Not another Film Students critique

Pineapple Express

2009-08-02T13:30:00.000-07:00

Pineapple Express

A new take on the stoner Film. I am no stoner, but I felt like I was while watching this film.
The recipe for this one is somewhat standard, yet modernized. It could have easily been a Cheech and Chong film that never got made until now, but I would still watch it again. Some films you watch to distract yourself from life without any hope of getting something real out of it. Though it served its purpose I felt it gave more than just entertaining me. Things wrapped up nicely as usual, but I still thought the film was endearing.
I also want to take this time to try to figure out what it is about Seth Rogen that keeps us coming back for more? Perhaps it is his all American way of dealing with life’s problems that makes him so dear to us. I have found every time you watch a Seth Rogen Movie you do feel like it is just another continuation of the last film you saw him in… yet… you don’t mind at all. Kudos, to Seth Rogen for simply being. Ha Ha.
I give this film 3 out of 5.

Doubt

2009-08-02T13:19:00.001-07:00

Doubt

Ah, corruption in the church and the politics of a delicate nature. I am shocked there are so few films like this. Though, I am grateful of this stage adaptation.
I like the controversial topic in this one. It is one everyone can choose to be behind. Though, when there is no certainty, there is Doubt. I do like this story for this reason. How does one act when not certain? If something bad is happening to someone who cannot be helped, if they even need it that is… Oh what is a person to do? Dare you take the chance and be wrong? THOUGH, what if you are right?
In all honesty, for a film it moved all too slowly for me. Though I can see as a stage performance how it would cause natural tension which only live theater can do. The trouble is, this is not a stage play, and the time line needs to be sped up slightly to create more urgency.
Amy Adams and Meryl Steep both as usually create beautifully complex characters’ you want to understand more fully. If there is any reason to see this film it is for their performance.
I give this film 4 out of 5. When I sense the film has actually finished with a big climax I will give it 5 out of 5. Though that seems highly unlikely. :D

Nobel Son

2009-08-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

Nobel Son

Here we find the same basic theme of rich parents, and a kidnapped child. Truth is, this is the film that this theme should use as a guideline to make film perfection.
I won’t lie; I was floored by the sheer awesomeness of this story. This is the reason I am a film student. Films like these. One moment you think you are absolutely certain you know what is going on, until they pull the carpet right from under your feet and you struggle to be one step ahead. Truth is, you can catch up until the end. This is what stories need to be in Hollywood. At first the pace of the film seems to cluttered and yet moving too slow, but trust it. There is a reason. Because later the film kicks into high gear and you can’t get out of your seat.
This film is so jam packed with twists and turns you are likely to get whiplash, and welcome it. This film worked in every way it possibly could have.
It is a true insult to even begin critiquing Alan Rickman in any performance he does. What is it about this actor that draws us in so well? How does this man make you wish you could sign up for one of his classes next semester? He breathes life into his character like no other actor could possibly do.
There is also no other estimation of what I think of this film, it is 100% a must see for everyone. I give this film 5 out of 5. I wish I could give it 10 out of 5.

State of Play

2009-08-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

State of Play

What we are looking at here is the typical political thriller, where we discover some politicians are playing dirty, naughty tricks. Go figure, never saw this plotline before. Whatever.

Now, even though things were pretty generic in the thematic sense, there were a few anomalies that made me think twice about calling it average. Truth was, they did not last long, did not pan out, or simply were put in to distract you- and poorly. Though, I do like the different perspective of the journalist and Politician being old friends. That I will give as being semi original.
It was very deceptive, this type of plot line has been used before, and frequently. Some things here and there are altered to give the illusion of being different from usual, but Just switch the times, places, and people, and you have seen this before.

The acting was good from one standpoint. Only one actor seemed to make this film even slightly worth watching, and that was Russell Crowe. Truth is, I am not the world biggest fan of him, but he pulled out a wonderful performance. Ben Affleck though turned out a horrible performance. [If he even performed at all.] I found a complete lack of emotion in his acting from beginning to end. There was not even one second of pure genuine feeling I got from his character and I was VERY disappointed.
Basically, I feel this film can be skipped and you would still have the same feeling before and after seeing it.

