The Bling Ring - Movie Review

The Bling Ring
Review by Connor Egan

Sophia Coppola truly portrays the takeover of social media in today’s generation. Based on true events, Sophia Coppola has her audience engaged as she successfully depicts the robberies committed by, The Bling Ring, a group of teens based in Los Angeles California. Rebecca (Katie Chang), the supposedly ring leader of the gang is accompanied by Nicki (Emma Watson), Marc (Israel Broussard), Sam (Taissa Farmiga) and Chloe (Claire Julien) who form the entirety of the gang. Set in Los Angeles the teenager’s life seems more than glamorous but it proves to not be enough to quench their thirst for expensive, materialistic items.

The soundtrack following the film is perfectly constructed as it includes artists such as Azealia Banks, M.I.A and Lil Wayne who are notoriously known for their rebellious attitudes. The explicit lyrics within most of the songs are just as outrageous, scandalous, and shocking as the crimes committed throughout. The music artists are mainly appealed to teenagers of today as they are what are big in the media and posted all over social media sites.

Throughout the film we witness various uses of Blackberry mobiles and iPhones used by the gang to gather information about the location of celebrity victim’s homes and their actual location. When the teens weren’t calculating how to break into homes they were taking photos of themselves with expensive stolen goods and uploading them to Facebook. Facebook is the main social media they basically documented their robberies on, posing in photos with thousands of pounds worth of designer clothes and jewellery. Coppola conveys the way the teenagers used social media to calculate and flaunt their crimes, showing the takeover of the 21^st century by the internet.

Despite the gang of teenagers already being immersed within the celebrities’ life style through sites such as Twitter and Facebook allowing them to follow their every move they couldn’t resist to try and become a part of it. By them being so exposed to the kind of lifestyle these celebrities lived it leads them to “think we just wanted to be part of the lifestyle. The lifestyle that everybody kinda wants.” This was taken to new extremes throughout the film and strongly portraying the effects of being so exposed to celebrities’ life style through social media and what it can drive people to do. The internet is what gave them access to the victim’s addresses and locations, which is a true depiction of what people can do when they have access to certain information.

These teens proved not to be as clever as they thought they were. Entering the homes proved to be no task for them as they discovered unlocked doors or keys under mats around all the victims’ homes. Although getting in was simple they were so overwhelmed with the materialistic possessions they forgot to remain hidden from cameras, exposing them of their crimes. The naivety of the teenagers to think they wouldn’t get caught conveys how they weren’t doing these things because they didn’t have money, it was mainly for the status it may get them. Before they were caught it gave them a great status on social media when posting photos of expensive items and bragging about being in the homes of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan.

Coppola had used various shots throughout the film which gave it an adrenaline feel whenever they thought they were going to be caught. The shots of the gang climbing in and out of the homes were a good insight to how brave, sly and courageous these kids really were. Sophia recreated the scenes very well to how anyone who knew about the true events would imagine them to take place. Overall the film felt to me almost like a documentary rather than just being based on events as I was so fascinated and engaged throughout the entire film.

Moreover The Bling Ring personally proved to be a great success as factors including the soundtrack and how realistic the actors were when adopting the rolls of members of the gang. I also felt the film made a great impact on showing the change and effects of social media and how dominating it is in today’s society. The Bling Ring may not be like other Coppola films but it is definitely one to be recognised and worth watching. I would recommend this film to anyone into crime and drama and definitely to teenagers as it has an engaging, fascinating modern feel to it. By the end of the film Sophia had me left wondering how I felt about the entire scandal as she didn’t portray them in any particular light and left me to form my own opinion. It turned out to be a beautifully crafted and thoroughly enjoyable film. 

Skyfall - Movie Review

Skyfall
Review by Matthew Burdfield

This has to be Daniel Craig’s best Bond film yet.  After starring in the last two Bond films Daniel Craig has shown his true colours as he goes on an intense journey with M when an attack on MI6 happens, Bond must track down and destroy the threat, whatever the cost. Alongside Daniel Craig there was probably one best played ‘M’s in all the Bonds.  Judi Dench as the outgoing M leaves big shoes to fill for future M (Ralph Fiennes) . The main reason why it is one of the best Bond films yet is due to creativeness and imaginative Sam Mendes. Sam Mendes brought a new insight into Bond as he developed the viewer’s understanding of the Bond characters. This shown for the first time as Bond shows his emotion. From Sam Mendes experience he directed SkyFall so maturely, I’m sure we would expect to see him direct more bond quality films. Javier Bardem executes one the best Bond villains of them all as his character ‘Silva’ once part of the MI6, but was later betrayed. This makes him even worse as he is a very cunning, unpredictable, savage and set for retribution.

