Movies

Control (2007)
To be able to watch this film, I had to borrow an original DVD from a friend who happened to have this. I preferred watching the film alone for I wanted to understand every part of it.  For an hour or so, I watched it at home and the following are my thoughts and reactions to the aforementioned film

The movie was basically about a man who, at the peak of his successful career in music, happened to have lost control of the most important things in his life. Ian Curtis, the main protagonist, is a depiction of a man who got tired of being employed under a boss who can never make his big dreams come true. In order to fulfill his biggest aspirations, Curtis made the final decision to follow his dream of becoming a band singer. While trying to fulfill this dream, Curtis falls in love with a typical girl named, Debbie, and what comes after is an immediate marriage, and eventually an offspring. However, just like any other marriage, Curtis marriage went through a serious predicament, and he eventually wandered away from his wifes company. Just when his career with the band is growing strong, he meets and immediately starts a love affair with another woman who added to his pressures. Curtis grew more pressured and confused about the several challenges he then faces that include challenges in his growing career, as well as the challenges of him being a father and a good husband. Hence, towards the end, the title of the story becomes more apparent Curtis dilemmas. In the end, the story entails that Curtis life has been a story of a man who falls short of what this story is about Control.
The portrayal of the image of the main protagonist was in itself catchy and interesting enough. It highlights the persona of a growing band front man, whose lifes complexities did not fail to justify the dynamics of the plot. The screenplay in itself was also very fresh, reflecting the contemporary dilemmas of the young society. The story also did not fail to impart valuable lessons and realizations to viewers that mostly delve on taking the right decisions in life especially in the younger years of adulthood, as portrayed by the well applauded actor, Sam Riley.

Prestige (2006)
In order to watch the full movie, Prestige, I, once again, had to borrow the original DVD from a friend. A friend lent it to me and I watched the movie at home. I also planned of watching this film alone one silent weekend morning in order to be able to focus on the details of the film. The following are my reactions and review of the aforementioned film.

The film, Prestige tells about the story of two magicians, Robet Angier and Alfred Borden whose lives have been pained by the accidental death of Angiers wife, Julia. Magic and being a magician were the central feature of the film. Angiers wife, Julie, dies in an accident while Alfred and he were performing a trick. Due to this incident, Angier blames his friend of his wifes death, and resentment has always occupied his heart from then on. The movie went on and the scenes eventually focused on the magicians plots and strategies on how to sabotage each others magic tricks and performance as they go from friends to foes. Eventually, the film turns out to be a battle for Prestige which was highlighted by the main characters obsession to pride and rivalry.

The start of the movie can be analogously compared to a person who has no sense of direction. The beginning of the movie was somewhat confusing as the director preferred going from one point of the plot, back to another, and then forward to another. Apparently, this was some kind of cinematic style however, the style ended up somewhat confusing as each scene have been filled with so much details. However, what appears interesting and appealing about this movie is the fact that the scenes were effectively teasing viewers by the frequent peeks on the future of the protagonists.  But basically, the movie can be considered notable for its interesting twists and turns. Though it might have easily confused a lot of other viewers, it displayed a smarter way of storytelling.

Deep End (2001)
I have a friend who happened to own an original DVD of this movie, and so I had to borrow it to be able to watch the movie and eventually write a review about it. At first some of my cousins were there with me as I started watching it, one Wednesday afternoon, as they were curious. However eventually, I ended up watching it alone in a silent and a very comfortable TV room in the house.

Deep End, which was originally based from Elizabeth Sanxays novel, The Blank Wall tells the story of a mother who went all the way in protecting her son from damnation. Margaret Hall is a depiction of a typical mother who is concerned about her sons sexuality and social behavior. Upon knowing about her son, Beaus affair with Darby  who happens to be gay  Hall becomes worried and upset for she fears the life of her son will not be normal again. Beaus gay lover goes through an accident and dies by the lake. Hall discovers Darbys death and speculates about Beaus relation to the crime. As what is expected from a mothers instinct, Hall covers up for her son in belief that her own son killed Darby. This kind of protection goes on all throughout the film to the extent of putting her own life and honor on the line just to save his son. Hall faces several dangers and encounters different challenges in this feat. Due to silences caused by the fear of telling the truth,  both Hall and her son Beau are caught it up in a situations at the end of the film, where both of them creates different speculations about each other in mind.

