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.  

Movie 43 - Movie Review

Movie 43
Review by Liam Roach

Movie 43 is a Comedy sketch film which stars some of the biggest stars in Hollywood such as Kate Winslet and Hugh Jackman, and has a variety of different directors for each sketch, with their own vision comedy that they want to representation of what they think would entertain an audience of comedy fans or even fans of their variety of the biggest stars in Hollywood right now.

From my point of view, I would say that Movie 43 is one of the biggest disaster of a comedy film I’ve ever seen. It just attracts it audience through the big named actors who have attracted a mass audience throughout their acting career, but the audience are set to be let down through some of the actors performances, as they are trying to challenge themselves by starring in a genre of film that wouldn’t work for them, when they have backgrounds of action or drama films, which was able to give a majority of their actors the success they had.

Even though a majority of the actors in this film have shown a major downfall, there was one sketch in particular that I found quite funny, which starred Gerard Butler, Seann William Scott, Johnny Knoxville and Esti Ginzburg, which was called “Happy Birthday”, and was directed by Brett Ratner. The reason I felt that the scene worked and made the film slightly funny was that they’ve used actors who are used to being part of this genre, as you have Seann William Scott who is known for starring in the American Pie films, and Johnny Knoxville who is a part of the Jackass films and TV series. With this pairing, it makes the actors probably feel in their comfort zone, especially Johnny who is usually a part of practical comedy. But that pretty much the best entertainment that the film will provide for those watching the film.

I didn’t like how the film is set out, as it seems like they don’t have any real storyline to it and doesn’t have no real ending to it, as the clip they go back to is stupid and isn’t needed for the film. Also, it seems more suited to be put on TV, as their shows like Movie 43, except it wouldn’t last through one series as it lacks a lot of good quality comedy.

The one thing that mainly goes through my mind when watching this film is why these A-List stars would decide to be a part of this type of film, as even reading this script, they were still keen on doing this film, which can make fans wonder if the actors are going downhill or possibly trying to go in a different direction which could make their fans lose interest in them.

The only group of people who I would recommend Movie 43 to is those who enjoy stupid comedies which are random through its layout and so called “Storyline”. If you are into those sort of films, then I would say for you to go see it, but if you actually like a comedy that is good and makes sense, then I would recommend you to keep as far away from this film as you possibly can, as it’s the biggest waste of money that you could spent to watch a film.

I strongly believe that Movie 43 is one of the worst films that I’ve ever seen, and I believe that I was tricked into seeing this film through how entertaining the trailer actually is, which I hope the trailer doesn’t have the same affect on those who look at the trailer of the film, because you’ll be prepared to be let down watching this film, with it’s very few laughs for a comedy, except the sketch that I mentioned earlier. 

I would like to sum up this review saying how let down I felt watching these A-List celebrities giving themselves a bad reputation just through deciding to star in one film that is a lot of rubbish and doesn’t have any real point of been created as a film, as to be honest I could recreate that sort of films just by watching random videos on youtube of the most random videos that you wouldn’t expect to be shown on TV or Cinema, that’s how amateur the film is presented to the audience. If you are interested in seeing this film, even though I have rated this film so low, Movie 43 is out on DVD and Blu-Ray now.

Shutter Island - Movie Review

Shutter Island

Review by Catherine Chusney

Ever thought you could be an insane criminal living in your dream world? After watching this you will start to question your own sanity.

The story is about a Marshall who travels to an island where the criminally insane are kept. This Marshall is known as Edwards Daniels. Edward Daniels arrives with a new partner who he doesn’t know and has never worked before called Chuck. That immediately makes you that Chuck is part of something that is happening on the island. As the story goes on Edward Daniels starts to get suspicious of the people who run the asylum on Shutter Island and things start to go bad for Edward Daniels.

The storyline is unique in a way that it has a strange twist to the end. This is one of those films where you have to watch it all the way through as you end up being confused. Attention to detail is shown throughout the film even though it is not made obvious. This makes the audience ask questions like ‘why do the guards of the asylum look like they are ready to shoot?’ or ‘Are the Doctors trying to make him insane?’The music added more suspense to the film and adding a touch of scary to it, making it interesting to watch. Leonardo DiCaprio is extraordinary at playing a character like Edward Daniels as his character is violent, emotional and crazy. Or is he? That is what I like about Shutter Island; it leaves you asking all sorts of questions throughout the film and after you have watched it. Leaving the audience to ask themselves or each other questions is what makes the film so amazing and effective. The cast for the film was a perfect selection and choice as they were all good at presenting their characters in the film.

I would class this as a crafty suspense thriller. There are things that are obvious but not easy to spot and the obvious things become noticeable after you have seen the film and know the ending because those tiny details help to make the ending obvious and you can tell that why it ended the way it did. I like that as it makes Shutter Island a scary suspense thriller which is made that way through the music, the eerie location and the story line. Martin Scorsese is the director of this film. I would say he is one of the most clever directors I know in a sense that he can give the audience little hints as to where the film is going and gives it an interesting twist to end of which those hints contribute to when you notice it.

Shutter Island is a definite must see. This would be recommended to those lovers of suspense thrillers and anyone who is willing to try to watch a different genre of films. The best part about this wonderfully freaky film is that it makes you question your own sanity and wonder if you are only seeing what you want to see. Leaving you to think; ‘Am I an insane criminal living in a dream world?’