Vlog Sign Off

Welcome to the final post for 50 Shades of Film. For our last post we have decided to each review one of our all time favourite films, and in honour of the media we have been reviewing, our final blog post is a Vlog. We have all chosen vastly different films which represents the diversity of interest in our group and we believe this makes for a more interesting and engaging audience experience (to gain insight from moviegoers with different interests and varied knowledge of various genres.

Our Vlog discusses the following films;

Fight Club
Pitch Perfect 2
The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift
Mr Holland's Opus
Inception

All films discussed in this video are reviewed similarly to the way we have been reviewing previously so the format is much the same, however the method of delivery is far different.

Click on the thumbnail to watch our Vlog post^^^^^



So thank you for checking out our blog, this is; Alex, Brett, Jordan, Khoa and Scott signing out for 50 Shades of Film.

Shawshank...Light in the tunnel

The Shawshank Redemption is a movie released in 1994, Frank Darabont is the director and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. The main character Andy Dufresne played by Tim Robbins is a banker was sentenced to life for the murder of wife and her lover. As a former banker the warden used Andy in a money laundering activities. Andy befriends Ellis “Red” Redding (Morgan Freeman) who is the prison’s contraband smuggler.

The whole premise of the movie is that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel because Andy knew he was innocent and for 17 years he dug a tunnel the lead to the prison’s sewage system and onto freedom.

10/10

Khoa Tran  

The Hottie and the Nottie

The main character called Nate moves to L.A in hopes of wooing the girl he loved during his childhood. Only to discover that he has to overcome a hurdle -the girls extremely ugly best friend.

The acting is abysmal. I can do better. I think the reason movie is so bad is because the entire budget was spent on making sure that the ugly best friend was the ugliest most disgusting thing on the planet. The movie is extremely unbelievable, nobody can legitimately actually be that ugly.

Paris Hilton who plays the main character is a terrible actress in this film, but I'd probably still go there, maybe.

This movie is probably the worst thing in the last 100 years of film making. However Paris Hilton goes aight

12/10

-Scott

Jupiter Descending

I watched this for Mila Kunis.

I was disappointed. The basis of the movie is fantastic, Jupiter Ascending creates a really nice sci-fi universe. The Earth and some other worlds are owned by a number of different families which act like corporations. Once the world becomes overpopulated, the people are used to create a youth serum which keeps those living in the corporate society young for ever. The family controlling Earth is named the Abraxis family, and each of the three heirs of Abraxis is trying to gain control of Earth. However Jupiter Jones, who finds out that she is actually a reborn mother of the Abraxis siblings, and claimant to Earth. You're probably thinking, that actually sounds like a pretty good story. You're absolutely correct for saying that, and it's easily the best part of the movie. However it all goes down hill from there,

The script is poor, the characters never become interesting, they're all one dimensional, using lines to progress the story that just appear lifeless.

The script completely ruins the film, and it's hard to look past. However the action is really interesting, space battles, choreographed martial art duels, some weird technology, gravity boots etc. Then the special effects are pretty cool too.

This film had potential, if they fleshed out the characters more then it would have been great.

5/10

-Scott

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

There are 4 types of movies, shit movies, great movies, average movies and movies  that you know are bad but you love anyway. 2014s TMNT is one of those movies, pure nostalgia made me enjoy this movie. The memories i had of watching the original animated tv show and my love of the turtles in general.

The plot is simple, teenage mutant ninja turtles with the help of april o niel played by Megan Fox save the city from the foot clan and their leader shredder. The only thing you need to know about the movir is it is directed by Michael Bay. Lots of expositions and lots of stupid dialog. But its dumb fun, i dont watch these movies and critique them, i turn my brain off and enjoy an average action movie just like bays transformers series.

The acting is nothing special and the only reason Megan Fox is in it is because she is hot, simple as that. The script is average, the cinematography is great the way the camera displays some of the giant set pieces and the special effects are really good.

If your bored on the weekend its a good movie to watch when your bored and feel like dumb fun.

6/10

Alex

John Wick

John Wick is being dubbed as Keanu Reeves come back movie. He has done some bad movies of late but this is not one of them. Its a different type of good though. There is nothing special about the acting although every word that comes out of Reeves mouth just sounds completely badass, the cinimatography isnt amazing and the script isnt incredible either. The movie is just amazing because of how badass it is.

