Movies

I  SETTING OF MOVIE VIEWING
The setting for the viewing of District 9 is in the privacy of my bedroom, where I played the DVD rented out from a local DVD outlet. With a subtle lighting coming from my bedroom night lamp and some lights coming from the outside through my windows, my bedroom was quite conducive for a fully-focused film showing.  I started watching the movie at about 9 oclock in the evening after dinner, and finished at about 11 oclock that evening.

II  MOVIE REVIEW
The movies documentary style, at the start and at the conclusion parts greatly helped me to better understand the movies, especially the background context and the conclusion part. Set in the year 2010, when aliens whom the humans believed to be mere workers for their limited abilities, were kept in government camp called District 9, the movie shows how humans, with their own personal agenda and interests, would mistreat and abuse even unsuspecting and harmless aliens. Within the District 9, where the aliens, referred to as prawns for their physical resemblance to the real prawns, were prostituted and pushed into the black market with Nigerians led by their paralyzed warlord. And with the Multi-National United (MNU) wanting to take over the situation, things became worse as the aliens welfare was not considered a bit. The MNUs main agenda of gaining knowledge about and developing similar technology of the aliens weaponry became the driver of the whole efforts, which pushed Wikus, an MNU operative, to the limits of his abilities. With an unexpected twist, Wikus himself got contaminated with some mysterious substance from an alien weapon, which caused him to slowly mutate into an alien  with his whole arm actually becoming fully that of an alien. MNUs main interest in the weaponry overpowered humane consideration for Wikus, and instead of helping him cure his condition, MNU instead set him up for a laboratory operation to use his new biological features to fully get the aliens weapon technology which apparently was connected to the aliens biological make-up.
The movie interestingly and unexpectedly comes up with Wikus saviors from the MNUs hands, with a promise of total reverse of his mutation. In the end, the movie again uses interviews and the documentary style to provide varied assumptions of Wikus final fate.

The Hurt Locker Review

I-Setting of the Movie Viewing
It is Sunday morning, a time for relaxation after days of hard work. I decided to watch the movie The Hurt Locker in the DVD it is a Blue Ray copy that I bought from a local DVD store. Nobody is with me that time, as I prefer to be alone when I watch movies. Everything is quiet in the living room that morning, except for the sound coming from the movie. The film runs for more than two hourstwo hours and eleven minutes to be exact.

II- Movie Review
The Hurt Locker follows the exploit of the elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal team (EOD) during the early part of post-invasion period of Iraq in 2004. The job of the team, led by Sergeant First Class William James, is to defuse and dismantle improvised explosive devices (IEDs) scattered in the streets of Baghdad. Sergeant J.T. Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge, the two other members of the team, disagree with the reckless attitude of James in dealing with bombs. In one of their missions, they find a dead boy, whose body is surgically implanted with bombs. The boy is believed to be Beckham, James friend. Beckham turns out to be alive later in the film. Meanwhile, the tension among the team members, due mainly to the aggressiveness and recklessness of James, continues to mount. When Sanborn is shot in his leg as they encounter two insurgents, he blames James for it. Their last mission is to disarm a bomb strapped on the chest of an Iraqi. However, they fail and forced to run away before the bomb explodes. Their failure drives Sanborn to be emotional, admitting that he cannot handle the pressure of their job. After their tour of duty, the team leaves Iraq and goes home. James is reunited with his family. He soon becomes bored with his civilian life. He then tells his infant son that there is only one thing that he loves to do. Next, James is seen back in Iraq for another year with the EOD team.

The story is based on the true account of a journalist who witnessed the war in Iraq, yet the recklessness and devil-may-care attitude of the lead character, William James, is likened to Rambo. It lessens the real-life drama that the film is trying to portray, making it a little more of a fiction rather than a true story. Aside from that, the movie is excellent as it vividly captures the danger the bomb squad faces during the early part of the post-war in Iraq.

Bamboozled Review

I-Setting of the Film Viewing
After learning that Bamboozled was the work of Spike Lee, my friends and I decided to watch the film after dinner that evening in our DVD. We settled in a couch situated in the spacious living room. We started watching it at 820 and finished it at 1035.

II-Movie Review
The movie depicts the life of an educated black man named Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans) who grows frustrated with his job as a writer for CNS, a television network, because his boss, Thomas Dunwitty (Michael Rapaport), frequently rejects his scripts. He is pressured when Dunwitty gives him two choices come up with an eccentric show that features black actors, or be fired. Delacroix wants to get out from the network, so he chooses to be fired.  Since it violates his contract if he quits, Delacroix gets the help of his assistant, Sloan Hopkins (Jada Pinkett Smith), to plot a minstrel show, titled Mantan The New Millennium Minstrel Show, featuring black actors who tint their entire faces with black make up. He hires two homeless street performers, Manray (Savion Glover) and Womack (Tommy Davidson) to be the actors of the show. Delacroix infuses extreme and offensive racist jokes into the show, believing that the network will not like it, thus causing him to be fired on the spot. However, he is shocked that the show becomes a huge success.

