There is more to going to the movies than seeing big blockbusters like Top Gun or Jurassic Park: Dominion. I would like to talk about two lesser-known movies that have not gotten a lot of attention, but may be of interest to you. They may no longer be in the theatres, so you might have to watch on a streaming service.
Vengeance is a black comedy written and directed by B.J. Novak (Ryan on The Office) and he also stars. The movie tells the story of a self-absorbed and commitment phobic urban blogger named Ben Manalowitz . Ben is asked to attend the funeral of a girl he hooked up with a few times, and barely remembers. Her Texas family is under the impression that they were seriously involved and he plays along with them thinking he will get some interesting ideas for his blog. He finds out her brother believes she was murdered, and wants Ben to help find the culprit. As the story goes on, Ben finds the truth not only of what happened to the victim; but a few truths about family and trust, and himself as well. The script is very witty and warm, and full of interesting and thought provoking conversations.
Medieval is an entirely different story than Vengeance. Medieval is a Czech drama that is one of those ‘based in actual events’ tales ( ones that are always stretched and/or changed around) based on the life of Jan Zizka, a Bohemian military commander who never lost a battle. In this movie, he is fighting the efforts of feuding brothers’ armies (from the Holy Roman Empire and the Teutonic Order no less) to ascend to the Emperor’s throne (the last Holy Roman Emperor having just died). He is a national hero in The Czech Republic. There is a fine cast, Ben Foster plays Jan, Matthew Goode is King Sigismund and Michael Cain plays the political Lord Bores. Medieval is extremely violent, although the violence is realistic to the time period (1300’s). What I liked about this movie is that I learned about a very interesting historical person that I had never heard of. I went online and read everything I could about this fascinating guy.
