Gagarin: First in Space (orig. Гагарин. Первый в космосе) [2013]

MPAA (UR would PG-13)   Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing

KinoNews.ru listing*   KinoPoisk.ru listing*
Kino-teatr.ru listing*    Kritikanstvo.ru listing*
Megacritic.ru listing*

ArgumentyiFakty.ru (A. Rogova) review*
ArgumentyiFakty.ru (A. Sidorchik) review*
KinoNews.ru (R. Volohov) review*
KinoTeatr.ru (P. Konyashov) review*
Lumiere-Mag.ru review*
ProfiCinema.ru (M. Vasilyeva) review*
RusKino.ru (S. Stepnova) review*
VarietyRussia.com (S.F. Rostockiy) review*

Kino.kz viewer reviews*

Gagarin: First in Space (orig. Гагарин. Первый в космосе) [2013] [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KP.ru]*[KT.ru]*(directed by Pavel Parkhomenko [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KP.ru]*[KT.ru]* screenplay by Andrey Dmitriev [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KP.ru]*[KT.ru]* and Oleg Kapanets [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KP.ru]*[KT.ru]*) is another 2013 Russian "patriotic" film that I came across as I was reviewing the Russian "biopic" / "Rocky-like" hockey movie Legend no. 17 (orig. Легенда №17) [2013] the latter having played at the 2013 Russian Film Week in New York.   I immediately thought to look the current film up and then to also review it here.

Why do so?  I do honestly ask myself this question.  After all, it seems that with each passing day the situation in Ukraine gets worse [BBC] [CNN] [FoxNews].  Why should an American of Czech parents (In 1968 the Soviet Union / Warsaw Pact invaded then Communist but reforming Czechoslovakia on my mother's birthday when I was 4 ...) even bother to review a film that like Legend no. 17 (orig. Легенда №17) [2013] and the "3D extravaganza" Stalingrad (orig. Сталинград) [2013] [KN.ru]*[KP.ru]*[KT.ru]* (I saw that film about a year ago and never bothered to review it) ALL FEEL to someone like me to be "neo-Soviet" / propagandistic in intent?

Well honestly, I've viewed and reviewed these films for the sake of better understanding among people.  For while an American (or for that matter a Czech) may not like that the Russian, Yuri Gagarin [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]*, was the first man in space (and to this day there various western conspiracy theories that he was not ... theories that if one investigates, and believe me I have..., while AT TIMES _tantalizing_, ultimately DON'T add up [en.wikip] [EA]) or that due to a combination of the peculiarities of the Soviet system and the esoterics of Olympic Games' rules at the time, the Soviet Union had a hockey team perhaps like no other, both before or since, the reality is that these were RUSSIAN, Soviet Era ACHIEVEMENTS of which if I were a Moscovite, of ANY STRIPE, I'd probably be proud.

FURTHER, the RUSSIAN DISCUSSION around this film (and others) is IMHO both fascinating and AFFIRMING that Russians are, in fact, JUST LIKE US.

First the nationalistic nature of this film was noted by pretty much everyone of the RUSSIAN REVIEWERS that I cite above.  Almost EVERYONE of the reviewers asked the question if it's "okay" for a film to be SO NATIONALISTIC.  Most answered, ultimately, "Sure, why not?  We're Russians.  Why not be proud of being Russians?"  Yet, the discussion was remarkably similar to that in the United States regarding American Sniper [2014] with a fair number of American critics being uncomfortable with a film that was so unabashedly patriotic.  Indeed, one of the Russian critics listed above suggested HER FAVORITE recent Russian film about the Soviet Era space program, the far more somber / introspective Paper Soldier (orig. Бумажный солдат) [2008] [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KP.ru]*[KT.ru]* which I've since looked-up / seen and I'd call "The Hurt Locker [2008]" of recent Russian movies about the Soviet era space program ;-).

Then there was A FASCINATING DISCUSSION on KinoNews.ru* which noted that despite Gagarin's [2013] [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KP.ru]*[KT.ru]* outstanding technical quality  -- I'd certainly characterize _its technical quality_ as easily on par with the American classic The Right Stuff [1983] about the origins of the space program in the United States -- and despite being the top-drawing RUSSIAN MADE FILM in Russia during the summer of its release (2013), IT RANKED #27 (!) in the RUSSIAN BOX OFFICE during the same summer period.  It was beaten (CLOBBERED really) by 26 OTHER FILMS, mostly American made Hollywood films including Despicable Me 2 [2013], World War Z [2013] and The Wolverine [2013].  The question was, why?  A fair number of readers blamed "marketing" but A LOT OF THE READERS' COMMENTS SUGGESTED THAT THE HOLLYWOOD FILMS SIMPLY REMAINED "MORE COMPELLING."

And there it is.  From a technical point of view the current film about Gagarin's [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* space flight (and via flashbacks about his early life) is outstanding.  And IT WOULD BE WORTH IT FOR AMERICANS / WESTERNERS TO SEE.  However as opposed to the American/Hollywood made The Right Stuff [1983], the Russian made Gagarin [2013] [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KP.ru]*[KT.ru]* REMAINS "a hagiography."  And that is a shame because IMHO a _far more_ interesting / relatable "Right Stuff-like" portrayal of Gagarin's life can be found in Jamie Doran's [wikip] [GR] [Amzn] and Piers Bizony's [wikip] [GR] [Amzn] recent book Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin (2011) [Amzn] [GR] [WCat]. 

Those who would read Doran / Bizony's Starman (2011) would certainly see why Gagarin [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* was such a compelling Russian Soviet-Era hero.  Among other things, he was the quintessential SMILING RUSSIAN HERO that I set-out to look-for when, FRUSTRATED AND ON MY OWN, I decided to look-up the films shown at the 2013 New York Russian Film Week (I wrote then that IMHO it was CRUCIALLY IMPORTANT, indeed, continued (relative) World Peace could well depend on it, for Westerners to see _smiling Russians_ rather than ONLY "the dour ones" portrayed in the _very few_ Russian films that make it to our western movie theaters).   But readers of Doran/Bizony's book would also encounter a very human, Russian Soviet-Era hero:

(1) Part of the reason why he never made it to space again was because he had a _very human accident_, born of several levels of stupidity ;-).  Five or six months after his famous space flight, on vacation in Crimea, he broke his leg jumping out of a 2nd story hotel window to avoid his wife catching him with another woman :-) (Doran and Bizony, Starman, Chpt 9, "The Foros Incident," pg 155ff of 234, dutifully recorded in then head of Cosmonaut Training General Nikolai P. Kamanin's [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* Published Diary "Скрытый космос" (1995) Entry for Oct 4, 1961* [WCat] [GR]) -- A SITUATION THAT MANY OF AMERICA'S "MERCURY SEVEN" ASTRONAUTS could CERTAINLY HAVE RELATED TO ;-) ;-).

