Similar to "March of the Penguins" and Disney's "Oceans", comes another nature documentary about the life of two families. One a pride of lions, the other a mother cheetah and her cubs. This story tells how they raise their cubs on the African plains.
Story:
Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, this movie tells the story of these animals that are currently living in the Masai Mara National Reserve, in Kenya. South of the river, a pride of lions rules the land. Their leader, the only adult male lion, is Fang. An experienced protector, he must protect his pride from the opposing forces of Kali and his sons. Kali currently rules the lands north of the river, but some land is never enough land.
Also on the north side of the river, lives Sita. Sita is a cheetah, and a mother of five cubs. Raising her cubs alone, she must teach her cubs how to survive the African savannas. This especially becomes difficult when they encounter fierce predators such as the hyenas, and the lions.
Review:
Sita and her nearly full-grown cubs.
This is the first time I have seen a documentary in a movie theater, rather than on television. I wasn't too worried with Disney at the helm, of course. This movie is one that will fascinate you, and help you feel more connected to animals, if you already have a problem doing so.
It's interesting how our struggles are the same, us and these cats(or other animals). How we both have the strong will to survive, the will to protect our familes, how we have such strong bonds between our friends and family members, and the pain we feel from the death of those close to us. Even the small things like personalities. How some people are happier when they are their own, or how some are happier when they are around others like them.
Fang fending off a crocodile
All the emotions aside, it brought a greater understanding to the wildlife in Africa. The cats, after all, aren't the only animals to appear in the film. You see probably over half of all the different species that live in the reserve. Many of them interacting with the lions and cheetahs quite frequently. A memorable scene with an elephant comes to my mind.
Cast:
Plenty of animals made appearances, cheetahs, lions, crocodiles, hippos, giraffes, numerous birds, servals, hyenas, elephants, wildebeests, rhinos, warthogs, ostriches, zebras, and antelope. Just about everything you can think of, except one... TIGERS! I was heavily disappointed by this fact. But... I guess we can't always get what we want.
*Note*
Plus, if you like what you saw in the movie, it'll be nice to know that some of the proceeds for the film are being donated to the African Wildlife Foundation. To help preserve Kenya's Amboseli Wildlife Corridor. So there is some extra incentive there.
On October 31, 2003 Bethany Hamilton went for a quick surfing session that resulted in her arm being bitten off by a tiger shark. Without her arm, she overcame life's obstacles and became one of the biggest names in pro surfing. This movie tells her story.
Story:
To retell the story as I usually do is kinda hard for me to do here. Since it was based on a true story, I just feel I'm not the right person to tell it. At least to the detail in which I do with others.
I know I was able to do so in 'The Rite', but similar to what I said in that review, inspired by true events means they took a bunch of elements from a group of stories and put them together. This movie was the real story.
So, here's the really basic version.
Bethany Hamilton at the time was 13-years-old after her arm was bitten off by a shark when she was on a surfing outing with her friends and one of their fathers. She made it to the hospital and survived the attack. Now with an arm gone, Bethany has to relearn how to do even the simplest of tasks. But with strength, determine and love, she shows us that nothing is impossible.
Review:
This was a truly inspiring movie. It was very easy to relate to and reminds you of things you take for granted. Like your arm. It shows the true bond a family can have and how it takes things like friendship, love and service to heal our hearts and make the best of ourselves.
Cast:
Oh man, I loved the acting in this movie. It felt so incredibly real. Especially Dennis Quaid, he totally nailed the father part in this. You could feel all his frustration, and how all that he wanted was what was best for his daughter. Then Helen Hunt! Oh my gosh! You could feel her sadness, fear, and strength! How in tune she was to how her daughter was feeling! Then of course, AnnaSophia Robb her magic is beyond words. She is definitely going to go far.
James Wan. The guy needs some therapy. Known for writing and directing the original "Saw" and "Dead Silence", he gives us a new horror film. This time he avoids all the blood and gore, and delves deep into the paranormal.
Story:
Renai Lambert(Rose Byrne) and her husband Josh(Patrick Wilson) are the loving parents of three children. They have just moved into their new home in hopes of improving their lives. Not long after their stay do things start to happen. Objects become knocked over or misplaced. Doors open themselves. Then the worst happens. After they had put their son Dalton(Ty Simpkins) to bed the previous night, they find he didn't wake up the next morning.
In the next scene, Renai and Josh are told by the doctor that their son is in a coma. Though the coma is not just any coma. It's as if he's gone to sleep and not woken up. After three months, they take him home. In order to keep him alive, they have to insert a feeding tube.
Strange events continue to bother family in greater severity. After a night of a terrible event, Renai begs Josh to have them move.
We next see them when Renai and Josh's mother, Lorraine(Barbara Hershey), are finishing unpacking the last box in the new home. Lorraine is surprised to find a family picture. What was surprising was the fact that Josh was actually in the picture. As he hasn't allowed himself to be photographed in years. After a few supporting words, Lorraine leaves.
Not long after Lorraine has left, Renai has another encounter from a different entity.
