SFL 358 Blog Entry #6 - The Tree of Life

Now, you may be thinking, "Wait a minute, Chris, I thought this movie was about Brad Pitt and Sean Penn having family difficulties or something, so why on earth did you post a picture of some dinosaurs?" Well, all I can say is, though it takes place both in the 1950's and the 2000's and centers on Brad Pitt's (or Sean Penn's?) character, this is indeed a picture from the movie. Needless to say, this is a weird movie!

Before I go on, I must admit I only watched the first 50 minutes. I simply couldn't take any more! The only reason I wanted to watch it is because it's on of the Best Picture nominees this year, but it turns out that wasn't enough of a reason to get me to watch the whole thing. It's very disjointed and hard to follow. At about 20 minutes into the film, you get about 15 minutes of CG nebulae and creation on earth. And, as the picture suggests, you get some dinosaurs! Why, you ask? Shoot, I ask that, too! Why??? If you can stick it out, then go for it, but just know that it's going to get weird!

In terms of media, it doesn't appear to have anything inappropriate in it :)

SFL 358 Blog Entry #5 - Parks and Recreation

I just wanna give a shout-out to one of my favorite TV shows right now! First, to those of you who watched the show when it first started and were not impressed, or felt like it was a rip-off of The Office, let me tell you I felt the same way! Season 1 was not very impressive. They hadn't quite figured out what they were going for and none of the characters were particularly likable. I gave up watching pretty quickly.

However, a year or two later, I heard that it was actually a good show. My friend explained to me that it got a whole lot better after the first season, so I checked it out. And LOVED it! Season 2 was really good! And then they added a couple great characters for season 3 and it got even better! I definitely recommend giving it a shot. It has developed its own rhythm and no longer feels like The Office. It's also a pretty clean show, at least compared to a lot of what's out there now. Watch it! Just don't bother with the first season!

SFL 358 Blog Entry #4 - Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Here's another great movie. It's the prequel to the original Planet of the Apes, telling the story of how the apes become more intelligent beings. The protagonist, played by James Franco, is a scientist trying to find the cure to Alzheimer's. He comes up with a serum that enables the brain to repair and rebuild cells and tests it on chimpanzees, only it actually makes them incredibly smart. Mischief and mayhem ensue.

I really didn't know what to expect for this one, but the effects looked cool. I was very impressed however, with the movie as an entirety. The characters are very believable as well as all the motives. I was left with no unwanted questions, such as why the character does what he does or how something happens. I also have to give mad props to the digital effects team. The apes are so realistic, especially the main chimp, Caesar. Andy Serkis did an amazing job giving him a distinct personality.

The only negative effects of media in this movie would be because of violence. Though it isn't gory, there is plenty of violence as the apes rise up against the humans. Some of it is somewhat glorified, and by that, I mean flippin' awesome! It's interesting, though, as I think about it, because I realize that all the "awesome" acts of violence are inflicted by apes on humans. You're actually rooting for the apes, which is odd because if this scenario were real, they'd definitely be the bad guys! Hmm... like I said, though, great movie!

SFL 358 Blog Entry #3 - X-Men: First Class

Before I saw it, I had heard mixed reviews, even from people whose opinion I really trust. It looked cool, but was some of the bad acting I had head about going to ruin the whole movie? After I watched it, though, I actually thought it was pretty good. Last week, I bought the movie and then watched the special features and the movie again, and I loved it! Some of the acting wasn't great (January Jones, I'm looking at you), but at the same time, some of it was phenomenal! James McAvoy (Xavier) and Michael Fassbender (Magneto) really made it a great movie. If you're extremely loyal to the comics, you might not enjoy some of the differences, but if you like the previous movies (well, X-Men 1 and 2), this is a great prequel. I highly recommend it!

As far as media content is concerned, it wasn't too bad. The worst of it falls into the clothing category. One of the characters, Emma Frost, is constantly showing cleavage and there are some other scantily-clad women as well. The violence in the film, however, is handled very well, and none of it is glorified, really. In fact, Xavier consistently tries to avoid violence and talk others out of it as well. He calls for more peaceful means of handling conflict. Great movie!

SFL 358 Blog Entry #2 - In Time

This movie has a really great premise, but doesn't carry it out very well. It takes place in the future when humans have been genetically manipulated to not age past 25. When they reach the age of 25, the countdown begins. As they work to prolong their lives and extend the clock that displays on their arm, time is literally money. Justin Timberlake's character, who has grown up in the poorest district, fights to give the poor more time and bring down the entire corrupt system.

