Category Archives: Drama

01.28.14
by

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

My rating: ratings3

Walter Mitty (played by Ben Stiller, who also directed the film) is a negative assets manager for Life Magazine who frequently daydreams of fantastic adventures, and has a crush on his coworker Cheryl (played by Kristen Wiig). For the final issue of Life, photographer Sean O’Connell (played by Sean Penn) sends Mitty 25 negatives and says that the 25th one captures the “Quintessence” of Life and that it should be used for the cover. The 25th one, though, is missing, so Mitty must track down O’Connell and travel the world, and makes some stops, including Greenland, Iceland and the Himalayas.

I was not disappointed by this movie, since I was very excited about it when I first saw the trailer. Walter Mitty is filled with comedy and heart, but some parts are a little slower than others. The film has a great plot and great cinematography, but Mitty never really changes throughout the movie. Instead of becoming a better person who doesn’t daydream that often, all he really does is travel the world and make a new friend (an eHarmony employee). I think adults would like this movie just like I did, but it does have some iffy content that might be intense for kids, including some violent scenes and swearing, despite its PG rating. It deserves a PG-13 rating, but I think it would be appropriate for kids 12 and up.

Here is the film’s trailer.

A side profile of a man running with a silver briefcase in hand. Behind him a cityscape.

09.05.13
by

Jobs

My rating: ratings2

Ashton Kutcher plays Steve Jobs in this movie, which tells you about how Apple was created, and how Steve Jobs changed the world of technology. The film manages to deliver a message: You can do the impossible as long as you believe it, but if you don’t, you will not succeed. In other words, some people see what’s possible, other’s change what’s possible.  Josh Gad hilariously plays Steve Wozniak, Jobs’ childhood friend, partner and co-founder of Apple. Dermot Mulroney plays Mike Markkula, who invested in Apple in 1976 and eventually started working there, while Matthew Modine plays John Sculley, the former CEO of Pepsi, who soon becomes the CEO of Apple and forces Jobs out of the company in 1985, and Luke Haas plays Daniel Kottke, Jobs’ friend.

Ashton Kutcher is an amazing actor in this movie. In the first scene, which shows Jobs presenting the iPod at an Apple Town Hall meeting in 2001, for a second I thought it was the real Steve Jobs! After about an hour, the movie started to get a little boring, so I think older people would enjoy this movie more than I did. This film is filled with laughs and great acting, but I don’t think this movie is appropriate for kids under 14 because there is a lot of language. But if you are 14 and over, I think you would really enjoy this movie and laugh a lot from it.

Also, here is the film’s site.

Jobs (film).jpg

07.26.13
by

Now You See Me

My rating: ratings3

Four magicians (played by Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco) are united and start pulling off bank robberies during performances and reward their audiences with the money. Meanwhile, an FBI agent (played by Mark Ruffalo) and an Interpol agent (played by Melanie Laurent), are assigned to track down these illusionists. This movie also stars Oscar winners Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.

I saw this movie this week and I have to admit, it was better than I expected. The first ten or fifteen minutes of the movie are pretty boring and did not pull me in, and I thought that the rest of the movie will also be like this, but later it starts getting more interesting and thrilling. The cast is pretty good, and so is the directing and most of the story. I think that the best actor in the movie was Woody Harrelson, because he was the most entertaining and fun to watch here. The movie’s script sometimes does not work throughout the movie and often the plot makes little sense, but at the end it is very enjoyable and different than just any crime film. It would be worth watching, and I would especially recommend it for fans of crime and heist movies.

Now You See Me Poster.jpg

05.02.13
by

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

11.26.12
by

Life of Pi

My rating:

This Ang Lee film tells about Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel (Suraj Sharma), a 16-year-old Indian boy who is the only survivor of a sinking Japanese freighter and finds himself on a small life boat with a spotted hyena, a mother orangutan who had lost her children in the shipwreck, a wounded zebra and an adult male Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. Pi must survive with the animals and survive at sea. Eventually, after furious fighting between the animals, only Richard Parker survives, and the 2 survivors form a unique friendship after lots of efforts.

