PG-13


Split (2016)

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Starring

James McAvoy – Dennis/Patricia…etc.

Summary

“Three girls are kidnapped by a man with a diagnosed 23 distinct personalities, and must try and escape before the apparent emergence of a frightful new 24th.”

-From IMDB.com

Review

This movie was nothing like I thought it was going to be and was quite surprised in many ways. First of all, I thought it was going to be a bit more horror than psychological, however it was just a psychological thriller with a few jump scare moments just because of his disassociation disorder.

Now James McAvoy played all of the 23 personalities very well. That was what impressed me the most. The way he was able to move between all of the characters so simply and really present them in his own unique way with voices, outfits and just mannerisms. That was what impressed me the most about the entire movie. I do hope that he is nominated for some kind of award because the way that he portrayed the characters was incredible. You really did feel for certain characters and hated him when he played different parts. And that was impressive.

However, there was a reference to child rape within the movie which in my opinion was not necessary. You could have easily substituted it with child abuse slightly or sexual assault with an older. Nothing was shown in the movie however it alluded to it and it was blatant exactly what it was. And I really didn’t like that and felt violently sick. That really made the movie a little too real for me and kind of made me not like the movie as it could have used so many other ways to give the main girl character some kind of scars, but they had to go to one of the most taboo subjects, and I really disliked that aspect.

The entire movie was quite unique in the way that they were bringing up multiple personalities and disassociation disorder. However they were able to lighten the entire movie a few times with some jokes which helped with the entire experience.

Overall I do recommend watching this movie because it was an experience. It was PG-13 so it wasn’t terribly graphic with anything except towards the end. There was some slight cannibalism, however not like you may expect. Just a warning that there is a little blood and killing but nothing in the movie was too graphic.

It was a one time watch and I may watch it a second time since I now know what to expect and can understand it a bit better as I know the characters and can follow who is who. It got good reviews and was an enjoyable watch, however don’t go in thinking that it will be an entirely joyful experience.

Happy Watching!


Inferno (2016)

This review of Inferno contains affiliate links for your convenience.

Starring

Tom Hanks – Robert Langdon
Felicity Jones – Sienna Brooks
Omar Sy – Christoph Bouchard
Irrfan Khan – Harry Sims
Sidse Babett Knudsen – Elizabeth Sinskey

Summary

“When Robert Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Dr. Sienna Brooks, and together they must race across Europe against the clock to foil a deadly global plot.”

-From IMDB.com

Review

Wow! I am extremely pleased with this movie. I have once again a very good book-to-movie. Quite a while ago I reviewed Dan Brown’s Inferno because I loved it so much. It was so different from his other books and it really was an eye opener with the topic – a virus which will cull half the population.

Now the movie was so close to the book and it made me sooooo happy. You always have to worry that the movie will just spiral out of control and not be similar in any shape or form to the book. However, this was literally the book and it made me just so happy that it was.

Due to this fact, there isn’t much to say about the actual story line itself as if you have read the book, or read my review of the book, you’ll have an understand of what the story is as well as my opinion on the book.

As for the visuals of the movie though, it was stunning. It was mostly basted around Italy, except the ending which was in Istanbul, and the places that it was filmed was just beautiful. I really just want to hop on a plane and go visit all of these museums now. So of course it kept you interested just from the visual appeal.

Also it kept you questioning and wondering what would happen next. I really do think it is ingenious how Dan Brown is able to take an idea like Dante and just work it into his story so convincingly. All of his stories take some historical aspect and wind it into a real life story in such a convincing way, you would think that it actually was happening or was some account of real events. That is what I love about his stories – they’re based in reality and are not so far fetched that you cannot believe them.

Overall this movie was absolutely fantastic! I really do recommend that you check it out and if you haven’t read the book, read the book. This definitely is one of those movies that you do want to read the book first.

If you’ve seen this movie, what did you think of it and if you read the book as well, did you think that it stayed close?

Otherwise, happy watching and reading!

 


Lights Out (2016)

Starring

Teresa Palmer – Rebecca
Gabriel Bateman – Martin
Alexander DiPersia – Bret

Summary

“When her little brother, Martin, experiences the same events that once tested her sanity, Rebecca works to unlock the truth behind the terror, which brings her face to face with an entity that has an attachment to their mother, Sophie.”

