list/discuss/rate - your recently watched movies

About Ramón Sampedro, a former sailor who was rendered quadriplegic in his prime. He lost his job and the ability to travel. He lost his independence. He lost opportunities. He lost interest. Ramón could do anything with his life, but all he had was "scraps" of himself (although he did manage to write a book). Having lost the will to live, he started what would become a 28-year-long fight for the right to die. Having been pressured to live for various reasons made those long years of incapacitation even less bearable. He would find himself experiencing physical and emotional discomfort on a daily basis, living a life of disappointment - a rather torturous way to live. Surprisingly, this is a concept that, after all these years, some of his family still could not comprehend. This strikes me as a kind of matter that is more about what is to be lost, not who. Needless to say, the film informs us that the right to die is a kind of freedom that comes with a great responsibility. It requires a lot of thought on the matter of the wages of such an act, but then again, you have to think about what a life like this can do to your mind. After all, as it was repeatedly stated in the movie, "life is a right, not an obligation."

The Sea Inside does not require much of thematic exploration as it manages to be quite concise with regards to its themes - the meaning of life, fear of death, poverty, codependence, and true love (and how love and death intertwine). (Does love mean being an emotionally codependent slave?) Some of the movie's content is just as I predicted, but that's not a bad thing at all. It only illustrates certain moments that I'm sure a lot of us can relate to.

On an additional note, at first it was unclear to me why Ramón at one time said "... this hell is worth living in if I can meet people like you." Then I figured that perhaps he still enjoyed some human connection, even after decades that could have left him (nearly) emotionally bankrupt.

Great acting, script, and camera work are the biggest merits of this movie, which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film (Spain). There isn't a minute wasted as the main plot and the subplots are in full motion. However, I found the part about Ramón and Julia's (his first lawyer's!) fantasy moments in their relationship a bit unrealistic. Also, I'm not quite sure if the characters have been a bit too forthright to be credible, or maybe I'm just being picky. Hey, it's just a movie based on a true story.

Overall, I knew I couldn't go wrong with the movie. No matter how you feel about how the events in the film unfolded, you have to agree that it was well-crafted.

 

A wonderful movie, the trailers did not do it justice.  If you're familiar with the series this one is the best imo.  I thought it was going to suffer from 'third in the series, take the money and run syndrome', that absolutely DID NOT HAPPEN.  If you read the many reviews out there one of the most common comments stated is how visually stunning this one is, even for an animated movie.  I'd have to agree.  If you haven't seen any of the previous movies this one is till a good to see movie.  If you've seen the other two the developers did a great job in continuing the story without watering it down and there are a lot of little things making you hope for a fourth release.  This is my own opinion but I found this movie a lot more entertaining than the "The Force Awakens".

 

When I do go to the movies I never seem to see the ones that get nominated.

Did Dicaprio deserve the win? What about Spotlight..?

 

I thought Chris Rock's jokes on black diversity in Hollywood went on  too long. I think everyone gets it Chris especially since some actors boycotted and talked about it weeks before the event. It seemed like his whole monologue and much afterwords focused on only that.

 

I didn't see the show -  all our TVs are out of action due to renovations, and in any case had no interest in watching - but will say that Spotlight's win was well deserved. It was a brilliant movie, wonderful script, compelling drama and very well acted. It's a pity there was no ensemble award because the cast surely deserved one.