Review LV - Kids

Review LV
Kids (1995)

I've seen one Larry Clark film - Ken Park. I'm also familiar with Harmony Korine besides his contribution to Ken Park as I have seen parts of his film Gummo. While you think you're prepared for one of their films, you never are. There is definitely no exception when it comes to their film Kids. I've wanted to watch this film for years because I heard it was so controversial, and while someone told me it was bad, I decided to delve into it anyway.

"Of course I care about you," is the statement that wins sixteen-year-old Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick) a thirteen-year-old's virginity one morning. You see, Telly has one goal in life, and that is to take as many girls' virginities as possible. Casper (Justin Pierce), one of Telly's friends, is encouraging of this behaviour, and Telly settles on screwing two virgins in one day, and his next victim is thirteen-year-old Darcy (Yakira Peguero). While the two meet up with their skater friends throughout the day, Jennie (Chloë Sevigny) and Ruby (Rosario Dawson) return to a clinic to see if they tested for any STDs. Ruby is quite the promiscuous teen, while Jennie only ever had sex with Telly. While it turns out Ruby is clean, Jennie tests positive for the HIV virus. Now Jennie must try and find Telly before he de-flowers another virgin.

If there was one thing I tried to escape in my high school years, it would be exactly what was portrayed in this film. That is, adolescents who encouraged drug abuse, whether it be alcohol or marijuana or stronger substances, and who attended house parties where sex was encouraged. While I know people who participated in such "festivities" (and still do) and I heard my fair share of stories, I never experienced it hands on. I guess maybe that's why I found Kids a bit unbelievable. I mean, some parts were head on, but others, like the scene involving Casper and Jennie at the end, just seems so ridiculous. I guess I'm just naive in that aspect. First off, the film captures the drug culture that teenage seems to be all about. I'm personally completely against usage, but I know that quite a few teenagers are accepting to it when it concerns drugs that aren't too extreme. Second, the film goes into the sexual side of teenagehood. This I can relate to more because all adolescents go through puberty at some point. Still, I was readily exposed to the lessons about "safe sex" practice, so hearing Ruby claim she had unprotected sex with six guys (I can't remember the number exactly, but it was high enough) was pretty shocking. Nonetheless, I know where I live, apparently we have one of the highest teenage pregnancies in the country, as well as the highest number of cases of gonnorrhea, syphilis, and chlamydia. Obviously safe sex isn't practiced as much as I hoped... Even though this film came out nearly twenty years ago, the subject matter it brings up is still true to today's kids. And that's a pretty scary thought. While I think the film was a bit extreme in representing youths, dumb it down a bit and you have painted a picture of today's society.

Even though the film arguably represented today's teenagers, it still wasn't very good. I mean, there's only so much I can take of guys objectifying women and other men. Sex is not the only thing kids talk about, so it became redundant really quickly. The acting was also not anything spectacular, but I was willing to expect that since most of the actors and actresses were picked off the street to do this film. But Chloë Sevigny, who I've seen actually do a great job in a role, was so... nothing. Her character doesn't have emotion, whether it be sadness or happiness. I mean, sure, she "cries", but you don't feel it. I was sitting there thinking that even I could do a better job, and that's a sad statement indeed. Rosario Dawson was good, which I expected, but Chloë Sevigny was such a disappointment. I can't see why the director would want her to act the way she did - it's just unnatural.

I'd give the film six point five stars on ten. It's a typical low-budget film that screams Larry Clark and Harmony Korine, so if you're fans of them, you'll love it. Still, it has pretty bad acting and focuses too much on too little. The characters aren't three dimensional enough, and since this film relies on them, without that, we only get a less than mediocre film.

Pirate Bay torrent (uncut version apparently)

Review LIV - Highlander

Review LIV
Highlander (1986)

I don't have an anecdote for Russell Mulcahy's Highlander starring Christophe Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown, and Roxanne Hart. I heard that the sequel to this film is the epitome of the devil and it should never be mentioned (which is why I have refrained from linking it here), but other than that, I haven't heard much about this one. I heard it was good, but that was from one person. Time for me to review it!

Russell Nash (played by Christophe Lambert) is seen walking around New York City when he is suddenly jumped by a man wielding a sword in an underground garage. After a slightly lengthy battle, Russell Nash manages to cut off the man's head. If that wasn't enough, suddenly strong electrical currents are passing through the air and cars are exploding. This doesn't go unnoticed by the police, and Russell Nash is soon arrested. The film cuts back to the 16th century in the Scottish highlands where we discover who Russell Nash really is - Connor MacLeod, a highlander. He is an immortal, and we learn through Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez (Sean Connery), an Egpytian immortal, that the immortals will one day have to fight each other, kill each other (done by slicing the head off the body), and when one sole immortal remains, he will receive a prize. This is called the Gathering. When an immortal kills another immortal, a powerful amount of energy is released (as seen with the garage scene) - this is called the Quickening. While neither knows what the prize is, Ramirez warns that it must not fall into the evil hands of the Kurgan (Clancy Brown), or it could lead to devasting consequences.

I can't provide any explanations as to where the immortals came from, why they exist, or what their purpose is (besides killing each other for a prize) because it is not explained in the film. This bothered me considering the plot revolves around the immortals and the Gathering. If you don't explain this, you're just throwing everything out the window. Then you have Ramirez coming to train MacLeod, and why? I mean, we know that Ramirez doesn't want this prize falling into the wrong hands, but why does he choose to train MacLeod? Why doesn't he just kill him off and save himself? Or if he believes he needs someone to remain in case he dies, again, why MacLeod? I mean, how many immortals are on the Earth, anyway? Is that why Ramirez choose MacLeod? That might explain why MacLeod goes hundreds of years without fighting a single immortal, or so I'm going to assume because we only ever see him fight them in the 20th century. How does Ramirez know about the immortal creed and all, because obviously it isn't something you just know because MacLeod didn't know anything about the immortals until he was exiled from his clan for being an immortal. And even then, he didn't know all the rules that accompany with having immortal status. Does that mean most immortals go their whole lives not knowing anything about this Gathering and are promptly killed by another immortal, or just continue to live forever in ignorance? Which begs another question - MacLeod stays a late-twenties-, early-thirties-looking man in the film. Why does he stop at that age? Ramirez definitely looks older than MacLeod, so does it just change depending on who you are? Does your will drive what age you will live to? Okay, seriously, I could go on for so much longer with these questions, but I mean, this is ridiculous. The film explains essentially nothing about the immortals. It provides the rules, but excludes all explanations. The explanations are the places you get to let your imagination run when you are a script writer. I don't understand why the writers thought it would be a good idea to exclude all this. I was trying to enjoy the movie, but all these questions kept popping up. It was ridiculous.

... Alright, assuming I just decided to play ignorant, I suppose I could say the plot was alright. I mean, besides the fact that Connor MacLeod does not have a Scottish accent in the least, and I thought the setting for the Scottish highlands was kind of odd. I mean, why the Scottish highlands? Sorry, another question. The film was interesting in relation to the idea of immortality and having to kill other immortals in order to win some sort of prize. I thought the scenes in New York were strong - the fighting between immortals was really cool and the whole romance between MacLeod and Brenda C. Wyatt (Roxanne Hart) was... odd, but it wasn't the worst. Still, just because a couple of scenes were cool doesn't mean the plot was worthy of anything. This film was devoid of so many explanations. I know I said it in the previous paragraph, but why would you take all the explanations out? Isn't this the part that makes the story more interesting? Sure, I have some cool fighting scenes, but I'm not given much context into how this thing is run.

Highlander was a strange piece, to say the least. It had barely any explanation to the MAIN part of the film, and it seemed like it tried to focus on a romance and an action aspect. This turns out to be quite sloppy and not well done. Still, I guess the film isn't that bad. I was able to watch it, but it still left me utterly confused. I'd give the film six point eight stars on ten. I watched it, didn't hate it, but still - why did the plot go about like that? Just... why?

Pirate Bay torrent

Review LIII - Les Misérables

Review LIII
Les Misérables (2012)

Victor Hugo is a famous Romantic writer from France. He was born in 1802 and died in 1885, and in the span of his life, he wrote poems, novels, and plays, and he was also an activist when it came to fighting for political justice. He's well known for having written the novel, Les Misérables, but I really wonder how many people who have watched the musical broadway adaptation actually read the novel. Quite a few probably, but anyway, I just thought I'd give Victor Hugo a nod for being able to have provided Tom Hooper with the potential to make his remake of the musical, Les Misérables, win an Oscar. That sentence is way too long, but I don't care enough to go back and fix it! On to the review!

Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackson), after having been imprisoned for nineteen years for stealing bread and trying to escape in 19th century France, is finally being released on parole. However, Javert (Russell Crowe), a police inspector, reminds Valjean that he will never forget what the crimes the poor man committed, and that if he ever broke the law again, he'd be there. Valjean is turned away where ever he goes, but gets treated kindly from a priest, even after he steals silver dishware from the Church. He decides to find a better life for himself and breaks his parole. He becomes the owner of a factory, under a different name, and, unknowingly, one of his workers, Fantine (Anne Hathaway), is fired. She falls into a life of prostitution, but Valjean finds her in time to promise her he will take care of her daughter, Cosette (Isabelle Allen as young Cosette and Amanda Seyfried when older), before she dies. However, Javert is still on the case of the missing Valjean, and a cat-and-mouse game ensues while France tries to abandon a monarchical government once and for all.

I was actually pretty disappointed with this film, but I think the horrible video quality, as well as sound quality, really bothered me to the point that it made the film a bit boring at times. Still, I'll give my first impressions anyway... I thought the plot itself was interesting, but just that the whole thing wasn't that great. Alright, I'm going to bet I wasn't in the mood because I'm trying to think of something to nitpick about, and I can't even think of anything. I guess I can complain that the plot was a bit far-fetched - like how Valjean goes out of his way to help this one former worker of his. Not even just bring her to the hospital, but actually look after her daughter. Still, this makes sense to an extent. Valjean was imprisoned for years because he stole bread for his sister's son (if I recall correctly), and he felt he had sinned because he stole the silverware from the Church. However, he's forgiven in the eyes of God, and so he wishes to repent by acting out kindly to others. The part, though, that still bewilders me is when Cosette and Marius (Eddie Redmayne) fall in love just by looking at each other. While I have seen this in an opera before (they at least talked, though), it still blows my mind. They don't talk at all - they just look at each other, and suddenly they want to spend their lives together. At least make them talk or something! Otherwise, I can't really complain about the plot. It just felt like there could have been more scenes to justify everything, but I guess going for a three hour movie was not in their best interests.

As I said, I didn't find the songs that exceptional. I enjoyed some, but I should blame the bad sound quality on this one (evil torrents). I thought, though, the singing was really good at times. Every actor sang their own part, and I am quite impressed. Not only did they sing well, but they acted their parts well. While I thought Russell Crowe's character should have maybe been a bit more angry with Valjen, Hugh Jackson's character, at times, it was passable. Otherwise, the rest were quite good.

I think the version I saw, with its horrible video and audio quality, plus not being in the mood, both turned me off from the film a bit. I'd rather not give a rating, but should I ever watch the film again in the near future, I will possibly edit this and give the rating I thought it deserved. One thing is for certain - I really do love the poster for this film!

Review LII - Zero Dark Thirty

Review LII
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

Kathryn Bigelow made history four years ago when she became the first woman to win Best Director at the Oscars for The Hurt Locker. While she wasn't nominated this year for her directing abilities, her film Zero Dark Thirty has been nominated for Best Picture! So, of course, I had to check it out. And for those who are curious, the title refers to a military term that refers to an unspecified time really early in the morning when it is still dark out.

Maya (Jessica Chastain) is a first-time CIA operative and she's introduced into the scene pretty horrifically - by witnessing a man (Reda Kateb) being tortured by a fellow CIA worked, Dan (Jason Clarke) in order to find out where Osama bin Laden is. (Quick note - on September 11th, 2001, in New York city in the United States, two towers, called the Twin Towers, were destroyed by terrorists, which resulted in the deaths of thousands. Osama bin Laden was believed to be behind this attack and a huge search was made to find him.) While she appears obviously affected by the act, it doesn't stop her from dedicating her life to finding out where Osama bin Laden is. This begins the long and strenuous journey to find the man who caused one of the most famous terrorist attacks on the United States in recorded history.

First I'm going to address this torture conflict that so many people feel the need to point out. Regardless if you agree with violent means in order to obtain information or not, it doesn't change the fact that these methods were used to extract information from individuals who knew about Osama bin Laden. Boycotting this film won't stop the government from doing this - protesting to the government will. Another thing is about how this film is unrealistic and how "Osama bin Laden isn't dead - it's all a lie!" While we probably all have a little Illuminati influence in us when it comes to the government, you can't claim he's alive more than I can claim that is dead. I have sources that are a lot more valid than you showing he's dead. It's a politically driven movie, though, so we'll always get these complaints, but I just thought I'd provide my two cents. Anyway, the film itself. It isn't my typical kind of film, that's for sure. I enjoy war films, but the war against terrorism never really interested me. I guess because I hear people saying, "Oh, all brown people are horrible people," it's turned me off. I'm living in the present day of this war so I experience the bias many people feel toward brown people, and not specifically terrorists, versus looking back at the Vietnam War and hearing how both sides were wrong. At the time, the Vietnamese were looked down upon, but it's not the same anymore. This movie isn't super biased, though, in my view. It just confronts the issue of terrorism and finding Osama bin Laden, and it's interesting. It's a compelling story about a woman trying to find this man and driving herself crazy to do it. While some information was withheld in the film to make it more dramatised, it's still a good way to familiarise yourself with this manhunt for Osama bin Laden. While I think books and articles give you a better picture, this film still takes a real story and makes it more interesting than I thought it would be. The final scene was super intense, and I really enjoyed it. I wouldn't say it was my favourite film of the bunch, but it's mostly the story itself that turns me off. Like I said, it isn't my type of film. Nonetheless, it's still a good film that, I think, deserves a nod from the Academy, but not necessarily a standing ovation.

I thought Jessica Chastain did a good job as Maya. Every time she swore extensively, it seemed almost forced, but I'm going to assume that is the point. She's trying to demonstrate her strength - and she does. Jessica Chastain was able to present a strong character, but was also able to show emotion when it was needed. Jason Clarke also did a great job, along with Jennifer Ehle as Jessica. They were able to convey emotion, but, again, able to show complete seriousness in their job. Everyone else (I'm clumping you all up, I'm sorry!), whether it be the captives or the crew helping out Maya, did a great job as well. It was believable acting, and it made the film that much more interesting. The characters, while they were brought into a no-laughing situation, they were still able to show the proper sympathy and emotions when the time came. Bravo!

I'd give the film seven point eight stars on ten. This is a really personal rating since, again, it isn't my type of film. While I can compliment it a lot, in the end, it isn't a film I would have gone out of my way to see. Still, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The acting is quite good, and the way it's filmed can be quite beautiful.

Pirate Bay torrent (not the best quality)

Review LI - The Last Stand

Review LI
The Last Stand (2013)

I just realised I haven't watched a Korean film since the end of September. Still, I haven't forgotten the familiar faces that Korean cinema has brought to me. When I saw that The Last Stand was being directed by Kim Ji-woon, I was ecstatic and made it a must-see for 2013. Well, it came out yesterday, so today was as good a day as any to see Arnold Schwarzenegger in his first leading role since 2003. The film also stars Forest Whitaker, Luis Guzmán, Jaimie Alexander, Rodrigo Santoro, Johnny Knoxville, and Eduardo Noriega.

Ray Owens (Arnold Schwarzenegger) worked in Los Angeles, California (as GOVERNATOR) at one time as a big-time police officer, but has since displayed to Sommerton, Arizona to escape the brutality that he once saw. The police department here consists of only three other people - Sarah Torrance (Jaimie Alexander), Mike Figuerola (Luis Guzmán), and Jerry Bailey (Zach Gilford) - and they're not really the most compotent bunch. Sarah stays back at the police station to watch over her ex-boyfriend, Frank Martinez (Rodrigo Santoro), who is supposed to be kept beyond bars for the weekend for driving under the influence of alcohol. The rest of the game travels to Lewis Dinkum's (Johnny Knoxville) museum in order to take shots at slabs of beef. Everything seems to be under control until Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega), an infamous drug lord, escapes from custody at the hands of Agent John Bannister (Forest Whitaker) and his federal agents while being convoyed. Now he's heading to the Mexican border via Sommerton, but he's in for a bigger fight than he thought.

The film appeals to the action-lover, that's for sure. It has an epically fast car (I don't know cars, so there's probably a better one, but I'm limited here. The car is a Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1) with intense car chases, it has gun fights with tons of blood and explosions (okay, at least one), and Arnold Schwarzenegger! The plot itself isn't anything spectacular, you know, typical action plot that leads to the most action and craziness as possible. It was crazy, but it was entertaining, and since that is what the film was aiming for, it succeeded. Slight spoiler... I did, though, wonder throughout the whole film how Gabriel Cortez's group made a bridge themselves leading into Mexico. Sure, it's a narrow canyon, but it's not a metre long either. I don't understand how not one single person saw them working on this bridge because it must have taken a while. The materials they had to order to, and making sure they had a great engineer so the bridge wouldn't collapse. Also, now that the bridge is there, will they have to set up another border crossing area? Or will they just demolish the bridge? I'm mostly doing this is a joke now, but this demonstrates that it is a typical action film because it has these pretty far-fetched schemes. I'm willing to suspend my disbelief for the film, though. It did what I expected - entertainment. However, I thought that, initially, there was a lot of swearing for no reason coming from Agent John Bannister. I don't know, it wasn't in particularly consist throughout the film, and it seemed useless at the beginning. There were also some pretty bad lines. Well, alright, maybe only one, and it was the "that ass" line coming from one of Gabriel Cortez's goons, Burrell, played by Peter Stormare (he's in the Big Lebowski! Whaaat!). It just seemed so out of place and ugly. Ugh, I still shudder at it.

