The East

Movie review! Movie review! 

No joke, I find it quite difficult to come across a good movie these days. I'll manage to sit through many a television show - the good ones are usually well-scripted and engaging and even the bad ones can be addictive - but movies are a different matter. I'm not a movie snob, I swear. I used to love watching action/comedy films (True Lies), the occasional romantic comedy (The Cutting Edge), and sometimes I'll even admit that I enjoyed really silly movies (The Heat, The Mummy)...but still, you'll note that the majority of these films are a bit dated. In fact, like many aspects of my life right now, there's just no desire anymore, no motivation. I'll browse through theatrical trailers and note what's "coming soon" without any intention of ever going to see anything, I'll listen to people say "oh that movie was awesome" when talking about some major blockbuster, and mentally only see neon flashing signs in my head of "Too much CGI!" or "Sappy script!" or "Try hard!"- things like that. For example, I finally got around to watching Life of Pi, which I did not enjoy (fancy that), though that's expected as I did not enjoy it in novel form either, but I will admit that the CGI tiger was fluffy. Quite fluffy. All in all, perhaps the cynic in me is kicking his legs, but it's as if my mind has allocated itself to only enjoying documentaries because of the "educational" value...and many of those leave me a in a funk as well (see previous post). Just...very. Little. Desire. 

I had all but given up hope after finishing Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous on HBO - I watched it to the end because well one, why not, and two, I do like Sandra Bullock in comedic roles.  I was about to call it quits, so imagine my surprise when Pinky flipped to a more "serious" movie and it sucked me right in.

 

It was called The East. At first, I was a bit skeptical - the movie featured Alexandar Skarsgård and all I had seen him in before was True Blood (that point should be pretty self-explanatory). His presence aside, the plot of the movie centers around a female undercover intelligence agent from a private company, infiltrating an anarchist organization, called The East. Conflict arises when she spends so much time with the group that she falls in love with the leader and becomes attached to the group's ideals and members... obviously not a good thing for her operative goals. It's not a long film, but it certainly does have a good deal of personal conflict, interesting relationships, and underlying politically-charged commentary regarding the head-butting of capitalism, government and anarchy. Acting is believable, characters are complex enough, and although the plot is a bit predictable, there's very little time wasted on saccharine speech or issues.  I finished the movie and thought, "Well, that was pretty darn good," which happens so rarely that I was a bit floored. It's kind of like when I finished Seven Psychopaths or BBC's Sherlock, Season 2. Pretty. Darn. Good.

The East did not mess with my brain as much as a documentary usually does. Subsequently, I'm sure many people will pass this movie off as too simple, something done before (V for Vendetta, anyone? I still haven't seen it, but it's about anarchy, right?)...maybe a bit cliche. But, as someone who doesn't watch too many movies, I appreciated the fact that this movie reminded me of the moral issues behind capitalism, concepts I tend not to contemplate in daily life. More importantly though, I appreciated the fact that this movie did not undervalue my intelligence - the writers don't spend time in the script placing cleverly worded sections explaining things to you, nor is it excessively philosophical or "high-minded" or dramatic. In fact, I know that this is a fictional piece and not something that actually happened which makes it easier to dismiss, but even though I didn't have to worry about the construct of reality interjecting its head, I did find that this movie does indeed have something very real in it.

I don't think real life is all that dramatic or erudite; you can make it so, but in reality, that's the only time it really is. I think this movie is a wonderful example of the simplicity behind action and consequence. No one breaks down sobbing because they didn't get to sleep with this person or whatever, there's no inappropriate "zoom-in" on anyone's crying face, emotion is felt but managed. There's not a lot of screaming, guns, or fire...moments of panic are muted but very persistent. Change in its characters comes slowly, which I think reflects on the true, long, and thoughtful process of altering one's life values. Emotion in this movie is so appropriate and characters so well-drawn that it's all a little too real.  I guess that why I liked it. There's this underlying silence and calm that runs throughout The East, and it's all worth sitting in on, at least for an hour or so.

Summer Corn Salad

6 servings

1 English cucumber, thinly sliced

4 TB white vinegar

2 TB granulated sugar

2 teaspoons salt

2 cans of corn kernels (30 oz)

2 large shallots, diced

2 large carrots, grated

5 stalks scallions, diced

2 TB lemon pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 C roasted walnuts, roughly chopped

4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled

smoked salt and pepper, to season

Marinate the thinly sliced cucumbers in white vinegar, granulated sugar, and salt for at least 30 minutes. In another bowl, mix together the crumbled bacon and walnuts and season with smoked salt. Drain the corn and let dry - pat with towels, if necessary.

In a large bowl, toss together the corn, shallots, scallions, lemon pepper and thyme. Season with smoked salt and pepper, to your taste. Then add in the marinated cucumbers, including all the liquid. Mix until all vegetables are evenly mixed. Serve, with the crumbled bacon and walnut mixture on top.