'Honour, Code, Loyalty.'

When Colonel Nathan R. Jessop (Jack Nicolson), Commanding Officer of Windward Division Guantanamo Bay Cuba, gives an order you follow it. You follow it, ‘or people die – it’s that simple’. 

Ironically, that’s exactly what happened when he ordered the divisional officer of Bravo Company, Lt. Jonathan James Kendrick (Keifer Sutherland), to ‘train’ one of his men, a procedure informally referred to by the Marines stationed in Guantanamo  as a ‘code-red’.  

When Private Santiago dies as a result from receiving the code-red, what was supposed to be a routine order and just some in-house corrective training, suddenly becomes a murder charge and a possible military scandal for the Colonel. 

Ordinarily, giving someone a code-red isn’t a problem. It helps to keep the guys in check. Furthermore, every soldier in the Colonel’s unit knows better than to break the chain-of-command when they have an issue. They chose to live their lives by a certain code, a code that says: Unit, Corps, God, Country. That’s the order of priority for you when you are a marine in Guantanamo Bay. Santiago took problems he had in the unit to people on the outside and by doing so betrayed the code.

When word of his betrayal leaked, understandably, many of his fellow enlisted men were pissed at him and wanted to sort him out pronto, but at a divisional meeting, the platoon leader Lt. Kendrick told the men that anyone seeking retribution should refrain from it.  

What they didn’t know was that after that meeting broke, Kendrick specifically ordered two marines to give Santiago a code-red. Why is this an issue? Because Jessop received a memo earlier that year stating that the practice of code-reds was forbidden and illegal.

Fortunately, for both Corporal Harold W. Dawson and Private First Class Louden Downey, the marines accused of Santiago’s death, the JAG Court has the perfect man to represent them; cue in Daniel Kaffee. 

Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is a special lawyer. He has successfully plea-bargained 44 cases in just 9 months, about the same length of time of  Danny’s employment as an attorney in the Navy. Although his track record for plea-bargaining is impressive, it might also be the reason why he is assigned to this high-profile case; Danny has never been inside a courtroom, let alone make a legal argument in one.  

In ‘A Few Good Men’, Tom Cruise delivers a powerhouse performance as the young Lieutenant, Daniel Kaffee. Danny’s father was Lionel Kaffee, former Navy Judge Advocate and Attorney General of the United States. That means Danny has some big shoes to fill when it comes to defending the two Marines that are now on trial for their lives. 

'I want the truth!"

There’s just one problem: both Jessop and Kendrick deny ever giving such an order and Danny can’t proof conspiracy or purgery.  In fact, accusing a high-ranking officer of such a crime without having any evidence is a slippery slope at best, and if he does so, he’ll be in danger of being dishonourably discharged from the Navy.

'You can't handle the truth!'

The reworking of A Few Good Men from the classic Broadway play appears an effortless transition from the stage onto the screen. The cinematography is beautiful and you can sense that director Rob Reiner treated this project like a real gem. 

From a performance perspective both Cruise and Nicolson are on fire and at their very best. J.T Walsch delivers a classic low-key performance in his role as Lt. Col. Matthew Markinson and Kiefer Sutherland again in his is the perfect antagonist. At the time of filming, the issues addressed in the movie actually did occur in the military, albeit to some lesser degree.

The beauty of the message of ‘A Few Good Men’ lies within its deeper sub-plot and it’s one that tells the story of a young man coming of age.

When a man leaves the legacy of being a good father and role model, the day he dies he leaves a huge void in the lives of the people he touched. For Daniel, this is especially true. Not only does he have to overcome his own fears and ideas that he has about himself, but also the ones he wrongfully thought might have been his father’s. 

'I think my father would have enjoyed seeing me graduate from Law School.'

Luckily, Danny is not about to lie down without a fight. He knows how to fight, and he knows how to win. Fighting for Dawson and Downey therefore also becomes the fight for his life and the place he hopes to take up in it.

In a day and age where the world needs more than just a few a good men, this movie will inspire you to be one, it will have you laughing and crying at the same time making the emotional roller-coaster it takes you on every bit as powerful as the message of the film itself.

'Honor, Code, Loyalty.'

Worlds Apart...

It’s late afternoon and there are hardly any people on the beach. ‘Weird’, Althea thinks to herself as she sits down on the warm sand. She watches some seagulls lazily glide towards the shore, a smile forms in the corners of her mouth when they land and immediately start proclaiming their presence to the world. In the distance, she can hear some waves breaking. 

She listens to how they are pulled back into the ocean and come crashing down again, letting the sound wash over her wave-after-wave, allowing it to transport her to some far-away place. As her tired body starts to loosen up, she lets out a sigh. Has she really done it? 

