Movies for grownups
by Michael Snyder
March 2016
Now that the Oscars have come and gone, entertainment awards hysteria is on hold until the Emmys in early fall. That generally means more adult fare at the cinema until the movie industry delivers the requisite summer blockbusters and would-be crowd-pleasers. Consequently, three very different but engaging feature films are taking aim at grown-up audiences this month: A Norwegian export about an ecological cataclysm; a military-oriented global espionage thriller; and a high-profile experimental offering from a masterful director whose work has elicited wide reaction. You won’t find a superhero, mutant, vampire, star-crossed lover, or oversexed teenage prankster among them.
(Excerpt)
‘EYE IN THE SKY’
With a topical bent, Eye in the Sky addresses our current era of international terrorism, drone warfare, and invasive high-tech surveillance. The film delves into the unexpected consequences of fighting a ruthless and elusive enemy with what can be imprecise technology, especially in the hands of human beings. More specifically, it shows what can happen when innocents are thrust into the middle of this conflict, forcing soldiers and agents to reconcile their individual and sometimes conflicting values for what is perceived as the greater good.
British Army Col. Katherine Powell (Helen Mirren) uses an American drone to finally find a longtime nemesis — a U.K. citizen who has joined a terrorist organization in Kenya — and discovers that her target is overseeing the launch of multiple suicide bombings. A missile strike is ordered on the bombers’ hideout, and a drone pilot (Aaron Paul) at a base in Las Vegas is about to pull the trigger when a little girl is spotted in the kill zone.
Back in London, the colonel and a fellow military officer (the late Alan Rickman) join an international governmental debate about the action as an antiterror operative (Barkhad Abdi) in Kenya secretly tries to save the girl, and the clock (and timers) tick. The roster of extremely capable actors, including Jeremy Northam and Iain Glen, bring gravitas commensurate to the stakes at hand: Is one child’s life worth the likelihood of so many other deaths?
Director Gavin Hood — who helmed the Oscar-winning South African film Tsotsi as well as the less-laudable Ender’s Game and X-Men Origins: Wolverine — handles the moral and ethical dilemmas with sensitivity and the action sequence with verve. Eye in the Sky is most assuredly something to see.
Eye in the Sky: opens March 18 at San Francisco theaters.
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt. (Charles M. Schulz)
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