Film Review 11: Passengers vs My Blueberry nights (Cinema VS Cinema 8)

In this eighth round, we have two films in which women are the main characters. One is ''Passengers'' and the other is ''My Blueberry nights'' Which one will win?


LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!

1

Title: Passengers

Countries: USA and Canada

Year: 2008

Genres: Drama, Fantasy and Thriller

Runtime: 1 hour and 33 minutes

Language: English 

Directed by: Rodrigo García
Written by: Ronnie Christensen

Music by: Edward Shearmur
Cinematography by: Igor Jadue-Lillo

Cast: Anne Hathaway (Claire), Patrick Wilson (Eric), Andre Braugher (Perry), Dianne Wiest (Tony), David Morse (Arkin), William B.Davis (Jack), Ryan Robbins (Dean), Clea DuVall (Shannon), Don Thompson (Norman), Chelah Horsdal (Janice), Stacy Grant (Emma) and Robert Gauvin (Paul)

                                        VS

2

Title: My blueberry nights

Countries: USA, Hong Kong, China and France

Year: 2007

Genres: Drama and Romance

Runtime: 1 hour and 35 minutes

Language: English 

Directed by: Kar-Wai Wong

Written by: Kar-Wai Wong and Lawrence Block
Music by: Ry Cooder

Cinematography by: Darius Khondji and Pung-Leung Kwan
Cast: Norah Jones (Elizabeth), Jude Law (Jeremy), David Strathairn (Arnie), Rachel Weisz (Sue Lynne), Natalie Portman (Leslie), Frankie Faison (Travis), Adrianne Lennox (Sandy), Benjamin Kaines (Randy), Cat Power (Katya), Michael May (Aloha), Michael Hartnett (Sunglasses), Chad Davis (Boyfriend), Katya Blumberg (Girlfriend), Jesse Garon (Poker Player) and Tracy Blackwell (Matron)




Plots:

1A plane crashes and only five people survive. Claire, a brilliant psychologist, should help the survivors overcome the trauma. But, inexplicably, these either disappear or begin to miss therapy sessions. On the other hand, it is not even known what caused the accident. Among the survivors is Eric, an attractive man who doesn't seem to need therapy.
2 Elizabeth is a young woman who begins a spiritual journey through America in an attempt to rebuild her life after a breakup. Along the way, framed between the magical urban landscape of New York and the spectacular views of the legendary Route 66, the young woman will find a series of enigmatic characters that will help her on her trip.


My review:

Passengers is the story of Claire, a psychologist who helps the survivors to overcome the accident trauma, but there is a problem, they dissapear with no trace and the most mysterious person is Eric, a good looking man who happily lives his own life and does not need support, so this is the most suspicious thing. What really happened to the plane crash? Is Arkin hiding something about the accident?
From my point of view this film has a surprising ending, to which I did not expect. It has an unexpected ''Black Mirror/Inside No.9'' ending of why some of the characters are behaving in a strange way, but it does not especify you why they are gone. The plot does not make any sense for a reason: the writer just wants you to feel sensations, emotions and empathy for the characters until you know the truth (which I would not explain since it is an spoiler alert). This film has low ratings in IMDB and Filmaffinity because critics did not understand the writer's intentions since Christensen wanted to remark is the psychology of every character and how do they feel in each situation.
To sum up, the film was poignant and quite overwhelming to me but it has no coherence in the plot.

My Blueberry Nights is the story of Elizabeth, a young woman who started a voyage of self-discovery after her break-up with her boyfriend. While travelling, she meets Arnie, a policeman, Sue Lynne, Arnie's boyfriend and Leslie, a poker player.
This film knew how to interconnect the character's lives, but I think it was quite a slow film since Wong tried to create an intimate romantic story. It is a story full of symbolism and metaphors, for instance, the blueberry pie imitates Elizabeth's character love for Jeremy, the owner of a small café, and the Jaguar may symbolize the desire for freedom.
To sum up, this film was interesting to see but the problem is that it is too much slow-paced. For this reason I got bored while seeing it. And that is quite disappointing, since romance is my favourite genre.

Movie 1 Film mark: 5,6 out of 10
Movie 2 Film mark: 5,4 out of 10

Well, this result is an unexpected surprise since the first movie has a lack of plot and the second one has a lack of rhythm but...

PASSENGERS IS THE WINNER OF THIS ROUND!

Film Review 10: Daybreakers vs Personal effects (Cinema VS Cinema 7)

In this seventh round, we have two films related to survival and grief. One is ''Daybreakers'' and the other is ''Personal effects''. Which one will win?


LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!