The plot is very simple, John Wick is a retired assasin and after the receny passing of his wife she leaves him a puppy to look after and act as his companion, at a gas station some russian thugs take a look at him beautiful mustang fastback and ask if they could buy it, he says its not for sale and drives of. That night the thugs break in, steal his car and kill his dog. So John comes out of retirement, a man with nothing to loose to kill everyone involved with taking what he loved which means taking down the russian mafia.

The reason that John Wick is great is because of his reputation, even the mob bosses are afraid of him and call him the boogie man. In most action movies you get people with "stormtrooper vision" who cant seem to aim, John is the opposite. He is a professional and when he walks in the room everyone is shot in the head with one bullet unless he shoots someone else in purpose, its almost art.

In conclusion if you are thinking of a batshit crazy movie to watch without a confusing plot, John Wick will not disappoint,  its EXCELLENT  (air guitar plays).

7/10

Alex

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park, if you were a kid when you first watched this masterpiece of a movie you are lucky because you have fond memories of the movie and even trying to recreate it with action figures. With the reboot "Jurassic World" on the horizon lets take alook at how it started.

Jurassic Park is the story of Alan Grant, a scientist sent to an island where a billionaire John Hammond has created a theme park littered with dinosaurs created through genetic manipulation and along with Dr Ian Malcolm they are wanted to take a trial run of the park to approve of it when the power goes out and things go terribly wrong. Thats all ill say of the story.

This movie is just a kids dream. The acting from sam niel and jeff goldblum along with others is great. Goldblum really knows how to play a sarcastic asshole well. The music is amazing, when you have a soundtrack done by John Williams the same composer from star wars your bound for some memorable music, the theme song along is magical and brings back so much nostalgia.

The cinematography as well is amazing, the way the camera pans and shows wide fields with dinosaurs roaming is great and the way that the tention is built for the T-Rexs apearence through the camera work is great, the scene with the puddle rippling is chilling.

Overall this is just a classic movie and one of my favourites with great acting camera work and music. Hopefully the reboot can recapture that feeling for a newer generation not as familiar with the original and at the same time provide more great memories for fans of the series.

9/10

Alex

An incredible viewing X-perience

American History X, Directed by Tony Kaye, American History X is an incredibly emotive story which deals with the concepts of Neo-Nazism, fraternal influence, cultural impacts and prejudice.
Set in the notoriously bad neighbourhood of Downtown Venice CA, the film follows the story of two brothers, Derek and Danny Vinyard, with Derek having just been released from prison for manslaughter and Danny on the verge of being expelled.

The film follows the changed state of mind of Derek as he comes to realise the anger and delusion which used to fuel his racist demenour. Derek soon realises (after his release) the influence his old self had on his brother,who saw him as a father figure after Dennis (father of the brothers) was murdered at a robbery.

the cultural questioning and introspective nature of this film make for an incredible viewing experience, with a powerful message and emotional plot. American History X has been revered as one the greatest movies of all time, and is rated #32 on IMDB. Definitely worth a watch, regardless of what genres you're into

Rating 10/10

By: Brett Riley

The Movie Gotham Deserves - The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises acts as the conclusion to Christopher Nolans incredible Batman trilogy. The second of which is regarded as one of the best films ever made. This movie may not be the Dark Knight but it definitely holds its own. In the wake of th events of The Dark Knight (DK spoilers ahead) it has been a few years since Harvey Dent died, the city thinks Batman did it meaning knowone has seen the dark knight in many years. He must pick up his capr again when a terrorist named Bane begins a plan to cleanse Gotham of its inhabitants. Thats all i will say about the story.

I love Batman and I love this movie, its a fact that Christopher Nolan knows how to do films and when you add acting talent such as Christian Bale, Michael Kane, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman you know you are in for an amazing movie. The Cinimatography is great and gives the film a gritty and Dark tone which you would expect from a Batman movie. Hardy Delivers one of his best acting roles of his life as Bane, you dont recognise him and he had to put on allot of weight and bulk up for the role. Bale as Batman once again hits it out of the park. The inclusion of Catman also serves as an added extra for Batman fans and Anne Hathaway delivers the role perfectly.

The Film is just amazing to watch, as Batman attempts to save a city that despises him, you actually feel like he is the hero Gotham deserves, the way that the movie perfectly balances all of these heavy hitting actors and characters they protray is a real achievement.

