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Filmsi - A not so serious look at films and film reviews

Anything film =D

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Filmsi - March 2010

Alice in Wonderland

This review is for those rare creatures that have not yet seen Alice in Wonderland (that is if there are any of you out there). So I guess in this post I'm probable divide the audience with my outlandish review, no I kid I'm taking a pretty middle ground stance on this "issue". I'm okay with name calling and I'm willing to admit I'm a bit of a fence sitter and I'm totally okay with that title. And on the that note lets get into the nitty gritty to the wonderfully delicious film that is Alice in Wonderland(readers should be warned prior to reading my reviews I have many references to food and eating in general - don't be alarm it's nothing sexual, just an appreciation of food).

It must first be acknowledged by all that this is not the original story of Alice in Wonderland that we all know and love. So those holding out for a remake will not find one here. The best way to do this is to actually separate the two and think of it as two different tales that are interlinked.

So the story begins with a young girl and her father, the girl being Alice (surprise, surprise) is complaining about strange dreams that she been having. Of course most of us have guessed with little trouble that it’s in reference to Wonderland. Skip ten years or so and the girl is all grown up to be a palely (and some might say ordinary looking, of course not I) looking young lady who couldn't be older than 20. When faced with a prospect of marrying a pompous red haired she does what any right minded 20 year old would do - run like the wind, follow a rabbit in a waist coat and fall into a rabbit hole, drink strange substances and meet mad men and save them from evil big headed Queens. But wait I'm getting a little a head of myself. So Alice falls into rabbit hole and meets the creatures of Wonderland. But this isn’t simply a story of strange creatures, no, because that’s been done before. No, this is a tale of a girl with a quest to save of creatures both small and great from the Evil Large headed Queen of Hearts and in turn discovers herself. As ordinary as that sounds I’m sadden to inform you that it was essentially the plot of the film.

Alice in Wonderland is lacking in originality and is filled with quite a generic script to fill the 2 hours. But remember this is a Tim Burton film therefore one should never expect the expected hence without a doubt you will be thoroughly entertained. Visually stimulating and quite frankly I'm amazed at how pretty everything is. It probably agreed by many this is not Burton's best work but this probably due to lack of originality more so than anything else. Many of us are quite accustomed to the quirkiness of his work and though this film delivered this, it wasn't much different to the quirkiness of the original Alice in Wonderland. I was hoping for a twist or something more but it never really came.

It would be a crime against to the art of film reviewing to not mention the actors and the characters in Alice in Wonderland. I was rather impressed by Alice's character, I was afraid that she would be a fluffy, melodramatic character but she wasn't. You, as expected really like her character and she genuinely seemed like a nice person. However as pleasant as Alice was there was something really unnerving about the White Queen who was played by Anne Hathaway, the supposed good queen of the Wonderland just seemed fake and a little bit of a "goody-two-shoes" (I know I sound like a child). I feel that there is something sinister about her too and behind that "I'm so good" exterior lies a slight arrogance. First I must admit I'm quite a big fan of Anne Hathaway every since my love the Princess's Diaries 2 (I know insult me if you must, but everyone has their guilty pleasures. Its just mine is worst I actually like Princess's Diaries 2) but that being said or more like that being typed I found her really annoying to watch, particularly her hand movements. As if channelling the Good Witch of North from the Wizard of Oz, but rather looking graceful and she simply looked like she was flapping her hands around to compensate for the fact she does not have wings. It honestly felt like watching a teenage girl trying her best to act in a school concert and in turn slightly over doing it.

I would know, many years ago I was that teenage girl who couldn't act. And with that rant finished, let’s actually move on with other characters, as much I didn't like her sister I very much enjoyed watching the Evil Large-headed Queen of Hearts. Maybe it was the unusually large head or my favouritism towards villains. Helena Bonham Carter is of course in a Burton film and is her weird self therefore it seems the Evil Large-headed Queen is perfect for her. I know what you're thinking (because I'm psychic like that) how can I surpass Johnny Depp? Have I gone mad? Ignored Johnny Depp? The sole reason that 90% of audience* is even bothering to pay $20 to watch it. And well Depp didn't fail to deliver, although it wasn't his best work but we all know that he can do mad and do mad well, actually he does mad often. It's hard to say anything bad about Johnny Depp because well hello he's Johnny Depp but it kind of felt like he became a little lazy in this one. Like he really couldn't be bothered to challenge himself or maybe it's that we have seen him in so many of these quirky characters that the novelty has somewhat worn off.

