MOVIE REVIEW: Jojo Rabbit

(Photo by Kimberly French courtesy of 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Special Presentation of the 55th Chicago International Film Festival

JOJO RABBIT— 5 STARS

There is a little recurring action, a motif if you will, in Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit that surrounds tying someone else’s shoes. Think for a moment on the intentions behind that little gesture for a moment. Damn near like Christ washing his Apostles’ feet on Good Friday, the act of knotting those troublesome laces is like a bow to lower yourself for someone else. The purpose is to provide soft stability and firm strength for those in need at the place where their feet meet the stalwart steps of their fate. Patience is asked and used to cancel out tedium. The shoe itself doesn’t matter. It could be clown shoes or combat boots, and the paused shared moment of guidance and comforting safety between the helper and the wearer would be the same.

Those beautiful and gracious moments, slowed way down in between all the hustling hilarity in Jojo Rabbit, let you know exactly where the heart of this movie truly lies underneath the scathing satire. It is in the benevolence of helping people rather than warring with them. The titular young boy needs every ounce of such affection and the combat boots of Waititi’s movie are the clown shoes. Gusto meets gravitas in one of the most oddly poetic and beautifully brazen movies you may ever see.

A wonky version of Fox Searchlight’s logo anthem leads to a breakneck German-language rendition of The Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (talk about a tone-setter) as we meet Johannes “Jojo” Betzler (the debuting Roman Griffin Davis), a ten-year-old who feels ready to become a man. The ladder in front of him to achieve that belonging sense of mettle is a weekend-long Hitler Youth camp alongside his bespectacled bestie Yorki (scene-stealer Archie Yates). With a Meatballs-level of lampoon, the booze-soaked Captain Klenzendork (Oscar winner Sam Rockwell) and dryly brutal Fräulein Rahm (Rebel Wilson) instruct these girls and boys in the proper indoctrination necessary to fit in.

LESSON #1: BE THE RABBIT — Between the finer points of killing and grenade safety, the training goal is clear. When Jojo won’t snap the neck of a rabbit, he is teased, branded as a fearful coward, and gets sidelined as a gopher and office helper. The symbolism of a rabbit is brave, witty, sneaky, and strong. All of those desirable qualities are present, yet undeveloped in Johannes.

Based on Christine Leunens’ novel “Caging Skies,” all of Jojo Rabbit is presented through this child’s point of view. Molding Jojo’s impressionable moral clay are two presences, one positive and the other toxic. The most well-meaning is his mother Rosie, played Scarlett Johansson. She is a progressive woman challenging the Nazi status quo and secretly hiding a teenage Jewish girl named Elsa (Thomasin Mackenzie of Leave No Trace) in the attic. Rosie’s advice always brims with encouraging alacrity. Between this and the upcoming Marriage Story, seeing Johansson play a mother is nothing short of an emotional epiphany. This is a side of her that we’ve never seen.

The more damaging voice comes from Jojo’s zealous imaginary friend, the führer himself Adolf Hitler. Played with pure camp by writer-director Taika Waititi, his uncouth false god is a cheerleader of cruelty. No joke is off-limits for his apparition of atrocity. Waititi’s maniacal manifestation is an absolute hoot. For Jojo, Hitler is an idol that is difficult to deny or disbelieve.

LESSON #2: WHEN ACTUALITY HITS — Using the word “reality” in this comical setting is leaping too far. Stick with actuality instead and just look at the objects and actions. Knives hurt people. Grenades explode. Soldiers die. War destroys. Germans are fallible. Jews are regular people too. When the wrongs and horrors of war arrive, the movie shifts. Jojo Rabbit swells and elevates beyond farce with this actuality.

LESSON #3: LEARNING EMPATHY — Rosie motivates love and soothes Jojo’s fears and misguided ambition, but the kinship with Mackenzie’s Elsa is what transforms hearts. Her character is never made the victim and that’s a beautiful, confident condition to maintain. Befriending the trapped refugee grows the boy’s sympathies, sheds misconceptions, and cleanses away the dirty propaganda spewing from the invisible Hitler and his very visible followers of the Third Reich. A kid pushes aside fake devotion to see how every life and its innocence matter.

Every wholesome peak and harrowing valley of Jojo Rabbit is crafted with equal parts panache and tenacity. What begins as crass caricature becomes crystalized constitution. One moment you’re yukking it up to some off-color humor and minutes later you’re wondering if there’s dust in your eye. If this is not the eventual winner for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, start a new boycott. The tonal balancing act written by Waititi is astounding and imaginative. The movie’s enriching third act builds one of the best crescendos of recent memory, all ending on a quaint dance that stands in staunch comparison to that opening Beatlemania.

The filmmaking artists around the writer and director follow his tottering pendulum with their own dexterity and excellence. Cinematographer Mihai Mălaimare Jr. (The Master) dabbles with speed and framing akin to a Wes Anderson film only to linger or skew angles and placements just enough to equal all the weird whimsy on display. The same came be said for the soundtrack. Cheeky song inclusions are equaled by composer Michael Giacchino’s orchestral hops between Jojo’s theme of precocious patriotism and a genteel nocturne for Rosie.

LESSON #4: EVERY WAR FILM IS AN ANTI-WAR FILM IN DISGUISE — There is a bigger purpose afoot in Taika Waititi’s movie and it’s this lesson. Yes, there is a premise here which gleefully jokes without boundaries, but the formative goals of pro-peace and anti-hate could not be more clear. To dig deep and evoke optimism out of both present and past anxiety, Waititi borrows this existential bit of poetry written by Pre-Nazi German writer Rainer Maria Rilke to frame his film:

Let everything happen to you

Beauty and terror

Just keep going

No feeling is final

If that citation doesn’t nail the filmmaker’s desire and respectful sentiment through all the wit and irony, nothing will.

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GUEST EDITORIAL: Top 10 Movies About Food, Restaurants, and Chefs

Top 10 Movies About Food, Restaurants & Chefs

If you are looking for movies about cooking and food, look no further; here is the list of the best food movies to date. We've done our best to research and find the absolute most exciting picks out there!

Movies are great for captivating your sense of sight and sound. If the bass is high enough, you can feel 'touch' in the film. But, it is harder for a movie to make you taste or smell something. Or is it?

Films that captivate your senses connect with us on all levels. But that feat is easier said than done. When we try to remember our most memorable moments of movies about cooking and food, we can almost experience the synesthetic power via images, sizzling sounds, etc. that make our mouths water.

Food Movies? Here They Are!

Over the years, many food movies tried to replicate this experience; however, only a few could capture the team dynamics in the real and kid kitchens and the overall perfectionism of the plate.

Here are our top 10 food movies to watch when you are hungry! The food scenes in movies are delicious! 