A Bond film is most famous for Bonds charms, Aston Martins, the use futuristic gadgets and Vodka Martini “Shaken not Stirred”. All of these are iconic because if someone was to ask you about Aston Martins or a Vodka Martini you would refer to James Bond as the films are so well known all around the world. The letter M is very symbolic as it suggests that ‘M’ can be used as a mother like figure. Although seeming forward, it is also most logical as ‘M’ always tries to protect her team, as in the film James Bond protects ‘M’ when they are being tracked by ‘Silva’, when the safest place to be was a Mansion in Scotland. Later we find out this Mansion was called SkyFall, which was where Bond used to live with his Mother and Father before they died in a car crash making him an orphan. This backs-up the idea of ‘M’s M for mother as ‘M’ was the closest thing to a mother Bond had. This Bond film also introduced Q and Money Penny and how their journey in the bond films began. 

Directed by Oscar-winner Mendes and filmed with a master's touch by Roger Deakins, this is a Bond film that will transform many Bond films to come. There are two amazing choreographed action scenes, showing the bravery of bond and the traditional action scenes from chases to shoot-outs.  Adele's soul-stirring theme song ‘SkyFall’, sold £600,000 in the UK and $2000, 000 in America. This epic movie had a grand budget of £200,000,000. Money well spent. The film was very well advertised as it was on when the Olympics was taking place in London therefore making more money for the countries income.

SkyFall is one of your most typical Action, Adventure and Crime films as there is good vs. evil and the will to get the task done. As shown in the film Scotland seems darker and gives us a sense of isolation, this is shown as SkyFall the mansion was old and in the middle of Scotland’s country. Throughout the film setting is set with age. The SkyFall Mansion looked old having being dilapidated and haunted as its haunts bond for the last time. As bonds history burns to the ground he secures his future. I suppose the only bad things about the film are that some parts of the film are sexist as it shows the female actors as a pornographic icon. Some of the scenes are appear fake as when he’s climbing an elevator shaft or running on top of a train they make it look so easy.   

‘SkyFall’ drops strongly in first place as the best of Bond. So I suppose the 23rd time's the charm. If you are a James Bond fan I know you will definitely love it, if not a fan I recommend you watch this film anyway as it gives a sense perspective of that you are one of the characters as you become attached to them slightly. 

Titanic - Movie Review

Titanic
Review by Shannan Kerruish

Titanic, written by writer and director James Cameron in 1997 is the story of a 101 year old lady named Rose Dewitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) who tells the story herself of her life on a ship called Titanic set in April (14^th/15^th) 1912 when Rose herself boarded the ship with her upper class mother and fiancé, Ruth Dewitt Bukater,  played by Frances Fisher and Caledon Hockley, played by Billy Zane. Meanwhile; lower class best friends Jack Dawson played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Fabrizio De Rossi, played by Danny Nucci win third-class tickets to also board the ship in a lucky game of poker, Jack opens Roses’ eyes and steals her heart. Throughout the film Rose explains her story from boarding the ship to the destruction of Titanic, April 15^th, 1912.

Rose shared the top of the ship with the rest of the other upper class braggarts, all of whom are very similarly stuck in their ways, however as we are introduced to Jack, from the bottom of the ship we begin to see Rose as an independent, free-spirited young woman unlike her highbrow mother whom wishes her to be the traditional obedient daughter like the other high society robots. Jack was intrigued by Rose since the first time they met, when she was feeling very distressed from all the tension of feeling like she doesn’t belong. Jack gradually got to know Rose more and more throughout the journey across the seas, despite the fact that Caledon never warmed to Jack very much. We see a contrast of Rose’s character from before she knew Jack to when she met him, her true colours shone since she met him and her true colours are what Jack fell in love with. The chemistry between Jack and Rose could make anybody fall in love with love and the relationship between them both; however smug villain Caledon adds to the feelings of tension due to losing control of his soon to be wife which results with him making frantic attempts to kill them both. The strong build-up of emotions left me longing for Jack and Rose to live happily ever after. You may think that the irresistible love story only appeals to women and teenage girls, however the film its self includes the actual story of Titanic with special effects of the boat and action scenes, this is what draws in the male attention, James Cameron cleverly combines the two together in order to melt girls’ hearts whilst boys’ hearts race in excitement. The combination of action and love leads to a very dramatic ending which makes the film so immense and memorable.

