ISYS100 Movie Reviews 2013

A Few Best Men Review by Annabelle

    
 

From the makers of ‘Death at a Funeral’, comes this movie; a comedy which depicts a couple who meet and fall in love whilst on holiday, and who decide to get married in Australia. Xavier Samuel, stars as a Londoner named David who travels overseas to Australia to marry his ‘true love’ – ‘Mia’, played by Laura Brent. The rest of the cast consists of Kris Marshall, Kevin Bishop, and Tim Draxl as the groomsmen and Olivia Newton – John as Mia’s mother. Rebel Wilson also stars in this comedy as Mia’s sister.

Unfortunately for David, his groomsmen cause havoc at the ceremony, ranging from taking the wrong bag (one that was filled with illicit drugs), dressing up the ram belonging to the Bride’s father and feeding it some of the drugs, to derogatory comments during one of the groomsman’s speech. There is even a scene where a best friend of David’s (after drinking quite heavily) drives a car into one of the large round bushes (ornament), causing it to roll down the hill and through the wedding reception. These are just a taste of the humorous events that took place during the movie.
I found this movie to be quite hilarious, despite other negative critics. It was a real laugh – out- loud comedy, providing quite a surprising plot and an interesting delivery to its audience. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie with its goofy characters and great selection of actors. The producer wanted you to expect the unexpected, and did a great job in confusing viewers on what would happen next.

I give this movie a rating of 4/5.

So Young review by Lin

Movie review – So Young

Youth is used to miss.

Film was telling a story about youth of other people, but looks like a story about us. To review the youth, we all seem to be the people in the story. Maybe once like Shiyong Zhao feeling consternating when facing difficulties and let the former lover leave with helpless. Maybe once like Kaiyang Xu to express his love bravely, but only can be regarded as friend. Maybe we ever like Zhang to like someone silently, but just put this wonderful feeling into the flower language. Maybe we had stood in the dark alone like Jing Lin, but clutching his bleeding wound silently walk away, also like Jie Shi refused to accept other sincere feeling cruelly, also like Wei Zheng desperate for love. We all have been crazy, either for ourselves or for other humans. We all have loved and have been hurt by someone else as well. We all laughed, cried and learn how to life in the final. Wei Zhen who is the protagonist in the film has said that hope our youth is immortal. But who can really get the ageless youth and the amaranthine time. Yuan Yuan died in train that never has chance to stop at station. Wei Zheng said that may be the youth of Yuan Yuan is immortal among them. The one who experienced it knows whether the youth is sweet or bitter. Youth is like a way cannot return back to the starting point.

We can through countless hurting to find that no one can really feel the pain from other person in this world, that just your own things, other people may sympathize with you, but they never know how serious about your injury. Yuan Yuan asked Wei about why you do not cry when you feel painful; Wei said that tears cannot let me forget it. Time is arbitrary; it makes us forget the past, include happiness and suffering. Once recall let us cry bitterly, years later, we have to face it with smile. Finally, Wei eventually mind her past, she has completely forgiven the man who has betray her before, forgiven the love that without reason and temerarious paying during youth. She had left the best youth to this man, used up all the laughter and tears, let the seed of loving germinate, although failed to open a flower finally, but how does this matter, even if there was no Xiaozheng Chen appearing in Wei’s life, Wei still cannot keep immortal youth for self. Just like the hometown is used to miss, the youth is used to recall. It is worthless when you have it, only after it runs out then we can get meaning of it. Whoever loved us or hurt us all is the worth of our youth.

Wei has asked Jing Lin that have you loved me, and then Jing Lin said that the love is like a river, everyone has felled the stones to across the river.

The end of the film Xiozheng Chen asked Wei:” can I love you once again?” , Wei just looked at him and told that youth is used to miss.

Role Models (2008)

This 2008 comedy about two energy drink salesmen, who find themselves in trouble with the law and have the choice between prison or community service. This movie stars Sean William Scott (wheeler), Paul Rudd (danny), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Augie) and Bobbe J. Thompson (ronnie), and directed by David Wain.