1

Title: Daybreakers

Countries: USA and Australia

Year: 2009

Genres: Action, Fantasy and Horror

Runtime: 1 hour and 38 minutes

Language: English 

Directed by: Michael and Peter Spierig
Written by: Michael and Peter Spierig

Music by: Christopher Gordon
Cinematography by: Ben Nott

Cast: Ethan Hawke (Edward Dalton), Willem Dafoe (Lionel 'Elvis' Cormac), Sam Neill (Charles Bromley), Claudia Karvan (Audrey Bennett), Michael Dorman (Frankie Dalton), Isabel Lucas (Alison Bromley),  Jay Laga'aia (Senator Turner), Harriet Minto-Day (Lisa Barrett), Vince Colosimo (Christopher Caruso), Mungo McKay (Colin Briggs), Damion Garvey (Senator Westlake) and Christopher Kirby (Jarvis Bayom)

                                        VS

2

Title: Personal Effects

Countries: USA, Germany and Canada

Year: 2009

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 1 hour and 46 minutes

Language: English 

Directed by: David Hollander

Written by: David Hollander (based on a short story by Rick Moody)
Music by: Jóhann Jóhansson

Cinematography by: Elliot Davis
Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer (Linda), Ashton Kutcher (Walter), Kathy Bates (Gloria), Spencer Hudson (Clay), John Mann (Hank), David Lewis (Brice), Rob LaBelle (Camden), Alexis Paunovic (Tom), Brian Markinson (Finneran),  Sarah Lind (Annie), Ali Skovbye (Beth), Kyle Toy (Jose), Dean Wray (Larry), Brock Johnson (Mark), Mary Black (Peggy), Sarah Strange (Janet), Jay Brazeau (Martin), Jake LeDoux (Maloni) and Serge Houde (Judge Wettick)


Plots:

1In the year 2019, because of a plague, vampires have taken over the world. The hunt for human beings to feed on their blood will put humanity on the brink of extinction; but a group composed of men and vampires decides to fight to save the few survivors of the human race and also to find another way to feed and survive.
2 After losing their loved ones, Walter and Linda try to move on with their lives. On the one hand, Walter is a young professional wrestler who returns to the family home after the brutal murder of his sister, days before his wedding. On the other, Linda is the mother of a deaf child whose alcoholic husband has died at the hands of a friend in a bar. While trials for both crimes take place, Walter and Linda have a love affair.

My review:

Daybreakers tells an apocalyptic story about the human race extintion caused by an infected bat, turning them into vampires. Their willing to the immortality has caused an increasing on vampire species. Edward Dalton, the head hematologist for the largest supplier human blood Bromley Pharmaceuticals is working on a research for blood substitute. Days later when he had an accident, he met Audrey, a survivor who revealed a cure to put an end to vampire race. But Bromley will make things very complicated for that to happen... Will Edward and his human friends stop him? Will Bromley learn from his mistakes?
This film is surprisingly interesting. I thought it would be a waste of time, but it is entertaining. The plot has coherence and as you see it, you realize the meaning it has. Altough its apocalyptic and dystopical fantasy it tells us a story of survival and I think it is implicitly a critique of the society in which we are living in. Capitalism and the influence of banks in political decisions. In this case blood represents money, food and the rest of our basic necessities and I think Sam Neill's character symbolizes the ambition of a policy to profit from his business and policies. The main characters, however (the human ones) represent the rebelliousness and resistance of society.
My conclusion about ''Daybreakers'' is that it has a deep meaning on it.

Personal effects is about the lives of two people who have something in common: facing the death of a loved one by murder. Walter faces the death of his sister and Linda, her husband. While trials for both crimes take place, Walter and Linda support each other, emerging an unexpected love. Clay, Linda's son, is a problematic child since the death of his father and the souvenir he has from him is a gun. Fortunately, Walter teaches Clay how to channel his fury through wrestling at the gym. At the end of the story, something terrible will happen...
My review about ''Personal effects'' is that it really is a poignant story, it almost made me cry since I had a strong empathy with all the characters and the hard tests that life makes us. The plot is coherent and uses shocking flashbacks to makes us feel the pain of what the protagonists are suffering.
There is a song by the British electronic duo Frou Frou, with its song ''Let go'' that totally relates this film, especifically in the chorus ''Let go, let go, jump in, Oh well what you're waiting for? It's alright cause there's beauty in the breakdown''. I remark this last sentence since it is the moral of this story, so grief is really painful for everybody.
My conclusion about ''Personal effects'' is that is an insightful film.

This round is a difficult one, I enjoyed both of the films and it is even much more harder than the fourth one, but I made a clear decision.


Movie 1 Film mark: 7,34 out of 10
Movie 2 Film mark: 7,40 out of 10

For a few tenths of difference...


PERSONAL EFFECTS IS THE WINNER OF THIS ROUND!

Film Review 9: The way of war vs Death defying acts (Cinema VS Cinema 6)

In this sixth round, we have two films related to sacrifice and overcoming our fears. One is ''The way of war'' and the other is ''Death defying acts''. Which one will win?


LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!

