Jupiter Ascending

The Wachowski...siblings seem to operate within this epic universe where human beings are interchangeable, moving parts. In The Matrix, we're batteries; in Cloud Atlas, we're parts of different people; in Jupiter Ascending, we're embryos for space royalty. We're harvested like crops for them to bathe in our...youth juices to keep their skin tight and their lips pouty. The working class has their DNA recombined to create wolf-men and bee-boys. It's not the cluster fork it sounds like, but it's distinctly odd and perplexing. I have to wonder how they sold the idea: Cinderella...outer space...manimals...youth juice.

SpongeBob Movie

by Jackson Franco

When a new SpongeBob Movie was announced, I hoped it was not going to be like the current episodes. The main plot is almost identical to an earlier episode called "Pressure." Although, in the episode, Sandy challenges SpongeBob and co. to go to the surface and they were actual objects, not 3-D figures. The movie takes a while to start and the superpowers they gain are very brief. (On a side note, they meet this weird dolphin character with an Illuminati medal. I'm serious, look closely.) Overall, this movie has decent humor and was all around okay. 

Whiplash

This movie got me thinking about limits. What are the limits you're willing to go to for something you want? Whether you're a musician, a painter, or an athlete. Could you put yourself through the physical & mental trials depicted at the Shaffer Conservatory of Music--trials better suited for Navy Seal training. Everybody has that something extra they want from their lives, but would you sacrifice a piece of yourself (mind, body, soul) to get it? Like most people, I have yet to be truly tested.

American Sniper

A common theme in Clint Eastwood films is sacrifice. The characters sacrifice a piece of themselves with the choices they make. Yes, war is hell. And snipers kill people by hiding 1,000 yards away. But they're protecting other soldiers. Would killing be more acceptable from 10 feet away? These questions are tough enough, but not for the artist formerly known as Dirty Harry. What if a 10 year old is the enemy and about to kill 5 soldiers? Whose life do you spare? More importantly, can you live with that choice?

Selma

A reflection of the Civil Rights movement is provided early on: strong, courageous, and--surprisingly--calculated. When Dr. King and his activists enter a government building in Selma, Alabama, he is almost immediately recognized & assaulted. The activists unanimously agree: We're in the right place. Like firemen running into a burning building, they saw the inherent danger, but did it anyway. They also knew that public displays of brutality would only strengthen their movement. Mass beatings & cold-blooded murder of men, women, & children call to mind scenes from Schindler's List. And it all happened just 50 years ago.  

Imitation Game

Innovators rarely get the credit they deserve. Innovators that fall under the female-minority-gay heading, well...their legacy becomes a footnote. Alan Turing's story is even more complicated because of his affiliation with MI6. Like the CIA, they can keep a secret--especially one they're ashamed of. Turing designed the first computer and used it to decode Nazi messages for the British. Cheers! But, he was gay...in the 1940s. Bollocks. He ends up being persecuted (grotesquely) by the government he helped to save. Like Japanese internment camps, it's not something countries want to remember, even 70 years later.

Exodus

Exodus is yet another 21st century Biblical adaptation. Like the Western, Bible stories depict a specific time period, but they are constantly being adapted to mirror the thoughts and concerns of the era. Stagecoach vs. Unforgiven. The 10 Commandments vs. Exodus. In Ridley Scott's adaptation, Moses is kind of an acekicker. He's a warrior and general who is banished, gets hit on the head, and starts talking to God. God is represented by an angry little boy whose tantrums embody the 10 plagues of Egypt. Moses argues with God, but ultimately listens and abides. I guess that's us now.