And (2) precisely because of his popularity -- Gagarin was very much Khrushchev's [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* (also known for his smile) "golden boy" -- the aparachiks of the succeeding (largely smile-less) Brezhnev Era [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* HATED HIM, to the point that, while (again) Doran / Bizony's book ultimately does not question the fundamental narrative that Gagarin died in a plane crash, apparently even GAGARIN'S OWN MOTHER ASKED ONE OF HIS FELLOW COSMONAUTS: "Was Yura killed?" (Doran and Bizony, Starman, Epilogue, pg 233 of 234)

Instead, the current film whitewashes anything that could put color on his story, and even adjusts it to current ideological times: One of my very-much-believing 82-year-old Czech born / through-Berlin-before-the-Wall-escaping dad's persistent complaints about Gagarin [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* has always been that Gagarin, a Communist after all, was _a very public_ and _enthusiastic_ proponent of atheism.  Asked the question if he believed in God, Gagarin (in)famously responded then: "Well, when I was there, orbiting the earth, I saw no god floating beside me ..."

But times have changed.  Faced with his (then) quite outspoken atheistic record, the current film-makers did their best to "fix things" to more Russian Orthodox Church friendly times.  SO while Gagarin [IMDb] (played in the film by all accounts admirably Yaroslav Zhalnin [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KT.ru]*) himself remained "a skeptic", (1) HIS WIFE Valya (played in the film by Olga Ivanova [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KT.ru]*), (2) HIS MOTHER (played in the film by Nadezhda Markina [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KT.ru]*) and (3) EVEN THE FATHER-OF-THE-SOVIET-SPACE-PROGRAM S.P. Korolev [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* (played in the film by Mikhail Filippov [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KT.ru]*) were ALL portrayed as believers.

And even Gagarin himself is portrayed in this film as a "softer" non-believer (and with a context / story):  (1) He tells his wife that it's okay if she prays for him "if it would make her feel better...", and (2) IN A TRULY INTERESTING SCENE ACTUALLY, when as a child (he and his family lived under Nazi occupation in a small village in the Smolensk [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* region) he asked his mother about "the beauty of the stars at night" and film has her respond: "They are God's tears," to which HE responds: "So are you telling me that God did not march with the Germans?"  (Note here that the Germans during the Nazi era infamously rampaged across Europe wearing belt-buckles with the curt message: "Gott mit Uns" meaning "God's with us...").

In any case, a new Putin-esque ideology which seeks to co-opt the Russian Orthodox Church to its side, apparently requires a "re-imagined" Gagarin with regards to matters of faith...  (Indeed, Putin may be seeking to deal with the Russian Orthodox Church in a similar way as Franco sought to coopt / keep-in-line the Catholic Church during his reign in Spain...).

So what then to say ultimately about this movie?  I would honestly encourage Americans / Westerners to find it and see it.  The Soviets were in space first.  That is simply a fact.  They also had and have their heroes AND HAVE REASON TO BE PROUD OF THEM.

Still, the Russians do have a lot to learn also from the West.  Among them here, honestly, if Gagarin [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* had been portrayed more humanly in this film, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A BETTER MOVIE and ALSO ALMOST CERTAINLY A MORE SUCCESSFUL ONE.  That DESPITE ITS TECHNICAL QUALITY the film still came in at 27th (!) IN ITS OWN COUNTRY is perhaps the single best indication that IDEOLOGICAL RIGIDITY makes for disappointing cinema.  And even Russia's far-and-away most famous film-maker, the STALIN ERA Sergei Eisenstein [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* famously agreed with that assessment.


FURTHER READING:

Jamie Doran's [wikip] [GR] [Amzn] and Piers Bizony's [wikip] [GR] [Amzn] book Starman: The Truth Behind the Legend of Yuri Gagarin (2011) [Amzn] [GR] [WCat]. 

General Nikolai P. Kamanin [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]*, head of Cosmonaut Training 1960-1971, Published diary "Скрытый космос" ("Hidden Cosmos") (1995) [WCat] [GR] (downloadable in Russian here,* and after downloading can be run, chapter by chapter / month by month, through translate.google.com)

Boris Chertok [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* memoir Ракеты и люди (Rockets and People) (published 1994-1999) translated into English by Asif Siddiqi [en.wikip] and is available in English translation online for free via NASA's website.  The memoir gives a history of the Soviet Rocketry program from its beginnings in the 1930s through the 1970s.

Mark Wade, editor, Encyclopedia Astronautica [en.wikip]


* Reasonably good (sense) translations of non-English webpages can be found by viewing them through Google's Chrome browser. 

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Paddington [2014]

MPAA (PG)  CNS/USCCB (A-II)  ChicagoTribune (3 Stars)  RE.com (3 Stars)  AVClub (B)  Fr. Dennis (3 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. McAleer) review
ChicagoTribune (M. Phillips) review
RE.com (C. Lemire) review
AVClub (I. Vishnevetsky) review

Paddington [2014] (screenplay and directed by Paul King, screen story by Harnish McColl and Paul King, based on the Paddington books [en.wikip] [GR] [WCat] [Amzn] by Michael Bond [en.wikip] [GR] [WCat] [Amzn] [IMDb]) is another honestly delightful to come to the States this time of year (surprisingly after Christmas). 

To be honest, I didn't see the film until now, in good part because I "didn't get it." A talking bear adjusting to life in London.  Wonderful, why? ;-)  Well ... 2 minutes into the film, I understood why and boy was I embarrassed to have dismissed this _lovely_ children's movie before then.

Paddington [en.wikip] [IMDb] (voiced by Ben Whishaw) is posited to have come from "a group of highly intelligent, indeed talking, bears living in the deepest and darkest jungles of Peru."  A British explorer happened upon these surprising, highly intelligent bears, some 40 years back, making lasting impression on them.   After spending a couple of years with them, the explorer set-off to return to his country, but left them an invitation: "If you so desire, find a way to come to England.  You'll always be welcome there."