In conclusion the script is great, the acting is great, pacing is great, and the balancing is great. It truly is a fantastic wrap up to the Dark Knight trilogy. Hopefully Ben Affleck can deliver as Batman now.

8.5/10

Jordan

Citizen Kane

Overrated and underwhelming

What most people believe to be the greatest film of all time, Citizen Kane. The film follows a Media Tycoon who falls into a fortune and then progresses to the eventual demise of his relationships and success eventuating in his death. I recently watched Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane, and I must confess that after all the critical acclaim and accolades this film has received I definitely expected more. The story begins with the death of Charles Foster Kane followed by a journalist who collects fragments of information from Kane’s life (through the recounts of those closest to him) in order to find the true meaning of the word ‘Rosebud’ (Kane’s final word before his death).

            While I do not agree the film is the greatest of all time, I can appreciate it as a ground-breaking film for its period and perhaps during the 1940’s it was the greatest movie of its time, however in todays society of incredibly complex, high budget, sophisticated films dealing with complex issues and exploring ground-breaking themes, I believe it is wrong to label a simplistic film which has aged poorly as the greatest film of all time, because while the storyline is somewhat timeless, the poor black and white video quality and frustrating anticlimax of the eventual meaning of  the term ‘Rosebud’ leaves the audience in a state of shock that such a rich backstory could possibly have such an abruptly elementary ending.

           

            Citizen Kane failed to meet my expectations of ‘Greatest Film of all Time’ duly because I watched this film through the eyes of a film student and film enthusiast rather than a film critic or director, and having watched this in the year 2015 when it is hard to surmise just how cutting edge this film was for the context. Having compared this with other texts, which I would consider to be arguable claims to the title, ‘Greatest film of all time’ e.g. Shawshank Redemption, Inception, American History X Fight Club and other Modern Day Classics I cannot possibly consider Citizen Kane in the same calibre(obviously due to the limitations of the period) and thus with consideration of  Citizen Kanes Context I would probably give it a rating of 9/10 for the time during which it was released, however in modern society and standard of film I would rate it much lower.

Rating: 3.5/10

By: Brett Riley

The Hobbit trilogy

The Hobbit is a trilogy that’s directed by Peter Jackson and it’s based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit written by J. R. R. Tolkien. The trilogy consists of An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). The cast for the trilogy are Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lily, Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Orlando Bloom, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Ken Stott, James Nesbitt, Cate Blanchett, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood and Andy Serkis.

The Hobbit’s timeline set sixty years before The Lord of the Ring trilogy, it’s about a Hobbit Bilbo Baggins going on a journey outside of The Shire’s Hobbiton and into wider Middle-earth with Dwarf king Thorin plus 12 other Dwarves and the wizard Gandalf. The main aim of the journey is to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. The other villains in the movie include Azog and Bolg whom want to have vengeance against Thorin and his ancestors.

The movies were filmed in New Zealand and in both North and South Islands. The Shire was resurrected near Matamata and this location was also used in the Lord of the Ring trilogy.

8/10

Khoa Tran

FIFTY SHADES OF SHIT

Here it is, the review of the infamous Fifty Shades of Grey, wow this movie is bad. There are so many things wrong with this movie i could write a book on how bad the film is and it would still he better than the original novel. To be honest what do you expect from a movie of which the inspiration came from twilighy erotic fan fiction.

SLIGHT CONTENT WARNING: READER DISCRETION ADVISED

The film is about an "innocent" whose lips must be really cracked because she seems to be bitting them the whole fucking movie. She meets Christian grey, a billionaire who has some interesting taste, in other words he is a guy with a fucked up childhood who likes to treat women as slaves, whip them and basically sexually torture them. As a man I like nudity in movies, sue me. But even these scenes were a bit cringe worthy.

The script in this movie is shit, the acting is shit. At the begining it was so bad it was funny, towards the end that feeling flew away and i just wanted to leave. The actor behind Christian Grey is terrible, I hated him, he is a shit actor and it shows. Dakota Johnson who plays Anna is a little better because she brings some humor to the role and I have liked her in previous roles but even towards the end she got a bit much to handle. 

In conclusion, the film is shit, the acting is shit, the sex scenes are shit, the script is shit and most of the humor is shit. Yet i still really want to watch the others just to see how this cluster fuck of a movie wraps up.

