Time to say goodbye, for now.

So here ends my journey.

I started with the huge goal of watching 50 movies in one semester only to be dejected halfway through and have to cut the number down to 25. The 25, though it wasn’t what I originally wanted, still proved to be challenging.

Much of my struggle was in the producing of content. I got to 25 movies pretty quickly but I realized that I had only written about half the amount of posts. -Seriously, you should see my drafts- That isn’t exactly great when you have a mark riding on your overall success but what can you do.

My assignment is finished and though I will probably never use the Facebook page again (I am not a huge fan of Facebook at all), I’ll be keeping my Twitter and this blog account. I’ve become very attached to it over the weeks and I like having a place to write my thoughts down on movies that I enjoyed, hated, cried over, wished I didn’t spend my money on…you get it.

So goodbye to this assignment but hello to the possibility of this blog being a main staple in my life.

I have enjoyed interacting with those of you who commented/liked/skimmed through or even just breathed on this blog. It really was an absolute pleasure ^_^ To all the movie lovers, I wish you all a copious amount of hugs, kisses, buttered popcorn and movie trailers!

If you ever want to talk about movies, you know where to find me! Or TV. I’m a TV addict as well -maybe that’s for another blog?-

 

Megan ❤ 😀

Hard Candy (2005)

Director: David Slade
Writer: Brian Nelson
Cast: Ellen Page, Patrick Wilson, Sandra Oh

Hard Candy was a little hard to swallow.

It’s an intense cat and mouse game between fourteen year old Hayley Stark and her Internet chat partner, thirty-two year old Jeff Kohlver. When he invites her over, things are already tense because of the context of their relationship but it all takes a turn when Jeff wakes up tied to a chair with Hayley calling the shots.

This movie was…a little rough for me to sit through and I’m not the squeamish type at all. That’s why I don’t think it was what was happening on-screen that was making me feel weary but it was also the content. It felt aimless and drawn out after awhile. Maybe that kind of unbalance was done on purpose to keep the audience on their toes?

Hard Candy has a solid start, no doubt, and Ellen Page (Hayley Stark) has never commanded so much attention or has ever been more compelling as an actor (outside of Juno of course). It charges out of the gate and you’re amped up and ready to go and then even though what’s going on on-screen is so jarring, you start to let go of your seat a little bit.

For me, I was being pulled in so many directions with the film. I understood which character stood in what position but halfway through, I honestly started doubting at times who was the antagonist in this merry-go-round of a film. So much so, that the climactic scene (no spoilers here) seemed fleeting.

The film definitely is one thing though and that’s thought provoking. It’s a film where you’ll want to talk to people about it. That could be a good or bad thing, that’s totally subjective. I would love to hear what people thought of this movie.

What did you think of Hard Candy?
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Fruitvale Station (2013)

Director: Ryan Coogler
Writer: Ryan Coogler
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer

Just when I thought that “Short Term 12” was emotional, Fruitvale Station just did me in for another bout of crying.

Based on the true story of Oscar Grant, a 22 year old Bay Area resident who was shot in the back by police officers on New Year’s Day, 2009. The story follows Oscar as he wakes up on December 31st, 2008 and feeling that something isn’t right, he tries to get his life together for his girlfriend and daughter.

It begins with the actual cellphone footage of Oscar and his friends being detained on the subway platform by police and as you try to decipher exactly what’s going on, a gun shot cuts through the noise and you realize that there’s no turning back.

Michael B. Jordan is wonderful to watch. The director submerges you in his life, following him around through a day of highs and lows. All the contrasts are done in such a smart and symbolic way as well; at one point, Oscar is seen putting a bag of marijuana down the front of his pants and then a few scenes later, he arrives at this mom’s house, lifts his shirt and in the front of this pants is a bag with her birthday cards. He is a walking stereotype (baggy clothes, unemployed, criminal record, etc) but the director never gives the audience a moment to be ignorant and judge him on any of those features.