Jack Dawson, (Leonardo DiCaprio) was a very strong character in Titanic, through just his voice you can feel the passion he feels when in the character of Jack, he controls the tone of his voice dependant on the dialogue he speaks very cleverly, when he feels scared of losing Rose he shouts her name with a gentle break in his voice, conveying a more realistic feeling of devastation, DiCaprio makes the chemistry between Jack and Rose appear almost too realistic that I feel emotionally attached to the love between them which had the biggest impact of leaving me thrown by the end of the film, feeling distraught.

The most memorable aspect to Titanic has to be the soundtrack, My Heart Will Go On by Céline Dion. The track begins with an Irish penny whistle which gently fades in, the song is very slow and soft yet powerful at points, listening deeper to the soundtrack the background sounds almost as if you are underwater which reflects the film itself, especially how the story ends underwater, which then leads into the soundtrack. The soundtrack benefits the film of drawing you in and making you feel as if you are actually there.

From being written in 1997 to 16 years down the line and the film will still never get old. Titanic is a classic and I believe that it is professionally made, particularly with the special effects of the ship. The special effects used help to make the film much more believable and realistic, furthermore do the actors and actresses but notably Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack Dawson) who’s acting perfects the emotion in the film, which then links also with the soundtrack by singer, Céline Dion which has the topping on the intended effect and emotion that the audience feel at the end of the film leaving them feeling heartbroken.

Kick-Ass - Movie Review

Kick-Ass
Review by James Binstead

Kick-ass, the movie adapted from Mark Millar’s comic book series which prides itself for being a little grimmer than the usual ‘Pow’, ‘Bang’, ‘Wham’ comics with its bloody nature and realistic brutality. The story is based round Dave Lizewski (played by Aaron Johnson) a teenage boy whose only special ability is ‘Being invisible to women’, unlike other superheroes who seem to have endless amounts of cash fuelling their operations or incredible superhuman powers Dave only has $200 and a strong sense of justice to become the hero anti vigilant he wants to be. Once armed with batons wrapped in electrical tape and a ridiculous looking diving suit it’s time for Kick-ass to do what he was born to do.

If you enjoyed the Dark Knight Trilogy or watchmen then this is a must watch. After watching this movie for an uncountable amount of times it’s safe to say it’s one of my favourite superhero movies. When compared to other movies of the same genre to me it feels the most realistic as in the fight scenes you can see blood, you can hear the breaking of bones, and the recovery of cuts and bruises feel like they have taken sometime, this movie is definitely not for the faint hearted as seeing 11 year old girls get thrown around a room by a man twice her size isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But it’s not all doom and gloom in Kick-ass the movie, as even the comical side of the comics have been transferred onto the big screen. We see actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse (best known for his role in Superbad) play another Chris, Chris D’Amico, the son of big time drug lord Frank D’Amico (Played by Mark Strong), just like Dave, we feel that Chris is also just an ordinary boy who longs for more. For the first half of the movie Christopher isn’t seen as much as his fans would of liked him to be, which leads audience members to believe that his Character doesn’t play a major role in the whole film but as the plot thickens we see Chris take on the identity of Red Mist, another wannabe superhero whose intentions seem to be to help out Kick-ass on his quest to cleanse New York’s streets of scum.