Well, for forty-or-so years there was no particular reason for the bears to go to England.  However, after a devastating earthquake, Paddington's aunt Lucy (voiced by Imelda Staunton) sends him on his way, with only a pack full of marmalade (something that the bears learned to love as a result of the British explorer's visit) and a tag which simply said: "Kindly take care of this bear."  She wrote the tag with those words because she remembered that the British explorer had told the bears that during World War II, when England's children were being evacuated from the cities, often with no clear place to go, children often wore similar tags like this and were taken-in by families in the countryside and cared for as if they were their own.  After an earthquake seemingly as devastating as the Blitz, aunt Lucy figured that Londoners would take care of her bear in the same way ...

Well ... when Paddington, who stows-away on a ship to England arrives in London, initially NOBODY seems to notice him.  Now mind you, it wasn't if they found him FRIGHTENING (he was A BEAR after all ;-).  Nor did they find him ODD (he was A BEAR who SPOKE PERFECT if somewhat antiquated ENGLISH ... Paddington's uncle (voiced by Michael Gambon) would listen to an English "Learn a Language" record left him by the kindly "British explorer").  Apparently, TOO BUSY with their own concerns, THEY JUST DIDN'T SEEM TO SEE THIS REMARKABLE TALKING BEAR (in, again, a somewhat dated "explorer's red hat") AT ALL ;-)

Well somebody eventually does see him -- Mary Brown (played by Sally Hawkins) -- standing there, at Paddington Station (from hence the bear comes to get his name), wet, and "in the rain" (note that Paddington's uncle's English language record noted that "Londoners have 107 distinct ways to describe rain." ;-).  She comes over to him (even though he is a bear) and asks him if he needs help He responds that, yes, he did need some help (This, of course, despite being ... A BEAR).  And in the name of her family she invites him to her home ;-).

Now, the rest of the family was not necessarily all that excited about HAVING A (STRANGE) BEAR coming to their home ;-). 

Mary's sensible husband, Henry, actually even a "risk analyst" for an insurance company, immediately counseled against the idea calculating, on a napkin actually, that THE STRANGE TALKING BEAR'S PRESENCE in their house "increases the risk of danger" to them "by at least 4000%" ;-).  Approaching teenage-hood daughter Judy (played by Madeleine Harris) declared with all the solemnity of someone approaching teenage-hood that having A STRANGE TALKING BEAR in the house would be "STUPID."  After all, how many of her classmates and friends HAD STRANGE TALKING BEARS IN _THEIR_ HOUSES?  (And it's REALLY IMPORTANT to be "just like EVERYBODY ELSE" ;-). Their neighbor comes to question what having A STRANGE TALKING BEAR "AROUND" would do to "the peace and tranquility of the neighborhood" ;-).  Only 10 year old son, Jonathan (played by Samuel Joslin) seemed to "be cool" with having THE STRANGE TALKING BEAR, PADDINGTON, around (besides, of course, his mother).  But that seemed to be in good part because since PADDINGTON WAS ALSO "JUST LEARNING TO GET AROUND" HE WAS ACTING KINDA LIKE A 10-Y/O AS WELL (helping Jonathan to get his "apparently never been young" / "über-sensible dad" off his back ;-)

So there it is:  COULD a STRANGE (IF KINDLY) TALKING BEAR SURVIVE in a NOT NECESSARILY OUTRIGHT HOSTILE ('cause that "would be bad" ;-) but CERTAINLY "RISK AVERSE" SOCIETY LIKE _OURS_ TODAY?

Much ensues ;-)

It all makes for a lovely parable about "entertaining strangers" [Heb 13:2].


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Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge out of Water [2015]

MPAA (PG)  CNS/USCCB (A-I)  ChicagoTribune (1 1/2 Stars)  RE.com (2 1/2 Stars)  AVClub (B+)  Fr. Dennis (3 1/2 Stars)

IMDb listing
CNS/USCCB (J. Mulderig) review
ChicagoTribune (M. Phillips) review
RE.com (C. Lemire) review
AVClub (G. Ihnat) review

Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge out of Water [2015] (directed by Paul Tibbit, screenplay by Glenn Burger and Jonathan Aibel, story by Stephen Hillenberg and Paul Tibbit based on the Nichelodeon television series [IMDb] [wikip] by Stephen Hillenberg) is an UTTERLY SAFE if EVER FRENETIC film that will certainly give joy to all small kids (and kids at heart).  The film's an hour and thirty nine minutes of almost heroically sustained goofiness and features all the main characters of the animated series. 

These characters include the ever-optimistic SpongeBob himself (voiced by Tom Kenny); Mr. Crabs his "crabby boss" (voiced by Clancy Brown) at the Bikini Bottoms' very popular "Crab Shack"; the extremely jealous of Crabs' success Plankton (voiced by Mr. Lawrence); Patrick Star, S.B's nice (can't really say "goodhearted" when talking of a starfish ;-) but certainly rather "simpleminded" (again he's a STARFISH) BFF (voiced by Bill Fagerbakke); Squidward Tentacles, S.B.'s much more pessimistic even surly at times coworker (voiced by Roger Bumpass) and Sandy Cheeks an amiable rodent who hangs-out at BB in a deep-sea diving suit (voiced by Carolyn Lawrence) who's not exactly a "fish out of water" but ... it's not easy to explain why she's there ... but everybody seems to like her just the same ;-).

The story in this film takes place both on land and in the sea and, even for a brief moment, somewhere far far away in space where a lonely but super-responsible (and super intelligent...) dolphin named Bubbles (voiced by Matt Berry) protects the earth from otherwise certain cometary/asteroid disaster.

Okay, so what kind of story can one come-up with this cast of characters? Well all kinds -- the television series has been running since 1999.  In the current film, an appropriately goofily named pirate, human actually, Burger Beard (played by an appropriately desperately looking Antonio Banderas) arrives at an island where, following a treasure map, he hacks his way to a long lost tomb at the center of which is a book which magically determines the course of all things: whatever is written into the book takes place.

