Pulp Fiction

Genre: Crime Drama
My Rating: Five Stars out of five

PLOT

The plotline of Pulp Fiction takes place over 7 parts and surprisingly are not in order. It follows the trials and tribulations of several characters over the timespan of a few days. Much of the plotline revolves around a mob boss named "Marsellus Walace" who apparently controls most of the city of Los Angeles. Pulp Fiction's protagonists are mostly either gangsters employed by Marsellus or people who betray him later on.

Even though Pulp Fiction is split into 7 parts it has 3 protagonists who all meet each other in one point of the chronology or another. The protagonist of the first third of the movie is Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta. Vincent is a hitman employed by Marsellus who recently returned from Amsterdamn. Vincent's storyline revolves around him going on a date with Marsellus's wife Mia, played by Uma Thurman. The second part of the storyline revolves around a boxer named Butch Coolage, played by Bruce Willis. His storyline revolves him running from Marsellus's influence. The third storyline revolves around the character Jules, who is a veteran hitman for Marsellus. Jules's plotline revolves around him completing a job with his partner Vincent.

Pulp Fiction was surprisingly good with it's attentiont to detail with the characters. Almost all the major characters appear in more then one part of the storyline

ACTING

The Acting was, for lack of a better term. Exceptional. The small bits of dialogue that the characters give out always match the situation to the letter. The characters themselves are completely over the top and cliche. However in the midst of this, Tarrantino quells his lack of originality with his presentation and style. Even in the chapters which overlap previous ones, their dialogue seems so desireable. As if you have been waiting for the entire movie just to hear them speak out and use their body language.

SPECIAL EFFECTS, CINEMATOGRAPHY, MUSIC SCORE, CAMERA SHOTS, EDITING, ETC.

The many shots of Pulp Fiction were very original. Tarrantino uses a wide mixture of shots which keep the viewer guessing. The music always suits the scene and seems as if you have heard it's style in hundreds of movies before. But that adds to the magic of Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction is clearly very beautifully edited. Many of it's camera angels obviously took quite a lot of brainstorming during it's pre-production. This is obviously the mark of a good movie. For example, during several shots the camera shifts to a shot where the character is viewing something, but the camera doesn't see it. This leaves room for the viewer to continue guessing until you finally get to that part where the movie reveals what the character was looking at (In most cases you are just kept guessing)

FINAL COMMENTS

This is one movie I am surprised Mr. Rochetta did not show us in film class. It is a prime example of a good modern movie. It has a fairly non-linear and sometimes confusing plotline, great acting and awesome presentation. It is one movie that once the credits roll, you wished it didn't end. It is definantly one movie that you are going to want to watch again, and again just to understand it better.

Finding Nemo Movie Review

Finding Nemo

Genre: Animated Comedy/Adventure
My Rating: 5/5

PLOT

This story takes place in the ocean. Marlin, a Clownfish, and his wife settle into a new home where all of there eggs were. Suddenly, a Barracuda attacks their home, leaving Marlin and a single egg. Marlin was left with his only son, Nemo. Nemo and Marlin would live in their coral reef home until his first day of school, when Nemo who was frustrated by his father’s over protectiveness deliberately disobeys his father’s caution by swimming into dangerous open water. Nemo is caught by a scuba diver, leaving behind only a bear of diving goggles. Marlin, discovering that the goggles came from Sydney, Australia then goes on a journey to find his son Nemo. Marlin meets many different and interesting sea creatures on his journey, including sharks, turtles, sea gulls, and a whale.

ACTING

The characters in this story were amazing. Almost every character had an adorable personality that made you chuckle, even the sharks. The voices used in this movie were great, they made it impossible not to enjoy the performances of Dory and the sea turtle. The characters were almost realistic, some of their characteristics were realistic, and some were not. Each of characters had their own little story that allowed you to connect with them in some way. There are a few stereotypes in this movie, such as the turtles’ surfer accent but they were not major.

