Frank

I had meant to see Frank in theaters. I settled for watching it the day it came out on Netflix. Frank is a film about an odd underground rocker, Frank, who constantly wears a large head shaped mask.

The movie is directed by Lenny Abrahamson and stars Domnhall Gleeson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Michael Fassbender in the titular role.  While Frank is the masked face of the band, the story follows that of Gleeson's character Jon Burroughs. Jon is a young artist, working a full time job at an office and struggling creatively. The plot gets under way when Jon goes to a beach and sees a man trying to drown himself. He learns that this was the keyboardist of a band called The Soronprfbs. Jon offers himself up and plays a strange, talented, but ultimately short-lived set with the band.

Frank, who is undoubtedly the band's leader, decides he likes Jon and brings him to Ireland to record their next album. The movie meanders in plot for a bit but sets up large scale themes that continue to pay off throughout the film. Frank is obviously eccentric and a bit insane, but where does this insanity end and the genius begin? Can creating art be fundamentally new and still aesthetically pleasing? The viewer, who sees Frank and the Soronprfbs through Jon's outsider eyes, wonders who Frank is under that mask and why is he always wearing it.

The plot picks up again about halfway through the film as the band gets offered a gig at SXSW due to Jon's guerilla social media campaign. A break down is imminent as Frank tries to get more and more "likeable" and Jon starts alienating band members. 

The movie reflects its titular character; it's strange, it's loosely structured, but all together likable and fun. The character is a pseudo homage to Frank Sidebottom, who has a mighty similar head but more of a popular tv look instead of alternative music sound.

Frank is a fun movie with a mysterious center much like the Michael Fassbender's character. The movie denies to be defined. It is complicated and simple. Fun, yet strikingly serious and sad. We end up routing against Jon who was the one who introduced us to this world. As an artist Frank is important movie showing how difficult it is for creative minds to balance themselves, their friends, and the work they so love. I loved this movie. 

The Green Mile

It is never a bad thing when SPIKE is showing an absolute classic on a Friday night. The Green Mile combines some sci-fi elements with Frank Darabont's great ability to tell prison stories. Darabont of course made his imprint on the film world with another prison movie, The Shawshank Redemption. Although The Green Mile takes place in a similar setting, the two movies couldn't be more different. Shawshank tells us a story of how different inmates get themselves through the extremely tough times they face while in prison. Whether the troubles between them and the guards, each other, or just the obvious trails of solitary confinement. And the story finally ends with an elaborate escape by the films main character that you aren't completely expecting. Although The Green Mile touches on many of the same prison struggles, there are other elements that come into play that separate it from Shawshank.

The one scene that only sticks out to me when watching this movie is the scene where Michael Clark Duncan's character seems to transfer little bees from his mouth to the mouth of one of the troubled guards. This is the sic-fi element that I spoke about earlier that really makes this a unique film. We learn that John Coffey (Duncan) actually has all sorts of amazing powers. He has the power to heal others as well as the scene I talked about earlier. Coffey actually purposely attacks the guard so he will in fact attack another prisoner who we find out is actually responsible for the murder that Coffey has been sentenced for. His healing powers come into play a few times in what is a remarkable twist to what appears to be just a typical prison movie in the beginning.

The Green Mile was nominated for four academy awards and somehow didn't win a single win. Michael Clark Duncan was nominated for best supporting actor and despite a performance of a lifetime didn't win the award. The final scene of the movie where we see John Coffey finally being executed on the electric chair somehow makes us actually feel sympathy for someone that supposedly was a rapist and a murderer. That is one constant that Darabont brings over from Shawshank. That sympathy for prisoners that have committed some awful crimes, and yet the audience feels like they don't deserve to be punished like they have.

The Green Mile was an instant classic and a must see for all movie lovers.