Movie: Gravity

 The Story

Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is on her first space mission, together with Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), who will be retiring soon. They're simply doing their jobs, and having fun at it when they're hit by disaster and their shuttle is destroyed. Ryan and Matt are left floating in space by themselves with no chance of rescue because their link to earth has also been destroyed.

Yay!

• George Clooney, I'll watch anything he and that sexy voice is in. Even if he's stuck in space in an astronaut suit.
• It's different from what you usually see, I mean it mainly takes place in actual space, not on board of a spacecraft.
• It looks amazing, seriously epic.
• It pulls you in and doesn't let you go, you keep wondering how this is going to end.
• It's quite claustrophobic, now generally that's not a good thing of course, but if I a movie set in space can make you feel like that, it's quite an accomplishment.

Nay...

• I'm not quite sure yet about the final scene, yes I like it, I think, but it feels a bit over the top.
• The dialogue is a bit corny at times.
• I could have done without Ryan's back story.
• At points you will actually feel dizzy while watching this movie. Which is probably an indication of how well made it is but I'm not a fan of dizzy.

All in all 

Definitely a movie that is best seen on a big screen. We saw it in 3D and Dolby Atmos, both of which really worked for this movie. I'm usually not the biggest 3D fan and I rather want to see a movie than live it but it made this one feel very real and even more claustrophobic. I am wondering now if I have seen more movies in Dolby Atmos but just never knew... Anyway, go and see this if you want an immense and breathtaking experience with a story that keeps you wondering what is coming next. Even if there's not that much of a plot and basically only two actors.

Rating

4.5 / 5

Read More

Movie: Prisoners

The Story

Two little girls are abducted but there's not much evidence except for an old RV that was parked in the street and the police seems to be stuck with dead ends. One of the fathers decides to take matters in his own hands, the question of how far will you go to protect your family, arises.

Yay!

• It keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time, which is quite impressive for a movie that is 2 1/2 hours long.
• You just keep guessing and guessing about what the hell is going on and you're being mislead quite some times.
• The story ends up being very intricate once it starts falling together, everything seems to be connected in a way.
• The acting is phenomal, Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhall own the movie.
• The cinematography is great and while it doesn't look actually pretty, it rains a lot and the colors of the movie are quite dark and grey, it all fits the story and the darkness of the movie perfectly.

Nay...

•  I would have liked to know more about detective Loki's background because it was obvious he's had his own struggles.
• The ending was a bit abrupt but it wasn't really disturbing because you basically know what will happen anyway

All in all

A really interesting and suspenseful movie that keeps you in its grip. It's not only about the mystery of who has abducted those two little girls and if they'll be found again but it's also a character study and it does make you wonder what you would do in the same situation. It was quite interesting to see the different reactions to what had happened from the different characters. 

Rating

4 of 5 stars

Read More

Movie: Zero Dark Thirty & Lincoln

Yay!

• It made me think. A lot. The day after once it had really sunken in, I started to think about all the issues raised in the movies. another friend who had seen it joked that she regretted telling me she had seen it because I couldn't shut up about the whole politics involved in this movie.
• Jessica Chastain was awesome, I really liked her portrayal of Maya and I think she did an awesome job in showing the growth of an agent like her from the start of doing that job to how she ended up being, having insecurities at first and needing to look away to becoming cold blooded and following her own way.
• Even though not a whole lot happens and you know how it all ends, the movie manages to keep you captivated the whole time.
• I liked the fact that the movie just tried to show something, tell a story everybody knows about and it didn't embellish it, it was a different kind of way of watching a movie.

Nay...

• It's definitely not a movie everybody can enjoy, not that there are such movies, there are always people who like something and people who don't, but I feel with this one that you do have to be somewhat interested in the topic to enjoy the movie. 
• While I was expecting much worse torture scenes, I can see how this part of the movie can be off putting, some thing you get to see are quite stomach churning, not even because it's particularly graphic but just the idea of what is happening there.

 All in All

Not a movie for the faint-hearted and the topic does have to interest you in some way. I found it a well-done cinematographic work with great acting that keeps you on the edge of your seat but I can imagine that it's not everybody's experience.

Yay!