1

Title: The way of war

Country: USA

Year: 2009

Genres: Action and Thriller

Runtime: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Language: English 

Directed by: John R. Carter
Written by: Scott Schafer

Music by: James Melvin
Cinematography by: Kevin Sarnoff

Cast: Cuba Gooding Jr. (David Wolf), John Terry (Secretary of Defence), Clarence Williams III (Mac), J.K. Simmons (Sgt. Mitchell), Lance Reddick (Black Man), Vernel Bagneris (Samir/Ace of Spades), Jaclyn DeSantis (Sophia), J.Omar Castro (Sanchez), Bill Perry (Bluesman), Jayson Warner Smith (Seven) and Sarah Ann Schultz (Eleven)

                                        VS

2

Title: Death defying acts

Countries: UK and Australia

Year: 2007

Genres: Drama, History and Romance

Runtime: 1 hour and 37 minutes

Languages: English and Hungarian

Directed by: Gillian Armstrong

Written by: Tony Grisoni and Brian Ward
Music by: Cezary Skubiszewski

Cinematography by: Haris Zambarloukos
Cast: Guy Pearce (Harry Houdini), Catherine Zeta-Jones (Mary McGarvie), Saorise Ronan (Benji McGarvie), Timothy Spall (Sugarman), Malcolm Shields (Leith Romeo), Leni Harper (Leith Romeo's wife), Ralph Riach (Mr. Robertson), Billy McColl (McTavish), Melanie Harris (Rose), Aileen O'Gorman (Effie), Shaun Mason (Heckler), Tom Cotcher (Boxer's manager) and Anthony O'Donnell (Olly Librarian)



Plots:

1Story about a paramilitary group that gets out of control after discovering a conspiracy with warlike interests.
2 When Harry Houdini, the famous escapist magician, arrives in Edinburgh on his world tour, he offers a great reward to the person able to get in touch with the spirit of his recently deceased mother. Mary, an attractive and mysterious Scottish parapsychologist and medium, accepts the challenge attracted to money. Houdini will do everything possible to unmask the mysterious woman, but he can't help feeling more and more attracted to her ...

My review:
The way of war is the story of David Wolfe, a paramilitar who worked for the american secret services. His next mission is murdering a dangerous terrorist in Arabia. During the mission he discorvered a conspiracy by the government that involved the president and his secretaries. David is decided to reveal the truth. Will he achieve it?
My review is that ''The way of war'' has an interesting premise, which is the protest against government corruption and war, but there is a big mistake: it has too much flashbacks that do not make you follow the plot of the film. Cuba Gooding Jr. did not do a good job in this film, he seems a bit bored and tired about everything and he is not the only one, J.K Simmons has dissapointed me in his acting. The only good thing about the film is the soundtrack.
My conclusion? The way of war is a waste of time.

On Death defying acts, the film tells the story of escapist magician Harry Houdini, who offers £10,000 to prove he is wrong with his exposal of fake con-artists. When parapsychologist Mary McGarvie arrived, he suddenly felt in love with her at first sight. Mary takes advantage of his heart and decided to find out the key to his private life alongside her daughter, Benji. Sugarman, Harry Houdini's manager did not like the McGarvies but eventually befriends Benji, watching her as a free spirited teen with common sense. When they discovered Houdini's secret, it is not as it seems...
I really enjoyed watching this film, since it is thought-provoking due to the fact that you can feel the pain of Houdini on making a mistake (I would not say it since it is an spoiler alert) and the difficulties Mary and Benji had to overcome to get the money. Altough this story is a mixture between fiction and reality, it is well explained but at the same time, quite predictable.

The results in this sixth round are clear:

Movie 1 Film mark: 1,5 out of 10
Movie 2 Film mark: 5,9 out of 10


DEATH DEFYING ACTS IS THE WINNER OF THIS ROUND!

Film Review 8: The Hollywood sign vs Shanghai (Cinema VS Cinema 5)

In this fifth round, we have two crime films. One is ''The Hollywood sign'' and the other is ''Shanghai''. Which one will win?

LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!

1

Title: The Hollywood sign

Countries: USA, Germany and The Netherlands 

Year: 2001

Genres: Crime and Comedy

Runtime: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Language: English 

Directed by: Sönke Wortmann

Written by: Leon De Winter
Music by: Péter Wolf

Cinematography by: Wedigo Von Schultzendorff
Cast: Tom Berenger (Tom Greener), Rod Steiger (Floyd Benson), Burt Reynolds (Kage Mulligan), Jacqueline Kim (Paula Carver), Al Sapienza (Rodney), Dominic Keating (Steve), Eric Bruskotter (Muscle), David Proval (Charlie), Kay E. Kuter (Robbie Kant), Raf Mauro (Lenny Lena), Kathleen Gati (Deb) and Teresa Hill (Wendy)

                                        VS

2

Title: Shanghai

Countries: China and USA

Year: 2010

Genres: Crime, Drama and Mystery

Runtime: 1 hour and 45 minutes

Languages: English, Mandarin, Japanese and German 

Directed by: Mikael Hafström

Written by: Hossein Amini
Music by: Klaus Badlet

Cinematography by: Benoît Delhomme
Cast: John Cusack (Paul Soames), Li Gong (Anna Lan-Ting), Yun-Fat Chow (Anthony Lan-Ting), Ken Watanabe (Tanaka), David Morse (Richard Astor), Franka Potente (Leni Müller), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Conner), Hugh Bonneville (Ben Sanger), Benedict Wong (Juso Kita), Yuan On (Yuan), Hon Ping Tang (Chen), Christopher Buchholz (Karl Müller), Ronan Vibert (Mikey), Nicholas Rowe (Ralph), Michael Culkin (Billy), Gemma Chan (Shin Shin), Kunjue Li (Hua) and Crystal Yu (Lili).


