Invencível

During the World War II, the bombardier Louis "Louie" Zamperini (Jack O'Connell) and the pilot Phil (Domhnall Gleeson) are assigned in a rescue mission in an old plane immediately after a successful bombing mission. Soon two engines blow up and the plane crashes in the sea, and only Louie, Phil and Mac (Finn Wittrock) survive. Louie is a former Olympian from the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and stubborn since he was a kid, and he encourages his mates. After a month on the sea surviving in two rafts, Mac dies. A couple of weeks later, they are captured by the Japanese marines and sent to a P.O.W. camp in Tokyo. The commander Watanabe (Takamasa Ishihara) is a sadistic and frustrated man and treats Louis with cruelty since he was Olympian. But Louis is hardheaded and brave and is not broken by Watanabe, resisting his torture and inspiring his mates in the camp.

"Unbroken" is a film directed by Angeline Jolie based on the impressive true story of the former Olympian Louis "Louie" Zamperini. The story is engaging and the screenplay is well written, showing the personality of Louie through flashbacks. The reconstitution of the period is also excellent. However, there is lack of emotion and the film does not touch the heart of the viewer. The only feeling inspired by this film is anger and hatred towards Watanabe. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Invencível" ("Invincible")

Lets just say I just saw a great movie about loyalty, courage, survival and redemption. Angelina Jolie has fantastic directing skills and its Oscar worthy. Jack O'Connell knocks his performance out of the park and he's proved himself with this great performance along with his performances in "Starred Up" and "'71". He embodies the characteristics of Louis Zamperini and the great wonderful life he lived. Jai Courtney had a small role, but really good surprisingly, can't wait to see him as Kyle Reese in next summer's Terminator reboot. The movie slowed at a point but picked it up and blew me away, O'Connell gives an Oscar worthy performance, but given the competition it's unlikely. Who cares though? This is one of 2014's best films and you'll see it at the Oscars I promise you that.

Louis Zamperini (Jack O'Connell) is an Italian-American from Torrance, California. As a boy, he's a juvenile delinquent. Then his brother Pete notices his running abilities which takes him all the way to the '36 Olympics in Berlin. During WWII, he's a bombardier in the Pacific. He is captured and imprisoned by the Japanese.

This movie looks good technically. Director Angelina Jolie shows her competency in that respect. Jack O'Connell is OK. There is simply nothing that jumps out. There is little tension and no excitement. The story rolls on like a recitation with limited emotional content. It's still an interesting life and a compelling one to watch.

I had never heard of Olympic runner Louis Zamperini until he died last year. My dad had read Laura Hillenbrand's book about Zamperini's experiences in a Japanese POW camp, so Zamperini's death caught his attention. But the news that there was a movie about Zamperini's experience getting released caught my attention.

Well, Angelina Jolie's "Unbroken" isn't a great movie, but it's worth seeing. The point is that Zamperini refused to let his captors break him, hence the title. Seeing what the captors did, I got the feeling that anyone in their positions would do the same. War simply breeds cruelty.

The movie's obvious downside is that Jolie probably made the movie with the aim of winning an Oscar. I didn't find the movie Oscar-worthy, and the Academy apparently agreed. In fact, some parts of the movie drug on too long. But I thought that it was a good look at how Zamperini stood strong in a desperate situation. Not a masterpiece, but something that you should. As for Jolie's decision to exclude the part about Zamperini's conversion to Christianity, that wasn't an important part of his survival in the POW camp, and there are a few too many movies in which people's faith "saves" them. The movie is good enough already.

This film came out a few months ago, so by now there are quite a few reviews--so I'll try to make my comments brief. The film is a biography of the wartime experiences of Louie Zmaperini--as well as a few flashbacks to his life before the war. Zamperini was famous both for being an Olympic athlete as well as his being a prisoner of war in Japan--all of which he later wrote about in his biography. In it, he also talks about his difficulties coping with PTSD and anger towards his Japanese tormentors--as well as, with the help of God, he was able to let go of the anger and life a normal life. In many ways, this is extremely similar to another recent film, "The Railway Man"--a film which, to me, is better and makes a much stronger emotional impact.

What what did I like and dislike about the film? The aerial sequences were pretty amazing--particularly how they used wonderful CGI to make it appear as if Mitsubishi Zeros were attacking a formation of B-24 Liberator bombers. The story also was very interesting. But the film also seemed to be missing the spiritual and emotional side--and mostly only talked about this in the epilogue which was written only. In many ways, interesting but curiously uninvolving at times.