I never felt that I was being pushed into feeling more than I should for Oscar because it never felt forced; it just felt like his reality on film. The deeper you get into his life, the more you grit your teeth because you already know the outcome and that is what makes the film so powerful. It’s not easy to craft a film that holds steady when the ending is already known but Coogler manages to capture such an arrangement of emotions that you get lost in the film.

Fruitvale Station is a reminder to me about how lacking the world is when it comes to compassion. 15 minutes of non-stop reporting on a news station doesn’t change opinions, thoughts, actions; it doesn’t put a protective bubble around other men like Oscar Grant. How many unarmed, black youth have to be killed for it to be worth more than a headline story? Fruitvale Station is both political and social conflict wrapped up in a gripping film with one solid message; these young men should be treated as people and not statistics.

This film is a must-see. It tugs at more than your heart-strings and you’ll be fully invested from beginning to end.

What did you think of Fruitvale Station?

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Night Of The Living Dead (1968)

Director: George A. Romero
Writers: John A. Russo, George A. Romero
Cast: Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea, Karl Hardman

Generally, nothing beats the original.

We live in a time where the zombie film has been used and abused, satirized and imitated so much that zombies are hardly anything to even flinch at anymore. Night of the Living Dead still manages to hold up despite the raging desensitization of this generation. It’s predictable…but only to a point. (The ending for one is a huge reason as to why this movie still devours other films in the genre. Pun intended)

Oh how I love this movie. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of watching it. It taps right into the anxious and unsure kind of horror that, for lack of a better term, gives me the heebie jeebies. When the zombies are just lurking in the shadows outside the house, you’re not sure how many are out there or why they aren’t attacking and I don’t know about you but it makes me feel uneasy every time I watch it.

Looking back now, casting a black man (Duane Jones) as the lead was extremely daring. At the time he has combating some serious racism issues and I guess in this time, he’s stuck with being placed in the category of “Black Men Who Don’t Die In The First 15 Minutes Of The Movie”. He’s calm, compassionate and head-strong; I’d feel pretty good trapped in a house with him. One of my favourite scenes is when he yells at Mr.Cooper, “Now get the hell down in the cellar. You can be the boss down there, but I’m boss up here!”

The great thing that many horror movies lack nowadays is the human factor. The monsters are necessary, yes, but the humans need attention too. Night of the Living Dead makes you feel for the trapped group. Romero makes the audience feel that they’re in some serious hot-water and the scare factor increases so much more. You’re scared for them to step foot outside and that’s the point.

The budget for the film was practically non-existent so it just goes to show that money doesn’t make good film.

Do you enjoy original horror movies
or
do you prefer the remakes?
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A Johnny Depp Appreciation Post

Sometimes in life, you just have to re-watch movies. It feeds your soul really. In the midst of these last days before the semester comes to an end and the fiery pits of hell close for a couple months, I decided to muddle through the madness and watch some movies that I haven’t seen in awhile. It’s weird how every time you have work to do, everything else suddenly becomes more pressing. “Have I seen The Princess Bride in awhile? No? Better watch it now then.” Inconceivable!

I decided it was a Johnny Depp kind of day because…who wouldn’t? I used to collect all of his movies but I stopped around the time of I think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I believe that’s the last one I have. You know how it is with time, money, buying DVDs in general anymore, yada yada. Unfortunately, I don’t own Benny and Joon or Nightmare on Elm Street though 😦 (*cough* feel free to donate those to me if the mood strikes you…)

Anyways, I went into my personal collection and picked out 3 to watch whilst I researched my work; Blow, Edward Scissorhands and Secret Window.

Since this post is different, I won’t go into full reviews but I will just say what my favourite scenes from the movies are ^_^

1. Blow
Favourite Scene:
It’s a sad scene, I just always liked how it was done. George realizes that his friends have sold him out and he just sits there and says “Let’s do it”. In come police and cue slow motion. It’s all very touching because he’s not even mad at them, he’s mad about not getting to see his daughter.

2. Edward Scissorhands
Favourite Scene: I have to go with the “Cookie Machine” scene. There’s a flashback to the lab where all these robotic arms and mechanical noises are happening…all to make little heart and star shaped cookies. I just love how sweet Vincent Price looks in that moment and the whole thing just works as a metaphor for the story; very Burton and very effective.

