The Giver

I should have posted this days ago, but I've been kind of lazy, as well as preoccupied with other things.

Apparently, this is based on a book that I didn't even know existed. Anyway, I really enjoyed the film. This review is going to be short and sweet because I don't want to go into detail about it (mainly because you should just go see it). The cinematography was beautiful, and I'm certain they used real life footage of events that actually happened throughout history. That was a nice touch. Brenton Thwaites (Jonas) did a marvelous job reacting to the things his character saw/experienced. How would one react to seeing an elephant for the first time? Especially if they only learned their existence moments prior? Great acting on his part, honestly.

Read the book, see the film, whatever, just partake in this thrilling and beautiful story.

I give The Giver 7 out of 10.

Guardians of the Galaxy

This was such a good film. I was interested in it because it looked funny and dumb, but it was better than I had thought it would be. I had been hearing nothing but good things about it since it first came out, and some had compared it to The Avengers (which worried me, to be honest, since that is a film major's nightmare), but it was good.

I loved the sci-fi feel Guardians of the Galaxy has. At times, I felt like I was watching a Star Trek film, which was cool, even though I've never been into that sort of thing. The never explained WHY Ronan (Lee Pace) wants to destroy Zonar (I think that's the name of the planet Nova is on), unless they did and I missed it, so that bothered me. I also didn't like how most of the best jokes were included in the previews, so they weren't as funny as they should have been. I liked how they tied in his sentiment towards his deceased mother, though. Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) carries with him a mixed cassette tape (for those youngins out there reading this, a cassette tape is a device that records audio onto a thin, skinny film that's wrapped up inside) that holds a collection of his mom's favorite songs. There were a few other things that tie in, but I don't want to spoil anything for those interested in watching it, so I'll keep those to myself.

One thing I really didn't like was that, at the beginning, it looked REALLY CGI. They probably used a bit of that so they could make it into a 3D movie. I really don't understand Hollywood's obsession with 3D. It's annoying. Wearing glasses are annoying. Our eyes get damaged enough watching a movie in the dark, I don't want to cause them any more pain by making them focus on virtually made 3-dimensional images. Fortunately, my eyes soon adjusted to the odd animation and it no longer looked CGI-ish shortly after the beginning credits rolled.

The soundtrack was fantastic, I sang along to almost every song! Also, side-note, Chris Pratt is a babe.

I give Guardians of the Galaxy 7 out of 10.

Lucy

Do not see this film. I have never before wanted to walk out more than during this movie. Lucy was a total let-down. I was terribly frustrated with the logic behind the plot; it didn't make sense and was unrealistic. Also, there were multiple scenes where semi-important information was left to the imagination, rather than being properly explained. Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) was, at first, made out to be what I would have assumed was a ditzy blonde, but then she didn't play the part. The story also dragged. Honestly, I wanted to walk out before it was even half way through. I was not impressed.

I did, however, enjoy some parts of the cinematography. At one point, Lucy gets kidnapped and they show shots of her being pursued and caught by a group of large men and that of a female elk being preyed on by a pack of cheetahs. The similarities between the two situations were astounding; I loved it.

I give Lucy a 2.5 out of 10.

The Fault In Our Stars

I saw The Fault In Our Stars today. I did not want to see it (this is becoming a regular thing, it seems). However, I certainly do not regret seeing it, and now I wish to read the book!

Looking at the story itself, it is a beautiful movie. It's very realistic, which I almost don't like, but I believe I would dislike it more if the characters all had a happy ending. The casting was great, in my opinion. From the cinematography point of view, there were some moments I absolutely loved. One of my favorites was when Augustus (Ansel Elgort) and Hazel (Shailene Woodley) and finishing off their date. The signify this by first showing a shot of his empty dessert plate, then a shot of hers, all the while they are having a conversation voiced over. Beautiful! I love when directors do things like that.

The Fault In Our Stars was great, and, for once, something deserved the hype that it got! I didn't want to see this because it looked overrated, cheesy, and had been done before (aka A Walk To Remember), but it was different; it truly is as good as everyone is saying, and it's not cheesy at all. Of course, it has it's cheesy moments, sure, but it is so full of heart.

I give The Fault In Our Stars 7 out of 10.

Earth to Echo

I saw Earth to Echo yesterday afternoon. When I first saw the previews, it looked interesting. It sort of reminded me of Steven Spielberg's E.T. film, you know, alien from space trying to get back home? I thought maybe this was someone's take on that story, only different. It wasn't. The best way to describe this movie is Iron Giant mixed with Wall-E mixed with E.T. mixed with Stand By Me. Except, it's completely different than them at the same time.

