Top Film Reviews

Fences

Release Date: 2016 Length: 166 min

“Some people build fences to keep people out, and other people build fences to keep people in.” -Jim Bono

Director: Denzel Washington (Known for Malcolm X, Training Day, and Philadelphia) Writer: August Wilson (Known for Fences) Actors: Denzel Washington Viola Davis (Known for Widows, Lila and Eve, and The Help) Jovan Adepo (Known for Overlord and Mother!)

Summary: Troy Maxson was once a famous baseball player, but now is a dump truck worker with a wife and two sons. Despite being a family man, Troy struggles to connect with them. He finds that if he doesn’t change soon, he will lose everything that he holds dear.

Overall Thoughts: Fences is a story about the pain surrounding an ordinary family. It was hard to watch the movie because you sympathize with Troy, but at the same time, you hate him. The decision to intentionally make the main character a terrible person is interesting because most movies in Hollywood have a hero as the protagonist. The fact that the movie doesn’t end well is also very different than what you usually see. Denzel Washington plays the character of Troy very well. He shows the characteristics of both a selfish and a selfless man. The way he shows what Troy believes the meaning of family is can be seen clearly in Washington’s performance. Viola Davis, in my opinion, has the most important role in the film because her character keeps the whole family together. Rose has so much love for everyone, even when her life has been by far the hardest. Rose is also the strongest because, despite the betrayal and that the child she needs to take care of isn’t her’s. Jovan Adepo plays the character Cory perfectly throughout the entire movie. The fear and love for his father are so evident in Adepo’s acting. Together as an ensemble, every actor and actress was able to play extended scenes with nothing but dialogue so incredibly well, which impressed me even more than I already was by the time the movie was finished. Denzel Washington shows just how talented he is in Fences because he is able to skillfully balance the roles of the director and the main character. It takes a lot of knowledge and organization to be able to successfully direct such a powerful film while acting simultaneously. The way he structured the whole movie to feel similar to a play is perfect.

Ratings: Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92 % My Rating: 90%

Prometheus

Release Date: 2012 Length: 123 min

“The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts.” -David

Director: Ridley Scott (Known for Alien, Blade Runner, and Gladiator) Writers: Damon Lindelof (Known for World War Z, Tomorrowland, and Star Trek) Jon Spaihts (Known for Passengers, Doctor Strange, and The Darkest Hour) Actors: Noomi Rapace (Known for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Passion, and Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows) Michael Fassbender (Known for X-Men: First Class, Steve Jobs, and 300) Charlize Theron (Known for Atomic Blonde, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Aeon Flux)

Summary: Doctors Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway’s search for the origins of human life finally leads them to an unknown planet in the universe. There, along with another group of explorers, they find a massive structure containing the bodies of creatures very similar to human life. They also find creatures that were created for only one purpose, which is to cause death. Prequel to the Alien Saga.

Overall Thoughts: I believe that Prometheus is a film about humanity hidden inside a sci-fi horror movie. Each of the characters has a different personalities that fit into the story perfectly. This movie is a great prequel to the other Alien movies because it doesn’t just provide a brief explanation about the beginnings of the aliens, but it also shows how humans started a chain of events that led to the monsters’ creation. The film also shows how important it is to some people to live even though it will not bring them happiness. The characters and their relationships with each other are, in my opinion, the best part of this movie. The character, Vickers, played by Charlize Theron, displays characteristics of both a person whose only goal is to live and a woman who just has an overall feeling of sadness in all parts of her life. When she is with her father, Weyland, they are so estranged that they do not care about each other anymore. Even though they are both very similar because they will do anything to survive, and they both fear death. The connection between Vickers and the character Janek, played by Idris Elba, is very interesting because they are complete opposites. For example, Janek is very easygoing and unorganized, while Vickers is so uptight and organized. Janek is, overall, a happy person who is on good terms with everyone, and Vickers is the one person who never seems content, and nobody really knows anything about her. Despite all of this, they seem to have a calmness when they are together; the only time that the character Vickers smiles in the entire movie is when she is with him. Another interesting and ironic thing about them is that although Janek is the happiest of the two, he ends up committing suicide, and she sacrifices everything to just live. The character David shows all of a human’s qualities, and yet he is a robot. Everyone on the ship treats him with disrespect, which, like any other human, leads him to snap. This all leads the audience to ask what it actually means to be human and what it means to have a soul. There is also an interesting difference between the couple Elizabeth and Charlie because Elizabeth respects David, while Charlie does not, which eventually leads to his death. The director did a great job in continuing this beloved film series. He included a lot of elements that are in several of his movies. For example, he put in a strong, independent woman as the main character, similar to Sigourney Weaver’s character in the original Alien movie. He also made the leader of the ship a woman. In most of his movies, he questions what it means to live, and this film is no exception. The special effects in the movie are wonderful and seem very real. The sets are also both futuristic and recognizable modern elements.

Ratings: Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 74% My Rating: 85%

Jurassic Park

Release Date: 1993 Length: 126 min

“Life will not be contained. Life breaks free. It expands to new territories, crashes through barriers, painfully, maybe even dangerously.” -Ian Malcolm

Director: Steven Spielberg (Known for Indiana Jones, Schindler’s List, and E.T.) Writers: Michael Crichton (Known for writing the book series Jurassic Park) David Koepp (Known for The Da Vinci Code, Carlito’s Way, and The Mummy) Actors: Sam Neill (Known for Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, and The Omen 3) Laura Dern (Known for Blue Velvet, Citizen Ruth, and October Sky) Jeff Goldblum (Known for Independence Day, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers)

Summary: Doctors Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler are invited to a remote island where a special theme park is located. When they get there, they find the island is filled with real live dinosaurs. What was first a journey filled with wonder and awe turns into a horrible nightmare as the island loses power and the dinosaurs begin to escape. The characters have to fight for their lives as they find themselves trapped in a world similar to how it was 145 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth. Based on a book by Michael Crichton.