I give this film 2.5 out of 5.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

2009-07-15T01:17:00.000-07:00

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Granted I had read the book some time ago, I was thrown back into the Wizarding world yet again. This is the sixth plight of the works of J.K Rowling at its best.
As you well know there has been a battle between good in this fictional [?] world. The battle between good and evil is beginning to boil over with some serious casualties that are starting to add up.
I would not normally be analyzing the story since it is derived from a book in this feature, though since so much was left out of the story [as usually happens with literature adaptations], I felt a little peeved. ALTHOUGH, the major points were all hit… and what a hit it was. Right on the mark.
The plot moved nicely although choppy in some bits. Even though I have read the series I felt slightly confused at first with the opening sequence. It had been a while since I read the book, and felt like I had no clue what was going on. This soon faded, and I was along for the ride.
I wanted to keep this review short and simple because we all know you are going to go see it. I give this film 3.5 out of 5. I would have given a 4 if not so much of the story was rearranged and parts taken out.

David Carradine

2009-06-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

[will post tribute video once youtube stops having a temper tantrum like a 2 yr. old.]

I would like to take a break from my usual reviews, to post of the sad passing of David Carradine. He will be missed.

Angels and Demons

2009-06-01T13:07:00.001-07:00

Angels and Demons

Cast: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgaard Director: Ron Howard Studio: Sony Pictures

Usually I am the type of person who reads the book beforehand, like I did with the Davinci Code, but this time I was not able to. The good news is I don’t mind so much.

Like I usually say, when a film is based off of a book, it is hard to criticize the plot and story. So, I will keep it short and mention that I was interested where the story went, even though I could predict a few things like I always do.

The characters in this film were just like those in the Davinci Code, but in all honesty to make them counter to this, would be bad. I was very pleased with Ewan McGreggor’s performance this time around. I forgot not to trust the one in the film who seems saintly. They are usually the culprit, and he fooled me magnificently.

Cinematography, special effects, and everything else were nice and well rounded in this film. I also have to mention, it is not hard to enjoy a film when Ron Howard is the one who directed. I am pleased to review this film in a positive light.
I give this film 4 out of 5.

Night Train

2009-06-01T12:54:00.001-07:00

Night Train

Here is what I call a good film. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Think Orient Express meets Stephen King. Very well written work of art. Staring; Danny Glover, Lee Sobieski, and Steve Zahn.

In this film we find three strangers caught in an interesting story of greed. It begs to question what you would do for something that could change your life forever, and who would you eliminate in order to get it.

This plot could have been written by Stephen King himself, it was so well thought out. I honestly did not know what would happen next, even though I am usually the person watching a film that can say what will happen next. This time I could not.

The Actors were superb, and gave the extra elements for you to care, and root on each character. It was quite interesting to see how you these people stuck in a train car with limited means would begin acting of the same accord. All would later show a darker side of their nature when greed comes into play, and shows us all what we truly are on the inside.

The only SLIGHT downfall of this feature is the CG. Now, the truth is you don’t care about the special effects. The truth is where it counted there was no need for special effects, and they did not resort to it. I was very pleased by this film, and I recommend it with two very high thumbs up.
I give this film 5 out of 5.

Last Chance Harvey

2009-05-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

Last Chance Harvey

I was impressed with this film. Granted, I am female, I do not like chick flicks. BUT this film even spoke to me. It starred Dustin Hoffamn, and Emma Thompson; an unlikely pair, especially due to the fact that Emma Thompson towers over Dustin Hoffman, but adoreable nonetheless.

This was the average love story you see every time, but this is somehow slightly different. It also helps that the other characters throw in a lot of “WTF” moments for you to be angry about. Though, the story traveled quite smoothly. Before you know it, you are watching the third act, and you did not even notice.

The plot was generic, but it was told in a pleasing way that you did not mind as much. Sure there were moments where you felt like you were being hit over the head repeatedly with a romantic comedy, but in a weird way you got sucked in, and enjoyed every second of feeling sappy, and in love with the idea of being in love.