Delacroix suddenly forgets his original plan and rides on with the shows success. Sloan, however, is horrified. Gradually, though, the emotional and mental aspects of the people involved in the show crumble Womack quits the show Delacroix and Sloan develop disagreement because of Sloans growing closeness with Manray and Manray, realizing that he is being exploited, refuses to wear black make up during his performance, which causes him to be fired. The movie ends in tragedy as Manray, after leaving the studio, is kidnapped and killed by Mau Maus, a militant rap group who hates the minstrel show. Delacroix, on the other hand, is shot dead when he grapples the gun from Sloan.

The movie shows a rage against racism, which can generate outrage from black viewers. One irritating aspect of the movie is the voice of Damon Wayans. It sounds unreal as if Damon is trying hard to make a humor out of his mundane character. Furthermore, the advertisement at the middle of the film, Da Bomb liquor and Timmi Hillnigger, only adds to the negativity of the movie as it promotes racism and sexual activity. Overall, though, the movie achieves its main goal a cynical portrayal of racial discrimination.

Moon Review
I-Setting of the Film Viewing
It was 300 in the afternoon and everything was quiet in our living room. I was alone that time, so I decided to watch the movie Moon in the DVD. A cup of Coke in my hand, I settled comfortably in my favorite couch and started to digest the movie content.

II-Movie Review
Moon is about a dedicated lunar employee, Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell), who undergoes emotional and mental imbalance as his three year contract with Lunar Industries is about to expire. He is destined alone in Sarang, a base in the moon, and his only companion is Gerty, a robotic assistant (voiced by Kevin Spacey). Sams job is to extract Helium 3, a precious gas used by Earth as its clean energy.  He has been away from the earth and from his family for practically three years. Eventually, loneliness takes its tool. Two weeks before his contract ends, Sam begins to experience hallucinations, seeing things and hearing strange sounds. This proves to be dangerous as it distracts Sam during a routine retrieval of Helium 3 canisters, causing him to crash the rover into the harvesting machine and loses consciousness. He awakens in the infirmary with Gerty on his side. When he returns to the crash site, he discovers a clone of himself barely alive inside the crushed rover. The clone lives, but his presence creates tension. Sam and his clone accuse each other of being the clone. The distinction between the two is obvious. Sam 1(who comes from the crushed rover) has a weaker body and mentally deteriorating, while Sam 2 (who finds the clone in the crushed rover) is sharper and healthier. Sam 1 soon discovers that previous clones of him have fallen ill and eventually incinerated. Worse, a clone has a life span of only three years, the same span of his contract. Now, a rescue team from Lunar Industries is about to arrive. The two Sams worry that if they are seen together, they will be both killed. Upon his insistence, Sam 1 remains in the rover as he is nearing death and lets Sam 2 return to Earth. Eventually, the US government learns about the cloning and conducts an investigation, calling Sam 2 to testify. Lunar Industries faces criminal charges.

Moon is a certified science fiction movie, yet it is a great break from the overused science theme about the encounter of humans with aliens. Moon deals with ideas and human dramas. The back draft and the cinematic effects look real. Rockwell portrays his character superbly. Gerty, with its smiley face, is a refreshing part of the movie. Kevin Spacey is surprisingly perfect as the unemotional voice of the robotic character.

Snatch Review
I-Setting of the Film Viewing
I was in the serenity of my room, away from the outside noise. The only sound in my room was the one coming from the television screen as I watched the much-acclaimed movie Snatch in DVD. I started watching at 900 in the evening and ends at 1043.

II-Movie Review
Released in 2000, Snatch showcases two different plots. The first plot starts in Antwerp as a group of robbers, led by Franky Four-fingers (Benicio Del Toro) steals a flawless 83 karat diamond. Franky brings the gem to London and plans to deliver it to his boss, Avi (Dennis Farina) though a middleman, Doug The Head (Mike Reid). However, Boris the Blade (Rade Serbedzija) gets interested in the diamond he hires three dim-witted henchmen, Sol, Vinnie and Tyrone to get the stone from Franky. They start to seek out Franky Avi and Doug join the fray when Franky fails to deliver the stone to them. The chase ends up with Franky being caught and killed by Boris, but the diamond is nowhere to be found.

The other plot revolves around Turkish (Jason Statham), an unlicensed boxing promoter who wants to have a new caravan for his business. He and his assistant, Tommy (Stephen Graham), and his boxer, Gorgeous George (Adam Fogerty), go to pikey campsite to buy a caravan. However, something goes wrong and one of the pikies (Irish gypsies), Mickey ONeil (Brad Pitt), knocks out Gorgeous George with only one punch. Impressed, Turkish hires Mickey. The crime kingpin Brick Top (Alan Ford) deals with Turkish that Mickey must fall on the fourth round in his fight but Mickey knocks out his opponent in the first round. This puts Turkish, Tommy and Mickey in deep trouble as Brick Top and his men are on their way to kill them. However, the pikies save them, killing Brick Top in the process. At the end of the movie, Turkish is seen with the stolen diamond while talking to Doug.

The film is intricate because it is difficult to see the relationship between the two plots. A viewer needs to watch intently to follow the connection. Jason Statham is different from his previous films, where he is always a fighting machine. In Snatch, although he trains boxers, his character chooses to do more talking than punches. He appears more as timid. In fact, he is not even shocked, or overjoyed, when he gets hold of the precious diamond. One funny part in the movie, albeit irritating, is the way Mickey talks. He is indecipherable it is difficult to identify his language and his accent. Otherwise, the characters deliver superb performance.