-From IMDB.com

Review

This movie was absolutely fantastic. It was scary, but not gruesome scary, which I really am not into. There was a little bit of blood, and a few deaths, but it was more jump scares and they did a good job. It really brought back your fears of the dark from when you were a kid.

I always had this kind of fear that I’d turn the lights out and I’d see something but when the light were on it would disappear and this movie definitely brought them back. It is nice to know that grown men were jumping in the movie theatre as well. I was proud that I didn’t scream once…or jump. But my heart beats were off the chart. I was quite stressed but it was a really good movie.

There was a good story to it and it didn’t end in the way that you thought it was going to. The entire time I was curious as to how the movie was going to end because there was no clear cut way to be dealing with the creature which was terrorizing the family, but in the end you just sat there like “what…oh..” It was a clean ending but not really expected.

The filming was really good as well. It was quite simple and a very dark movie overall. A lot of the movie was spent in the dark with the creature there or the creature living in the dark corners of areas and it was quite an interesting idea with what they had done. The whole idea of this creature only existing in the dark was creative and not something I’ve really come across before.

I’ve only recently started to get into horror movies a lot more and I have to say that this one was really good. For story I would say a 4/5 and for scare factor, I would say 5/5. It kept you on your toes, you weren’t sure what was going to happen and when something would jump out. There were a few moments I was so ready for something to pop out and nothing did and your heart was racing for nothing. So you never knew when something would really jump out and when something wouldn’t.

To say I was a little afraid to turn the lights off later that evening is an understatement. That’s how you know a movie did its job!

Overall I really did enjoy the movie and do recommend watching this. It’s a perfect, absolutely perfect, Halloween movie. And probably will watch it again around then.

It is based off a short which is on YouTube and I posted it below. But once again, viewer discretion is advised. It made me jump…And the movie is clearly based off of this kind of idea. It just takes it way further.

So go out and enjoy it at your local movie theatre if you have nothing else to do this weekend and just want to go out and relax..well kind of relax.

Happy watching!


5 Of The Best Documentaries Around Right Now

In the past 6 – 12 months I have seen a lot of documentaries. A lot. And so it is with some confidence I can list my top 5.

I will tell you now, barring one of them, they are all highly emotional and only two of these I’ve watched because I chose them. The others were thanks to my college English class.

Of course, disclaimer, some of these documentaries are not completely accurate so don’t base all of your knowledge off of one documentary, as you already know.


Jiro Dreams of Sushi

PG – 1hr 22 min

Jiro Dreams of Sushi is the story of 85-year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious three-star Michelin Guide rating, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro’s sushi bar.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi is a thoughtful and elegant meditation on work, family, and the art of perfection, chronicling Jiro’s life as both an unparalleled success in the culinary world and as a loving yet complicated father.”

-From Amazon.com

As I love Japan, I chose this movie after looking at the documentaries on Netflix and boy was I happy with this one. It did make me very hungry and want some sushi, as well as to go to Japan like right now, but I also learnt a lot as well. It is subbed, so if you aren’t into foreign documentaries with subtitles, this may not be the right one for you, but come on! It’s sushi! Who doesn’t love sushi?! The filming was fantastic as well. Simple, elegant, and made everything just look so yummy! If you like sushi, or really food in general, and like Japan then you cannot miss this one!


Life According to Sam

NR – 1hr 34min

“A moving look at a couple’s inspiring efforts to save their only son Sam from the rare and fatal premature-aging disease of progeria.”

From Amazon.com

An extremely moving documentary about children who are born with a rare disease that causes them to age rapidly, dying by the age of about 15 years old. My English teacher met one of the kids and so he had wanted us to watch the documentary and learn about it and I have to say that it was one of the more eye opening documentaries. It’s made me appreciate life as these kids in the documentary will not live long and their parents who are way older will out live their kids, due to reasons that are not their own. The filming was great and it was well done though it was incredibly stressful to see these young children being treated like specimens. Overall it was extremely good but if you’re not into seeing something like this with kids and such, then this may not be the documentary for you.


Hot Girls Wanted

NR – 1 hr 22 min

“This 2015 Sundance Film Festival breakout documentary from producer Rashida Jones spotlights the “amateur” porn industry and the women it exploits.”

