Author Archives: filmtoppings

05.25.13
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Iron Man 3

My rating: ratings3

Set after the events of The Avengers, Tony Stark(played by Robert Downey, Jr.)’s home is destroyed by Aldrich Killian (played by Guy Pearce), a scientist who in 1999 asked Stark to join his company but Stark rejected the offer and humiliated Killian. Killian is also the creator of a virus called Extremis, which can cure disabilities such as his own. Now Tony must rely on himself and his gadgets to defeat Killian. This film is rated PG-13 and also stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Rebecca Hall, and Ben Kingsley.

I liked this movie, but not as much as The Avengers. Once again, Robert Downey, Jr. is hilarious! But it and extremely major flaw that everybody is complaining about: the fact that I didn’t like about the movie was that in these TV commercials Killian hires a British actor (played by Ben Kingsley) to play the Mandarin (who is actually him). That is not how it goes in the Marvel Iron Man comics. But overall, the movie is awesome! But I don’t think it was as good as the other Iron Man movies I would recommend this movie for anyone who loves Marvel movies and has watched most of the other six Avengers movies (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and the Avengers).

Also, here is the link to the film’s site:

http://marvel.com/ironman3

05.02.13
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42

 My rating: ratings4

This movie, which is rated PG-13, tells the story of Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play in the MLB (Major League Baseball). Earlier he had played in the minor leagues. He soon inspired many other African Americans, not just in sports. A writer named Wendell Smith soon became the first African American sports writer, following Jackie Robinson’s footsteps.

I really admired Jackie Robinson’s strong will and determination, despite people’s acts against him. He never gave up. But I did not like the fact that even though thousands of African Americans fought in World War II, they were still treated unfairly after the war. I really liked Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey, an MLB executive who gave Jackie Robinson the chance to play in the MLB. Robinson played for the Montreal Royals in 1946 and in 1947 he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Jackie Robinson’s wife, Rachel Robinson, is still alive today and started the Jackie Robinson Foundation after his death. Here is its website.

Also, here is the movie’s website.

The only thing I didn’t like about this movie is that it is really slow, and it can start to get boring after 45 minutes or an hour. I would recommend this movie for kids 12 and up, because there is a lot of language and stuff kids younger than 12 wouldn’t understand.

42 film poster.jpg

04.17.13
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G.I. Joe: Retaliation

My rating: ratings2

After the G.I. Joes, which inlclude Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Duke (Channing Tatum), Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) and Flint (D.J. Cotrona), steal a nuclear weapon, the entire team, including Duke, is wiped out in an attack sent by the President of the United States, who is actually a cobra agent named Zartan (Arnold Vosloo) who has captured the real president (Jonathan Pryce). The only 3 survivors of the attack are Roadblock, Jaye and Flint. The remaining Joes then team up with General Joseph Colton (Bruce Willis), Snake Eyes (Ray Park) Jinx (Elodie Yung), and former Cobra agent Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee) to stop Project Zeus, which are 7 satellite-like nuclear weapons programmed by Zartan to destroy countries with missile rods.

A saw this movie last week with my friend and his parents. We all liked this movie, especially the cast and the action. But it was also very disappointing. First of all, Duke, who is the main character in G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra, dies. Second of all, hardly any of the characters are also in The Rise of Cobra, and the movie itself was kind of dumb. The Rise of Cobra was way better. I would recommend this movie for kids 10 years old and older. This movie is now playing (it is also in 3D).

Also, here is the movie’s website.

04.11.13
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Paper Clips

My rating: ratings5

This award-winning 2004 G-rated documentary, which I saw on Netflix this week, tells about middle school students in a school in Whitwell, Tennessee, wanting to understand the enormity of the Jews who died in the Holocaust, create a monument for the Holocaust victims by deciding to collect 6 million paper clips. Paper clips were collected by the students and donated to the school as well by Holocaust survivor descendants and Holocaust survivors themselves. At the last count there were over 30 million paper clips received. The school soon put all the paper clips in a railcar.

I think the Paper Clips Project was a very big accomplishment, and I am very proud of the school, the students, and everyone who supported the project. This movie also taught me more about the Holocaust.  I think people of all ages will enjoy this wonderful movie.

