Category Archives: Films / theatre

I chose Fast and furious 6 because it’s the latest fast and furious movie and I liked it a lot. It’s been around about 2 years but I watched it two months ago. I really enjoyed the movie since it’s sequel to Fast and Furious 5 and it had similar plot. The story continues from ending of Fast and furious 5. But this time agent Hobbs doesn’t chase them but asks for Dominic’s teams help. In Europe there is criminal gang that tries to get hands on the very powerful weapon. Together Hobbs and Dominic tries to stop their plans and in return Dominic wants everyone get their record clear. Hobbs has no chance but to accept this.

What I have experienced from watching this series I have seen that Fast and furious 5 and 6 has been little bit different from earlier movies. The main focus is not anymore in these super-tuned cars but in action that doesn’t contain so much racing with cars. First and second movie was all about tuning and racing with cars. I’m not saying it’s bad to change focus away from cars but it was the original idea of the series. Though it’s good to have different style of movie. It brings a welcome change.

Movie itself is very action-packed, humorous and very well made. Soundtrack is epic and special effects hasn’t been spared. Actors are almost the same as in Fast and furious 5 so if you haven’t seen Fast and furious 5 it doesn’t really matter. Paul Walker and Vin Diesel has been almost in every Fast and Furious movie so they are very well known.

Overall I think that this isn’t the best Fast and Furious movie but it’s still very good. I recommend this movie to those who wants to see action and fast cars. Movie contains violence and swearing and it’s age rating is 12.

The Maze Runner is an American science fiction action thriller directed by Wes Ball. The 2014 film is based on a 2009 novel of the same name by James Dashner. The screenplay of the film was written by Noah Oppenheim, Grant Pierce Myers, and T.S. Nowlin. The film, which was produced by Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen, and Lee Stollman, is the first installment of The Maze Runner film series. Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and Will Poulter belong to the leading actors of the film.

The plot of this film is exciting and inventive but it doesn’t seem really out of the ordinary to me. By this I’m pointing at recently released films like The Hunger Games and Divergent. The Maze Runner tells about Thomas (Dylan O’Brien), a 16-year-old boy who finds himself trapped inside a huge maze with a band of other teenager boys. Once in every month an elevator brings a new boy with some supplies to an area called the Glade surrounded by tall stone walls. Anyone of the boys doesn’t seem to remember anything from their past, except their own name. They have created a working society and at the same time tried to find an escape from their prison. Each morning an entrance opens revealing the mysterious ever-changing maze. The boys, who call themselves Gladers, know that the only way to escape is to go through the maze. The runners spend their days exploring the maze for an escape. They have to get back before night-time when the entrance closes. No one has ever survived alive a night in the maze.

I didn’t go to the movie theatre to see this film, but I guess that if had done it, I would probably have seen a big amount of other teenagers in the audience. It’s clear that The Maze Runner was filmed for getting teenagers to watch it. This kind of fantasy films that usually take place in the future are a trend among teenagers and young adults. The casting of this film only strengthens my theory. As an 18-year-old girl I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy watching the good-looking young actors.

My opinion is that the cast was chosen successfully. Most of the actors weren’t nice to watch only because of their looks. Despite their young age they seemed to be experienced enough to make the characters and the action scenes plausible. My absolutely favorite parts of the film were the action scenes. The leading actor Dylan O’Brien, who is known for co-starring in the TV series Teen Wolf, did a good job playing the role of Thomas, the most important character in the film. Other great performance was given by Will Poulter playing the role of the “bad guy” Gally. Poulter manages in making his character seem irritatingly defiant and a bit arrogant. I also want to mention Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who is known for his role in the popular TV series Game of Thrones. His performance as Newt, the friendly and helpful boy, made me long for a bigger and more important role for the character. It was a pity that at the same time the film moved forward, Newt’s role became more and more meaningless.

