The second speech that has really hit home is this one by Preacher Phil Snider. His 2012 speech creates shock and gives a fresh perspective on the pro-gay rights scene.
If you don’t have time to watch to the end of this speech, here is the surprise ending:
…the liberals leading this movement do not believe in the bible any longer. But every good, substantial, bible believing, intelligent, orthodox christian can read the word of god and know what is happening is not of god.
When you run into conflict with god’s established order you have trouble. You do not produce harmony. You produce destruction and trouble and our city is in the greatest danger that it has have ever been in, in its history. The reason is that we have gotten away from the bible of our forefathers.
You see the right of segregation I’m sorry, hold on.
The right of segregation… is clearly established by the holy scriptures, both by precept and example.
I’m sorry I brought the wrong notes with me this evening. I borrowed my argument from the wrong century. It turns out what I’ve been reading to you this whole time are direct quotes from white preachers from the 1950s and 1960s, all in support of racial segregation. All I have done is simply taken out the phrase racial integration and substituted with the phrase gay rights.
I guess the arguments I’ve been hearing around Springfield lately sounded so similar to these that I got them confused. I hope you will not make the same mistake. I hope you will stand on the right side of history. Thank you.
Directors: Alan Williams and Tyrel Good
Writers: Clif Campbell and Marty Ketola
Released: 2012
Website: www.whoiszhon.com
—
Zhon: The Alien Interviews is a sci-fi comedy/drama web-series made in Southern Arizona by a group who self-funded the project.
The series is of a man, known as Zhon Jacob Jingle Heimer Schmidt, who claims to be an extra-terrestrial and has wandered Earth for thousands of years. He tells his story during an interview by the Secret Service.
I have watched the first episode, “Here’s Zhonny!” and I am quite keen to see more!
This genre is right up my alley, since I am into the comedic and dramatic Doctor Who (David Tennant) series. Tapping into an original and creative tangent of the classic sci-fi genre with very eccentric characters! Zhon: The Alien Interviews is certainly one out of the box!
It is an off-beat journey with rather quirky characters. The script is well written with dialogue that is authentic. The use of silence is very well executed! Particularly in the first scene where the awkward silences make you laugh just because of the tension. In fact, the entire opening scene is probably my favourite. The Security Guard’s (Steve McKee) expressions were hilarious!
A lot of thought has clearly gone into the making of the web-series. The editing is well paced with a clear format typical of a television series. Although, I think the lighting and some of the audio could be evened out and given more attention to ensure a smoother transition between scenes.
Despite some of the acting being a little forced at times, the actors are well established in their roles. Their use of humour is fantastic! The funny lines of dialogue are fluently delivered – with some catchy lines!
“My name is Agent Killjoy”
“Your mother named you ‘Agent’!? Man! Talk about planning out a kid’s future!”
The main character, Zhon, is played by Robert Linden. The confidence of the character who has clearly experienced life in many places and eras shines through to create a believable and well-rounded protagonist.
The predominant member of the US Secret Service is David Killjoy, who is played by Eric Schumacher, who stands out for me. I can totally see some Matrix ‘Mr. Smith’ going on! Which seems rather appropriate. His facials and calm deliveries are awesome. He’s probably my favourite character because of his awkwardness, seriousness and desperate-looking professionalism.
I think the best decision this team of filmmakers made was staying away from the stereotypes of aliens, and keeping it upbeat.
When making projects on a budget, I’ve seen some genres become drastically unbelievable. However, this strong and entertaining web-series has certainly over-come that, and is sure to become popular for anybody who loves sci-fi, or has a passion for inspiring independent work.
After watching an episode and reading about what an epic project this web-series was for the cast and crew, you can totally appreciate what a grand challenge this was. The final product is exceptionally well produced, and is something everybody involved should be very proud of completing. Dedication much!
Zhon: The Alien Interviews is a fun and exciting web-series with a very interesting storyline. The idea of an alien being interviewed about his life, with flash backs to illustrate, is an effective idea. There’s nothing quite as intriguing as a character telling their story!
Director: Stephen Chbosky Writer: Stephen Chbosky Released (in NZ about a million years after every other country): March 2013 Starring: Emma Watson, Ezra Miller and Logan Lerman
—
Okay, it was NOTHING like I thought it would be like.
This is not a happy-go-lucky, up beat and freeing movie like the trailer makes it out to be. In fact, it has a lot of very serious themes, making this high school drama rather dark, and not at all light hearted.
Despite the totally unexpected storyline, I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a very emotional journey – you laugh just as hard as you cry in some parts. So it evens out into a humbling story.
We accept the love we think we deserve.
C minus, ladies and gentlemen! I am below average!
The main character, Charlie (Logan Lerman) and both of his friends Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller), each go through massive emotional roller coasters. Huge changes to their lives that are developed incredibly well. Feelings and emotions are messy, unexplainable and complicated. We battle between how we feel and who we really are, with what society says we should be, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower accurately represents this.
The acting by everyone was quite simply ground breaking. I don’t think I am over-exaggerating either.
Emma Watson has lovers and haters. The haters say her accent sucked, the fans say she was faultless. I say that her American accent was well done, but perhaps her articulate way of speaking let her down. I didn’t see Hermione at all in her performance of the outgoing Sam, which I think is something that Emma Watson should be applauded for.
Amazing.
Ezra Miller plays Patrick, a fun, loving, loyal guy who is the stepbrother of Sam. What I adore about this character is how well written he is – he’s not a stereotype by any stretch! This is such a breath of fresh air because he is homosexual, yet this does not define him. He stands up for himself and does not accept being victimised. Patrick is my favourite character because he doesn’t take life too seriously… I want him to be my best friend.
Shop teacher: …Are you proud to be a senior having to take freshman shop, Patty-Cakes? Patrick: Look, my name is Patrick. Either you call me Patrick or you call me nothing. Shop teacher: Nothing, why don’t you read first? Patrick: Alright, Chapter 1: Surviving your fascist shop teacher who needs to put kids down to feel big. Oh wow! This is useful guys, we should read on!
The tunnel song – Heroes by Bowie
The music is very well picked. Some of my favourite songs are included: David Bowie’s song Heroes, which is affectively used. I discovered Come On Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners via this film – it is such a happy song with a great scene to go with it. Oh! And oh my God the Cocteau Twins’ incredible song Pearly-Dewdrops’ Drop! I hadn’t heard of them before this film either. These contrasting sounds and genres mirror the emotional tones of the movie.
This is not a typical high school drama at all! I think its genre would be similar to the likes of Seven Pounds.
Not what I was expecting, but not a disappointment by any stretch. It is thought provoking and intense. Just like life, there are huge ups and downs.
This movie is a realistic account of three teenagers and their relatable high school/college experiences .
Jodie’s rating: 8/10
The trailer of a very alternate idea of the movie… It is literally nothing like this.
Directors: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez
Writers: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez
Released: January 1999
—
I literally did not sleep last night.
I remember seeing snippets of this film when I was about 11, but I had not remembered how effective the horror aspect of it was! It is the best horror/psychological thriller I have seen in a very long time.
Three film makers go missing in the woods while covering the legend of the Blair Witch that supposedly haunted the area. The film makers were never found again, but their footage was, which makes up this film.
