Film Reviews | March 2016

Another midterm month means I get to go to the cinema much more than normally I would, which is a great thing. I'm becoming more and more a movie fanatic as I am a book one, my future house is going to be full of collections of books, films and CD's. It's the dream.

(Yes Ben & Jerry's is the best ice cream)

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE

I actually knew nothing about this film at all before going to see it, other than it is closely related/a prequel to the 2008 thriller, 'Cloverfield' which was probably my favourite film when I was eleven, I know strange choice. With that I was expecting a follow up of the alien attack on Manhattan in some way; I guess I wasn't entirely wrong. It takes a different twist on the 2008 blockbuster.

Most of the film is spent within the captivity of a Bunker built by a man called Howard who has suspected an alien attack of sorts for years. He is joined by Emmett and Michelle, who have been taken in and told that the air above them is contaminated and that they cannot leave the bunker, they are unsure of the truth of this. Set in a small enclosed space, I felt as if I was back watching 'Room' again and didn't see the resemblance to 'Cloverfield' until the very end; it's very eery, chilling and haunting.

I was genuinely scared for the majority of the film, I'm trying not to give away too many spoilers as it's better like that but I was kept on the edge of my seat throughout; it was like you never really knew what could happen. It was really interesting and definitely worth a watch. The cast and their dynamics were very interesting and I think it was just as good as its predecessor but in a very different take and way.

ZOOTROPOLIS 

Another Disney film that has failed to disappoint me. This film revolves around a rabbit, Judy Hopps has a dream to become the first rabbit police officer and works hard to get it despite everyone else's harsh comments that she'll never be a cop. She is always underrated and misunderstood and always looking for the chance to prove herself. She takes on a case that would have otherwise been overlooked and enlists the help of a sly fox, Nick Wilde and helps to solve one of the biggest cases of Zootropolis.

Like every Disney film, it has a thoroughly well thought out and executed plot line, likeable characters, good music, humour and emotion. The film shows the strength of friendship and unlikely companions and also the message simply of just being non judgmental in general. The plot was somewhat predictable but very fun and enjoyable. There were a lot of on going jokes and humour being used throughout the film and of course always link their way back to the end in true Disney film style. I would say this film is more for adults than children though, it just felt more complicated but would definitely be enjoyable for both adults and children. I'm hoping this film gets more recognition as I feel that a lot of recent Disney films don't get the credit they deserve, they're definitely getting better over time. 

SING STREET

I love the amount of really great Irish films being created recently. There is so much talent in Irish acting, film making and music and I'm really glad that there's an increase in really big productions, like my favourite film, 'The Stag' staring Andrew Scott, who is also my favourite actor. Sing Street is set in the 80's in Dublin and is about a boy who starts a band and pursues a career in music and tries to win the love of a girl who says she's a model in the process. Set in a small Catholic school the band struggle to get through the struggles of forming a decent band and also school bullies and complicated love.  

To be honest, I didn't think I was going to enjoy this film, it looked really cringe worthy in the trailer, but I was pleasantly surprised. The cast was so likable and I loved all the characters, they were all quirky and the film had a lot more in it than I had expected. The making of the band was more complicated than I thought, I originally didn't understand how they'd get a full film out of the plot I'd seen in the ads. I'd highly recommend this film, it's light hearted, funny, heart warming and the sound track is amazing. If you're a huge movie music nerd like me then you'll love all the original 80's style songs like my favourite 'The Riddle of the Model' and you'll also love all the other featured songs for the soundtrack like The Cure and Duran Duran. Definitely a really good, easy watching film you could just watch again and again and probably still like it. 

BATMAN V SUPERMAN

This is proper first hyped up film I've been waiting to see for the year. I had no expectations for the film because I thought it was just going to be made for the sake of it and not going to be made very well, but I was pleasantly surprised again. The film follows after the last Superman film, which majorly disappointed me, where people begin to question whether Superman is actually for the good of humanity and it becomes Bruce Wayne/Batman's mission to take him down, as well as nemesis Lex Luther. 

I enjoyed the first half of the film and it felt like the film was actually going somewhere with good dynamics. Then as it began to end with, spoiler alert, the alien formed by Lex Luthor just felt like every other superhero film I've ever seen and thought the battle between Superman and Batman could have been executed better without this strange other life form. Also the introduction to Wonderwoman just didn't feel like it was needed other than to introduce her into further films. The performance that made the film worthwhile was Jesse Eisenberg's interpretation of Lex Luthor. I found his performance to be the height of the film and very similar to Heath Ledgers Joker performance, I do like a good eccentric villain. He's tied with Gene Hackman as my favourite Lex Luther, and Henry Cavill is also a close second to my favourite Superman; Christopher Reeve will always be top. Overall, the film did bring something new and exciting to the franchise but I feel like it could've been more and that it's missing something.

Has anyone seen any of these films this month or anything else? What did you think?

Film Reviews | January

Here's yet another post I'm trying out to see how it goes. I've decided to combine the films I've gone to see over the past month into one post instead of making multiple posts because some films won't have enough to write about or aren't interesting enough to have their own post. I prefer reading collective film posts anyway so I'll probably enjoy writing about all the films I've seen more like this. I've gone to the cinema a good few times this month but I don't know how often I'm going to go in the months ahead. I do love visiting the cinema and seeing all the new releases and I do see quite a lot of them so hopefully I do a few more of these posts at least. Without me talking anymore here's a brief review of all the new release films I've seen over the past month. This will be long.