 

 

3. Secret Window
Favourite Scene: This isn’t the best rated movie because it does lose a bit of steam around the middle but I still enjoy it. Favourite scene would have to be the end -Because the only thing that matters is the ending right?- Those last lines are pretty creepy coupled with the bite out of the corn. Second to that would be watching Johnny Depp chow down on Doritos.

 

Did you ever collect DVDs?
Do you have a favourite Johnny Depp movie?
Let me know below!
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The first picture is mine. The rest I do not own.

Short Term 12 (2013)

Director: Destin Cretton
Writer: Destin Cretton
Cast: Brie Larson, Frantz Turner, John Gallagher Jr.

Short Term 12 was such an interesting watch.

Set in a foster-care facility for at risk kids, Short Term 12 looks at the lives of children who have had to fight all their life and the adults who willingly put on boxing gloves every day to help continue the fight with them, despite having problems of their own.

The main character, Grace (Brie Larson), is compassionate in every form of the word; as is her charming and sometimes funny boyfriend Mason. I think one of my favourite things was watching Grace balance being such a light in the kids’ lives but still have to deal with finding a way out of her own personal, emotional pit. You begin to see that this special understanding she has is not something she’s learned over the years but stems from raw experience.

It’s a film that’s so inviting with its simplicity but yet, the content is so scathing; kind of like a puppy with a really ferocious bite.

I did find the ending to be a bit unattached from the entire film emotionally but I’m chalking that up to the director wanting to give the feeling that the hard moments are passing. (It doesn’t mean they’re not significant though). Life goes on and the work and care for the work stays the same. At least that’s how I interpret it anyways. It’s possible that I’m being overly nit-picky though because it really is a great film.

*Semi spoiler alert ahead*

There were two scenes that really stood out to me; Marcus’s rap and Jayden’s octopus story. They were both such honest releases of their inner turmoil and I think it was a very real and telling way of showing how kids hide and express their feelings. Both scenes were extremely well acted it actually made me teary-eyed so beware.

All in all, you should definitely take the time to watch this movie. It’s not long, there are no lulls and if you have Netflix, I believe it’s on there for your comfortable viewing pleasure. 😀

 

What did you think about Short Term 12?
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Her (2013)

Director: Spike Jonze
Writer: Spike Jonze
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde

Oh how I loved this movie.

Set in the future, Her looks at the simple life of a lonely man named Theodore Twombly (Phoenix) who makes his living by writing extremely touching and heartfelt letters…for other people. He also comes home to an empty apartment every day because of his impending divorce. He purchases an artificially intelligent operating system and he’s quickly drawn in by the charming program he speaks with named Samantha (Johansson).

Not to be cliche but the film was electric. The soundtrack, despite the fact that the film is set in the future, isn’t synthesized or electronic (hallelujah music has changed a bit in the future) but manages to give off a spark on its own.

It’s the perfect balance between the worlds of Theodore and Samantha. She is an operating system which makes every experience she has new and unique. She’s programmed with some degree of consciousness but she’s still naive and easily excited from growing and learning something every second of the day. Whereas Theodore is burdened with the physical handicap of being a person in the world. People walk around and they get hurt, they get divorced, they get attached and they carry baggage so that any new experience that comes along is instantly infiltrated and tainted by the thoughts or residual emotions of old ones. You begin to feel a little down at times because even though they fit, can a man and an operating system really be in love? How much is individual consciousness and how much is programming?

The direction Jonze took was interesting because it allowed the audience to buy into Samantha as much as Theodore does.

At the same time, we also buy into the indecisiveness and wholehearted love that Theodore brings. As he worries that dating an operating system makes him defective as a person, we see that even in this circumstance, love still prevails. Jonze makes sure that the floaty, amorous feeling throughout the movie doesn’t just slap you in the face but instead creeps up on you just as it does the characters. They seek a connection and it is so natural for both human and computer that the fear of looking foolish fades away.

