Avengers: Endgame – Part 1

Posted on April 30, 2019 by C966939529

I cried, I laughed, I lived and I died – Perfection

Over 10 years, and it all comes down to this…. I am so nerding out as I am sure every MCU fan is. But as promised this is a SPOILER FREE POST! #Part1

#Don’tSpoilTheEndgame

That of course is going to make it slightly difficult for me to contain my excitement. I will give some basic facts of the timeline (well some of it) and a couple of predictions.

So, lets get to it!

This is the climax, I mean they literally couldn’t have picked a better name for this film, and with every climax there is a worry. Is it going to work to match the imagination of the fan base? Is it going to answer our questions or is it going to be a let-down?

Never fear Marvel is here! As always, they have kept their crucial team of the Russo Brothers directing, the magic writing team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and of course produced by Kevin Feige. This core team to me is how they have kept the franchaise so perfect. In interviews they have always said they knew where it was going to end, and they have almost worked backwards. They admit they re-watched all the previous films because they wanted to have no cliff-hanger and give the characters and fans a definitive ending.

In an interview with Buzzfeed News they have admitted they are taking a break and closing this chapter on their careers.

“[We’re] taking a break,” Markus said. “[The MCU] is obviously about to have a huge injection of new blood. Launching a lot of new things. So it’s going to get interesting.”“But, you know, it’s the best working experience of our lives,” McFeely added. “So, if they call, we’d answer.” (Vary, 2019)

So into the nitty gritty! The film is set 22 days after the infamous snap, and then takes a time jump 5 years into the future…and that’s all I am going to say about the story! See told you – SPOILER FREE!

What I want to focus on is the imagery which is apparent throughout. At the end of Infinity War, we know that the focus is on getting to Thanos’ gauntlet on his left hand. I noticed on the Infinity War posters, you can see hands of the characters, especially because most of their powers are channelled through them.

Now looking at the posters for Endgame, its all about the faces. No hands. But in the film there is a massive focus on the hands. There are lots of close up shots of hands and a lot of the characters are wearing some form of gloves, as in a nod to the gauntlet that holds the worlds fate in its hand. (Not sorry for the pun.)

Even the difference in the colour pallet can be seen, the light and dark. This follows through the film and even through the entire franchise.

So now I have a theory on what is happening after Endgame.

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is already in development and I can link it into Endgame. At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy 2 – in the post credit scene we see the Sovereign leader showing off her new creation which she calls Adam. Already I am picking up the rebirth of the Universe vibes. So in Endgame we have Thanos in a place called “The Garden”….Marvel are literally setting up the freaking Garden of Eden! Even in Infinity War Thanos says he wants to create Paradise – “Going to bed hungry. Scrounging for scraps. Your planet was on the brink of collapse. I was the one who stopped that. You know what’s happened since then? The children born have known nothing but full bellies and clear skies. It’s a paradise.” (Russo, 2018)

Garden of Eden is literal Paradise! This cannot be a coincidence. But I guess we will have to wait till 2022 to find out.

So in closing to the end of this Phase of the MCU, as all the fans out there I want to say Thank you to the cast and crew for giving us the ending that we deserved. The story, character arcs, imagery was all perfect and I can’t wait to discuss it more once the Spoiler ban has passed. In a few weeks I will go into more detail of the story and what it means for the characters but for now #ThanosDemandsYourSilence.

#ThankYouAvengers

Director: Anthony and Joe Russo

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Bradley Cooper, and Josh Brolin

Crew: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (Writers)

Genre: Superhero

Rating: 12A

References

Russo, A. &. (Director). (2018). Avengers: Infinity War [Motion Picture].

Vary, A. B. (2019, April 19). How Captain Marvel, Valkyrie, Ant-Man, And Hawkeye Somehow Fit Into “Avengers: Endgame”. Retrieved from Buzzfeed News: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adambvary/avengers-endgame-screenwriters-captain-marvel-valkyrie

Happy Death Day 2 U

Posted on February 17, 2019 by C966939529

If I was stuck in a time loop watching this film – I wouldn’t care!

We have yet another sequel, but I am not mad as I loved the original film. But I always get nervous as films will always be compared to their counterparts. Luckily this film works perfectly.