• The acting was amazing, Daniel Day Lewis did such a great job with this part, he really brought Lincoln to life. It was not him alone who was sublime, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones gave their best was well.
• The fact that they only showed a small part of Lincoln's history and concentrated on that and how it affected him, his family and everybody else.
• I liked the mixture of the political scenes and Lincoln's private life which was not without trouble but also touching at times. It's always nice to see the real person behind the public figure.
• Everything else, the whole movie looked very real concerning scenery, locations, atmosphere, etc.

Nay...

• The political talk can get a bit boring which can be off putting for people that are not interested in the topic.
• There is a lot of talking going on. A lot.

All in all

I really liked the movie but I'm interested in American politics and history so that helps but besides that the movie is worth seeing because it deals with an important topic and as I've mentioned it's executed really well and the acting is marvelous.

Read More

Movie: Life of Pi

I knew the book for years now, I had never read it but I knew of its existence, for some inexplicable reason it never really appealed to me. Honestly though I had no idea what the story about and some part of me had always thought it was about some mathematics genius and I don't know how it happened but on the version of the book cover I knew I had never really noticed the ship, tiger and fishes. Somehow in my mind it had settled itself as a blue cover with math signs on it. Boy was I wrong! I still haven't read the books but it's on my to read list now so I'll get there at some point. As one of my reading resolutions of this year is to read a bit more adult fiction (not counting the ones I read for my research), I should give it a go this year. The movie seemed like one of those one has to see so off to the movies I went with my friend.

Yay!

• The stunning visuals, it's a long movie but you never get bored due to the wonderful cinematography. Be it India or the wide open sea, a tropical island or hallucinations, there's never a boring visual moment in this movie.
• The acting skills of young Pi Patel, Suraj Sharma. I love that they chose an unknown actor for this part, it gives the main character that innocence it needs and not somebody who maybe tries to overdo it.
• The fact that the tiger was CGI most of the time because really in this day and age we don't need real animals anymore, also it was amazing CGI because Richard Parker looked amazingly real. Although I would have liked to see a 100% use of CGI.
• The way Pi embraces all religions, I'm not religious but I liked the way it was dealt with in this movie.
• The main thematic of the movie, when somebody tells us a story, can we ever completely believe it? And what is actually reality and what is fantasy?
• Man's relationship with the forces of nature and how helpless we can be in the light of some things juxtaposed to the fact that Richard Parker and Pi have to find a way to survive the wild open sea.
• The hopelessness and desolation coming across the screen, the movie in some way feels a bit claustrophobic but it's beautiful to see how Pi never seems to completely lose hope.

Nay...

• I keep thinking that the theme of which story is true lends itself better to a book, thinking of the question how reliable a narrator is or can be. It was however wonderfully done in this movie and I can only really judge this when I read the book.
• They could have used only CGI for the tiger.

All in All

I really liked this movie and I went in not knowing a lot about it which was probably a good thing because I could just let it all wash over me. It's a long movie but you won't be bored for a second. There's nothing really bad I can say about this movie so if you want to see a stunning movie that has amazing visuals and tells a wonderful story satisfying your mind and eyes, you should definitely watch this.

4 stars

Read More

Movie: Brave - Change Your Fate

I while ago I went to see Brave with a friend. Mostly because my friend loves anything Disney and he asked if I wanted to come. I didn't really know a lot about the movie going into it besides that it was about a princess with an awesome head of red, curly and unruly hair. That alone as was more than enough to have me go and see the movie. I was definitely in for a surprise!

Yes the movie is about a little princes with a head of red unrluy hair but this is not your ordinary princess. Merida is a strong little girl who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go for it. She loves to ride her horse, climb mountains and she practices archery really well. Being set in Scotland the red hair is a distinct feature of Merida's Scottish heritage but it is also a symbol for her fierceness and bravery, and with curls going everywhere it's a symbol for her not being the one to just settle and just do whatever is expected from her. I absolutely loved how this movie turned gender stereotypes proposed for years by movies about princesses upside down, not only with Merida but also with the princes from other clans because they're not exactly what you'd call handsome strong princes. And even with her own parents, while her dad is really large and bulky, it does actually seem to be her mother who wears the pants in the household (even though she is the one who wants Merida to act like a "real girl").

This movie finally gives little girls a princess who sets a good example for them and teaches them that they can achieve anything they want and that they can follow their own paths in life. It also shows a very sweet relationship between a mother and a daughter who need to come to terms with who the other is and wants and accepting those facts. Hopefully this is another message kids going to see this movie take with them, as their parents should as well.

