years ago there were other Indiana Jones movies besides Last Crusade! (that was before I became a movie freak, forgive my ignorance). Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a movie that everyone enjoys and if you have not seen it shame on you, get your act together and go watch it right now! 

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

“You're gonna get killed chasing after your damn fortune and glory!”

“Maybe. But not today.”

            Archaeology is something that fascinates so many. It is incredible when watching a documentary about an archaeological excavation how these archaeologist gleam so much about the past, a culture, a person, a religion, a former way of life from the smallest of objects. Today archaeologists are extremely thorough in their collecting procedures and local politics. The field was not always like that though. Famously the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s entire Cesnola Collection of Cypriot Art is considered to have been stolen. Using blackmail and illegal ways, Luigi Palma di Cesnola funded the excavation of Cypriot antiquities while he was appointed to the American consul in Cypress in the 1860s. Cesnola than brought his collection to the Met where he became the first Director and where the collection is still located to this day. Cypress could have used the movie character Indiana Jones on their side. (In fact most archaeologists in the 1930s were like Indiana Jones… well, they were like him in the sense they used the same practices as the character). The country could have used Indiana like he was used by an Indian village to get back their sacred rocks in the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

            Temple of Doom takes place the year before Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1935. Professor Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) is in China. He is in a nightclub to give the crime boss Lao Che an ancient Chinese artifact. Lao cheats the professor and almost kills him by poison. Indy of course manages to escape but he has a bit of hindrance with him in the form of the nightclub’s singer Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw). Indy and Willie, along with Indy’s kid sidekick Short Round. All three narrowly escape when their plane goes down and they jump off the plane on an inflatable raft.

            They wind up landing on a river and stopping on the shores of a small village in India. The village is desolate. All the children, they find, have been taken away from them and that there is a palace that had been silent for such a long time and now it is occupied once again. The stories of the palace are not good. Indy sees that the village’s sacred stones have been taken. He now feels it is his duty to help these unfortunate people find their children and their stones so their land can once again come back to life and the village can thrive again. Willie is not happy about this detour at all and complains the entire way to the palace.

             At the palace Indy questions the people running it about a cult known as the Thuggee that were supposed to have been banished one hundred years previously. Everyone connected to the palace of course denies any such knowledge of this cult and of course Indy eventually finds them under the palace. He also finds the children of the small village have been enslaved in mines and caves working until they can no longer work. Indiana Jones returns the stones to the village where there is now green growing and the children have returned as well.

            Besides Harrison Ford, I think the cast of Temple of Doom is really lacking. Ford as Indiana Jones he is brilliant. No one could have been Indy but him. I could not stand the character of Willie so in turn Kate Capshaw annoyed the piss out of me. Willie is quite possibly one of the most annoying characters ever. Every time she opens her mouth I want to cry. She was such a poor follow up to Marion Ravenwood who is one of the best written female characters in a movie. It is like the writers went backwards with portraying their female lead. Willie was a whining, complaining, screaming, pain in the ass, damsel in distress. (Well, I guess technically they did since Temple of Doom is supposed to be a prequel of sorts). Despite the character being annoying Capshaw’s acting, to me, was terrible. I do want to give a mention to Ric Young who plays Lao Che’s son because he played the notorious villain Suit and Glasses on the TV show Alias. He was the first villain to really come up on Alias besides the main bad guy and to any fan of the TV show he is iconic. It was cool to see Young in a role outside of Suit and Glasses. (There is also a big Grey’s Anatomy/Alias/Kate Capshaw connection. If you want to hear this insane rambling of mine leave a comment below).

            Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is the lackluster one out of the original trilogy. Every time I watch Temple of Doom I cannot believe that this was the follow up to Raiders of the Lost Ark. Raiders is one of the most perfect movies ever between the story, the direction, the acting, and so many other aspects and then George Lucas and Steven Spielberg followed that perfection up with a story that is just silly and with a female character that is beyond a joke. With all my bashing of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom it is not the worst movie I have ever seen and I will always watch it as it is part of the Indiana Jones trilogy (Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is another discussion I will not get into at this time). This is definitely the Indiana Jones movie to drag your heels to see. 

Jaws (1975)

“I don't think either of one you are familiar with our problems.”

“I think that I am familiar with the fact that you are going to ignore this particular problem until it swims up and BITES YOU ON THE ASS!”

