Highbrow Magazine - war films https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/war-films en ‘Sisu’ Bombards You With Relentless Violence https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/23939-sisu-bombards-you-relentless-violence <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/film-tv" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Film &amp; TV</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 05/05/2023 - 13:50</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/largesisu.jpg?itok=wCzYrVC4"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/largesisu.jpg?itok=wCzYrVC4" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">“Sisu” is a movie that knows what it is, which is a constant barrage of cruelty and violence while telling the story of man’s near superhuman resilience. It’s the equivalent of eating a giant steak with no sides and only a little seasoning. You’ll be full, but you’ll be left wanting more flavor.</span></span></p> <p><br />  </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Jorma Tomilla plays a former Finnish commando living as an isolated gold prospector in Lapland, Finland, near the end of World War II. He’s stoic man who discovers a huge deposit of gold and crosses paths with a squad of Nazi soldiers in the middle of a scorched-earth campaign. What follows is a brutal, bitter conflict that offers tons of violent kills and not much else. The story and characters don’t have much going for them, and while Tomilla does a good job with his performance, there’s not much to his character other than a cliche backstory that describes how much of a badass he is.</span></span></p> <p><br /> <span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2sisu.jpg" style="height:434px; width:650px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">This movie is like a slasher flick crossed with “Fury Road,” and while the kills can get creative and ridiculous in a fun way, I wish there was more heart underneath all the blood and gore. If the movie didn’t have the budget for constant spectacle or complicated choreography, then it would have been nice if it fleshed out the main character to be more interesting, but he doesn’t say a word for most of the movie. I know the entire focus of the movie is the violence, but even by action movie standards, what this film offers outside of all the kills is mediocre at best.</span></span></p> <p><br />  </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">While there are a lot of fun and creative ways to kill Nazis, the use of CGI here can be distracting at times. Muzzle flashes on weapons and blood spurts look particularly stock and cheap, which is a shame because the rest of the movie does a lot with its budget in ways that don’t stick out. There are also moments in action scenes that cut too soon -- it would have been interesting to show the rest of what happened. </span></span></p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3sisu.jpg" style="height:434px; width:650px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">If you have the appetite for a ton of gore and violence with a bleak atmosphere then “SIsu” has that covered. It’s a movie that starts out fun, but there’s a point at which you realize it doesn’t have anything more up its sleeve, and the violence just continues -- without much else to keep your interest. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Author Bio:</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>Ulises Duenas is a senior writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/sisu" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">sisu</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/sisu-movie" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">sisu movie</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/violent-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">violent films</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/gory-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">gory films</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/new-movies" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">new movies</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/slasher-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">slasher films</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/war-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">war films</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Ulises Duenas</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">In Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 05 May 2023 17:50:18 +0000 tara 11854 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/23939-sisu-bombards-you-relentless-violence#comments ‘Medieval’ Tells the Story of a Czech Hero in the Middle Ages https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/21677-medieval-tells-story-czech-hero-middle-ages <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/film-tv" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Film &amp; TV</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 09/30/2022 - 12:07</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1medieval.jpg?itok=wZbVgsI2"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1medieval.jpg?itok=wZbVgsI2" width="480" height="320" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Jan Zizka is a folk hero for the Czech people. His cunning as a military leader and devotion to his soldiers made him a legend on the battlefield and his early exploits are depicted in the film <em>Medieval,</em> directed by Petr Jaki. With the biggest budget of any Czech</span></span><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"> film ever made, it’s clear that the director had a mission to do the story justice, even if most viewers don’t understand the impact of the events depicted.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">The story takes place during the 14th century, at the tail-end of the Middle Ages in Central Europe. Jan Zizka is a young mercenary who battles against Henry III of Rosenberg, a nobleman who is recklessly taking territory of lower houses including Zizka’s. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">Zizka is then branded an outlaw and he uses his ingenuity to raise an army of bandits and peasants to oppose Henry. While the plot is somewhat generic, the director does a great job of building a sense of atmosphere and tension and the military battles shown throughout the movie are well done.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2medieval.jpg" style="height:671px; width:447px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">The film does a good job of showing the brutality of war and the bleakness of the Middle Ages. There’s a fair amount of blood and gore, but not to the point where it becomes gratuitous or sensational; it feels like a grounded portrayal of war for the time. </span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">The lighting and shots of the European countryside help create a creepy and uneasy atmosphere, although at times it does look a little too similar to other works that portray the Middle Ages. It’s an impressive feat for a movie that doesn’t have any supernatural elements and it keeps the slower scenes from feeling boring.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3medieval.jpg" style="height:440px; width:660px" typeof="foaf:Image" /></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">One of the more notable shortcomings of <em>Medieval</em> is that none of the actors give breakthrough performances. Ben Foster as Zizka and Michael Caine as Lord Bores are both good in their roles, but they never hit the level of greatness that would make their characters memorable. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">There’s solid acting from most of the actors,  yet none stand out. </span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><em>Medieval</em> is a movie with above-average directing and action scenes combined with average acting and an average plot. It makes for an interesting watch as a historical piece, but a lot of the politics of the time were dropped in favor of action and personal drama.</span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>Author Bio:</strong></span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong><em>Ulises Duenas is a senior writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine.</strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:18px"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif"><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/jan-zizek" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Jan Zizek</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/czech-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">czech films</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/medieval" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">medieval</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/war-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">war films</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/henry-iii" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">henry III</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/middle-ages" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">middle ages</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ben-foster" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ben foster</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/michael-caine" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">michael caine</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/new-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">new films</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/medieval-times" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">medieval times</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/historical-films" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">historical films</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Ulises Duenas</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">In Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 30 Sep 2022 16:07:27 +0000 tara 11361 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/21677-medieval-tells-story-czech-hero-middle-ages#comments