The original Happy Death Day was set on Tree’s Birthday 18^th September. Happy Death Day 2U is set the very next day, 19^th September. This could be troublesome, but the sequel has remained with the same crew, same director, same cinematographer and same music director.

This lends itself to the smooth transition from one film to the next. This is definitely a film that you need to see the original before seeing the sequel as there are so many Easter eggs! Especially relating to Back To The Future, which was a big influence in this film.

So, of course you know the drill

* SPOILER ALERT*

Some of my favourites are:

The woodchipper scene, which is called Biff’s Tree Cutting Service, a nod to Biff the bully from the Back To The Future trilogy.
There is also in the background of the skydiving scene “Like a Leaf” written on the plane, another homage to the joke Biff always messed up, “Make like a tree and leaf.”
88 mph in the car
Poster on the wall[1]
Red Hawaiian shirt in the background

I live for these sort of references in films!

An extra one the Greek Mythology buffs:

Ryan’s Proton Converting Device. He named it Sissy, which sounds suspiciously like Sisyphus, who escaped death and was forced to roll a boulder up a hill, which constantly rolled back down, for eternity. [2]

The story is as seamless as these references and of course with any slasher film, a higher death count. In the first film there are 14 deaths, 8 of these are Tree’s. In this film there are 20 deaths, but luckily for Tree she only dies 7 times, but of course they are hilarious.

My personal favourites, the skydive and the electrocution.

The comedy keeps rolling even with the costumes.

Speaking of costumes, some eagle eyed viewers may have spotted a huge clue to the multiverse theory. Look closely at these two photos:

Happy Death Day Happy Death Day 2 U

The Gigs are he same band, but different locations….Butterfly Effect is in full effect people!

Happy Death Day Happy Death Day 2 U

Speaking of which DO NOT LEAVE IN THE CREDITS!!! Trust me it makes everything make sense and leads us to thinking there is going to be another film! I am buzzing!

If you liked the original you will love this film, I guarantee it!

My blog so my views I give it 5/5!

Director: Christopher Landon

Cast: Jessica Rothe, Isreal Broussard, Ruby Modine

Crew: Toby Oliver (Cinematography), Jason Blum (Producer), Bear McCreary (Music)

Genre: Science Fiction Comedy Slasher

Rating: 15

[1] https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2467009/happy-death-day-2u-has-a-bunch-of-clever-back-to-the-future-tributes

[2] https://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/the-myth-of-sisyphus/

Assassination Nation

Posted on November 16, 2018 by C966939529

A clever feminist take down of society – love, love, love!

This film came out of the blue for me. I hadn’t heard a lot about it until it appeared on the cinema listings. I don’t know why! The premise I love the idea of because in 2018 this is something that could happen. People hacking photos, especially from prominent people, like presidents… oops I meant mayor 😉

The best way I can describe this film is Mean Girls meets the Purge in Salem, Massachusetts during the Witch Hunts. This is even suggested in the costume.

I love these little Easter eggs and think it is really clever. Something else I like in this film is the use of the colour red, and the hues. Red is used in some many ways, it is used to show sexiness, empowerment, danger, and hatred. It comes full circle.

I don’t want to give too much away as I saw this film before it is released on the 23^rd November.

This film gets your thinking about your own online footprint and these are so many fantastic quotes.

This may not be a perfect film, but it made me laugh, made me think and says a lot about society.

So, I don’t care it’s a 5/5 from me! I’m off to see it again!

Favourite Quotes

“You may kill me but you’ll never kill us all”

“I’m not a bitch, I’m a feminist”

“I’m not the monster you think I am”

“The whole world is watching”

“I love this kind of scandal”

“Men who don’t eat pussy in this day of age, is straight up a sociopath” – AMEN!

Director: Sam Levinson

Cast: Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, Hari Nefi, Abra, and Bella Thorn.

Genre: Comedy Horror

Rating: 18

Hereditary

Posted on June 28, 2018 by C966939529

Frightening, Fun and Fantastic!

This film has been hailed as this generations “The Exorcist” and “The Shining”, the biggest compliment a horror film can get. As two of my favourite movies I was holding so much expectation for this film and boy did it deliver.