Plots:

1Is the story of three veteran Hollywood actors who, in the twilight of their careers, must make the most convincing interpretation of their lives as part of a dangerous and delusional plan to finance their spectacular return to stardom.
2 1940. Months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, secret agent Paul Soames arrives in Shanghai to investigate the murder of his best friend. He is quickly immersed in a plot of conspiracy and lies. Stalked by a Japanese intelligence officer, Soames's investigation quickly focuses on a charismatic local gangster, Anthony Lan-Ting, and Anna, his beautiful wife.

My review:
The first film, ''The Hollywood Sign''  tells the story of three decadent actors whose mission is stealing money from a Casino of Las Vegas. For that, they take advantage of part of the script that Paula Carver made 7 years ago about a gangster film and turn this robbery it into a farse. The metacinematographic premise was interesting but the plot does not especify some things about the characters and it can be quite messy at times. However, Burt, Tom, Jacqueline and Rod did a great job and seemed to have fun with it.

Going back in time, at the 1940s, ''Shanghai'' is about Paul Soames, a spy who is working undercover as a Nazi journalist in Berlin. He is convoked by Richard Astor to assist an agent in trouble, Conner, his best friend, but it was too late since the japanese have murdered him. Paul found out his best friend was investigating Anthony Lan-Ting, the leader of the Chinese resistance and found out that two women are an important part of the investigation: Anna, Anthony's wife and a mysterious Japanese woman which Conner had a relationship. Which will be the result of the investigation?
In this case, when you mix romance, thriller, a good plot and cast, the results are positive.


Movie 1 Film mark: 5 out of 10
Movie 2 Film mark: 7,1 out of 10

SHANGHAI IS THE WINNER OF THIS ROUND!

Film Review 7: Fire with fire vs La fleur de l'àge (Cinema VS Cinema 4)

In this fourth round we have an exciting action and western film (Fire with fire) and on the other hand we have a french film about the old age people (La fleur de l'àge). Which one will win?

LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!

1

Title: Fire with fire

Country: USA 

Year: 2012

Genres: Action, Crime and Drama

Runtime: 1 hour and 37 minutes

Language: English 

Directed by: David Barrett

Written by: Tom O'Connor
Music by: Trevor Morris

Cinematography by: Christopher Probst
Cast: Josh Duhamel (Jeremy Coleman), Bruce Willis (Mike Cella), Rosario Dawson (Talía Durnham), Vincent D'Onofrio (David Hagan), 50 cent (Lamar), Julian McMahon (Robert), Vinnie Jones (Boyd), Arie Verveen (Darren), Eric Winter (Adam), Bonnie Sommerville (Karen Westlake), Richard Schiff (Harold Gethers), Yohance Myles (Deputy Parker), James Lesure (Craig), Quinton ''Rampage'' Jackson (Wallace) and Kevin Dunn (Agent Calvin Mullens).

                                                                               VS

2


Title: La fleur de l'âge

Country: France

Year: 2012

Genre: Dramatic Comedy

Runtime: 1 hour and 23 minutes

Language: French

Directed by: Nick Quinn

Written by: Andreia Barbosa and Santiago Amigorena
Music by: Éric Neveux

Cinematography by: David Quesemand
Cast: Pierre Arditi (Gaspard Dassonville), Jean-Pierre Marielle (Hubert Dassonville), Julie Ferrier (Zana Kotnic), Audrey Fleurot (Marion Cappelaro), Artus de Penguern (Joseph Tellier), Radivoje Bukvic (Stjepan Kotnic), Pierre Vernier (Maurice Renouard), Élisabeth Vitali (Docteur Moser), Thibault Vinçon (Fabrice Poulain), Cyril Guei (Cyril Cox), Anne Benoit (Madame Correau) and Laurie Calamy (Sarah Chevalier).



Plots:

1A firefighter out of service witnesses a murder in the hands of a group of gangsters. He enters the witness protection program until he testifies, but fails to hide for a long time from the band, so he decides to act on his own.

2Gaspard Dassonville is 63 years old, but lives as if he were young. He is a famous TV producer, collects thirty-year-old girlfriends and refuses to recognize any sign of aging. So, Gaspard is forced to take home his father, who can no longer live alone, but the untamed old man annoys his son's youthful plans. The arrival of Zana, an extravagant caretaker of galloping imagination, ends up facing father and son, because each of them are attracted to her in their own way.



My review:

Fire with fire is an interesting action film which tests the resistance of firefighter Jeremy Coleman, who had witnessed a robbery at a gasoline station store by the band of David Hagan, a fearful sociopath who seeks the weaknesses of his victims. After that, he is placed in the witness protection program of the U.S. Marshalls, but Hagan won't give up, so he knows what to do with Coleman. The firefighter decides to make an unexpected decision to end with the enemy and protect Talia, his true love.
This film was action-packed and exciting, causing you not to separate a single minute from the screen, but there is a big mistake: the amount of topics and stereotypes it has. For example, the ''black people gang'' leaded by Lamar (50 cent), the ''damsel in distress'' reflected in Talia (Rosario Dawson), who is a woman that needs to be rescued altough her knowledge with guns and the ''lucky rookie'', which is Coleman (Josh Duhamel). The only character I liked the most, was the antagonist, David Hagan, who is notably interpreted by Vincent D'Onofrio.
My conclusion about Fire with fire is that I have enjoyed it.