Well, getting his hands on the book, he uses it to ... Now Readers, if you got your hands on such a book, what would you it for? ... Now forget all that ;-) ..  Instead, ask yourselves: If you were a 4 year old and a big fan of SpongeBob SquarePants, what would you use the book for? ;-) 

Well, isn't it obvious?  Pirate Burger Beard uses this "Book of Destiny" to STEAL "Mr. Crabs' Secret Crab Cakes Recipe" the the recipe that makes his Crab Shack soo successful (and Mr. Plankton SOO JEALOUS) and keeps all the residents of Bikini Bottoms both HAPPY and (probably) addicted to said awesomely tasty crab cakes ;-).  He then buys a restaurant truck and begins to make a killing selling his newly awesomely tasty crab cakes to (human) tourists on a beach nearby.

Well the loss of "Mr. Crabs' Secret Crab Cakes Recipe" results in an INSTANT collapse of "civilization as we've known it" at Bikini Bottoms.  And the rest of the movie follows ...

WHO STOLE THE RECIPE?  Everybody thinks it was Mr. Plankton.  But if he did, wouldn't he soon start selling the awesome crab cakes himself?  SOOO ... Even the not overly bright SpongeBob comes to realize that Mr. Plankton couldn't be the one.  But WHO-DONE-IT? ... And could a bunch of amiable if NONE TOO BRIGHT "bottom dwellers" figure things out ;-)

In the end, the film becomes a "who done it?" / "thriller" for four year olds ;-)

Again, kinda fun and ALWAYS REALLY, REALLY CUTE ;-)


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Jupiter Ascending [2015]

MPAA (PG-13)  CNS/USCCB (A-III)  ChicagoTribune (2 Stars)  RE.com (2 Stars)  AVClub (B)  Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing
FilmWeb.pl listing*
KinoNews.ru listing*

CNS/USCCB (J. McAleer) review
ChicagoTribune (M. Phillips) review
RE.com (M. Zoller Seitz) review
AVClub (I. Vishnevetsky) review


Jupiter Ascending [2015] (written and directed by Andy and Lana Wachowski [en.wikip]) is one often "heavy" and at times "strange" film.  Perhaps this shouldn't surprise anyone, however, since it comes from the same siblings that made The Matrix [1999-] [IMDb] [en.wikip] films.

Indeed, since one of the film's main characters, Caine Wise (played by hunky Channing Tatum), is a genetically engineered "dog man" kinda like similarly hunky Taylor Lautner's more traditional werewolf Jacob in the Twilight [2008] [IMDb] [en.wikip] series -- a good summary of the basic concept behind the story could be "The Matrix meets the Twilight Saga."  

Then throw in a little bit of Dune [1984], a dash of The Terminator [1984] / Blade Runner [1982] and Guardians of the Galaxy [2014] (the Wachowski siblings apparently did a stint writing for Marvel Comics [en.wikip]) only "straight" this time (that is, "without the laughs..." ;-), and voilà ... the current film:

The current film's heroine is a young Chicago based (the Wachowskis are from Chicago) "nobody" "under the radar" / "illegal" Russian immigrant "cleaning lady" named Jupiter Jones (played by Mila Kunis).  Why that name?  Well, because her parents originally living in St. Petersburg, he English, she Russian, were "kinda intellectuals" before they had to flee (and of course he didn't make it, because if he did, they'd be in England now, and part of Jupiter Jones' sad / tragic back story that "she didn't have papers" would not have been an issue ...).

But who does Jupiter remind one of?  She's basically Kristen Stewart's Bella of Twilight [2008] crossed with Linda Hamilton's Sarah Conner of the original Terminator [1984].   Bella's story begins with her being a super-average high school student growing-up in an utterly unimportant small town "somewhere in the American Pacific Northwest," while Sarah Conner's story begins with her working as a lowly waitress at a Denny's / Bob's Big Boy establishment "somewhere in Southern California."  Jupiter's story begins ... washing toilets with her aunt and mother as part of an "under the radar" "cleaning service" in Chicago.

But of course, Jupiter's story -- like Bella's or Sarah Conner's turns out to be  -- _far from average_. Bella's life had turned-out to be "merely" WILDLY exciting, filled with clans of very rich/cultured vampires (who found the dreariness of the rainy Pacific Northwest "a good place to live discreetly") and tribes of shape-shifting Native American werewolves (who again found the mountains and forests of the Pacific Northwest a "good place to hide"),  while Sarah (Biblical name) became "the Mother of the future Savior of the World" John Conner (initials "J.C.").

Lowly, "stateless," cleaning lady "Jupiter" becomes important as well ... in a way that I can't really reveal here without massive spoilers.  But let's just say that she captures the attention of A LOT OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF SPACE ALIENS ("greys" , "reptilians" EVEN Thorlike "nordics" ... it's a veritable parade of races and characters that "History Channel" Ancient Aliens [2009-] [en.wikip] and UFO Hunters [2008-] [en.wikip] nerds (like myself ;-) will certainly enjoy ... while others will probably scratch their heads and wonder ... "why?" ;-)

She captures enough "extra-terrestrial" attention that she comes to require the assistance / protection (sort of) of the above-mentioned hunky "genetically engineered dog-man" Caine (LOL ... ;-).  Why the attention?  Oh, you'd really think I'd tell you ... :-) ... And ... well ... "much ensues" ... ;-)

Look, this is a film for "nerds" ... but like a lot of films that are released at this time of year (at least in the United States), it's NOT nearly "as bad" as what a lot of "less nerdy" movie critics would make it out to be.

The big question will be ... will the teen and tweenage girls who so loved the Twilight series find this "Star Wars" / "Dungeons and Dragon-y" / "Dune-ish" story, one which would seem more directed to their more nerdy Dungeons and Dragons playing / comic book collecting brothers ... appealing?  Or ever sympathetic / good looking (and frankly quite risk-taking) Mila Kunis notwithstanding, will they'll just roll their eyes and say ... "Whatever?" ;-)

That is, have the Wachowskis successfully built a bridge between "Barbie" and "Nerd"?  We'll see ;-)


* Reasonably good (sense) translations of non-English webpages can be found by viewing them through Google's Chrome browser. 