Jordan

2/10

This is the End

Written and directed by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg "This is the End" is a movie that you either really love. Or really hate. There is no middle ground. Early on in the movie you find out that the actors are all playing a versions of themselves, this is evident when someone walks past and asks, "Hey, Seth Rogen, what up man?"

Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogen head to James Franco's house for a house party where they dance, do drugs, and all the other fun stuff you would expect at a Hollywood party. Other actors playing themselves include Craig Robinson, Emma Watson, Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Rihanna, Jason Segel, David Krumholtz, Paul Rudd, Kevin Hart, and Evan Goldberg. These Hollywood actors satirize themselves and they all act unashamedly self-absorbed referring to their own movies.

This comedy turns to horror, when the Apocalypse takes place, some people are beamed up to heaven, while some fall into sink holes. Los Angeles is destroyed and turns to fire, with only Rogen, Franco, Baruhel, Hill and Robinson who attempt to safely survive in James Franco's Fortress.

This is the End falls into the Comedy Horror genre. However some people will find it funny, and others will find it incredibly stupid and idiotic.

The movie also references a large portion of Christian symbolism. This is interesting because over half the cast is Jewish, so it is hard to understand what they are trying to say about religion. However I'm probably looking to deep, it is probably just plot progression.

While the movie is funny, it's definitely not one of Rogens best.

7/10

-Scott

Unfriended- "Whats your favourite scary movie" - Not this one

Unfriended is a mess from the get go. Especially since the other weeks fantastic  It Follows. Unfriended is the story of a group of friends who have a skype video conference call on the year anniversary of their friends suicide (which they helped cause through bullying).

All of a sudden a strange user joins the skype call and starts playing games with the group, picking them off one by one. Ill get through the few things i liked and believe me it is a few. I enjoyed the way the entire movie is on the computer screen and the realistic way it is used. For example live leak is used to watch the girls suicide video which is a real website that may have videos like that. I also thought the last 2 minutes which were the only 2 to make me jump.

Now everything I hated. The movie dialogue is to cliched and frustrating to watch. This is because the movie found its popularity through sharing on Facebook meaning it was made for anoying teens, of whom are also the main characters in the movie. This leads into another issue, there was one good person in the movie. That was THE DEMON OF THE GIRL WHO DIED, thats right the bad guy is the only good guy. The group of teens are all terrible people which makes you root for the demon to kill all of them.

The final issue which is a big one is that its not scary (except for the last 3 minutes). The only thing that made me jump were the screams from the 16 year olds behind me at every thing in the movie. It wad more funny than scary.

In conclusion its just another shit cliché horror movie with unlikable characters and no scares.

3/10

Jordan

Silver Linings Playbook, A Golden Success

Bradley Cooper, the Actor trapped in the perpetual spiral of Hangover Films as the 'cool guy' attracting the female audience... Or so we thought?

 The girl in those kids movies who plays Katniss Everdeen, the angsty, teenage Protagonist featured in a seemingly never ending tale of the Hunger Games chronicles, Jennifer Lawrence... Perhaps Not?

Silver Linings Playbook, Directed by David O. Russel is a modern hit film with an IMDB rating of 7.8/10 and a treasure trove of Film and Actor/Actress Awards to accompany it.

Exploring the impact of mental illness the story follows protagonist Pat (Cooper) as he is released from a mental health program and allowed to return home. Upon his arrival home he is invited to dinner with friends where he meets Tiffany (Lawrence). Pat and Tiffany don't seem to get along, however they are able to connect through their shared experience of heavy prescription medications and the adverse effects they can have. 

The Film later Delves into the way that people with mental health cope in different ways, and one aspect the film draws on is the alienation often felt by those labeled as Mentally Ill, despite Pat's Father (Robert De Niro) showing far more volatile and dangerous characteristics of Mental Health than Pat.

The Leading Pair received glowing critical acclaim for their work and the film was a cornerstone for both Lawrence and Cooper establishing them as far more versatile, than those in the industry had formerly thought. This display of complex character opened up a variety of new acting possibilities for the pair as both went on to feature in highly acclaimed filmed, a recent example of this is Cooper's work in American Sniper. 

Ultimately The film was something we have not seen from Cooper or Lawrence, however the brilliant work from both has lead to various Golden Globes, MTV Awards and Academy Awards. Unexpected, yet warmly welcomed roles for the two growing actors, a brilliant film exploring Mental Illness in a new light.

Critic rating 9/10

By: Brett