Song of the Sea (2014)

Genre

Animation | Fantasy

Director

Tomm Moore

Country

Ireland | Denmark | Belgium | Luxembourg | France

Voice Cast

David Rawle, Brendan Gleeson, Fionnula Flanagan, Lisa Hannigan, Lucy O'Connell, Jon Kenny, Pat Shortt, Colm Ó Snodaigh, Liam Hourican, Kevin Swieszcz, Will Collins, Paul Young

Storyline

Ben (David Rawle), a young Irish boy, and his little sister Saoirse (Lucy O'Connell), a girl who can turn into a seal, go on an adventure to free the faeries and save the spirit world.

Opinion

If the animation of this film was enough to draw my attention, the content was enough to amaze me and keep me engaged.

"Song of the Sea" is an amazing, moving animated film that brings to life the Irish folklore balancing fantasy and real life to perfection.

The story can be a little confusing without a little knowledge on Irish myths, but the film does a great job in explaining everything one needs to know. It basically is about overcoming sorrow, and at the same time manages to be a nice addition to the coming of age genre that shows a genuine relationship between brother and sister. In movies, brothers and sisters usually either fight or are very close. This film manages to be closer to reality as it shows a relationship that is a bit of both.

Through a magical story, Irish director Tomm Moore invites everyone, both an adult and young audience, to think about the importance of memories and emotions. The two kids teach the witch, and everyone watching, that one should never deprive himself of memories and emotions, whether positive or negative, because life is shaped by experiences, and whether good or bad, they are necessary to grow.

This beautiful message is delivered with beautiful, enchanting animations uniquely drawn, and a spectacular musical score that fits the plot so perfectly, it would be impossible to imagine the film without it. 

At last, it features great voice work, especially from Lucy O'Connell who is particularly strong as Saoirse, David Rawle who manages to portray Ben's emotions very well and Brendan Gleeson who is just perfect for the father.

Bullets Over Broadway (1994)

Genre

Comedy | Crime

Director

Woody Allen

Country

USA

Cast

John Cusack, Dianne Wiest, Jennifer Tilly, Chazz Palminteri, Mary-Louise Parker, Jack Warden, Joe Viterelli, Rob Reiner, Tracey Ullman, Jim Broadbent, Harvey Fierstein, Stacey Nelkin, Edie Falco, Benay Venuta, Debi Mazar, Małgorzata Zajączkowska, Tony Sirico, Tony Darrow

Storyline

In New York in 1920's, a struggling playwright (John Cusack) is forced to cast a mobster's talentless girlfriend (Jennifer Tilly) in his latest drama in order to get it produced.

Opinion

Woody Allen continues on the funny road with "Bullets Over Broadway", a hilarious crime comedy that features a strong supporting cast.

Once again written by Allen himself, the screenplay is great and filled with some witty and entertaining dialogue that gives us, like most of the time, the feeling that the characters are doing some pretty serious things yet they make us laugh.

The plot is not as good as some of Allen's other films but it well combines the world of theatre with the world of gangsterism in a beautiful New York City in the 20's thus being effecting both as a comedy and as a gangster film.

The film compares the artist and the criminal and what we learn at the end of the film is that both artists and criminals have their own morals, they both feel like powerful gods who can create and destroy at the same time, whenever they want to. More important is the ultimate message the film delivers: you may have to make big sacrifices for the sake of good art.

In this film, Allen removed himself from the frame and let John Cusack take on his mannerisms, but it didn't work for me. While I love John Cusack and he indeed did a great job in the film, I was quite upset because he has his own acting style, and seeing him playing Allen was rather painful. If Allen wanted somebody to play him, he should have played the role himself. Anyway, the other performances are great as well. Dianne Wiest gives one of her best and funniest performances, Jennifer Tilly is hilarious as the gangster's girlfriend and Chazz Palminteri gives an excellent performance as Tilly's bodyguard.

"Bullets Over Broadway" may not be Allen's best, but I'm glad this was the film that came out the year I was born. 

Mention-Worthy Quotes

Sheldon Flender: Let's say there was a burning building and you could rush in and you could save only one thing: either the last known copy of Shakespeare's plays or some anonymous human being. What would you do?