04.03.13
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Under the Sea

I saw this IMAX movie at the IMAX theater in the San Jose Tech Museum yesterday. Narrated by Jim Carrey, this 40-minute film gives you an underwater look at sea creatures such as cuddlefish, sea snakes, great white sharks and seals. This beautiful family film is now showing in IMAX theaters such as the San Jose Tech Museum IMAX theater. I think the whole family would enjoy this movie, which is rated G.

I also learned some things from this movie, like for example, I never knew sea snakes were more venomous than king cobras!

Also, here is the film’s website.

03.28.13
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The Croods

My rating: ratings4

In this animated comedy, Emma Stone plays the lead role, Eep, who is part of the world’s first prehistoric family, the Croods. Her family stays inside their cave for most of the time. All the neighbor families were killed by prehistoric animals, but only they have survived because of Eep’s dad, Grug (Nicholas Cage). His one rule is “Never not be afraid”. One night, Eep sneaks out of the cave and meets Guy (Ryan Reynolds), a prehistoric genius with ideas like fire and shoes who has a pet sloth named Belt. He warns Eep that the world is coming to an end, and gives her a shell, which he tells her to call him with if she survives.

The next day, an earthquake (which is actually the beginning of what is now known as the continental drift) destroys the Croods’ cave and everything familiar is gone. Soon Guy joins the Croods on their journey to a mountain, so they can “ride the sun” to a paradise land Guy calls Tomorrow.

The Croods is a beautiful, humorous movie filled with laughter, beautiful landscapes, and amazing visuals. It reminds me of Hotel Transylvania (another one of my favorite animated movies) because in both movies there was a very overprotective father who didn’t understand what his daughter really wants. I think The Croods is the #1 family movie of the year so far. CBS Radio News calls it “an animated Avatar”. I recommend this movie for people of all ages, whether you’re a child, adult, or senior! This movie is rated PG for “some scary action”.

Also, here is the film’s website.

Below is a picture of me sitting next to Belt and Douglas, a mutation of a crocodile and a puppy who soon becomes Thunk’s pet. Above me are the Croods and Guy (I don’t know why, but in the picture, I am hiding one of my hands!).

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03.27.13
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I won the school poem contest! Check it out!

In early February, an author/ poet with the pen name of  Mr. Lemur came to my school. She told us about her books. She also told us about a poetry contest that she and her husband (who writes books with her) created. I wrote a poem named Bruce the Goose (which my friend Michael illustrated) for the contest. Michael and I won the fifth grade Reader’s Choice Award. We each got a certificate and a Mr. Lemur pocket notebook. Here are some pictures of me and my awards:

??????????   ??????????    Gal Certificate A

03.11.13
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Oz the Great and Powerful

My rating: ratings5

When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a magician from Kansas, is swept away from Kansas by a tornado, he finds himself in the land of Oz. There, he meets Theodora (Mila Kunis), a good witch who soon falls in love with him. He soon meets Theodora’s sister, Evanora (Rachel Wesiz), who sends him on a mission to defeat the wicked witch. But on his journey, he meets Glinda (Michelle Williams), who claims she is the good witch and Evanora is actually the wicked witch. Oscar now must find out who really is good and who really is evil before it’s too late.

I saw this movie in 3D on Friday (March 8) with my grandmother. We both really enjoyed it. The 3D effects are amazing! The acting and visual effects are also really good. This is now one of my favorite movies of all time! This movie is rated PG for “sequences of action and scary images, and brief mild language”. I would recommend this movie for kids 11 years old and older, but kids younger than that might be too frightened. But if you’re 11 or older, then it’s worth going. Even adults will love this fantastic, enchanting movie.

Also, here is the website and the trailer of this movie.

03.08.13
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Jack the Giant Slayer

My rating: ratings4

In the Kingdom of Cloister, a young farmboy named Jack (Nicholas Hoult) goes to town to sell his horse. In the town, he meets a monk who trades beans, which he tells Jack not to wet, for Jack’s horse. But on a rainy night, a beanstalk grows in Jack’s house and the princess (Eleanor Tomlinson) is captured by giants. Jack, Elmont (Ewan McGregor), the king’s elite guard, and his servants climb the beanstalk to the giant world to rescue the princess.