SPECIAL EFFECTS, CINEMATOGRAPHY, MUSIC SCORE, CAMERA SHOTS, EDITING, ETC.

Finding Nemo, which was animated has many great shots and depict the story at many interesting and nice angles. Finding Nemo applies shots that were able to provoke panic, comedy, or excitement. The music also contributed to the mood greatly, setting the tone for many of the shots throughout the movie. I absolutely loved the shots used in the fish tank.

FINAL COMMENTS

Everyone should go watch this movie. Finding Nemo is fun and entertaining for just about anyone, regardless of age or background. This movie was funny and exciting throughout the whole movie, but perhaps could have spent more time with some of the other characters. Regardless, Finding Nemo is an excellent movie.

-Wilson Teng, Block G

BURN AFTER READING

Genre: Comedy
Rating: 4/5 stars

PLOT

"Burn After Reading" is a roller coaster ride of a film; it's full of twists and turns and you never know what to expect next. The plot is based on, in a nutshell, a huge misunderstanding. A CIA spook (John Malkovich) is in the process of leaving his job and after finishing his memoires, leaves them stored on a CD in a local gym by accident. The files are later found by one of the employees at the gym (Brad Pitt) who later discusses with the owner of the gym (Frances McDormand) what to do with the files. After learning the identity of the author of the files, they decide to try and blackmail the former CIA spook (John Malkovich) so they can get some cash for the CD, as well as find a buyer for the files, although unbenownst to them they are actually useless. A CIA superior (Gearge Clooney) hears of this after they try to sell the files to the Russian embassy, but has no idea what to do about the situation or what to make of it. Coincedentally, he also begins dating the owner of the gym (Frances McDormand), not knowing that she possesses the files he is searching for. Meanwhile, the former CIA spook (John Malkovich) is going insane trying to get his memoires back from the gym duo. Nobody knows what anybody is after.

ACTING

The performances displayed by both Pitt and Clooney are the two things that make this movie a must-see. Altough the plot is completely ridiculous and confusing, these two make it believable. Brad Pitt really goes back to his roots and puts on a totally wacky and geeky act to provide some comic relief which is much needed, while Clooney's emotion and intensity keep you watching and laughing. Clooney's performance also makes it a lot easier viewers to believe and understand the situation. John Malkovich is hilarious as well, and you'll swear he's crazy when you see all of the stuff he does in the film. I won't spoil any of them though......

CINEMATOGRAPHY / SPECIAL EFFECTS

There were hardly any special effects used in this film as it was primarily based on plot and charaters. However, the cinematography really added to the humour of the film. The way the shots were done during some of the comedic parts really added to the humour of them and definetely got some extra laughs out of me then a normal shot would have. *SPOILER ALERT* The part where Brad Pitt looks up with a big smile on his face at George Clooney after he finds him hiding in the closet is hilarious, but sadly George Clooney shoots Brad Pitt in the head and that's the last you see of him in the film. It was a great scene, but it kind of sucked seeing him get picked off like halfway through the film but once the plot wraps up it's pretty funny.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, "Burn After Reading" was a pretty good movie with a lot of confusing parts, but great laughs all around. You need to see it with more than one person so that you can talk about it afterwards and piece together the parts that you didn't get in the movie. That'll help you understand it a lot better. In my opinion, it's definetely one of the best films of the year and a must-see.

Blood Diamond

Blood Diamond
Drama
5/5 stars

Plot:
Danny Archer(Leonardo DiCaprio) is a dealer of "conflict diamonds" in Sierra Leone. His entire career and survival is based off of dealing diamonds that are the result of torture and suffering by people enslaved by money hungry "diamond farmers." A fisherman(Solomon Vandy, played by Djimon Hounsou) whose village was burned to the ground and everyone in it, has been separated from his family and forced to work in these diamond mines so that people who beat him and kill his friends can profit. After Solomon finds a massive diamond worth millions of dollars and manages to bury the diamond outside of the camp, american peacekeepers attack the site. All the leaders of that camp, and workers, are taken to prison in a nearby town. The rumor that Solomon has this diamond startes to travel, and reaches Danny's ear. Danny bails solomon out of prison and convinces him to help him find the diamond. The rest of the movie involves the two in search of this diamond, and the struggle for solomon to find the rest of his family.