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Legend no. 17 (orig. Легенда №17) [2013]

MPAA (UR would be PG-13/R)   KN.ru (8.28/10)  KP.ru (8.22/10)  KT.ru (8.55/10)  Fr. Dennis (3 Stars)

IMDb listing

KinoNews.ru listing*   KinoPoisk.ru listing*
Kino-teatr.ru listing*    Kritikanstvo.ru listing*
Megacritic.ru listing*
 
Echo Moskvy (A. Eksler) review*
Film.ru (P. Pryadkin) review*
Gazeta.ru (V. Lyaschenko) review*
KinoNews.ru (R. Voholov) review*
KinoTeatr.ru (A. Filippov) review*
RusKino.ru (S. Stepnova) review*
sports.ru (I. Elchaninov) review*
sports.ru (V. Utkin) review*
Variety Russia (M. Latysheva) review*
RBC Daily (M. Latysheva) review* 

KinoTeatr.ru Interview w. Director*

Legend no. 17 (orig. Легенда №17) [2013] [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KP.ru]*[KT.ru]* (directed and screenplay cowritten by Nikolay Lebedev [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KP.ru]*[KT.ru]*, along with Nikolay Kulikov [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KP.ru]*[KT.ru]* and Mikhail Mestetskiy [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KP.ru]*[KT.ru]*) is a crowd-pleasing Russian "biopic" / "hockey movie" that played at the 2013 New York Russian Film Week whose films I've recently decided to try to find and review here on my blog.

The film would remind American / Western viewers of the (fictional) Rocky films [1976-] [en.wikip] [IMDb] mixed with the American Miracle on Ice [1981] [IMDb] [en.wikip] the latter being about howthe  remarkable, truly _amateur_ American national hockey team that was able to beat _even_ the Soviet national team (to our Western eyes never accepted as being truly an amateur team at a time when this was still a requirement at most international sporting events) at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY and thus win the Olympic Gold medal then.... 

The current Russian film is about #17 Valeriy Kharlamov [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]*(played in the film by Danila Kozlovskiy [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KT.ru]*) one of the stars of the Soviet National Team in the 1970s and his / his team's _own struggles_ to gain respect in the lead-up to the 1972 "Super Series" [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* between the Soviet National Team and a Canadian team made-up of NHL All-Stars (of truly "Canada's best" at the time -- including such NHL legendary players as Phil Esposito, Bobby Orr and Bobby Clarke).

This is a film, therefore, that almost inevitably will produce a fair amount of emotion in the West, not only for those of us who do remember the Cold War and these various "competitions between systems" of that era, but also HONESTLY as a result of the _current war_ in Ukraine, which is increasingly being called the start of, at minimum, "Cold War Light" and/or even more depressingly "Cold War II." 

Yet, I do honestly continue to believe that it's valuable for Americans and Westerners and perhaps even some Russians themselves to be reminded (again) that Russia remains a far more diverse place than either Putin or a fair amount of the Western media would like to portray it as.  I do honestly believe it is worth it for Readers here to check out the various Russian language reviews that I cite above.  One get get pretty good sense translations of them by reading them through Google's Chrome browser and/or by cutting and pasting their URLS into translate.google.com.  If one would do so, one would find wide variety of opinions about the film from the points of view of all kinds of Russians including sports enthusiasts, film enthusiasts, politicos, and often from many, many reader comments from regular people.  Many / most do compare the film to "Rocky" or "Hollywood" in general and they help explain (and often challenge) some of the timeline / historical aspects of the film. (There are aspects of the story that are conflated, simplified, but as a whole IMHO they do appear to ring true).

And in any case, the film makes for a _very nice_ "growing up" / "coming of age" story of a young Russian hockey player who had a pretty tough, interestingly SPANISH mother (played by Alejandra Grepi [IMDb] [KT.ru]*) who pushed _for him_ (taking-on the head coach at one point, arguing with him "Why aren't you playing my son.  He's the best one you've got!" :-) and then a tough but SUPER FAIR mentor figure, the legendary Russian (Soviet-era) hockey coach Anatoliy Tarasov [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* (played in the film by Oleg Menshikov [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KT.ru]*) WHO ENDED-UP BEING FIRED as head coach of the Soviet National Team just as it was getting good FOR REFUSING TO "PLAY POLITICS" (WITH ANYBODY ... apparently all the way up to then Soviet leader Brezhnev [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* ;-) WITH REGARDS TO THE TEAM. 

One gets to see Kharlamov [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]* grow-up, from the time that he his mother and sister were able to visit their Spanish relatives in the 1960s (and witness the Running of the Bulls at Pamplona) through his time in the 3rd league (in America we'd call it "the minors") playing for the Stars (Chvesta) in Chebarkul, an industrial town in the Urals where he and a friend / fellow future Russian/Soviet hockey great Boris Mikhaylov [en.wikip] [ru.wikip]*(played by Timur Efremenkov [IMDb] [KT.ru]*) realized that unless they came to stand-out they were destined to stay (and so they started scoring goals left and right until they did get noticed and were pulled-up up to the Spartyak and later CSKA hockey teams in Moscow).  From there both of them made the national team, and eventually played in the 1972 Super Series.

Kharlamov and his Irina wife (played in the film by Svetlana Ivanova [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KT.ru]*) were killed in 1981 in a car accident outside of Moscow.  After his death, his number 17 was retired from both the CSKA and Soviet/Russian national hockey teams.

 Again, it's a story that any "Rocky" fan could understand ;-)


* Reasonably good (sense) translations of non-English webpages can be found by viewing them through Google's Chrome browser. 

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2014 Denny Awards - Pt 3 - Most Compelling Performances (Female)

Part 3/3 of my Annual "Denny Awards" ;-)
(Other Years' Awards).

Part I - Best Films
Part II - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Male)
Part III - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Female)