Overall thoughts: There is a reason that the movie is so well-renowned. At the time of this movie, nothing like this had ever been made. The movie brought a new feeling of terror to the audience that would not be seen again for several years. Even after two decades later when I saw it, I still felt the fear and excitement that many felt when watching it in theaters. I like how the movie blends together science and entertainment into one. The film stays close to the book while also including some new ideas to add individuality. Each of the characters is different in so many ways. And yet they have been put in a situation where they must work together to survive. Four main characters stick out in the movie. Each of them is are scientist, but they each represent something different. The character Dr. Alan Grant represents a man of the past. This can be seen in the fact that he is very comfortable studying the bones of the prehistoric creatures, and although he is in wonder at the park like everyone else, he only wants to study them from what was fossilized. Then, there is Dr. Ellie Sattler, who represents the present. Instead of looking for answers in the past or for the future, she is always focusing on the problem at hand. Dr. Ian Malcolm symbolizes the future because he is always focused on what could happen and what could become of their actions. This is the main reason why he is so against the making of the park. And finally, there is the creator, John Hammond, who represents the connection between the past, present, and future. John tried to recreate dinosaurs for the entertainment of the present world, which is full of technology. He is always thinking about a future world where everyone can see the dinosaurs with the beauty he sees. I think that the actors do well in acting out the tension and fear that they each feel. The actors also show different reactions to dangerous situations. For example, when the T. rex first attacks the cars the characters are hiding in, the character named Donald Gennaro’s reaction is to run away and leave the grandchildren of the park’s creator alone in danger. This is a very different response from what Dr. Alan Grant has because the first thing he does is try to save the children. Situations in the film give us a deeper insight into each of the characters’ personalities, which the actors perform very well. I think that all of the individual acting is done in a way that the whole film fits together perfectly. Steven Spielberg has often made science and academics a major aspect in his movies. This also occurred with Indiana Jones, who was an archaeologist who used logic and history to guide him in his adventures. After seeing these movies, a lot of young adults found interest in these fields. Because of the director’s choice to have adventure surround these jobs, paleontology and archaeology are both very popular fields of science. The director also continued the theme of adding beautiful music that has been known and reused throughout the years. This has occurred in so many of his movies and is part of the reason they will remain in film history forever.

Ratings: Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91% My Rating: 94%

Avengers: Infinity War

Release Date: 2018 Length: 149 minutes

“Thanos. He’s a plague, Tony. He invades planets, he takes what he wants, he wipes out half the population. He sent Loki. The attack on New York. That’s him.” -Bruce Banner

Directors: Joel and Anthony Russo (Known for Captain America: Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War)

Writers: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (Known for Captain America: Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War)

Actors: Robert Downey Jr. (Known for Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes, and Chaplin) Chris Evans (Known for Captain America, Before We Go, and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World) Scarlett Johansson (Known for The Avengers, Her, and Lost in Translation) Chris Hemsworth (Known for Thor, Ghostbusters, and Snow White and the Huntsman) Josh Brolin (Known for W., Sicario, and No Country for Old Men)

Summary: Everything that has happened to each of the heroes has been leading up to this crucial movie. The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy fight together in the battle of their lives against Thanos, an alien who seeks to destroy half of the population in the Universe. To do this, he must first gather all of the Infinity Stones, which will give him ultimate power.

Overall Thoughts: From start to finish, this movie entranced me with its heartfelt messages, emotions, and relationships. When you first think of a superhero movie, most people believe that it is just an action movie made to impress the audience with its special effects and long list of famous actors. While this may be in part true, the story is written in such a way that many of the common themes and messages that pertain to everyday society are hidden throughout the movie, but at the same time are inserted into the audience’s minds. This film especially added thousands of little messages and symbolism to let the viewers know that this is no ordinary superhero movie but a powerhouse of emotion, creativity, and power. Like any other Marvel movie, there were many scenes filled with humor, but this film also had a strong, dark overtone. Despite the contrasting moods, the filmmakers were able to blend each scene together with ease, as well as put the Marvel movie characters and their background stories into one single film. I have seen many Marvel and DC movies, but not once have I seen a group include this much thought and heart into one project. All of the characters/actors in this movie have been seen throughout several movies in the Marvel saga. Each of the actors included the personality traits of the characters that have been seen in other films, while at the same time adding expressions, movements, and emotions that are new to them. This shows the audience that, despite being heroes, they have been affected by past events that shape them into who they are now. The love that the characters have for each other can be seen in both hero and villain alike. For example, we see the exiled heroes (Captain America, Black Widow, and Falcon) fight to save Vision and Scarlet Witch from the children of Thanos. We also see the chemistry between Gamora and her father, Thanos, as they travel together despite the fact that they have very different views on what he plans to do. In order for a movie to stand out, it needs strong and thoughtful leadership. Avengers: Infinity War is one of the most well-known movies ever made, and that could never have been possible without the directors who led the cast and staff to create this masterpiece. The thought that was put in by both the directors and the writers is shown in the large and small details.

Ratings: Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 85% My Rating: 90%