Pretty simple plot line with amateur filming which is very convincing! The idea of this horror is that the less you see the more your imagination runs a riot. You never actually see any witch or any sort of witch craft or supernatural beings, but the sounds and supposed actions of the Blair Witch is more than enough to keep you on edge.
Reading a bit about the making of this film is quite interesting. 2000 actors auditioned and the three actors with the best improvisational skills got the parts. The actors got a very loose script to work with, and to get into to character the cast were taken hiking and camping in the woods, depriving them of food and harassing them at night by the crew.
The acting is well done, with Heather being the main character as she uses the camera (and talks) the most. She is certainly an annoying character who is a total know it all, but apparently that was intentional – perhaps to keep the audience in a false sense of security as she seems convinced that at no point are they ever lost. The other two actors are fantastically convincing and natural too.
A scary story to say the least. The further toward the end it gets, the more terrifying it becomes. The final shot is still freaking me out. Considering this was all done with handy cams and mostly improvised, makes this film a more effective horror.
I mentioned this song in my review of Django Unchained in which this song was featured.
It is an amazing song with awesome voices! The slow pace of the song and the drawn-out lyrics represents the struggle of moving forward and finding freedom.
Life hasn’t been very kind to me lately…
…in time the sun’s gonna shine on me nicely
Fantastic singers! The drums are solid and sturdy with little in the way of ‘busy’ instrumentation.
Director: Quentin Tarantino Writer: Quentin Tarantino Released: December 2012/January 2013 Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson
—
Django.
The D is silent.
Well, I got to say, the first quarter of the movie is incredible! Django (Jamie Foxx) being freed by a strange man named Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) and the show-down that occurred between Schultz and the Speck Brothers who were transporting Django and other slaves to a plantation. This is where Django and Schultz become a team and continue the journey as Bounty Hunters (killing criminals and selling their corpses for rewards).
Dr. King Schultz: My good man, did you simply get carried away with your dramatic gesture, or are you pointing your weapon at me with lethal intention? Ace Speck: [cocks shotgun] Last chance, fancy pants.
It was a fantastic start to another incredible Tarantino film… Or at least that’s what I thought… Let me tell you, the idea of “less is more” is not something that Tarantino agrees with.
It slowly (and boy do I mean slowly!) unravelled to reveal a story that consisted of long scenes of dialogue with very sudden outbursts of bloody gunfire that would last an eternity. Particularly the final fight.
Well you think it’s the final fight until another scene of dialogue and another fight follows. By the time it reaches the actual final gun fight, you’re so over the blood and gore that you’re immune to the tragedy of it all and the impact of the violent film has subsided.
If you’re worried that this film is going to be too sadistic… Don’t worry. It’s not. I’m not going to lie, I did flinch when a slave was ripped apart by dogs, and when a horse was shot in the head… But it is essentially a black comedy – it ain’t no Saw. It is seriously more comedic than violent, especially with the scene featuring Jonah Hill.
Christoph Waltz was absolutely hilarious too. Actually, this guy is going to get a whole paragraph dedicated to his acting. He is totally incredible! Did you know that he can speak three languages fluently!? English, French and German, which he speaks in Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained. His way of acting is unlike any other… you can’t even tell if he is acting or not because he is just so natural. *Sigh*. Maaaan… He needs a hi-5. His character had some wicked quotes too.
You silver-tongued devil, you.
Unfortunately, some things were unintentionally funny. Like Quentin Tarantino’s cameo… Yeah. That was… Weird. Especially since him and another character were speaking with an Australian accent. That literally came out of nowhere, so confusing! It was kind of disturbing.
I have to make a quick point about the horses. They were SO well trained! Incredible stunt horses. Being a horserider myself, I tend to get really picky about how the horses or riders are doing something wrong, like if the horse-doubles look very little alike or how the actors can’t ride or how sometimes I notice that one of the riders is totally out of control of their horse.
But I couldn’t fault any of the horses or riders in this film! Particularly Jamie Foxx when he was riding a horse with no bridle or saddle… Actually that was yet another left-field occurrence. It was kind of pointless, unexpected and weird.
I had read somewhere before seeing Django Unchained that there is a part where Leonardo accidentally slams his hand down onto a wine glass while in character. I looked out for it, and it makes the scene a hundred times better because for a split second you see the shock on his face, but he carries on. Throughout the scene he picks glass out of his hand, even smearing his own blood over another actor’s face. Awesomely grotesque, I have got to say! Good on you, DiCaprio. He played an mildly insane and overpowering man very well!
Gentlemen, you had my curiosity, now you have my attention.
The music was pretty cool. My favourite song was one called Freedom by Anthony Hamilton and Elayna Boynton. But out of nowhere a hardcore rap song blared against while a group of horses and riders walked from one end of the screen to the other… The mood of the movie was sort of ruined by odd little choices like that.
It wasn’t as sadistic or gory as I was expecting it to be. Also, the story line did not involve as many personal details about many characters, like there was in Inglourious Basterds. It made the entire movie seem distant, making it difficult to lose yourself in the movie.
I reckon Quentin Tarantino was just having fun in this movie. I reckon it would have been much more entertaining being on set every day rather than sitting through a Lord of the Rings-length Western/Black Comedy/Romance/Action movie.
Still confused by what I just watched…
Jodie’s rating: 6/10
You need to watch this trailer to listen purely to Christoph’s voice! His use of inflection is perfection!
As you may have noticed, the world is not at its end. You may be pondering why this may have not occurred. Here are some of my suggestions…
1. After time travelling back to the beginning of the Mayan calendar, Doctor Who attempted to speak to the Mayan elders to extend the end of the calendar to a much further date in time. He was unsuccessful and was accused of being a witch doctor. He tried to explain that he wasn’t a Doctor Which, but a Doctor Who. After convincing them to not treat him as a threat, he was able to compromise, and settled on an agreement. That at the end of the Mayan calendar a “to be cont.” sign was to be etched at the end. Scientists, if they were to re-study the Mayan calendar today, will find this statement, thanks to the Doctor.
2. A huge meteor was hurtling toward Earth, NASA people were freaking out (despite the many press releases stating otherwise). They called the man that is never to be spoken about publicly. His name, is Superman. Fiction? I think not! Unfortunately, the meteor was purposely laced with kryptonite by the alien beings who wanted to ruin Superman’s world. He was unable to stop the meteor in it’s path, so Iron Man, although a little drunk from his house party celebrating his updated Iron Man suit, was able to use his brain, his mind and his head too, making it possible with the use of various lasers and alcohol-induced decisions to divert the meteor. Phewph!
3. Having heard about the Mayans’ little plan about ending the Earth in 2012, Vianne, a girl who lived around the time of the invention of the Mayan calendar, decided that she had to do something. She was never welcome in the Mayan society because of her super powers that were shunned by the elders who never acknowledged her existence (which is why she can not be found in any Mayan history).
Vianne climbed up to the tallest tree on the tallest mountain and leapt! She flew higher and higher, through the clouds and out into space. She then flew around the earth millions of times a second like a string being wound up into a ball. She was able to fly so fast that the atmosphere began to be disturbed and a protective film or layer was created.
A layer that we now call an ozone that protected Earth from the meteorite that was supposed to impoverish the Earth in December of 2012. Our ozone layer protects us against many things that would have damaged the world in Mayan times due to the world’s lack of ozone.
