The big wedding movie review

Cast: Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon, Katherine Heigl, Robin Williams, Amanda Seyfried, Ben Barnes, Topher Grace
Director: Justin Zackham
  The big wedding is about the family of the groom,played by Ben Barnes.His biological mother comes to visit the weekend before the wedding and because she is catholic and she believes that divorce is a sin, Ben Barnes'  adoptive divorced parents are forced to pretend that they are still together for the shake of their son.
  The house and the location where the movie is shot is beautiful.There are trees and a lake and a beautiful big house.I found the whole scenery magical,to be honest.I would love to live in a place like that one day.I think all of that made me like the movie more than i would normally like it(and i didn't really enjoy it that much).Also, i enjoyed the chemistry between Susan Sarandon and Diane Keaton.I would definitely watch a movie with the two of them as best friends.One other thing i liked was SPOILER ALERT!!! how Robert De Niro didn't end up with Diane Keaton but stayed with Susan Sarandon.I found it better than what usually happens in this type of movies,which is that the guy realises what he is missing dumps his girlfriend and goes back to his wife.
  However, i felt that the movie had a lot of misses.Firstly, i had a big problem with Topher Grace's character.He is a 30 year old virgin (which i am willing to believe),who as he claims is waiting for love, and who randomly decides to have sex with his adoptive brother's biological sister,while he had plenty of offers before that i might add.I thought that was very shallow and wasn't really something his character would have done.Another character that i didn't buy was the biological sister.She is supposed to have been raised by a very strict catholic mother but she seems to have no hesitation to sleep with a stranger.Which she then is convinced not to do just because of one thing that Diane Keaton tells her.She doesn't care about the million things ,i assume, her mother has said to her over the years but Diane Keaton tells her,one time, she deserves more and she suddenly decides to wait.I found her character the most annoying in the whole film.Moreover, i found it difficult to believe that Robert De Niro would so easily cheat on Susan Sarandon.I believe that he would cheat on her but maybe he would have some remorse or he would at least feel bad about it.I found that in the movie his cheating was treated very casually almost like nothing had happened.Finally, i thought that Barnes' biological mother contradicted her self and her beliefs a lot especially when she admitted that she knowingly dated a married man once and that Barnes' was really his son.I don't think she would be so harsh about divorce and any other sin if she had done all those things when she was younger.
Score: 30%

m.

Courtesy

Lionsgate

Stuck in love or This is the end

  I'm planning on going to the movies on Thursday and then write a new review on the movie i watch but i can't decide between stuck in love or this is the end.What do you think?What would you like to see a review on? Comment below.

m.

Courtesy                                           

  Columbia Pictures                                      Millennium Entertainment                                                     

Would you rather movie review

Cast: Brittany Snow, Jeffrey Combs, Jonny Coyne, Robin Taylor

Director: David Guy Levy

 The movie is about one dinner party where life and death decisions must be made.The participants must play a game of "would you rather" which will test their strength,humanity and self preservation.So let the games begin...

  The movie starts off with the background story of Brittany Snow and how she gets pulled into the dinner.It shows her sick brother and her struggles.Everything is very believable and comes from real life.She later decides to attend the dinner hosted by Jeffrey Combs which as she was promised will help with her brother's operation.During the event she and seven other contestants find out how disturbed the hosts and the games really are.The emotions during the game are a lot and they are greatly portrayed by the actors through their characters.Every decision they make has an effect to the viewer and their thought proses is,also, clearly shown.I loved how everyone reacted to their turn and i was at the edge of my seat the entire time.Furthermore,i found that each "would you rather" was exactly what it needed to be to make the decisions extremely hard for all the attendants.I,also, really liked Robin Taylor's character and how he was portrayed as wealthy with no sense of reality and how he was raised into this lifestyle by his father.Finally,i thought the whole concept of the game was very realistic and believable.I wouldn't be surprised if this has actually happen.

  One of my biggest dislikes about the movie was Sasha Grey's character.And it wasn't because of her cruelty, it was because i found her character unrealistic.If she just had the mentality that she had to do anything to win, it would have been fine but she enjoyed herself at the begging and after a while she,out of the blue, started being quite and sad about the whole thing.To make it more convincing the movie added a short storyline about her husband and daughter.I thought the background story was rushed and unrealistic for the character Grey was supposed to be at the begging of the movie.Moreover, there is a little subplot about last year's winner and how he, suddenly, had a change of heart and decided to go save Snow.I found that unnecessary and i though it added nothing to the actual plot.Also, Snow's character at some point during the game gets stab in the ribs and, although, the old lady died from a stab in the leg Snow seems to be fine after a while.Further,in the last decision Snow contradicted, extremely, her earlier behavior,especially since Enver Gjokaj was the one that helped her the most in all the rounds.In my opinion Snow's character would have picked the option for both of them to leave the house empty handed instead of killing him for the money.Finally, i found the ending completely unnecessary.The movie was not about what would happen to Snow's brother but what she was willing to do to save him.The feeling we were supposed to have at the end of the movie wasn't despair that she had to do all those things but she still ended up losing her brother but it was shock and disgust about the brutality and inhumanity of the game. 