Just like the other films this is a slow burn, this builds up the tension and suspense. Aster admit this was a deliberate choice. “I wanted to make a film that demanded a certain amount of patience from the audience, but one that intended to pay that off. The challenge for the audience is to sit tight, and the challenge for me is to make sure that they’re satisfied at the end.” (Wilner, 2018)

Ari Aster on Set

Even the way it is shot with slow panning shots gets the audience on the edge of their seats waiting to see what is revealed. The director, Ari Aster, has done a fantastic job especially as this is his directorial debut. In a way it reminds me of James Wan and SAW. SAW started out as a small project that excelled Wan into cinematic history. Since then he has gone on to so many projects which use his distinct style. I can foresee the same happening to Aster.

James Wan on The Conjuring Set

So back to the film! This film revolves around a family who turns out has a dark secret and almost a prophecy to fulfil. I don’t want to give too much away because you have to experience it for yourselves! So, this is a SPOILER FREE REVIEW!

This film is a typical horror yet not a typical horror at the same time. Let me explain, you have a low light, use of candlelight, quick flashes of light, and the teenagers being the centre of the action. Although it may not be a typical jump scare film it does constantly have you thinking and trying to jump to the punchline before the end of the film. This shows how entranced the audience is, they are hanging on every word, not just a good thing from a horror film but just from movies in general.

In many horror films you don’t get to understand the characters because they are basically just pieces of meat waiting to die. The actors really draw you into the characters and you care about them. This can only be done with clever writing – well done Aster!

The last thing I want to discuss is the symbolism used throughout the film. I am a massive fan of hidden easter eggs and films and just like in many horror films foreshadowing is big here.

Number 1: The miniatures of the families lives – symbolism of no escape, everything has been predetermined

Number 2: The symbol on the necklace – don’t want to give anything away but it is important!

Number 3: Pictures with eyes crossed out – eyes are the window to the soul

Number 4: Family dynamics – and you thought you had it bad!

Number 5: Charlie….just Charlie….

For the rest you have to see it for yourself!

This is a clever, entertaining film that I already can’t wait to again. If you love horror see this film! I can’t wait to see what else this director has in his back pocket!

5/5

Director: Ari Aster

Cast: Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd, and Gabriel Byrne.

Crew: Ari Aster (Screenwriter), Colin Stetson (Music)

Genre: Supernatural Horror

Rating: 15

Works Cited

Wilner, N. (2018, June 8). Interview: Hereditary director Ari Aster talks horror influences. Retrieved from Now Toronto: https://nowtoronto.com/movies/features/interview-hereditary-director-ari-aster/

Secret Screening: Incredibles 2

Posted on June 21, 2018 by C966939529

It’s not good, it’s super!

I have waited 14 years for this film to be released and I got to see it before the 13^th July release! Thank you, Cineworld for Secret Screening number 8! Writer and Director Brad Bird said he would only do a sequel if he could come up with a story as good as, or better than the original, and I am so glad he waited because this is perfection.

The Parr Family is back in action!

In the cinema when it came up on the screen a full cinema of adults started cheering. Bearing in mind, that nobody under 15 was allowed in the screening shows how much excitement there is just with adults!

The film is set just 3 months after the first film and is picked up with Tony, the boy Violet likes in the first film. I really like how they keep the continuation from the first film, as it is always a worry when there is such a gap between sequels. The majority of the original cast have returned except for the role of Dash. The original voice actor Spencer Fox was 11 when he was in the first film , but now at 25 and puberty it is understandable why a younger actor got the role. Enter Huck Milner! Kim Renfro states in her article,

“it’s very hard to distinguish between Milner’s performance as Dash and Fox’s take on the character in 2004. They sound essentially identical.” (Renfro, 2018)

I completely agree! I didn’t know it was different actors!

The antagonist of the film Screen Slaver reflects a lot about our society.

How many times do you go out to dinner with people and they are glued to their phones? How many people actually speak to people these days instead of sending a message on Facebook or WhatsApp? We are slaves to our screens and we are missing real life. Just like Screen Slavers says,

“You don’t talk you watch talk shows.”

Instead of the villain hijacking our screens, maybe we are already hijacked by them?