4. Ever heard of the butterfly effect? Where the tiniest of changes made by the likes of a time traveller, perhaps the indiscriminate killing of a minuscule insect could change the future forever through a domino effect. Well, in fact, what actually happened to prevent the world from being wiped from existence in 2012 was a time traveller who travelled from the year 1750AD, back in time to the year 3114 BC.
Stepping out of his time machine that looked like a bowling ball, the time traveller realised that he forgot to install a hand break, and even worse than that, he had landed on a hill. Just as he opened the door, the time machine began to roll at an alarming rate toward a river.
Airborne, the machine continued falling down the gully and landed on the fast flowing river, landing with an unsatisfying splash like a ping-pong ball thrown into a swimming pool. Now, I know what you’re thinking, you think I’m going to say that on the way down the hill the time machine squished something that had major repercussions on the distant future…
Although during it’s time travelling voyage, it’s technological outputs misguided many migrating Monarch butterflies. The Monarch butterflies used to migrate annually to southern Mexico from Canada for the fall, however, since the day that their migrating instincts were interfered with, they now fly to central Mexico, which is their annual habit even today…
But apart from that, in fact what happened was that as the spheric time machine rolled down the hill that was classed as “sacred” by the local native Mayan people of Southern Mexico. This was witnessed by a Mayan woman who had been put in charge of creating the Mayan Calendar. She had a rock canvas that was a rectangular shape and had begun carving the dates when suddenly a giant ball-like rock thing appeared in the distance and rolled down the sacred hill at an ever increasing speed, demolishing trees on the way.
Mesmerised by this sight, she realised that a rectangular canvas would not be inspirational or aesthetically pleasing enough, and a round rock would be required. Unfortunately, a round rock could not accommodate nearly as many dates, hence why she ran out of room by the time she got to the year 2012 rather that the previous date of 20012. Oops!
Thanks 9gag.com
Let me know what your reasons are for the lack of a 2012 apocalypse.
If it is, I am predicting a zombie apocalypse, and armed with my knowledge of zombie movies, I shall guide you to survival with my top tips!
Be prepared for any apocalypse!
Of course, depending on what zombie movie we are studying, depends on what actions will be required. Because the Shaun of the Dead lazy and stupid zombies need to be treated completely differently to the manic sprinters that are in Dawn of the Dead, Land of the Dead and Zombieland, or the vampire-like zombies in I Am Legend who have wild dog side-kicks, meaning that animals are vulnerable to the infections too!
Now, if you wanted rules specifically for the Zombieland kind of zombies, clearly all you have to do is watch that movie and take down all of the rules that Jesse Eisenberg’s character has in order to survive.
But here are mine:
Back up is always a good idea, but don’t get too attached to one another. This is survival of the fittest. Knowing little about them (like in Zombieland) is a smart idea.
1. Find strong back up. Of course your friends and family will be you priority, but if you’re going at this alone keep in mind that skills are what will keep you alive.
Look out for fit people with weapons or survival skills. Army dudes and people with medical training can only help.
If all else fails, find yourself a gamer. They’re in huge supply, they have quick reflexes, are stealthy, competitive and know [the theory of] handling weapons. Their body clocks are usually out of whack too, so they will happily be on watch duty at night.
2. Keep moving! As soon as you decide to hunker down you’ll be sitting ducks and that’s when you have more chance of being bored which may cause you to make more noise, therefore, attracting more attention to yourselves. Being bored increases the danger of turning on your fellow companions, or at least going a little bit mad. Plus, if you stay in one place the zombies will sniff you out anyway.
It doesn’t matter who or what started the zombie apocalypse – you’re finishing it! So be prepared.
3. Get armed! Knives and blunt objects, but guns will be the best option. Think of who might have weapons and team up/steal them (the weapons, not the owner of them).
If you ever get into a sticky situation, you need to know that you can protect yourself against a zombie killing machine. Aim for the head.
4. Most zombies do not possess a great natural ability to climb. So stay high! Keep above ground by climbing trees if in a rural setting, or using rooves in a suburban setting. Under ground can only be an option if it is super secure, not just a basement like in Shaun of the Dead because they will find you, and not many basements have more than one exit. At least two is essential!
5. With this huge lifestyle change, you can’t forget the basics! Keep clean, stay hydrated, get rest and stay healthy. If you have food available, still check the expiry dates! Milk past its use by date is not good for anyone, zombie apocalypse or not.
6. Have a goal. For most people getting to a safe house they heard of is what drives them, or finding the cure or getting a way better vehicle than they already have. For some, it is to get from ‘anywhere but here’/find a rescue team of some kind, and for others it is to find Twinkie bars… In any case, having a purpose is the simplest way to keep alive AND to stay sane!
7. Drive. Staying on foot means much less protection from a zombie attack. Of course, keep in mind fuel is actually necessary to keep a car going. Make sure fuel is always available by staying in deserted suburbia near the petrol stations or even better, keeping cans of petrol in the car with you.
—
Your life is about to change, there is no point in holding on to previous habits.
1. DON’T: provoke zombies. After becoming acclimatised to your situation, you may become bored without your technology – iPods, laptops, mobile phones etcetera (since electricity most likely would have been shut off, and in any case, many people would not have time to check Facebook/are dead). But use your excess time wisely, grow vegetables, find a library and get some survival books. But do not use zombies as your source of entertainment! This could be fatal. You are no longer on the top of the food chain, people!
STOP thinking, and get on with it!
DON’T hesitate about stealing stuff. Never been rebellious before? Don’t worry! If you need food but there is no supermarket check out assistant, it is now acceptable to steal! Need to get some new clothes? Break into the nearest vacant house (with caution) and take them – just do it! No need to knock either. Just kick the door down – even if it is unlocked! When confronted by zombies, witty comments are always desirable before killing them/running away. You have to be a badass now. You need to be a ruthless killer. Start acting like it!
3. DON’T think like a zombie. That’s the quickest way to finding yourself as a zombie. It didn’t work for Bill Murray in Zombieland, and it only worked for the people in Shaun of the Deadbecause their zombies were stupid. Also because they were in a comedy. YOU ARE NOT IN A COMEDY. You are in a horror – think that way. Even in small ways, if you hear something down stairs – don’t go down to check it out! Jump out the window and run! Haven’t seen Scream? Maybe you should! Brush up on your horror movie rules before becoming a part of an apocalypse.
4. DON’T be deceived by safety in numbers. You reckon you’ll be safe in the city? Think again! The more people you’re surrounded by, the quicker you’ll become surrounded by a crap load of zombies! Disease spreads rapidly in crowded areas, so don’t be a sheep, get moving!
Good luck guys! Those are just a few pearls of wisdom from me, I’m sure you have many more, so feel free to share them in a comment or on my NZ Film Freak Facebook page… While you still can!
Director: Baz Luhrmann Writer: Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce Released: 2001 Starring: Jim Broadbent, Nicole Kidman and Ewen McGregor
—
Truth, beauty, freedom and love.
I have never been a fan of sappy romance, and I still am not. Because Moulin Rouge! is not at all sappy or unbelievable, nor does the music break the suspension of disbelief. I think that it is because the acting is not over the top or overly theatrical at all.
Ewan McGregor plays the protagonist, Christian, a writer who wants to write about love, but the problem being that he has never been in love. That is until he meets Nicole Kidman’s character, Satine, a courtesan at the Moulin Rouge. Satine is forbidden to fall in love, so they must keep their relationship secret.
