Children of Men

 

       Children of Men is an instant classic of a film in my opinion. The story is amazingly well written and the cinematography and directing is also on point and to top it off, the acting is simply incredible.

       According to IMDB, the film's synopsis is as follows. "In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind." The Film is classified as an Adventure, Drama, and Sci-Fi in the genra categories. It was released on January 5th of 2007 and is 109 minutes long.

      This film was directed by Alfonso Cuaron who is also known for the following hits such as "Great Expectations", "Y tu mama tambien" and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In my opinion though, Childern of Men would have to be Cuaron's masterpiece film. The film stars Clive Owen, who's done one of my favorite films "Inside Man" and several other films such as "The International" and "Shoot'em up". It co-stars Julianne Moore who's known for films such as "Boogie Nights", "The Big Lebowski", and one of her recents "Crazy Stupid Love".

      So Children of Men is known for it's one shot sequences which occur throughout the film. The story is about the world in ruins and woman not being able to have any children. Its about the journey of one man and a woman under his protection who holds the key to the future of mankind. The key is that in the last 18 yrs she is the first woman to get pregnant. The film is more about the struggle of survival of humankind and of the journey from A to B which makes the plot tense. The ending of the film is where its at though in my opinion because its an open ending and because it has one of the most exciting gun battles of war I've seen in film. The way the camera follows our hero keeping up is as if you're in the film with him and looking at everything through first person view. To simply put once again, This is Mr. Cuarons Masterpiece.

A Good Day to Die Hard

        So Valentines day was apparently "A Good Day to Die Hard" atleast in the theaters because that is the day the new Die Hard film was released.

        Yes that is correct, our lovable hero played by the famous Bruce Willis is back at it again fighting off and saving the world as John McClane. Who would have thought it'd be a series going this far in span. So the story to it simply put according to IMDB, "John McClane travels to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son, Jack, only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working to prevent a nuclear-weapons heist, causing the father and son to team up against underworld forces."

       This film is directed by John Moore, Who also directed hits such as "Behind Enemy Lines, Flight of the Phoenix and Max Payne". The Film itself is 97 minutes long and is classified as three different genre's which are Action, Crime and Thriller. It also co-stars Jai Courtney Who is known for his roles as Varro in the starz hit show "Spartacus:War of the Damned" and Charlie in the Tom Cruise film "Jack Reacher".

      So the film itself is actually a great film and has a lot of great moments within it. John Moore did a good job directing some of the action sequences including the car chase and the end grand finale. Watching the film, I would say Moore would be a visionary director because of the way his action sequences played out and I could also conclude he may be meticulous because of the detail to the very nitty gritty of the action sequences itself. The story is not all about action and stopping the underworld or saving the world itself but more of trust and love between and son and a father.

      To top this off, There isnt much that could be reviewed about this film solely because its a "Die Hard" film and you already expect whats going to happen in the film, which is gun fights, car chases, cursing, good guy always winning, and big explosions. Overall its a good film though and in my Opinion the "Die Hard" franchise is a successful franchise. It will always come through in regards of the make up of an action film and if you watch this film, you will get everything you expect to get when you're coming to watch an action film.

I spit on your grave (1978) Film Review

         The film follows Jennifer, a writer who is writing a new book and decides she needs to leave the city to complete it.  She rents a riverside cabin in upstate New York to do so, while attracting the attention of a number of local males in the city she's renting the cabin at. They basically catch her alone one day and decide to rape her. During the process her book she is working on also gets destroyed by them. She's left for dead but she recovers and now in the state of mind she's left in from the torment of the rape, she wants to exact revenge on the men that raped her.

         This Film is directed and written by Meir Zarchi in 1978. He is also did another film called, "Don't mess with my sister". The Film stars Camille Keaton as Jennifer Hills our main star, Eron Tabor, Richard Pace and Anthony Nichols, along with many others but out of these actors, only Camille has had somewhat of an acting career.

