Tag: movie

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Film Review

They Live

For my final film review, I will be discussing a film which is arguably one of my favourite movies, directed by one of my personal favourite directors of all time.

Today, I will be discussing ‘They Live’. The movie was released to theatres in the US on the 4th of November 1988 and the 23rd of June 1989 in the UK. They Live was directed by John Carpenter and stars the iconic WWF wrestler ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper as the main protagonist of this epic sci-fi thriller https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0684929/. What makes this movie so special to me, is its originality, particularly because of how wildly imaginative and outside the box the plot is. The movie follows a wanderer who is passing through Los Angeles by the name of Nada who has discovered a pair of sunglasses that are capable of showing the world the way it truly is. Due to the powers of the sunglasses, Nada discovers that both the media and the government are comprised of subliminal messages for the purpose of keeping the population subdued, and that most of the social elite are skull-faced aliens who are trying to take over the world.

For the most part, the movie is pretty bizarre and out of the ordinary, especially after Nada’s discovery but for me personally, it seems to hold a unique charm that is able to totally capture the viewers’ attention.

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Film Review

Parasite

This past month I got the opportunity to see ‘Parasite’ at the Glasgow Film Theatre, for a special viewing of the now Oscar winning drama.

Parasite was directed by Korean director Bong Joon-ho and was released to cinemas in the UK on the 7th of February this year. The film stars a host of extremely talented actors and actresses as the movie follows a family struggling in poverty who one by one all scheme their way into becoming employed by a wealthy family by infiltrating their household and posing as unrelated, highly qualified individuals.

Personally, I found this movie to be really fascinating due to its tone and ability to be comedic and serious when it was appropriate to be so. As much as this may not seem like something of any serious note, I do feel that a lot of films, especially in the thriller drama genre, tend to struggle to find the balance for when it is appropriate to throw in a bit of comedy to a scene, in a film which is for the most part, viewed in a much darker, more serious tone.

Furthermore, every character in the film had great importance to the movie’s plot and flow. Even though the movie follows one family, each member of the four had their own unique personalities and scenes, as we got to see each of them inherit a role within this wealthy family’s household. In my opinion, this allowed the opportunity for the viewer to decide upon a favourite character, as each of them were given a lengthy amount of screen time on their own, in which each character was able to demonstrate their own individual personalities.

At the 92nd Academy Awards this year, Parasite won a leading four awards, taking home the awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film. https://oscar.go.com/news/winners/parasite-wins-4-oscars-and-makes-oscar-history

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Film Review

Saving Private Ryan

A film which had an emotional and lasting impact on me is ‘Saving Private Ryan’. The film was released in 1998, directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Tom Hanks and Matt Damon as the central protagonists. The film takes place during the Normandy invasion of World War II and follows a group of soldiers from D Day landings and their mission to find the missing Private James Ryan, whose three brothers have already been killed in the war.

The dramatization of the harshness and brutality of war is clearly depicted from the outset. This then leads to the mission where the band of brothers search through France for the missing Private Ryan. The mission is to prevent a family losing all their sons as had happened in previous wars and conflicts. I was immediately captured by the tone and historical significance of the film which has had a lasting impact because of its realism and graphic nature of the film.

‘Saving Private Ryan’ ranks high amongst my favourite historical films ever made due to its fantastic cast. Tom Hank’s character, Captain Miller, seen as a father figure by the group of brothers, displays his own emotions, of both elation and disappointment at significant points during the film as do the brothers.

The film follows the search for Private Ryan, missing in action. As the film ends, having found James Ryan, his survival from the war is contrasted by the death of Captain Miller, the loss of the father figure.

‘Saving Private Ryan’ is a film that I believe everyone should experience for both the historical and emotional significance of war. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/06/the-false-patriotism-of-saving-private-ryan/371539/

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Film Review

Boyhood

‘Boyhood’ was directed by Richard Linklater and stars Ellar Coltrane as the main protagonist, as well as Ethan Hawke, Patricia Arquette and for the most part, unknown actors. The film is about a young boy, growing up, experiencing adolescents and everything that comes along with it. Although this may seem like quite a basic plot, this film began filming in the summer of 2002 with a young main star at the age of six and was filmed yearly, every summer until 2013 with the same actors. The film was made over the course of twelve years, and due to this, it has a lengthy runtime of two hours and forty-six minutes. What is particularly incredible about this, is that we get to see all the actors and actresses, including the young boy (Ellar Coltrane) age as the film goes on. This film making technique is fascinating to me as it makes the film unique and feel incredibly special as scenes go by. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/06/richard-linklater-ellar-coltrane-boyhood-interview-dear-process

The film was very effective in its simplicity of depicting the life of a young boy, as I feel his experiences are so relatable, particularly because I am a similar age to Mason and feel I identify with him on lots of levels, including key moments throughout teenage years, media relevant to his life at the time and even his dress sense.

Although there are a lot of scenes throughout the film which on reflection are maybe unnecessary, it isn’t until the film ends that you realise that these scenes hold great importance. The message of the film is that moments in adolescents are almost like a string of milestones that we all conquer as we grow up and become adults.

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