Movie Review - Yes Man (2008) Peyton Reed

Hello, Crazy Movie Lovers!

Sometimes, life can be tough. I often complain when my boss leaves me too much works that I have to stay late to finish the tasks, and I get tired. I might have been rejecting things around me by making up some excuses. Do you have similar experiences like mine? Have you been saying "NO" to your friends, or anyone on the street because you're too busy? It's not late yet! Jim Carrey will give you a life changing lesson through this movie, "Yes Man". 

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Official Synopsis:

Carl Allen (Jim Carrey) is stuck in a rut with his negative ways. Then he goes to a self-help seminar and learns to unleash the power of yes. Living in the affirmative leads him to all sorts of amazing and transforming experiences; he gets a job promotion, and even finds a new romance. But Carl finds that too much of anything, even positive thinking, is not necessarily a good thing.

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While I was watching this movie, it kept reminding me that his lifestyle seems somewhat familiar to me. Yes, it was me. I often used the word, "No" to anyone, anything I'm not comfortable with. I said "No" when my colleague asked me a favour because I was busy, I said "No" when some random guy hand out flyers on the street because simply I wasn't interested regardless of what the flyers are about.

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I believe it isn't just me who dreams of some fantasy happening in my life. Many people today, they are not satisfied with their lives, and they get tired of routinely repeated lifestyle. However, we often find ourselves refuse to changes. The movie, "Yes Man" teaches us a guideline to accept the change and take the opportunity ahead of you. The ultimate solution of life change is quite simple. Say "Yes". It tells you don't think about the consequences, what you're giving up, or try to measure its value and compare with others, whatever you're thinking. Just say "Yes". You may find the fantasy you have been dreaming of. 

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Will you visit us everyday? YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     

Movie Review - Inside Out by Pete Docter & Ronnie del Carmen(2015)

Hello, Crazy Movie Lovers.

Have you ever wondered how our body functions? Would you be surprised if our emotions, behaviours, personalities, everything is controlled by these magical fairies inside us? Disney's new animation movie, Inside Out(2015) will expand your imagination!

Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures

The story begins with a happy, hockey-loving 11-year-old Midwestern girl, Riley (Kaitlyn Dias). Her world turns upside-down when she and her parents move to San Francisco. Riley's emotions -- led by Joy (Amy Poehler) -- try to guide her through this difficult, life-changing event. However, the stress of the move brings Sadness (Phyllis Smith) to the forefront. When Joy and Sadness are inadvertently swept into the far reaches of Riley's mind, the only emotions left in Headquarters are Anger, Fear and Disgust

Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures

Inside Out's Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader) Disgust (Mindy Kaling) and Joy (Amy Poehler.

Like 11-year-old Riley we know they’re up there. Transplanted to San Francisco with mum and job-transfer dad, the Minnesotan girl pines for home. So the HR team in her head — Joy and Sadness, plus Fear, Disgust and Anger — go into scramble mode to ensure that a healthy balance of emotions isn’t toppled by despair. These mood boffins are a zany bunch. Joy (Amy Poehler) is a vim-full majorette in blinding yellow. Sadness (Phyllis Smith) is blue and roly-poly, like a TV couch potato gently irradiated by sloth. The show-stealer of the rest is red-all-over Anger (Lewis Black), whose head can burst into flame like a volcano.

We keep cutting between Riley’s story — new home, new school, new and daily thoughts of running away — and the controllers in her cranium. Then two of them, for best of reasons, run free from HQ. For most ofInside Out’s middle, Joy roves across Riley’s mental landscape, with Sadness in tow like Sancho Panza, trying to save the girl’s buried thoughts and important but endangered memory clusters. The latter are giant islands of bric-a-brac, pedestalled above the chasm of the unconscious. The former are in the unconscious, including a Fingal’s Cave of broccoli, the film’s running horror motif. (Riley’s low-point encounter on Surface Earth is a pizzeria serving only broccoli pizza.)

Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures

The film’s midsection is a bit Barnum and Bailey. Did we need the elephant Bing Bong, one wacko too many? Or the OTT cataclysms and chasm crossings? Never mind. Inside Out is hummingly funny and clever for 99 seconds of every hundred. Director/co-writer Pete Docter, who gave us Up and Monsters, Inc, makes every member of Team Emotion as human as the humans and more screwball. (“You’ll get lost!”, Sadness warns adventuring Joy. “Think positive,” Joy responds. Sadness: “I’m positive you’ll get lost!”) Yet every time we return to Riley’s reality, it’s no comedown, more a poignant re-docking on Planet Home: a place where the softer, sepia-nuanced colours suggest the old picture albums that the past must be, and even the present, for those busy “upstairs” in our heads, planning and prepping our futures.

Walt Disney Studios
Motion Pictures

Ocean’s 11 – Film Review

Warner Bros. Pictures

I wanted to go back a few years and came across the very entertaining, suspense packed film of 2001, Ocean’s 11. It essentially is a comedy heist film based on the original Ocean’s 11 from 1960. The premise of the film is based on a group of men who plan to rob a large Grand Casino in Vegas. The leading character is Danny Ocean (George Clooney), a former prisoner, who recruits a team to help him with this pursuit. As the film progresses, it is discovered that Ocean has a personal agenda attached to this heist. His intention is to win back his ex-wife but it coincidentally happens that her new partner is the Casino’s owner.