These actors are to put it modest fantastic at any role they jump into, and of course, this is no exception. You really honestly wanted these two together, no matter their differences. Even when the classic misunderstanding arises, you still wish for them to pull through. I was suckered in quite well to think these characters were actual living breathing people I had just met.

I really enjoyed this film, and I urge you to enjoy it as well.
I give this film 4 out of 5.

Killshot

2009-05-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

Killshot

Killshot was not the best movie by far. It is about a hitman, played by Mikey Rourke, with Diane Lane, Thomas Jane, Joseph Gordeon-Levit, and Rosario Dawson. This film was so hard for me to watch that I left the room before watching the ending.

Before you think I am about to blame the actors for this one, you are dead wrong. The reason I was able to watch as much as I did is because of the good acting. The general theme of the film was a hitman who had lost his brother in a job a long time ago, finds another youngster to fall in his footsteps. This story took forever to come about and I ended up not caring what evolved in the story.

The story, god this story was BADLY written. Quinten Tarintino produced this film, and I am SHOKED he did not put any of his creativity into this one. That would have made this film work. It was a dull, overdone storyline, in where the sequence of events where SO characteristic, that you were not impressed with the action portrayed in this film.

I still have no idea what the plot is because of leaving the viewing. BUT, if there even was a plot, it was so hard for this girl to find.

The characters on the other hand were quite interesting, and had MANY levels to them. I think the casting was spectacular. I have no issues with the Actors in this film; they all delivered more than they needed. Gladly, otherwise the film would not be.

The cinematography was HORRIBLE in this film. I was expecting something besides a group of teenagers with new video cameras trying to make their own short film in jr. high. This was really pathetic. The camera Angles were laughable.

I give this film 2 out of 5.

Wolverine Origins

2009-05-26T17:15:00.001-07:00

Wolverine Origins

Fair Warning, this little fan girl is NOT HAPPY with the end result of this film. I do not know what they were thinking when making this film. I was VERY disappointed. Only thing worth seeing about it was Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Thank god for this one, because this film would be WORTHLESS otherwise. Cast is Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Lynn Collins, Ryan Reynolds, Director is Gavin Hood.

DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN what were they thinking? I was too angry at this film to even identify any sort of theme. All I could gather is they were trying to cash in telling a story about how Wolverine came about. There was not much for m to hold to.

As far as the story goes, I can give some leeway as far as that is concerned, SINCE Marvel Comics came up with the basic Storyline, and Hollywood did take their allowances here and there, but that is to be expected. Marvel spent a lot of time with this character, and has always done a good job at keeping people’s attention; otherwise there would have not been a movie.

The Plot went together in a normal fashion, but I expected more. MORE! There were a few surprises here and there, but nothing that stepped too much upon the plot itself… I just wish there was more involvement in the other superheroes around Wolverine. Wolverine was NOT the only superhero in this story, yet they barely spent enough time with them.

I still felt there could have been more character development in this story. In all honesty, I felt they were just dragging the story along without much development. I did not honestly believe Wolverine was in love with the leading female. Not through any fault of Hugh, but by the lack of acting from the other characters. I would have preferred some actors who would have been able to devote MORE into their characters to help out Hugh Jackman. Do NOT get me started on how I feel about the mediocre performance of GAMBIT. I really expected far better. Maybe they should have read an X Men Comic in order to understand his Character better.
As far as the little clues to the end result, I found they were too vague for the amateur comic fan. I only got the small little hints because I knew I should be looking for them.

Superhero films generally are a hard genre to fail in. The last two X Men films were quite close to failing, but still had retained their staying power. BUT this film has failed MISERABLY in my eyes. If Hugh Jackman were not in this film, average non –comic fans would be able to see this film for its relative horrific attempts and condemn it.

I give this film a .005 out of 5.

Choke

2009-05-26T16:48:00.000-07:00

Choke

Based off of the book, by the same writer as FightClub. Fox searchlight Pictures, Directed by Clark Gregg, Sam Rockwell [ Victor Mancini], Angelica Huston [ Victor’s Mother].

This film reminded me constantly of Fightclub. I felt it was a slight overkill. Like they were trying to remake the success of Fightclub. If you have seen Fightclub, you have already seen the same themes as Choke.