I don't really have anything else to say about the film, so I might as well give my rating. I'd give it a seven point five on ten. It was entertaining, nothing more, nothing less, and if you're looking for an easy movie to watch, I recommend this one. Thank you, Kim Ji-woon, for making an English-speaking film - I can finally support you by seeing your film in theatres.

Review L - Adams Aebler

Review L
Adams Æbler (2005)

Man, fifty reviews... I never thought I would get this far! Well, I suppose I assumed eventually, but not as quickly as this. Thank you for those who actually read this reviews (I have fans, right?)! Anyway, why not celebrate by reviewing a film from the great Danish director and writer Anders Thomas Jensen and starring the always wonderful Mads Mikkelsen? I am talking about Adams Aebler, or, as it is known in English, Adam's Apples!

Adam (Ulrich Thomsen) is neo-Nazi who has just been released from prison into the wonderful care of Father Ivan (Mads Mikkelsen). He is only required to stay there for a few months, but Adam is bugged right away by Ivan's overly forgiving and ignorant views on people's continuing bad habits. While Ivan introduces Khalid (Ali Kazim) as a recovering robber and Gunnar (Nicolas Bro) as used-to-be alcoholic, convicted rapist and kleptomaniac, yet they both continue to behave sinfully. When Ivan asks that Adam choose a goal to accomplish as a means to rehabilitating. Adam, in typical fashion, chooses something apple related, that is, to make an apple pie. However, his true goal becomes to break Ivan's unshaken faith.

The film obviously takes a lot of symbolism and stories from the Bible, but the biggest comparison has to be from the Book of Job. Since I learned about the Book of Job briefly in a class last semester, I'll give you the brief version to demonstrate my pompous attitude. Job is a man who is devoted to God. Thus, an adversary (who is usually always referred to as Satan) asks God that, if he were to put Job through Hell (not literally, but it comes close), would Job still be faithful to God? The all-powerful, omniscient deity says he would and gives this adversary the right to destroy everything Job has. Thus begins Job's complete and utter torture from this adversary to see whether or not he'll actually break. This plays an important role in the movie as we see that Ivan has had a really, really bad life. I'll also briefly explain the apple story to everyone because, hey, I'm appealing to all readers here and you might not have the knowledge of Christian mythology. Adam was the first man on Earth, and both he and Eve, his "wife", are told that they cannot eat from one tree in the Garden of Eden (this place is referred to as a paradise, a utopia). This tree is the Tree of Knowledge. As you may know, Eve is tempted by Satan (he's disguised as a snake) and eats from the tree, with Adam following in pursuit. The important element here is that, while we might assume the knowledge this tree provides is mathematical and analytical knowledge that aids in further increasing our mental capacity, it can also refer to ethical knowledge as well, i.e. knowing the difference between good and evil. Adam and Eve are born into paradise - the good - so they don't know what evil is exactly. This specificity in the story helped with my interpretation at the end of the film. But, you know, it's open to debate.

Alright, so now about the actual film! Well, I originally watched this film because I like Anders Thomas Jensen's writing (his stories are definitely interesting), so I was hopeful this would be a good film. Well, it was! Nothing spectacular, but I enjoyed it. It's not really a typical film, I find, but it has its piece of comedy and drama. The humour is off-coloured, but nothing extreme, in my opinion. The film mostly relied on symbolism, as I said, so it's a film you have to interpret yourself. But it isn't an experimental film. While a piece of work can always be interpretated differently, this film has more of a clean-cut way of how it wants to be taken. I enjoyed being able to analyse it myself, but I liked that it wasn't overly ambiguous. Anyway, the story itself is almost sadly cute. You have Ivan who only looks on the sunny side of life (I'm thanking Gordon Lightfoot for that line), yet he went through such horrible incidents that you expect him to break down crying every time. He just ignores them all, and, well, I found that so sad. Plus you have Adam there pushing him over the line because he believes himself to be "evil". I'm laughing at what's happening on the screen, but inside, I feel I should be crying. The plot itself, though, was lacking a bit. It seemed like there should be something bigger happening, but it never came. Thus, while the film had some creative ideas, it wasn't amazing.

The acting was good. Anyway, I liked Khalid's character - spunky, but laughable, and Ali Kazim did a good job. Nicolas Bro did a great job as Gunnar, who was also a character I really liked, even if he was a convicted rapist. Paprika Steen did a great job as Sarah. I'm glad she came back as I thought Sarah would be a one-time thing. Mostly, though, Ulrich Thomsen and Mads Mikkelsen get credit for their great job. I like that Ulrich Thomsen played Adam as a bad guy, but still with enough sensibility to make him likeable. He does a great job with the transition of the character as well. Mads Mikkelsen played Ivan well, and his performance really made me feel for the character. Apparently Mads Mikkelsen's character had a particular dialect (or accent?), but I don't speak Danish, so I couldn't pick up on it.

I'd give the film seven point seven stars on ten. It was enjoyable, but it still feels like something was missing. Still, the characters were fun and I enjoyed the story for it was worth.

Pirate Bay torrent

Review XLIX - Frankenweenie

Review XLIX
Frankenweenie (2012)

My winter break is coming to an end, so I've been trying to watch movies as quickly as possible. However, I decided to take a break from watching the Oscar nominees for Best Picture for a little bit. But that doesn't mean I didn't watch a film associated with the Oscars! I decided to check out some of the animated films, and I picked Tim Burton's Frankenweenie because it's the one I came across first. The film is a remake of a short Tim Burton did back in the eighties' and includes the voices of Charlie Tahan, Martin Short, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Landau, and Winona Ryder.

Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan) is a young, aspiring scientist who doesn't have friends except for his amazing dog Sparky and his crush next door, Elsa van Helsing (Winona Ryder). His father (Martin Short) expresses concern over this, but his mother (Catherine O'Hara) tells him not to worry. Nonetheless, his father one day asks that Victor play a game of baseball. Sparky accidentally escapes when Victor hits a homerun and is hit by a car and dies. Victor is devasted. However, one day, while Victor's new science teacher, Mr. Rzykruski (Martin Landau), is demonstrating that a current running through a body can lead to it spastically jumping about as the human body contains nerves which makes it react to electricity, Victor gets an idea - why not try it with Sparky? In a typical Frankenstein manner, Sparky is revived and Victor is ecstatic. However, when Edgar 'E' Gore (Atticus Shaffer) finds out about his plan, Victor's science feat will lead to great consequences when his classmates decide they will win the science fair with such an experiment.

If you have any connaissance of horror films, you will recognise a whole bunch of scenes/monsters from them. Apart from the give-away Frankenstein reference given by both the name of the protagonist and his experiment, we have the names of other characters (like 'E' Gore, as in Igor) or just their physique (Nassor looks a lot like the Frankenstein monster, eh?). Mr. Rzykruski is based on Vincent Price, who is known in the horror scene because of films like the original House on Haunted Hill. It's also pretty cool since Martin Landau won an Oscar for playing Bela Lugosi, another familiar face in the world of horror, in Ed Wood. There are other references, but they come later, and I'd like to leave it up to you to guess where they come from (and yes, there is a Japanese character in the movie!). I thought this was a cute aspect - while a younger kid won't necessarily pick up on all the little "cameos", for lack of a better word, older audiences will and give them a little laugh. The plot is simple, but it's heart warming. I wouldn't recommend the film for really young kids since it can be pretty scary, but anyway, it's up to the parents, isn't it? It can be considered on the same level as The Nightmare Before Christmas. I thought it was quite nice - not as spectacular as Tim Burton has done in the past, but it was still entertaining.

I thought the puppets looked typically Tim Burton, but some of them really lacked in facial expression. Victor was able to look happy and shocked. Whenever he was sad, he still looked like he was smiling. Same goes for his parents. Other ones did have an array of expressions, but if the main protagonist is having a problem looking sad, well, I have a problem. Considering I've seen better from Tim Burton, I'm disappointed it wasn't as great as it could have been. The animation itself was still top notch coming from Tim Burton, and the voice acting itself was pretty good. I thought Charlie Tahan sometimes sounded a bit too bored, but I can't recall any other complaints in this department.