Other cast members include Irrfan Khan as the adult Pi, Tabu as Pi’s mother, Adil Hussain as Pi’s father, Gerard Depardieu as a cook and Rafe Spall as a writer. Directed by Ang Lee, the film is based on Yann Martel’s 2001 novel of the same name. The producers are Ang Lee, Gil Netter and David Womark and the screenwriter is David Magee.

This movie is a story of ingenuity, adventure, courage and faith. It concludes with a message that belief in God is indeed the “better story” (according to Pi). I really enjoyed this film after I saw it with my grandmother on Thursday and I would recommend this film for adults and teenagers, but especially not kids around my age or younger because they would find it too scary or boring. Also, they might not understand the plot of the movie, but  I think adults will really like this movie.

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

11.22.12
by

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

My rating: ratings1

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is a 1995 television film based on the novel by E.L. Konigsburg. The story is about a girl named Claudia and her brother, Jamie, who run away from home to live in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and discover what they think is a lost treasure. The children are transfixed with the treasure and won’t leave without knowing what its secret is. Lauren Bacall stars in the title role, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

The film lacks the narrative of Mrs. Frankweiler present in the book which causes it to lose much of the book’s humor and wisdom. For the majority of the film, the script stays true to the action in the book. However, Claudia’s posing as an adult and Jamie’s cold are not present in the novel.

I hated this movie a lot, especially becuase I didn’t like the actress who was casted as Claudia. I would recommend this movie for kids my age or older, but not for younger kids who might not be interested in it or not understand the plot.

Also, here is the trailer of the movie.

10.28.12
by

Chasing Mavericks

My rating: 

I saw Chasing Mavericks with my friend and his family, and it is based on a true story of surfing legend Jay Moriarity (1978-2001), and how he learned to surf the world’s most dangerous wave, the maverick. He was trained by surfing legend Rick “Frosty” Hesson (played by Gerard Butler). In the course of Jay’s training, the 2 surfers form a relationship.

Unfortunately, Jay died in a diving accident in the Indian Ocean, a day before his 23rd birthday. He had a wife named Kim Moriarity, who was his friend since their childhood. Jay is remembered as a “soul surfer”, winning many sportsmanship awards throughout his career. Moriarity deserved a tribute like this film, for he was a really great surfer.

I really enjoyed this movie and I would recommend it for children my age (10) or older. Adults will also really enjoy this movie. I really liked Gerard Butler’s role as Frosty Hesson, although he was hospitalized after being injured during a surfing stunt on December 19, 2011. This is my favorite movie starring Gerard Butler.

The movie was filmed in Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay (the movie also takes place in both locations). I don”t think I’ll ever be able to surf a wave as big as a maverick!

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

10.09.12
by

Ingrid Pitt: Beyond the Forest

My rating:    

This is a 6-minute short film made by Perry Chen, an 11-year-old animator and movie blogger (like me), directed by Kevin Sean Michaels and produced by Bill Plympton. It is a true story about a girl named Ingoushka Petrov (later known as Ingrid Pitt), who survived the Holocaust in 1945, when she was only eight years old. She narrated the film herself and it was her last project before she passed away. Like Anne Frank, it was her childhood dream to become an actress and she eventually lived her dream and was a movie star for over 40 years before her death in late 2010.

This short film describes the Holocaust experience through Ingrid Pitt’s eyes in very simple, hand-drawn animation. I was very impressed by the movie’s ability to express Ingrid Pitt’s fear of being imprisoned in the concentration camp with her mother, constantly fearing for her life, experiencing hunger, diseases and sadness. I really liked how Perry Chen made Ingrid’s bad memories in black and white and her good memory (of the moment she learned the war was over) in color – almost like she was becoming alive again.

As a Jewish boy I was personally moved by this film. It made me feel that I can now better understand what my great grandmother’s family went through in Poland. They, too, were taken to concentration camps and killed in horrific ways (my great grandmother was the only survivor from a big family). She still lives in Israel (she’s 98 years old now) and frequently shares her family stories and pictures with us.

This film will be featured at the Transbay Festival, kicking off this Friday, October 12 in San Francisco.

Also, here is a preview video of the movie.