When Josh comes home from work, he finds Renai and his mother talking with a priest. The priest leaves, and Lorraine tells her son that she believes Renai. That she had dreamed that something had followed them from the previous house. In the dream, she found she was in their current home. After looking around, she came upon Dalton's room. Inside was the silhouette of a monster. She asked the being what it wanted. With it's clawed fingers it pointed to her grandson, and said, "Dalton".
Review:
It's something different for James Wan to pull out of movie like this. Typically being a man who loves to dish out the blood and gore in one of his horror flicks. He gets you with suspense and the creative design of the entities within the movie. I don't usually jump in movies anymore, but this movie brought a real sense of dread. If your of light-hearted and not used to regularly seeing these kind of movies, I would suggest avoid seeing it. There may be no blood and gore in this movie, but it can still be pretty disturbing.
I was real intrigued with the story. It did kind of pull a 180ยบ on me. I thought I had the plot all figured out, but it went into a direction I didn't see coming. It left many loose ends, with no sight of a sequel. Because of that, some may dislike how the movie ends.
Cast:
I'm surprised I haven't heard of Rose Byrne until this movie. Being the mother, her character received a lot of attention and it was very easy to empathize how she was feeling. This movie has also helped me realize Patrick Wilson exists and I think I'm going to watch some of his movies. Ty Simpkins was good at playing the scary little kid, but he was sleeping throughout most of the movie. That's just lazy.
Note:
There's a clip after the credits that lasts three seconds.
This was something everyone has to see. I mean your brains will explode from your head, because it won't be able to handle all the adrenaline pumping through it. This was also a story that is the first of it's kind. I don't think anyone has put a movie together like this. At least one that was good, visually-striking, and leaving you in awe.
Story:
It begins with the main character, Baby Doll(Emily Browning). She's sitting on her bed waiting to hear to the news. A man approaches the door to her bedroom. He sees her, and sadly lowers his head. Fright is filled in her eyes and she runs from her room, down the hall to her mother's room. She barely sees as the assistant's cover her mother with a linen sheet. She died.
We come to see Baby Doll's step-father(Gerard Plunkett) in his study. He opens a envelope, entitled last will and testament. As he reads his wife's will, he sees that all of her possessions are left to her two daughters. In a fit of rage, he tears the room apart. Still enraged, he makes his way to the bedrooms of his two step-daughters. He comes after Baby Doll, trying to break his way into her room and getting scratched by her in the process. His eyes lighten up, he has a better idea. Instead he locks Baby Doll in her room, and goes after her much younger sister.
Fearful for her sister's well-being, she goes out the window. As she comes back into the house, she's points a handgun at her step-father... and shoots. She misses and the coward scrambles to the floor. She walks past him and goes into her sister's bedroom. She sees her sister lying on the floor. She goes to her side hoping she is alive, but is only saddened to see her sister's blood on her fingertips. She goes back to her step-father, who is in the process of trying to call the cops. She points the gun to his head. Intending to shoot. She doesn't. She drops the gun, and runs from the house. She's later found by the authorities, and returned to her step-father.
We then see her being committed to a mental hospital by her step-father. Who has pinned the murder on her, saying she was violent and dangerous. She's then taken on a small tour of the asylum. Towards the end of the tour, she overhears her step-father talking to an orderly, Blue Jones(Oscar Issac). By being paid by the step-father, the orderly forges the signature of the psychiatrist to have a lobotomy performed. The result would make her unable to do anything. It would make her a zombie.
She has five days to escape the asylum before a doctor comes to perform the lobotomy. With the help of some new friends. She has a chance to be free.
Review:
Last year, Alice in Wonderland blew us away with it's incredible visual effects. This year, Sucker Punch will hold the title. One of the things that makes this movie special is how the genre of the movie changes when different events come to pass. In the beginning, it's a noir genre. Following that it switches back between drama, and action/fantasy.
Now the thing that no one has done before. This movie shows numerous repeated elements that would be found in anime(japanese cartoons). The scenes that take place when Baby Doll "dances", are scenes that are full of non-stop action of anime style combat scenes. Each scene being in a new environment with a new scenario. There is no 2-D cartoon animation here whatsoever. All those jumps, slashes, and kicks are performed by the actors, with the help of CGI of course.
This is a movie that focuses primarily on the bonds of friendship. It goes deep on how people, in this case girls, depend on each other to get out of a bad situation. It shows how dangerous and scary the world can be. I can't tell you how many times I just wanted someone to bust the door down and save those girls from their misery. Especially when it came to the events with the asylum's cook.
Cast:
Emily Browning played the character Baby Doll in this film. The film is entirely focused on her character, and with each expression she gave the character, she pulled the sympathy right out of you. Abbie Cornish played Sweet Pea. The "Big Sister" to all the girls. She brought the strength and responsibility to get things done. Jena Malone played Rocket, the literal younger sister to Sweet Pea. Without her faith, the group wouldn't be and Baby Doll would've been alone in her decision to leave. Vanessa Hudgens was Blondie, and to the contrary wasn't blonde.
Amber was played by Jamie Chung.
This movie was so visually stimulating I thought I was going to explode. It definitely is on my must-see list of 2011.
Similar to "March of the Penguins" and Disney's "Oceans", comes another nature documentary about the life of two families. One a pride of lions, the other a mother cheetah and her cubs. This story tells how they raise their cubs on the African plains.