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Julie and Julia

(Image: confessionsofachocoholic.com)

Almost every food lover in the world knows that Julie and Julia is one of the best food movies to watch! Meryl Streep stars as Julia Child, a renowned chef and cookbook writer. Stanley Tucci plays the role of her devoted husband.

One half of the film shows Julia's adventures while the rest focuses on Julie, played by Amy Adams. She is a real-life blogger who struggles with Child's food recipes and documents her successes and failures.

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Ratatouille

(Image: thehollywoodreporter.com)

If you think food movies are just for adults, you have it all wrong! Ratatouille is an ode to French cuisine by Disney Pixar and has been appreciated by both kids and adults around the world. The animated food film is about a determined rat called Remy, who dreams about becoming a chef.

Remy becomes friends with Alfredo Linguini, a garbage boy, to clash with the villainous restaurant proprietor to prepare the famed soup picture-perfect. At the end of the film, both open up a bistro called 'La Ratatouille.'

This movie made a lot of buzzes, and a lot of kids started playing more in the kitchen. It's incredible how much inspiration an animated film can bring to children when its story is very impactful.

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No Reservations

(Image: pastposters.com)

There is no shortage of food movies to watch with a hint of romance mixed in for good measure. No Reservations is the film where Aaron Eckhardt and Catherine Zeta-Jones play the roles of two competitive chefs battling it out for culinary perfection.

Catherine Zeta-Jones faces some difficulties after having taken care of her niece, Abigail Breslin, after her family dies in an accident. Aaron steps in to help Catherine as her underling, but his kitchen skills are so great that she starts getting threatened by it. It is a perfect food-related film that will stir up some love.

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Chocolat

(Image: ytimg.com)

If you have a sweet tooth, then this is one of those food movies that will blow your mind. Juliette Binoche plays the role of a single mother and the owner of La Chocolaterie Maya; here, the food materials and ingredients are magically dusted. Johnny Depp stars as a gypsy who is trying the make Juliette fall in love with him.

The film will showcase mouth-watering delicacies as the camera moves across the tasty delights. One scene in the movie where the celebration turns into temptation is when the mayor indulges in some chocolate.

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Waitress

(Image: broadwaydirect.com)

There are not a lot of food movies to watch that have ended up on the Broadway Stage. Keri Russell plays the role of an upcoming and talented pie-maker who is trapped in a bad marriage. The film was adapted into a musical.

Keri starts facing marriage problems after she discovers her pregnancy. She then starts to unleash her transformative skills by baking the most delicious and mouth-watering pies. The film is all about the creativity that women have in the kitchen.

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The Hundred-Foot Journey

(Image: vox.com)

The Hundred-Foot Journey is one of those happy and pleasant food movies to watch that is full of drama and comedy and aims to spread positivity about multi-cultural acceptance. This is a story about a family from India who moved to a small French town and bought a restaurant, only to find out that they have engaged themselves in competition with the bistro in the neighborhood.

Helen Mirren has a share in the bistro and tries to take down the Indian restaurant. However, her eyes are left wide open as residents start vandalizing the new start-up. Later, the movie shows different chefs combining ingredients to form tasty mergers.

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Like Water for Chocolate

(Image: pastposters.com)

Looking for food movies? This is an epic Mexican romance film that combines the mystery and mysticism of every great cook. The story is about a young woman who can affect anyone with her mood, along with her food. This means that her tears cause intense emotion while her rose petals allow passions to rise. However, because of class differences, she is not allowed to see her great love. But her magical recipes keep the two lovers close.

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Pieces of April

(Image: onebauermedia.com)

Patricia Clarkson and Katie Holmes play the roles of daughter and mother, respectively. The story revolves around the stress of making Thanksgiving dinner. While preparing and making the meal wasn't hard enough, the duo also faces additional problems when the oven breaks down.

The film only goes on to prove that support from family and friends will help you achieve comfort food that does have the power to heal. 

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Big Night

(Image: amazon.com)

This is one of those films about food that is loved by critics and based on Italian cooking. The roles of rival brothers played by Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci. In the movie, two brothers are doing everything in their power to keep the restaurant afloat.

One night, they come to know that a famed singer will be making an appearance in their restaurant. Both throw away everything to create a perfect feast for the occasion. The film pays tribute to the culinary perfection and the true celebration of Italian food. 

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Soul Food

(Image: kontrolmagazine.com)

Soul Food is a well-known and popular movie about food and is based on the lives of an African-American family that has to deal with their grandmother’s illness. The film shows the table overflowing with tasty food like biscuits, potato salads, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, etc.   

Vivica Fox, Nia Long, and Vanessa Williams play the roles of sisters who know what great cooking is all about. Love is really expressed in movies like Soul Food.

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Conclusion

There are about 14 million individuals all around the world working in the restaurant business. Hence it might be challenging to find an accurate cinematic depiction of working in a restaurant. But the movies listed above are so authentic that you will start appreciating professional cooks and chefs and find yourself asking questions like 'do actors eat real food in movies?’

What do you think about such food movies? Let us know in the comments!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nellie Rodriguez is a 28-year-old kitchen assistant who enjoys running and cooking. She is fun and nerdy, but can also be very rude and a bit untidy. She lives in Sacramento and sees herself as open-minded. She has a degree in Food Science.

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GUEST EDITORIAL: Top Ten College Movies

(Image: thoughtforyourpenny.com)

TOP TEN COLLEGE MOVIES

by Aimee Laurence

There are so many hundreds of movies based on the college experience, because it is such a transformational life event. This article sets out our top ten favorites.

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1. National Lampoon’s Animal House

Based on the adventures of a college fraternity, this classic movie is set in the 1960s. The Delta Tau Chi fraternity decides to rebel against the strict rules set by the college’s uptight dean who is set on confiscating their charter. It is a timeless movie that is full of laughs and is one of the first films to come to mind when people think about college movies.

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2. Dead Poets Society

This 1989 drama film is set in the 1950s at a conservative boarding school in Vermont. At the start of the school year, the students are surprised by the unusual teaching methods of their new English teacher John Keating, who inspires them through a love of poetry to make their lives extraordinary.

“My favourite scene is where Keating has the boys standing on their desks to learn to look at life from a different angle,” says Henry Fiala, an educator at Boomessays and OXEssays. “A true classic film that deserves a place on this list”. 

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3. Mona Lisa Smile

In the 1950s, at the private Wellesley College, a new professor helps to teach her female students that they can aim for more than just marriage through the medium of art. Her methods are portrayed as progressive and shunned, but this film beautifully shows the impact that a teacher can have on a student and how much our future can be changed by college experiences.

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4. Rudy

A classic underdog tale, Rudy is a story about a young man who follows his heart, focuses on his dreams and achieves success.

The character Rudy has to overcome a lot of physical obstacles, such as dyslexia and a smaller frame, to be able to play football for the notorious Notre Dame University and go on to play for the Fighting Irish football team. 