The Maze Runner’s problems are the ordinary characters and plot, I think. The film contains all the same characters as every teenager fantasy film that I have seen. First, there’s the hero of the film. The hero is always nothing special but at the same time so brave, original, and oh, so hard for other people to understand. Of course the hero has to have a couple of sympathetic and faithful friends to stand behind their back. Then there’s the cocky “bad guy”. At the beginning of the film I was wondering where all the girls were. Everyone knows that you can’t make a good film for teenagers without having any girls or signs of romance in it. Luckily this problem was solved when the elevator suddenly brought a beautiful brunette, Teresa (Kaya Scodelario), to the Glade.

I am not a huge film enthusiast, and therefore I would probably have never watched The Maze Runner, if I wouldn’t have been visiting my sister’s place, and wouldn’t have had anything better to do one night. After watching the film my first thoughts were that the ending left many questions in my head and that the film hadn’t been as scary as I expected. I can’t recall thinking anything about the music used in the film, so I guess it wasn’t too bad or too good to make me notice it. One thing that bothered me was how slowly the film moved forward.

I would recommend The Maze Runner to those people who are interested in these kinds of fictional fantasy action films, and of course to those who just enjoy watching good-looking young men. Personally I’m not quite sure whether I liked the film or didn’t like it. Overall I found The Maze Runner interesting enough to make me want to see the upcoming sequels.

Titanic is directed by James Cameron and on it´s soundtrack is one of the most famous songs of all time; Celine Dion´s ”My heart will go on”. In leading roles of the film are Kate Winslet and Leonardo di Caprio. They are both very fascinating and skilful actors, who don´t leave no one cold. I think that the main reason which makes the film so touching is simply the actors. They play their roles so perfect. Titanic´s characters are fictionally but the film is based on true events. Titanic has broken many records. It has won eleven Oscars for example. It was also the first film which box-office was more than billion dollars.

Now I will tell you briefly the plot of the film. 17-year-old Rose steps into the ship with her mother Ruth and her future fiancé Cal. Mother  convinces Rose how important the marriage with Cal is, but Rose doesn´t love him and she even considers suicide by jumping from the stern. Third-class passenger Jack stops her and this time tragedy is avoided. Rose demands that they have to ask Jack to dine with them at the following evening. That´s the least they can do. After that Jack and Rose are meeting secretly and step by step they are falling in love. Eventually Jack even draws a picture from Rose in which she wears only a precious diamond necklace, Cal´s gift to her. Cal and mother Ruth are furious about that. Chaos begins when the ship hits the iceberg. People are screaming and the lifeboats are filling. Rose refuses to get to the lifeboat with her mother. Instead she jumps back to the sinking ship, because she wants to be with Jack, no matter what! The fight for staying alive begins. The ship sinks, people are floating in the frozen and dark sea, among others, also Jack and Rose. Hundred´s of people are dying, also Jack. Rose survives barely, but she can´t never forget Jack. Rose get´s her freedom and she never meets Cal again. She lives her life carrying these memories in her heart.
Titanic is the best film, I have ever seen!

In this article I’ll be reviewing the film ”Generation iron”. It was released in 2013, and directed by Vlad Yudin. The movie gives a peek inside the lives of professional bodybuilders, as they prepare for the biggest competition of the year. The movie is starred by the top bodybuilders in the world: Phil Heath, Kai Greene, Dennis Wolf, Branch Warren and a few others. Also special appearances are made by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronnie Coleman and Lou Ferrigno. I decided to review this particular film because I like it, and through my personal interest in the sport, it was easier for me to review.

Because the film is a documentary, there is really no ”acting” involved. It is basically just following the daily lives of the top athletes, competing in the hardest of sport. The movie is pretty much a modern day-version of the film ”Pumping Iron” (1977), where the story was excatly the same, but the training methods and -most importantly- physiques were different. In my humble opinion, the older movie was better, because of the pure hard work and aesthetic physiques, whereas the stars in ”Generation iron” are like bloated balloon animals.