Rise (2014)

Genre

Drama

Director

Mack Lindon

Country

Australia

Cast

Nathan Wilson, Martin Sacks, Marty Rhone, Erin Connor, Vincent B. Gorce, Andy Sparnon, Linda Millar, Mack Lindon, James Kearney, Jason Muller, Anthony Miller, Ashley Pardey, Liz Cantor

Storyline

Will McIntyre (Nathan Wilson), a young nurse has his life thrown in turmoil after a one-night stand lands him in a maximum security prison from a false allegation of rape and drink spiking. Will must survive prison life and the infamous Jimmy Cove (Martin Sacks) while awaiting his appeal.

Opinion

Unlike many other times, I went into this movie knowing exactly what it was about. I didn't know anyone from the cast, nor the director, but I knew the storyline and it was enough to make me interested. I wouldn't say I had high hopes, but I sure was disappointed.

"Rise" is a poorly written and poorly acted prison drama that is neither entertaining nor inspirational as it aspires to be.

Since false rape accusations rarely occur in life - even though they are a popular theme in fiction -, it is quite difficult to make a believable film about it. The problem with this one is not only that the plot is completely unbelievable, but that it is based on the real life experience of writer and director Mack Lindon, who spent 19 months in jail before being found not guilty.

The opening, pre-credit sequence - and pretty much all the film - is filmed in a music video style, and serves as an introduction to the film's protagonist. While I'm not sure about its purpose, one thing I know for sure: we never see what really happened between Will and the girl, nor we know what her motive for the allegations is other than some unlikely excuse told later in the film.

From a bad music video, "Rise" slowly becomes a film filled with as many prison drama clichés as possible that focuses on the bonding between Will and some fellow prisoners. It also tries to convey a message about Christian forgiveness. Like I just said, tries.

Neither the soundtrack does help the film. Not only the songs are not a joy for the ears, but, most of the time, are too invasive and definitely don't fit the scene.

The acting is pretty much on the same level of everything else. With the only exception of Martin Sacks, who actually does a pretty good job considering the poor material he had to work with, each member of the cast looks amateurish, like the director picked some random people on the streets and asked them to act.

The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Genre

Action | Thriller

Director

Michael Adept

Country

UK | USA

Cast

Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards, Robbie Coltrane, Judi Dench, Colin Salmon, Desmond Llewelyn, John Cleese, Samantha Bond, Serena Scott Thomas, John Seru, Ulrich Thomsen, Goldie, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, David Calder

Storyline

James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) uncovers a nuclear plot when he protects an oil heiress (Sophie Marceau) from her former kidnapper (Robert Carlyle), an international terrorist who can't feel pain.

Opinion

In the past, the franchise has already had difficulties in finding new ideas. At the nineteenth episode, it seems almost a mission impossible, and I believe the title does its best to let everyone know. Indeed lacking originality, "The World Is Not Enough" is dull, slow and silly, unevenly acted, but is partially saved by the action scenes.

Completely predictable and devoid of new ideas, the story could be summed up with one simple sentence: James Bond must stop a villain who wants to dominate the world. Sure, there is a plot twist, but it isn't much of a twist as it is quite predictable. The paper thin plot jumps from location to location without any reason, doing nothing but confusing me.

Like the previous entries with Brosnan, this film too follows the modern stream that is to use current themes. This time the attention goes to oil used as a basis to economy, and the film does a decent job on that front.

The characters are another big issue. The villain neither seemed evil nor intimidating - a guy who can't feel pain, I mean, what's the deal? - and any comparison to previous Bond villains would be an insult. The Bond girls are no better.

As if the poor script was not enough, the acting had to be awful too. Most of it anyway. Robert Carlyle proves that he is not good at playing the bad guy. Sophie Marceau clearly doesn't know what to do as her character goes from being an intelligent woman to a spoilt brat. Denise Richards should stay away from cameras. She is georgeous, I won't deny that, but man she can't act.

Partially saving the film is the action, like I said before, that is not spectacular but way too good for the film. Also Pierce Brosnan still does a good job as Bond, and Judi Dench keeps doing great as M.