“This film has everything that you could want in an inspiring and real college movie,” says John Robinson, a teacher at Academized and Assignment Help. “Years of determination and hard work lead to Rudy winning a chance of a lifetime in the end.”

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5. Legally Blonde

This movie’s leading character, Elle, starts the movie as a very self-involved, superficial woman who is dumped by her boyfriend and decides to follow him to Harvard Law School to try and win him back. Through the course of the movie, she learns of her own intelligence and the importance of helping other people. 

This film is light-hearted, fun and has some important messages about the value of hard work and resilience. 

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6. Monsters University

Although a children’s film, the whole family will love seeing the antics of Mike and Scully as their friendship grows. This film has a strong message that monsters from all backgrounds can come together and overcome pride to achieve success. 

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7. Good Will Hunting

For the second time, Robin Williams has a leading role in a film on our list. This movie is set mainly at MIT, but focuses on the character played by Matt Damon. A young genius, he struggles with personal relationships and has a fear of getting close to others.

Working as a janitor, his genius is discovered, and he is coached by a loveable psychologist played by Williams to help him on the right path. 

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8. Old School

This movie is less about college and more about love, friendship and overcoming the odds. Three 30-something men launch a new fraternity near to the college where they graduated from in a feeble attempt to reclaim their younger years. They start accepting pledges and there are some hilarious moments, including a cameo by Snoop Dogg. 

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9. The Social Network

An Oscar winner, this movie tells the story of Harvard student Mark Zuckerburg and the launch of the social networking site, Facebook. As we follow the story, we learn about the legal dramas that were brought by his peers who claimed that he had stolen their idea. 

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10. Accepted

A high school student that is rejected by every college that he has applied to decides to create his own college so as not to disappoint his parents. Naturally, this attracts other students in a similar position and the plan turns into a full-blown scandal!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aimee Laurence is a tutor at Essay Help UK and Assignment Help websites. She writes about education and college life. Also, Aimee is a freelance editor at Top assignment writing services SA portal.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Miss Virginia

(Image courtesy of Vertical Entertainment)

MISS VIRGINIA— 4 STARS

One does not have to dig very far on an internet search to find pressing current issues in American’s public education system. In an eye-opening and apropos way, there are so many that Education Week magazine maintains an active A-Z list to sort and track them. You could sing “The Alphabet Song” and ring a bell on just about every letter for matching examples from the real-life inspiration of Miss Virginia chronicling the emergence of school advocate Virginia Walden Ford.

Punctuated by an assertive and impressive performance from Orange is the New Black actress Uzo Aduba, Miss Virginia details the cement roots movement that grew from one woman’s humbling and arduous beginnings fighting for better schools in the crime-stricken neighborhoods of Washington, D.C. If you are a parent of a child in school, no matter if it’s public, charter, private, urban, suburban, rural, or anything else, you owe it to yourself to absorb this kind of tangible and topical story and remember those who had and still have it harder than you.

The year is 2003 and Virginia is a single-mother trying to raise her son James (This Is Us ensemble member Niles Fitch) safely and make ends meet. Through disengagement and bad peer influences, James has become a failing and truant student at his underfunded and mismanaged local high school. At the “focus on the ones that want to be here” hand-wringing consequence nearing expulsion, Virginia tries to muster up enough earnings to send James to a safer, progressive, and enriching selective enrollment private school nearby. When Virigina cannot afford the $7000 tuition bill even on a second job as a custodian for an uppity local politician Lorraine Townsend (the prolific Aunjunae Ellis of If Beale Street Could Talk and When They See Us), her son tumbles back in the dangerous public school.

The wider Virginia searches for help or solutions, the more hurdles and pitfalls she discovers. Venal politicians in different pockets keep antiquated and ineffective policies in place. Community support is a challenge against brow-beaten despondency and gang control. But she believes and she builds.

LESSON #1: BE HEARD — This lesson may be the center of its tagline, but it is spot-on for the necessary initiative. Sure enough, one petition signature at a time, one knocked door at a time, and one microphone opportunity at a time, Virginia impassioned pleas begin to garner sympathy, support, and larger gatherings, including the attention of Congressman Cliff Williams (Matthew Modine). One woman’s lament becomes a movement of many, one that still churns today.

LESSON #1: KIDS COME FIRST — The main rallying call on the protest posters in the movie fits a fine goal to take outside of the theater and into the mission field of our classrooms. Virginia’s efforts weren’t for personal gain. They were for her children. There is indeed a point where school conditions deny children the right to learn. Few things bring communities together better than a successful school. Improve them to become a beacon more than a trap.

Along that lesson’s line, what is wonderfully positive about Miss Virginia is the mindful moderation of glory-hounding in the picture. Uzo Aduba is forceful and the speechifying is high. She deserves high praise for her poise and presence in this inspiring leading role. Also, yes, this movie exists to celebrate the real-life figure Aduba is playing. Nevertheless, the overarching compassion of the titular woman, through the words delivered by the stellar actress, stay on the bigger message and greater goal of Lesson #1. The weight of the issues is not overwhelmed by the light of any hero worship, and that is a rare and appreciable trait among biopics of this sort.

Surprisingly in a film of this class and size, there is real weight to the issues and surrounding drama. Grim honesty is evenly balanced by the soft and sure optimism slowly filling each stakeholder of this historical reflection. The striving spirit is stirring and the capacity for empathy for its causes is formidable. With teen-friendly content, go ahead and show a movie like Miss Virginia right in our at-risk classrooms. Present a victory where others are needed.

Miss Virginia is the feature debut for director R.J. Daniel Hanna and screenwriter Erin O’Connor. He comes from editing world and she from the ranks of executive producing. With solid acumen, keen location shooting, and steady support, they can proudly stand by this first effort. The formula used may be simple, complete with a dollop of a Hollywood-ish pivotal climax, but the effort and dedication is as true as the deserving light being shed on the unvanquished history at hand. Quietly with every tear and loudly with every megaphone in protest, this becomes one of the finer films on advocacy in recent memory.

Let a movie like this do better than get you curious. Let it get you mad. Let it get you fired up to make sure your own community does a better job with its current and future generations. Deny or ignore these bigger needs no longer.

LESSON #3: THE STRUGGLE IS NOT OVER — You may hear many speeches in several circles of discourse, from pundits and politicians to parents and porch swings, that will call equity in education the civil rights issue of our time. They wouldn’t be wrong in that concern. Remember, this movie critic is a school teacher by day. Miss Virginia is just one story of many that could be told. When over 40 states out of the 50 in the union spend double or even triple the amount of money per inmate in prison versus each pupil in a public school, the systemic misalignment of bad policies and worse cycles is all too clear.