         Interesting thing about this film was the original title of the film. It was called Day of the Woman. This film is a 101 minutes long and is known as a Horror / Thriller film as far as genre is concerned. This was a controversial story about rape and revenge and because of the content of the film, it received a limited release at first. From what I read, critics condemned this film for its graphic violence and lengthy depictions of the rape. It was also named in 2010 one of TIME's top 10 Ridiculously Violent Movies.

        Personally, I didn't find this film to be a Horror film. Thriller maybe, but I just see it as a revenge film. The Setting is a rural town in the middle of the forest. The Theme and topic is obviously rape and revenge. The mood that sets is one of anger and disgust. The format of the film is shown from different perspectives, some of the first person view of her perspective and then from different angles of them performing the rape. This in turn brings us to the many messages of the film. For example, if you're gonna do something, make sure you do it to completion or the simplistic view of karma which is what goes around comes back around. The other thing about this film is the means of killing off the men. We have to understand, Jennifer is a writer in this film so her imagination is quite extensive.

        This film is indeed controversial especially for the time it was released. The idea of playing revenge of a rape victim is the controversial thing. I can see many people agreeing with what she does is the right thing to do in her situation. I mean if you were abused like that mentally and physically and survived, you'd want to exact revenge as well. I wouldn't say its not a bad film but its not a great film either. I feel there could have been more story and character driven within it's structure. If you want to see something controversial then this would definitely be it not for the art but for the fact that man can think of such things and is capable of doing extreme things such as shown in this film. On the other hand, Camille's character Jennifer really shows what a woman is and can be capable of as well when pushed to extremes. In all, it is an interesting watch just because you get an idea of what  people thought was cruel and intense back in the time it was released because honestly, I've seen films of modern times that have much more explicitness to it.

The Princess Bride review

         The Princess Bride is a classic movie and definitely one for the books. Its tale is a tale told time after time throughout history. Simply put, it is a love story about a man who falls in love with a woman, disappears only to reappear and fight for the woman he loves. Along his "Hero's Journey" he encounters other characters where he befriends and they help him on his quest for his love. This tale is a 98 min film staring actors Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Andre the Giant, Fred Savage and Robin Wright along with many others. Its Director is Rob Reiner who's done other great hits such as A Few Good men and The American President. The Princess Bride is a well written story turned into a fine film and has the formula for becoming a classic.

       Cary Elwes, who plays our hero Westley does a fine job portraying his character throughout the entire film. It is interesting to see how he becomes the great pirate he plays the few scenes when he is reintroduced into the film. With Mandy and Andre as Inigo and Fezzik; they both provide good comic relief throughout the film and the acting itself shows for it. One can never forget the classic quote from Inigo where he says " Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." The Princess Bride herself has some comic relief lines as well. Overall the acting is there, the comedy is spot on and the characters are believable.
   
       The setting of the film takes place in the old England king and queen era. The country side shown is just beautiful. The only thing that feels a bit cheesy is the jungle with the giant mutant rats. I personally feel the rats were a bit cheesy touch but this is a comedy and it does serve its purpose. The camera shots were done pretty good but I think I would have done a tad more close ups on the characters facial expressions when talking. Another thing I would have changed were the fight sequences. I would have liked to see it have a bit more action approach to the angles.

        The message of the film is pretty simple. If one does not get the message of this film, then one should not be watching films. To simply state, love will keep you going. This whole movie is a classic love story with a semi good vs evil theme. Everyone can relate to this film simply because everyone has love in life or has in some form fought for love. We don't see it but we all have our own good vs evil aspect in our lives.

       The film is simply a good watch and its not a bad 98 minutes to waste. I would recommend watching this film for the funny memorable moments and the witty one liners that this film provides. I can promise you one thing, you will go around saying quotes of the film after you watch it. The overall story is a good story and Fred Savage (who plays the sick boy listening to the story within the film) provides good breaks within the film asking his grandfather questions about the story. The ending to the film is also a memorable moment. Does Westley get his love back from the evil king? Does his friends betray him? Does the Princess Bride end up marrying Westley? There is only one way to find out and that is to go watch the film. The most you'll do is have a good laughs and so you can not go wrong watching it.