I get that there were so many directions that Jonze could have gone in regarding artificial intelligence and the balance between programming and human consciousness but the film was clearly made to be only a love story so I understand the lack of growth or secondary plot outside of Theodore and Samantha’s relationship.

The only unsettling thing is that for some reason, men in the future wear high-waisted pants. Joaquin Phoenix pulled it off but that’s just because it’s him. Imagine seeing Average Joe in those.

As I recall, Her won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay which I think was well deserved. I really enjoyed it and I would recommend it to anyone who’s interested in a new take on a love story.

 

What did you think of Her?
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Images via Yahoo! Movies. 

3 In 1 Post: Dallas Buyers Club (2013), The Call (2013), About Time (2013)

I watched 3 films, back to back so I thought why not make a back to back post. This way, I keep the reviews on them “short and sweet”. Bang, bang, bang! Let’s go!

 

1. Dallas Buyers Club

Director: Jean-Marc Vallee
Writers: Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner

Dallas Buyers Club had so much room to just completely stun people but for me, it only managed to give off a tiny spark.

It’s based on a true story about a guy named Ron Woodroof who finds out that he’s HIV positive. The story follows his realization of the truth of the disease and the “no bullshit” attitude he employs as he helps fellow HIV positive people in a time when the hospital system failed them.

The movie was…okay to me. I do think the acting was the best part of the film. McConaughey and Leto do a pretty good job executing their characters. (I won’t go into the whole controversy about Leto being chosen for a transgender role. I get it. It doesn’t make sense to me either and is offensive). I just don’t think the movie had as much impact as I had hoped. Maybe because I think it ran a bit long. Jennifer Garner was like watching a wet mop and I’d still give the upper hand to the mop. On the positive side, the film did have some really powerful and highly symbolic scenes that actually pulled my attention. Problem is, when the scenes were over, my attention was once again lost.

 

2. The Call

Director: Brad Anderson
Writers: Richard D’Ovidio, Nicole D’vidio, Jon Bokencamp
Cast: Halle Berry, Abigail Breslin

The movie where Halle Berry has a dead bird on her head.

It’s a story about a 911 operator who gets a call from a young girl who has been kidnapped. In order to save her life she has to stay on the phone with her and talk her through the ordeal whilst confronting a killer she’s met before.

It’s not an epic thriller but it’s an alright watch if you’re in the mood for that kind of thing. A good 3/4 of the movie is great; very suspenseful and emotional. The Call was actually pretty intense and fast-paced that I actually felt bad that I was quick to write it off just from past experiences with movies like this. Then the ending happened…

I thought the ending was atrocious. I’m not sure who decided to push what I would call a very stale, cheesy and just useless ending onto this story. It goes from intense to severely cliche and I honestly felt like they were insulting my intelligence at one point. It’s sad because the ending was so bad that it actually ruined the entire movie for me. There’s nothing I hate more than being built up through a movie only to be let down by a lackluster ending.

 

3. About Time

Director: Richard Curtis
Writer: Richard Curtis
Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy

At age 21, Tim’s father pulls him aside and tells him that the men in their family all have the ability to travel back in time. Lucky!

I had really high -probably too high- hopes for this movie because it comes from Richard Curtis who also wrote and directed the masterpiece that is, Love Actually.

About Time has all the ingredients to make a really unique and genuinely funny love story but it manages to stretch it out so much (about 45 minutes too long) that all the little moments actually lose some of their shine. Apart from that, it’s surprisingly thoughtful and gives you reasons to laugh out loud and cry (I guess out loud too if you want). Rachel McAdams, who is now the queen of romantic comedies, and Domhnall Gleeson, aka Bill Weasley, are really a great pair so their relationship on screen doesn’t seem forced or unnerving to watch. That’s generally my issue with rom-coms. The pairing is usually off and the writing is downright lame or vomit inducing but not in this case.

About Time had the potential to be a movie that I’d watch over and over again, it just needs some editing.

 

Have you seen any of these movies?