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REWIND REVIEW: The Lion King

(Image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures via wdsmediafile.com)

For an occasional new segment, Every Movie Has a Lesson will cover upcoming home media releases combining an “overdue” or “rewind” film review, complete with life lessons, and an unboxed look at special features.

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THE LION KING

Anyone who seeks to own this version of The Lion King is doing so with a “how did they do that?” curiosity. The technical brilliance is its biggest selling point. That interest is answered very well by this disc release. Unlike its Pixar and Marvel offerings, Disney compiled a legitimate look into this re-imaginings wholly revolutionary bells and whistles. This movie will look gorgeous on your high-end television at home.

ANTICIPATORY SET AND PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:

Jon Favreau’s The Lion King stands as the biggest test to all of that progress and the attached criticism because of how little beyond the pristinely pixelated exterior is actually “reimagined.” So incredibly and, dare I say, unnecessarily much is nearly a shot-for-shot duplication of Disney’s most popular and most successful film of their Renaissance era. Duplicated enjoyment may have been the goal, but that makes one question a tangible purpose for truly needing any such update. Luckily, the shininess, so to speak, is an undeniably impressive and redeeming feature to a lack of implemented originality.

With around thirty minutes of extra marination here and there simplified by screenwriter and former steady Brett Ratner and Steven Spielberg collaborator Jeff Nathanson, the well-worn tale of The Lion King, with all of its hefty Shakespearean elements, is retold for a new generation. The habitat-sustaining balance of predator and prey on Pride Rock and the coming-of-age journey of an impatient young lion cub named Simba are derailed by the tragic death of his kingly father Mufasa (James Earl Jones). The pourer of snake oil and the engineer of this tragic royal coup is Mufasa’s rebuffed and cerebral younger brother Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his enlisted army of hyenas. Shamed to believing his idolized father’s death was his fault, Simba leaves the savanna and grows into an adult (Donald Glover) in a lush jungle far away under the practical tutelage and scrappy friendship of a meerkat named Timon (Billy Eichner) and a warthog named Pumbaa (Seth Rogen). When his former betrothed lioness (Beyonce Knowles-Carter) and a spiritual soothsaying baboon (John Kani) from his past discover Simba is alive, they urge him to return home and claim his birthright.

LESSON #1: KIDS, LET’S LEARN ABOUT FOOD CHAINS AND FOOD WEBS — Depending on your chosen educator in the movie, Timon or Mufasa, you either have a straight line (food chain) or a grander circle (food web) to describe linked survival. It’s like the duel between facts and “fake news” only sung as an anthem to help you remember. Everything that lives will die and become the ingredients to a future living thing. We all are the products of that matter ourselves. It’s just what order you observe or place you occupy in the chain or the web.

LESSON #2: CARRY NO TROUBLE OR PROBLEMS IN YOUR LIFE — Just as in 1994, the catchy “Hakuna Matata” comprises your specially packaged teachable nugget for the target demographic. The Swahili phrase meaning “no trouble” or “no problems” remains good advice for moving on from past mistakes and perceived failures with an attitude change to focus on the present and future.

MY TAKE:

The opening line of my review for Aladdin read “It is becoming increasingly tedious to both critique and enjoy these Disney “re-imaginings.” That hasn’t changed. Go back before that with Dumbo and I said “Audiences constantly question the values of duplicated enjoyment or tangible purpose for needing anything new and shiny made from something that worked just that way it was intended decades ago.” That hasn’t changed either. Now, when I go back two years to Beauty and the Beast and read my words of “Let them be different, whether that’s better or worse, because they are different. View them separately and independently. Judge them separately and independently,” I see where the situations have changed for me and for this line of movies. I can’t do that anymore.

It is the present entertainment landscape and the future dividends that have powered this 2019 presentation to an immense level of anticipation. There is no disputing this movie’s immediate and constant wow factor as a stunning visual and technical spectacle. The photo-real animation of The Moving Picture Company supervised by three-time Oscar winner Robert Logato, fellow Jungle Book Oscar winner Adam Valdez, and promoted top supervisor Elliot Newman add divine ethereal layers and qualities to every corner of Caleb Deschanel’s laboratory cinematography, right down to the wind, bugs, hair, and dust. The conjured natural beauty and animal physicality is easily some of the best-looking CGI work Disney has ever attempted of film.

The trade-off with the hyper-detailed realism is the loss of engaging and exaggerated personification of characters and performances from traditional hand-drawn animation. This happened for The Jungle Book as well. Nearly all of the expressive eyes, mouths, and other emotional facial features are flattened and reduced by limits of physiological accuracy. Cartoons, more often than not, will always do that better. It shows here and it is showmanship that is dearly missed.

Stellar voice work would supersede that weakness. However, this update lacks a standout showy performance, even with a “let’s do this” and “I got this” modern attitude sprinkled throughout the diverse casting. Now 88, the returning Jones has lost little timbre, but counts as another ingredient of replication rather than an opportunity for newness. Ejiofor is a less oily Scar than Jeremy Irons and his calculated line deliveries of sinister intent and ruthless edge are underplayed and too calm to a degree. Glover and Knowles feel like they are reading more than emoting and hitting high drama. The most zeal, naturally, comes from the characters with the most personality. The chicanery of Eichner and Rogen charms to embezzle each episode of their participation.

What gave 1994’s The Lion King its lasting importance is the trait of majesty. In my eyes, that always came from the music as much as, if not more than, the characters themselves. The songs composed by the famed Elton John with lyrics by Disney hitmaker Tim Rice brought magnetic appeal. Hans Zimmer’s percussive and choral musical score, which stands as his only Oscar-winning work to date, elevated the entire movie’s powerful presence for show-stopping impact. That memorable music, recomposed and reworked by all three men with the infusion and addition of Beyonce, is the smartest and, in the end, the most essential anchoring element of this carryover. That vital strength is successfully retained rather than lost. Now, the musical majesty has a matching and radiant visual one primed to stir both new and old amazement.

LESSON #3: BE A GIVING KING — The generosity of a ruler’s wisdom and actions gain more fealty among their subjects than any fear or oppressive control. Mufasa and Simba earned that loyalty. The other animals in their organic orb of influence genuflect in respect. Can the same effect be evoked from the watching audiences of Jon Favreau’s new achievement as they gain or lose trust in Disney’s reputation with these second comings? The regal resonance of this parable wins. No matter if the version of The Lion King being shown is sketched or coded, we too may bow to the grand splendor on display.

3 STARS

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EXTRA CREDIT:

The centerpiece of this home media edition is 53-minute “The Journey to The Lion King.”  The presentation is divided into three chapters with director Jon Favreau’s ever-present finger in every pie.  This feature easily bests the miniature 5-15 minute attempts of its peers. Even the so-so fans for this remake will find creativity to be impressed by in the production process for this movie.  