The movie jumps off with the smaller competitions, where the competitors have qualify themselves for the biggest one (Mr. Olympia). And in between the competition footage there are many interviews and training clips. For someone new to the sport, this movie will probably change your perspective quite a bit.

The bodybuilders also address the subject of steroids. They seem rather irritated, because people seem to just brush off their achievements by saying ”-Well he is on steroids”. But what they don’t see, are the bodybuilders early mornings, 2-3 workouts a day and stuffing plain chicken and rice in their faces six times a day.

The movie finishes with the Mr. Olympia competition, and it is won by Phil Heath. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in bodybuilding.

The 1946 movie directed by the legendary Frank Capra and starring James Stewart and Donna Reed is a holiday classic whose popularity has continued throughout the decades. It tells the story of a kindhearted, hardworking man named George Bailey, who one Christmas Eve contemplates taking his life after having encountered numerous difficulties that could potentially put his friends and loved ones at risk. He is prevented, however by his guardian angel Clarence, who, after hearing George’s wish that he would never have been born, shows him what the world would really be like if he had his wish- making George realize just of how much importance he is to others and how they want to repay him for all the good he has done them.
The movie is as thought-provoking as it is heartwarming, with a charming and humorous storyline. The overall feel of the movie is lighthearted and hopeful, and it reminds us of something we often tend to forget: the fact that each one of us is special and important and that we have been born for a purpose.
Not only is the story good,but the excecution and portayal of it further amp the overall quality of the production. The actors are believable in their roles, the milieu is fitting, and the attire and grooming are tasteful and authentic. The cons would be the fact that some of the events and scenes are a bit erratic and scattered, which is the result of going very briefly over some longer periods of time in the story. I do not not see it, however, as being any major fault, it is in fact even necessary for the sake of the storyline.
All in all I would say that ”It’s a Wonderful Life” is a very good movie that I would recommend to anyone. It is a remarkable film to enjoy with the family during the holidays, and it definately adds something special to your Christmas!

Alice in Wonderland (2010) is a movie directed by Tim Burton, one of the most known directors in America. Despite the name the movie isn’t the original movie about little Alice dropping in the rabbit hole. It’s about 19-year-old Alice who finds herself being proposed to all of a sudden. She’s unsure how to respond to the marriage proposal given by her late fathers colleagues son Hamish. All confused she ends up chasing a rabbit wearing a blue waistcoat. While chasing the rabbit Alice drops in to a very large rabbit hole and gets transported to Underland. In Underland Alice meets talking flowers, White Rabbit, Dodo birgd, Tweedledee and Tweedledum which are arguing about if Alice is ”the real Alice”. The real Alices job in Underland is to slay the evil Red Queens Jabberwocky. Alice immediately declines and is accused to really be the wrong Alice. From here on she gets in a wonderful adventure with Mad Hatter, White Queen, blue Catherbilar and lots of others.

In the end Alice realizes she has been in Underworld before when she was little. Then she called the place Wonderland and from then on she had had ”nightmares” which really had been real. From this memory Alice gets courage to battle against Jabberwocky. She slays it and bring clory and grown to the White Queen.

Alice had run from the marriage proposal to think about her future. In the Wonderland she realizes what she wants to do in her life. Alices father had also told the young Alice that only the best best people are crazy. She then realizes that she should follow her  dreams. It’s also a good lesson to anyone who watches the movie.

Alice in Wonderland is a absolutely wonderfully made movie and it’s story is well told. Sad thing is that it is well seen that the movie is made to be 3D. All the special  effects are made so that they come straigt to the viewer and doesn’t look all that good in 2D. The movie is still thrilling and keeps every one in audience exited. This movie is a great pastime and I recommend it to every one interested in fantasy and old but gold stories.