  In conclusion, i thought the movie was very powerful for the most of it and it is worth a watch.

Score:73%

m.

Courtesy 

of the films production/distribution companies

Olympus has fallen movie review

Cast: Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Basset, Robert Forster
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Running time: 1 hour and 59 minutes
  The movie centers around the attack and invasion of the White House and the kidnapping of the President of the United States, played by Aaron Eckhart. Former White House security agent Gerard Butler is the only one who can save the nation from distraction as well as the presidents life.
  What i found unexpected about the movie was how for the first half hour you couldn't say exactly what was happening.Why was the plane killing random people?Why were they attacking the White House?Who was behind all of this?And for a period of time you didn't know who was the mastermind of the attack that was in progress.I thought these little twists gave a little mystery to the first quarter of the movie.And that was the sole reason i gave to the movie the score that you'll see below.
  After that ,which lasted for about 30 minutes, there was a whole lot of boring.The movie was just a giant action scene without any interesting stuff.Other than that, there is not much depth to the characters.We learn almost nothing about them therefore we don't care about their fates at all.we are introduced to Gerard Butler's wife Radha Mitchell and she is supposed to make us see more of Butler's personality but all she does is whine about how Butler is always distracted and ask how his day is going.That's it.The film would actually be better without her.Also, at the begging of the movie we witness Eckhart's accident where his wife dies but we get nothing from it.No real emotions,not anything.It just happens so that Butler can eventually be a former agent so that he is not in the White House at the time of the attack.Also, i feel like the part where, when the invasion starts the president insists that the South Korean Prime Minister joins him in the safe room is totally unrealistic.Even if the president had insisted there is no way that the security would allow for someone they didn't know to be locked in a room with the US president when a terrorist attack was happening.They would take him somewhere else that was safe maybe, but not the same room.Finally, the movie was exhaustingly long, while it didn't need to be.It was a full 2 hours of nothingness.
  In conclusion, this movie is flat with no real character and a total waste of your time.
Score:20%

m. 

Courtesy

Film District

Now you see me movie review (guest blog post)

Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman, Michael Kane
Director: Louis Leterrier
Running time: 1 hour and 56 minutes

  Four independent magicians are joined together under the name “The Four Horsemen” -actually, three horsemen and one horsewoman- and captivate Las Vegas with their show. Their leader, J. Daniel Atlas (aka. Jesse Eisenberg from “The Social Network”) is a card-sharp and his motto is: “The closer you look, the less you see”. Then there is Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson), a mentalist that specializes in hypnosis and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), a pickpocket. Finally, last but not least, Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), an escape artist with a very intriguing number that includes human-eating piranhas. However, what is so special about those four is that in their show they… rob a bank and rain the money down to the audience. Not the usual trick with the rabbit that comes out from a hat! 
  Of course after that, the FBI and the Interpol are after the tracks of The Four Horsemen, who put on their next shows in New Orleans and of course New York for the grand finale! The FBI agent, Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo from Zodiac, The Shutter Island), and the Interpol detective, Alma Dray (Mélanie Laurent) do their best to capture them and the result is a non-stop chase with incredible twists, but the magicians are always “one step, three steps, seven steps ahead”… And the agents are on the run, trying to catch up, but their efforts are getting them nowhere right from the very beginning.
  Helping them is Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), who has decided to reveal all the tricks of the four magicians, while Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) is the rich guy that finances the Horsemen.
  Other than the amazing cast participating in the movie, what puts film in a different level is the effects used. The cast did a great job on this one! Directed by Louis Leterrier (“Clash of the Titans,” “The Incredible Hulk”), the movie will blow your mind with the effects used in the magic tricks performed by the Horsemen. Also, the movie goes beyond the mystery, showing us action with Jack fighting Dylan and with a car crash on the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive. On the other hand, we get to see some romance between Dylan and his partner Alma, which adds flavor to the film.Lastly, there is a big final revelation, a huge surprise and quite a shock for the unsuspected audience! It really caught me out of the blue! 
  Even if this was a great film, no movie is ever perfect. The plot was a bit hard to follow, and I had to re-watch some parts that I didn’t quite get. And the logical explanations behind the magic weren’t the least bit believable. Even if that’s not so uncommon in this type of movies. However, the thing that really bothered me was that the movie focused so much on the plot that it completely ignored the characters. We don’t get an insight on their personalities, rather than just a touch on the surface. And the most complicated character of them all is kept simple till the very last second, when we see his (or hers no spoilers) true colors! Quite a waste, I would say, even if it adds to the element of surprise. On the other hand, one of them, Arthur, after he has played his part on the plot, simply disappears from the movie. So, the use of the movie characters is actually not good, but that is partially fixed with the finale.
  So, the movie is definitely worth watching, even just for the effects. And the finale actually brings the movie in a whole new level, I totally loved it. A must-watch! 
Score: 90%