Besides the message this movie sends, it is also simply entertaining, you'll surely have some good laughs and it's beautifully made with stunning visuals and a wonderful soundtrack.

Read More

Movie: May The Odds Be Ever In Your Favor!

I loved the books so I obviously had to go and see The Hunger Games as soon as possible. I don't think I have been this excited in a long time to see a movie. Maybe the fact that I was so excited about it was part of why it didn't live up to my expectations. I guess I liked it but I didn't love the movie.

Let's break this down into things that worked for me and things that didn't work for me:

Yay!

The actors, I think every single one of them did an awesome job portraying their characters. Some are obviously outstanding:

• Jennifer Lawrence simply is Katniss, she brings her to life like nobody else could have done it I think. She has that toughness about her, that stoicness, that kick-assness, she portrayed her perfectly in every facet.
• Lenny Kravitz was awesome as Cinna, just perfect. Cinna is one of my favorite characters in the book and he did such an awesome and classy job with this part. His scenes with Katniss were awesome.
• Woody Harrelson, there are parts of Haymitch that I disliked (but more about that later) but he did an awesome job and his scenes with Katniss are great.
• Elizabeth Banks, I'm not a fan of Effie but even I have to admit that she did such a great job and she's exactly how I pictured her in the book.
• Stanley Tucci, now I love everything this man does and yet again he was perfect as Caesar.

All the scenes with Rue were wonderful and I cried both times I read the book when she died so obviously I had to cry when she died in the movie. I really liked the scene in district 11 they put in after Katniss' salute into the camera, it fit perfectly. Speaking of salutes, the quiet salute she gets from district 12 is impressive in the book already but it's even more so in the movie.

I really liked the silentness of the movie also, it fit the story I think. At first I thought I would have liked some background music but in retrospect I really liked the way they did it now.

The Capitol was amazing, I really liked the way they envisioned all the architecture, very well done! Also in the Capitol are the game makers of course, one aspect I thought was really well done, it was great to see behind the screens and get a better idea of how these games are actually constructed and how much planning goes into them. I also really liked the commentary of Caesar during the games from time to time, they kinda explained certain things you could only know if you read the book so this was a good way to solve that.

The video Effie showed before the reaping was really well done and a quick way to introduce people who didn't read the book to the history of Panem and the Hunger Games. Also, I can totally see them doing this every year during the reaping to have people never forget.

Nay...

The thing that bugged me most were the battle scenes that were filmed way too quickly. The book is gruesome so film people deal with it! Show what these games are really about and don't just have us imagine how they are. Especially the last scene with the showdown between Cato and Katniss/Peeta and the mutts was done way too quickly. I get that they couldn't have dragged it out endlessly but a little more longer to show how bad things were at that moment would have been nice.

Josh Hutcherson's face, seriously his eyes are too close together. And yes, I realize this is a very random and shallow observation. I'm not a bit fan of Peeta anyway so I didn't really care for him but that's a story for another time as this is about the movie.

Haymitch, he was kinda too young and sexy but that was not the biggest concern because Woody did an awesome job, he should have been way more extreme though, more drunk and mean.

While I loved the Capitol's architecture and all that, I was kinda disappointed by the people, they made them less extreme as they are in the book and there were a couple of bright recurring colors in their clothing, hair and make-up that seemed to be just a little too much calculated in the sense that it seemed like after so many pink, the needed so many blue etc.

The written explanation at the beginning of the movie, I think it would have been better to have it start right away.

The absence of Madge! I thought it was kinda weird that Katniss got the pin elsewhere and not from Madge, the movie was so long already they could have included this part too.

President Snow, I'm not sure what to think about him; I think he should have been and could have been more creepy than he was, although he was pretty creepy already.

All in all

I really liked it and I think they did a great job staying true to the books mostly, with some little flaws that I can live with. Other changes they made really worked in the movie's advantage so that was really well done. I think the only thing that didn't work for me are the actual action/killing scenes, the camera was too shaky and too quick, and as I said before already, it simply needed more gore.

I think I'm going with 4 from 5 stars but I might be influenced by the fact that I love the books so much, which gets 5 stars.

Read More