Unfortunately, the fairytale romance unravels due to the Duke (Richard Roxburgh) – an investor in Satine and the Moulin Rouge – attempts to put an end to their love affair. Christian and Satine’s love turns into a concoction of “desire, suspicion, jealously, anger and betrayal”.
Yet, “the show must go on!”, as a beautiful parallel between the new production that the Moulin Rouge is performing called Spectacular, Spectacular and the couple’s forbidden love is intertwined with the on-stage play, which results in disastrous consequences.
It is full of colour and energy! It feels like you’re right there in the Moulin Rouge with them. The lighting is incredible along with Baz Lurhmann’s trademark choppy edits and steadicam footage. This all adds to the excitement on the dance floor with the colourful dresses and cabaret dancers.
Throughout this is the serious and unfortunate events for each character, which is again reflected in lighting and music with very fantastical scenes. Some are metaphors such as the feeling of being on top of the world being acted quite literally.
Plus, the over all performance by the people who run the Moulin Rouge show such as Jim Broadbent’s character Harold Zidler who, although a father figure to Satine, has the priority of keeping the facade of the shows convincing to the paying customers, which is at the expense of Satine’s love for Christian.
The music is fantastic! They’re not songs that describe mundane things, it’s music that supports the emotion of it all. They’re modern songs by incredible artists such as Bowie, Rufus Wainwright and Elton John, as well as bands such as T.Rex, Queen and Nirvana, in an orchestral fashion, and/or medley mash-up of multiple songs, sometimes in aMoulin Rouge party style.
I have many favourite songs in this film including Your Song originally written and performed by Elton John and The Show Must Go On originally by Queen. But I have to say, I prefer the Moulin Rouge! version of every song. Elephant Love Medley is very cleverly put together with lyrics from various songs including All You Need Is Love by The Beatles, Silly Love Songs by Wings and Heroes by Bowie – the collage of twelve infamous songs is seamless!
See if you can pick out various lines from the different songs. It really picks up 2 minutes in, which is my favourite part of the song:
An example of the more serious scenes is the El Tango de Roxanne scene where some of the best dancing shown. Absolutely amazing lighting too.
Moulin Rouge! is a tragedy that reminds me of a Shakepeare play, – ironic since the director Baz Lurhmann also directed Romeo + Juliet – but the sincere romance is based within the “underworld” of cheap, make-believe love. It is layered with so much detail to notice in every scene.
Forget that it’s a musical, it’s more of a movie with a ton of music in it. Each song sung very well by Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, and with convincing sincerity to keep the audience hooked.
Moulin Rouge! is a pretty heavy and emotional story – so certainly not a movie you would unwind to, despite there being some comedic scenes that almost mock the life of theatre. However, I think there is something in this film for every person to appreciate whether it’s the incredible costumes, the music, the romance or Ewan McGregor’s face.
This has always been in my top five favourite movies, its an uplifting wonderland with a deeply moving story acted out by authentic and convincing actors.
Clearly, romance is not everybody’s cup of tea – it certainly isn’t mine – but this is not just another silly Hollywood love story.
Director: Randal Kleiser Writers: (Screenplay) Bronte Woodard and Allan Carr based on Grease by Jim Jacobs Warren Casey Released: 1978 Starring: Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta
—
I have never really been a fan of musicals, but Grease is certainly an exception and an all time favourite of mine.
Musical or not, its fifties costumes and authentic hair-dos are enough to make me love this optimistic film. I love this era and it’s portrayed in the most idyllic light. Obviously Grease is essentially a stage play which isn’t lost in the movie form with the occasional fourth wall barriers lost.
Based in a high school environment, the seventeen and eighteen year old characters were almost unconvincingly played by actors in their late twenties and early thirties. But the whole shebang is so up-beat, colourful and exciting that you forget that the ages are totally wrong.
It’s a great musical because it is full of colour and lovable characters, who although are stereotyped, are easily relatable. Especially the Pink Ladies, but perhaps the T Birds were not explored individually quite as much.
Unfortunately each of the Pink Ladies has quite a negative moral to them.
Sandy (Olivia Newton-John): You need to change and fit in to be noticed and respected. Rizzo (Stockard Channing): Sleeping around gets you attention. Getting pregnant is a risk, but hopefully that won’t occur, and celebrations are in order whenever she realises she isn’t pregnant. Don’t bother learning your lesson. Frenchy (Didi Conn): A little bit ditzy and attempted to break away from the crowd and do something different. However, this was too hard and frowned upon by others, it is best to stick with the crowd. Marty (Dinah Manoff): A little arrogant and an attention seeker who is very much into her looks. Her cold dispostion is attractive to men. Jan (Jamie Donnelly): The unattractive ‘fat’ one. Except, she’s tiny and clearly on the lower end of the average weight scale. Staying super skinny is attractive and eating in general is clearly frowned upon.
Looking deeper into Grease, it is clear that the morals are not to be desired. Not moving forward or being different is certainly a bad thing. But, Grease is supposed to be quite a two dimensional film that is simple and entertaining. Stereotypes and happy endings make feel-good movies, which this certainly is.
John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John are two great actors and singers for sure! But have you heard their reunion song!? It is so sad! They should be so proud of their accomplishments in Grease, but let’s leave it in the seventies, guys.
If you want to cringe and ruin your ideals of the two protagonists of the famous musical, feel free to watch their 2012 song:
I don’t like Travolta at the best of times – his hair looks like it’s painted on and his eyes are too blue. But this is just toe-curlingly bad!
The soundtrack has many lovely sing-a-long songs with my favourites being the comedic Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee sung by Stockard Channing (Rizzo) and We Are Together. But my above-all favourite song is Blue Moon, I’m not sure who did this version, but it is certainly my favourite (*gasp!* even better than Elvis Presley’s!).
It is a very fun, very uplifting movie that isn’t supposed to be read into too much. It was popular when it was first released in the seventies and it will continue to be extremely popular throughout future generations, I’m sure.
Director: Tim Burton Writer: John August (Screenplay), Daniel Wallace (Novel – Big Fish: A Novel of Mythical Proportions) Released: 2003 Starring: Marion Cotillard, Helena Bonham-Carter, Billy Crudup, Albert Finney and Ewen McGregor
—
I have mentioned this movie in quite a few other posts, relating it to Forrest Gump and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button because of their similar stories about an average man on his adventure through life.
Big Fish is directed by Tim Burton, so already you have probably got an idea of what the feel of this film is. A little bit quirky with gothic undertones, but don’t be fooled, this is not a cookie-cutter Burton film (although it does include the incredible Helena Bonham-Carter), this is an amazing tale about Edward Bloom’s (Albert Finney/Ewan McGregor) life.
The protagonist is a storyteller although he is known to exaggerate and embellish the story of his life with fantastical metaphors and unbelievable occurrences. Just like Forrest Gump, Edward is a Southern man who finds himself on a road of various adventures, finds love and goes to war.
But Big Fish is a more light hearted and fantastical version where you’re not quite sure what to believe to be true. Edward Bloom’s stories take up most of the film, but it also tells the story of his son, William Bloom (Billy Crudup).
He goes on a journey of his own, retracing his father’s footsteps to find out the real story behind all of Edward’s fabricated tales. The contrast between reality and fantasy makes the story more believable. The facts would have made uninteresting tales, whereas the elaborate stories are entertaining and unbelievable.