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My 5 Favourite Moments from Titanic (1997)

Recently, Titanic -that massive blockbuster of a film- was on, so naturally I watched it. Then I realized that people were claiming that it came out in 1997. Google promptly confirmed that was true which is just horrifying to think about. Anyways, that means I was 8 when I saw the movie and thus began my love for Leo. Instead of writing a review for a film that everyone already knows and loves I thought I’d just make a list of my favourite scenes. 😀

So in honour of feeling like a geriatric, here’s a list of my 5 favourite (I guess somewhat unconventional) moments/scenes from the movie:

Here we go, in no particular order!

1. Rose decides to slum it

Rose decides she’s going to hang out with Jack in the third-class compartments where the party is clearly happening. We get to see her and Jack dancing (cue that spinning till you’re sick shot) but my absolute favourite moment is when she decides to be a bad-ass and show off her ballet skills…Pointe with no shoes. Ouch.

 

2. Spitting over the side of the ship

This is just a genuinely funny and sweet moment. Apparently during shooting, Kate Winslet had to put KY Jelly in her mouth because it kept getting really dry. The other alternative was whipped egg whites. (barf!) The more you know right?

 

 

 

3. “I have a child!”

Okay now this scene is just too hilarious to me. I shouldn’t laugh but this moment just cracks me up every time. It’s just how he unashamedly goes running and yelling.. “I HAVE A CHILD!” I mean really…just look at his face. Such an asshole moment but that line is just delivered in a way that leaves me rolling every time.

 

4. King of the World

Fly Jack fly! For just a moment you kind of forget how this story ends…kind of. What is even greater about this scene is that the line was actually ad-libbed by DiCaprio. Now it’s one of the most famous lines in cinema. Win-win situation.

 

 

5. Rose chooses love

In what can only be explained as highly romantic and stupid, Rose decides she’s not leaving Jack and dives off the lowering dingy like a spider monkey. It’s even better when you get to watch Jack and Cal having a really tense conversation about there being no “arrangement” for Jack to get off the ship and then here comes Rose. Jumping back in the name of love. Suck it Cal.

I feel like I could choose 5 more moments from this movie but I think I’ll stick with these as they were the first ones to come to mind. ^_^

What are your favourite Titanic moments?
There are so many to choose from.

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Shame (2011)

Director: Steve McQueen
Writers: Steve McQueen and Abi Morgan
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge

Shame is a stark look at sex addiction through the life of a seemingly simple man named Brandon (Michael Fassbender). The film follows him as he relinquishes control and succumbs to the urges of his addiction and the hold it has on his life.

I know a few people who were eager to write this film off as pretentious but it really does dig deeper than that. Shame is cold, self-loathing put on film and the trick is to really look at how Brandon functions in everyday situations. His “flirting” is aggressive with unbroken gazes, he is solitary even when surrounded by co-workers and desperate in his sexual endeavors.

There’s a lot of sex, naturally, but it isn’t sexy. It’s very distant and you can feel that Brandon isn’t having sex because he wants to but because he has to. He lives alone because that’s only way he knows how to function with an addiction that consumes his life. After awhile, you begin to wonder if he’s even capable of human interaction on a whole outside of sex.

That’s why when his sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) arrives, his aggression towards her is like watching a bomb that was imploding, explode and shatter everything in the sterile prison he’s built himself. The film really shows the sheer depravity of addiction, especially when it comes to sex because society will tell you that men enjoy sex. They have to have it. What Shame does is show the audience that the addiction doesn’t make sex enjoyable for Brandon; it’s a burden that he carries on his back everyday that is eating away at him.

Steve McQueen and Michael Fassbender are one dynamic duo. From Hunger (2008), to Shame (2011), to 12 Years a Slave (2013), these two really have a good thing going. McQueen stamped his signature all over this film; from the very long, drawn out shots to intense closeups, you can tell that it’s his work through and through. Fassbender on the other hand, is one amazing actor and this was quite the courageous and challenging role and he executed it perfectly.

It’s not a film you’ll watch over and over but it is one worth seeing.

Have you seen Shame? Did you like it?

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