I'd give the film seven point three stars on ten. It was enjoyable, but it was far from being Tim Burton's best work. It awakens the nostalgia of classic move monsters and faces, but the way it's presented isn't as good as it could have been, especially considering Tim Burton has done way better.

Pirate Bay torrent

Review XLVIII - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Review XLVIII
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

I'm always amazed when I see a director's debut theatrical release make it so far. In this case specifically, I am referring to Benh Zeitlin's Beasts of the Southern Wild. Out of all the films nominated for Best Picture, this is the one I had never heard of prior to it being nominated. This is understandable as one, it is Behn Zeitlin's first film (he's made shorts, so I guess this is considered a long film?), and two, it has actors and actresses who have never done work before this film. These include Quvenzhané Wallis and Dwight Henry, who are the main characters in the film.

Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) lives in a Louisiana, United States bayou community, called the Bathtub, with her father, Wink (Dwight Henry). The community is cut off from the rest of the world, but they prefer it that way. Wink is a harsh father who wants to make sure his daughter will be able to survive on her own one day, especially given the fact that he is very ill. With the icecaps melting revealing ancient beasts that will rule the world again and a storm approaching the Bathtub, Hushpuppy will have to find the courage to stand up and face the world on her own, even in the search for her lost mother.

The film is original, to say the least. The story, while it follows a somewhat realistic depiction in certain areas, also follows an imaginary world concocted by Hushpuppy herself. The idea that some of the members of the Bathtub refuse to leave their community is a reference to the reaction of some people of the hurricanes New Orleans in Louisiana has faced. Certain people are adamant about staying put because they would be abandoning their home. At the same time, the storm is reflective of Hushpuppy's desperation in relation to her father's illness. I could go on explaining the symbolism, but I think this can already give you an idea that this film is not just straight cut. It's packed with a bunch of metaphors and symbols that the viewer has to uncover in order to understand. This can lead to either its uprising or downfall. When I first started watching the film, I was confused. I mean, they're going on about these beasts in the icecaps, which I thought was maybe a reference to global warming, but then it becomes something more when they actually escape. I went in thinking it would be one thing, but it wasn't entirely. If you buy into symbolic films, you'll have fun with this one because it leaves you to figure everything out. But if you're looking for a non-experimental movie, you won't like this one. As for me, well, there were some things I enjoyed, but I'm still thrown off by Wink's attitude toward Hushpuppy. I don't know if it's just a cultural thing to hit your children to show them the right way to do things, and there's perhaps a deeper meaning to it all, but it really turned me off. I was just sitting their open mouthed almost everytime Wink and Hushpuppy were together. There's being hot-tempered, and then there's being abusive. I really can't understand this part, besides it being a cultural thing, and if it is, it just disgusts me. Anyway, to sum it up, Beasts of the Southern Wild is a creative film that relies heavily on symbolism and the imagination to tell a story. It's definitely an original piece, though I don't find I was able to appreciate it that much. It wasn't a bad film, but it wasn't my type of film, so I think it's unfair for me to write a fair critique about it.

Nonetheless, I thought Quvenzhané Wallis did a great job. She was six years old during production for the film, yet she does a better job than most actors/actresses who are thirty years her senior. Good child actors are really hard to find, and finding a great one is even harder. Quvenzhané Wallis did a phenomenal job, so I guess she's one in a million. I really liked watching her act, and I never would have guessed she was as young as six years old. If she won the Best Actress category, I wouldn't be surprised. Quvenzhané Wallis was really amazing in the role. I'm glad she got a role like this one because it really showed off her acting abilities. I guess I'm mostly just governed by her age in praising her, but seriously, being six and able to act the way she does is pretty amazing. Dwight Henry also did a great job, especially considering he has no experience with acting. I didn't in particular like his character, but the man still played the part well.

Even though it wasn't my kind of movie, I'll still give it a rating - seven point eight. It's a bit experimental in the story-telling, and as it wasn't my kind of movie, it was hard for me to really enjoy it. Still, it was an original film that was able to get its message across with a bit of thinking, which makes it a good film if just for that. Worth a watch, even if just for Quvenzhané Wallis's acting.

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Review XLVII - Silver Linings Playbook

Review XLVII
Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

If there was one film I have been really looking forward to see, it would probably have been David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook. I've been told David O. Russell has quite the character, but he makes good films, and his latest film intrigued me. Plus it has Jennifer Lawrence in it, who has quickly risen to notable status due to her great acting ability. The film also stars Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher and John Ortiz.

Pat (Bradley Cooper) has just been released from the Baltimore mental institution after suffering a bipolar "incident" with his wife, Nikki (Brea Bee), after he catches her with another man. He is forced to stay with his parents, with a overly concerned mother (Jacki Weaver) and an Eagles fanatic - and slightly obsessive compulsive - father (Robert De Niro), but, despite what everyone tells him, he is convinced he will re-unite with Nikki. While having supper at his friend's (John Ortiz) house, he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a woman with almost as much character as Pat himself. Pat agrees to enter a dance competition with Tiffany in order to show his wife he has changed, as he believes he can find a silver lining in everything.

Apparently the movie is based on a novel from Matthew Quick. Sadly, I have not had the opportunity to read the book, so I won't be able to compare the two. However, I can definitely say the plot was enjoyable. It's a romantic comedy, but it has a bit of a different twist. I mean, we have two characters with one who suffers bipolarism and the other, well, you'll see if you watch the film. The two are obviously non-conventional protagonists, so it makes for an interesting story. The comedic elements, especially the one- or two-liners, in the film were also really good. You had a running gag concerning Danny (Chris Tucker's character), and I thought it was funny. Pat's outbursts were, at times, quite funny. The one with Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms, before he rants, made me laugh a lot (I'm glad I didn't see the trailer - it left it all new to me). Tiffany is also an interesting character who you automatically root for, or I did, at least. The fact that it tackles the relationship between these two people is what makes it unique, and I really enjoyed it.

Jennifer Lawrence did a great job, but I guess given her reputation, and her Oscar-nominated Golden-Globe-award-winning performance , it was expected. She plays Tiffany well, and I will admit, I liked Tiffany's character. She's strong-willed but still visibly fragile. She was definitely really great. Bradley Cooper also did a great job, though it was undermined a bit by Jennifer Lawrence's performance. I bought Pat, until Tiffany came on, who I really bought. Still, I know someone similar to Pat's character, and I believed Bradley Cooper's performance. Robert De Niro did a good job as a crazy Eagles fan, but nothing extraordinary compared to what he has done before. I still enjoyed his performance, though. Chris Tucker also had a fun character to play, and he did it well. I've kind of been shot down (scarred is probably more accurate) by his performance in The Fifth Element (*shudders*), but I still thought he did a great job. It's nice to see him doing something else other than Rush Hour films! Anupam Kher was great as the psychiatrist as well.

While I really enjoyed the film - I thought it was great - some things didn't sit well with me. I thought the ending was a bit too abrupt for my liking and some parts of the film didn't sit well with me. I thought Pat's brother, Jake (played by Shea Whigham), was a bit unnecessary. I know it's to show how his brother has always been "better" than Pat, but Pat takes everything nonchalantly and then it's dropped. While I get what they were doing, it still seemed like Jake didn't need to be there. There's also the idea that Pat wants to get his old job back, but again, that's skimmed over. It seems that, while many things went into depth and were solid, many things were not. Initially I didn't pick up on them, but having some time to think about it, I started to pick this out. I guess, in the end, the film is funny to watch, but it's still, in a sense, a typical romantic comedy that doesn't aim for anything than to make a person laugh... Which it does, so this critique was pointless. Moving on!

I'd give the film eight stars on ten. It was quirky, funny, and enjoyable, if you like romantic comedies. It also has a pretty good soundtrack, though the songs seemed out of place. For example, Girl from the North Country, the version with Johnny Cash, from Bob Dylan is a song that plays in the film while Tiffany and Pat are practising their dance. I love that song (in fact, Nashville Skyline is a great album, but that's me just promoting Bob Dylan now, hehe), but the lyrics don't fit with the scene. It seems like a more appropriate song could have been chosen, but again, I'm just nitpicking. Great film, definitely way better than average, but not extraordinary.

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Review XLVI - Skyfall

Review XLVI
Skyfall (2012)

I have never seen any of the James Bond films, nor have I read any of the novels. I know Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan played James Bond at some point, and there was a guy who played James Bond only once, but otherwise, I don't know anyone else who played him. Please don't hit me - I know there were other, probably better, actors that played him, but for whatever reason, I never watched the films. I guess twenty-five movies and seven actors later, I was bound to see one at one point. It ended up being the latest one (big surprise, right? I mean, excluding the fact that I put the title of the film and all... Whatever!), Sam Mendes' Skyfall with Daniel Craig as the double-o-seven agent. The film also stars Naomie Harris, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Bérénice Marlohe, Ben Whishaw, and Javier Bardem. I actually wanted to watch this film way back when it first started getting advertised because Ben Whishaw was in it. Then when I saw Ralph Fiennes in the film, I was really glad I had watched it. I really love Ralph Fiennes - great actor!

