The Book Thief - Movie Reveiw

Director: Brian Percival
Writers: Michael Petroni
Stars: Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson

Set right before World War II, after the death of her brother, Liesel is fostered by loving Hans and his witch of a wife Rosa. Soon after she moves in, she discovers her love for reading and writing after stealing some books. At school, there is Rudy, a sweet boy from her new neighbourhood who immediately befriends Liesel. Soon after Kristallnacht, Liesel's family hides a Jewish man - Max, who she befriends quickly.

This movie was amazing! Interesting perspective of the Holocaust, through the child's eye. Although the film was set in a very serious time period with some very serious things going on in this family's life, including hiding Max, there was some comic relief in the film. I especially liked the scenes between Liesel and her friend Rudy. Their exchanges are very cute and often funny.

Brian Percival did an amazing job directing this film! It was spectacular. I want to be a film director when I'm older and its film like these that I really look up to and love to see. It was great and the sets were beautiful and so were the costumes and everything. It was filmed beautifully. 

Although this is a war film, I would categorize it more as a drama. It did not focus so much on the violence and brutality of war, but more on this little girl and her life in a new family in a new home during this horrible time. I really enjoyed it.

Overall, I would definitely say this was one of the best movies I have seen. It was so amazing and I would recommend this film to anyone. It is a must see and I would recommend seeing it while its still in theaters. There are some films you just want to experience on a huge screen in a movie theater and this is one of them. 

My Rating:
10/10

Click here to watch the trailer for The Book Thief on YouTube.

The Hunger Games 2: Catching Fire - Movie Reveiw

Director: Francis Lawrence
Writers: Simon Beaufoy, Michael Arndt (Suzanne Collins - Novel)
Producers: Nina Jacobson, John Kilik
Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Sam Claflin

So this review is a little overdue - The Hunger Games 2: Catching Fire came out on November 22 and I have to admit I am kind of a huge fan of the series. So, being the huge fan that I am I saw the movie on the 22nd. I was super excited and I was not let down.

The film is based on the second installment of the trilogy, written by Suzanne Collins. I really love this trilogy - it is interesting, captivating and suspenseful. The first book, set in a dystopian future, is about Katniss Everdeen, ,who volunteers to take her sister's place in the Hunger Games - an annual event where 1 male and 1 female 'tribute', between the ages of 12-18 from each of the twelve districts is sent to an arena to fight to the death. The last child alive wins and returns to their home to enjoy a life of fame and fortune. The reason for the games is a punishment for uprisings that took place against the Capitol - who hosts and organizes the annual games. The second book or film focuses on Katniss's life as a victor of the games - though there is a very surprising twit. This is obviously not an amazing film - it is targeted towards teens and adults may find it predictable at some points - but as a huge fan, I was extremely pleased with the film.

I'll admit that with the first movie, leaving the theater I was disappointed.  I felt as though it was rushed and they did not capture the main relationships and character's personalities very well. This time, I found that the film was exactly like the book, even some lines that were used in the films were directly from the book.

Jennifer Lawrence is amazing as Katniss, I guess she didn't get that Oscar for nothing! Personally, I don't really like Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark - Katniss's fellow tribute and victor, although I'll admit I liked him better in Catching Fire than in the first film.

Overall, if you are a fan or have read the books and liked them, you will probably be pleased with this film and really enjoy it. If it doesn't sound interesting, you're not missing much. The film is mainly targeted towards the huge fanbase of the books. If you have not read the books, you will probably be entertained by this movie but I would reccomend reading the books first. It really makes the experience much better.

My Rating:
7/10

Click here to watch the trailer for The Hunger Games 2: Catching Fire on YouTube.

Gravity - Movie Review

Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Writers: Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón (George Clooney - Script Collaborator)
Producers: David Heyman, Alfonso Cuarón
Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

*Warning: Spoilers*
 
A few weekends ago I saw the very popular movie Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. The movie was about two astronauts, Ryan (Bullock) and Matt (Clooney), who become the targets of space debris and are sperated from their space ship. The two astronauts cannot be saved, so Matt sacrifices his life so that Ryan can make it back to earth.

The film was fantastic. They had some beautiful shots of space and the earth that were breathtaking and seeing it in 3D made me feel as though I was almost with them. Bullock did a great job as Ryan. She was the sole subject for the majority of the film and it was exciting the whole time.

The film was extremely suspenseful and emotional - hoping that Ryan can get back to earth. It takes all her will to constantly keep going and the film was constantly thrilling - never a dull moment. The concept was very interesting. I haven't ever seen anything like it.

I really loved the concept of this film. It was a really unique idea and the whole film was very interesting. I really felt for the characters and I think I may have even teared up at a couple points.

This movie was very suspenseful though some comic relief was creatively entwined into the film with Clooney's character, the very witty Matt.

I recommend this movie to almost anyone. If you've heard of it and think it is something you would like, you probably will. I really enjoyed this film.

My Rating:
8.5/10

Click here to watch the trailer for Gravity on YouTube.