One Dark Review

   When a controversial event happens, there has to be a film about it. It's the case with Zero Dark Thirty, a movie about the manhunt for UBL starring Jessica Chastain and directed by Kathryn Bigelow. There were two thrilers happening in Arabia that were nominated for Best Picture this year (Argo and this) and this is in my opinion my favorite. This movie is challenging to make because everybody knows what will happen at the end in a way so the intensity should be low but Kathryn's great direction made it work.
 
   Zero Dark Thirty is taking place from 2001 to 2011 so during ten years. The movie pulled it off pretty well thought. Anyways this CIA agent called Maya is working on UBL and is trying to find him. Her character is well developed and her performance was really good. Again, she pulled it off pretty well. The other characters in the movie though... didn't show up a lot so you don't care as much for them than Maya. For instance, Maya is a bit of a loner and tries to overcome it and has this friend/college she hangs out with. Then something happens to her friend and she's really sad and wants revenge from UBL. So, pretty much, you care about Maya instead of her friend. (mostly because her friend did something stupid to have something bad happen to her). There was still good characters like Dan (Jason Clarke) who is sick of doing his painful torture job at the CIA. But again, no character development to the navy seals. At least no one there died because it would have been a bad death cliche like when Agent Coulson died in "The Avengers".
    The movie is nominated for Best Screenplay and don't get me wrong, it's not bad, but half of the words used are F*** or S***. The screenplay without the bad words is great and get's some realism into the movie but the swear words break it, it's fine to put swear words between friends but not to your boss! Here is the conversation Maya to her new boss "Hello" "Hello" "What do you think about Pakistan" "Pretty F***** up"
     - What happened : "Didn't you sign up for this?" "No"
     - What should have happened: "You're fired"
And they keep on swearing in business meetings to people that are superior to them! This is the CIA, do they swear that much??? That just made me not want to let that screenplay win the Oscar.The screenplay still put some humor and good dialogue but I just hatted the amount of swearing.
   Now the supporting characters and the swearing in the movie is nothing compared to the great thing in this film. When the navy seals were getting their helicopters ready and flying off to the compound, that was really intense like you've been waiting this moment all this time. Once they get in, it's not as suspenseful but it still looks real and it was well executed. There were still things I didn't expect. Else, what happens before is still intense and interesting. Every now and then there is a terrorist attack whether it's in a hotel, in London or a failed attempt in Times Square which puts more suspense in the environment and keeps your "need to kill UBL" in your mind. The movie was very interesting and I learned things from it without it being a history lesson.

   With a great screenplay (without swears) and great performances (not the supporting characters  this is easily one of the best thrillers of the year. Kathryn Bigelow has done a great job reminding us The Hurt Locker was not luck but her skills.This is Jessica Chastain's chance to win Best Actress and she's going up against Jennifer Lawrence. This will be a tight match. Overall I just have to give this movie a A-. This movie will surely be on my top ten list of the year which will be my next post but for now, don't forget to like, and give this article a +1 if you liked it. What did you think of this movie? Did you prefer Argo? Don't forget to comment! See you soon.

holiday review pack

 

    I don't know if you guys like the dark knight trilogy as much as I do but for Christmas I asked for the dark knight trilogy box set with all three movies of the series. Unfortunatly, I didn't get it so we only watched (mostly) bad movies on TV with advertisements at every 5 minutes instead of Batman awesomeness with no suspense break. Well, I still made up for that by going to see three movies I wanted to see over the holidays at the local movie theater and made my own holiday movie pack. I will review all three in the order in which I saw them:

    - LINCOLN

         Lincoln is Steven Spielberg's latest film in which this time stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln. Steven Spielberg is working bit by bit with every famous actor in Hollywood and this was Day-Lewis' turn. Before I saw this movie, everybody was screaming that Daniel was amazing and should definitively win Best Actor at the Oscars. I thought he was great, but not amazing. This is not his best work for sure. If someone should win an Oscar in this movie, it shouldn't even be Sally Fields (which once again was great but not amazing) but David Strathairn or Tommy Lee Jones. The story focuses on one month in particular when Lincoln is trying to pass the constitution13th amendment. It might not have been the most important event of the slavery abolition process but the movie is based on a book who chose this passage and they made it well so I went with it. This movie is almost only dialogues (or voting) but the screenplay kept it interesting and funny at times because of either Tommy Lee Jones or the three drunken stooges (I don't remember their names but they were well made funny characters who fitted in the plot). Overall, like Argo, people are saying it's amazing but I thought it was good. Lincoln is another good Steven Spielberg film and I give it a B+