In Istanbul, James Bond and Eve (Naomie Harris), two MI6 (Secret Intelligence Service for the United Kingdom, though MI6 stands for Military Intelligence, section 6) agents, are chasing a mercenary, Patrice (Ola Rapace) who has stolen a computer hard drive which contains the information of the undercover agents who have been placed in terrorist organisations. While Bond and the mercenary battle on top of a train, M (Judi Dench), the head of the MI6, tells Eve to take a shot at the two, even though the shot isn't clean. Bond ends up being the one who is shot, allowing the mercenary to get away, and falls into a river and dies. Wow, that was a short movie! In reality, Bond is not dead, and eventually returns when the offices at the MI6 headquarters are destroyed. A game between the bad and the good begins, and with Bond trying to recover psychologically, as well as physically, this may end up being the hardest mission he's ever faced.

We all know what I should begin this review with... Okay, maybe not, but I'm going to comment on the opening song, Skyfall, sung by Adele and written by Adele and Paul Epworth. First off, the intro animation and all was pretty captivating. It was beautiful to watch, though maybe a bit out of place. Still, it was beautiful, but made even more so because of the song. It takes the original elemental bits from the James Bond theme at times, but overall, makes a very compelling song. I really liked it! I'm even listening to it right now. The other music throughout the movie, which, again takes elemental bits from the original James Bond song, was really good.

Okay, the movie itself. I always thought James was supposed to be shown as a completely indestructable, lady's man who only really said, "Bond. James Bond," but apparently not! The film shows James Bond as having weaknesses... I mean, other than not being resistant to bullets. He obviously has psychological issues with his past (Skyfall is where he grew up - I was pretty clueless on that one until the end), and while he could probably get any woman he wanted, he only had two lovers in the film - one of which is seen extensively and is his partner of sorts. Obviously there's more to this man than I thought! Anyway, the plot itself. I thought it was very interesting. It's not just a villain who wants to take over the world, but one that has emotional ties. I don't really want to say anything beyond that since it'll ruin the film, but it's still interesting. I mean, kind of typical, I suppose, but it had justification in it. It's a James Bond film, so you can expect a certain type of plot. Still, well executed, and I definitely enjoyed it.

I have no other James Bond to compare Daniel Craig to, so to me, he did a great job. He plays Bond as a three-dimensional character generally, and I bought him as James Bond. Judi Dench did a great job as M. She hides her emotional side well while doing her job, but it shows up every once in a while, and Judi Dench shows it well. Naomie Harris' character is not just the lady who appears just for sexual provocation, but is rather a strong person as well, and Naomie Harris does a good job of acting it. Ralph Fiennes, well, he's pretty awesome, but I'm biased here. Bérénice Marlohe is the James Bond woman in this film, but there isn't really much to be said. Sévérine, who she plays, is vapid, so we don't get to really see Bérénice Marlohe's acting ability. There is one scene, though, that I will comment on. When Sévérine is talking to Bond at the table, she is obviously shaking because she's scared. Yet Bond comments he knows when a woman is pretending not to be scared. Anyone could see she was scared! Jeez, man, always putting on an act. Javier Bardem, though, was the guy who really stole the show as Silva, the main villain. He was interesting, articulate, evil, yet you sympathised with the man. I find the man already has the face of a villain, and the fact that he can act just adds to that. I really enjoyed his performance, even with the scene with the pretty fake looking CGI.

Finally, the cinematography was beautiful. The scene where Patrice and Bond fight in the window walled room in Shanghai was really well filmed. We get their "shadows" fighting, and it just looked really cool. I also recall, nearing the end, we get a shot of M in the dark and Bond partly covered by the light of a dark, blue-ish gray sky. I thought it looked really beautiful, and it probably symbolises aspects in the film too. Anyway, most of the time, I don't really notice this in films. I mean, I'll find it looks pretty, but in this film, I really noticed it. Maybe because I was looking for it, but anyway, it was well filmed! Good job!

In the end, this is an action film with typical villain-esque plot. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed it. I'll give it eight stars on ten. The cinematography was really well executed, the music was compelling, and Javier Bardem did a great job as the antagonist. Again, not a masterpiece, but a fun movie to watch nonetheless. If you can still catch it in theatres, definitely check it out.

Pirate Bay torrent (saw it in theatres, so I can't confirm quality or anything for this one!)

Review XLV - Mary and Max

Review XLV
Mary and Max (2009)

I was born into the generation of computers where written letters have been rendered practically obsolete. However, I have had "pen pals" of sorts. Growing up, I met someone while on vacation who I would write letters to every blue moon (this was before I used the computer, except to draw really horrible pictures on Paint), and when my very good friend moved away, we initially corresponded with letters. I did have a friend, though, who had a pen pal from Trinidad and Tobago, and I always thought it must be so cool to have someone to write who you had never met. Well, Adam Elliot's claymation film Mary and Max does just this, and in quite a unique way.

Mary Daisy Dinkle (voiced by Bethany Whitmore when younger and Toni Collette when older) is an eight-year-old girl living in Mount Waverley, Melbourne, Australia with no friends except for her pet rooster and her self-made Noblet figurines. With her neglectful father who is more interested in stuffing roadkill and her alcoholic and kleptomaniac mother, she feels quite alone in the world. One day, while at the post office, she decides to ask an American where babies come from, as her grandfather told her babies are found at the bottom of beer mugs. She randomly chooses to write to a man named Max Jerry Horovitz (voiced by Philip Seymour Hoffman). Max Horovitz is a forty-four year old who lives in New York City, United States and suffers a weight problem. The man is awkward socially and, consequently, also has no friends. The two form an unlikely friendship and learn to face the world together even though they are thousands of kilometers apart.

The claymation was very well done. I've always admired clay-animation; it looks like it is so fun to work with, but it is extremely time-consuming, especially if you want it to be super smooth. Mary and Max displays a beautifully crafted film with the use of clay-animation.

We also have the wonderful narrator, Barry Humphries, to tell us the interludes in this tale. The other voice actors were also great. When I saw Philip Seymour Hoffman was a voice actor for this film, I was ecstatic. I really like Philip Seymour Hoffman for some reason... Bethany Whitmore did a great job as young Mary, and Toni Collette, while we don't hear her voice much, also did a great job.

Initially, I thought this would be a children's film with adult themes intertwined in the mix. I guess I should have realised that, considering the plot involves a forty-four year old man writing to a little girl, it would be kind of strange if this was a film for kids... Either way, the film is definitely not for children. The film deals with mature themes in an explicit manner, and I thought it was amazingly done. Mary and Max walks on a line between extremely hilarious and happy and extremely depressing and devoid of humour. Mary is in such a sad state, teased because of the birthmark on her forehead, thus isolated at school, and having such neglectful parents, and, even with Mary being completely oblivious to the whole ordeal, you feel you should be breaking down emotionally for her. Yet her ignorance leaves her in a blissful state where she makes a new friend and grows up crushing on her neighbour, Damien Popodopoulos (ahhh, Greeks), voiced by Eric Bana. Max isn't much better off. He is morbidly obese and suffers from an extreme form of Asperger syndrome, a syndrome that makes you unable to really understand people on an emotional level (though not an extreme case of autism, it still affects you enough for it to be noticeable). Again, you feel horrible for him, but the film doesn't let you tip to the depressing side. Because the two have each other, you're kept on this line. Okay, it is true that you dip into the depressing side at some points, but you equally dip into the happy parts. If you didn't change emotionally at all, the film would be static, but still, the film is able to combine both extremes so well. It's amazing because so many films attempt this but cannot master it. Mary and Max totally nails it. It's just... wow. It was really well done. I'm really sad I never heard about this film before because it's a really, really good movie! I've had a personal experience with both someone who had Asperger and depression (the depression case was someone very close to me), and I find this film deals with both realistically. I can't praise this film enough. Thank you, Adam Elliot, for making a great clay-animation film with such a great plot.

I'd give this film eight point eight stars on ten. I thought it was really well done, able to tell her a better story in ninety-two minutes than some movies can in one hundred and twenty minutes. There is always room for improvement, but, honestly, I think this film did a superb job. Love yourself first, folks, and you're set.