Acting:
The acting in this movie is outstanding. Leonardo DiCaprio won an oscar for Best Preformance by an Actor in a Leading Roll and Djimon Hounsou won an oscar for Best Preformance by an Actor in a Supporting Roll. Both oscars were well deserved. Other than a few characters (Love Interest, Antagonist) they both carry this movie incredibly well. Leonardo DiCaprio pulls off the South African accent perfectly.

Special Effects/Cinemtography:
This movie didn't have too much special effects apart from Explosions and gunshots. The cinemtography was amazing. This one shot after Solomon Vandy arrives in London, and sees a necklace with hundreds of diamonds on it, and realizes, his friends and family, have been put through incredible torture and pain, and in some cases, death, so that a jewelry retailer can sell a pretty necklace for $1000... The scene was perfect.

Final Thoughts:
If you are into dramas, I strongly recommend this movie. The is nothing about that movie that doesn't make you think. The movie doesn't have a single weak spot. Shots are clearly defined and everything you would expect out of a 5/5 star movie is there.

Love Actually
Romantic Comedy
* * * * *

PLOT

This movie is about love and everything that comes with it. Love can bring you joy, confusion, happiness, madness. It can break your heart, take you down long winding roads, give you “the butterflies” and make you feel as light as a feather. It can make you act like a fool and even make you test some of the strongest bonds you have with someone else. Basically, love is everywhere and no matter what you do it is always going to be around you. You just have to accept it.

ACTING

I think that the characters in ‘Love Actually’ are very realistic. The adults in the movie act in ways that I can see other people and even myself acting in and the young boy (Thomas Sangster) did a wonderful job and was a believable character. In some movies and televison shows where there are child actors, I find it hard to actually believe some of the lines they are saying but I actually fell in love with Thomas Sangsters character and found him very adorable and believable. I didn’t see any stereotypes in the movie when I was watching it so I don’t think there were any, but I wasn’t really looking for any. The characters are very well developed. Each character has their own story and their own problems to deal with and after watching the movie I feel that they did a good job in using enough detail to help me understand them and see their problems as if I were going through the same things they were.

SPECIAL EFFECTS, CINEMATOGRAPHY, MUSICAL SCORE, CAMERA SHOTS etc.

This movie has a really great variety of camera angles and shots. They are very creative and they really help show the mood and the emotion that comes with the scenes. The music works very well with the emotion and the mood too. My I think my favorite shot in the whole movie is when Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon are in a car with her nephew and are on their way to a school play. The two of them are separated by this young boy in a bulky, paper maché costume and are trying to have a conversation about their feelings. The shot is straight on and it shows all three of them in the back seats of the car. The dialogue shows the awkwardness that is felt between the two characters and the shot suits the mood.

FINAL COMMENTS

I think that everyone should watch this movie because it is very cute and everyone can relate to it in one way or another. You may not be exactly like any of the characters or have the same experiences as them but it’s easy to put yourself in their shoes and go along for the ride. Almost anyone can watch this movie. Old people because you can blast the volume for them if you have to and change the language of the video if that helps, and I’m sure it would be a nice treat for them. Teenagers can definitely watch the movie and obviously adults can too. I watched it with my mom and my sister a few weeks ago and we all loved it. I don’t recommend it for younger kids though because there is nudity in some scenes.