I am not going to give anything away this is a SPOILER FREE ZONE!!!

Doesn’t mean I won’t give you anything! Here are a couple of Easter Eggs to wet your appetite:

THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR – See if you can spot them!

A113 – Classroom of the California Institute of the Arts – appears 2 times!
Insuricare – Where Bob used to work – check the background 😉
Baby V Raccoon – that is all I’m going to say

All I can say is how funny this film is. On numerous occasions the entire screen was in a ruckus laughing out loud, and here is a tip: Keep your cookies on stand by 😉

5/5

Director: Brad Bird

Cast: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Huck Milner, Eli Fucile, Samuel L Jackson

Crew: Brad Bird

Genre: Animated Superhero

Rating: PG

Works Cited

Renfro, K. (2018, February 15). ‘Incredibles 2’ swapped out one of the stars in the main cast — but you probably missed it. Retrieved from Business Insider UK: http://uk.businessinsider.com/incredibles-2-dash-new-voice-actor-recast-2018-2

Bird, Brad (Director). (2018). Incredibles 2 [Motion Picture].

Bird, Brad (Director). (2004). The Incredibles [Motion Picture].

Avengers Infinity War 3D

Posted on May 1, 2018 by C966939529

“Marvel-lous Movie Magic”

I have been waiting for 10 years for this film as have all Marvel fans, and it does not disappoint!

This is part one of Infinity War which means lots of cliff-hangers, unknown character fates and so many possibilities in part two. They were filmed back to back for continuity and was wrapped in January 2018.

The last Marvel film was Black Panther from February and the last time the Avengers were together was 2 years ago in Captain America Civil War.

This story has been planned for 10 years and each character has gone through their character development over multiple films. This is why DC failed in their attempt as they ignored the individual characters. Maybe that is just my MCU love coming through!

I have one problem though – WHY IS BLACK WIDOW BLONDE!?!? There is no mention of this change of hair anywhere in the film! For 8 years since she was introduced in Iron Man 2, always been a red head. I want answers!!

OK rant over – So here it is guys:

SPOILER ALERT!

Even our bad guy Thanos’s background is developed which is a fantastic asset and makes him more relatable. He is humanised during his search for the Infinity Stones, especially for the mysterious Soul Stone, as he sacrifices his daughter Gamora.

In previous movies we have just accepted that Thanos wants the Infinity Stones in order to rule the world, as most bad guys do. This time Thanos explains that he is trying to save the world. He believes “Life needs correction” and instead of having everyone starve, kill half the population and then everyone lives a better life. He sees it as a necessary evil and that it takes a strong person to make that decision. Really hardcore! In a flashback we see how Thanos believes he is saving Gamora as a child and trying to distract her from the horrible genocide going on around her. I love the depth of Thanos and it really makes you think would you be able to make a decision like that?

We have seen these sort of decisions before, just to name a few:

Avengers Assemble – Iron Man flying through the wormhole
Civil War – Should Wanda’s powers be allowed?
Guardian’s of the Galaxy – They all handle the power stone to save the world, not just Quill.
Doctor Strange – Protecting the Time Stone, regardless of anything else.

Another theme I like following through the timeline is the Ironic role of Wanda’s powers. Scarlett Witch was given her powers after undergoing tests using the Mind stone with her brother. (RIP Pietro!) Her powers have been up for discussion numerous times, especially in Civil War when the Accords are draw up because of her. Ironically now she is the only person who can destroy an Infinity Stone, a decision (See trending theme!) she has to make sacrificing Vision, who possesses the Mind Stone to stop Thanos.

Now it comes down to the main discussion this film has brought about.

Who is Alive?!?! Who is Dead?!??

Just as in the world when Thanos clicks his fingers and kills off half of the population, we lose half of our Avengers! I expected to see some deaths but this many no way! I may have cried…no judgment! In my defense it is heartbreaking to see your favourite characters disappear into dust, damn you Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely. As the screenwriters for part two as well, they have a lot to answer for!

SURVIVORS

VICTIMS

It isn’t just the Avengers we lose. In the Post credit scene we see Maria Hill and Nick Fury also succumb to the new world order. Before they do Fury, being Fury, makes one final call for help using an ancient pager displaying a blue and red signia.