The first segment is a 13-minute portion documenting the return of composer extraordinaire Hans Zimmer to the project that earned his only Oscar so far in his illustrious career.  With a second crack at The Lion King, Zimmer brought increases of drums and vocal force to the familiar.  Hearing Zimmer speak on his creative process and goals is fascinating.  To have him and Elton John return to curate the score and songs was a coup for the studio and filmmakers.

The middle segment is the best and is subtitled “The Magic.”  Here is where we see the extensive shooting process, led by six-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel.  The DP, the effects vendor MPC, and Favreau documented their “virtual camera” process. Ben Grossman of MPC built game engine technology where VR headsets rehearse and chart possible camera movements.  Those shots are merged with the settings created by Andrew Jones and his animation team from the original animatic storyboards. All involved really go out of their way to explain this very new technique and the conversations are very insightful.

To see more of this outside of “The Journey to The Lion King,” viewers can peruse the “More to Be Scene” selections.  Three of the major vocal set pieces (“Circle of Life,” “I Just Can’t Wait to be King,” and “Hakuna Matata”) are presented with side-by-side screen shifts of the four visual layers.  Starting with the storyboards and animation to the virtual camera shooting and final finished product, the progression is amazing to see.

Last of the three chapters, “Timeless Tale” brings forward the diverse voice talents of these animal characters and personas.  Favreau leads here to explain and defend how this cast of new performers were chosen. They, in turn, excitedly explain their connection to it all.  Many grew up as ardent lovers of the original and feel the Favreau opportunity is dream fulfillment and a large honor. The smiles are shared by all around.

Jon Favreau’s feature commentary takes all of this and goes even further with scene-by-scene breakdowns.  His complementary insights often emphasize the documentary and photo-realistic goals and desires of the movie and all those working on it.  The goal from the beginning was less anthropomorphic emotion to avoid cartooning, which addresses the contention of many for the lack of facial expressions.  Emulation came first, right down to the shot creations. According to the director, the more iconic the scene, the more the filmmakers adhered to the known memories without tinkering.  Changes were easier to make elsewhere.  

After that, the other bonus features are pretty short and simple.  Entertainment is the chief goal where the movie itself can be played straight or as a sing-along version.  For those who want to cut straight to the ditties, there is a Song Selection feature to pick any of the eight lyricized song scenes.  Music video inclusions are given to the two new original song additions, “Spirit” by Beyonce and “Never Too Late” by Elton John. Expect one of those to get an Oscar nomination slot come the winter awards season.

The final minor bit is “Protect the Pride.”  It is a tidy 3-minute PSA on lions highlighting the beneficial Lion Recovery Fund efforts supported with a bucks from Disney’s fat checkbook.  The organization’s goal with this partnership is to double the formerly endangered lion population in the wild by 2050. Helpful and harmless, it represents a positive message and kissed ring at the same time.

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MEDIA APPEARANCE: David Ehrlich's IndieWire Critics Survey on October 14, 2019

Notable and notorious IndieWire film critic David Ehrlich recently put out a social media call for film critic peers to join a weekly survey to discuss movie topics, answer questions, and highlight their work.  Representing Every Movie Has a Lesson, I, along with over 60 other emerging and established film critics including some of my fellow Chicago Indie Critics members and Aaron White of Feelin’ Film, accepted the invitation to participate.  I'm honored by the opportunity, and I hope my responses are chosen each week.  

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THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: What is the best 21st Century movie about capitalism and class anxiety?

I gotta say, this topic was much tamer and quite the switch from the dangerous inquiry last week. Every generation and decade has their bumper crop of movies about our American capitalizm. In my lifetime, I point to Wall Street in the 80s and Boiler Room in the 90s. For this century, I went sentimental more than combative. The Big Short was a tempting second place choice.

THE FULL INDIEWIRE ARTICLE THIS WEEK

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MOVIE REVIEW: The Lighthouse

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THE LIGHTHOUSE— 2 STARS

Upon the brief opening credits, the setting of The Lighthouse reveals itself in every sensory detail. A steaming dark steel keel is cutting through rough waters in a monochromatic ocean fog painted by boxy black-and-white cinematography. An unnamed rocky island appears out of layers of mist. The ambient sounds of the surf pounding against the shore and a deafening foghorn announce its presence while the white beam from its titular structure slashes through precipitation and clouds above. As the boat draws closer and two men disembark to remain, the noises become shriller with the enveloping cries of seagulls and introduction of musical cues from the score.

Nothing about this place, its natural topography or its man-made constructs, looks, sounds, or feels comely. The disquiet is palpable. All the atmosphere is there in Robert Egger’s torturous and pin-pricking thriller. The unfortunate struggle is that the suspense ends there. There is not enough compelling story, mystery, or perversion to fill or overwhelm this eerie environment.

Quite the contrary, the two central characters are indeed overwhelmed. Willem Dafoe plays the elder veteran lighthouse keeper Thomas Wake. Filled with Dafoe’s gruff zeal and ever-present twitch, Thomas is a salty dog dripping in alcohol-fueled admonishment. The recipient of his constant chiding is his subordinate mate Ephram Winslow, played by Robert Pattinson. The greenhorn maintains the grounds and resources while Thomas always mans the light itself.

LESSON #1: THE MUNDANITY OF ISOLATION — Insisting on keeping a strict keeper’s log (historical examples of which informed much of the craggy jargon of this movie), Thomas saddles Ephram will all of the upkeep, from cleaning out pots of piss and excrement and maintaining the machinery to hopelessly painting the exterior with no Mr. Miyagi-level gain in skill or standing. The routines are beyond monotonous and the surly company makes much of Ephram’s time unbearable. That tedium is passed quite effectively to the viewer as well.

LESSON #2: THE MADNESS OF ISOLATION — Even the most virile and virtuous man has his thresholds stuck in a situation like that. With each passing day of confinement and repetitive errands, Ephram’s sober and stolid will burns into fiery contempt. His mind races and his sleep fills with nightmarish voices and flashes ranging from tempting beached mermaids to tentacled monstrosities. This solitude is far from serene. Diatribes turn into fights.

The two leads commit to the rambunctious rawness necessary to immerse these characters into their hellacious psyches. Robert Pattinson takes his explosive outbursts to a new level. His cracks are like earthquake faults, especially when played against the lobotomy drill that is Willem Dafoe. To watch them degrade and devolve is minorly impressive. Their escalating performances are the sole reason to watch this picture beyond that acidic aura created by the production value from many of Eggers’ previous collaborators from The Witch.

The rigorous Nova Scotia location lends itself to the cinematic absorption of cinematographer Jarin Blaschke seeking every rough-hewn texture. The 1.19:1 framing is impeccable and the close-up shots reveal additional seediness when the threats are not looming from a CGI-assisted distance. Composer Mark Korven pierces high flutes into the score to mirror to natural growls. As complimented earlier, the sound mix of all the elements concocted by designers Mariusz Glabinski and Damian Volpe is extraordinary. Again, all of that is an atmosphere with limits.