    - DJANGO UNCHAINED

         Django Unchained is Quentin Tarantino's new film and his first western. I'm going to say straight up that this movie is as perfect in action as Skyfall but more fun(ny), Bloodier and rewarding in story. The movie is about a black slave called Django who get's freed by an unusual bounty hunter, Dr. Schultz, to help him find a wanted man. But the story is also about revenge and delivering  Django's wife from slavery. All of the actors in this movie from a black slave with very little dialogue to Django in the leading role were all great even amazing performances. Jamie Foxx nails it, Christopher Waltz nails it (again) and even Kerry Washington with a less than supporting role. The two scene stealers though were Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L Jackson. Tarantino puts in a lot of great jokes in this film like most of his others which keeps it fun and also some dialogue between Django and Dr. Schultz for good character development. Tarantino also put some western spaghetti music or references which is actually pretty cool (including a short appearance of old western spaghetti star, Franco Nero). The last scene of Django is so similar to the last scene of Skyfall that I wonder if the directors talked to each other about these things. I though that this year's best action movie was Skyfall but once I saw "Django", I have to say it is like an upgraded Skyfall. I'm not saying Skyfall is terrible compared to this, they're actually pretty close. But I preferred Django and I give it a fairly rare A

    - SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

         Django Unchained was the best action movie I've seen this year but Silver Linings Playbook is the best comedy drama I've seen this year. I've been thinking "What's bad in this movie, what's bad in this movie..." and really the only thing I could come up with is that the characters swear a lot. The story is about a man with mental problems who saw his wife cheating on him. He and Tiffany who also has mental problems are trying to help each other in life. It is the feel good movie of the year surpassing "Les Intouchables". There are well developed, well acted and characters we can easily relate to in this movie. The story is really interesting and keeps you wondering what will Pat do. It's really well filmed in cinematography and keeps a good art direction. This is Jennifer Laurence's shot at winning Best Actress (although apparently Jessica Chastain was better in Zero Dark Thirty) and Bradley Cooper's chance of getting nominated for Best Actor. Robert deNiro, Jacki Weaver and Chris Tucker were great too (mostly Robert deNiro but the supporting actor category is getting really pilled up). This is really all I have to say, I could not spot anything bad. This just might be the best movie of the year but we'll find that out in a week so for now I give it an A

   To conclude, I hope you guys had a great holiday, new year and end of the world. Sorry about my delay, I had to study for an exam and spend some family time for vacation. So what did you guys see during the holiday break? Make sure to comment below. And I will be doing a top 10 best movies of the year as soon as I see a few more like the Avengers (yes I haven't seen it, shame on me...) and Zero Dark Thirty coming out next week. Until then, see you next time!

Review of a Life

   Of all the movies released on Thanksgiving, I chose to see Life of Pi. Director Ang Lee brings us a 3D film which actually really works with its incredible visuals. It is a film that really makes you ponder on the subject and also really emotional. It is a smart well paced almost fantasy film that builds up with little parts a big moral that you realize at the end. It's been a long time I haven't seen a film in 3D, (because of my Bad3Dmovieophobia) and this one is defenitly something worth putting your glasses on.

   Life of Pi is based on the book by Yann Martel by the same name as the book, about a teenager who get's stranded in the Pacific Ocean after a terrible thunderstorm which sank the boat he was on. He finds himself on a lifeboat, alone with a tiger and has to survive. The movie is kind of a Cast Away meets Slumdog Millionaire (not because they're Indian but because without everything he learned in his life, he wouldn't have survived). What really happens in the movie is that Pi is telling his story to a writer looking for a story which is funny because the author of the book Life of Pi is Canadian just like in the movie. The movie takes the first 30 minutes or so to see every lesson Pi learned in his childhood. It is long but without it, there would be so many things we wouldn't have understood on the lifeboat. The screenplay also includes quite a few good jokes even in moments of survival. The characters are very well developed which gives a boost of emotion when some die or are dying. There was no particular acting that shocked me enough to say it was amazing but every body was good. Oh and by the way, you feel the tiger's emotions too.                

   Life of Pi is said to be this year's Avatar but really, I think it's this year's Hugo because it has amazing visuals but not too over the top, this year's Avatar might be The Hobbit pt.1. Anyways I did saw this movie in 3D and I think this might be THE 3D experience of the year not just because it's awesome  but also because it helps the visuals and the sentiment you are supposed to feel in Life of Pi. I love that Ang Lee uses 3D not necessary to get money but to make a better movie.  Not a lot of people has done that since Avatar. Speaking about the visuals, one thing. Out of this world amazing. By that I mean Great Fx, great Art direction, great cinematography  also a pretty good music soundtrack. If this film wins an Oscar  it's in this category. And director too.