The film was evidently catchy and intriguing as it involves several scenes about gay relationships. Although relationships between people from the third sex has been considerably accepted in most societies nowadays, it still cannot be denied that this kind of content still intrigues and rouses peoples reactions on gay relationships. The thrill of the quest for truth gives sufficient sense of adventure which makes the film upbeat. The director was able to give a whole new light to the typical mother and son relationship by extending the efforts of a mother beyond its usual limits in protecting her son. The internal thoughts and speculations of the characters that were not communicated verbally in the movie can also be considered clever. This added a playful feature in the storys focus on peoples quest for truth.

Sunshine (2007)
I was able to access an original DVD of this movie from my uncles collection of Armageddon films. It was one cold Thursday evening, since I was not feeling sleepy during that time, I decided to watch this film so that I will be able to write a review on it the next day. Again, I was alone as I watch the film.

The title of the movie Sunshine, tells a lot about what is about. However, as what can be observed from the film, this title appears quite a more subtle representation of what the movie really displaces about the suns possible fate 47 years from now. It tells about the story of the sun and the earths possible conditions in the year, 2057. Similar to several Armageddon films, this story tells a really frightening account of what might happen when the sun dies. In the movie, experts are sent to navigate near the suns surface in order to fix what is then wrong with the suns natural phenomena. Several scientific attempts were set in order to save mankind from certain doom. The first attempt, the Icarus I failed. And so the experts had to send back another mission composed of more able scientists. This mission is now named Icarus II. Along the journey a lot of sabotage acts were discovered and the protagonists, who were all in a place where their lives are at risk, do everything to save mankind from possible damnation due to mere antagonistic impairments. In the end, the earth is saved after the heroic sacrifice of the protagonist, Capa.

Personally, I do think there is nothing different about this film from the other films that tackled the possible faces of earths destruction. It was similarly terrifying as it presents unimaginable events that will surely make life on earth near a dying state. Just like the other Armageddon films I have watched, this also presents heroic sacrifices from science experts who are labeled in these films as the worlds futuristic heroes. However, what appears noteworthy in this film is how it makes people understand the sun more. It was able reveal some significant information about what makes the sun very powerful in sustaining life on earth. But nonetheless, I also believe people will never get tired of Armageddon films like this for it will always terrify them about the future.

Up In The Air (2009)
As it has been very difficult to find a DVD copy of this from my friends and neighbors, I opted renting this movie from the DVD rentals. As what I typically do when I watch required films for a review, I preferred watching this movie alone as well. It was one Friday morning, I just had my breakfast and then I headed back to my room to watch this movie from my personal computer.

Basically, the story captured the life of characters who have been used to flying in a day-to-day basis. Ryan Bingham, is a corporate expert on  literally  firing people. The story basically revolves around his frequent trips all over America, which the protagonist personally enjoyed. As he is bound to fire people out of their jobs, Binghams character has been crowded with antagonistic features such as being inconsiderate, non compassionate and cold. The conflict arises when another protagonist, Natalie proposes a change that will take away the most beloves feature of Bingham about his job. This feature basically allows downsizing agents to fire people through video conferencing which then takes away the enjoyable privilege Binghams job of traveling from one state to another. In order to show Natalie that her proposition is unacceptable, Bingham takes her with him in his downsizing tours. However, this just leads him to realizing how off-putting and discouraging his job and lifestyle really are.

The film appeared interesting for me as it deals with a lot about corporate affairs that include flying in business class suites and doing a not-so-ordinary kind of business. It also presents an interesting fact which is very new for the movie viewing population, and this about the downsizing industry.  However aside from these aspects of the film, nothing more appears quite catchy. Sure the endless flights to all around the country appears very attractive, as it appears to be one of the greatest privileges any employee can have, however, it failed to feature a shocking and an intensely moving part which could have possible came from drama or action. The bottom line is that, the movie stayed on the safe end, thus, failing to make any surprising uniqueness.