This comedy created for a more mature audience explores both the changes that people have on each other, but do so in a humourous way to entice the audience. As the choice for community service over prison was a no brainer, Wheeler and Danny are forced into 150 hours of being a "father figure" for two young boys. As neither has children or any useful skills for child raising and mentoring, the humour relies is based on there attempts to become a suitable "role model". But with a very strict manager at the business and both Wheeler and Danny unable to pick up these skills easily, they are left to the mercy of the manager to decide whether prison will be there next stop or will they be able to continue the program.
Stars 3.5/5

Daniel

District 9 Review- Michael Cesarini

                                                                     District 9 Review

Unlike other films built upon aliens interacting with planet earth District 9 has a new take, in modern day South Africa we are introduced to aliens who have inhabited the land for 28 years. Their conditions are somewhat comparable to those which exist in third world countries, despite the alien’s major physical differences some of their actions and circumstances are similar to that of humans. Multi- National United is a group in the film responsible for managing the aliens, however they are quick to focus on their weaponry rather than wellbeing. This is reflective of the greed humanity holds and the desire for self-benefit, controlled by business. Neil Blomkamp cleverly develops empathy for the aliens, by drawing similarities between themselves and humans such as their willingness to protect their children. Overall the film is a contextually relevant take on alien invasion and I would recommend it to anyone interested in a similar genre.

Stars: 3/5

Shooter Review by Bradley Graves

Shooter Review

I want to firstly take note to the people have been reading our page thanks for viewing and hope you have enjoyed our groups reviews. Okay to business! This week I’m reviewing Shooter which starts Mark Walhberg as Marine scout sniper Bob Lee Swagger to stop an assassination attempt against the President of the United States of America. Shooter was directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day).

It all starts off with our hero Swagger on a covert mission with his partner in camouflage picking off targets but after being screwed by the military the mission goes south and they are left to survive in Ethiopian mountains by themself with no support. Years later is found in the mountains alone with his dog until he is reached by Colonel Johnston who is played by Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon Movies), who asks for his help into trying to stop an assassination attempt on the President. Now being one of the best snipers he is picked for the task of “how would you do it” what he doesn’t know is that this is a set up which has been planned.

Determined to prove his innocence Swagger (Wahlberg), is pretty much on his own against all the law enforcement agencies in the country, but there are people in the shadows, faceless people who want him dead. Swagger does have some help a rookie out of training FBI agent Nick Memphis portrayed by (Michael Pena) and his best friend’s widow Sarah Fenn played by (Kate Mara). They start to help Swagger by trying to help and unveil the truth behind this set up.

While they are trying to help Swagger, they are also putting their life on the line, with agencies and these organisations that work in the dark are looking for any sort of connection to Swagger so they can use it to lure him out into the open. There is a great scene where Sarah has to defend for herself in her house hold which is a tense scene, she does show a lot of fight. 

Shooter an immensely satisfying movie it delivers each and every minute of the movie. The action is impressive like military weaponry, tactics, explosions, and those super intense sniper scenes will have you on the edge guessing who is who? Shooter is action movie with modern day conspiracy faceless people controlling key figures in government to get their ways. This movie has a solid direction and is easily enjoyable for the people who enjoy action movies and conspiracies.  

Rating 4/5 

Bradley Graves

Inglorious Bastards review by Ali

Inglorious Bastards Review

Quentin Tarnatino, is the first director I know that made a spin-off of world war 2 history into a   2½-hour, four-language epic., Inglorious Basterds, is an alternative history of World War II from the writer-director of Pulp Fiction. As with all of his work, Tarnatino creates several different characters with several different storylines that merge fantastically together, but the amazing part is how they merge and sometimes crash and burn in the end.

The film moves between French, German and English dialogue and takes us through five chapters. First, in 1941, we see a Nazi, Colonel Hans Landa (played by Austrian Christoph Waltz), known as ‘The Jew Hunter’, discover and kill a Jewish family in France; only the youngest daughter gets away.

Then we’re introduced to the ‘basterds’, a gang of eight Jewish-American soldiers who, while deep undercover, roam Nazi-occupied France, murdering German soldiers and collecting their scalps. They’re led by a Tennessee hillbilly boy, played by Pitt, whose change of English accent shows Pitt’s calibre as an actor. Pitt is lively but he disappears for a long time and is upstaged by Waltz, who gives a teasing turn of sly comedy and cruel charm. His scenes are the film’s best. For the film’s final chapters, we leap to Paris in 1944, where the two stories collide.

The girl who fled the Nazis, Shoshanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent) is now running a cinema which plays films by directed by Germans, because of the German occupation at the time. A Nazi private, Frederick (Daniel Brühl), takes a shine to her, which lands him a nasty ending. Shoshanna cinema is to host Fredrick’s film about his gun-toting heroics being immortalised in a film produced by Goebbels a big-time German director, who decides that Shoshanna’s cinema is perfect for the premiere. Shoshanna and the ‘basterds’ decide that the screening is their chance to strike and this is the epic scene where all of the characters plots combine together for a brilliant ending.

Although Tarintino’s signature of a bit over the top blood and gore is seen all over this film, it’s not much of a deterrence, because of the good writing skills seen in the plot and the perfect acting especially by Christoph waltz who speaks in 4 dialogues throughout the film. I give this movie a well deserved 4/5 stars.