A bunch of people are being forced out of their homes to make way for a freeway that's said to be built where their houses are. Three boys in the neighbourhood are the best of friends and are not pleased about moving away from each other. Their relationship with each other reminds me of the four boys from Stand By Me. They seem more like brothers than just friends. It's very sweet and heartwarming, and they way each boy is introduced to the audience is fantastic. Especially Munch (Reese Hartwig), full name Regional Munch. He was my favorite; so quirky and odd, I loved it!! The personalities of the boys meshed really well together, too. They were all so different, but I think that's why it worked. They writers are brilliant.

I absolutely LOVED the camera work in this film!!! The narrator, Tuck (Asrto), is into filming and making movies and things, so he always has at least one camera with him at all times and is constantly filming. The way they film this movie was mainly from his perspective. Unless the camera was placed somewhere (and you could tell when Tuck, or his friends, put the camera down), you never saw all the characters at a time; someone was always out of view because they were manning the camera! I loved that! It didn't feel like I was watching a movie, it felt like I was watching a home-video or a Youtube video or something. VERY COOL!! The also did some shots from the alien robot's perspective, so we could see things through its eyes. The editing in this film, my flying fish. I loved it. LOVED it!! (Can you tell I'm a bit of a film-editor geek?)

I give Earth to Echo 9.5 out of 10!!

How To Train Your Dragon 2

I did not plan on going to a movie this month, but I had enough Scene points for a free one, and a few friends wanted to go, so I went.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 was the most emotionally overwhelming film I have scene in a long time. I loved it. I loved all of it (except for one scene near the end that ripped my entire soul out and will never ever allow me to forgive the writers, EVER). The cinematography was beautiful, the animation was smooth, the characters were well built, it was just all-around GOOD.

The shots they made were breathtaking. Being a dragon-training movie, there are plenty of sky shots. One of my favorites was when Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) jumps off Toothless the first time. The shots of the clouds, and then landscape is just gorgeous! Just beautiful, loved it. Another of my favorite scenes is during the Alpha dragon battle. There's a shot where Hiccup and Toothless are soaring high above the giant dragon, but you don't really see them. Instead, you see the battle behind them from a bird's eye view. All you can see of them is a blurred silhouette. It was the kind of shot that made my heart jump out of my chest for a moment. Beautiful.

This was probably one of the best sequels I've seen, too. Most writers take note of the enjoyed humour of a film and then focus on that when making the sequel. HTTYD2 definitely had a lot of jokes, but I don't think they focused on the humour more than they did the plot. My favorite joke was when the female twin, Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig), first sees the captain of the dragon trappers, Eret (Kit Harington), she reacts any way a normal female would; she swoons. What makes her reaction funny is that she doesn't hide it from him. She says her thoughts of him out loud, in front of her peers, and even to Eret's face! And the focus the give him in the film while she's looking at him is brilliant! At one point (possibly more than that), they do a close-up shot of his biceps flexing. I just absolutely loved it haha!

They did such a good job with this movie. I'd recommend it to anyone. One last thing I'd like to mention, I really enjoyed the little bit of detail they added to Hiccup and Astrid's (America Ferrera) relationship. The first scene that has Hiccup in it, there's a small braid at the back of his neck. Later in the scene, when Astrid joins him, as she's talking to him she braids another bit of hair beside that one. He never unbraids either of them throughout the entire film. I don't know about you, but I just think that is the sweetest thing, and it says a lot about their relationship.

I give How To Train Your Dragon 2 an 9 out of 10.

Casanova (2005)

I believe this one is a remake, although I have not seen the original, so I will not be comparing the two. It's been a while since I've watched this last, so it was nice to see it again; I always enjoy watching and rewatching movies.

Heath Ledger stars as Casanova. I tell you, I could write a whole entry on that man alone! What a phenomenal actor! He really was the character he was asked to play, in every movie he's been in. He was a great actor. Like I said, I could go on and on about him. Casanova is no different. His character is not only Casanova, but he pretends to be other people throughout the film as well. Ledger does the role very well, indeed.

I love the humour in this movie. It's not listed as a comedy, I don't think, but it has it's moments. Every now and then, there's a one-liner or something subtly silly takes place. It makes the overall feel of the film a bit lighter. My favorite scene is when Paprizzio (Oliver Platt) shows Casanova and Lupo (Omid Djalili) his self portrait and Lupo asks who it's a painting of. Paprizzio kind of just slowly, and awkwardly, slinks away. I love it! Cracks me up every time!

The cinematography was pretty good, nothing special or unusual to me. I did like how some of the camera angles were through crowds of people, that was sort of interesting. What I really appreciated, though, was the scoring. The music was very well done, it fit the film perfectly! It makes the whole movie more enjoyable.

Just a side-note, Casanova is known for having sex with women. With that being said, I think they did a very good job of keeping it PG. I just wanted to point that out.

I give Casanova a 7 out of 10.