            I have lived at the Jersey Shore my entire life. When I tell people that I live at the Shore they give me a look. They look at me like seriously you live at the Shore? You are ass white how does that happen? It happens very easily. First, I run a movie blog I am technically a kind of human vampire that burrows in a dark basement either in an office or on the couch watching movies. Second, the sun is hot it is a demon and it turns me into a red demon-looking creature. Third, getting sand in various orifices is uncomfortable and beyond annoying. Fourth, and most importantly, I do not know what is swimming around me in the murky Jersey water! Anything in the ocean creeps me the fuck out! I have no doubt one of the biggest reasons for not caring too much for the ocean and being terrified at what could be swimming next to me has to do with the nightmare inducing Jaws. Who hasn’t had Jaws-induced dreams in their lives?

            It is summer time on Amity Island. The town is bracing for summer tourists and locals to flock to the beaches. They are also expecting the summer to be quiet and calm just like every summer is. Unfortunately this summer is going to be a little different for Amity Island. A young girl was out for a swim one night when she was attacked in the water and killed. Her body washes up on shore. The whole town is shocked. Police Chief Brody is called to the case. It appears to the untrained eye that she might have been mutilated by a boat or cut up. A scientist named Hooper is brought into town to examine the girl. He tells everyone that she was attacked and killed by a very large shark.

            The mayor of the town refuses to believe that the girl was attacked by a shark. He does not want to scare away the tourists and their money. He proposes that the beach be shut down for twenty-four hours. That plan unfortunately does not work. A small boy and a dog are eaten.

            A group of fishermen and local law enforcement go out looking for the shark. They find one they all believe to be the shark. Hooper tries to tell everyone that the shark they caught is not the shark that killed the boy and girl. That night Hooper and Brody open up the shark since anything it ate within the last twenty-four hours will still be in its stomach. No human remains are found.

            Amity Island is in a panic. Everyone sits on the beach but will not go swimming. The final straw for Brody comes when his son is almost eaten by the shark in a bay. He forces the mayor to sign a contract to hire Quint, an old shark hunter.

            Quint takes Brody and Hooper out on his old fishing boat. They literally fight the monstrous Great White until the end of Quint and the boat.

            Until today I had never watched Jaws in its entirety. Deal with it! I have been getting shit for years from family and friends about never having sat through the whole thing. I have always seen bits and pieces of it since I was little. Having watched certain scenes when I was little made me never want to see this movie and deathly afraid of the ocean! There are a ton of movies I have always wanted to see but never did before and Jaws, despite it scaring me, is on that list. Watching it as a twenty-seven year old, Jaws is not scary. Am I still terrified of sharks? OH HELL YES! It is so obvious the shark was fake. I can totally see how this movie scared the ever living shit out of people back in 1975 when it was released, though. Had I not really known what was coming I would have jumped twenty feet in the air when the head of a guy the shark killed pop through a hole in a downed boat. Holy crow that scene was crazy.

Sorry, I found this gif and had to put it on here. Hope you like seeing your lunch again.

            I liked Jaws. I think it is a good movie. I would not go overboard (ha ha) and say I consider it one of the best movies I have ever seen. I can definitely see why it considered one of the greatest movies ever made and how it had such a huge impact on people and the movie industry when it was released. Nothing like it had ever been done before. Steve Spielberg’s direction and the score by John Williams also made the movie culturally impactful. Everyone, even if you have just seen clips of it, knows the string theme and can picture scenes from the sharks perspective in their minds.  Jaws is a movie that is required to see if you are a movie buff and it is also entertaining. 

This post is dedicated to my friend Kelly. When I asked on my Facebook what movies I should watch Kelly responded in bold letters: JAWS. I work with Kelly and when I mentioned her suggestion her face totally lit up. She told me she does not watch many movies but Jaws is the one movie that when it is on TV she has to watch it. Her and her boyfriend know the entire movie by heart. She was even gracious enough to write up her own quick review: 

Jaws is my favorite movie. I take the back. Jaws is my most favorite fucking movie, ever, and the best fucking movie ever. Period.

Aside from the purely magical acting of Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss (Robert Shaw the most, but we'll get into that in a moment) - there is a quote in Jaws applicable to just about every life situation, ever.

I typically equate a person's likeability with how many Jaws lines they can quote in a conversational exchange. No, really.

Additionally, let's talk about Quint for a second. Quint is the embodiment of all that is cool and epic in this universe. Quint GRABS A MACHETE as Jaws is eating him, and stabs the shark as he's being chewed to death! If you don't sit with rapt intent every time that Robert Shaw delivers Quint's Indianapolis speech, you have no soul. People love Chuck Norris? Chuck Norris has got nothing on Quint.

In closing, unless you watch Jaws every single time you find it on cable, regardless of the point in the movie at which you tune in - we probably aren't going to be friends. Just saying.

Kelly (I know you look at my blog!), I hope you approve of my review and we can truly be friends! Thank you for the suggestion.

 

Lincoln (2012)

“Shall we stop this bleeding?”