 

She is startled when the wind suddenly picks up, but quickly allows herself to drift off again. She needs this. For too long has she been in hiding, always working at night, never going out during the day, ever. She tries to concentrate on her breathing as she slowly inhales the salty air, secretly congratulating herself for choosing this specific island. This is a special day indeed, almost too good to be true. 

As she lies there, staring into the distance, she can feel herself slowly falling asleep. There’s nothing left to do. ‘Who knows’, she thinks, ‘Today might just be my lucky day. Today, I might just get to die’.  

No one will ever know for sure what events played themselves off the day that the fabled city of Atlantis disappeared for good from the face of the Earth. One can only imagine. But since the time of Plato and his apparent observation of its demise, Atlantis has captured the imagination of civilisation for thousands of years and continues to do so until this very day. With a whole island quite literally magically disappearing, who better to recreate its story than the masters of magical story telling themselves: Disney.

When Milo Thatch decides to quit from working at the city’s public library, he has absolutely no idea what magnificent new adventure is about to unfold in his life. But, pretty soon he realises that what was a bold step for him to take in the first place was a step in the right direction, all along.

When his services as a linguist are recruited by a mysterious Mr Whitmore to help find the lost city of Atlantis, Milo realises that this is more than just some opportunity to make a name for himself as an explorer-slash-discoverer, this is his destiny, and the key to finding both lies in finding and returning a magic crystal. 

 

Of course, no one is going to tell him that the real reason why he is actually there, are for some mercenaries to plunder the island, once located, and to leave Milo there for dead, should that be necessary. 

Fortunately, Milo has the true explorers gift of inspiration, and when the going gets tough, he persuades his fellow explorers that some things are worth far more when they are left undiscovered and pure, than merely selling it to the world for money and a few moments of fame. 

It’s a lovely story with some beautifully done animation scenes and a score to match it musically every step of the way.

There are many lessons to be learned from it, the most important one probably being that the spirit of Atlantis was always its people. The day the people lost themselves through all their many new inventions and distractions, was the day the city of Atlantis in fact actually disappeared. Perhaps, a reminder to all of us still left on our planet that the day we lose our way might be the end of us and our world, too.

 

“Who in here is not getting any sex?”

When things start to fall apart in a relationship, when the proverbial writing is on the wall, or when giving it another shot just seems like that one shot too many, the area where the first cracks usually appear is in the ‘bedroom-department’. 

Yes, ‘the old in-out’ is not just out, it’s gone, lost, disappeared altogether. 

Exactly one of the reasons why after 31 years of marriage, Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold Soames (Tommy Lee Jones) decide to seek help from world-renowned marriage counsellor Dr Bernie Feld (Steve Carrell) – their bonfire of passion is down to a few miserable smouldering stumps, and rekindling the fiery flame of passion their relationship once knew has become a desperate priority. Of course, with ‘in’ having been out for such a long time, having them mount a bucking rodeo-bull might be easier to do than each other.

Director David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) manages to set the tone for each of the characters’ journey distinctly clear from the word go and it’s a joy to sit back and see it all unfold with two actors whose craft is at an all-time high.

For Kay the loss of intimacy in her and Arnold’s marriage is often too tangible and at times quite simply too much to bear, especially when you have to deal with a man that would much rather watch cable television and focus on how to perfect his golf swing, than mend his broken marriage. 

“Sometimes when a connection is lost we forget how to want one another.”

When the pair visits Dr Bernie, Arnold is met with a man every bit as stubborn as himself, one whose philosophy is ‘you have to break a nose in order to fix it - and you never break a nose slowly’. With that, the stage is set for an epic show-down and some heavy emotional hitting with both Kay and Arnold having to face the fact that they are both guilty of having been fighters more often than lovers. 

Fortunately, where there is a will there is a way. Sometimes all you have to do is come clean about everything, say you are sorry, and then live by your word from that day forth so as to remove any doubt.

In ‘Hope Springs’ we are reminded of this simple truth yet again, that things can change, when people honestly desire for them to change. That every great marriage goes through tough times, but that you should hold on. There comes a time when you as a couple will look back to that moment and realise that it was simply the prelude to something far richer than you ever could have dreamt. 

  “It’s for anyone

 who truly wants it, and are willing to try”.

Relationships are hard work. ‘Hope Springs’ shows us the joy and fulfillment you can share when you just go back to the basics. Like the lyrics of the song says: ‘Love me for the woman I am, and I will love you for being my man’. 

If you haven’t seen this movie yet go rent a copy and make sure that you do. It will have hope spring up in you again too.