The story was intriguing and very comical at times. Victor’s workplace is one example of hilarity. The storyline was different than what I was expecting, yet it still felt like I had already seen it all before. I was viewing a brand new film for the first time, but I was not shocked at one thing in the movie. The only thing I was not expecting was Angelica Houston’s revelation to Victor at the ending.

Again, the plot to me was very standard, even though it did seem at the first glance to be all over the place. Truth is, it is the same standard plot you see in every movie. *Attack of the basic movie formula.* But before I seem to be too harsh, I was amused at the way the plot moved along, even though each event was slightly easy to guess.

I feel like the only actor to even be worth mentioning is Angelica Huston. As usual this woman puts so much life into a character. This time it is for a bad woman that you root for, and hope she is able to do some more bad. She was just a misunderstood woman who made it easy to love her. She had no real motives to do anything, but gave the character such a spirit, and zest for life, that no other actress could have given to that character.

The symbolism was vague in this film to me. But I like that. There were a lot of religious inclinations here and there, then at the last minute at the end of the film, they are tossed out of the window because you find out that the writer left something undone, so they patched it up really quickly at the end for us critics. I caught it…. Unless they really honestly thought Sex was a good enough way to use symbolism.

Basically, I was amused by this film, but as for wishing something real out of this film, I would give it a fail. Though, I would still recommend the film for its hilarity. The film is only good for a good laugh. No other holding power other than that.

I give this film 1 out of 5.

Frost/Nixon

2009-05-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

Frost Nixon

Frost Nixon was a very intelligent work, directed by Ron Howard, Frank Langella [Nixon], and Michael Sheen [Frost].

The central point the director was trying to accomplish was the fragility of Nixon. How he brought froth the truth that Nixon was simply a man, and yes he made a few mistakes. But you got that he sincerely thought he was doing what was best, however misguided it was. You could tell he was just like any one of us, and that any number of people would have still done the same thing, even if they said they would do otherwise. It proved there were many layers to the President known as Nixon.

The timeline was very easy to follow, but seemed like they were doing too much at once at trying to cover as much ground as possible. In a way they did this effectively, but on the other hand it seemed slightly cluttered in the storyline with a lot going on at once. As this was based on a play, I can see how it turned out this way. In a play so much going on is actually necessary… even though it would seem like a sin to cut out more of the stage play in the sake of fitting in the time allowance. I felt they could have either left some out, or made the film longer.

I found the plot to be very well articulated. The sequence of events seemed to flow together as if you were there yourself, though I did expect more altercation between Nixon and Frost. I am aware you cannot really fabricate a fist fight on camera when it comes to Frost/Nixon, but I expected more of a simulated battle through the cinematography. I was aware the battle was mostly through the dialog, but like I said before, this is not a stage play, this is a screenplay. Along with the dialog I would expect more battle cinematography wise.
I felt the Casting was superb. There is not much to be said as far as talent in this group of actors. I felt Frank Langella did a marvelous job at rounding out the character and flawed past president. He made you care for Nixon, along with Frost; you were also rooting for Nixon to win as well, even though you knew the end result. Simply put- a well done performance. Michael Sheen also painted a colorful character to Frost. You could tell he was on his last rope; he could win, had to win or else ruin himself in the process.
As far as Movies adapted from Plays I felt it was a rather decent rendition of the story, though I would still prefer it to stay in a Stage play format. Although for those unlucky enough to not have that opportunity, Frost/Nixon is a good second runner.

I give the film 3 out of 5.

A Brief Introduction to me

2009-05-15T16:17:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is not a review in itself just yet.

I am currently a film student working on her major. The reason for this blog is to help me learn more from the trade i am so very fond of. My theory is, if you cannot look at a film critically, then you cannot make a film. You must first know what you wish to do, what you wish not to do in order to be successful in this business.

I have not decided weather or not I will critique movies I have seen before hand or not. Most likely I will. Mainly because I believe if I critique the films I love the most, then I will be able to learn the most from them in contrast to just watching them.

So, thank you for joining me on my path to film success. I will be keeping myself anonymous for obvious reasons.

Thank you again,
One more Film Student