I love this piece of dialogue where William’s fiancé Josephine (Marion Cotillard) speaks to William Bloom about how he met is wife, Sandra (Jessica Lange/Alison Lohman). I love Bloom’s way of speaking!
Edward Bloom: Your mother-in-law was never supposed to marry me. She was engaged to somebody else. Josephine: I never knew. Edward Bloom: Will never told you? Probably just as well. He would have told it wrong, anyway. All the facts, none of the flavor. Josephine: Oh. So this is a tall tale. Edward Bloom: Well, it’s not a short one.
This clip should give you a good idea of the feel of the movie:
The music is fantastic in Big Fish. There is Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Pearl Jam as well as the compositions by the infamous Danny Elfman (who incidentally cannot read music!)
Fate, destiny, time, love and death. From real life giants and lion tamers to mermaids and witches, Big Fish is a fantasy/adventure/drama movie, but with a make-believe glaze over it.
It is a story of great imagination which you will want to watch over and over again and read further into the details. It’s entertaining but also pulls on the heart-strings.
Jodie’s rating: 9/10
Just noticed they have used the same piece of music from Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands… and another piece of music I recognise from Black Beauty in this trailer! All of these movies have the same composer though; Danny Elfman.
Director: Jon Favreau
Writer: David Berenbaum
Released: 2003
Starring: Zooey Deschanel and Will Ferrell
—
‘Son of a nutcracker’! It’s almost Christmas.
Not only did Elf win the poll, but it is also appropriate as it is the festive season. This is a pretty funny Christmas comedy movie with many hilarious one-liners that have really stuck, even after all these years!
Will Ferrell does a great job playing “Buddy the Elf” – the human who was raised by Santa’s elves – who goes on a journey travelling through the seven levels of the candy cane forest, past the sea of swirly-twirly gumdrops, and then, walks through the Lincoln tunnel to discover New York. This is where he finds that he is, in fact, human not elf. Along the way he spreads Christmas cheer, falls in love and meets his biological father.
His child-like innocence makes him relatable to children and misunderstood by adults resulting in very awkward, but funny situations.
This is a fantastical story touching on all of the typical Christmas morals of honesty, family and priorities. Although it is essentially a children’s film (as many festive movies are), it is a very enjoyable movies for the older audiences too, especially since Will Ferrell is in it.
It includes my favourite Christmas song; Baby, It’s Cold Outside, sung by Zooey Deschanel and Will Farrell. The same song on the official soundtrack is by ZooeyDeschanel and Leon Redbone which is a great version.
Don’t be a ‘cotton-headed ninnymuggins’, this will be an entertaining Christmas film for the whole family to watch. Although I am not a fan of Christmas movies in general, Elf is a pretty good one, if not storyline-wise, at least for the comedic value of Will Ferrell‘s character.
This song was recommended to me by a friend of mine and I absolutely adore it. It is a sad song but very relatable. They are an Australian band consisting of brother and sister; Angus and Julia.
Director: Sam Mendes
Writers: Screenplay by: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan
Released: 2012
Starring: Javier Bardem, Daniel Craig, Judi Dench and Ralph Fiennes
—
I’m not a huge James Bond fan, nevertheless I can fully appreciate the epic awesomeness of the 23rd film of the 50 year-long Bond series.
This had it all. Fighting, car chases, scary bad guys and beautiful women. Obviously all of these are the ingredients necessary to make a successful and authentic Bond film. So what was different about this one?
The lighting is absolutely amazing. It really accents the traditionally spectacular surroundings that are classically chosen for Bond movies. Skyfall was most certainly no different with beautiful Scottish environment where the final fight occurs – Bond fights Silva; ice fights fire – and everything makes a full circle. The storyline was very well intertwined with the history of James Bond and supported by the amazing locations! I want to meet this location scout they used…
Raoul Silva played by Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem plays the villain Raoul Silva which he played so convincingly! No jokes! He creeped everyone out in the theatre when he first appeared on screen with his bleached hair and he is most certainly a serious personal-space-invader, where you lean back in your seat to try and get some distance. He’s also a sadistic killer, a techno-freak and over-all a dodgy character, which makes him so perfect! An amazing villain!!
I enjoyed this film so much that I managed to ignore the fact that I really don’t like Daniel Craig... As James Bond anyway. He just seems too arrogant to be 007… Plus his blue eyes look unnaturally blue…
Judi Dench who plays M finds herself in the field with Bond which makes the stakes higher than ever! So intense! I don’t even need to go into what a fantastically talented actress Judi Dench is. She’s amazing as per usual.
I love this guy! Q played by Ben Whishaw
Ben Whishaw plays the character Q – the Quarter Master – and does a spectacular job too! He was so cool with his dry humour and casual intelligence. Very cool. Very cool indeed. Actually, the casual humour was all the way through the movie by several characters which was a great way to lighten it up.
I was surprised that there were not many car chases… Only one I think. With very few flash-looking cars! To be honest I can barely distinguish a Mini Cooper to a Land Rover, but I did notice that the amount of cool-looking vehicles was at a minimum.
As a side note, the music for the opening title sequence was by Adele. I don’t think it was a bad choice at all. But, perhaps not the best? I suppose it’s the thought of having a pop star singing for a traditional and long-running film franchise, she just seems a little too superficial for a noble and deep-rooted James Bond movie..? Then again, she is very talented and I’m not sure who I would have preferred to have sung it.
Overall, this Bond film is full of twists and turns, shocking moments, action (but not to the point where it gets boring) and creativity. It is a bit of a marathon to watch at 143 minutes. So make sure you don’t drink too much before going to see it – at no point will you want to miss out on anything to run to the loo.
You won’t know what’s coming!
Jodie’s rating: 8.5/10
Written: Screenplay: Eric Roth, Short story: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Directed: David Fincher (Fight Club, Panic Room, The Social Network…)
Released: 2008/2009
Starring: Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt
—
So, I have owned this DVD for a while now and I really love it. Although I do remember the hesitation I had toward it because it was a deep and meaningful movie with… Brad Pitt in it.
Unfortunately I had not seen Fight Club and 12 Monkeys before I saw Benjamin Button, so I had no idea of his acting capabilities. I only had the handful of average movies he had starred in and gossip columns about the latest child he had adopted to judge him by.
Brad Pitt was certainly impressive, though. I’ll be the first to admit that he is in no way on my list of favourite actors. However, it did make me realise that if you ignore the publicity, the personal information that is blown out of proportion by the media, and his ridiculous long hair that screams “I DON’T WANT TO GROW UP!!”, he definitely has some talent in there!
But ultimately, this film is thought-provoking and fantastic! It is in no way a light-hearted or an easy watch, but certainly one that you should see when you have a night to yourself.
If you love Forrest Gump(screenplay also written by Eric Roth) and Big Fish, you’ll enjoy this. Just like those films, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is an insightful biographical recollection of a fascinating character, whose life stories and moral outlook is inspirational to say the least.
Sandra and Edward
Benjamin Button is about a man who physically ages backwards but still ultimately grows up like any ‘normal’ man. Which does remind me of Forrest Gump; “What is normal anyway?” and Big Fish; “My muscles and my bones couldn’t keep up with my body’s ambition…”. It explores the life skills and influences that mould one’s character into who they fundamentally are.
Forrest Gump and Jenny
The saying “an old soul” comes to mind what talking about Benjamin Button.