The second film ''La fleur de l'âge'' is bittersweet but insightful. Gaspard Dassonville is a 63 year old man with the attitude of a thirtysomething. His father, Hubert, is grumpy since he cannot stand his son's behaviour. However, when Zana Kotnic appeared, their bad relationship began to dissapear. Zana is an eccentric but happy-go-lucky woman who thinks out of the box and makes them see life from another point of view. She is the fairy godmother who has fixed the Dassonvilles' situation.
I have to admit this movie is a tearjerker, but it gives us an important message: be positive and brave in any situation.

This round, was a bit difficult to me since this two films are actually great, but...

Movie 1 Film mark: 6,1 out of 10
Movie 2 Film mark: 6,2 out of 10

LA FLEUR DE L'ÂGE IS THE WINNER OF THIS ROUND!

Film Review 6: My mom's new boyfriend vs The children of Huang Shi (Cinema VS Cinema 3)

In this third round we have this two completely different films: One is a romantic comedy (My mom's new boyfriend) and the other one is a historical war film (The children of Huang Shi). Which one will win?

LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!

1

Title: My mom's new boyfriend

Countries: USA and Germany

Year: 2008

Genres: Comedy, Romance and Crime

Runtime: 1 hour and 37 minutes

Language: English 

Directed by: George Gallo

Written by: George Gallo
Music by: Chris Boardman

Cinematography by: Michael Negrin
Cast: Antonio Banderas (Tommy Lucero/Martinez), Meg Ryan (Marty Durand), Colin Hanks (Henry Durand), Selma Blair (Emily Lott), Eli Danker (Jean Yves Tatao), Enrico Colatoni (Enrico the chef), Marco St. John (Inspector Laborde), Trevor Morgan (Eddie), John Valdeterro (Agent Fedler), Keith David (FBI Chief Conrad), Aki Avni (Agent Randle), Terri Markel (Agent Cisneros), Mark Meade (Special Agent Wagner) and Gary Grubbs (Police Chief Malone).

                                        VS

2


Title: The Children of Huang Shi

Countries: China, Australia, Germany and USA

Year: 2008

Genres: Drama and War

Runtime: 2 hours and 5 minutes

Languages: English, Japanese and Mandarin

Directed by: Roger Spottiswoode

Written by: Jane Hawksley and James MacManus
Music by: David Hirschfelder

Cinematography by: Xiaoding Zhao
Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers (George Hogg), Radha Mitchell (Lee Pearson), Yun-Fat Chow (Chen Hangsheng/Jack), Michelle Yeoh (Mrs. Wang), Matthew Walker (Andy Fisher), Guang Li (Shi-Kai), Ping Su (Eddie Wei), Anastasia Kolpakova (Duschka), Imai Hidekai (Japanese Officer), Seiichiro Hashimoto (Urbane Japanese Officer), Youelong Fang (Rou Ding), Shimin Sun (Yu Lin), Xucheng Shi (Kao Tung), Naihan Wang (Ching), Zhi Zang (Lao Si) and Weijuan Wu (Young Mother).




Plots:

1Young federal agent Henry is assigned a new case: to follow in the footsteps of Tommy , a refined international art thief who seems to be planning a new robbery. Things get complicated when Henry discovers that Tommy is his crazy mother's new boyfriend.

2During the Japanese invasion of China in 1937, George Hogg, a young British journalist, will try with the help of an Australian nurse to save a group of orphans.


My review:

My mom's new boyfriend is the typical romantic comedy that is direct to DVD. Its plot is simple and badly written. The jokes of the film are absolutely stereotypical and obnoxious since they are quite racist, especially in the character played by Enrico Colatoni, who is an italian obssessed with Marty and the excessive mockery on the Albanians. However, the acting was not so bad as I expected to be. Antonio Banderas did the best that he could on his crummily character, Colin Hanks did a good job and Selma Blair too. I cannot say anything else about this predictable film.

Nevertheless in the film of the children of Huang Shi, I was speechless of how poignant was the tragedy of war between China and Japan. I have learned so much from the main character, George Hogg, who believed in peace at war times, though having PTSD, Hogg went on the right way and
he did not want any revenge. The tagline of the film was right: When you save some lives, you save the entire world. It is also a depressing film, but no so much as The Grey, because it has both a happy ending and a sad one at the same time. I just wanted to say that, I don't want to tell any spoiler alert.

The results, in this third round, are absolutely clear:

Movie 1 Film mark: 3,2 out of 10
Movie 2 Film mark: 7,5 out of 10


THE CHILDREN OF HUANG SHI IS THE WINNER OF THIS ROUND!

Film Review 5: The grey vs Alabama Moon (Cinema VS Cinema 2)

In this second round we have two movies. What they have in common is survival. One is The grey and the other, Alabama Moon. Which one will win?

LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!

