jOBS

jOBS is a 2013 biopic film based on the life and success of Steven Jobs - founder of Apple. Steve Jobs was and still is one of the greatest visionaries of our time. He revolutionized the way we live thanks to his creations of the Apple Computer, Mac, iPod, iPad, etc. This film does a great job in letting the audience see exactly what kind of man and businessman Steve was.

***Spoilers Alert***

The film opens with Steve Jobs in 2001 speaking to his staff. He is talking about the future and what it's like to change the world. He claims he's been working on something so big...it will change everything. He soon reveals the first of it's kind - the iPod. This is the one we all remember being so bulky and so big, but could hold 1000 songs. 

The film immediately goes back in time to the 1970s where we see a young Steve. He is very arrogant and just goes with the flow in life. He travels the world (mainly India) with his good friend Daniel, and just lives a carefree life. He soon works for Atari but quickly realizes he cannot work well with bosses. He needs to be his own boss. One night, after visiting his good friend, Steve notices a work-in-progress. His friend is working on a home style computer and Steve wants in. Together, they finish the product and sell it to a buyer of a local computer parts store. Upon receiving initial success, Steve knows they have something big and so they call for investors. After many failed attempts, Steve finally gets a bite and with that....Apple is born.

The film does a great job showing us how low Apple began. That it all began in a garage. Steve truly had to work his way from the bottom up. Him and his friend hire employees to assist in the making of Apple II. This product brings Apple Inc to incredible success, and we see that Steve is now running a large building with many more employees.

However, Steve begins to get lost in his own world and the company starts to fall. Not by much but enough to worry the shareholders. Steve must step aside and allow a new CEO take over. This CEO, while close to Steve Jobs in the beginning proves to not share the same interest as Steve and their partnership fails. With this failure, Apple begins to lose even more as competitors are starting to step over them.

My challenge with the film is how much time they spent on showing Apple's failure and the build up to Steve's eventual take over and reunion with his own company. While this is very important to the film, I felt more could have been done in showcasing Steve as a human being. What made him tick? Why did he do the things he did? Steve drops his first employees and friends like hot potatoes. He refuses to acknowledge his daughter and kicks his girlfriend out of the house. But then we see them together later on with a new child and the daughter from earlier in the film. How did that happen? I felt so much attention went into Steve's relationship with John Sculley that they didn't dive more into his personal relationships.

However, I enjoyed the film and felt it was very entertaining. I do enjoy how it ended with Steve taking over and it ending right at that point. We know from that moment on...Apple became one of the greatest companies around. They didn't need to show us that part. Ashton did a great job and I was very pleased with his performance. I could tell in some scenes, Ashton was trying VERY hard to be serious. But overall, I felt Ashton had the look and overall posture down. 

I would recommend this film to anyone who appreciates the Apple products today. It's a very good film to see. 

My Rating: A-

The Butler

The Butler is a 2013 drama based on a true story. It stars Forest Whitaker as Cecil, the butler who served several presidents during the civil rights movement. This film delivers a high-performing A-list cast and an incredible story. I would not be surprised should this make at least a few Oscar ballots.

***Spoiler Alert***

The film opens up with Cecil as a young boy. He is picking cotton in the fields alongside his dad. It is mid 1920s and we are still in the age of slavery. His mom is also a slave and is soon whisked away by the plantation owner for a rendezvous in the shed. Cecil pushes his dad to do something about this occurrence, and when the father acts, the owner shoots him dead. The old woman who is also an owner of the plantation, takes Cecil and trains him to become her butler. When Cecil grows older and slavery truly becomes obsolete, he leaves the plantation and strives to become his own man.

Since serving is all he knows, Cecil gets a job at a local restaurant/hotel, and is mentored by the senior butler. He grows into a great butler and eventually gets a job at the luxurious Excelsior in D.C. A White House representative is at the hotel one night and spots Cecil. Impressed with Cecil's work ethics, he recruits him to become one of the White House's distinguished butlers. And so it begins...

The film brings us into the world of civil rights through the perspective of one man. Even though he did not have any direct say in the movement, his service and relationship with all the presidents paved the way in how African American people were treated. In the beginning, we see Cecil and his family struggle with prejudice and segregation. However, as the years progress, his family seems to find it easier to live life to the fullest. Cecil's relationship with the president seems to grow more in depth as time goes on. We only see a few interactions that are more professional between him and the first president, Dwight Eisenhower. On the other hand, Cecil has almost a solid friendship with the last president he serves, Ronald Reagan.

Each actor delivers a stunning performance and never once does one outshine the other. With an all-star cast, you sometimes fall into the trap of them trying to take the scene. Forest Whitaker did an amazing job since he had the most emotional role to play. He is trying to protect his family and provide for them all while keeping his nose clean as the White House butler. He can't control his son's actions as a member of the Black Panther Party, but does all that he can to preserve the innocent foundation he built on his family's name. You can see that this character wants to take action and deep down strives to rebel like his son. However, he remembers that fateful day when his dad took action and died for it. As the film progresses, you watch this character go through several emotions and can't help but understand his conflict.

Opera Winfrey does an amazing job playing Cecil's wife. I don't think it's enough to get the oscar, but she certainly knew how to own a scene. Major kudos to the make up team for making each actor look like their respective presidents. I must say that Alan Rickman made a great Reagan. He was by far my favorite with James Marsden just second by a margin as JFK.

Overall, I thought the film was great. It flowed very well and never did I get bored. It is a film you have to concentrate since the timeline is very long and there is so much to cover in 2 hours. But I appreciate the intensity and authenticity of the events that are portrayed throughout the film. It really gave you a fond understanding and appreciation for the history and milestone that was civil rights.

I definitely suggest seeing this film. I feel you would enjoy it as much as I did.

My Rating: A