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Review XLIV - Argo

Review XLIV
Argo (2012)

I remember when I saw the trailer for Ben Affleck's Argo, I didn't seem too impressed. I couldn't remember exactly what the film was about, minus that the main character, played by Ben Affleck, was making a fake movie for some reason. When I saw that it had been pretty widely acclaimed (and this was only recently) and was based on a true event (which I saw in the trailer, but I always take these claims with a grain of salt), I decided I should give it a shot (uhh... no pun intended). I was probably being hasty on my judgement because I didn't want to end up seeing a bad movie. Anyway, let's review this baby!

Though it seems almost too comical to be true, this film is based on true accounts. The film begins with militants and civilians storming into the American embassy in Iran's capital, Tehran on November 4th, 1979, in support of the Iranian revolution (it's explained in the film so I won't go in depth). Six, out of the fifty-eight Americans that were there, manage to escape and are taken into the home of the Canadian ambassador, Ken Taylor (played by Victor Garber). The six Americans are Tate Donovan), Lee Schatz (Rory Cochrane), Mark Lijek (Christopher Denham), Cora Lijek (Clea DuVall), Joe Stafford (Scoot McNairy), and Kathy Stafford (Kerry Bishé) However, the American government realises that it won't be long before the Iranians find out six have escaped, so they need a plan to get them out. Enter Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck), a CIA specialist, who disagrees with all the ideas of having them pose as teachers in Iran. He comes up with an idea when he puts Battle for the Planet of the Apes on to watch it with his son. The idea? To pretend to make a film that is being filmed in Iran and have the six escapees as the crew. With the help of his supervisor, Jack O'Donnell (Bryan Cranston), a Hollywood make-up artist who has done previous work with the CIA, John Chambers (John Goodman), and the great film producer, Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), they may just be able to pull off the greatest fake film of all time - Argo.

First of all, I really like the cover for the film. I find it very expressive and the contrasting blue and red colour make it an interesting view. It's not really necessary for the critique of the film, but I just thought I'd mention it. Ahhh, Ben Affleck, haha.

Anyway, the film is definitely interesting. You get the perspective of the six Americans held captive in Iran and how stressed they are, and then we get the perspective of the CIA trying their best to come up with a good idea. When the film idea is pitched, it is initially put down, but in the end, seems to be their best bet to get their fellow people out. While this is obviously simply based on true events and thus some aspects are dramatised, this was not - they actually pretended to make a fake movie to get these people out. These real life events just seem like a good plot to put on film, and with Ben Affleck's directing, it was really well done. It was suspenseful and really crazy at some points, but mostly, heartfelt. Tony Mendez went on a line with his life doing this, and so did Ken Taylor with actually accepting them in after they had been turned down by other embassies. Just a little tidbit, but apparently Lee Schatz actually stayed with the Swedish embassy for a week before joining the rest of the group. Ben Affleck went ahead and commented that this demonstrated real international relationships between nations, with risks of their lives and their stature, and I couldn't have said it better. The film captures this very well, as well as the suspenseful bits. Even though I knew what would happen, I was still yelling as I watched the film. It also had some funny aspects ("Argo fuck yourself!"), which made it even more appealing. I'd also like to say, as a side note, that, while it doesn't place Iran in the best of terms, it isn't fair to criticise it for doing so. The film is seen from the American perspective, and while Iranians did attack the U.S. embassy as a revolt for reasons that maybe you support, it can still be considered a good movie. It mostly focuses on how they got the Americans out, and, again, this is a film from the American side of things as it is based on an article written by an American. If you're going to simply boycott watching the film because it is biased, you're missing out.

The film's plot was really interesting, but I couldn't say the acting was really all that exceptional. It wasn't bad, not in the least, but it wasn't exceptional. I really enjoyed Alan Arkin's performance, but Ben Affleck's performance wasn't anything extraordinary. The six Americans also didn't have exceptional performances. Again, I have to reiterate that the performances were good, but they were not anything really remarkable, minus the great crabby portrayal of Lester Siegel from Alan Arkin. Still way better than I could have been, though!

The film was a really interesting piece of history, and I thought it was a really good film. The plot was great, and the acting was good, so I guess the film gets eight point five stars on ten. It's not my typical kind of film, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Now I'd like to see the "real" Argo come out!

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Review XLIII - Searching for Sugar Man

Review XLIII
Searching for Sugar Man (2012)

Sixto Rodriguez has been quoted as the "Mexican Bob Dylan", a revolutionary poet of his time. His songs were highly praised by the producers of his albums, and he propelled into stardom - but he never knew until twenty years after the fact. This was the story Malik Bendejelloul decided to make his 2012 documentary on entitled Searching for Sugar Man. The film has been nominated for an Oscar, so that just meant I had to see it.

While Rodriguez never got popular in the United States, his two albums, Cold Fact and Coming from Reality, were regarded as gems to the citizens of South Africa. However, it was only after two huge fans, Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman and Craig Bartholomew Strydom, heard he had committed suicide that they decided to try and find out who Rodriguez was. Rodriguez was not dead, but he had believed his career as a musician had died after the failure of his second album, until he was made aware that he was an Elvis Presley figure in South Africa. The two finally reached him and his music days were revived in consequence.

The story about Sixto Rodriguez, I find, is really inspiring. This man had believed his musical career was over, and twenty years later, he was told he had been, unknowingly, super popular in South Africa. It seems like a very surreal story, and that's why it's such a great idea for a documentary. It's an interesting story to tell, and one that, in passing, would seem almost like an urban legend of sorts. This film definitely gets points for originality. Even though I had never heard of Rodriguez prior to this, I nonetheless really liked it! The interviews were really engaging, and I enjoyed listening to everyone talk about this man of mystery, whether it be the producers who really thought he was a genius, to a fellow coworker of his from recently, to his own children. The documentary starts off with this man of mystery, explaining how no one knew who he was. We get the history of how his albums provided a hope to destroy a constrained society in South Africa and how no one knew who this Rodriguez actually was. It's only once we actually get the two men, 'Sugar' and Craig, get to the part of their story where they finally talk to Rodriguez do we meet the legend itself. It follows a kind of linear pattern, and this makes it interesting throughout. It made the viewer ask who this man was, just like South Africa did, and when the two adventurers find him, so does the viewer, in a sense.

This doesn't count in the documentary, but Rodriguez himself seems like a really modest and kind man, so I like that a documentary was made about him. People like seeing the underdog rise above expectations. This film tells this story, so again, wise choice.

The way the documentary is filmed is also beautiful. The way the city names came up and disappeared was creative, and the cinematography was just nice. It seems like a meaningless detail to bring up in a documentary, but when something is appealing to the eyes, it deserves to be mentioned. This just adds to the foundation of the film. Not to mention Rodriguez has some pretty good music! If there's one thing I love thanking a film for, it would be in introducing to me some really good tunes. While I wouldn't go so far as to call him a Bob Dylan equivalent, he does have some pretty good lines, but mostly, pretty catchy yet calming music. Thank you for that!

I thought it was a really good story and interesting documentary, and it was very well executed. I give the film eight point six stars on ten. It was inspiring and engaging, and it left a lasting impression. Good stuff!

Pirate Bay torrent

Review XLII - What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Review XLII
What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

Probably about four or five years ago, I started watching 21 Jump Street. For those of you who automatically thought of the film that came out last year, I will kill you. Anyway, the series that ran in the late eighties and early nineties wasn't that good; however, it will always be remembered because it is what really got Johnny Depp's career going (even if he hated the show). Around this time, I caught a viewing of Lasse Hallström's film adaptation of Peter Hedges' novel What's Eating Gilbert Grape. It had Johnny Depp in it (and Leonardo DiCaprio), so I thought I'd give it a shot. I remember it really left a mark - so much so I bought the book, and since then, that book has become one of my favourite all-time reads. I've read it probably three or four times (it's an easy read, so that's probably the reason why, heh). But I could barely remember the movie. I finally downloaded it yesterday after reading the book for the fourth or so time to see how well it still held up. Oh man, I'm going to have fun writing this review.

Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) is stuck in Endora, Iowa, United States - a town where everyone knows everyone. He dreams of bigger and better places, but he's caged in the town awaiting his mentally handicapped brother's (Leonardo DiCaprio) eighteenth birthday as no one thought he would make it this far. He also has to deal with his grossly overweight mother (Darlene Cates), his overbearing older sister (Laura Harrington), and his overemotional younger sister (Mary Kate Schellhardt). When a new girl, Becky (Juliette Lewis), is stranded in town with her grandmother (Penelope Branning), Gilbert has hope that maybe - just maybe - he can finally find happiness.

While I love watching really good movies, I love criticising bad ones. It's a pain to sit down and feel like you're wasting an hour and a half of your time, but when I sit down to write about a movie, when I have a film that allows me to complain about it, I find it a lot more exciting. I say this because, my god, I could complain about this movie for ages. Last time I watched it, I remember being super emotional about the ending. This time, I did go away emotional, but in a humourous manner.