1

Title: The grey

Country: USA

Year: 2011

Genres: Thriller and Drama

Runtime: 1 hour and 57 minutes

Languages: English and Spanish

Directed by: Joe Carnahan

Written by: Joe Carnahan and Ian MacKenzie Jeffers
Music by: Mark Streitenfield

Cinematography by: Masanobu Takayanagi
Cast: Liam Neeson (Ottway), Frank Grillo (Diaz), Dermot Mulroney (Talget), Dallas Roberts (Henrick), Joe Anderson (Flannery), Nonso Anonzie (Burke), James Badge Dale (Lewenden), Ben Hernandez (Hernandez), Anne Oppenshaw (Ottway's wife), James Bitonti (Ottway's father), Ella Kosor (Talget's little girl) and Jacob Blair (Cimoski).

                                     VS

2


Title: Alabama Moon

Country: USA

Year: 2009

Genres: Drama and Family

Runtime: 1 hour and 39 minutes

Language: English

Directed by: Tim McCanlies

Written by: James Whittaker (based upon the novel by Watt Key)
Music by: Ludek Drizhal 

Cinematography by: Jimmy Lindsey
Cast: Jimmy Bennett (Moon Blake),Gabriel Basso (Hal Mitchell), Uriah Shelton (Kit), Clint Howard (Constable Sanders), John Goodman (Mr. Wellington), J.D Evermore (Pap Blake), Michael P. Sullivan (Mr. Gene), John McConnell (Mr. Mitchell), Elizabeth Jackson (Rachael Gene), Kenny McLean (Officer Pete), Leonore Banks (Mrs. Broomstead), Gary Grubbs (Judge Mackin) and Mark Adam (Uncle Carter).





Plots:

1After crashing their plane in a remote and wild region of Alaska, a group of oil seekers are totally lost in the subarctic tundra. The chances of being rescued are null. Exposed to a glacial cold and extreme living conditions, the survivors, led by the tough Ottway, a hunter whose mission is to defend the drillers of wild beasts, will also suffer the tireless persecution of a herd of hungry and enormous Wolves.

2After the unexpected death of his father, a boy raised in the wild state of Alabama must learn to seek his independence.



My review:

The grey is the story of a group of oil seekers whose plane was crashed in the freeziest region of Alaska. Together they must survive the best that they can and they must beware the hungry wolves. This film is intense and has many aspects I am going to remark. Firstly Ottway's character represents a depressive person who has lost something in his life, in this case, the protagonist has lost his wife. Secondly, the wolves represent life's most negative aspects and finally, the white landscape means one of the most repeated topics: memento mori, which in latin means ''remember that you will die'' because it represents the permanent winter. This film is one of the most depressing I've ever seen, because the ending... was poignant. It makes you think Ottway has died altough fighting for his survival. This film makes us remember that we only have one life and that we are fragile by nature.

Meanwhile, Alabama Moon is a coming of age drama story about an eleven year old boy named Moon Blake who has to find its own independence. He is followed by Constable Sanders a tough sheriff whose mission is taking orphan boys into an orphanage school called Pinson. When Moon was there he befriends Hal Mitchell, a little kid with health problems who has to take his pills every day and Kit, who at the beggining was a bully but finally respected his ''weird'' way of life.
Alabama Moon is quite similar to Charles Dickens' novel ''Oliver Twist'', but there are some differences: Moon is a kid who has lost his mother and father when he is 11 years old and Oliver Twist was an orphan since he was a baby.
I enjoyed watching this film, nevertheless, the characters are childish and cartoonish. Its justification is his family-friendly genre but that is not an excuse to make a realistic film.

Movie 1 Film mark: 7,56 out of 10
Movie 2 Film mark: 5,8 out of 10


THE GREY IS THE WINNER OF THIS ROUND!

Film review 4: Brooklyn's finest vs Hollywoodland (Cinema VS Cinema 1)

Welcome everybody to Cinema VS Cinema. First, I will do a datasheet about each film. Secondly I do a compairson between them and finally I will mark them both. The winning film will have its trailer at the end of the blog. So today, we have two crime films. One is Brooklyn's finest and the other one is Hollywoodland. Which one will win?

LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!

1

Title: Brooklyn's finest

Country: USA

Year: 2009

Genres: Crime, Thriller and Drama

Runtime: 2 hours and 10 minutes

Language: English

Directed by: Antoine Fuqua

Written by: Michael C. Martin
Music by: Marcelo Zarvos

Cinematography by: Patrick Murguia
Cast: Richard Gere (Eddie), Don Cheadle (Tango), Ethan Hawke (Sal), Wesley Snipes (Caz), Will Patton (Lt. Bill Hobarts), Lili Taylor (Angela), Ellen Barkin (Agent Smith), Vincent D'Onofrio (Carlo), Michael Kenneth Williams (Red), Brian F. O'Byrne (Ronny Rosario), Wass Stevens (Det. Patrick Leary), Logan Marshall-Green (Melvin Panton), Hassan Johnson (Beamer), Jessie Williams (Eddie Quinlan), Wade Allan Marcus (C-Rayz), Stella Maeve (Cynthia) and Bruce MacVittie (Father Scarpitta).