In general Alice in Wonderland was a pleasant film to watch. It was nice and neat and some might say that was its problem and use it as criticism. It was too nice and too neat and therefore lack the 'It' factor. It's didn't take us to different place or amaze us. For those who with high expectations would have been disappointed but I was not one of them hence I enjoyed it. Alice in Wonderland although entertaining is forgettable, you will watch it today and years down the track you may not even remember ever watching it.

*this statistic is full of shit! But most statistics that is given are full of shit and is only there for the writer to look smarter.

Images from RT & Wiki

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March 26th 2010 @ 14:11

Posted By: Samira - Category: No Category

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New Writer

Hey all

Basically this is a boring admin post really informing all readers that there is new writer for this blog. And that the pervious four posts (welcome post to the diving bell and the butterfly post) is written by me. Who is me you wonder??? Well me is Samira and I will be continuing on with this blog (under this domain). As one can infer it won't be the same as before and I probably won't talk about the same things BUT one thing that will remain is a highly intelligent discussion of films and everything that can be considered under that banner. Well not really,as the tag above has mentioned its a not so serious look at films and all things film. It'll be mostly film reviews but if anyone wants something more then you are more than welcome to comment and make suggestions and criticisms. I do hope that I will charm and dazzle you with my wit and humour and above all entertain you all.

Samira =D

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March 25th 2010 @ 02:11

Posted By: Samira - Category: No Category

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The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Before I start of reviewing this film I have a confession to make, I was feeling rather posh and even a little pretentious because I was watching a non-Hollywood film and a non-English speaking film and to make things even more exciting it was French. Yes that’s right the nation of love and sex and more sex. I know stereotypes again. But lets face it this film was not what you call something you find in some dingy little indie cinema. No this was rather main stream; for one thing it actually showed in Australia so that means that it was popular enough to be shown in Australia.

Prior watching the Diving Bell and the Butterfly I read a quite of few reviews claiming the brilliance of the film and getting stunning reviews so I guess my opinion and expectations of the film were incredible high even before I pressed play. I expected this brilliant, ground breaking film that will be edged in my memory for years to come, where I will be convincing everyone I know that they should watch it. So brilliant that even the mention of the word butterfly or bell will make me stop and reminisce of the good times I spend watching the film. I would be so moved by the entire film that I go on and learn how to speak French so I could enjoy it in French and repeat the lines in random places. Okay I will stop clearly I'm getting a little carried away and I wasn't exactly thinking that at the time.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a story of a relatively young man possible only 40 years whom suffered an unexplainable and sudden stroke which has left in paralyzed basically in his entire body. But despite the complications Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric - better known as the villain in James Bond Quantum of Solace) survives and lives to tell his story. Through a series of eye blinks and a vivid imagination Jean-Dom tells of dreams, flashbacks and a past that he clearly lived to the fullest which is to be documented in book.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is a touching and emotional drama piece with both depth and complexities. Although most of the film is shot in the perspective of Jean-Dom and therefore only ever seeing his line of view which means sometimes you can only really see people's chest and hips and yet each character shows so much and tells so much without every really saying anything or even only seeing little snippets of their faces. Despite being paralyzed it seemed Jean-Dom had charmed his way into everyone's heart. I don't whether they were charmed by his mere presence or simply out of pity they seemed to care much for him; personally I believe it’s the latter. It may not come as a surprise but every little happens in terms of action or excitement, its not melodramatic which I found made the film drag. This may be due to my experience with film which usually has constant dialog or constant action or something happening to engage you. However the same cannot be said for the Diving Bell and the Butterfly, there is shots of landscapes and nothing it particular. Which I can assume its for emotional impact on the viewer but I simply didn't feel it. Yet even though with apparent lack of story this film does keep you wondering, how is it going to end? Where is all this going? Is he going to actually finish the book?