This is the symbol of Captain Marvel! Oscar winner, Brie Larson signed up to the role which has its own movie currently being filmed and due for release in March 2019. We already knew that she was going to be featured in Avengers 4 and this is our confirmation! We are going through big changes as we head into Phase 4 and a lot of the current cast have fulfilled their contracts and won’t be coming back to the universe after Avengers 4 – We are going to be introduced to exciting new characters. As much as it is going to hurt to lose our fan favourites, I know as a fandom we are going to embrace the next chapter.

Before I finish as usual Marvel has given us some great one liners and I couldn’t resist sharing some of my favourites.

Favourite Quotes:

“I am Groot.” “I am Steve Rogers.”

“Oh, screw you, you big green asshole! I’ll do it myself!”

“What’s the matter with you, kids? You’ve never seen a spaceship before?”

“Dude, you’re embarrassing me in front of wizards.”

“ Kick names, take ass.”

“Groot: [in a mocking tone] I am Groot. Peter Quill: Whoa! Drax: Wow. Peter Quill: You got some acorns on you, kid. Rocket Raccoon: Ever since you got a little sap, you’re a total D-hole. Now, keep it up and I’m gonna smash that thing to pieces!”

“Rocket Raccoon: You speak Groot? Thor: They taught it on Asgard. It was an elective.”

Directors: Anthony Russo & Joe Russo

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, and Chris Pratt

Crew: Kevin Feige (Producer), Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (Screenwriters), Alan Silvestri (Music)

Genre: American Superhero

Rating: 12A

The Shape of Water

Posted on February 3, 2018 by C966939529

A Mesmerising Del Toro Classic

Before I even start my review, lets just go through the nominations this film has achieved already:

13 Academy Awards nominations
7 Golden Globe nominations – (Won BEST DIRECTOR and BEST ORIGINAL SCORE)
12 BAFTA nominations

From this alone I already had high expectations.

The first thing you will notice from this film is how the main character Elisa is a mute, but that doesn’t mean she is a flat character. Sally Hawkins (a brit by the way!) has amazing emotive energy and definitely deserves her Best Actress nominations. The on-screen chemistry between Elisa and the Amphibian Man – or as he is referred to in the film, the Asset, is a marvel. Having two characters that are mute makes every move they make that much more meaningful and emotive.

In an interview with IMDB Del Toro stated that “words lie but looks don’t” and this is why he focuses a lot on the fingers. Psychologically our hands can give away our true feelings and this film uses that. At the beginning when the two characters meet, we see them touching fingers through the glass of his tank. This develops throughout the film to a full touch of the hands. The full touch is warm and affectionate whereas touching fingertips shows less affection.

There are also a lot of noticeable similarities between Del Toro’s most well-known 2006 film Pan’s Labyrinth. Both stories are told in the style of a fairy-tale about real life times of struggles. Pan’s Labyrinth is set in the time of Spanish Civil War and The Shape of Water is set during the height of the Cold War in the early 1960s. This is a trait of Del Toro’s cinematic storytelling and is a refreshing insight into telling a story, giving a childlike wonder and the cool tones of the colour pallet.

It is clear where Del Toro got his inspiration for the character of the Amphibious Man. Originally the film was going to be a reboot of The Creature From The Black Lagoon, and you can see the similarities between the Asset and Gill Man. I personally hate reboots and I am glad they took a different route.

I give this film 5 out of 5. It gripped my attention, I loved the characters and the story. Typical Del Toro film.

Works Cited

Arnold, J. (Director). (1954). Creature from the Black Lagoon [Motion Picture].

IMDb. (2017, December 13). Guillermo del Toro Explains Symbols in ‘The Shape of Water’ | IMDb EXCLUSIVE. Retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yb-MzoMFtWo

Toro, G. d. (Director). (2006). Pan’s Labyrinth [Motion Picture].

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Cast: Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Octavia Spencer.

Crew: Alexandre Desplat (Music) Dan Laustsen (Cinematographer)

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 15

Sausage Party

Posted on October 22, 2016 by C966939529

Pure disgusting filth….I love it!