VS

2


Title: Hollywoodland

Country: USA

Year: 2006

Genres: Biography, Crime and  Drama

Runtime: 2 hours and 6 minutes

Language: English

Directed by: Allen Coulter

Written by: Paul Bernbaum
Music by: Marcelo Zarvos

Cinematography by: Jonathan Freeman
Cast: Adrien Brody (Louis Simo), Ben Affleck (George Reeves), Diane Lane (Toni Mannix), Bob Hoskins (Eddie Mannix), Robin Tunney (Leonore Lemmon), Kathleen Robertson (Carol Van Ronkel), Lois Smith (Helen Bessolo), Philip MacKenzie (Bill Bliss), Molly Parker (Laurie Simo), Zach Mills (Evan Simo), Neil Crone (Chuck), Gareth Williams (Del), Ted Atherton (Det. Doug Johnson), Caroline Dhavernas (Kit Holliday), Kevin Hare (Robert Condon), Larry Cedar (Chester Sinclair), Dash Minok (Sgt. Jack Peterson) and Veronica Watt (Rita Hayworth).




Plots:

1In the New York Police Department in the Brooklyn neighborhood, veteran Eddie is an honest but self-destructive agent who has lost the respect of his peers. For his part, Sal has fallen into corruption, and feels guilty because he has murdered a trafficker for money. Finally, Tango, who works infiltrated a drug trafficking case, will be forced to betray Caz, a trafficker who has become his best friend. The three will be involved in a massive raid.

2In the 50s, a detective investigates the death in Hollywood of George Reeves, the actor who played Superman in a well-known television series.


My review:

Brooklyn's finest is a crime story in which 3 main characters are involved: Eddie, Tango and Sal. Eddie is a honest police who has a terrible defect: his depression. This makes him untrustworthy in the police station since he has made several mistakes, one of them is secretly contracting a prostitute. Tango is an infiltrated police who works in a drug trafficking case in which his best friend Caz is involved and Sal is an agent who has fallen in the sin of greed since his wife was doing to die soon. The plot is introspective and fascinating in view of the fact that it explores in depth the personality of the main characters, especially in Don Cheadle's character since he has to make a decision: betray Caz in order to accomplish his boss' orders or disobeying his orders in order to protect his best friend.
The acting is convincing, it is from my point of view, the essence of this film apart from the narrative cinematography, altough there are some clichés in it about black people (which I consider it racist), but well, it is approaching to reality.

Going back in time, in the 50s, Hollywoodland tells the tragic story of George Reeves, the first actor who played Superman, one of the most famous superheroes of comic history. But the problem that is presented is that we do not know if George commited suicide or he has been killed by a mobster. Detective Louis Simo has to investigate his death, but it will not be easy. In my opinion, this story, instead of giving a final conclusion, it makes you much more doubts than before watching it. Of course, the plot respects its historical mystery and it is interesting, it gives some points that will not separate you from the screen, especially in the clue scene in George Reeves' bedroom. The whole film is quite slow-paced and I think its opened ending is the problem of Hollywoodland.

Movie 1 Film mark: 7,1 out of 10
Movie 2 Film mark: 6,5 out of 10

BROOKLYN'S FINEST IS THE WINNER OF THIS ROUND!

Film Review 3: Dough

Title: Dough

Countries: UK and Hungary

Year: 2015

Genre: Dramatic comedy

Runtime: 1 hour and 34 minutes

Languages: English

Directed by: John Goldschmidt

Written by: Jonathan Benson and Jez Freedman
Music by: Lorne Balfe

Cinematography by: Peter Hannah
Cast: Jonathan Pryce (Nat Dayan), Philip Davis (Sam Cotton), Jerome Holder (Ayyash Habimana), Ian Hart (Victor Gerrard), Pauline Collins (Joanna Silverman), Andrew Ellis (Lucas), Malachi Kirby (Shaun), Natasha Gordon (Safa Habimana), Daniel Catagirone (Stephen Dayan), Andy de la Tour (Saul Goodwyn), Melanie Freeman (Olivia Dayan), Joel Beckett (PC O'Neill), Ben Bishop (PC Marsh), Matt Beveridge (Stoner) and Daniel Ben Zanou (Rabbi).

Plot:

Nat Dayan, an old Jewish baker from East London, strives to maintain the activity of his store, facing competition from a nearby supermarket, which even takes away his employee. Without much enthusiasm, he hired as a trainee a young Muslim immigrant from Darfur, who occasionally sells cannabis. Their relationship is not easy until an unexpected incident reactivates sales.

My review:

Money makes the world go round, and even more if you have a competence that is taking away your clients and workers since you do not produce enough money to mantain, in this case, a bakery. This story is telling us the complications of working with an apprentice, whose culture is different from Nat, a jewish. When Ayyash accidentally introduces cannabis in the bakery machine the store suddenly becomes a success... but not for too long. Sam Cotton, Nat's rival, discovered that Cannabis was the secret ingredient and decided to buy some muffins to prove it. Will Sam Cotton win this competence battle or will it happen a miracle to Dayan and Son bakery?

The plot was simple but well explained since it has some details on what is going on Nat Dayan's family and why Ayyash is an occasional cannabis seller. The acting was well done, especially for Jerome Holder, who has done a few films and TV series, and I percieve he is having a good start on acting. The conclusion of this review is that the film was surprisingly entertaining and quite hilarious.