 
CHILD (female)
    Most Compelling:
              Quvenzhané Wallis as Annie in Annie [2014].  Okay, it's not the traditional Depression Era "Orphan Annie" or of the 70s-era musical (still set during the Great Depression).  However, by moving the story to the present day and turning the precocious vaguely Irish looking Orphan Annie into a precocious African American "Foster Kid" Annie the story IMHO did gain a greater bite / relevance.
    Honorable Mentions:
              Anastasija Marčenkaitė [IMDb] as 10-12 year old Stalin era Lithuanian deportee Mariya in The Excursionist (orig. Ekskursantė) [2013].  The film, primarily a Lithuanian production with some fairly famous Russian actors/actresses costarring, follows the story of the fictionalized 10-12 year old finding her way back to her village in Lithuania from Siberia after her mother died.
                Ana from Trip to Timbuktu (orig. Viaje a Tombuctú) [2013] first a child and then young adult growing-up in Lima, Peru during the Shining Path insurgency of the 1980s-90s.
               Valeria Conejo [IMDb] and Aura Dinarte [IMDb] in Red Princeses (orig. Princesas Rojas) [2013] as two sisters, Claudia and Antonia, 10 and 8 years old, daughters of increasingly disillusioned Sandinista "believers" from Costa Rica during the Contra Wars in Nicaragua during the 1980s. The film is about the family's return to Costa Rica and the two daughters' reintegration into (regular) Costa Rican society after having lived most of their early lives in pro-Communist Sandinista Nicaragua. 
                Maria (voiced by Zoe Saldana) in The Book of Life [2014] a children's animated film about the Mexican Day of the Dead (Nov 2).
                Astrid (voiced by America Ferrera) in the children's animated film How to Train Your Dragon 2 [2014].
                Anfisa Vistingauzen [IMDb] [KN.ru]*[KT.ru]* as the adorable 8-10 year old "Ksyusha" whose parents are contemplating divorce in the Russian disaster film Metro (orig. Метро) [2013].  This is something that the always Russians did really, really well (even in the Soviet Era).  The little kids in their films are almost always _adorable_.  


TEEN (female)
    Most Compelling:
                    Anoushka Medina as Crystal in the Romeo & Juliet based For Love in the Caserio (orig. Por Amor en el Caserío) [2013] set in the Caserio projects of San Juan, PR.
    Honorable Mentions: 
                    Shailene Woodley as Tris the principal heroine in the film Divergent [2014] (based on the post Apocalyptic teenage girl oriented book series by the same name).
                    Shailene Woodley as teenage cancer patient Haze Tarlan Parvaneh [IMDb] [Cin] [SC]*l in the weepy teenage/cancer patient romance The Fault in our Stars [2014].
                    Azul Zorrilla as Carla in Stand Clear of the Closing Doors [2013] the 15 year old older sister of her 12-year-old and moderately autistic brother, who since the family's poor, Hispanic and probably undocumented and both parents work, she's often primarily responsible for.
                   Farzana Dua Elahe as Mahira the happy-go-lucky 15 year old headscarf wearing daughter in the Pakistani/Indian Muslim immigrant family around which the film The Hundred Foot Journey [2014] is built.
                     Tarlan Parvaneh [IMDb] [Cin] [SC]* as Negin in The Wedlock (orig. Zendegi Moshtarak-e Aghaye Mahmoodi va Banoo) [2013] as the gum-chewing, pink iPod listening Tehran-born/living 14 year old having a blast watching her more conservative stay-at-home mom and her hipper, more liberal "career woman" home decorator cousin (both are educated) argue about "her future" ;-).
                   Haley Steinfeld as Violet in Begin Again [2014], the awkward teenage child of divorce who still loves both of her parents even though they had smashed their marriage.
                    Shiela Vand as "the Girl" a slight/demure/NOT AT ALL "attention-grabbing" Iranian vampire dressed generally in slacks, a smart if ever understated black-and-white thin-striped shirt, and generally covered with a chador in A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night [2014].  NO ONE _ever_ seems "to see her coming" as she walks the streets of her dusty Iranian town, swooping down then to "deal out vengeance on the guilty."  She also has _a really cute cat_ ;-). 
                   Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in the continuing post-Apocalyptic teenage girl oriented saga Hunger Games: Mocking Jay - Part 1 [2014].
                   Lorelei Linklater as Mason, Jr's a few years older sister Samantha in Boyhood [2014], the remarkable film of the current year that was filmed with the same cast over a span of 10 years to follow Mason, Jr and his sister growing up, again as "regular children" (of divorce).  

YOUNG ADULT (female)
     Most Compelling:
                     Anastasia Dumitrescu [IMDb] [CM.ro]* in the title role of Christina in Miss Christina (orig. Domnisoara Christina) [2013], possibly the classiest / most demure / sexiest female zombie/vampire EVER.  Set in Romania of the 1920s, think "Anna Karenina" / "a flapper" but ... dead ;-).  Yes, the Romanians show the world how vampire story-telling is done ;-)
     Honorable Mentions: 
                      Keira Knightly as the musician Greta in Begin Again [2014] who gets dumped in possibly the worst possible way by her (also musician) boyfriend as soon as he gets the slightest whiff of fame.  What now?
                     Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dido Elizabeth Belle in Belle [2013], the early 19-century mixed race daughter of a British sea captain and an African slave, whose country gentleman uncle who raised her ended up being instrumental (as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales) in bringing the end to the Slave Trade.
                     Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl Strayed a 20-something young woman who took the loss of her mother to cancer really, really hard and finally decides to "walk herself into becoming once again the woman her mother thought she was" in Wild [2014]. 
                    Marion Cotillard [IMDb] [AC.fr]* as Sandra, a young wife and mother, already struggling with depression in Two Days, One Night (orig. Deux Jours, Une Nuit) [2014] who's given the weekend by her boss to convince her coworkers to keep her on (at essentially their expense ...).  Seems hopeless, but her husband (out of concern for her) asks her to try anyway.
                     Felicity Jones as Jane Wilde-Hawking, the (ex)wife of world-renowned theoretical physicist but also ALS suffering Steven Hawking, in The Theory of Everything [2014].
                     Pantea Bahram [Cin] [SC]* as Rashan, a Tehran elementary school teacher, in the film The Bright Day (orig. Rooz-e Roshan) [2013] who takes it upon herself to try to prove the innocence of the father of one of her students in a murder that he probably didn't commit of the son of a fairly powerful/well connected family.
                     Dandara de Morais [IMDb] [AC.br] as Shirley an Afro-Brazilian 20-something in August Winds (orig. Ventos de Agosto) [2014] who's returned "from the city" (probably Salvador but it could be Sao Paulo) to take care of her grandmother in a small hamlet by the sea in NE Brazil where time seems to stand still (and doesn't seem to mind).
                     America Ferrera as Helen the still young (early-mid 30 something) wife of Hispanic Civil Rights legend Cesar Chavez in the biopic, Cesar Chaves [2014], yet the mother of their 6-7 children that they had together.   IMHO she absolutely NAILED the role of being a young Hispanic mother trying to "keep order" _with love_ over so many many kids even as her husband (_also_ a good guy) was "often away."
                     Ana from Trip to Timbuktu (orig. Viaje a Tombuctú) [2013] first a child and then young adult growing-up in Lima, Peru during the Shining Path insurgency of the 1980s-90s.
                     Agata Buzek [IMDb] [FW.pl]* as Kasia, a young Polish, educated, faithful, young adult in Foreign Body (Obce ciało) [2014] who's found a boyfriend, Mario, while in Italy but also feels that God may be calling her to be a nun.  A surprisingly intelligent film about discernment.
                     Zoe Kazan as amiable, ever smiling, (super) well organized, 20-something, professional, Chantry in What if... [2014], who finds that the heart has to play a role if one's gonna keep being amiable, and ever-smiling through life.  A great relationship flick.
                     Gugu Mbatha-Raw as 20-something hip-hop superstar Noni with a pushy mother in Beyond the Lights [2014] who has to figure out what's real.