Of course, who one turns out to be ultimately depends on the sort of experiences that they encounter, and Benjamin Button turns out to be a very average kind of guy – just like Forrest Gump and Edward Bloom – it’s just that their amazing life stories make them admirable and interesting.
Benjamin Button and Daisy
Just like listening to a grandparent’s war stories; ordinary people in unordinary situations.
I think although parallels can be drawn from the likes of Forrest Gump and Big Fish, the innocence has been extracted from Benjamin Button’s story. Perhaps this make it more realistic. Although it is certainly a darker tale.
The special effects are certainly something to marvel at. Because it is about a man who ages backwards, the physical look of each stage from an elderly baby to a youthful man is remarkable and realistic.
This movie explores personal identity, beliefs, motivations and pressures that makes people who they are. There are constant references to fate which I find intriguing; “you never know what’s comin’ for you”.
Director: Rian Johnson Writer: Rian Johnson Released: September 2012 Starring: Joseph Gordan-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Paul Dano and Emily Blunt
—
Updated: March 2018
I love time travelling films! I was in love with this film the moment it began as it explained the world of looping, the jargon used and the dangers of it. It was so awesome!
The first time I watch Looper, I was disappointed because I had a different storyline in mind. But I keep coming back to this movie and appreciating it more for what it is.
Looper is set in the year 2044, where 30 years into the future (2074), time-travel has been invented. Badass rich people send back the people that need ‘taking care of’, meaning the body will never be discovered in the year 2074.
This is the loopers’ job. They kill the people of 2074 in return for silver – giving them the life of drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll. It’s a business where Loopers ‘take out the trash’ for the criminals of the future.
So that’s a pretty inventive setting, and the first 40 minutes or so where they explain the loopers’ occupation and what happens if they fail to do their job is very cool indeed.
When a looper is no longer needed, the criminals of the future send the looper’s future self back to the looper of 2044 to be unknowingly killed. This is called ‘closing the loop’.
However, looper Joe (Joseph Gordan-Levitt) hesitates when he recognises the target is his future self (Bruce Willis), accidentally allowing him to escape. Joe attempts to kill Old Joe and fulfil his contract, but he is too late. Old Joe is on a mission to get his life in 2074 back, and Young Joe is on a mission to kill his future self to ensure the next 30 years of his life is a comfortable one.
Old Joe is on the hunt for a child who grows up to be the baddie of the future, who is ‘closing all the loops’. He hopes that if he kills this kid, then his loop would not be closed in the future and he can stay in his happy 2074 life. Somehow.
This links into that age-old question, ‘if you could, would you kill Baby Hitler to ensure the Holocaust never happens?’. A true Stephen King thriller right there.
Hopefully this makes sense – time travel stories are always flawed and complicated. Just how I like ’em!
Just like inTotal Recall, they threw in a hovering vehicle to remind the audience that they are in the future. Thanks, Hollywood.
There are some parts where you think they’ve gone a bit too far, making it a tad comical. Including Joseph Gordan-Levitt’s ‘young Bruce Willis’ face, and a kid whose tantrums cause what appear to be nuclear explosions.
Nevertheless, worth a look-see if you love time travel, gun fights or a simplified, PG version of Inception. But it is a very random kind of film.
Jodie’s rating: 7/10
PS: Paul Dano from Little Miss Sunshineis in Looper! He plays Seth… His storyline is so intense!!
Director: Jason Moore Writer: Kay Cannon. Based on Pitch Perfect by Mickey Rapkin Released: September 2012 ———-
Okay, this movie was actually pretty funny! I felt like I needed to suppress my laughing fits so that nobody thought I had such a weird sense of humour – which this movie kind of does.
I really enjoyed it – perhaps more than I would care to let on since it is just a chick flick… But it’s not your typical “boy gets girl”, “random dudes stripping off”, “getting drunk and hooking up”… Okay, well that’s a lie, there was all of the above, but the movie tended to make fun of these stereotypical characteristics of the genre, which set it apart.
Beca – the protagonist – is played by the awesome Anna Kendrick… I reckon Ellen Page would have suited this character too…
Also, the fact that it certainly focussed on the music more than anything – you should see the list of songs in the credits! Plus, I liked how Pitch Perfect had a ‘point’ despite being just a fun, entertaining film. It emphasised diversity and non-conformity while either avoiding stereotypes, or blatantly stating them.
I guess I’m missing out on the main point of the movie, which is that it was all about the competitive world of acapella. I thought “Glee + Bring It On”, but it was actually a thousand times better than either of those. Competitions between numerous groups of dudes and girls who battle for the best performance of any song using nothing but their vocal chords. They all sounded fantastic… Even though their voices were obviously perfected in post. Almost too flawless actually…
Fat Amy has to be everybody’s favourite character, just because she is so freakin’ hilarious. I was so disappointed that they didn’t include the “pirate dancing” scene though… They replaced it with the “mermaid dancing” scene. So, here is the pirate dancing clip since you won’t see it in the movie (25 seconds in):
But the character who made me laugh the most was actually Lilly aka “The Quiet One”… I shan’t give away too many details – but look out for her!
My favourite thing about the movie? Probably that it was set in a university and not a High School! I’m so fed up of 20-something year old actors playing 16 year olds… Also, the love story took a major back seat! So refreshing!! There were also a lot of rather funny one-liners. Most of them being puns… Which were really quite “punny”… Ha.
The worst part? The pointless and really weird idea of having a character that has a tendency to vomit… A lot. Not only does it take you by surprise, but it makes one ponder the reasoning behind why this addition was actually required.
Director: Robert Sarkies Writers: Duncan and Robert Sarkies Released: September 2012 Starring: Bret McKenzie, Hamish Blake, Maaka Pohatu, Filip Berg
—
I am so disturbed! Okay, I know it was a black comedy, but where was the comedy?
It was about Deano (Hamish Blake) who showed his ability to dispose of the man that his friend, Nige (Bret McKenzie) accidentally killed. They both go on a wild adventure to dispose of the body, eventually Deano decides to cut the body up. He comments on the consistency of the spinal chord of the corpse in gruesome detail with sound effects to match.
The story continues as he plans to murder Nige’s new best friend, a large security guard who I thought was the funniest of all three.
This movie was nothing like I expected it to be. After watching Hamish and Andy’s Australian television series, I was expecting it to be more of that kind of slap-stick, silly comedy. But it really wasn’t… It was just… Freaky.
“Just doing some washing…”
I actually couldn’t tell you any specific jokes I liked to be honest… The story was easy to follow and straight forward, but nothing really stood out. (Except for the parts that made me cringe…) If you have seen the film with Dylan Moran in it named “A Film With Me In It”, you’ll know what I mean when I say that it was a dark film that almost made you feel guilty by laughing either out of nervousness, or at the few funny parts.
Don’t think that it’s a kiwiana film with deep and meaningful themes, nor is it a movie that expresses the kiwi humour. It does, however, present the 1980s New Zealand in a way that seems pretty legit’. It is certainly aimed at the New Zealand audience.
It’s probably not a film you would be buzzing about and talking about after… Probably not something you would watch more than once either. If you want to have a laugh, watch the trailer.
