End Of Watch (2012)

8.5/10 [highly recommended]

Heartfelt, realistic and powerful police film.

Plot: Shot documentary-style, this film follows the daily grind of two young police officers in LA who are partners and friends, and what happens when they meet criminal forces greater than themselves.

A film about friendship, family, trust and love

The cinematography and shooting method is done in style of handheld cameras, much like in Cloverfield or Blaire Witch Project. The film is filled with many ''Amercian's Funniest Home Videos home camera footages that can be fairly shaky and blurry at times. BUT this shakiness worked in favour to tell the story as it gave the film a personal appeal, that it may not have been able to achieve if it went with a very block buster grand cinematic shooting style.  Thus, I applaud the choice of handheld camera.

I don't think there could be a better choice of a cast for this film: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michael Peña, Anna Kendrick were top notch in driving the emotions of  End of Watch. The chemistry between the characters were believable and real. Every time something happened to one of the characters, you could see it in the eyes of their supports.

A nice piece of artwork that has some disturbing contents but extremely heartfelt and well done.

Elf (2003)

6/10

A cheerful, silly look at raw and complete innocence

Elf is about  a man raised as an elf at the North Pole who is sent to the U.S. in search of his true identity after inadvertently wreaking havoc on the elf community due to his ungainly size.

Elf is a clever holiday film that both tells a lovely tale as well as makes a spoof on it. An elf by the name of Buddy is actually a human, but he was brought up by elves. So imagine a full grown man, who is smart, high spirited but has the innocent mindset of a 2 year old. We see Buddy interact with the outside world unbeknownst of it's cruelty and lost of innocence. Every negative remark made towards Buddy didn't affect him until...spoiler

I spent most of the film absorbed with the visual effects of the film. The simple yet effect treatment of the scenes and the created animation made the film believable and cute.

When Christmas rolls around..watch this movie!

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within (2010)

7.5/10

Exciting, elegantly filmed but a too familiar storyline

Plot: After a prison riot, former-Captain Nascimento, now a high ranking security officer in Rio de Janeiro, is swept into a bloody political dispute that involves government officials and paramilitary groups.

Written by the same person who wrote City Of God (which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND!)

Exciting film that doesn't rely on over use of gore and violence to entertain. It is a film that is grounded in politics, and morales. Elite Squad is about corrupt cops, officials that will do whatever it takes to get votes and the people caught in the middle. This story formular is nothing new, as it has been used in many films, but Elite Squad: Enemy Within is able to create an exciting environment out of this formula.

The use of flashbacks and quick cuts between two events makes this film quite edgy.

El Aura (2005)

6/10

Nicely shot but dragging.

Plot: A deluded taxidermist plans the perfect crime.

El Aura is like a slow moving train. You stand at the station watching the clouds, the trees, the birds and the people. In the distance you can see the train but it never seems to come.

The movie is just like that. There's built up anticipation but the story ever so slowly makes its way. As the story moves I began to see it was not at all how I had initially thought it would be. The entire idea of the main character planning a crime was more just him having a good memory. The crime fell into his lap accidentally and he decided to follow it. Not so thrilling.

The dog is the most interesting part because, like the main character, we never find out his name.

The colour treatment made the film very cold, which matched the main character very well. The film frees gory and gruesome but in reality you don't actually see much of it. Rather we are shown imageries and hints towards the idea that certain events happened.

Overall, a slow slow slow film with a very interesting look at a man who is left with his own memory.

Ella Enchanted (2004)

6/10

Very cute, funny, clever play on different themes, good storyline BUT poor special effects

Ella Enchanted is about a girl who is under a spell to be constantly obedient, a fact she must hide from her new step-family in order to protect the prince of the land, her friend for whom she's falling. (imdb)

Here's what I love about Ella Enchanted

I love Anne Hathaway and I am surprised I haven't seen Ella Enchanted sooner. Hathaway is brilliant in this movie acting, singing, dancing and even fighting. Hathaway portrays a very funny Ella who has been "blessed" with the gift of obedience, having to do everything she's told. Ok, this gift sounds like the type of gift most parents would want their child to have, but this movie will show that even the "best"-and I say this with as much sarcasm as I can through writing- can have negative results.

The fairy tale story is very well written to involve elves, ogres, princes, evil figures, step mothers/sisters, talking books (of course some sort animate object that can talk), fairies and best of all a hero that will become queen. However, if you pay attention, you will notice that this movie cleverly adds many parodies and pokes fun at many of modern day themes and occurrence. Example, the play on 'botox' and the 'fan-club-craze' that seems very common nowadays. Grimm brothers were even referenced a couple times.

There are many hilarious moments that I couldn't stifle uncontrollable giggling. The brilliant performance from Anne Hathaway being one of the main cause of the humor, which the dialogue and script helps to emphasize. The obedient element was the best part of this film, causing much laughter and odd situations.

The ending song was very suitable..and the dance routine just cracked me up.

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This movie was close to a perfect fairytale flick but sadly there are parts that frustrates me.

The CGI and special effects was very mediocre and I always felt the presence of the green screen-which took away from the action on screen. It felt very stiff and the images didn't merge well.