ADULT (female)
    Most Compelling:
                      Julianne Moore as Alice in Still Alice [2014], whose first 50 years of life have been more-or-less wonderful -- great husband, three grown children, one already married, a great career -- and then she finds that she has early onset Alzheimers...
    Honorable Mentions:
                       Paulina Garcia [IMDb] [CCh.cl]* in the title role of Gloria [2013], a long divorced (over 10 years) late 40s-early-50 something woman from Santiago, Chile whose kids have grown, long-since moved out, and kinda think of her as a fossil (when they think of her at all).  But she's "not dead yet" ;-).  Her role is positively inspirational for those who fear that they may be already dead. 
                       Luminiţa Gheorghiu [IMDb] [CM.ro]* as Emilia and Agata Kulesza [IMDb] [FW.pl]* [SK.pl]* as "Red Wanda" in I'm an Old Communist Hag (orig. Sunt o babă comunistă) [2013] and Ida [2013] respectively, two strong women who don't necessarily remember Communism to have been completely bad.
                        Petra Špalková [IMDb] [CSFD]* as Karla in Like Never Before (orig. Jako Nikdy) [2013], the 40-something once "muse", since "long-time companion" (though never getting around to getting married) of "a famous artist" named Vladimir, 25 years her senior.  Vlad's now dying of lung cancer and she's realizing that when he dies, she's going to be "out on the street." 


ELDER (female)
    Most Compelling:
                        Oprah Winfrey as Rosa Parks-like character Annie Lee Cooper in Selma [2014] who just got tired of living her entire life in and around Selma, Alabama without ever being allowed to vote for/against the public officials that would greatly effect the destiny of her life.
    Honorable Mentions:
                        Bharati Achrekar as "Auntie" who, living in the apartment above her (lead character) niece in The Lunchbox (orig. Dabba) [2013], we never see but always has a lot of pretty good, gentle advice.
                        Stanisława Celińska [IMDb] [FW.pl]* as the Mother Superior in the film Foreign Body (Obce ciało) [2014] who quite serenely helps the young adult Kasia discern her vocation.  When Kasia expresses her fear that she'd disappoint the Mother Superior if she chose to leave the Convent the Mother Superior responds to her very nicely: "Kasia, my dear, the heavens and the earth will not come to an end if you decide not to become a nun."  
                        Raisa Ryazanova* [IMDb] [KT.ru]* as Baba Nadya a lovely Russian Orthodox woman living in Siberia who initially saves the 12 year old Lithuanian girl Mariya from certain death by the elements in The Excursionist (orig. Ekskursantė) [2013] and then helps set her on her way back home to Lithuania.


HERO / VILLAIN (female)
    Most Compelling:
                    Shailene Woodley as Tris the principal heroine in the film Divergent [2014] and probably the nicest / gentlest (even though she becomes a warrior) of the teenage heroines in the current wave of combative "post-Apocalyptic" teen oriented tales that are so popular in the U.S.A. these days.   
    Honorable Mentions:
                    Shiela Vand as the seemingly "inconsequential" / almost invisible "young Iranian vampire in a chador" in A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night [2014] who nonethless quitely deals out vengeance on the guilty as she walks the streets of her dusty Iranian town at night.
                    Anastasia Dumitrescu [IMDb] [CM.ro]* as the truly "hot" (seductive) Romanian Vampire Christina in Miss Christina (orig. Domnisoara Christina) [2013].  She'd bring the downfall of many, many young men, AND YET THERE'S ALSO A "BACKSTORY" WITH HER AS WELL.
                     Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss continuing in The Hunger Games: Mocking Jay - Part 1 [2014] the original (re)incarnation of the "Joan of Arc" archetype in the current wave of "post-Apocalyptic" teen oriented tales that are so popular here these days.  Still hers remains a compelling (and positive) character.
                     Jennifer Lawrence as the shape-shifting Mystique in X-Men: Days of Future Past [2014].  It's an interesting (and very evocative) survival strategy.
                     Agnieszka Grochowska [IMDb] [FW.pl]* as Kris the principal villainness / seductress in Foreign Body (Obce ciało) [2014].  Raised in Poland by a Communist, aunt she becomes a confused Darwinistic Capitalist / radical Feminist after the edifice of the Communist ideology fell.  But her basic problem appeared to be "how to make a mark" in a world that she's going to participate in for only 20-30-40 years (of a 60-80 year lifespan) and then "disappear", that is, eventually die (like her aunt did). It's a rather frustrating proposition to be an ambitious materialist ...


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2014 Denny Awards - Pt 2 - Most Compelling Performances (Male)

Part 2/3 of my Annual "Denny Awards" ;-)
(Other Years' Awards)

Part I - Best Films
Part II - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Male)
Part III - Most Compelling Performances / Character Roles (Female)


CHILD (male)
    Most Compelling:
             Félix Bossuet [IMDb] [AC.fr]* as the initially orphan boy Sébastien in Belle and Sebastian (orig. Belle et Sébastien) [2013] [IMDb] [AC.fr]* who along with Belle, a big furry sheepdog (also initially "a stray"), team-up to take on the Nazis in a French Alpine town somewhere near the Swiss border in possibly the cutest Resistance movie EVER.

    Honorable Mentions:
              Noah Wiseman as Samuel 7 y.o., rather "hyper" / "with a very active imagination," probably A.D.D. in the Australian low budget children's thriller / scary  / horror movie The Babadook [2014].