The films strengths are its well developed characters, great story line, good cast and its uniqueness. I’m infatuated with this movie so I’m going to say that it has no weaknesses. =)

Title: The Dark Knight

Film style: action/adventure

Rating: 4 out of 5

PLOT:

One year after Batman Begins, Lieutenant Gordon, Harvey Dent (the new DA) and Batman start to clean up the criminals of Gotham City. A sadistic, psychopathic unknown criminal called the Joker shows up in Gotham City and robs a mob-owned bank. He then tricks the mobsters into killing each other. It's chaos in Gotham City. Batman begins a personal crusade against the Joker to catch him at all costs. In the process, Batman is forced to examine everything he believes in ...

ACTING:

The characters are somewhat realistic, but they are based on comic-book characters so they are intended to be fantasy-like and exaggerated to emphasize the good and evil aspects of their characters.

Batman is a typical, uncorruptable hero. Harvey, at first, is the perfect DA, but later becomes hardened and vengeful after an explosion disfigures him and drives him insane and leads him to kill Rachel, his girlfriend. The Joker is a typical villain but much darker and more evil.

The acting overall is excellent and although it is based on comicbook characters, they make you believe in them. Heath Ledger does an incredible job as the psychopathic, sadistic Joker. His mannerisms and facial expressions make him seem truly deranged.

SPECIAL EFFECTS, CINEMATOGRAPHY, MUSICAL SCORE, CAMERA SHOTS:

Some of the film was shot in a format, especially some of the calmer scenes, that gives it that larger-than-life feel. The Joker is dressed more scruffy and grungy and this made him look eerier when he moved. By making him look so grubby the audience might even be able to "smell him." Batman's costume is tighter and looks more up to date technologically. The white lenses over Batman's eyes make him look more like a comicbook hero. Gotham City looks cleaner in this movie than in the last one. The characters look less repulsive and more realistic. Music in the movie sounds like it only uses a few notes. The music doesn't seem to interfere with how dark and evil the characters are.

What stood out for me was how technologically cool Batman's vehicles were. I liked this version of Batman much more because the characters were less cartoon-like and much more edgy. I liked the fact that Batman was conveyed as being both good and bad, he wasn't the typical goody, goody hero.

FINAL COMMENTS:

This is a "go see" film. It is Heath Ledger's last film before he died of an overdose and his portrayal of the Joker is incredible. Although the plot is predictable, it is entertaining and exciting to watch.

This film is definitely not for children as it is very dark and fairly violent. Anyone who loves heroes and villains and wants great escapism should go see this film. The down-side to this film is that it's somewhat typical; you have seen this plot before. The strength of this film is the acting and the cool technological Batman gadgets.

Heading:
1. Step Up
2. dance (?) / romance
3. 4.5 out of 5

Plot:
It's about a troubled street dancer (Channing Tatum) Tyler Gage who got caught in an act of crime at a dance school and was charged to do community service at the particular dance school. It's there that he met Nora, a privileged classically trained dancer who is seeking for a temporary replacement for her injured dance partner. After seeing Tyler dance, Nora takes the challenge of making Tyler her replacement. As they start to progress, their chemistry starts to flare up.

Acting:
Tyler's and Nora's characters were very realistic. Their acting was very believeable and it clearly portrayed that there was a person behind the character, and they showed, that what their characters went through, was real.
There were stereotypes such as, Tyler, the male was a hip-hop dancer while the female, Nora was a ballet dancer. The characters were well-developed because they went through an emotional journey.

Special Effects, Cinematography:
There were many wide and bird's eye view shots to show the multiple dancers. When they were dancing there was many medium shots. Also their was many intimate close up shots when they were speaking. Near the ending of the movie when the last performance there was panning across the stage, which stood out for me.

Final commentary :
If you're intrested in a light, romantic yet upbeat movie than i strongly recommend Step Up. This movie particularily speaks out to people who are intrested in dance or trying something new. It also speaks out to teenagers. Some of the films strengths was the big variety of actors, but the movie plot lacked a climax, and many characters weren't as round.

By: Sherry :]