Out of all films by Studio Ghibli, Howl’s Moving Castle (Hauru no ugoku shiro, 2004, Japan) has affacted me the most. Based on an English fantasy novel by Diana Wynne Jones and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, the film is almost a five star experience. It happens to be also the most finacially succesful Japanese film in the history.
The story is about Sophie, an 18-year-old young woman, who consideres herself ugly and mostly unwanted. She is the oldest daughter in her family, so she will inherite the family’s small hat business. Her future looks rather settled.
Yet, the life of the little wallflower is about to change. One day, heading to meet her younger sister Lettie, she encounters a strange and charming stranger, Howl, who is a powerful and commonly feared wizard. Later that night, as she is closing the hat shop, a mysterious woman comes in. Sophie refuses to serve her after closing time but the woman, who turns out to be The Witch of The Waste, curses her.
Now Sophie gets to experience life from a different perspective: she is now trapped in a body of a 90-year-old woman. Not being able to tell anyone about her curse, she leaves her hometown, and ends up wandering in the ”Wastes”, a wasteland up in the mountains. When the sun is setting, she has no place to spend the night. Luckily, a scarecrow, whom Sophie names Turnip-head (I believe you can all guess why), leads her to Howl and his castle.
So far, we’ve already seen two diffirent sides of Sophie: although the curse didn’t affect her personality, the new body gave her a chance to finally be free of her family and their expectations towards her. She is finally free of the anxiety. She doesn’t have to care what others think of her.
Throughout the film, Sophie’s age changes with her mood as she gradually learns to control her curse. The change can happen in one scene; in just a few seconds she can turn from a 30-year-old to a grey-haired granny. The youngest she is when she’s with Howl.
Howl is the diva of all divas. He’s vain and stubborn and a coward. Still he is the most intriguing (and in my opinion the most lovable) character in the whole movie, probably because of the character developement. He grows to love Sophie and at the end he is willing to risk his own life for her.
Calcifer the fire demon, to whom Howl has sold his heart, is the main power source of the castle. At first he seems like a minor character, but in the end, he is the one that saves everyone, with Sophie. He also brings humour to the film.
The last member of this odd family is Markl, the assistant of Holw. He is an adorable little boy, perhaps 12 years old.
It’s very hard to tell the where and when the story is set. The world is filled with magic and early 19th century inventions. And every Miyazaki fan knows the director loves flying and airships, so why wouldn’t there be a ton of them in Howl’s world too? Even the castle flies at the end.
First time I ever saw this film was at the age of 10. At that time I was mainly enchanted by the story and action, and the dream-likeness of the whole film. What I mean is that even the strangests things, such as doors with multiple exists and Sophie’s changing age , feel completely normal. These days I’m even more charmed by the music. The amazing soundtrack is composed by Joe Hisaishi, who has made music and main themes for many Ghibli classics. Secondly, as always in Miyazaki’s films, the scenery is amazingly beautiful and animation good.
One of the best details of the film is the castle itself. Beautifully drawn and build from diffirent-sized pieces of metal and wood, from time to time it seems to have feelings: for example, it gets offended when Sophie says it doesn’t look like a castle at all. Nevertheless, it is still willing to help Sophie in the end and even gets destroyed just so she can see Howl again.
My favourite part is the flashback to Howl’s childhood, to the very moment he sold his heart to Calcifer. The scene is a bit scary, in fact, with all the star-shaped demons firing down from the sky. That is not all, music for this scene is only a simple trumpet solo, and since it’s both a dream and reality at the same time, Sophie’s panic is conveyed to the viewer and the whole atmosphere becomes strangely ominous. The demons are also seen in Mrs Suliman’s court, where they’re used to remove sorcerers’ powers with their grim, sinister singing.
Because the film has some peculiar themes, it can be slightly intangible at first. The main plot is understandable, of course, but some little things (e.g. the story of The Witch of The Waste and Howl) may be hard to grasp But after watching it for the second or third time, the entire story opens and you’ll see its true beauty.
I honestly have almost nothing to criticize (except for Howl being a lil bitch sometimes), most likely because this film is so meaningful for me. Similarly to other Miyazaki’s films, the main themes are friendship, loyalty and love. Even though the war rages on, there are still mothers, fathers, friends, and lovers, who will always try to help and protect you. These are of course extremely used and worn out themes, but I believe that means that they, after all, are valid to everyone at anytime. Therefore I recommend this film to everyone. I had my perconceptions, for this is a Japanese film, but year by year I have learned that everything with Miyazaki’s name on it is worth watching.