However the most interesting and essentially the most entertaining are Jean-Dom's internal thoughts. It becomes pretty obvious that his brain is functioning and is completely intact with the ability to think of absurd ideas and even be witty yet despite all this he can't even bath himself.

Without a doubt the film was visually engaging. The hand held camera gave this personal touch to basically every scene, making you feel that you are either watching a home video or actually viewing life through his eyes. There was clear sense of nostalgia as if you and Jean-Dom go way back to a point you are watching your home videos (even though I’m not French in any means). However there was one scene that I simply could not handle, the constant movements of the camera just made me feel a little nauseous rather than nostalgic.

So finally, did the Diving Bell and the Butterfly live up to my expectations? Well not quite, as much as I enjoyed the film and how it made me feel many different emotions and made me really think about life and how delicate it is however as piece of entertainment it fell a little short, sometimes it just felt like the movie just won't end while other times you so engaged and curious that film pretty much engulfs you into its world. I know what you are thinking, that was very bipolar of me - do I like it or not? I do and really do but I just don't believe it’s the greatest film that I have come across and therefore you should keep expectations realistic. Nevertheless I recommend that you take some time to watch film because I believe its worth it.

image from Wiki

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March 19th 2010 @ 14:24

Posted By: Samira - Category: No Category

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Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day

As the title of the movie suggests it celebrates or further emphasize the abundance of love that surrounds the world on this day. Its all flowers, candy and sweet things for those in love but for everyone else it's just a reminder that you have no one. The bitter jaded people may avoid the love fest in it entirety or campaign for its removal. "It's not even a real holiday!" claims Kelvin (Jamie Foxx). And on that note let’s actually talk about the movie rather me rant on the flaws of the most "romantic" day of the year.

Valentine's Day is a romantic comedy - well no shit. It has been advertised extensively and any movie goer probably knows what the general premise of the movie is. So I will not bore with the details but I feel I'm required to at the very least to give a summary of sorts. There are about a million characters in this film (a gross exaggeration?), so I will cover as many of them as possible. There is the love sick florist (Ashton Kutcher), single and lonely career women (Jessica Biel), the wise Latino man (George Lopez), the teenagers who are about to have sex for the first time (Emma Roberts), the old couple and the lonely footballer, the cute school teacher who doesn't know better (Jennifer Garner) and the lying, cheating, and wealthy doctor (Patrick Dempsy - kind of sounds like his Grey's Anatomy character) and others that need not to be mentioned.

I know what you’re thinking I just outlined a bunch of character descriptions based on stereotypes rather then give you an outline of the story. Well since it’s a highly predictable and overly done premise it would be pointless to actually give the story but rather go straight to verdict.

As one might have notice from the negative overtone of this review, I wasn't overly impressed by this film at all. For one thing the concept of multiply stories of love and lost have been done before and better as well, there was Love Actually and He's Just Not That Into You.

First and foremost flaws of Valentine’s Day and other films that have multiply characters and story lines is that they are difficult to follow and many characters are ignored or glossed over due to the fact that this not enough time for all the characters to develop and grow furthermore due to this time restriction audiences cannot appreciate the characters and their complexities which therefore leaves the audience a bit unsatisfied. Hence it comes to no surprise that Valentine's Day to counter its inability rely heavily on stereotypes with characters whom are simply 1 dimensional forgoing depth even to a certain degree relatibility(considering they suppose to be everyday people).

There were a few charming quirks in between from the better rounded characters such as Biel's single lady and Foxx's reporter and even Lopez's wise funny man (who was ignored in the trailers despite the fact he was in the film for quite a bit). It wasn't all too bad, that's because I simply wasn't holding out for outstanding and ground breaking entertainment. It’s light and fluffy portrayal of relationships is grossly glossed over by unnecessary happy endings and without doubt "Hollywoodised" hence devoid of any realism.

The general watching experience was a little irritating - each scene kept cutting into another scene feeling like the pervious scene hadn't quite finished yet and make you think, what the hell, did that scene just finish? Whether it was affect or simply bad editing I cannot be sure of. Regardless of intention I found confusing and unnecessary and if it was for affect it failed to engage me but rather enrage me (lol it didn’t really but it sounded nice).