Once this conflict of interest is discovered, it appears there is a breakdown within the group with Danny being excluded from the heist plans. This is not however the case as he eventually plays a pivotal role and through the effective coordination of the team’s actions, they are successful.

The aclaimed director, Steven Soderbergh does an excellent job of making the narrative gripping and visually depicting intricate details of the security obstacles the group has to overcome. What distinguishes this film and makes the story seem authentic rather than outlandish is that each supporting actor’s character has their own unique personality and skill sets but are immediately drawn together by a common goal. This is coupled with a credible set of circumstances that may eventuate and transform into obstacles should a realistic breach of security arise.

Warner Bros. Pictures

Another clever film technique used by Soderbergh is revisiting the same scene but depicting it from another perspective to convey the clever deception.

This film is a great pop corn flick. A big thumbs up.

4 Stars

By Navin Ralhan

The Grand Hotel Budapest

The Grand Hotel Budapest

Hello! Crazy Movie Lovers.

Today, the movie I would like to introduce is "The Grand Hotel Budapest" filmed by Wes Anderson.

The story begins in the 1930s, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a popular European ski resort, presided over by concierge Gustave H(Ralph Fiennes). Zero, a junior lobby boy(my favaourite character in this movie), becomes Gustave's friend and protege. Gustave prides himself on providing first-class service to the hotel's guests, including satisfying the sexual needs of the many elderly women who stay there. When on of Gustave's lovers dies myseriously, Gustave finds himself the recipient of a priceless painting and the chief suspect in her murder.

The Grand Hotel Budapest -
Fox Searchlight Pictures

One of the significant features of this movie was its sensational use of colours. As the movie goes on, you will be thoroughly impressed by its colourful furnitures, lamps, and even uniforms! The "unrealistic" colours, I said it because I would barely see a hotel where painted its walls and lifts in red. Nevertheless, these sensational colours along with actors/actresses' actings somewhat makes you feel like watch a musical, show rathan than a movie.

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Through complex narrative framework, which itself is a mockery of all these films that are being narrated by someone and is also being an excuse for not being too realistic, we get to a story of a young lobby boy, Zero Moustafa and Gustave H. Many of the female guests of the hotel mainly come to enjoy Gustave's company. When one of these ladies passes away, Gustave sends Zero on a train for her mansion. Soon he's blamed for her murder and hunted by plice led by Edward Norton and a grim-faced assassin payed by Willem Dafoe. There also is a love story between two young teens - Zero and Agatha(Saoirse Ronan) who has a birth mark in the shape of Mexico. 

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Overall, my conclusion on this movie is that "The Grand Htoel Budapest" is an inspiration, a well-made musical, a walk through a colourful galleries. The sets, moels, andgles and even the most nondescript characters come to life each on their own and together as a symphony of art! I would suggest this movie to watch on lazy sunnyday!

Fox Searchlight Pictures

4 Stars

The Visit (2015) - Movie Review

 

The Visit - Promotional Poster
Universal Pictures

The visit is the new “comedy-horror” film directed and written by M. Night Shyamalan. It follows the story of two kids - Rebecca (Olivia DeJonge) and Tyler (Ed Oxenbould) – as they go to visit their estranged grandparents – John (Peter McRobbie) and Doris (Deanna Dunagan) - while their mother is away on a cruise. As this will be the first time the kids meet their grandparents, they want to document the whole thing, resulting in the entire film being shot “found-footage” style.

As the story progresses, the kids start to notice more and more disturbing behaviour from their grandparents as their chances of ever leaving their grandparent’s house alive become less and less likely. This is really when the creepiness and the wackiness of the movie starts to set in. True to any Shyamalan film this movie does have a twist ending but do you want to know the biggest twist? This movie didn’t suck. 

No on can deny that M. Night Shyamalan has been on a streak of throwing out terrible movie after terrible movie in the last decade. Going into this movie people's expectations were super low but I've got to admit there were moments in "The Visit" that I found legitimately creepy.

Grandma's Rules Universal Pictures

The small casting of mainly unknown actors really helped in creating a sense of “realness”, with the performances – especially of the two children - being on point. One of the best things about this movie was that it didn’t take itself too seriously and there were a few great comedic moments intertwined between the horror story.

"There's something wrong with Nana and Papa" - Kids "They're just OLD!" - Mum
 Universal Pictures 

This “found-footage” filming style in horror movies has really been done to death in recent years and it can become annoying very quickly, although as the movie started to progress it got to be a bit more bearable. But with a production budget of only $5 million, this was definitely the cheapest way to shoot.

Overall, I got what I wanted from this movie – to be entertained. It is by no means a ‘great’ film but it has enough suspense, scares, and laughs to make it an enjoyable night at the movies. 

 

3 Stars

Thomas S