            I knew Lincoln was going to be a good movie even before I saw it. How can anyone ever go wrong with a Steven Spielberg picture? I was not prepared for how impressive and how amazing the movie is. Never for one moment was Lincoln dry and boring as if we were watching a history lesson before our eyes. You are watching a story, an actual nail biting story with touching and thought provoking moments.

            The story is about Abraham Lincoln’s struggle over ending the Civil War and gaining enough votes for the Thirteenth Amendment to end slavery. If he ends the war the south will keep its slaves and never free them if he does not pass the amendment first. On the other hand the war needs to end thousands and thousands of young men have sacrificed their lives and even more have lost homes and land. Congress cannot come to an agreement over the amendment. Arguing goes on and on much like it does today with bills and other items stuck in limbo.

            We get to see Abraham Lincoln not as the myth he has become today. He is a family with two sons and a wife. We see his struggles. Most importantly we see his humanness. We see he was a good man who wanted good for his nation and its people. We see him struggle through every decision and action he or Congress or the army make. The writers made movie Lincoln personable and warm. I can only hope that this movie will bring this brilliant man into a more human light.

            The cast was phenomenal. In all seriousness if Daniel Day-Lewis and Sally Field are not at least nominated for an Academy Award there is something completely wrong with Hollywood. Day-Lewis’s performance is one of the best I have seen in ages. You were not watching an actor you are watching the character. Field is just so damn good in anything she does. Mary Todd Lincoln was a very complex person full of grief and sadness over the loss of her sons. Field played the rollercoaster emotions of Mary Lincoln to perfection. Joseph Gordon- Levitt was not in the film that much but of course he was great. Tommy Lee Jones was the man. He was the perfect choice for his character. It was interesting to see Lee Pace play an angry Congressman from the late 1800s. He seems so quiet and he was angry and mean here! One of the last scenes of the movie with him was one of the best. There are so many great actors that it would take me forever to review them all. Every one of actors and actresses were stunning no one did a bad job in the slightest.

            Steven Spielberg is just awe inspiring with his direction. The story was personal so his direction was personal. You feel like you are in the room with the characters. Adding to Spielberg’s genius direction is the cinematography by Janusz Kaminski. The movie is dark. The only bright colors are the scenes in Congress and the outside scenes other than those scenes the interiors are dark. I believe Kaminski captured the time period perfectly. It was dark inside compared to outside there were no electric lights. Through the colors and direction you can feel the cold atmosphere and you can feel the history seeping out of every frame.

            Lincoln will most likely go down as one of the great historic movies and one of the greatest movies about the life of Abraham Lincoln of all time. As I said we are not watching a myth on the screen we are watching a man. If you like Steven Spielberg’s movies especially War Horse you will like Lincoln. If you enjoy an excellently written and acted movie you will like Lincoln. 

War Horse (2011)

When I was in London one summer no matter where I went or form of transportation I took I would always see a poster for the play War Horse. I did not really know what it was about nor did I particularly care to know because I do not have a slight interest in horses. Also the posters looked odd… from this you could say posters really do create interest or not. Until last year I totally forgot about the War Horse posters until I heard a film based on the play was going to be released. I saw the trailer and thought alright why not see it this time since I now slightly know what the story is.

            The story is set before World War I in the small English village of Devon. A man named Ted Narracott buys a horse for more money than he has once he sees his landlord that he hates bidding on the same horse. His wife his angry with him but his son Albert is more than thrilled because for a few years he has watched the horse grow and run wild. He names the horse Joey.

            Albert and Joey are inseparable. Albert teaches the horse to do several things including plowing the land that was thought unable to be plowed and how to come to him when he whistles a certain way.

            As time goes on Ted is unable to pay the landlord in full. A heavy ran wiped out their crop and they have no money without that. Ted takes Joey early in the morning and sells the horse to the army when war is declared. Albert is too late to stop his father and the boy is heartbroken.

            Joey’s story of survival and how many hands he passed through is incredible. After his rider dies in a raid on German soldier he was taken in by two young German soldiers looking to escape their army and head home. He was then found by a little French girl who was so happy for something beautiful in her life. He was taken by German soldiers who used him to carry weapons.

            Through war and years apart Albert and Joey find each other and return home.

            War Horse is a spectacular film. I went with my younger brothers to see this and they said it was like Band of Brothers only instead of soldiers of the human kind it was about a horse. Everything about it was perfect even though at some points it felt like it was dragging (maybe that was just me because we saw it at like 10:30 in the morning). Steven Spielberg has made one of his best movies to date and is one of the only directors around who truly cares in making quality films from production down to stories and actors. War Horse is one of the best movies to come out in the past few years.