Okay, let me actually review this. First off, and I know this is such a common statement that is seems superfluous and redundant to mention, but it was way worse than the book. The book had feeling, character, and this plot had none of that. It took out so many elements I liked. I loved the desperation Gilbert felt in the books in relation to Becky constantly rejecting his physical hints. In the film, she just kisses him. What happened to all the "inner beauty" and "inner feelings" she claims in the book? Heck, in the movie, she even says, not verbatim, "Physical beauty doesn't matter. We get all wrinkly and ugly..." They take a stab at what was present in the book, but then it's never mentioned again. Peter Hedges, who wrote the book, also wrote the screenplay for the movie, so I have no idea what happened. It's not like this film was really pressed for time - it included a lot of pretty boring scenes where nothing happens. Scenes that could have been replaced with the meaningful, interesting parts that were present in the book. For example, Becky and Gilbert just... walking. Yep, I love seeing the attraction in their eyes. I love watching Becky comment on the sky, and Gilbert just agreeing. Totally encompasses the knowledgeable Becky and naive Gilbert seen in the book!

Gilbert's mother, whose name is Bonnie Grape, is also sympathetic and kind-hearted. I liked the crass lady who, while she loved her children, really only showed caring to Arnie. Gilbert hates this woman in the book (without ruining anything), and here, the two share moments. This makes their relationship so linear and boring. Not to mention that Bonnie Grape never really seemed to be the wiser of what was happening except for the given occasion. In the movie, she's always complaining to Gilbert about his behaviour. The two don't fight really, which again, makes it way less interesting than in the book.

Amy and Ellen, Gilbert's sisters, don't get much screentime either. Amy was the real mother figure to everyone, but in the movie, she's useless. I also enjoyed Ellen and Gilbert's bittersweet relationship in the book. Is it present in the movie? It is, but not that much. They don't really have outbursts - the two just don't always get along. When they do get angry, it seems unnatural. Not to mention that they take out one whole sister, Janice, from the book, and while Larry, the older brother, is mentioned, he's never seen. "This is Larry, but he got out." Alright, fine, but he's supposed to come once a year, which is on Arnie's birthday. Do we see him? Nope. I mean, c'mon, he got out, so why would he ever come back? Why would he even care about his handicapped brother who has lived eight years longer than anyone ever thought possible? Why would he care to see how his family is doing considering their father died when most of them were young and one wasn't even conceived yet? Why bother mentioning him if we never see him? I just don't get it.

Another thing I disliked was the relationship Gilbert has with his two "friends", Tucker (John C. Reilly) and Bobby (Crispin Glover). Again, nothing happens with them. Tucker helps Gilbert out, and Bobby... eats at a restaurant with both of them. Again, there was meaning to their characters in the books; Tucker and Bobby eventually kept to themselves, leaving Gilbert pretty much alone, aside from Becky. Here they're just his friends, but I guess if you hadn't read the book, this could go by alright. Which leaves me with the adulterous affair Gilbert has with Betty Carver (Mary Steenburgen). This I can't complain about. It was executed pretty well in comparison to the book. Obviously the book has more time to go in detail, but the movie did a pretty good job. Bravo to that at least!

Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of a mentally handicapped person, and while his acting is realistic, everyone else is bland as all hell. Johnny Depp sounds bored out of his skull everytime he utters a line. Juliette Lewis portrays Becky as an idiot. Becky's lines were garbage, but I got the impression that Juliette Lewis was inebriated the whole time. Everyone else is just like Johnny Depp - boring. I felt like stuff should be happening, but even when someone was emotional, it was bland. Mary Kate Schellhardt and Laura Harrington weren't that bad, but most of the time, they're just playing an aggitated person, so their acting was pretty boring too! Mary Steenburgen has something going on at least, but even then, it seems like it could way better. Nonetheless, at least I felt something for her, instead of just sleeping through everyone else's performance. Maybe this is why I didn't mind Betty and Gilbert's scenes together.

While the movie was really bad in comparison to the novel, it was still bad on its own. The acting was really, really boring, the plot had parts in it that seemed unnecessary, and Gilbert and Becky's relationship just seems so... nothing. The book made you feel more human - this movie just leaves me with the message that you shouldn't laugh at fat people because it hurts their feelings. As much as I "ranted" about this film, it wasn't the worst, so it gets six point eight stars on ten. It gave me something enjoyable, and that was a criticism of practically everything. For that, it gets a passing grade and then some.

Pirate Bay torrent

Review XLI - Rebelle

Review XLI
Rebelle (2012)

I was enjoying my stream of movie watching, but I was having trouble keeping up with reviews for films, so I neglected writing a few. I'm back, though, and here to present Kim Nguyen's Rebelle, or as it is known in English, War Witch. The film stars Rachel Mwanza, a Congolese actress in her first role, and Serge Kanyinda principally, with Alain Lino Mic Eli Bastien and Mizinga Mwinga.

The film begins with Komona (Rachel Mwanza) explaining that, at twelve years old, she was taken by rebel fighters from her village. We get a scene that shows a tranquil life for Komona, until the rebels come and kidnap several children to join their army. However, before she leaves the village, she is told to kill her parents with a gun, which she does in order to spare them being killed by the commander of the rebel group (Alain Lino Mix Eli Bastien) with a machete. She gains the ability to see and speak to the spirits of the dead, who warn her of danger. This allows her to escape death from government soldiers, which leads to her to gain the nickname "witch". Her celebrated status is not only recognised by the rebel group, but especially so by a fellow albino child soldier who is called the magician - or "magicien" in French (Serge Kanyinda).

The first thing I want to compliment the film on is the way they interpreted the spirits. They're the person simply covered in a white paint with bluish white eyes. I thought it was such a creative idea, and it made them really stand out, versus them being animatedly done. This totally gets a paragraph on its own because I was very impressed.

Alright, so the film itself. I really enjoyed the story because it doesn't just focus on a war stricken country and how horrible everything is. Instead, while it does set up the premise of Komona being a twelve-year-old girl thrown into a war she barely knows, it is about Komona, and not just a war. It demonstrates that these kid soldiers are able to escape to a certain degree and are thus capable of living a more regular and normal life after the war. It focuses on a young love between two of these soldiers, and I thought it was really sweet. While I realise it is important that we recognise that many African countries face civil wars concerning corrupt governments and the masses being unhappy with the state of the country itself which leads rebel groups being formed (which is basically what is happening in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the film takes place, right now), it seems like so many films dwell on African residents as being unable to cope with life. This film shows that even a fourteen year old girl in the midst of a horrible situation is able to move on. I guess I sound naive in saying that I think this is possible, but I really think it is. People face horrible things, but there can always be a silver lining on the darkest of clouds. Rebelle demonstrates this, and I applaud it for it. Nonetheless, this film shows a pretty accurate description of the cruelties of war. It is still a film concerning a young girl thrust into a rebel army. The Congo wars have shown really horrible acts between human beings, and the current situation in the Congo is still bad, even with the ceasefire agreement between the rebel groups and the government. The wars are relevant to Rebelle, but I'll let you guys read about the wars yourself (here is a link to the Wiki article about the civil wars in the Congo).

I really enjoyed the film, making me both cry with happiness and sadness. While I did enjoy the young love plot, at the same time, I'm not sure if they incorporated it super well. We get an image of them in the war, then suddenly they run off together. Perhaps I missed something, but it still seemed a bit strange. I'd give the film eight stars on ten. It definitely is worth a watch.

Pirate Bay torrent (English subtitles provided in comment)

Review XL - Kon-Tiki

Review XL
Kon-Tiki (2012)

I really wanted to watch Joachim Rønning's and Espen Sandberg's Kon-Tiki, but I kept seeing comments that there were no English subtitles readily available. My advice is to never listen to the masses because I soon saw a comment on a pirate bay torrent (don't worry, it will be linked) that provided English subtitles. As I speak both French and English, I'm going to assume that, since these scenes were subtitled correctly, the Norwegian parts were also accurate. The film stars Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen, Agnes Kittelsen, Anders Baasmo Christiansen, Gustaf Skarsgård, Odd Magnus Williamson, Tobias Santelmann, and Jakob Oftebro, and is based on the true events of the Kon-Tiki expedition of Thor Heyerdahl. Let's dive in! (I love puns.)

Thor Heyerdahl (Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen) spent years with the Polynesian with his wife, Liv (Agnes Kittelsen) studying their culture. After hearing an older man explain that everything came from the "east", Thor Heyerdahl proposes a theory that South Americans sailed to Polynesia by boat and populated the area. However, no one believes his theory. Thor Heyerdahl decides to prove his theory to be correct by building a similar raft to what the South Americans would have used in Pre-Columbian times in order to get to Polynesia. Together with Herman Watzinger (Anders Baasmo Christiansen), a refrigerator engineer, Bengt Danielsson (Gustaf Skarsgård), the Swedish ethnographer and "cameraman", Erik Hesselberg (Odd Magnus Williamson), Torstein Raaby (Jakob Oftebro), and Knut Haugland (Tobias Santelmann), who are all war friends of Thor Heyerdahl, the group set out into the Pacific to change the course of science.