The Revenant
This is a film I had high expectations for as it was super hyped in the media, especially portraying Leonardo DiCaprio's role to be outstanding, so I went into the cinema expecting a super amazing over-hyped film. The story itself is simple, a plot of revenge and betrayal. It's set in the snowy wilderness and when Leonardo's character, Glass, gets attacked by a bear he's left for dead and he seeks revenge of the guy who killed his son in the process of his abandonment. The film itself is really long and I feel like there was a few unnecessary scenes that could've made the film much more enjoyable. It was gory and brutal and the harsh realities of the cold climate were kind of chilling and terrifying to watch. There was a lot of violence as it was about survival. I really didn't enjoy it and I wouldn't watch it again. The effects and the acting were superb I'll give them that, but I just felt the film was tedious and unnecessarily violent, there was also very little dialogue for such a long film.

Room
This is probably my favourite film I've seen recently. It's about a young woman and her child who is five years old, that are held captive in a room for seven years by the mothers kidnapper. The film is extremely sad and really well captured. The feelings of isolation and claustrophobia are very strongly felt even from the start. The mother and son relationship is beautiful and the comparison and contrast between them is interesting. The film was heartbreaking and I did cry at one point. The cinematography was great and the child actor was so good I was so impressed. Also realizing that things like that really happen made it so much more terrifying than any horror film. I would recommend this film over The Revenant any day and I will surely watch it again.

Creed
I had never seen any of the Rocky films previously, I'd never been very interested in fight films. I find they're very predictable and you already know exactly what's going to happen even before you go into the cinema. Despite being predictable it was a good feel good film and it wasn't as boring as I thought it was going to be. It was good action and the fight scenes did make me cringe at times, I don't really understand why boxing like that is allowed but nonetheless it is a good watch, I've heard that it's one of the best Rocky films, I can't see myself watching the previous films anytime soon so I won't know very soon anyway.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens
This was probably the first film I'd seen in the new year and only looking back on the film now I can say I enjoyed it. I had never seen any Star Wars films previous to this, no one kill me, so I had no idea what to expect from this film. I did know the general gist of what had happened in previous films and I did know all the characters so it was a good start anyway. I thought what better time to get into the film franchise than now when it's had a full revamp and aims to bring a new era of Star Wars fans forward.
 Firstly I was super excited to see a female main character, especially as this is Daisy Ridley's first major film I was super impressed by her, the pressure on her must have been insane. Character wise, I loved every single character and it's so easy to like them or even just that they have a strong presence. It didn't take me long to understand the story, which is great for us new fans. Although unfortunately, story wise, I do feel like it's a copy of the original and lacks it's own originality, note that this is from someone who's never seen the original films. From what I already knew about the films it was exactly what I expected so I didn't think it was too great. I do think that the new characters could go somewhere different with the story in the next film hopefully. I also fell in love with the little robot BB8, he's probably one of the reasons I enjoyed the film.

In the Heart of the Sea
This was probably the least talked about film I've seen recently. It's a version of the Moby Dick story and as I've never read the book I can't compare the two. As the name suggests it's a sea faring journey to the heart of the sea to collect whale blubber and along the way they encounter Moby Dick. The film is mainly another film of survival trying to get home from a ship wreck. I did find it a little uncomfortable to watch at times but I thought it was done really well and Chris Hemsworth did a fantastic job. It's emotional and action packed and I wouldn't watch it if you're prone to sea-sickness.

Spotlight
I would say this is also a favourite view from this month. The story follows a group of reporters who are trying to write an article about the Catholic Church and abuse and find it hard to uncover what the church has tried so hard to keep hidden. I thought the film would've been boring and repetitive but it really wasn't it was entertaining and eye-opening. I found it heartbreaking at times because of the amount of truth behind it also. The acting was excellent and two of my favourite actors star in it, Rachel McAdams and Mark Ruffalo. It didn't have just one focal character but four and I think it made the story more intriguing for something that is seemingly so uneventful. I can't say too much about the film without giving it all away as it's a very low key plot film just like the events that inspired it. I would highly recommend this film.

I hope you enjoyed reading my rambles on the films I've seen recently and I will probably do more slightly shorter ones in the future, when I have less free time.

Has anyone else seen any of these films or seen a good one recently?

Outdoor Cinema

Last week I went to an outdoor cinema for the first time in about three years. I forgot how much I loved the idea of it and it didn't rain, which is the most important thing. I don't know why I find sitting in a field watching a movie with a group of people cuter than going to the cinema, it's technically the same thing. I think it's because it's rare to go to an outdoor cinema but very common to go to a normal cinema, either way I love it.

The film that was shown was Dirty Dancing, which I'd never seen, queue the shocked people. I'd only seen the first half of it before, it's quite an over rated film but I still enjoyed it. Plus the audience cheered and clapped along, it was such a cute atmosphere.

There was cute little food stalls and a van full of Ben and Jerry's that were being given out for free, how great. They were giving out free ice cream to get people to sign a petition for stopping climate change and taking action. They were telling people about the conference in Paris later this year surrounding climate change. I think it was pretty great they were doing it because I know most people wouldn't have a clue what it was. They had a really smart campaign about showing the effects of climate change in terms of ice cream. They said 'ice creams no good when it's melted' and they were stating the same goes if the world's ice caps melt. It's a pretty easy but effective concept I think, I've no idea if other people took anything from it though. I'm hoping it registered in peoples minds somewhere along with their free ice cream. 

It was really nice once the sun went down and it became night. It felt like I was back in the eighties living my teenage years in that era instead, not that I know what the eighties was even like. I think it reminded me of Grease and that style and kind of makes me which things were still a little bit old fashioned. It's still great to see that these types of events are still put on for the public even if it's not that often, well where I live it's not maybe somewhere else it is.

Anyone ever been to an outdoor cinema before?