Hardcore Henry Might be the Best/Worst Idea Ever!

When I was a child, I used to love sitting in the front row of a movie theater so that I could completely fill my vision with the screen. I wanted to be fully immersed into the film. I wanted to feel like I was living in that fantasy world. I loved that sense of immersion.
        As I grew older, I moved back towards the center isles to save my aching neck but that enthusiasm for escapism remained. I’ve always embraced opportunities for greater immersion, like the current 3D trend. Now a new indie film, written and directed by IIya Naishuller, could possibly provide the best immersion yet. If it doesn’t make you throw up from motion sickness first.
Hardcore Henry is a movie shown entirely from the first-person perspective of its protagonist, Henry. He has been resurrected by his wife Estelle with a mechanically enhanced body. She is soon kidnapped by the film’s villain, Akan, who wants to exploit Estelle’s technology for designing weapons. Henry escapes Akan’s thugs, and is conveniently befriended by an ally who trains Henry in how to fight with his new robotic body. This sets the stage for an action packed second half where Henry goes on a rescue mission to save Estelle.

It’s a novel idea with great potential, but also predictable flaws.
Immediately there’s the issue of feeling bored. As if you’re watching someone else play a video game. There’s no denying the influence that first-person shooters had on this film. While this is a cool idea, it still looks like a video game trailer. Anyone who has ever died of boredom while waiting their turn might understand the potential frustration.

       Then there’s the shaky cam sensation, which can induce feelings of nausea and motion sickness. This limits the film’s potential. While I’ll give the film props for being aware of this and keeping its runtime short, 90 minutes could still be a long time for some. Perhaps theaters should supply vomit buckets along with their tickets to this movie.
Yet, what if Hardcore Henry pulls it off? Could this film give you a video game experience? Could you directly experience the feelings of heroism? Could you feel the rush of the action, the adrenaline of lobbing a grenade, or the satisfaction of punching someone across a room?

        On the big screen, the second half of this trailer really impressed me with its sense of danger and awe inspiring stunts. Could all that motion sickness be worth it?
Film festival attendees have already found out and given Hardcore Henry their praise.Multiple production companies held a bidding war for this film, including Universal and Lionsgate. STX Entertainment won out. That’s a good sign of promise. Maybe, just maybe, this movie is crazy enough to work! We’ll find out April 8th as Hardcore Henry hits theaters nationwide.

Oscar Clip: A Commentary of the Film "Spotlight"

Breaking News!
Batman teams up with the Hulk, Sabretooth, and Irene Adler to bring down a cover-up of child abuse by Roman Catholic priests.
Well, sort of …
Spotlight, a Drama directed and co-written by Tom McCarthy, stars Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, and Rachel McAdams as The Boston Globe’s investigative unit known as “Spotlight”. The team is motivated by their new editor Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber) to investigate claims that the Archbishop of Boston knew about a local pedophile priest abusing children and did nothing to stop it. As the team investigates, they unravel a grander cover-up that is massive and world-wide. The series of exposé articles they would publish shocked the world and won the team a 2003 Pulitzer Prize for public service.

The movie of their journalistic efforts is rightfully award winning as well. Spotlight is a tactfully done drama with a great ensemble of actors. The film focusses solely on the discussions of the journalists , preferring to allude to the acts of the priests instead of actually showing it. My only critique of the film is how boring it feels. Two hours of office discussions and investigative montages get a little tiresome, despite how well the actors milk emotion out of every scene. The drama and tension can feel forced at times. It’s as if the actors are doing their best to distract you from how boring the movie is, forcing Oscar style performances out of the most mundane of tasks. I believe Mark Ruffalo should be awarded an Oscar for “Most Dramatic Hailing of a Cab”.
Critique aside, Spotlight delivers an emotional tale of what courageous journalism looks like, and the personal sacrifices it takes to get your news to print.