I love watching all these films because I'm definitely getting more informed about historical events, even if they are dramatised. I'm going to go ahead and say that I thought the film was beautifully filmed. I was really glad I got to see a good quality version because the way the film is captured is just pretty. The animals that are encountered are really interesting, and it doesn't feel as fake as, well, how Life of Pi depicts it. While Life of Pi did do a wonderful job, I liked this film because everything didn't feel as CGI-ish to me. Maybe it's because I didn't see it on the big screen, but I'm going to remain sceptical about that. Anyway, it was beautifully filmed, so even if the story were boring, at least there was eye candy attached to it.

That being said, I didn't think it was boring. It was an interesting plot (history is often very interesting), though it could have been much better. For example, I thought there would have been more hardships in relation to people's emotions on the boat, and while they did exist, they didn't seem as frequent. Without giving anything away, it just seems like sometimes the group should have been more tense but wasn't. Afterall, this is a dramatisation of the real expedition, and I'm sure there was a bit more drama in relation to the problem the crew faces. Maybe I just expect too much emotional outbursts from people... The story also tried to add in the bit about Liv, his wife, and while I'm glad they included it, I'm not sure they should have included it the way they did. I'm finding it hard to criticise this since it seems necessary, but it just doesn't seem like it was done to the best of the film's abilities. Otherwise, the story itself was good. I enjoyed it, and I definitely would like to check out the documentary that Thor Heyerdahl released in relation to the expedition.

I enjoyed the film, though I do believe there could have been improvement in it. I'd give the film seven point eight stars on ten. It was enjoyable to watch, but it could definitely have been much better than it was.

Pirate Bay torrent (with English subtitles, as found in a comment on that torrent, here)

Review XXXIX - Barefoot Gen

Review XXXIX
Barefoot Gen (1983)

When I first read about Masaki Mori's はだしのゲン Hadashi no Gen, known as Barefoot Gen in English, I knew I had to watch it. While I thought about waiting to watch it as I'm on my journey to the Oscars, I knew I'd forget about it, so I forced myself to watch the dubbed version online.

The film starts with the introduction of a young boy, Gen Nakaoka, a few days before the bombing of Hiroshima (the movie explains this in great detail, so if you don't know what it is, I don't need to explain it). He has a younger brother, Shinji, an older sister, Eiko, a father, Daikichi, and a mother, Kimie, who is also pregnant. The war is causing the family great stress with the limits put on food and the constant warnings of planes flying overhead. However, Gen and Shinji try and make the best of the situation while trying to help their mother with her pregnancy. On August 6th, a single B-29 aircraft, drops "Little Boy", an atomic bomb, on Hiroshima, and the rest of the story follows Gen and his family trying to make ends meet amidst the complete destruction of Hiroshima.

Barefoot Gen is based on a manga series written by Nakazawa Keiji. The series is based on his own personal experience as he was in Hiroshima when the bomb was dropped. He was six years old at the time. I knew the basis of the plot going in, but I didn't really expect what I got. It starts off as such a heart-felt story focusing on these two young boys. They seem so optimistic about life, especially given the circumstance, when suddenly a bomb is dropped on the city they live in simply because they were Japanese. I really don't want to give anything away, but I have to discuss it, so if you don't want any type of spoiler in relation to how the film portrays the situation, stop reading this paragraph from here on out. Alright, let's go then. The film suddenly becomes so graphic. I mean, obviously I have seen worse, but as soon as the bomb is dropped, we get depictions of people being burned alive. Little children, babies, mothers, fathers, men, women, they all burn and get shards of shrapnel flying into them. Considering we establish such a hopeful scene of this family, when you get this, it's such a blow. It's not just the bomb falls and Gen wakes up and everything is destroyed. No, we get the process of this bomb. We even have the narrator explaining the situation beforehand and afterward, which I thought was very helpful. However, even though this process is disturbing, the part that bothered me the most is when you hear the man say, "Drop the bomb." Obviously there was such a command, but it's so chilling to imagine that someone could actually drop this bomb, the first atomic bomb ever used in war, and the second last to ever be used in war. An atomic bomb doesn't just destroy a city, but it leaves lingering dangerous effects. People who survived thought they were fine, but no, they were affected by radiation and the black rain (fallout), as well as those who came to help out afterward. The movie shows you how people, people who didn't even ncessarily follow the government's decision to stay at war, suffered for long periods of time because they lacked basic necessities. It doesn't matter that this film is animated - it shows a reality that I was never exposed to, and for that reason, I highly recommend the film. It doesn't matter who you thought was right or wrong in World War II. Barefoot Gen, while it is biased, shows you the aftermath of the bombing of Hiroshima, and I think it was well done.

I didn't in particularly mind the dubbed version, but I think a subbed version would have been much better given that the voice actors in the dubbed version seemed a little weird sometimes. Nonetheless, I'd give the film eight point two stars on ten with a high recommendation, not just because it was good, but because it was very informative and deserves to be viewed to see just how destructive war can be.

Pirate Bay torrent (apparently good enough quality with English subtitles)

Review XXXVIII - En kongelig affære

Review XXXVIII
An kongelig affære (2012)

Today we're going to take a look at Nikolaj Arcel's En kongelig affaere, or as it is known in English, A Royal Affair. This is Denmark's submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar for this year's awards. I actually wanted to watch another film from Mads Mikkelsen, who stars in this film alongside Alicia Vikander and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, but I found this film instead in a search, so I decided to watch it.

This film is a historical drama, but I don't need to provide a history lesson because everything is explained in the film. The film begins with a young woman, Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (Alicia Vikander), who belonged to the Royal Family in Britain, explaining that she would be marrying Christian VII of Denmark (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard), the King of Denmark. She has great hope that, while she has never met the man, she will be able to love him unconditionally. Unfortunately, the first day reveals his mentally unstable nature and cruelty to her. The two live in great dismay in relation to each other, and while Christian goes off to brothels to satisfy his thirst for alcohol and women, Caroline stays at home tending to her son, Frederick. When Christian falls ill while touring Germany, he acquires a personal physician, Dr. Johann Friedrich Struensee (Mads Mikkelsen). Christian is not the only one to take a liking to the doctor, but Caroline as well. Soon Caroline and Johann Struensee begin an affair, while all three aim to change the way Denmark is run politically... for the time being.

Again, because this is a historical drama, I can only criticise the plot to an extent. I will go ahead and say that I thought it was wonderfully put together. The film creates a great atmosphere and really introduces the characters. Given that is it two hours and a quarter, it seems almost like a given, but it should be noted that movies have been longer and established little characterisation in protagonists. I digress... The movie shows how Caroline Mathilda really did wish to have a happy marriage at first, but within such a small amount of time, she is turned off from him. When Struensee is first brought to her acquiantance, she is also turned off from him as he appears to encourage Christian's behaviour. However, after their initial meeting, when the two realise they share common radicalist idealogies, they form a bond. It was strange hearing that these ideas stemmed in the 18th century. Apparently Caroline Mathilda even wore male clothing (as read in the Wikipedia article about her) to demonstrate her prominent ideas. Now that I found very interesting! Anyway, the film took an interesting piece of history and was able to portray it well on film.

Mikkel Boe Følsgaard does a great job of showing a childish man who doesn't seem completely aware just how much power he has. He reminded me of Wolfgang Mozart, as portrayed by Tom Hulce, in Amadeus, and with good reason. While Mozart wasn't mentally disabled as Christian VII was (according to sources, that is), Mozart never really... grew up. And Mikkel Boe Følsgaard shows this side of Christian VII, but also with a hint of being greatly disturbed. I really liked his performance. Same with Alicia Vikander, who delivered a great performance of disgust, anguish, love, and happiness. As for Mads Mikkelsen, I thought he did a great job, though sometimes I found he didn't exactly portray his emotions as well as he could have. It's quite possible it was just him being in his character and trying to keep everything in control, but other times he seemed so serious when you think there would be something else there. His perfomance was overall really good, but there were a few times when it flickered a bit, in my opinion.

I really enjoyed the film, and so I'm going to give a rating of eight stars on ten. If you enjoy historical dramas that are romantic, you're bound to enjoy this. I liked that it followed a letter Caroline Mathilda was writing to her children (not a spoiler, it shows this right at the beginning), and the film was enjoyable. Oscar worthy? I wouldn't think so, but I have other films to watch to see to that.

Pirate Bay torrent