   Life of Pi is a stunning visual experience and achievement. It puts another great film in Ang Lee's resume. Some people have been saying the Oscar fight will be between Argo and Life of Pi. If it is, Then Life of Pi should win (but Ben Affleck for best director all the way) although there might be a better movie then Life of Pi maybe who didn't even get released yet. Life of Pi is no ordinary life, it's a life of great characters  a life of great environment, and a life of great lessons and emotions. So today I will grade a life and this life deserves an amazing A- 

Bond is Back

   I've started to see the Bond movies when I was ten or so and loved them. Then, I don't know why but I stopped watching them. I don't remember much of them but just enough to want to go see Skyfall, the 23rd installment in the Bond franchise. I'm not going to lie, this film got me back to wanting to watch every Bond film ever released in chronological order, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig. The film brings back every memory or things you liked in the previous installments and packs it up in one. This will not make it to the Oscars (because it's an action film) but it is one of the best films of the year.

   The way the movie starts automatically goes to a classic kind of action scene (pretty long though) which get's you back in the Bond feeling. Then, when Bond falls off the train and nearly dies, the theme song by Adele kicks in and already the singing is good but the animation is great and relative to the story. So what's the story of Skyfall? See the second trailer it says it very well. There are so many exotic areas from China to Scotland in Skyfall that  improves a lot it's art direction. The character development is well made because it is made at the right time when the film needs it. The acting of Daniel Craig, Naomi Harris, and  Judi Dench were great but one person in particular was amazing  Of course, it's Javier Bardem as Silvia. He is the best Bond villain if you don't count Goldfinger and one or two more. When there were dialogues between Silvia and Bond, they say a joke about each other and it almost feels like a fight to see who steals the show. If there is someone to win an oscar in this film, it's Javier Bardem.
   The film is 2h 30 min and honestly, I never looked at my watch wondering "is it over yet?". o.k fine, once, because I was like "They showed all the pictures of the trailer, it's practically over". But it wasn't. What I love about this film that many others don't is that it doesn't spoil everything in the trailer. The one thing that disappointed me about Skyfall is what Skyfall is in the movie. For naming Skyfall the title of the movie, it must be important. Not really in this case. Skyfall focuses a lot  on Bond's past, more than any previous films. The only thing Skyfall didn't take from it's previous installements is a sex scene at the end with a bond girl and then MI6 calls him or whatever  They didn't put that in this movie. I'm not saying the ending was bad, it was just a little disappointing because they didn't completely stick to the recipe.

   Overall. Skyfall is one of the most entertaining and action packed film I have ever seen. It has great characters  a great screenplay, and a great environment for a Bond film. Again, I have not seen every Bond movie but I'm sure this one has got to be one of the best of the franchise. After seeing this I just want to see all the previous films ever made in chronological order. This movie had very few disapointments but it still has awesome fighting scenes or even a motorcycle chase scene. If Skyfall was to be reedited to make it better, it wouldn't take much time to fix all the little mistakes, but for now, I give it an A- 

Argo review yourself

 
   I think everybody already nailed down the point that Ben Affleck is a great director. Argo is his 3rd major film he directs after Gone Baby Gone and The Town. In this film, he directs another thriller but this time based on the true story of the rescue of 6 americans in Iran. He finally shot a film in a setting outside of Boston. But will this be another great Ben Affleck film to add to his remarquable collection (it's a shame I haven't seen Gone Baby Gone) because we already know it's good.
 
   Argo takes the same kind of dark environment similar to The Town which keeps you in the "Ben Affleck movie" feeling which I find cool. This environment is Perfect for the story about an iran hostage rescue. Even with the environement though, I have not felt the really intense, suspensefull feeling of Argo until the last scene. I've heard people saying "OMG, the last half of the movie was so suspenseful my heart almost stopped" or that type of shananigans. Watch Psycho when it was first released and see what intesity is. But even with that disapointment, the movie took advantage of the situation to put in dark humror, and the jokes were great! I swear Argo went on top of the line for movie insults (probably why it's rated R) with the amazing catchphrase used many times: "Argo F*** yourself". This catchphrase was to criticize the terible movie Argo in this movie.