Dirty animated comedies are my thing so this was right up my street! I am a huge fan of South Park and Family Guy so was excited for this. This is the start of a new genre of adult animation films and I can’t wait to see what else the future holds.

This film starts out with a fantastic all-star cast including Seth Rogan, Kristen Wiig and Jonah Hill. The film is about the life of food and parodies religion and stereotypes. In the supermarket the food talk about the “great beyond” (Vernon, 2016) and all the different areas of the supermarket represent different parts of the world such as Mexico, China and Germany, and different religions, the Jewish and Middle East “77 bottles of extra-virgin olive oil” (Vernon, 2016) . The parody doesn’t stop there it also parodies films such as “Saving Private Ryan” (Spielberg, 1998).

I love how they even parody the idea of the grass is greener on the other side. Whenever we see the humans point of view it is grey and in muted colour but compared to the foods point of view it is bright, colourful and beautiful…that is of course until they learn the truth.

The one thing that surprised me was how brutal they get both physically and sexually. At the end the food orgy is one of the funniest but disturbing things I think I have ever seen. The most disturbing part of the film was the used condom talking to Barry about what had happened to him. “ I begged them to stop, but then they just went. First, the gods stretched me till it hurt, then they went inside me, and then… And then… SPOOGE! Look at me! LOOK AT ME!” (Vernon, 2016)

What can I say this is so my type of humour so I loved it but it won’t suit everyone’s taste. Maybe I am just biased but this is one of my favourite films of the year!

5 stars!

Works Cited

Scenes, F. (2016, March 24). Sausage Party Potato being Peeled Scene . Retrieved from Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyTf7h1XDOs&feature=youtu.be

Spielberg, S. (Director). (1998). Saving Private Ryan [Motion Picture].

Vernon, G. T. (Director). (2016). Sausage Party [Motion Picture].

Director: Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon

Cast: Seth Rogan, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco

Crew: Ariel Shaffer (Writer), Seth Rogan (Writer, Producer),

Genre: Adult Computer Animation

Rating: 15

The Shallows

Posted on August 26, 2016 by C966939529

Jaws on Acid

The first film I ever saw that really stuck with me was 1975’s “Jaws”, I think because of the atmosphere that Spielberg created with John William’s music. The iconic Jaws theme is always singing in my head whenever I am in water, be it the sea, swimming pool or even in the bathtub!

Since this I have developed a love around shark films so I was really excited to see this one. My worry about this film was the fact that there is one main actor. Isolation films are a really interesting concept and can go either really well or really bad. Examples of this are one of my favourite film “Cast Away”, I love it was really well done but in comparison to “Gravity”, that as a different story. Gravity was visually spectacular and I love Sandra Bullock but I was so bored. So I had my reservations about The Shallows too, but they were not needed.

I loved the Jaws throwbacks. There was a lot of similarities between the first shark attack in Jaws and Lively’s attack in The Shallows.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the use of comedy and thriller at the same time. The use of the language barrier was really funny. It is a very fine line between bringing comedy and thrillers together.

One of my other worries about this film was of course the shark. Need I remind you of the shark from Jaws 3?

CGI can be either good or bad….like Sharknado being the bad kind.

The Shallows wasn’t too bad. I think they get away with it because they rely on the viewers imagination reacting to shadows and Lively’s reaction.

Another good point was the use of the surfers Go-Pro cameras and the point of view shots they gave. Used in a similar way to “Hardcore Henry” but less of a main film point. It was used as a good way to connect the few secondary characters together.

I love this film and find it really enjoyable. Blake Lively gives a really good performance and they don’t just rely on her being pretty and thin. Some films like this just rely on bikini clad girls (Piranha comes to mind) but through most of the movie Lively is wearing a wetsuit top and her attire slowly changes by ripping pieces off the suit to cover her wounds. A very good use of wardrobe.

Love love love!

Works Cited

Jaws (1975)

Sharknado (2013)

Jaws 3 (1983)

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Cast: Blake Lively

Crew: Anthony Jaswinski

Genre: Survival Thriller

Rating: 15

Room

Posted on January 31, 2016 by C966939529

“Room is a refreshing look at an incredible journey of discovery and re-birth.”