I saw this movie with my friend last Friday (March 1). We both really enjoyed it. There was action and humor. I really liked Nicholas Hoult, Eleanor Tomlinson, and Ewan McGregor’s roles. They were all really good. There were other good actors, too, such as Ian McShane and Bill Nighy (who does the voice of Fallon, the leader of the giants). This is now one of my favorite movies starring Ewan McGregor. I would recommend this movie for kids 10 and over, but kids younger than that might be too frightened from this movie. This movie is rated PG-13 for “intense sequences of fantasy action violence, some frightening images and brief language”.

Also, here is the website and the trailer of the movie.

Below is a picture of my friend Jake (who saw the movie with me) and I (on the right) in front of the film’s poster.

gal and jake

02.28.13
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The Oscars (85th Academy Awards)

The Oscars took place this Sunday at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood from 5:30 PM to 9 PM. I watched the whole thing live with my family. We all really enjoyed watching it. There were funny parts, such as when Jennifer Lawrence tripped on her way upstage to receive her award (she won Best Actress for her role in Silver Linings Playbook). Fortunately, Hugh Jackman (who was nominated Best Actor for his role in Les Miserables) helped her get back up. I think she tripped because of her skirt. My favorite part was when Mark Wahlberg and “Ted” (probably just a robot teddy bear voiced by Seth Macfarlene) presented the Best Sound Mixing and Sound Editing awards. That part was pretty funny, too. Lincoln got the most nominations (12) and Life of Pi won the most awards (4).

Also, The 85th Academy Awards were notable for several rare and first-time feats. Quvenzhane Wallis, a 9-year-old actress from a movie called Beasts of the Southern Wild, became the youngest person ever to be nominated an Oscar, while Emmanuelle Riva, an 85-year-old actress from a foreign movie called Amour, became the oldest person ever to be nominated an Oscar. Argo became the first Best Picture Winner in 23 years to not also have a Best Director nomination. Brenda Chapman became the first woman to win the Best Animated Feature award. She shared her award for the Pixar film Brave with co-director Mark Andrews. Also, Silver Linings Playbook became the first film in 31 years to be nominated for all acting categories. Jennifer Lawrence, who acted in that movie, became the youngest Best Actress 2-time nominee at age 22. Also, Les Miserables became the first musical movie to be nominated Best Leading Actor. Adele’s song “Skyfall” from the James Bond movie”Skyfall” became the first song from a James Bond movie to win the Best Original Song award. Daniel Day-Lewis became the first person ever in the Academy Award history to win 3 Best Actor awards in his lifetime.

Here is a list of the award categories and their winners:

Best Picture: Argo

Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln

Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz in Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables

Best Director: Ang Lee for Life of Pi

Best Original Screenplay: Django Unchained

Best Adapted Screendplay: Argo

Best Animated Feature: Brave

Best Foreign Language Film: Amour (from Austria) in French

Best Documentary Feature: Searching for Sugar Man

Best Documentary Short: Inocente

Best Live Action Short Film: Curfew

Best Animated Short: Paperman

Best Original Score: Life of Pi

Best Original Song: “Skyfall” from “Skyfall”. Sung by Adele

Best Sound Editing: There was a tie between two movies: Zero Dark Thirty and Skyfall

Best Sound Mixing: Les Miserables

Best Production Design: Lincoln

Best Cinematography: Life of Pi

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Les Miserables

Best Costume Design: Anna Karenina

Best Film Editing: Argo

Best Visual Effects: Life of Pi

Performances included the cast of Les Miserables, Adele, who sang Skyfall, Shirley Bassey, who sang Goldfinger, and the cast of Chicago. I think Wreck-It Ralph should have won Best Animated Feature and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey should have won Best Makeup and Hairstyling. I was surprised that Beasts of the Southern Wild received 4 nominations, including Best Picture, but it didn’t win any at all! I can’t wait until the next Oscars!

85th Academy Awards Poster.jpg