Some scenes after the introduction of Dave we’re brought to a scene which seems to be set in an abandoned ship yard somewhere on the out skirts of New York (which was actually shot in a sewage plant in east London). In this scene we see ex-cop Damon Macready (Nicolas Cage) shoot  his 11 year old  daughter Mindy (Chloe Grace Moretz) at point blank range, but don’t worry, Mindy’s wearing a bullet proof vest and Damon is only teaching her how being shot is just ‘like a punch to the chest’. Damon and Mindy form a very odd father and daughter relationship as their strange love of guns and all things dangerous make the pair something to look out for, especially when they become Big Daddy and Hit Girl, who were also inspired by Kick-ass’ actions and also taken up arms against crime. Unlike Kick-ass these two are well trained and much more brutal than his amateur-self , while he has two wooden sticks that make him look like an awkward bird when flaps them in an attempt to fight, Big Daddy and Hit Girl use a wide array of weapons ranging from small flick blades to jetpacks mounted with mini guns. Although violent, this pair bring a sense of dark comedy into the film as Damon has brought up Mindy in a surreal world for an 11 year old girl to be in. Instead of having a normal upbringing, Damon has somewhat brainwashed and moulded Mindy into an effective killing machine, all because of Frank D’Amicos actions many years before which put Damon in a very bad place. To lessen the brutality of Hit Girls fight scenes upbeat music is played, at one certain scene we see the little hyper active bundle of violence stab, shoot and flip her way through a corridor crowded with thugs to the beat of ‘Bad reputation’ By Joan Jett. This is what Kick-ass is about, making moments that are normally frowned upon watchable and sometimes funny.

The only thing that I didn’t enjoy about this movie, and to me it’s only a minor thing but near the end of the movie it seemed to get less and less realistic. Of course most superhero movies aren’t exactly based off of truth but that’s what made Kick-ass stand out from the rest, how it felt a little more realistic than most but this was somewhat lost throughout the film. So all in all, this is a brilliant film, with good humour, good characters and good plot, if you’re about superheroes, comic books or violence than this is a movie you should try out.

American Beauty - Movie Review

American Beauty
Review by Lucille Laydon

Director Sam Mendes’ American Beauty is an iconic work of art, which is perhaps controversial with its humorous yet bitter representation of America’s national ethos, the American Dream.

Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is the fundamental character to the plot; we are immediately exposed to the center of his world with a bird’s eye view shot of his ‘perfect’ suburban neighborhood but of course if you ‘look closer’ this is just a façade Lester is ‘dead already’. Lester is in the midst of a mid-life crisis, as the film unravels he develops a taste for teenage skin as he becomes infatuated with his daughters delectable friend Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari), he revisits his youth by taking up cannabis again with his peculiar teenage neighbor Ricky Fits (Wes Bentley), he quits his highly-paid job and trades it in for flipping burgers. Throughout the film Spacey exhibits a rare wit and seriousness with Lester’s weary frowns and cutting smirks this exceptional performance from Spacey is I am sure a relatable one too many men.

Carolyn Burnham (Annette Bening), Lester’s wife is trapped in the ideology of the American Dream, she is a state agent and psychotic mother so emotionally frayed she's become a caricature of her previous self, slapping herself silly in one scene when she’s unable to sell a house. Bening plays the role flawlessly; she reeks of desperation and repression waiting to burst.

 Jane Burnham (Thora Birch) is an insecure, irritable teenager who along with her mother barely tries to hide her contempt for her father, she is repulsed and embarrassed by her father’s obvious lustful desires towards her friend Angela Hayes, although in some ways she envies the attention her father gives Angela. Jane and her neighbor Ricky Fitts get their own B-plot as they cultivate a relationship for one another as the film goes on. Birch is the weakest of the cast her acting is often wooden at times even for the role of a monosyllabic teenager…

The Fitts family is immaculately casted; the entire concept of this family gives a whole other dynamic to the plot. Ricky Fitts the camera obsessed, neighborhood drug dealer is calculating, organized and emotionally economical. He compliments the astonishing performances of his parent’s ex-military man Col. Frank Fitts (Chris Cooper) and the introverted homemaker Barbra Fitts (Allison Janey). Col.Frank Fitts is a Nazi-loving, homophobe, and an ex military man who believes in extreme forms of discipline. Frank has stunned his wife Barbra Fitts into submission after years of a bullet-fire marriage. We ultimately learn that he is a closet homosexual who is repressing his homoerotic desires. Cooper plays this role with precision you really do believe he is the heartless cold colonel he plays.

It is appropriate that a movie that puts so much emphasis on recognizing beauty is itself visually beautiful. The cinematography of the film is undeniably what makes the film so unique; cinematographer Conrad Hall is able to convey the mood of the film with just the red colour alone. The beautiful camera angles, vibrant colour and mysterious lighting are used as a tool to craft the storyline in an extraordinary way.