TEEN (male)
    Most Compelling:
               Toni Revolori as the young "lobby boy" Zero Mustafa in The Grand Budapest Hotel [2014].  We've all "been there" as we've all had to start life / adulthood "somewhere."  Though "Zero's" life was by no means without tragedy, he was fortunate at least to have run into such useful /  interesting mentor.
    Honorable Mentions:
               Ellar Coltrane as the central character, Mason, Jr, in Boyhood [2014], who we watch "grow-up" in this very, very unique movie, filmed with the same cast over 10 years.
                Jesus Sanchez-Velez as Ricky, Jr, in Stand Clear of the Closing Doors [2013] a 13-y/o Hispanic boy, moderately autistic, living with his family in Rockaway Beach, NY, near the subway stop ...
                Tomasz Ziętek [IMDb] [FW.pl]*, Marcel Sabat [IMDb] [FW.pl]*, et al as Rudy, Zośka, et al, in Stones for the Rampart (orig. Kamienie na szaniec) [2014], members of a POLISH BOYSCOUT GROUP that fought as part of the Polish Home Army resistance during WW II.  This was the "Red Dawn" movies but FOR REAL.
               Dylan O'Brian as the central character, Thomas, in The Maze Runner [2014], probably (IMHO) the most interesting of the boy-oriented "post Apocalyptic" book series made into movies during these past few years.


YOUNG ADULT (male)
     Most Compelling:
               Filip Pławiak [IMDb] [FW.pl]* as the late-teen/young adult Adam Sikora in One Way Ticket to the Moon (orig. Bilet na Księżyc) [2013] representing ALL THE YOUNG PEOPLE ACROSS COMMUNIST-ERA CENTRAL / EASTERN EUROPE WHO OFTEN FOUND THAT THEY HAD TO "GROW-UP REALLY FAST" in order to find freedom or even to save their lives.  
     Honorable Mentions:
                Geová Manoel dos Santos [IMDb] [AC.br]* as Jeison in August Winds (orig. Ventos de Agosto) [2014] an Afro-Brazilian young man living in a small coastal village in North-Eastern Brazil living with very few possessions and also very, very few cares in the world.
                 Zenzo Ngqobe as the listless / unemployed J-burg, South Africa residing 20-something Joseph / Atang Mokoenya who is asked by his father to bury him to back in their home country of Lesotho in The Forgotten Kingdom [2013]. 
                 Daniel Radcliffe as good/patient guy Wallace in the Rom/Com What If ... [2013].
                 Riccardo Leonelli [IMDb] [FW.pl]* as Angelo in Foreign Body (Obce ciało) [2014] an Italian young adult / professional in love with a Polish young woman his age who he met as part of one or another Catholic Young Adult Movement existing these days.  She, however, is not sure, wondering if she's being called by God to be a nun.  He, both quite nicely and perhaps QUITE HEROICALLY ... WAITS.  An excellent film about a young Catholic man who's trying very hard to be true to his faith.


ADULT (male)
    Most Compelling:
                  Michael Keaton as Riggan Thompson in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) [2014] an actor who's become famous (and lived off the fame) for playing a cartoonish superhero Birdman "CAAAW..." and is really desperate to reinvent himself and be(come) taken  seriously as a (serious) actor. 
    Honorable Mentions:
                   Kevin Kline as Matthias Gold in My Old Lady [2014] a 50 something serial loser who's never amounted to anything in life who finds to his surprise that his dirt-bag (yet far more successful) father had bequeathed him an apartment in Paris, 'cept (of course) there's "a catch."  But the catch, of course, proves interesting.
                     Ethan Hawke as the father in Boyhood [2014] who had to "grow" himself over the years to become a father worthy of the name.
                    

ELDER (male)
    Most Compelling:
                     Brendan Gleeson as Fr. James in the Graham Green-like story Calvary [2014].  Sentenced to die in a weeks time by an anonymous voice in the Confessional one Sunday morning, he spends the rest of his time, doing exactly what he's always done in the rural Irish coastal town where he's been parish priest -- simply continuing to "mind the flock" even if it's not necessarily all that grateful.   
    Honorable Mentions:
                       Patrick Stewart and y Ian McKellen as the aging rivals in the Marvel comics based X-Men: Days of Future Past [2014], seeking to "set things right" for future generations before they pass.
                        Irrfan Khan as Saajan Fernandez, older, always probably somewhat stiff and perhaps overly-proper, but now also, recently, widowed in The Lunchbox (orig. Dabba) [2013], whose life gets unexpectedly interesting again when the wrong lunch box arrives at his desk one day at his office in Mumbai.  But, of course, that lunchbox was intended for someone else ... A great story about the challenges of "doing the right thing" at any age ... 
                       Robert Duvall in the title role in the film The Judge [2014] about a judge in a small town in Southern Indiana who's tried to live life in an ordered and honest way and has sought to teach this to his children (now grown) and grandchildren.
                       J.K. Simmons as the "mentor figure" Fletcher in Whiplash [2014], who will truly stop at nothing to "leave a mark" in his students.


HERO / VILLAIN (male)
    Most Compelling:                       
                Tomasz Ziętek [IMDb] [FW.pl]*, Marcel Sabat [IMDb] [FW.pl]*, et al as Rudy, Zośka, et al, in Stones for the Rampart (orig. Kamienie na szaniec) [2014], members of a POLISH BOYSCOUT GROUP that fought as part of the Polish Home Army resistance during WW II.  Again, this was about the heroism of the "Red Dawn" films but FOR REAL.
    Honorable Mentions:
                  Brendan Gleeson as Fr. James in Calvary [2014].  No matter what others may do, one can still live honestly and in peace with God and (most of) his people.
                  Robert Duvall in the title role in The Judge [2014].  Again, honestly has its rightful place of honor.
                  J.K. Simmons as the "mentor figure" Fletcher in Whiplash [2014].  Nothing justifies destroying OTHER PEOPLE for an ideal.  One should "work on oneself" first.
                   Bradley Cooper as U.S. Navy Seal Chris Kyle in American Sniper [2014] if nothing else, a complex (hence compelling) hero.  He saved a lot of people by killing a lot of other people, in a mission that wasn't entirely honest to begin with (the people that he killed had their point of view / and often patriotism as well).
                   Luke Evans as Vlad the Impaler in Dracula Untold [2014].  Vlad arguably sold his soul to the Devil to try to protect his people from the Ottoman Turk invaders. 

 
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