-From Netflix.com

This was a Netflix original and I probably would have never come across this or really wanted to watch it but something made me curious. It wasn’t my intent to actually finish it because I thought it was all going to be about sex and something stupid like that. But actually it was quite good. It followed one girl who found out about an ad on Craigslist and her story into the amateur porn industry and how it effects these girls and how they even find out about it. It was quite stressful but very eye opening and made me grateful for the family that I have. This is a mature documentary, even though it is NR, definitely because of the content, but it’s good for people to know about as well. People think that porn is all beautiful and perfect but they don’t realize the life some of these people have as well as how these girls get started and this did a pretty good job of showing it.

Warning: The trailer is kind of graphic. NSFW slightly and not for a younger audience. 


The Square

NR – 1 hr 35 min

“A group of Egyptian revolutionaries battle leaders and regimes, risking their lives to build a new society of conscience.”

-From IMDB.com

This was a fantastic documentary to learn about Tahir square and the kind of stuff which was going on around with that event, but I will have to give a few disclaimers. First off, it was quite violence and graphic. And violence and graphic in fiction is one thing but this was actual footage from the event and people died. You saw people shot at and others run over by vehicles and it was sickening and difficult to watch. There was also quite a lot of blood. Another disclaimer is that the translations are not accurate. It is known that they aren’t and while watching it there was a kid in my class who understands Arabic and was saying how some of the words they were saying were more sayings but the translations were making them seem so much bigger and more violent, which of course is what people filming documentaries want so they’d gain support for it and such. It was a good watch and I was able to understand a situation better, but please do not use just this as your information on the Tahir square revolution. Other than that, as supplemental information, as well as seeing it from their perspective, it was quite well done.


Blackfish

PG-13 – Ihr 24 min

“Killer whales are beloved, majestic, friendly giants, yet infamous for their capacity to kill viciously. Blackfish unravels the complexities of this dichotomy, employing the story of the notorious performing whale Tilikum, who — unlike any orca in the wild — has taken the lives of several people while in captivity. Blackfish expands on the discussion of keeping such …”

-From Amazon.com

This was a good documentary but I honestly hated watching it. It stressed me the hell out and was sickening to watch and I don’t want to go and see animal shows ever! I never went to Sea World as a kid and I’m so glad that I didn’t. Wile this documentary isn’t completely accurate and portrays the horrible side of everything, it was enough to make me not want to support companies in what they do. I had tears in my eyes from the beginning and felt violently sick throughout the entire thing. If you like animals and hate animal cruelty, this may not be the documentary for you because it will make you sick, but it is good to watch and be aware about because not many people know about all of the disasters that occur and what the lives are like for Killer Whales. And this made me know, even though I didn’t really want to know. Would I recommend this? Yes, but would tell the viewers to watch with caution.


Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015)

Starring

Tom Cruise – Ethan Hunt
Jeremy Renner – William Brandt
Simon Pegg – Benji Dunn
Rebecca Ferguson –  Ilsa Faucet
Ving Rhames – Luther Stickell
Sean Harris – Lane

Summary

“With the IMF disbanded, Ethan and his team join forces with a disavowed British agent, who may or may not be a member of this rogue nation, as they must face off against a new network of highly skilled special agents, the Syndicate.”

Review

Wow. So my mom had us watch this movie as I completely forgot about it coming out..as there have been so many and had never seen this. Boy, I don’t know what I hadn’t seen it sooner! It was sooooooooo good! There was ass kicking, a little subtle romance, epic driving/motorcycle sequences and tons of spy stuff. I mean, duh.

This movie follows the traditional Mission Impossible franchise but with a slight twist. Instead of them taking a mission as per every other movie, they are hunting the person who has been behind many of the issues that have occurred through the series. The Syndicate.

It was kind of interesting seeing everything fall together beautifully and connect as well as Hunt meeting his true rival and near match.

There were some serious nail biting scenes, whether it be from the massive motorcycle chase which occurred at top speeds to the underwater scene which had be stressed out as hell. But the acting was great per usual.

Honestly, there isn’t much to say about this movie as it fits in perfectly to the franchise as all the movies follow a similar model, except with a few twists.

All I can say is if you liked any of the previous Mission Impossibles, then you’ll like this one as well because it was similar to all the other ones just with a little more…umph.

Check it out and let me know what you think because I will definitely be watching this one again soon!

Enjoy!