   Ben affleck usually puts himself in the leading role, but sometimes the leading role doesn't fit for him, the good thing about Argo is that in this case it does. I don't know if his acting changed from The Town or if it was just the 70's hair impression...I'm going to say he did a good job. But the unforgettable actor in this film was Alain Arkins as the film producer who is very cynical and just steals every scene like "If I'm gonna make a fake movie, it's gonna be a fake hit." It didn't sound very funny when I first heard it but with a little bit of context, I laught a lot. A few caracters disapointed me though. The familly of Tony Menndez. The kid is fine and after all, he is the one who sort of gives the idea to Tony about making a fake film but the ex-wife, even with a small role, makes me say "Does she really have to be here?". Because after the rescue, Tony comes back home and she falls in his arms. They are divorced and now that he did a great mission "Oh well let's come together again". -_-

    The movie is really entertaining (no wonder it got an A+ cinemascore) and has for the most part great caracters. The movie should get nominated for best picture but shouldn't win because of it's few flaws. If it does win it's probably because the goverment payed the oscars to get this film to win since we see the americans getting saved. Also the movie didn't include the part in the real story when the military comes to save the day but fails and the team dies just to cut out the parts when we see the U.S geting embarassed. Overall though I would probably see this film again because it's a great recreation of a historical event and another great film in the Ben Affleck collection. I give it a solid B+

A new look at time travel...

 
   Marty time-traveled to the past to change his family, the Terminator time-traveled to the past to hunt and kill Sara Connors. But what would society use time-travel for. Looper is not only a smart new way to look at the bad side of time-travel, but a great story that gives you a break of the feeling you get from seeing usual big Hollywood blockbusters. The film seems fairly simple but the trailer tells nothing compared to all the surprises in the movie.
   Looper happens in the year 2044 and time-travel will be invented thirty years from now, which will be automatically outlawed and only used by criminals. These criminals send the person alive in the past where specialized assassins, called loopers, will be waiting to kill and get rid of the target. Joe, a looper, accidentally let's his target, his future self, escape. If you didn't understand, then don't watch it, it would be too complicated. If you did understand, go see it now. Except a few minor flaws, which are too small too mention, the only thing that disappointed me, was the time-travel theory they used. In this case, it was:: instead of going the same way as your future self, you can go a different path and change what will happen. It's hard to explain. To understand, watch this movie and watch Heroes (T.V show) and you'll see the difference.
   The cast all did a good job at playing their roles, and I especially liked the two Joes that kind of react the same way because you know...it's the same person. It's a man hunt film and the screenwriter still manages to put jokes that are pretty good. Here's an example:
Boss: So how's your Mandarin commin' along?
Joe: French actually.
Boss: You should speak Mandarin boy, and go to China.
Joe: Well, I've already started learning-
Boss: I'm from the future, go to China.
Yes, I just said the boss was from the future, don't worry, no big spoilers. The trailer makes you think that the film is just a man hunt, but it's a lot more than that. The film has other things that made it more complicated, but if you understand these new layers, it makes it an awesome experience. I'm not going to spoil the end for you, but I think it's good because it tells you there isn't going to be Looper 2, and you guys know I hate stupid sequels more than anything. It was also satisfying, I mean it's not often you get an ending you like in movies these days. It felt different then the endings you see in regular Hollywood films.
   Otherwise, this film is so good that I would love to see it again because it made me think about it. For example, I asked myself: Is the kid a younger self of Joe because of the metaphor in the end? I finally said no- Oh, what, you don't like kids in sci-fi movies? Me neither. This one was good. I see so many good films that all the grades I give end up being good. I`m going to have to see bad ones to prove you I don't put good grades on everything. But for now, I highly recommend Looper because of its new reputation: `The first time-travel film coming out on September that's actually good`, and I give it a solid A-.
 

The completed trilogy

 
   More than 1 billion domestically and more than 2 billion worldwide. This is how much money Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy made at the box office so far. But these numbers will likely stop because it reached the last film. To go over these three great films, I reviewed them down below:

   Batman Begins:

   Christopher Nolan's new take on batman, unlike other superhero movies, has a much darker tone and deeper meaning, not just explosions (although there are quite a few). We can automatically see that this movie was very well though of because of how well the characters and the events in the film fits. The film also introduces the people well and takes his time to see Bruce Wayne's challenges and small tasks as he slowly becomes the Batman. The movie's main villain is not clear between Scarecrow and Ra's al-Ghul which both come together on a master plan to terrorize Gotham City. The end of the film is very promising for a sequel (like its title) since it just says those were the beginning/simple tasks. The worst is yet to come. Overall, Batman Begins is a film that understands how a legend starts and brings a new vision to superheroes. B+

