Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

During the Napoleonic wars, ‘Lucky’ Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) is captain of the H.M.S. Surprise.  He and his crew are on a mission in the Atlantic, off the coast of South America to find and capture or destroy the Archeron, a French privateer.  Right away in the film, we are thrust into an epic battle as the Surprise first encounters the bigger and more heavily armed ship.  It’s a devastating battle, killing and injuring many, but Lucky Jack presses his men forward, knowing that their mission may hold the turning point for the war.  What unfolds is not only a tale of courage, determination and cunning, but a portrait of the crew’s potential when they work together and their destruction when they are disconnected.

Thanks to the excellent direction of Peter Weir, the movie feels like an authentic and historical Pirates of the Caribbean.  I mean that as a sincere compliment.  All the action and adventure of a ship on the high seas is amped up, but the mission and realization that these men are military personnel is never lost.  The stunts and CGI pulled off in this film are never overdone, but kept to a realistic level.  I never felt as if they were for a simple shock and awe value, but have purpose and bring honest beauty to the film.

Master and Commander earned Oscars for Best Cinematography and Sound Editing.  We’ve all seen movies with ships on the high seas, but you’ve never seen a ship at such beautiful angles as the Surprise is shown here.  One of the first images that blew me away was the silhouette of  the ship’s ropes criss-crossing like vines in a jungle, then we see men climbing all over them.  As for the sound, just crank it up at any of the battles and you’ll understand.

Something I did not expect, but really enjoyed was the trip to the Galapagos Islands.  The time onshore serves multiple purposes, both for Dr. Maturin (Paul Bettany), who’s a naturalist, the ship’s doctor and Jack’s most trusted man.  It’s nice to get on land at least once in a ship movie, but to use the natural beauty and variety of strange animals as a fitting part of the story is genius.

Just as the ship’s name suggests, Master and Commander is full of surprises.  I think I was expecting something dryer, more ridged and pompous feeling with a British ship during the Napoleonic wars.  It was nothing like that, it was smooth, beautiful, slightly comical at some points and perfectly epic when the occasion rose.  If you enjoy Crowe, Bettany, or adventures at sea, Master and Commander should be on your list.

“England is under threat of invasion, and though we be on the far side of the world, this ship is our home. This ship is England.”

A Beautiful Mind

The story of real life Nobel Prize winner, John Nash could have been either very boring or distasteful.  Only Ron Howard can make a world of numbers and complex calculations feel like magic.  And only Russell Crowe can turn a socially inept human calculator into an endearing sweet character.  Any other director/actor combination could have turned this film into a flop to forget about.

We meet John (Crowe) as he begins classes at Princeton University.  Immediately, he’s an odd ball, not very good with social situations and not likely to make many friends.  When it comes to women, his pickup line includes the term “fluid exchange.”  Instead of going to classes, he charts the movement patterns of the pigeons, usually on windows.  It’s only by a stroke of his unique genius that he’s even allowed to continue his studies at Princeton and receive his degree.

Once out of school, he’s a professor at MIT and called upon occasionally to break codes at the Pentagon.  Sounds pretty prestigious, but he’s secretly yearning for more.  He gets that by taking a classified job, finding hidden codes in magazines like Time and Life.  But when he marries and starts a family, his top secret work could jeopardize his life, in more ways than he realizes.

Alright, for those of you who’ve seen this movie, you know the big spoiler I’m trying to tip-toe around.  I hate to ruin a good twist for a first-timer, so… you can read between the lines.

John’s Princeton roommate, Charles (Paul Bettany), and his wife Alicia (Jennifer Connelly) are the two most important people in his life.  They both have qualities John doesn’t have (and probably wishes he did), like being social, bold and spontaneous.  Without these friends (and his classified work) John’s life wouldn’t have as much meaning and all we would see is a lonely man obsessively breaking codes.

One of the strangest and most fascinating things about this film is the way the viewer is visually shown how John’s mind works.  A problem is shown to him, he murmurs and whispers to himself (maybe only in his head), the numbers light up and an answer just presents itself.  I don’t know if that’s accurate to how John Nash really solves problems, but it’s a great visual way to show the viewer his process rather than have it explained to them.  Wish I could do math like that.

A Beautiful Mind is a film for nearly everyone.  There’s drama, romance, intelligence, action and psychological twists.  With a PG-13 rating, it’s not too strong a brew for most either.   Then again, Premiere included it in their “The 20 Most Overrated Movies Of All Time.”  It’s good, but not Best Picture great.

I’ll end with a bit of truth I only wished some of my professors gave me: “This class will be a waste of your – and what is infinitely worse – my time.”