Zero Dark Thirty

Zero Dark Thirty is yet another film that makes history exciting. It's an even bigger challenge than what Argo and Lincoln did because this is really recent history on-screen.

Maya (Jessica Chastain) is a CIA agent who wants one thing: Osama bin Laden dead and gone. In her line of work, she has no time for anything else. She starts off by torturing terror suspects. Once she works up the ranks, she participates full-time in surveillance operations. She gets a lead on bin Laden's location, but only she is positive they'll find him there.

Of course, as history proves, she was very much right.

Having won Oscars for The Hurt Locker, director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal assemble again for their latest political thriller.

It's not a film for those with high blood pressure. The film's editors William Goldenberg and Dylan Tichenor keep the audience on edge as the characters, both civilian and government, face death. Sound editor Paul N. J. Ottosson provides the payoffs by following easy silence with forceful sound-effects.

It's enough to make one cover their ears at all times.

As Maya, Jessica Chastain's performance helps keep the film going. Her character maybe one-track minded, but she's also doubtful of herself. By the end of the film, when her duty's done, we're wondering what she'll do with her life. Meanwhile, Harold Perrineau, Jason Clarke and Jennifer Ehle stand out as a few of Maya's closest confidants.

Some have condemned the film as pro-torture propaganda. But it really depicts torture as anything but attractive. It's a point that it hits home by stretching the few torture scenes on and on.

While it maybe pushing three hours, Zero Dark Thirty breezes through those hours with some ease. It did feel long at some times, but the climactic raid was a worthy payoff. It's certainly a film that earned its place amongst last week's Oscar nominations.

Gangster Squad

Gangster Squad? That sounds like a superhero team. But in reality, it's just a true crime story. But then again, gangster superheroes sound fun.

Anyway, the actual movie stars Josh Brolin as the hero, John O'Mara. He's a police sergeant in 1949 Los Angeles. The evil gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) has made a name for himself in the City of Angels. He's made such a name that no one will testify against him.

LAPD Chief Parker (Nick Nolte) is painfully aware of Cohen's power. So, in response, he has O'Mara assemble a bunch of cops to take on Cohen. Together, they are the Gangster Squad, with the power to break the law as they please to punish the lawbreakers. Now, all they have to do is to prevent Cohen from becoming wise to their scheme.

Director Reuben Fleischer starts the film off well. He gives the heroes some fun moments together and apart; a highlight being an escape from jail that goes awry. With Oscar-winning cinematographer Dion Beebe, his Los Angeles scenery is appropriately gritty and pulpish.

Its best moments, though, were when the film behaved as an action comedy. But for most of it, it played itself too straight. Not merely switching from fun to drama halfway, but playing both in the same scene. The best example is Mickey Cohen, whose hamminess belonged more to Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy. While the rest of the characters do earn some good laughs, they were overall too generic to care about.

As an action film, Gangster Squad will not disappoint. But as a gripping true crime drama, you might want to find something else.

The Impossible

It's nice to have a hotel room with an ocean view. You can see the ocean up-close; you can even see it as it comes to kill you.

Sorry.

But while you watch a movie like The Impossible, you might want to try anything to keep your spirits up. Even if it is a dumb joke.

Maria (Naomi Watts) and Henry Benett (Ewan McGregor), based off the real life Belons, take their three sons to Thailand for a nice vacation. Unfortunately, it's Christmas 2004; the day after Christmas, there comes the Tsunami.

When the water washes away, Maria and the eldest son, Lucas (Tom Holland) are stranded, alone, in what used to be paradise. Together, they try to survive hell on earth. Meanwhile, Henry tries to find them while keeping the younger sons, Thomas and Simon safe.

A good word for this movie is relentless. Its scenes of carnage and drama are its dominating forces. Among the "highlights": Maria being thrashed about the water for a long while, and suffering injuries which makes one question the film's PG-13 rating. There's barely, if any, relief from the drama, which only adds to the intensity on-screen.

Also contributing to the drama are its leads. Watts, McGregor and Holland convincingly portray desperate people who find hope by keeping others' spirits up. The more they prove resilient, against nature and for each other, the more these characters earn the audience's admiration. Even before the disaster hits, these are characters the audience hopes would reunite in the land of the living.

At 103 minutes, The Impossible stays on point as it heads for an upbeat ending. Even so, getting to that ending is a definitely intense experience. So don't go into the movie unprepared.

Chasing Ice

In the documentary Chasing Ice, director Jeff Orlowski set out to document the magnificence of glaciers. And also, to remind viewers that unless things change, these frozen wonders will no longer exist.

It's about photographer James Balog, founder of the Extreme Ice Survey. With his fellow researchers, Balog set out to photograph key glacier sites in Iceland, Greenland, Montana and Alaska. What they set out to do was to see just how much the glaciers have been melting.

End result: they have been melting too much, too fast. The more they melt, the more they exacerbate major weather systems. And what's been making the melting worse? Fossil fuels, for one thing.

Its primary case is that humans, while not the main cause, are a major factor in climate change. It argues that case with major scientific and photographic evidence. Among the evidence, Balog and his team find toxic sludge, residue of fossil fuels, melting the ice. Through time-lapse photography, Balog also demonstrates just how fast glaciers have been melting. It's such a well-argued case that should shock many a skeptic.

As a personal chronicle of Balog, the film is also a good travelogue of these glacier sites. Through him and his team, the audience gets to marvel and worry as the glaciers disappear. Overall, while the film's frozen scenery is wonderful, the fact that it's disappearing is not. If that's on your mind after the film is done, then the film's 75 minutes will have been well spent.

It's one of the 15 films, along with such works as Bully and Searching for Sugar Man, eligible for the Best Documentary Oscar this year. Even if it's not cited next Thursday, this is still a documentary worth giving a try. Whether major or minor, you're sure to learn something new about Earth's frozen landscape.

Silver Linings Playbook

While 2012 maybe gone, the films of 2012 are preparing for the Oscars next month. One such film is Silver Linings Playbook, a film quite more enjoyable than the usual Oscar type by a touchdown.

Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper), who has bipolar disorder, has just been released from a mental hospital. After having nearly murdered his estranged wife, Nikki's, lover, Pat now has a restraining order against him. Despite that, Pat decides to do everything to find the Silver Lining in his cloudy life. Even if it means reading depressing works such as A Farewell to Arms.

One day, Pat meets the recently bereaved Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence). Tiffany offers to help Pat reconnect with Nikki. But first, Pat has to be her partner for a dance competition she's preparing for. Pat agrees and their awkward romance begins.

But there's also Pat's father, Pat Sr. (Robert De Niro) and his obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles. How's Pat going to find time for that?

Originally a novel by Matthew Quick, this crazy story was realized onscreen by writer/director David O. Russell. Its story balances comedy and drama wonderfully because of its endearing characters. Even if some of their actions aren't endearing, they are all people the audience would have no trouble emphasizing with.

As the leads, Cooper and Lawrence are the best of this "crazy" ensemble. Amongst the supporting cast, Chris Tucker and Anupam Kher, as Pat's friend Danny and psychiatrist Dr. Patel, respectively, are great comic relief and moral support. But really, these are just examples of an overwhelmingly excellent ensemble.

As a film about optimism, Silver Linings Playbook doesn't lose sight of its central premise. It's definitely one of the former year's best films and it deserves its place in next month's Oscars.