Directors: David Palmer and Dax Shepard Writers: Dax Shepard with David Palmer Released: August 2012 Starring: Dax Shepard, Kristen Bell, Kristin Chenoweth, Tom Arnold, Bradley Cooper
—
Well. It wasn’t bad. I mean, I wasn’t exactly expecting a lot after seeing the trailer, but it wasn’t as terrible as it made it out to be.
There were are few funny parts, but they were few and far between. The actors were good though, and the car chase scenes were pretty good. But, I swear the producers had a check list:
Good-looking people: check!
Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell. (I thought these two had great chemistry – turns out they’re dating in real life)
Fast cars: check!
Guns: check!
Storyline: n/a
At the end of the film, we wondered where the conflict actually was, since it seemed like the ‘absolute low’ was not that much below the climax. It was just a series of unfortunate events that led to a pleasant resolution.
But the parts that were funny made up for some of the lame scenes/humour as well as the unbelievable gun fights… But this was a comedy so realism isn’t exactly on the top of the list anyway, I guess.
An easy-to-watch and entertaining movie. Probably not worth seeing twice or buying the dvd since it would take me 10 seconds to recite the storyline after one viewing (including the five minutes I missed when I fell asleep).
Director: Len Wiseman
Writers: Ronald Shusett, Dan O’Bannon, Jon Povill and Kurt Wimmer
Released: 2012
—
So, it was between watching Total Recall or Bourne Legacy. I am not a fan of action so after watching the trailers I decided on Total Recall based solely on the fact that it mentioned dreams. Due to being an Inception fanatic, I decided that this action film would be the best choice.
It was alright. Not great. But not unbearable either.
The overall exterior urban sets were pretty much Blade Runner – a futuristic Asian city with bright lights and pouring rain. Just to make sure that you knew that it was set in the future, they threw in a few flying cars… Just in case you weren’t sure. My friend said he was surprised there were no laser guns to further reinforce the time era.
There were a few cool things though, like the plate in some of their hands that was a tracker/phone and when their hand was placed on a piece of glass, the image of the caller was projected onto the glass.
I think that the two main women characters should have been made to look a little more different… Two tall long-haired brunettes running around begin to look like the same one after a while.
I suppose I wasn’t really emotionally invested in it so I didn’t get worried when the protagonist was in a spot of bother, nor did I feel a relief when he got himself out of a sticky situation. Perhaps this was because I didn’t see the original film with Arnold Schwarzenegger in it, or because I’m not a fan of the genre. However, I think a vital issue was that it was so predictable. It was the standard stereotypical structure of an action film which left nothing to the imagination.
A few typical characteristics of action films (including Total Recall) were:
Despite the amount of bullets being shot, nobody ever seemed to get hit.
When one character got knocked out in a crash landing of a hover car, she had a full recovery within hours with nothing but a 2 centimetre blemish to prove she was previously unconscious. (Don’t want the main characters to be unattractive)
When the ‘baddie’ had the protagonist trapped, she gave a monologue so the ‘good guy’ had the chance to kill her.
The ‘baddie’ always makes a come-back before the end. (The fatal finale)
There is a big question at the end, of course. Was it a dream all along? But due to the lack of ‘minor details’ to back up either theory, I found that it really did not matter either way. Unlike Inception where the end was debatable with lots of nit-picky bits to back yourself up. (“The spinning top was tipping at the end” or “the memory was identical to ‘real life'” etcetera… ).
If you’re in to a bit of action and a bit of sci-fi, or you enjoyed the original, I’m sure you will like this film…
But it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
Jodie’s rating: 5/10
PS: Bill Nighy was epic as usual! Pretty decent American accent too.
Perhaps my expectations were simply too high. I loved the 2008 The Dark Knight so much that I expected this film to be equally as captivating and shocking… Just in a different way due to the obvious absence of Heath Ledger… *sigh*.
The Joker was way more scary, more funny and much more shocking than ‘Bane’.
Of course it was epically shot with fantastic sets, lighting, special effects, stunts and characters – kudos to Mr. Nolan who is a fantastic film maker with Inception and The Prestige being my two of my favourite movies of his…
It’s just the storyline of The Dark Knight Rises sucked a bit…
Now, I know many people who have seen the film will be up in arms about what me thinking badly of this Batman film, and the people who haven’t seen it will be gob-smacked and shaking their heads. But seriously, if you just ignore all the “10 out of 10” and “better than the previous film” comments and take away your high expectations that will probably blind you into thinking that it is epically incredible… You will see that it wasn’t – at least not in every way. This is why:
I go to see superhero films because I like to see super people acting heroically. However, I found that for the majority of the film, Batman was in a spot of bother with no foreseeable way of escape. It just got depressing watching Batman being defeated right until the end pretty much… I mean, it’s called a three-act structure because there are ups and downs that keep the audiences’ attention. It just seems that the hero’s journey was going increasingly downhill from the beginning.
Also, Batman’s enemy, Bane, is a masked man who sounds like he has an amplifier attached to his belt which, although it was creepy, his voice kept distorting and I missed quite a few lines.
Plus, the fact that his name was “Bane” began to sound like “Wayne” (as in Bruce Wayne) and they were talking about being in ‘pain’ a lot too, so the rhyming didn’t help the understanding of the characters. Christian Bale’s Batman voice gets on my nerves too… Sometimes I just couldn’t take him seriously.
I have to say I was extremely concerned about Anne Hathaway being Catwoman! However, she certainly stole the show – the Cat Burglar was incredible. Good on Anne Hathaway for her performance.
Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were obviously flawless, that barely needs to be mentioned; they’re both very well established and respected actors for good reason.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt was terrific too – I’m sure we will see more of him in the following Batman films.
I only know people who thought this film was fantastic. Having said that, every one of them could think of at least one major thing that they would change in film.
I’m afraid I will have to break the mould and not give full marks to this very well made film.
It’s worth seeing, but don’t get your hopes up.
Jodie’s rating: 6/10
Director: Rupert Sanders Writers: Based upon Snow White by Brothers Grimm Released: June 2012 Starring: Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth and Sam Claflin
—
I don’t think you can really read too much into this film. At the end of the day it is based on a simple fairytale, but it is an action-packed and exciting take on it. Quite a bit of violence, which was more realistic than I thought it would be, with battle scenes that were very captivating.
I know everyone, including myself, went to see it secretly to criticise Kristen Stewart’s performance. It wasn’t bad, but it was obvious that she was not the ideal Snow White. She had very little dialogue, and when she did speak, her typically emotionless facials were replaced by concentration, probably focussing on her English accent.
I have to say, I thought Snow White would have been more feminine and smiley… I don’t know if she wasn’t because of Stewart’s portrayal of her, or because the makers wanted to portray a more dark and gothic version of Snow White.
This kind of Snow White reminded me of Katniss from The Hunger Games – a strong, feminine warrior. But every production company has got to make their money somehow, right? And what better way than to use the Twilight star.
I thought they would choose a more unknown actress for Snow White (like Tim Burton did for the protagonist in Alice In Wonderland). Turned out I was right, this was considered at the beginning. I hadn’t heard of Felicity Jones before the likes of Cemetery Junction, but after seeing this photo of her… wouldn’t it have been an no-brainer to cast her!?
The evil stepmother/Queen played by Charlize Theron was another casting decision I don’t think was a bad choice exactly… But she was a tad theatrical at the beginning, which don’t get me wrong, is probably appropriate. But it was almost too much.