The Lighthouse is more mundanity that madness, which is surprising given the pedigree involved. It is odd to say that a Robert Eggers film is not sinister or disturbing enough but the boredom outweighs the suspense at each and every turn. Mere flickers are all that transpire before you, which leaves you wanting more oddity and, frankly, broader vision. All of the portending, however attuned it is to its sense of art, registers as pretentious.

To give this a fitting seafaring analogy, The Lighthouse is like eating a luxurious crab. The film looks the part on the plate as a grand dish. However, it requires fatiguing effort to enjoy. The meat may taste good, but there is too much shell and too much work to get at that puny succulence. The very pretty movie and meal then become lacking and negligible for satisfying sustenance. Pass the fish sticks or, better yet, some mermaid filets.

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FESTIVAL PREVIEW: The 10 best special presentations at the upcoming 55th Chicago International Film Festival

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For the 55th year, the excellent and eclectic of national and international cinematic art descends on the Windy City for a fall conclave. The 55th Chicago International Film Festival begins on Wednesday, October 16th with the Opening Night bow of Edward Norton’s period crime drama Motherless Child and continues until October 27th with the Closing Night documentary premiere of The Torch chronicling the life of blues legend Buddy Guy. Norton’s film leads an eleven-day showcase of 21 different themed programs containing over 120 films.

Tickets are available online from their website or at the central box office hosted the AMC River East location downtown. Chicago-based Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic and 25YL staff writer Don Shanahan has credentials to cover the festival for our website. Check back here for future coverage and capsule film reviews throughout the rest of the month.

Motherless Child is the first of several Gala and Special Presentation headliners gracing the festival schedule this year. They may carry an extra charge, but attendees will be among the first to see these films anywhere in the country. Here are the top 10 big-name films to catch at this year’s 55th Chicago International Film Festival.

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THE IRISHMAN

This is the biggest “get” of the bunch. Ever since its premiere at the New York International Film Festival, the bouquets have been flying towards the newest from Martin Scorsese bankrolled by Netflix. With few likely opportunities to see this one on the big screen, this Gala Presentation becomes a truly special event.

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JOJO RABBIT

Perennially during “awards season,” the Audience Award winner coming out of the Toronto International Film Festival is an immediate Oscar frontrunner. That is indeed the case with director Taika Waititi’s steep satire. Enjoy an early look at its salacious snickers before it arrives in theatres in November.

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KNIVES OUT

This star-studded murder mystery has been anointed the Festival Centerpiece of the 55th Chicago International Film Festival. Director Rian Johnson will be appearing on the red carpet and leading a post-film discussion. See the movie’s ripe surprises before its Thanksgiving release.

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FORD V. FERRARI

More than mechanical muscle appears to be on display with the combination of Christian Bale and Matt Damon for Logan director James Mangold. This zippy historical drama promises brawn and style and was a late addition to this festival slate.

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JUST MERCY

With a wide release date not until mid-January 2020, the newest feature from director Deston Daniel Cretton (Short Term 12) stands as the most advance acquisition on this top-ten list. The Jamie Foxx and Michael B. Jordan vehicle has Oscars on its mind. See it way before the rest in Chicago. Director of Photography Brett Pawlak and actors Karan Kendrick and Tim Blake Nelson are scheduled to be in attendance.

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MARRIAGE STORY

Like The Irishman, Marriage Story from noted filmmaker Noah Baumbach will someday be very accessible as a Netflix release. The big screen is still the best place to absorb the marital challenges between Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson. Early reviews have the two of them in the acting races for the Academy Awards.

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THE REPORT

Speaking of Adam Driver, the talented actor also wowed critics and audiences back at January’s Sundance Film Festival with this scandalous thriller based on true events surrounding post-9/11 terrorist containment and treatment. Director Scott Z. Burns’ expose will continue to draw attention with every festival stop it makes.

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HARRIET

Director Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou, Talk to Me) will be in attendance to present her hotly anticipated biopic. Cynthia Erivo from Widows plays the titular Underground Railroad heroine. Chicago will be graced with the lauded filmmaker for a talkback.

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HONEY BOY

The Shia LeBeouf resurgence is in full swing after this summer’s Peanut Butter Falcon. Honey Boy, however, stands to be his opus. He wrote this autobiographical story of a young actor (played by Noah Jupe and Oscar nominee Lucas Hedges at different ages) pulled by many troubling influences and stars as his own father.

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A HIDDEN LIFE

Always bubbling to the top of the pedigree department is the equally revered and misunderstood Terrence Malick. His ominous and newest epic (which is surprisingly only the second-longest film on this list after The Irishman) set in World War II Austria makes its Chicago debut well before its mid-December release.

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SHORT FILM REVIEW: Loyalty

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Official selection of the 25th Black Harvest Film Festival

LOYALTY— 4 STARS

As a school teacher by day beyond this role as a film critic, let me say that there can never be enough messages sent about the troubling epidemic of bullying. All are necessary. All are helpful. We need every personal testimonial. We need every pamphlet. We need every artistic measure of expression that can gather attention, provoke thoughts, and change a few hearts. The Chicago-made short film Loyalty from filmmaker Ira Childs is one of those necessary contributions. The short recently played at the 25th Black Harvest Film Festival at the Siskel Center.

Shot on the premises of Holy Family School in the North Lawndale/Homan Square neighborhood of the west side of Chicago, Loyalty presents a collection of young boys who make a series of choices that only get worse. Two middle school boys (Emmanuel Latim and Daniel Spencer) are gathered around a talkative and braggadocious ringleader named Thomas (Donald Woods III) as they gawk over apps on his phone in the school locker room after playing some basketball. Thomas takes notice of Jacob (Steven Heard), a smiley younger student coming-and-going through the bathroom wearing a hat. When Thomas takes the youngster’s hat and the little Jacob steps back, the other boys drag him away to accost him off-screen.

A fourth student, C.J. (Terry Lee Ricks III), saw the whole thing but hasn’t been forthcoming about the details. He finds himself answering to his worried mother Kendra (Anita Nicole Brown) and higher authorities in the form of a police detective (Shawn R. Wilson) and school principal (James Humphries). C.J. stands on what he thinks the titular term of this short film means.

LESSON #1: WHERE LOYALTY FAILS — C.J. doesn’t want to be a “snitch” to his friends. However, he and his peers cannot readily see the greater ramifications for their actions. Loyalty fails when it prevents honesty from being shared and upheld. Lying is still lying.

