Elysium

Elysium pulls no punches in a superb second feature from South African / Canadian director Neill Blomkamp.  No subtly in this move, as Elysium opens with a world much like ours, polluted, overpopulated, where the wealthiest 1% of world have almost everything, leaving the rest of us to fight for scraps.  Matt Damon plays the last white man living in Los Angeles, convicted felon, car thief extraordinaire, who has a nightmare on-the-job accident in a world without workers comp.   Jodie Foster channels German Chancellor Angela Merkel in her role as the Defense Minister of Elysium, willing to commit war crimes to protect her lily white world run by a token man-of-color President. Coincidence? Think again.  Elysium is awash in overt and covert themes, immigration, race, income inequality and merits of socialism versus capitalism, enough to make you want a stiff drink afterwards.  Must see movie but be ready to re-occupy your local park afterwards.  After all, we are the 99%.

Only God Forgives

Only God Forgives is a cinematic mind f@*k.  I have to watch again just wrap my head around it.  Beautiful cinematography, highly stylized imagery, haunting soundtrack, Danish director Refn delivers his signature highly violent visual storytelling.  Of course, Ryan Gosling stares his trademark 1,000 yard stare with a vengeance.  Add in creepy karoke with a classic Oedipal struggle and you have a film you will dream about. See it in a theatre if you can but available VOD on many outlets.  

SK