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Gonissa
Reviews
The Book of Eli (2010)
Don't Trust the Hate
Simply put, this movie is nothing like Hollywood in all the right ways. Let me list it out.
1. It's deep. It doesn't point out every plot point but lets the audience find it for themselves. So much of this movie is based on one's personal impression rather than how Hollywood forces you to feel.
2. No inane pop songs. This is all Atticus Ross' work, only excepting one classic song early on that's better than modern boring songs. Seriously, go look up "book of eli the journey" on youtube.
3. The special effects follow the story. This isn't some plot hacked together just so they can show shiny action scenes that are supposed to blow your mind. Here the plot is king, with each digital creation making the movie's world richer rather than just trying to impress you with it's fake extravagance.
4. The plot isn't cookie cutter. This plot is considered by some to be controversial, but really it's a wonderful tale of a man who faces good thematic conflict: completing the mission vs being there for others, going forward instead of giving in, trusting God who he can't see, and being or at least trying to be righteous in a world where there are people who will kill you for your simplest possessions. It's a moral trap no matter what Eli chooses.
There are people who hate this movie, but the truth is, the plot, visuals, and actors were superb. The hate derives singly from a hatred of Christianity itself or else the concept of God. So honestly, if you hate God that's the only reason not to see this movie. You don't have to be a Christian to enjoy it. It's a genuine, fun movie that you'd be missing out on not to watch.
Xun zhao Cheng Long (2009)
Don't listen to them. This movie is great.
I think the thing throwing people off here is the title. The original Chinese title is "Looking for Jackie Chan" which does describe the plot of the movie. That being said, there is only a little bit of Jackie Chan in this movie. But come on, a movie can be plenty good with other people.
This is just the story of a really dorky kid looking for his idol. It's fun, has just a touch of fantasy and a lot of silliness. Sure, it has some quaint morality themes in it, but none of those stop this from being a fun family movie, the kind of thing that was so much fun to watch when I was a kid. Watch it, enjoy it, and stop being such a pretentious person just because it doesn't have that much Chan in it.
The King's Speech (2010)
Not as great as they all say. Movie in a box.
Eh, this movie didn't suck. It had funny parts and Helena Bonham Carter was a delight. That being said, it felt like a movie in a box. All the characters were more or less Hollywood stereotypes (over emotional protagonist, "unorthodox" aid to the protagonist, supportive wife, harsh father, wimpy priest, etc), and it made no real endeavors to be anything special. It's one of those motivational movies that's supposed to make you believe in yourself or whatever.
Also, this guy is the king of England, but the way this movie portrays his life just puts him in a box. You don't really see anyone outside of the castle or feel any of their reactions, nor do you get any sense of interaction between the king and much of anyone. In fact, the movie at no time gives the audience a sense that George cares about anyone in Britain.
To be fair, the character of George was well acted and done in a more or less believable fashion...if George VI was an emo kid. A very well acted emo kid, but one nonetheless.
Altogether, this movie likes to talk, but it doesn't like to show. For example, (and this is a spoiler) everyone talks a lot about David's mistress and how junked up her life is, but the little pinch of time they have her on the screen, she doesn't do much of anything, offensive or otherwise. In fact, Bonham-Carter's character looks very rude in comparison during that scene. However, the filmmakers do manage to skillfully portray her control over David with just a simple act, so they definitely get a point for that.
Bit more spoilers as I go on. This movie doesn't show all that much about Hitler, the resignation of the Prime Minister (why was he doing that again?), the significance of Churchill, and so on. When you're trying to talk about struggles a man must overcome, you must emphasize those struggles if anyone's going to sympathize with him. Heck, you just gotta show us something if you don't want the movie to be boring.
One more spoiler. At the end of the movie, George makes his speech and gets through it and stuff, and you're supposed to feel all warm and fuzzy because he finally made it. I had a hard time going along with this, mostly because George just made a statement saying that Britain was going into war.
This wasn't just a hard time for George, it was a hard time for all of Britain. We should feel that sense of drama that the country is stepping forward into one of the most perilous conflicts of all history. More than this, we should feel that George is not only learning to talk straight, but also learning to become a good leader. Maybe Logue helped him talk, but how did he overcome his fears of failing Britain? Surely they require more of their kings than making speeches.
Well, anyways, see it if you like. Not a great movie, but not the worst thing 2010 brought us.