LESSON #2: COURAGE AND INTEGRITY BEAT LOYALTY — The bravery and conviction to tell the truth is greater than misguided allegiance. Courage and integrity matter even more when those traits are hard to find or in short supply. Choose friends with these better qualities.

LESSON #3: THE HARDEST THING TO DO IS OFTEN THE RIGHT THING TO DO — Now we’re talking! In this one line delivered with assertive comfort from Humphries’ school leader, the necessity of better choices becomes poignant. Decision-making can be modeled and encouraged for all ages.

For a shoestring budget passion project from a budding filmmaker, Loyalty is composed smartly and cleanly from top to bottom. How many films of this type, feature-length or otherwise, always seem to want to tint or filter urban areas in seedy darkness in almost blatantly profiling way? That is not so here. Cinematographer John Wesley Norton makes an outstanding use of natural light pouring in gymnasium windows to light this narrative. There is a near-ethereal quality that conveys hope over despair.

Loyalty achieves that glow without sacrificing a sense of realism. All that captured light shines on smooth camera movements and a voyeuristic use of steadicam shifting around personal obstacles by operator Joseph Markarian. Most of the time, lower angles are used to be the gaze and the eye level of youths looking up at their fateful decisions and guiding adult presences. That’s a perfect presentation choice for this type of story. The same can be said for the rhythmic original music of Tracy Gardner to guide tone without overpowering the moment.

More importantly, this short film and the writing of Ira Childs could not be more on message to the topic of bullying and how to address it with young men, no matter their demographic. You don’t have to know these performers. You just have to hear what they are telling you. One could play Loyalty in any classroom setting, urban, suburban, or rural and the life lessons would ring true. That’s a fantastic accomplishment from a humble, yet determined source.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Gemini Man

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GEMINI MAN— 2 STARS

Ang Lee’s new actioner Gemini Man is the cinematic embodiment of the figure of speech “chasing your tail.” A reminder from The Free Dictionary, defines that idiom as “to take action that is ineffectual and does not lead to progress” and “refers to how a dog can exhaust itself by chasing its own tail.” Boy, is that ever this movie. You have a multiple Academy Award-winning filmmaker chasing a technological benchmark that the industry cannot match. And you have a lead actor exhausting himself (and us) literally, instead of just figuratively, chasing his own tail.

Graying through his temples and whiskers, Will Smith plays his authentic 51 years of age as ultra-professional government asset Henry Brogan. The old guard assassin wants peace after losing his “feel” and growing a conscience after completing his 72nd confirmed kill. Seafront solitude with a little boat awaits Henry in Buttermilk Sound, Georgia south of Savannah. After demonstrating his chops in the opening scene, Smith’s confident exasperation and desire for this slowdown fits the actor’s appeal.

LESSON #1: “TO THE NEXT WAR, WHICH IS NO WAR” — This quote is Henry Brogan’s shared signature toast with his former brothers-in-arms from the old Persian Gulf and Somalia days, which include Jack (Red Sparrow’s Douglas Hodge) and Baron (Benedict Wong of Doctor Strange. The vibe is two-fold. First, there’s a celebration of success in making the world a better place with each dispatched despot and a survivalist wish of someday putting the bullets and triggers away.

Sure enough, retirement is short-lived when Henry learns he was fed spiked intel where the mark he sniped was someone of a less criminal background than he was told. Brogan and Danny Zakarweski (Mary Elizabeth Winstead, bringing only middling sidekick value), the burned babysitter agent who helps him, become loose-ends for erasure by the order of their head government spook employer Clay Verris (Clive Owen, dialed to 50% intensity). Globetrotting from Georgia and Cartagena in the Western Hemisphere to Belgium and Budapest in the eastern one, the chase is on.

The salt-grained rub is Henry’s indomitable opponent at every stop is someone younger, stronger, and faster with recognizable facial features and training. Over 20 years ago when cloning was the rage, Verris used Henry’s DNA as a test to create an experimental line of expendable soldiers packaged with fewer human flaws and more programmed discipline. The force matching Henry’s every movie is his 23-year-old homegrown duplicate raised by Verris as his own adoptive son and following his every command.

LESSON #2: SO MUCH FOR SUN TZU — Paraphrasing, knowing your enemy better than you know yourself is quickly derailed when your enemy is you. Insert the Dramatic Chipmunk, but watch out for the groan-inducing “clones are still people too” and “they get choices too” wet blanket lessons that preach and follow. Gemini Man becomes a battle of seasoned wisdom versus the superior vigor of youth. Brains tend to always beat brawn, and you can see the end result a continent away.

Through de-aging special effects and digital doubles, Smith plays and voices his own “Junior.” This glaze, if you will, is very well done compared to other incarnations we’ve seen with this performance technology. Most of the time, mouths and expressions match with minimal, though noticeable, creepiness. It takes some getting used to, but it’s still Will Smith. Like most of his duds over the course of the last decade, the fit action star is never the movie’s problem.

Plenty of keen and sleek aesthetics are fair to compliment here. The team of stunt coordinator Brad Martin (Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice) and fight choreographer Jeremy Marinas (The Fate of the Furious) executed action sequences that are kinetic and often clever. Two-time production design Oscar nominee Guy Hendrix Dyas (Inception, Passengers) and the art departments created vast arenas for these battles out of the worldly locales. Academy Award-winning cinematographer Dion Beebe (Chicago) shot them bright and tight while long-time Lee editing collaborator and fellow two-time Oscar nominee Tim Squyres (Life of Pi) stitched the work together with deft pacing.

Much ballyhoo is being made about the high frame rate shooting used to enliven all this action. Matching his 2016 effort on Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Ang Lee shot this film in full 4K HD for large scale 3D at a 120 fps clip, exponentially higher than the standard 24 fps rate. Good luck finding a theater or setting that can do Gemini Man full justice. There’s not a single theater screen in the country that can perform all three of those specifications and only 14 than can hit the 3D and the frame rate without the 4K HD. Cue your shrug of disappointment.

We can admire Lee for aiming towards new technological heights, but this reeks of hubris over smarts. Upwards of $136 million is a great deal of money and effort to waste on what amounts to an artistic STEM experiment where the intended visual detail and sensory effect will be lost on over 99% of audiences. If home viewing is the second wave of hope for this wannabe blockbuster to make an impression, even the current 4K HD televisions will have a difficult time hitting those technical specifications.

It is unfortunately understandable that this film probably could not be marketed to the masses without revealing the younger doppelganger crux. What a shame. Such a discovery should have been built as a jarring jaw-dropper rather than a foregone conclusion. The trouble is too often production secrets like that cannot be dependably kept safe in this day and age of scoop culture. That and, if you hold your bucket of popcorn to your ear, you can probably still hear the short-sighted marketing gurus at Paramount clamoring that two Will Smiths are better than one. This is not the 1990s or early 2000s Will Smith anymore. He was lucky with Aladdin but he’s not an A-list draw.

