Hallelujah289

Zero Dark Thirty is not really what I thought it would be. I was picturing an action film based on the navy seal takedown of Usama Bin Laden (UBL). But those scenes are just a small part of the film towards the end. What the film really is about is the long ten year hunt for UBL by a young CIA operative played by Jessica Chastain. It is film as much if not more about the failure of the hunt as the eventual success. This makes sense given that the scriptwriters were originally making a film about the failed hunt for UBL when in real time the assassination took place. So they had to pivot.

I don't see how the film can be seen as a glorification of torture. Not really. From what I heard the filmmakers had meant to make the torture scenes worse. It seems to me an attempt to show so that the natural sense of indignity kicks in.

Anyway, Zero Dark Thirty is hardly a propaganda film either since it shows what is basically a ten year failure. How is that really showing American CIA in a good light? The film also mentions the failed intelligence contributing to the Iraq War in the "WMD" (weapons of mass destruction) probabilities the CIA gave. If anything the film is about an agency and country that was increasingly cowed from acting. And had to make a decision based on probability and deduction rather than proof. Indeed UBL hid very well.

The Covenant is a film about two adept, resourceful people, a US army sergeant (John) and an Afghan interpreter (Ahmed), who barely know each other but have each other's back in extraordinary ways. Why? That is one of the puzzle aspects of the film is compels a second re-watch, as the motivations exist in small moments of shared understanding.

The Covenant is structured in a simple way: their meeting, their mission success & mission failure together, Ahmed's struggle to protect John, John's struggle to extract Ahmed, ending. In this was the film is a straightforward story of one good deed deserves another, with little extra to complicate it. Except the intelligence and the survival skills of the two men to admire. And the way they navigate difficult mountainous terrain with the dangerous and numerous Taliban tracking their moves. Plus the strong cinematography and the epic soundtrack heightening the emotional moments and strengthening the combat action.

All in all a solid film of an American soldier standing by their interpreter, when hundreds of interpreters and their families died. I've heard there is a general sadness that the US left some of its helpers out to dry. I don't know how much of The Covenant is based in reality. But I think it is likely what some of the US military wished to happen. Maybe it is worth it to tell the story of what was supposed to happen even if it didn't, to inspire where possible.

The Beast in Me is a suspenseful mystery about a writer's next subject: her neighbor, and also herself. It is a slow burn story which had me drifting in parts. But I think it is a good work which set up the mood from the start with a pair of unleashed dogs. It is a character study of two neighbors who both have unchecked rage. They share common ground and a friendship of sorts as well as an animosity. I appreciated how the story is built on the characters and their relationships, even this was also an early source of impatience for me. I think there is strong acting in this story. Well developed morally gray characters. Though I think one must take a liking to the characters in order to enjoy the pace of the show. Some very good camera work, with the story often told with images centered around mirrors.