The ending climax could have been treated differently-without giving too much away- I felt Ella's secret could have been revealed in a much more exciting/funnier way instead of the very rushed fight/explanation/scrimmage that was shown.

Another was how no one figured out to tell Ella to NOT listen to what people tell her to do unless she wants to/ think is right...I think that would have vetoed her from doing some of the deeds, BUT then again what fun would that have been?

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In conclusion, this is a fairytale comedy romance, so all the kinks in the movie kind of flowed well with the silliness of the content.

I RECOMMAND this to those who loved Princess Diaries, Enchanted, Devil Wears Prada, Nanny McPhee, She's the Man, Princess Bride (main male cast Cary Elwes actually played the king in Elle Enchanted) and What a Girl Wants.

It's silly but clever enough for a good time :)

The Eagle (2011)

6./10

Entertaining but not epic

The Eagle is about Roman-ruled Britain, where a young Roman soldier endeavors to honor his father's memory by finding his lost legion's golden emblem. (imdb)

The action and fight sequences are shot well with some nice touches of cinematography throughout. I'm glad this film didn't let CGI take away the art of filmmaking.

The storyline start off nicely but towards the middle of the film it became flat. The ending was predictable fell short of being an epic. The end scene was very cliche resembling a "walking into the sunset" type of ending from old westerns.

Channing Tatum, has always been to me the perfect lead in rom coms (romantic comedy) so I was a tad skeptical going into The Eagle. HOWEVER, Channing did not disappoint and gave a good performance as Marcus Aquila, a young soldier looking to honor his father's memory. Jaime Bell as well did a fabulous job as the support role. The duo delivered a great performance, and I wouldn't hesitate to see them in a future project.

The part that stuck out was the very distinctive American accent in the film that doesn't quit suit the Roman aspect of the storyline. I guess it's not a big deal as this film appealed to be more of a entertaining blockbuster movie than it was historical.

The Eagle has lots of action/fight scenes, great costumes and Channing & Jaime are quite eye catching (ok this last bit is a ftw for the girls ;) )

Easy A (2010)

8/10 (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!)

Funny, well written dialogue and not your typical teen movie.

Easy A is about a clean-cut high school student who accidently falls into the on the school's rumor mill and resulting in her advancing in her social and financial standing.

Easy A brings together the current day teen films and the 80's teen flicks. It brings together the 80's sweet and innocent romance as well as the present day scandals.

I love Emma Stone in Zombieland and after watching Easy A, she only rose further up my top 10 favourite actresses. She is witty, incredibly sweet and a savant in getting out of difficult situations. The supporting cast is amazing as well. Amanda Byne, though I am not used to her being the antagonist, is still lovable. Aly Michalka is fantastic as the clueless best friend. Thomas Haden Church, Cam Gigandet and Dan Byrd are all worth noting for this performance.

The narrating method used to tell the story works perfectly for this film. Both moving the story along and is very educational, referencing and poking fun at literature throughout. I am one of the ones who never read or watched "The Scarlet Letter" so Easy A has brought that to my interest. The direct referencing of Mark Twain towards the end made me laugh.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED (I can't stress that enough) for those who enjoys a witty, hilarious and sharp romantic comedy that actually requires audience to be (at least) a bit book smart ;)

Exam (2009)

7/10

A clever psychological thriller that will grip you from beginning to end.

Exam is about eight candidates, seated at desks in a room, each with a sheet of paper...their task to answer the exam question.

This low budget film with a fairly unknown cast is gem of a find. The film uses clever psychology and mind games to keep the atmosphere of mystery throughout.

The greatest strength of this film is the overall tension and curiosity the film creates, even with a mediocre ending, this film is still quite entertaining. However, this is not the first of its kind, other thrillers has been done of strangers put to the test, however, this film does not fail in comparison.

If you like films with thrill and mystery with the content of horror then definitely give Exam a chance.

NOTE: Do not watch the Trailer for the film...it'll spoil it!

Extreme Measure (1996)

7/10

Extreme Measure delivers a great storyline, fantastic acting and a wonderful lesson on morality. Starring Hugh Grant, Sarah Jessica Parker, Gene Hackman, I am surprised this film hasn't gotten more recognition, as it is quite entertaining.

The film starts in such a mystifying manner that it creates a mysterious atmosphere before the main character is even introduced. The use of music further emphasizes this atmosphere, by staying almost unnoticed in the background. The music supports a very well written and complying storyline. The storyline, although not overly complicated, has a lot of content and does a fantastic job of leaving a bread trail of hints to unravelling the mystery of the film.

Seeing Hugh Grant in such a serious role is another bonus of this film. Grant portrays the character "Luthan" in such a realistic way that you forget Grant was ever in comedies (he’s that good!). Grant’s portrayal is able to capture the alliance of the audience and keeps everyone engaged from minute one.

The film revolves around the theme of morality, the theory of consequentialism, and integrity of cultures/communities. “Few die so many could live” whether to kill one to save the world. The film pushes viewers to ask “what is the correct choice” or “whether there is even a correct choice.”

Recommended! Extreme Measures is a very smart film that entertains at the same time providing a lesson on morality.