Thomas Newman’s soundtrack for the film is what gives the film such life, the soundtrack tells the story in some ways more than then dialogue does. Newman’s music is hauntingly beautiful it coincides perfectly with each scene and each shot, it is the godfather of film soundtracks and I am sure will be timeless.

The script is the only aspect to American Beauty where I can find fault, Lester and Ricky’s monologues on beauty are slightly pretentious and unpalatable at times, it’s hard to believe a 17-year old boy could be so awfully profound but the cleverness and acid wit of the rest the script makes this easy to overlook. Alan Ball is able to maintain continuous humour and memorable lines throughout the film.

American beauty is a wonderful betrayal of the American Dream turned sour the film illustrates the   empty promises of materialism in one American suburban neighbourhood with an exceptional cast, a captivating storyline, beautiful cinematography and a phenomenal soundtrack making the film an iconic work of art. Several films have tried to get at this idea, with varying results, but none have been half as entertaining and satisfying as American Beauty. This is a stunning film, a rare occasion when direction, writing and acting, are able to blend to create a masterpiece.    

Gladiator - Movie Review

Gladiator
Review by David Blacketer

Gladiator is an action film, directed by Ridley Scott. The film was set in the time where the Roman Empire had begun and the Emperor at the time, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) is murdered by his son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) so that he will become the Emperor of Rome. In order for Commodus to become the Emperor of Rome, he has to eliminate the war hero and the loyal subject, Maximus (Russell Crowe) and his family to the underworld so he can finally succeed to the throne.

Maximus escapes his death, and then rides his way to his family. He then discovers that they are already dead. From being exhausted he passes out, and then is captured to become a gladiator by a man called Proximo (Oliver Reed) in a small arena. Maximus shines out in the arena as he does well, making his way to Rome, winning the crowd and staying alive so he can get his revenge on the current Emperor, Commodus “either in this world or the next”.  He has the chance to battles the Emperor in the arena against thousands of people. If he is able to win the fight he would finally complete his goal to avenge his family, free current slaves and giving the order of what the previous Emperor – Marcus Aurelius – wanted before he was suffocated by his son.

Russell Crowe acts very convincingly as a man who is filled will anger and courage to try and achieve his goal on killing the man who attempted to execute him. Gladiators in the time period when Rome had an empire, would have been fearless, strong and ready to kill or die in the arena, Russell Crowe showed all these emotions as he played the part of Maximus who was willing and determined to avenge his family’s death and the emperor he served Marcus Aurelius, knowing already he has nothing to loose.

Furthermore, as Joaquin Phoenix plays the part of the emperors suborn son, Commodus, he shows powerful emotion in his character as a powerful man who was fearless while being emperor, until he finds out the man he thought sentenced to death and killed -Maximus- , showed himself in the arena, telling him to his face he will get his revenge, returning the fear in the eyes Commodus. Also he shows that frustration kicks into him as he cannot simply kill Maximus as he has won the crowd in the arena.

The special effects in the film are suburb as it shows ancient Rome on how it would have looked like at the time. The amazing Coliseum looked very modern for its time as people “never even knew men could build such things”. In addition, the gory parts of the film, where men were slaughtering each other in the arena looked very realistic as characters showed either anger when killing their opponent, or pain as they were getting killed by their opponent.

The script of the film was very well written as it has a strong emotional impact as it shows a path of a man who fights his way to get to the emperor so he can avenge his family. This shows courage as he will risk his life fighting against brutal men and soldiers to kill the emperor. Also all the characters have their own story and emotions, giving the film more interest to the audience as they see the story and emotions of different characters, not just the main characters.

Although the film doesn’t have a very memorable soundtrack, it is still very powerful as it reflects on the scenes of the film. The soundtrack brings emotions to the audience as it makes it clearer on the mood of the scene. The soundtrack is very important in this film as it provides emotion with it as the audience will pick up, giving them the right emotion of the scene.

In my personal opinion on the film, I would say it would have to be one of my favorite films as it shows historical events on what it would be like as a Roman soldier or gladiator during the time of the Roman Empire. It shows how different life was like during that time and how people were entertained on watching men slaughter each other. Furthermore it has a very entertaining story line as it realistic and shows a story of a man who once use to be a loyal servant and a war hero, to the bottom and becomes a gladiator who fights his way to avenge his family.