I like this unique idea and I feel like it could have been a great movie. However, the story that proceeds feels like it is being made up as you watch it. It feels like the director didn't really know where he wanted to go with it, and so he just hastily threw scenes together and came up with an ending that seemed fit. My biggest problem was the amount of questions I left the theater with. Not deep, thought-provoking questions, like "What would I do in such a world?", but rather "Why on earth did they do that? What was the point? Why did that happen? What was their motivation?" These are the kinds of questions that should usually be answered in a film. Finally, my other main beef with this movie is how the vast majority of the actors who are pretending to be 25 are obviously older. I can understand that it would be very difficult to find enough good actors who are 25, but many of the ones they chose were just not believable!

In regards to the effects of the media, this PG-13 movie was rather mild (at least I think it was). There was some violence, but it was nothing graphic. The profanity was pretty low, with only one f-bomb (which was really unnecessary). Some of the violence is glorified, but most of it is shown as evil. I don't believe this media would be very harmful.

SFL 358 Blog Entry #1 - Warrior

I enjoyed Warrior. It is a story of two brothers who have grown up separately but have come from the same broken home. For various reasons, they both end up entering a high-stakes Mixed Martial Arts tournament where they work to overcome their opponents as well as their myriad family issues. The action was very engaging and the characters were quite realistic. It was very well made.

The good themes found in the movie (at least the ones that are not spoilers) are those of hard work and perseverance. One of the brothers, Brendan, is a former MMA fighter-turned-high school physics teacher who is falling behind on the bills. In the face of losing his home where he lives with his wife and children, he decides to get back into shape so that he can earn some real money fighting. Unlike his ex-Marine brother Tommy, his victories don't come easily for him. He's been out of the fighting for a while and he's up against men who do nothing but fight for a living. His determination to fight for his family's well-being in the face of steep odds is quite inspiring.

Apart from the obvious violence (which, compared to other fighting movies, including Rocky, is not very bloody at all), some themes that might be harmful have to do with the broken family. The father, who used to be a severe alcoholic, heavily abused the mother and his two sons until the mother left and took Tommy with her. It wasn't long before she died. This history of abuse and drunkenness has caused so much strife between the father, Tommy, and Brendan. Even now, when the father has been sober for nearly 1,000 days and begs for his sons' forgiveness, they still hate him and deny him completely. They even resent each other for not being where they should have. The many strongly negative feelings towards family could be harmful to those who are already sensitive to such issues. The movie does not make a strong case in favor of forgiving others. It only shows how hurt and resentful family members can be to those who have wronged them.

The New SlumBlock Bloom of Lies

How's that for creating a title using five different movies, eh? Eh? I refer, of course, to the five latest movies I've seen - The New World, The Brothers Bloom, 16 Blocks, Slumdog Millionaire, and Body of Lies. These aren't necessarily new movies, in fact, they are all on DVD now, but these are the latest that I've seen that are new to me. I usually watch them while doing laundry, seeing as it's the only time I have for watching movies nowadays. Well, without any further ado, I present to you my review of The New SlumBlock Bloom of Lies!

The New World

Rotten Tomatoes' Score: 61%

My Score: 4.5/10

I can't say I went into this one with particularly positive expectations. The reason I watched it is because I am currently taking a U.S. history class and we recently talked about Jamestown, so I wanted to see something about it. From a historical perspective, I believe the film is rather accurate, but then again, what do I know about the details? Not much...

I'll start with the positive, which will go pretty quickly, and then I'll kinda tear it up. I think the best aspect of the film was the effort on the part of the filmmakers. It was apparent that they went to great lengths to make it look as authentic as possible from costumes, to sets, to even filming it within miles of the actual location. I think they successfully recreated 1607 Jamestown, which is quite an accomplishment. The other thing I liked also got on my nerves sometimes, and that's the music. James Horner (of Troy, A Beautiful Mind, and Mighty Joe Young, incidentally) composed the score, which plays a vital part in the film. I really like his music, and I certainly can't complain that there isn't enough of it in The New World. In fact, there is a bit too much. There are long periods in the film in during which only the music is heard and something dramatic is taking place. Now, there's nothing wrong with this in and of itself, but at these points, the music ends up extremely loud and repetitive, thus taking away from the moment. I felt like these parts of the movie would have been much better experienced listening to the live orchestra, and having the movie playing on a little screen on the stage.