   The Dark Knight

   And you thought Batman Begins was amazing. Christopher Nolan just get's better and better. Not only is this one a lot more suspenseful but has Heath Ledger doing the role of his life as the Joker. The film is a lot more complicated and rich in dialogue (like the movie's last line) than almost every superhero movies ever made because when you watch any superhero movie, you feel like "I've seen this before" or "This is getting old" even if it's entertaining but not The Dark Knight. The city of Gotham has never been in such threat after the arrival of The Joker brings another completely new vision of villains and all the other people playing the Joker. To conclude, The Dark Knight feels a lot more than a comic book movie but a thrilling dark movie. A

   The Dark Knight Rises

   Some people say that this movie wasn't good as the first two but I disagree. I think it improves on the first but was not quite the match for the second (but it's impossible to beat the second, so that's good). The Dark Knight Rises is not only rich in its new characters seismically John Blake very well played by Joseph Gordon-Levit but is also rich in its choice of shots and metaphors. It might be very thoughtful like all the others and in fact the most suspenseful of the trilogy but does not have all of the standards of all the other films. There are very low chances for a sequel for this film even though it is promising for one maybe later but it still concludes the series very well with a twist for the ones who haven't read the comics. The only thing I was unhappy about really was that Catwoman could have had been a little more of a supervillain. The Dark Knight Rises concludes the trilogy very well and is one of the most suspensful films I've ever seen. A-

   That was it for today, I hoped you liked the article and see you next time.

   -Metrocine

533 kids is good

     It's serious, it's funny and it has absolutely nothing to do with the coffee you drink every morning. Starbuck is a French Canadian movie not yet released in the U.S (I saw it In France) staring Patrick Huard (Bon Cop, Bad Cop) as David Wozniak, a 42 year old loser who struggles in his life in Montreal, Canada. He soon discovers that he has 533 kids after donating sperm several years before and about a hundred of them wanting to know who their father, known under the pseudonym 'Starbuck', is. In case you didn't realise it's David. The story itself doesn't sound very interesting but screenwriter Ken Scott (Seducing Dr. Lewis) makes the film funny even with its serious plot mostly because of his lawyer friend who hates kids and that SPOILER ALERT: screws up BAD in an interview towards the end of the film.

    The film becomes more and more heartfelt as he gets to know more of his kids. From the middle of the film, David has a really big decision to take: Should he reveal his true identity? This decision makes you stay in your seat (if you wanted to get out because all the kids made your head hurt) and in case you didn't know don't worry about them because:

• They are not babies but teenagers or young adults (so they aren't crying during the whole movie)

• We don't deeply meet all 533 children so your head should be fine

    The main disappointment in the movie is a the end which I will not tell but I think it is like way too joyful for what just happened. Also the movie focuses on one of the kids more than the others and that kid isn't even a super major one which disappointed me.

     The film is very original in it's subject and has balance in most ways. I must mention Patrick Huard's good performance as a loser who tries to get a better life and same for Julie LeBreton expressing a totally different person (his ex wife/wife you'll get it it's weird). The film is not very popular and even if it's good is not “The event of the year” just to let you know it is not a must see. Now I have seen the original French version and no the translated in English but if you have a chance to see it, you shouldn't hesitate. B+


-Metrocine

2011: a silent movie?

Why the heck would we go see "The Artist"? It's a silent film in Black and White and no it isn't a lost footage of a film from the 1900s. it was made recently.

"The Artist" is a Comedy Drama about a star in hollywood, George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) who meets a young women, Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) and decides to make her a star. But the talkies appeared and Hollywood wants NEW stars and George Valentin is faced with a sittuation. The Dog which is George Valentin's pet is just hilarious. He made the most laugh in this film and there was a cathegory called "Best performance by an Animal" he would win by far. Except for the fact that George Valentin seems a little attracted to Peppy Miller there is not that much romance. If you've seen the trailer, you might have realized he seems depressed. That is the main drama in the film and I don't want to spoil how he got there.

Believe it or not, "The Artist" is not completely silent. Rarely you will hear sounds and voices but that's mostly towards the end of the film. The story or Screenplay in "The Artist" is fabulous and really entertaining with great performances from both actors I mentioned earlier but mostly by Jean Dujarin. The music is great too. It fits every scene perfectly and even sometimes makes the humor funnier because of the tone of the music.

If you are convinced of seeing "The Artist", don't expect to have tickets easily. It is showing in about 120 locations in the United States. "The Artist" is a brilliant drama with great performances and great music. It actually is very entertaining mostly because of the humor and again, Uggie the Dog is the best animal actor I have every seen. "The Artist definitely deserves its nominations in The Academy Awards. It is in fact my favorite movie this year. I highly recomend it and I give it an A.