Weekly Films

As of January, we now have an ongoing homework to watch a film every week. This is the post where I will document all films that I watch and give a short review of them all.
**Spoilers throughout**

1) Last Vegas

Date of viewing: 11th January 2014
This weekend I watched Last Vegas, a film about 4 old men going to Las Vegas for a weekend for a stag-do. It is absolutely hilarious and a very good film, although I wouldn't recommend watching it with your granddad and parents as I did! Morgan Freeman was as brilliant as ever, and I would recommend this film to anyone. I did cry at one point in the film, when Paddy (Robert De Niro) finds out that the love of his life actually chose to date Billy first, before Billy persuaded Sophie to choose Paddy instead, because "you were right for her, I wasn't". It is a very heart warming film and certainly gave me the determination that when I get old, I will enjoy my life as much as they did rather than just wait for death. The whole film is full of comedy, despite crying, I did actually laugh throughout. Last Vegas is a brilliant film.
Rating: 7/10
Classification: 12A
Genre: Comedy

2) The Possession

Date of viewing: 1st February 2014
I watched The Possession on Netflix this weekend. It is a thriller/horror film about a young girl who gets possessed by an evil spirit determined to take an innocent soul. The story focuses around an old wooden box that Emily buys from a yard sale in her dad's new neighbourhood. She opens the box in her room and finds a ring, and wears it. This then leads to her becoming possessed by an evil spirit that was once contained inside this wooden box. The plot then continues to track her father's attempts to save his daughter from the evil spirit inside her. The film is very good as I was constantly having to hold my sisters hand with white knuckles as we did not know what would happen next. There was many moments when I assumed that something was going to happen and the music encouraged something to suddenly happen, but then things calm again. This kept me on the edge of my seat and gave me sweaty palms - a sign of a really amazing film!
Rating: 8/10
Classification: 15
Genre: Horror

3) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Date of viewing: 2nd February 2014
This weekend I also watched the 1971 musical film of Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. It is such a feel-good film and can cheer anybody up! It is probably one of my favourite films of all time as it really stretches peoples' imaginations and makes everybody feel young and takes them back to their childhood. My favourite scene is when they all start licking the fruit-flavoured wall paper - I've always wanted my own!
Rating: 9/10
Classification: U Genre: Fantasy / Musical

4) About Time
Date of viewing: 8th February 2014
About Time is my favourite film at the moment. I first watched it in the cinema in September, and literally counted down the days for the dvd release so that I could watch it again! I enjoyed the film so much in September that I couldn't wait to share it with my parents and best friend, so on Saturday we all watched it together. About Time is a film about a young man who is told at 21 that he can time travel, as can his father and all the men of their family. It is an incredible film and makes me cry every time I watch it. I particularly like how emotional it is and how it tugs on your heart strings at times in the film, particularly when (SPOILER) he goes back in time before the birth of his daughter, and returns to having a son instead. It is also incredibly emotional when he agrees to having another child with his wife, meaning that he can't go back in time to spend time with his father (who dies of cancer) anymore. There are many inspirational quotes that come from this film, these are some of my favourites (taken from iMDB):
"We're all traveling through time together, every day of our lives. All we can do is do our best to relish this remarkable ride."
"Life's a mixed bag, no matter who you are."
About Time is by far my favourite film currently because it genuinely changed my outlook on life, it makes you appreciate every day as if it is your last. It's about love, it's about life, it's About Time.
I leave you with this thought:
If you could go back in time to any point in your life so far, what would you change?
Rating: 10/10
Classification: 12A
Genre: Drama/Romantic Comedy



5) The Hunger Games
Date of viewing: 20th February 2014

The Hunger Games is one of my favourite films, as I really enjoy the plot. The camera work and editing matches the pace of each scene and the emotions of the characters very well. It fits in with the Thriller genre because it keeps the audience interested through the use of a variety of shots and plot twists. There are many scenes that the audience are unaware of what will happen next, which is one of the conventions of a thriller in the fact that it keeps the audience guessing. There are also many scenes that spark emotions in the audience, for example when Roo dies it made me and my cousins cry whilst watching it. The audience are often on the edge of their seats as the plot unfolds and more and more drama occurs.
Rating: 7/10
Classification: 12A
Genre: Action/Thriller