Gemini Man could have been something far greater if it traded much of that polish for punch. Other than the inventiveness of the action, there is zero to few potential thrills to be had when you can see every spot coming. The look is all there, right down to the close-up shot selection framed to capture the steely moments ripe for emotional stamping. There’s just no storytelling strength behind those hard stares. One of the mano-y-mano moments in the movie lets loose the clunker of a line “none of this is necessary” and it feels self-incriminating.

This original premise, scripted out by Game of Thrones czar David Benioff and Goosebumps writer David Lemke with a revision from Billy Ray of Captain Phillips, feels very much like a low-end Philip K. Dick concept. A hero is in minor peril wrapped in easy clues with the lightest whiff of unexplored science fiction floating in the background. There is a market for that to a degree. Preposterousness can work around being ambiguous and ill-defined if it has an interesting edge (look no further than the best of Dick). Gemini Man, with all its finely sharpened pixels, cannot lacerate our enthusiasm.

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GUEST EDITORIAL: 7 Biographical Movies About Scientists

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Seven Biographical Movies About Scientists

People find the reading of biographies of some of the most notable individuals in the world interesting. You cannot see what it changes in them until you have sat and read one. The film industry has not fallen short of the same approach to its greatest movie creations. One common category is that of biographies of individuals such as scientists. If you find biographies of scientists interesting, then you cannot miss looking out this list of biographical movies about scientists. 

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A Beautiful Mind 

A Beautiful Mind is a creation of the year 2001. If you are a fan of the game theory, then you just found the film that puts everything game theory in context. This movie draws the picture of American mathematician and Nobel Prize Winner in Economic Works, John Forbes Nash Jr. 

John made immense contributions to partial differential equations, game theory, and differential geometry. Through his works, John provides light to the issues that control chance and decision making in everyday life. Actor Russell Crowe plays John Nash's character. The film won four Academies and used in a worldwide awareness campaign about Schizophrenia. 

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Gorillas in the Mist 

This film is a creation of the late eighties, sometime around 1988. Gorillas in the Mist’s main character, Sigourney Weaver, represents the character of primatologist, ethologist, and zoologist Dian Fossey. The film captures her motivations, actions, and dedication to studying gorillas in the mountains of Virunga, Rwanda. Her love for primates was sparked by the fact that after the divorce of her biological parents, the mother got married again. 

The foster father did not take in Dian as his own and would not entertain her at all costs. She found friendship in animals going on to be one of the most celebrated primatologists in the world. Gorillas in the Mist demonstrates her efforts in not just the study of gorillas but also her part in projects for safety and conservation of primates across the world. 

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Creation 

This 2009 film is a depiction of the life of an English scientist, biologist, naturalist and geologist, Charles Darwin. Many people already know of his contributions to the theories of the science of evolution. This movie goes before the time he publishes his works, "On the Origin of Species." 

In the film Creation, Charles appears to be experiencing a battle within himself.  Having lost his daughter, Charles Darwin, loses his faith in God. He goes on to try proving not every creation in this world was that of God. Darwin finds it a challenge choosing between his sacrifice to the life of science and the love he had for his quite religious spouse whose faith is not shaken by their daughter’s demise. 

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The Theory of Everything

This movie about five years ago, 2014, earned its main actor, Eddie Redmayne, an Academy Award for Best Actor. Eddie plays the role of A Brief Story of Time author, and Theoretical Physicist Stephen Hawking. Stephen Hawking, at the time of demise at the age of 76, had lived with motor neuron disease for 55 years. He ends up becoming one of the world's most loved, inspirational, and influential scientists when anticipated he would live for only two years after contracting the disease in 1963. 

Stephen Hawking is also known for inspiration quotes, with one of his most common being "Life Would Be Tragic If It Weren't Funny.” This film, the theory of everything, captures Stephen’s early 20s, his romantic life, his realization of his motor neuron conditions, and after that, efforts that led to massive realizations in the science of Physics, particularly black holes.

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The Imitation Game 

This movie, created in 2014, casts Benedict Cumberbatch, the main actor in The Hobbit, Sherlock Holmes, among other blockbusters. The Imitations Game captures the life of cryptanalyst, mathematician, and computing maverick Alan Turing. With his mental magnificence, Alan helps his allies to victory in World War II. 

Alan Turing, known as the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence, helped the British rule to breakdown German ciphers and codes beating Nazis in multiple engagements. In this film, the same is depicted with Benedict as Alan creating a machine that can read a code of the Enigma Machine, something the MI6 of Britain thought was impossible to crack. This strengthened their counter efforts making them outshine the German army. 

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Temple Grandin 

This film, created in 2010, is a story of an autistic woman, Mary Temple Grandin, a renowned scientist known for her efforts in educating people on the humane ways of handling livestock. Temple was one of the first people to document their autism experiences. 

The film Temple Grandin stars Actress Claire Danes and depicts her journey from livestocks handling to autism advocacy. At an early age, Temple is prone to tantrums, and when taken to the hospital, her first diagnosis reads Schizophrenia.

 Later on, she visits her aunt and realizes they use squeeze chutes to calm animals. She tries it on herself, and it is discouraged, considering people saw it as a sexual thing. Her teacher encourages her to study science. Later she develops a dip that makes animals enter dips voluntarily. Thereafter, farmers alter the device making animals drown. In an autistic conference, an autistic individual finds it hard to respond to questions, and luckily, from the audience, Temple talks about how she dealt with her autism. This starts her journey in autistic advocacy. 

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The Story of Louis Pasteur

One interesting story a student could go for is that Louis Pasteur. Louis Pasteur was a famous French microbiologist that had interests in vaccination, pasteurization, and microbial fermentation. 

Pasteur achieved successes in the causes and prevention of diseases such as puerperal fever. He also created the first rabies and anthrax vaccines. His contribution to the medical industry has been a motivation for many leading to films such as The Story of Louis Pasteur. The film captures the times he predicts the death of Napoleon III’s family. Once the death has happened, Pasteur is accused of murder and has to run to a place known as Arbois, where he develops anthrax vaccines and later rabies treatment that save animals in his escaped homeland. 

The list of biography movies about scientists is lengthy. Biographies are always exciting, depending on your interests and profession. You will not miss that one biography that pushes you to read it. The above are just but a few and should not limit you. Biographies improve worldviews and make us open-minded and creative. To others, they are motivational and mark the beginning of new lives. If you find reading boring, or you wish to put you read in context. This list of biography films about scientists should make it fun and easy for you to learn.  

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About the Author

Kristin Savage nourishes, sparks and empowers using the magic of a word. Along with pursuing her degree in Creative Writing, Kristin was gaining experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in marketing strategy for publishers and authors. Now she works as a freelance writer at TopWritersReview.

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