Dafni Damianidou (dafnidamianidou@yahoo.com)

Courtesy

Summit Entertainment

Grown ups 2 movie review

Cast: Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Kevin James, David Spade, Salma Hayek, Maya Rudolph
Director: Dennis Dugan

  The movie is a sequel to the first Grown ups movie.We find the four guys all living in their childhood town after the Feders decided to move away from Hollywood.It's the last day of school the kids are all grown up and there is a new "kid", if we can call him that since he looks 23, David Spade's son. The guys decide to have a party at Sandler's house and... things happen(or don't).
  First of all, i find the cast very likable.They all have faults but are funny at times.I love David Spade,Adam Sandler can be kind of funny sometimes and Chris Rock and Kevin James can be pretty funny as well.So there is one plus to this movie.I ,also, really liked the scenes with the college guys.Taylor Lautner and Milo Ventimiglia had some very funny bits.
  However, for every funny scene there were ten stupid ones.There were a lot of jokes that 5 year old boys would like and i really didn't laugh at any of those.In fact,i found them to be very stupid and immature.Also, there were some "sentimental" scenes that felt too cheesy and family movie-ish.Moreover,there is not any plot to this movie.The whole movie takes place in one day and half of the movie is the party which becomes a little dull after a while.I have to say i much rather enjoyed the first half of the movie,which wasn't actually all that great either.
  In conclusion, likable actors, some funny parts but many more disgusting and juvenile parts.I liked the first better but if you are very bored go watch this.There are some laughs here and there.
Score:30%

m.

Courtesy

Columbia Pictures

The numbers station movie review

Cast: John Cusack, Malin Akerman, Liam Cunningham
Director: Kasper Barfoed

  The movie is about an agent ,played by John Cusack, who is transferred to London to guard a code operator, portrayed by Malin Akerman. Everything is going great until a bunch of bad guys broadcast 15 unauthorised missions and try to kill Akerman from canceling them.
  I though the missions broad casted by numbers and all that CIA stuff were pretty interesting but the movie is not at all about that.It could have been just any CIA unit and it wouldn't matter to the plot of the movie, which was a bummer since the concept of the numbers was what intrigued me about it.One thing i, also, liked was how at one point there was an unexpected death.But that ,also, didn't have any impact to the plot.And those were the two things about the movie that i kind of liked. 
  Now for what i disliked about the movie.The first sequence where John Cusack's character starts to feel empathy and remorse and decides not to kill the young girl, played by Hannah Murray (yeah for skins UK fans), was completely unrealistic.We see him kill everyone without a glimpse of an eye the scene before and we are supposed to believe that he suddenly had a change of heart?Sorry but i don't buy it. Also, i couldn't feel that Cusack was a good guy,which i think i was supposed to, but they didn't make him to be a bad guy either,which would have been a lot more interesting, so as a result i just didn't care about him at all.Actually, i didn't care about Akerman either.Moreover, we meet the bad guys for what feels like a second and we don't see them again.And i get that they are just those who follow orders but we never see or hear from the real bad guys and we don't know who they really are,which is a little bit confusing and makes the movie feel a bit fake.Furthermore, i didn't feel any kind of thrill during the fight scenes.I found them to be unbelievable so i didn't enjoy them at all.Finally,the fact that almost the whole movie takes place in that underground facility doesn't help with the lack of excitement but it makes it even worse.
  In conclusion, this is a movie where you don't care about the characters,you have trouble figuring out who's on the good side and who's on the bad and it ,also, isn't much of an action movie either.So i suggest you don't waste one and a half hour watching it.
Score:27%

m.