It reminded me of Anne Hathaway’s sickly sweet performance as the White Queen in Burton’s Alice In Wonderland.
The seven dwarves were great. Although I do wish their names were like the well-known Disney version (Sneezy, Sleepy, Dopey, Doc, Happy, Bashful and Grumpy, which became Beith, Coll, Duir, Gort, Muir, Nion, and Quert).
However, it did dawn on me during the film that the genre of this interpretation is totally different, therefore the less comedic angle was adopted.
Having been so critical so far, I have to say that I did enjoy this film. The visual effects were incredible. The Mirror Man leaked out of the mirror like metallic silk… It was solid yet liquid, which was super cool.
The dark forest was pretty awesome too which was convincingly contrasted with the sanctuary where the dwarves lived.
This is a film worth seeing. The stunts (and stunt horses) were fantastic, the animation was insane and yet, the original Snow White story was still there.
My expectations of a flailing and weak Snow White with a strong love story was totally not what the film was. It is The Hunger GamesmeetsAlice In Wonderland(2010) with strong characters, violence and action. A fairytale for the modern tween.
Jodie’s rating: 6.5/10
PS: I can’t help but say that if you look closely at the close ups of Kristen riding the grey horse bareback, you can tell she is sitting in a saddle with her dress draped over it.
PP.SS: As my friend mentioned to me during the movie, I was also disappointed that the dwarves were not riding miniature horses.
Director: Larry Charles
Writers: Sacha Baron Cohen, Alec Berg, David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer
Released: May 2012
—
I love Sacha Baron Cohen’s work (for the most part), Ali-G and Borat as well as his amazing performance in the musical Sweeney Todd, where we discovered that he is a half decent singer!
I went into the cinema with admittedly low expectations, since I quietly thought that perhaps Sacha had sold out after Bruno was released… Which although I did not see, I was sort of put off by all the grossed-out people I knew who did see it…
So The Dictator is basically about… A dictator… who fights against Democracy being introduced into his country. He picks on America, describing how great their country would be if their Government ditched democracy and adopted dictatorship, “the leader could help out his friends financially, forget about the poor, give 1% of the population 99% of the money…”
The Dictator was different in the fact that it was not a mockumentary… It became a Hollywood version of Borat, with Anna Faris as the love interest and a recycled character of Ali-G + Borat as the protagonist; Admiral General Hafez Aladeen with the accent slipping in some places.
But! It was certainly an enjoyable film! There were some pretty hilarious parts – despite them all being extremely racist… But why would that be a surprise?? I would mention some of the funniest lines but… I won’t.
Anna Faris played Zoe who owns the vegan/fair trade/organic/non-racist/feminist/sustainable… store that the Dictator works at whilst in America. Those scenes are pretty funny, I’m not going to lie…
Just like every Sacha Baron Cohen film, this isn’t for everybody. But if you go in with low expectations and an open mind it is a good laugh for sure – especially if you watch it with friends.
However, I think Baron Cohen should probably think of a totally new character and stick to mockumentary style.
Not bad, not bad.
Jodie’s rating: 5/10
This isn’t the trailer, but it’s an extended clip which is more funny to watch than the official trailer to be honest… 4:07 is where the most hilarious facials are at…
2nd June: Yes, I take every opportunity to celebrate the survival of my blog – let’s just be thankful that I’m not doing one every month… But I won’t make any promises.
So thank you for all of your support! Especially America; you guys are always reading my blog. New Zealand… I am ashamed. You’re like… Sixth on the “countries that read my blog often” list. Jeez!! Thanks a lot. I was hoping to be a Kiwi icon along with the All Blacks, Pavalova and Marmite.
…You guys would call me “our Kiwi film freak”. But then Australia would try to steel me like they tried with the Pineapple Lumps. So then both countries would fight over my personal items between the museums… Ah… I could go on…
But I won’t.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Please continue to comment, too!! I love reading the comments. Especially the criticism. I find it very entertaining. Sure, I cry inside. But, it is still very exciting to read. I shall continue to approve your criticising comments.
Unless they’re really pointless like that dude who wrote a comment saying “Harry Potter sucks” about 200 times… Yeah… Nah. I did not approve that. Because if you really hated Harry, you wouldn’t have wasted about 5 minutes of your life telling me so… THRICE! So go tell J.K Rowling. I just write about the films… But I still laughed out loud so all good! :-D
You may have noticed that we have extended my menu of film reviews, political rants and random thoughts with ‘cool-ass songs’. Yay! I hope you enjoy.
Director: Rob Reiner
Writer: Stephen King (novel)
Released: 1990 (It seemed like late 90s though)
___
It has been a long time since I felt uneasy going to bed after watching a horror film.
Actually, this psychological thriller isn’t that horrific (for the most part..), it’s just when it finishes that you realise how disturbed you feel…
I haven’t read the book, but it’s pretty common knowledge that Stephen King’s work translates to film very successfully (The Shining, The Green Mile, Secret Window…) so I knew that I was in for a spectacular treat.
In a remote town, the popular author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) checks out of the hotel where he stays every time he writes a novel. On the completion of his new book, he begins his drive home until he gets caught in a blizzard. His car flips out of control and lands out of sight buried in snow.
But somebody is there to save him – his biggest fan, Annie Wilkes.
She treats him at her isolated house, which is fine until Paul realisees that he is actually being held captive.
Annie Wilke’s mood swings on a dime, yet she is not easily fooled! Her use of language is so freaky… Yet sort of funny… Which makes you feel very uneasy when laughing while watching this film.
“…he didn’t get out of the COCKADOODIE CAR!”. “You’re just another lying ol’ dirty birdy.” “…you just better start showing me a little appreciation around here, Mr. MAN!”
Kathy Bates plays Annie Wilkes. This scene being the most memorable… For all of the wrong reasons…
With the famous novelist being bed-ridden in Wilke’s home, he has to find ways to reach the outside world. Still reliant on his capturer for medicine, he needs to play along to ensure she doesn’t get suspicious whilst thinking up plans to alert the outside world.
Kathy Bates will always be the Unsinkable Molly Brown (Titanic) to me. (As well as being an uncanny resemblance to my year 13 English teacher…). So to see her as a controlling, deceiving and deeply unsettling person was quite a shock. Bates really was incredible in this role!
The cool thing is that James Caan’s character is one step ahead of you, but Annie is two steps ahead of him.
The music imitates the mood very well. In fact I honestly didn’t notice the music because it added to the scenes so perfectly. In the credits “I’ll Be Seeing You” was played… I can’t listen to that song in the same way any more. So creepy.
This film is full of anticipation and anxiety – but not with the usual frustration you get when the victim is just not getting away fast enough, it’s much smarter than those gags.
“Book’s almost finished, your legs are getting better. Soon you’ll be wanting to leave… I have this gun. Sometimes I think about using it. I’d better go now. I might put bullets in it.”
– Annie Wilkes.
The shots and lighting have to be kept interesting as the film is more-or-less based in one room (King’s novel was made into a stage play first). So check out the extras on the DVD if you’re interested.
The low angles make Annie’s innocent exterior look distorted which reflects how she is on the inside, and the lighting gives you hints as to if and when to feel hopeful. Very clever when you take notice of it.
This film is not a blood-bath, but has graphic violence. But not for the sake of being graphic (like all seven Saw films…). It really keeps your attention strongly from start to finish. A fantastic watch!