The Host is a movie based on the novel written by Twilight’s creator Stephenie Meyer. Instead of vampires there are now some kind of aliens called ’souls’ in the spotlight. The Host is directed by Andrew Niccol and it was published in 2013. In the leading roles act Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Diane Kruger and Jake Abel.
The genre of the movie is both scifi and thrill. The milieu gets a place in the future’s earth. Creatures that capture the mind of their human hosts have invaded the earth and almost every people. There are only a few individuals that have succeeded to escape the souls including Melanie Stryder, the main person of the movie. However, Melanie gets caught by souls which set in Melanie’s body the soul called Wanderer. Usually human’s mind just moves over and fades away from the soul, but Melanie’s mind is strong and it refuses to alienate possession of her mind. Reason for that is Melanie’s love to her little brother and her beloved Jared. Practically, there are now two souls inside one human’s mind. At first it’s quite shock for both of them and they hate each other, but at the end they have become almost like sisters.
As a movie The Host is largely typical science fiction movie, because events get place in future and there’s lot of supernatural things going on in the movie. Moreover there’s features of thriller and it’s also romantic. Relationships of the characters are quite interesting, not only between Melanie and Jared but also between Wanderer and ’full-human’ Ian, who Wanderer falls in love with.
In my opinion The Host is great movie, even if I’m not usually the biggest fan of the scifi or any kind of supernatural movies or TV-series. Despite that the story is interesting, compelling and totally unique. I like the blend of different genres which complement one another. The actors are great and they fit in their characters very well. Especially I like Saoirse Ronan’s quite casual appearance. At some parts of the movie it’s quite hard to understand which one of the minds is speaking. Especially in a dialogue between Wanderer and Melanie you must stay observant. On the other hand that’s just a good think as then you won’t miss any scene.
In summary could be said that even if you don’t like scifimovies, The Host is worth watching.

Django Unchained is a western film directed and written by Quentin Tarantino. Django Unchained is one of the best movies i have ever seen and Quentin Tarantino is one of my favorite director and the movie has won 2 Oscars.  The film was published in USA on 25 December 2014. The lead actor Jamie Foxx’s acting surprised me positively, I didn’t expect too much out of him but he played Django exceptionally good. And the other actors Christopher Waltz, Leonardo Dicaprio, Kerry Washington and Samuel L. Jackson were amazing aswell.

The film takes place in the old Texas. It follow Django who teamed up with a German bounty hunter to save his wifre from a cruel plantation owner inn exhange for helping the bounty hunter catch three criminals. Film is very brutal as seen in the first scene where Django shoots a guy in stomach and blood and organs are spilled everywhere. This is very normal to Quentin Tarantino’s movies. The movie is also very hilarious, intriguing, provoking and brutal. The film is also very touching. It really shows how bad the slavery was 150 years ago, the slaves are treated so badly. If they disobey or do a slight thing wrong they might get killed and they are constantly being whipped. It really angers you and makes you feel compassion towards them.

Samuel L. Jackson (Stephen) plays Leonardo Dicaprio’s (Calvin Candie) houseslave. Stephen is kind of an evil slave who is the boss of other slaves that Calvin owns. He makes funny ironic comments which lightens the mood a little bit. Calvin is a ruthless rich white man who doesn’t really feel compassion to anyone and just wants to get richer.

The movie’s soundtrack was brilliant, music brought extra excitement for all the action scene and for the more dramatic scenes. Camera work was also amazing it was great to see the wild west. In overall this movie is a brilliant work of art from Quentin Tarantino