Courtesy

Image Entertainment

Death at a funeral movie review

Cast: Matthew MacFadyen, Rupert Graves, Alan Tudyk, Kris Marshall, Andy Nyman, Peter Dinklage
Director: Frank Oz

  The movie is ,mainly, about a funeral where everything seems to be going hilariously wrong. This movie has everything. There is a naked high guy, a drug dealer-student pharmacist, a dead guy, a once-thought-dead-but-still-alive guy, a priest, a jerk brother, a nice brother and a funny sweaty i-don't-know-what-else guy.
  My first impression is that i LOVED it.It's awesome and greatly funny.So, to get into the details: How Alan Tudyk reacts to the drugs is extremely amusing.I could watch a movie with just him on acid.Everything he does after he intakes the not-so-Valium Valium is crazy and i love it.I couldn't imagine anyone else playing the part.
  Now for the main plot.The two brothers,played by Matthew MacFayden and Rupert Graves, are very realistic as characters.There is the one that lives in London and takes care of their mother and plans and pays for their father's funeral and there is the the one that leaves everyone and goes to New York to get famous and flies first class when he owes his brother money he doesn't have.I am sure there are many siblings in the world that have the same personalities as our protagonists.Aside from that, how they ultimately handle the situation with their blackmailer along with their cousin and amateur drug dealer and the guy who is at the wrong place at the wrong time is one of the highlights of the movie.They drug him,they think they've killed him,they put him in the coffin with their father and they never actually pay him any of the money he demanded.I'm pretty sure that was not what Peter Dinklage's character had in mind when he asked them for 15,000 pounds in exchange for his silence but I'm glad that is what happened.
  There are great little additions to the story such as uncle Alfie,Justin and Victor which are subtle and don't distract from the two main stories of the movie.
  This movie has, also, been an American remake featuring many a-list actors such as Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock, Zoe Saldana and many others but even though it's good it doesn't even start to compare to the original.
  In conclusion, this movie is one of the funniest movies I've seen and i strongly recommend it. 
Score:90%

m.

Courtesy

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Trance movie review

  The movie centers around the effort of James McAvoy to remember where he put the stolen painting he promised to deliver to Vincent Cassel in exchange for enough money to pay out his dept.To try to remember he goes to a therapist portrayed by Rosario Dawson who uses hypnosis to retrieve his memory.

  It's kind of a mind fuck.In the best way possible.What made this film great was how unpredictable it was.You could have thought one thing one moment and an entirely different thing the next.You never knew where you stand with this movie.There was twist, after twist, after twist.... Another thing that made this movie so powerful was the intensity of it.You could feel your heart pounding many times but the scenes that stood out to me where when McAvoy was watching the robbery happening and was remembering, or thinking he was remembering,where the painting was and of course when the big ending revelation was happening.These scenes where when my excitement was kicking in the most.

  SPOILER ALERT!!  Now for my dislikes of the movie.First of all, i wanted to see more signs of McAvoy's character during the movie.Not anything obvious that would reveal his true nature before the end but something that after the movie i would remember and think "yes that is something that McAvoy's real character would do".Something like when he was laughing while one of the other guys thought he was being buried alive.Also, i didn't buy that Rosario Dawson after everything that had happened to her would go through all of that just for a painting that she didn't even sell.If she wanted to kill him there were other ways to do it.And actually there is a part in the movie where she says she wouldn't be victimised again by leaving her life behind which is what she ended up doing.Finally, i really did want James McAvoy to turn out to be kind of a good guy.Yes, he was horrible before but i wanted him to realise how horrible he was and  because he couldn't bare the thoughts of what he had done to kill himself.Which sounds a little bit dark but i don't know, it would make him a better person in my eyes.

  Overall,very exciting movie,great cast and if you want to be at the edge of your seat the entire movie,this is the film for you.

Score:81%

m.

Courtesy

FOX Searchlight Pictures

Warm Bodies movie review

  Very interesting plot.The whole story told from the point of the zombie was very original and interesting to watch.That was what intrigued me at the beginning.The first half of the movie,though, felt a little bit slow plot-wise.The days spent at the airplane were a little bit uneventful,so even though i enjoyed Nicholas Hoult's and Teressa Palmer's characters together and their interactions, i was left a bit disappointed .Also,one  thing that felt weird to me was how they showed Dave Franco even after his character had died,through memories, but no one seemed to be sad that he died.I felt like we either should have learned more about him and should have seen more emotions as a result of his death or we should have seen less of him. The voice-over,though,which was a big part of the first half of the movie was pretty funny at times.
  The real excitement and actual fun,however, began after Hoult and Palmer left the airport and headed out to find Palmer's dad. That was when i started to see their connection and started really liking them as a couple.That was,also, when we started to see more of Hoult's transformation from zombie to human.The fight scene was well done and a transitional scene for the characters and for John Malkovich's character in particular.That was when humans started to believe that zombies could change and that was what led to the ending,which was the coexistence between the humans and the previously undead.I really liked Hoult and Palmer as a couple and i ,also, enjoyed Rob Corddy's and Analeigh Tipton's characters and performances.Overall a good watch which started a little bit slow but after a while picked up the paste and met my expectations.
Score:72%

m.

Courtesy

Summit Entertainment