6) Non-Stop
Date of viewing: Tuesday 18th March
This was a film about a plane that was hi-jacked between LA and London. The plot is very good and keeps the audience guessing about who it is on the plane who is hi-jacking it.
I really enjoyed this film because it left me on the edge of my seat. At one point during the film, an audience member in the cinema screamed as a sudden action happened.
Throughout the film I kept thinking that I knew who was the person hi-jacking it, but then the story unfolds and then right at the end of the film we learn that it was somebody completely unexpected. This film made me laugh, cry and also gave me sweaty palms, meaning it was a very good film!

Rating: 8/10
Classification: 12A
Genre: Action/Thriller

7) Starred Up
  Date of viewing: Wednesday 26th March
This film is about a violent young offender who is transferred to an adult prison and finally meets his match - his father. The film was full of violence and action, also relating to psychological issues. Although this film had a lot of suspense, by the end of it, I didn't understand what the storyline had been. It seemed to be full of violence and have gruesome scenes but the only storyline throughout the 90minute film was that he met his dad in prison and they only made up just as his father was being transferred to a different prison. I would not watch this film again.

Rating: 3/10
Classification: 18
Genre: Drama / Psychological thriller

8) Transcendence
Date of viewing: Saturday 26th April

Transcendence official synopsis: Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp) is the foremost researcher in the field of Artificial Intelligence, working to create a sentient machine that combines the collective intelligence of everything ever known with the full range of human emotions.  His highly controversial experiments have made him famous, but they have also made him the prime target of anti-technology extremists who will do whatever it takes to stop him.However, in their attempt to destroy Will, they inadvertently become the catalyst for him to succeed—to be a participant in his own transcendence.  For his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and best friend Max Waters (Paul Bettany), both fellow researchers, the question is not if they can…but if they should. Their worst fears are realized as Will’s thirst for knowledge evolves into a seemingly omnipresent quest for power, to what end is unknown.  The only thing that is becoming terrifyingly clear is there may be no way to stop him.
This film was really good, it made me cry when Will dies, and it made my palms sweaty as the drama unfolded. The film is full of sci-fi and really makes you wonder what computers may one day be capable of. I personally really enjoyed this film, however my friend didn't enjoy it so much and said it got more boring as it went on, as it became possible to guess what might happen next. 
Rating: 9/10
Classification: 12A
Genre: Sci-Fi / Drama

9) The Other Woman
Date of viewing: Friday 2nd May

I watched this film recently and really enjoyed it. It is absolutely hilarious and made myself and the rest of the audience laugh throughout the film. Although gory at one point (the cheating husband walks into a glass wall which shatters and breaks his nose) the whole film was very enjoyable and I would happily watch it again on a winter evening. There was a huge twist at the end of the film which surprised everybody. However, it is strange that Nicki Minaj is in it as a receptionist, as I know her as a crazy pop singer and it was hard to see her as the character and not the person! It is a brilliant chick flick and I would recommend it to all of my female friends!
Rating: 9/10
Classification: 12A
Genre: Comedy

10) Bad Neighbours
Date of viewing: Monday 5th May

Bad Neighbours is a hilarious film about a couple who move into a good neighbourhood with their newborn daughter, only to find out that a college fraternity (university group) is moving in next door. The first night of them being neighbours, the college seniors throw a huge house party, prompting Mac and Kelly Radner to ask them to turn the music down a bit, which leads to them partying all night with the students. Things soon turn bitter when the couple call the police on the students, starting a "war" between the students and the couple. The war consists of both dangerous and hilarious pranks, with Mac and Kelly sabotaging the frat's house, attempting to get them on probation with the college and force them to move away from the area.
I would love to watch this film again, it is hilarious and made me cry with laughter. I wouldn't recommend that anybody watches this film with their parents as there are a lot of sexual references!
Rating: 9/10 - I would score it 10 but a lot of the funniest parts were advertised in the trailer so there were less surprises with the pranks.
Classification: 15
Genre: Comedy