Barry Seal acting as a courier between the CIA and General Noriega
Few films ‘based on true events’ feel as ridiculously over the top as Doug Liman’s American Made (2017). Based on the life of pilot Barry Seal (Tom Cruise), the film follows Barry as he becomes a CIA informant taking photographs of communist rebellion groups in Central America, starts smuggling cocaine for Pablo Escobar’s Medellín Cartel, and subsequently smuggles Russian guns to the Nicaraguan Contras on behalf of the United States Government. Let’s not forget that most of Barry’s bizarre smuggling career took place during then-President Ronald Reagan’s infamous “War on Drugs”. It sounds too comical to be true, and yet the story told by the film is closer to fact than it is to fiction.
We at FIU’s Film Studies Program hope that you, the members of our community, have managed to get back on track after the chaos brought upon us by Hurricane Irma. As we move towards establishing a sense of normalcy again, there are few things in this world that help as much as watching a movie among friends. That said, we hope you’ll be as excited as we are to hear that starting this Friday, September 22, O Cinema will begin a week-long celebration of one of the most prolific and revered directors in the history of cinema: Stanley Kubrick.
Stanley Kubrick filming a scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey
Pennywise the Dancing Clown appears to terrorize a member of The Loser’s Club
When one decides to remake or re-adapt a narrative for the screen, there’s always a question of whether or not the new product will match or surpass the story many hold dear. In the case of Andy Muschietti’s It (2017), not only is the film a worthy successor to the 1990 TV miniseries adaptation of the eponymous Stephen King novel, but it’s an exceptionally good horror film overall. Muschietti, whose only other major film release was 2013’s Mama, manages to distill the primary themes of the first half of Stephen King’s monstrously long narrative on childhood trauma, and present it as a movie which manages to deliver some genuine scares.
In the last year, have you found yourself at a screening of Pan’s Labyrinth on campus? How about Saving Private Ryan? Pulp Fiction? All of those screenings, along with countless others over the years, have been brought to you by The Film Initiative: Underground. The club has been around since 2011, hosting a wide array of film screenings around campus and promoting student filmmaking through various means such as filmmaking workshops and by orchestrating the FIU Student Film Festival. They are very much the real deal and if you’re reading this newsletter and haven’t heard about them yet, you’ll probably want to start paying attention.
The third installment of Michael Winterbottom’s “Trip” series, The Trip to Spain is pleasant and genuinely funny, with darker undertones than its predecessors.
Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan in Michael Winterbottom’s THE TRIP TO SPAIN. Photo by Phill Fisk. Courtesy of IFC Films. An IFC Films Release.
We’re just days away from an exciting new Fall semester. In the event you’ve neglected to pick your classes yet because you’ve been too caught up traveling, hitting up the beach, binging Stranger Things on Netflix, or just straight up sleeping in every day, don’t sweat it. We’ve got you covered on what classes you might want to take this semester.
2017 has proved to be a formidable year in terms of dynamic, entertaining, and action-packed cinema, yet there are still so many movie releases to look forward to in the approaching fall semester. As classes commence once again, students will flock to the theaters for a much-needed rest from the note taking and studying, but the question is: What movies will be worth the time and effort? Whether it’s the long-awaited release of another installment in the Star Wars franchise, the anticipated horror films of October, or the upcoming lineup of epic films during the holiday season, we have prepared a list of films for you to watch out for.