Film mark: 6,4 out of 10


Trailer:

Film Review 2: The Young Victoria

Title: The Young Victoria

Countries: UK and USA

Year: 2009

Genres: Biopic and Period Drama

Runtime: 1 hour and 45 minutes

Languages: English and German

Directed by: Jean Marc Vallée

Written by: Julian Fellowes

Music by: Ilan Eshkeri

Cinematography by: Hagen Bogdanski

Cast: Emily Blunt (Queen Victoria), Rupert Friend (Prince Albert), Paul Bettany (Lord Melbourne), Miranda Richardson (Duchess of Kent), Jim Broadbent (King William), Mark Strong (Sir John Conroy),Thomas Kretschmann (King Leopold), Jesper Christensen (Baron Stockmar),Michael Maloney (Sir Robert Peel), Julian Glover (Duke of Wellington), Harriet Walter (Queen of Adelaide), Jeanette Hain (Baroness Lehzen), Genevieve O'Reilly (Lady Flora Hastings), Michel Huisman (Ernest), John Pirkis (Earl of Derby), Tom Fisher (Lord Chamberlain), Malcolm Sinclair (Charles Kemble), Morven Christie (Watson) and Rachael Stirling (Duchess of Sutherland).

Plot:

Narration of Queen Victoria's youth, her ascent to the throne and her everlasting love with Prince Albert. In 1837, Victoria of Kent, with only 17 years old becomes the centre of a struggle for power. Her uncle, King William, is about to die and she decided to be queen altough removed from court by her mother's will. When she decides to be crowned as queen of England, she only has the suport of her governess. 

My review:

Being the ruler of all the country is not easy and even less if you are a woman. Victoria lived in a complicated society in which women were only allowed to be mothers and wives. The Queen, however, broke those barriers during the years, and I must say I admire her willpower.
However, the film resumes too much the intense life of Queen Victoria, and avoided the political part of her life. This leads on not knowing much about Lord Melbourne and Sir Robert Peel like we do on the 2016 ITV series. What I do not like about this film is the idilical romance between Victoria and Albert, which is not true because love has also a dark side.
The acting was realist, although my favourites were Emily Blunt, Mark Strong (who did a great Conroy) and Rupert Friend.
I did not enjoy the plot since it was not realist at all, from my point of view.
My conclusion about this review is that the film was too soppy for me and not so insightful on society and politics.

Film mark: 5,5 out of 10.

Trailer:

Film Review 1: Mortal Engines (Mainstream special)

Title: Mortal Engines

Countries: USA and New Zealand

Year: 2018

Genres: Sci-Fi, Adventure, Action and Fantasy

Runtime: 2 hours and 3 minutes

Language: English

Directed by: Christian Rivers

Written by: Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh (based on the novel by Philip Reeve)

Music by: Junkie XL

Cinematography by: Simon Raby

Cast: Hera Hilmar (Hester Shaw), Robert Sheehan (Tom Natsworthy), Hugo Weaving (Thaddeus Valentine), Jihae (Anna Fang), Ronan Raftery (Bevis Pod), Leila George (Katherine Valentine), Patrick Malahide (Magnus Crome), Stephen Lang (Shrike), Colin Salmon (Chudeigh Pomeroy), Caren Pistorius (Pandora Shaw), Stephen Ure (Pewsey), Andrew Lees (Herbert Milliphant), Mark Mitchinson (Vambrace), Callum Gittins (Chief Navigator), Nathaniel Lees (Pierrepoint), Mark Hadlow (Stigwood), Sarah Peirse (Dr. Twix), René Jean Page (Captain Khora) and Menik Gooneratne (Sathya).

Plot:

Thousand years after the destruction of our actual civilization by a cataclysm, humanity has adapted so now, there are gigantic moving cities that roam the earth on huge wheels absorbing smaller towns to obtain resources. In one of those colossal cities, Tom Natsworthy, from London's lower class, must fight for his life alongside the dangerous fugitive Hester Shaw. Two opposites, whose paths should never have crossed, form a peculiar alliance destined to change the course of the future.

My review:

It is the typical mainstream film whose story is about a Hester, a girl who clearly has PTSD since her mother, Pandora Shaw, who discovered new technology, was killed by Thaddeus Valentine, the ambitious Deputy Lord Mayor of the Head of the Guild of Historians. She allies with Tom Natsworthy, an apprentice of History, whose passion is discovering old machines and engines. He is thrown out of the city since he left Hester go after the persecution. From now on, Hester and Tom will live different adventures so that their ties become more powerful during the film.

The steampunk premise is interesting but it is badly executed.  It has many chichés of other films like Star Wars or Terminator and it does not explain well why there was a cataclism on earth. Furthermore the entire plot has no sense since it looks like a pilot episode of a TV series rather than a film.The acting was poor (excepting Robert Sheehan and Hugo Weaving whose characters were at least believable). However, the photography and soundtrack have captured the essence of the movie.

Dear Peter Jackson, you could do better than that, you did wonderfully on the Hobbit and Lord of The Rings series. From my point of view, your best is slow-paced fantasy films and not fast-paced Sci-Fi Steampunk.

Film mark: 3,7 out of 10.


Trailer:

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