And that leads me to what I didn't like. My #1 complaint would definitely be editing. The movie felt SO hacked up! It seriously felt like the director's five-year old son got a hold of the film and just went to town on it, making awkward cuts here and pasting it there. Now, one might argue that this editing is stylish, but style shouldn't confuse and piss off the viewer as he's trying to figure out what just happened.

My other main complaint is how boring it is. It was only my misplaced sense of duty that made me finish watching it, though I certainly didn't want to. It's really slow and to me, uninteresting. They focus A LOT on Pocahontas (though I noticed they never say that name in the movie) and her love interests (Collin Farrell and Christian Bale). It isn't even until an hour and a half into the movie that we finally see Christian Bale.

So, I can't help but wonder if I simply missed the point of the movie, because it seems like it should have been so much better. I can't really recommend it, though. Sorry, Mr. Bale, please don't get mad at me!

The Brothers Bloom

Rotten Tomatoes' Score: 62%

My Score: 8/10

I really enjoyed this one! I really like heist movies in general, and this did not let me down. It's about two brothers (Mark Ruffalo and Adrian Brody) who, from the time they were children, have always been running schemes to get money. Their theme is that everyone always gets what they want, even if it's not a remotely honest plan. We join them on one final scheme with Rachel Weiss as the target. Hilarity ensues.

This is one of those movies that constantly keeps you guessing as to who's playing whom, and what kind of tricks they have up their sleeves. Rachel Weiss's character is really funny. She plays a rich recluse without any social skills. I really don't want to say more about the film in fear of spoiling it, but I strongly recommend it. I might even buy it some day.

16 Blocks

Rotten Tomatoes' Score: 56%

My Score: 7/10

I wasn't intending on seeing this movie, but it was a pleasant surprise. It's actually a decent thriller. Bruce Willis plays a character that's so different from his usual roles. He is an old, worn-out cop who has a drinking problem. The character is quite pathetic, which is pretty cool to see since Willis usually plays the cool, confident hero. Mos Def plays a convict who is about to be a witness in a court, and Willis has to escort him to the courthouse, 16 blocks away. Pretty simple, huh? Yup. They walk down without incident to the courthouse, and the movie is over. It's about 15 minutes long - a decent short film. I jest...

As you can imagine, much intrigue ensues, and things don't go exactly according to plan. Mos Def's character is really annoying at first because of his voice, but you get used to it, and it's a rather enjoyable film. It wasn't one of my favorites or anything, but I would suggest a rental.

Slumdog Millionaire

Rotten Tomatoes' Score: 93%

My Score: 9.5/10

As you may be aware, this film won Best Picture this year by director Danny Boyle. In fact, you've probably seen it. I hadn't seen it, however, until about a week ago, but I loved it. It's an amazing story and it's told so uniquely. Though it has the potential to be quite depressing, the upbeat music keeps it light and fun. I really like Danny Boyle's movies so far (with only a slight exception of 28 Days Later), and this one did not disappoint. I'd really like to own Slumdog and see some of the special features. As far as the R rating is concerned, it was a very mild R movie. There is violence and some language (though most, if not all, is in a different language), but it's really not that bad. Or, maybe I'm just that desensitized to all that. Hmm...

Body of Lies

Rotten Tomatoes' Score: 51%

My Score: 8/10

I was really shocked to see Body of Lies receive a 51% on Rotten Tomatoes after I saw it. I thought it was really well made. It takes place in the Middle East, and so it is all about the unrest and violence there. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a government agent who lives there and is constantly under fire, while Russel Crowe plays the head of the Middle Eastern affairs in D.C. I'm not sure how straight my facts are there, so if I messed some of that up, which I probably did, then you can just GET OFF MY BACK!

I'm not sure this was the intention of the film, but it made me consider studying Arabic. There's a lot going down over there, and the politics are really interesting. It made me want to know more about what's going on in that area of the world. I didn't realize it was a Ridley Scott film until afterwards, so it wasn't quite up to par with other films he's made (I'm a pretty big Ridley Scott fan). I would definitely recommend it, though. There's obviously pretty strong violence in it, but the main thing to watch out for is language. It was rather pervasive. So, if that's really not your cup of tea, and you don't have Clearplay, then maybe this one isn't for you.

Well, there you have it, folks. It's now time for a little game. The challenge is to come up with a storyline for The New SlumBlock Bloom of Lies. It doesn't have to be long; it can merely be a synopsis. Just put it in a comment after this post. Now, for the prize. I will make an audio trailer based on the best plot submitted, and I'll include it in the next post, along with your name and something very, very personal about you! Good Luck!