Room is based off of a book written by Emma Donoghue in 2010. She got the idea from the Elisabeth Fritzl case in Austria where she was held captive for 24 years in a basement by her father Josef. She had been sexually and physically abused resulting in the birth of seven children. (Jurgen Dahlkamp, 2008)

This adaptation of the story goes in-depth into the psyche of both the Mother and child. In the film Joy was taken seven years ago and kept locked away in a shed at the bottom of “Old Nick’s” garden. Old Nick is the name that Joy gives to her capturer as she does not know his real name. She was repeatedly raped and ended up pregnant giving birth to Jack. At the beginning of the story Jack is just turning five years old.

I was slightly worried about how it was going to work with having the majority of the story occurring in one room, but it was done in a remarkable way. The room does not actually feel that small at the beginning of the room as you see it through the eyes of Jack, who has never known anything bigger. It is not until after being freed Joy and Jack return to the room to say goodbye to that part of their lives. When they first walk in Jack does not even recognise it as room as it now appears dark and dingy. Before he didn’t know of the world outside, “what other side of the wall?” He has seen the light, (quite literally!) and sees how small room actually is. You can see this in comparison to the hospital room as the outside wall is just covered in floor to ceiling windows.

In the room there is only 1 source of light, a skylight in the ceiling. A lot of the time both Joy and Jack just sit and stare up at the sky looking for freedom. Jack doesn’t understand what is outside of the room and Joy cannot find a way to explain it so just plays along with the idea that outside the room is space and aliens, playing into the child’s world. The window is a symbol of being trapped and separated from the outside world. This is mirrored once they escape and Jack is in a police car screaming for his Mum, banging on the window and unable to do anything as he is effectively trapped yet again.

Danny Cohen, the cinematographer of the film loves to use windows for imagery and this works so well within the context of this film. I have already mentioned Cohen’s work in this blog as he was also the cinematographer in “The Danish Girl”. A similar idea is used in “The Danish Girl” as the darkness is hiding true life with the light being the discovery of the real world.

The light actually presents the opportunity to explore the health hazards that the characters experience. When he first escapes from the rolled up carpet it is almost as if he has been re-born and the POV handheld shots are all realistic to what he would be seeing and even down to the blurriness as he eyes have never been used to natural light before and he is literally seeing for the first time.

A repeating theme I noticed was the use of rituals throughout the film. In the room Joy can be seen trying to make things easier for Jack growing up. She makes sure he takes vitamins for his health and also maintains an exercise regime. Joy tried to give Jack as much as a normal life as possible, for example he still has to do chores and help with the cleaning. This behaviour even remains after they escape the room. Jack doesn’t understand what a shower is and while Joy is trying to explain it he states “bath before bed that’s the rule”. These rules Joy has implemented to help his development. For instance the ritual of Jack going to sleep in the wardrobe to be protected from Old Nick. Even when they return home and Joy has overdosed and he is separated from her he retreats to the wardrobe as that is the only place he knows how to be alone.

This film really makes you think about the psychological abuse they both suffer as well as the physical abuse. It is not just affecting Joy and Jack but also their family. Joy’s father cannot even look at Jack as he reminds him of the monster that took his only daughter. Although at first you think he is a horrible person for doing this you then see it as a coping mechanism, just like the rituals were in the room. The final ritual you see is right at the end of the film when Jack wants to say goodbye to the room just like he did in the evenings.

I think this film will get a lot of awards and especially Brie Larson who gives a fantastic performance portraying both the vulnerability and strength at the same time. I give this 5/5!

Works Cited

Jurgen Dahlkamp, M. K. (2008, June 5th). The Amstetten Horror House. Retrieved from Spiegel Online: http://m.spiegel.de/international/europe/a-551660.html

Director: Lenny Abrahamson

Cast: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay

Crew: Emma Donoghue – Screenplay, Danny Cohen – Cinematography

Genre: Drama

Rating: 15

Awards: Golden Globe for Best Actress – Brie Larson

Nominated for 4 Academy Awards – Best Picture, Best actress, Best Directing and Best Adapted Screenplay

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Claire's Cinematic Corner

5 Stars

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References

Happy Death Day 2 U

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Hereditary

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Avengers Infinity War 3D

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The Shape of Water

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The Shallows

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Room

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