So the final verdict – you get for what you pay for – in a sense. Basically cheap quirks every now and then will keep you entertained but lack of depth in characters and originality in stories will eventually bore you and wished the movie would finish quickly so you can move on with your life. Would I recommend it? Well only if you plan to have a girl night accompanied by heavy drinking.

Images from Rotton Tomatoes & Wiki

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March 16th 2010 @ 10:55

Posted By: Samira - Category: No Category

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Summer Time

[500] Days of Summer from the posters looks like a nicely packaged and massed produced romantic comedy that we all have seen a million times. And to a certain extent it is. Its a simple enough premise - boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl and sometime in the course of the film some nuisance will plague their relationship and lead to moments where the two leads look out a window watching the rain whilst a sad but popular song plays in the background. But no, 500 Days of Summer is not quite like that. With a twist of reality and wit and charming character is hard not to fall in love with this film. Even from they're first interaction, the miscommunication and the awkwardness, its all too adorable. But as the reality goes this is not one that ends happily with the leads in each other's embrace.

This is a story of Tom Hanson (Joseph Gordon-Leviitt, the boy) a young, single man making greeting cards for a living, yes it could not get any more mundane even if they tried. While minding his business in the lift listening to The Smiths here he encounters the whimsical Summer Finn (Zooey Deschannel). Tom knew right there and then that he was in love with Summer. But Tom was the romantic at heart believing that he would never truly be happy without finding "the One" however Summer did not share the same sentiment. Despite the fact even from the beginning the future of this relationship was questionable the romance between them blossomed.

This all too adorable romantic comedy is just simply a delight to watch, between the great choice of music (including Regina Spektor, the Smiths and the Temper Trap), well written script and a dance sequence what’s not to love about 500 days of Summer.

As expected you feel for the character Tom, loving a person who simply doesn't love you back is painful but this isn't about a break-up but a look back at a relationship gone by with tainted eyes. And wondering what happened? Sometimes it was easier for Tom to ignore the problems of relationship rather than face them. But the winning element of this movie that I believe is that it's well written, there are no clichéd one liners and no really soppy dribble and yet it remains consistently funny throughout the film. Delivered by the perfectly casted leads, Gordon-Levitt whom seem to be in perpetual state of youth is perfect as the wide-eyed, slightly naive (but this is coming for a cynic) love-sick Tom. The human cup-cake and equally as adorable (some might say cute as button) Deshannel is perfect as the cynical, flowery and slightly mysterious Summer.

Another charming thing about this film which can occasionally make it difficult to follow is that it flips back and forth through the relationship, for example it jumps from the first day they meet to day 100 of their relationship. I enjoyed this format but may take awhile to get use to. Sometimes it really feels like you are taking a walk on a nice spring day when the sun is shinning and the skies are blue. The colourful scenes seem to really emphasis how Tom really saw the relationship and even to a certain extent really contradict the gloom of the situation.

In conclusion (as if this was a high school essay) I simply loved this movie it simple, sweet, cute and funnily romantic. As much as I loved this film it's clearly not everyone's cup of tea but that being said even my very male friend was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it. If you haven't seen it I think you can catch it on DVD and apparently on Blu-ray (for those tech savvy hipsters, which I’m clearly not).

Side Note: Well that was my first entry, officially. Hope you enjoyed it and now rushing to get the DVD of 500 days of Summer. If there any problems or questions or criticism you are welcome to share. Since it was my first entry please be nice =D

images from Rotten Tomatoes & Wikipedia

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March 12th 2010 @ 13:41

Posted By: Samira - Category: No Category

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Welcome all

Films can make you cry, laugh and even want to gauge your eyes out (not litereally, of course) but above all they should entertain you. Welcome to Not so serious flilm blog, here I shall dazzle you all with my wit and entertaining reviews or potentially bore you (but its not what I aim for). Not so serious is for serious film buffs or the not so serious movie goers and all is welcome to comment and share their love or hate of any particular film. So take a seat, grab some pop corn, turn off your phone and let me entertain you.

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March 12th 2010 @ 05:06

Posted By: Samira - Category: No Category

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