Django Unchained

Nay Hinain

Personal rating: 8/10
IMDB rating: 8.5/10 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1853728/)
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 88% 


"The difference between Django Unchained and my other films is that it follows one character on a journey." -Quentin Tarantino

Django Unchained Critique

Django Unchained is a movie set in the south of the United States of America two years before the civil war at a time where racism was at its peak. It revolves around a black slave, Django (Jamie Foxx), who gains his freedom by going on a journey as a hit man working for a white, German, bounty-hunter, Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz) and in the process finds his wife who was separated from him to be sold as a slave. The film describes society of that period and includes many scenes of violence with an underlying comic tone.

The setting plays a major role in this film and marks a notable variation in Tarantino’s usual urban settings. Not only does the film show magnificent landscapes and vast beautiful scenery, which adds a major esthetic element, but also it seems to recreate all physical appearance of the period that it portrays. The ranches, the towns, and the costumes are all vital to the plot and add credibility to the story.

In line with Tarantino’s usual character depiction, all actors display the expected craziness, lunacy, and violence, which alternate in their behavioral pattern. Django -the main character- is a mixture of rawness and determination, while Doctor Schultz is brave and smart. Yet, in the scene where Django finally comes face to face with the 3 wanted men that are the reason of the separation between him and his wife, he loses his temper and snaps, taking out his gun immediately and shoots ⅔ brothers dead, causing the irk of the doctor. Similarly in another scene, the brave and smart Schultz was caught in a conflict yet overtook a whole town by shooting the Sheriff causing chaos.

The film is consistent with Tarantino’s reliance on showing increased violence and in this specific movie’s case, it is not so much an excess as in his other movies because that period of history in the United States was characterized with mounting violence. Tarantino himself says, in one of his interviews, that Django Unchained deals with “everything that America has never dealt with because it is ashamed of it”.

In my opinion, this movie was a great inspiration to directors to bring back history not sugarcoated and not modified to please audiences. If looking for a film that includes violence at a certain level with a historical backdrop and not devoid of comic situations is what you want, then Django Unchained is the movie to watch.

Breaking Bad Season 5

Liana Gharzeddine

Personal Rating: 9/10

IMDB Rating: 9.5/10 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903747/?ref_=nv_sr_1) 

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100% (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/breaking-bad/) 

 "I did it for me. I liked it. I was good at it. And I was really -- I was alive." 

-Walter White, Season 5 Finale

AMC’s Breaking Bad is the highest rated television show of this year, as recorded in the Guinness World Records of 2014. It revolves around an ex-chemistry teacher who was diagnosed with cancer. In fear of leaving his family with no support, Walter White (Bryan Cranston), teams up with Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), an ex-student, to produce and sell crystal meth. Of course, that was just the beginning. Five seasons and ten Emmys later, the show is coming to a sad end. Unfortunately, it has to end sometime, especially if your main character is a ticking time-bomb. 

I think it’s safe to say that the second half of the fifth and final season of Breaking Bad held the most stressful and intense episodes of the show. Just as always, the show has separated itself from the norm of how television shows are usually made. When it comes to camera angles, background music, make-up, or plot line, Breaking Bad has always been different. The show doesn’t busy itself with dramatic misplaced close-ups or typical background tunes. There have been some who say that the show is very heavy and hard to follow because the filming is not what they’re used to. Breaking Bad is full of single shots of the characters without switching through camera perspectives. The sound effects played during the dramatic climaxes are simple single-noted beats to get your heart thumping in rhythm. Also, the make-up and the physical portrayal of the characters are other factors as to why Breaking Bad is unique. In this show, it’s very rare to find a character looking their best. Unlike most Hollywood productions, the characters hair, face make-up and clothes, accurately portray the severity of the situations they’re in. In the big picture, the creators do their best to make the show look realistic and not very Hollywood.

There have been many arguments as to how the plot line is controversial by romanticizing a drug lord and his life. I, however, disagree. The show does quite the opposite. It doesn’t illustrate Walter White as living an easy, rich, life without consequences. It actually shows the severity and horror behind dealing with drugs and crime. Personally, I think the show is giving off the right message because despite Walter’s millions, I would not trade lives with him for even a second.

With one more week and one finale left, the whole Breaking Bad fanbase is on edge. Will they let Walter’s cancer get the best of him, or will they make his drug past come back and bite him in the behind? Or, just maybe, they’ll let him live? Personally, I’m more concerned about Jesse, many’s favorite character. How will the show leave the kind-hearted, innocent, pressured young man in the end?

I guess we’ll have to wait a week to find out.

(September 23, 2013)

V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta

Diala Esreb

Personal Rating: 8.5/10

Imdb Rating: 8.2/10 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434409/)

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 7.3/10 (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/v_for_vendetta/)

"People shouldn't be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people"

 - Alan Moore, V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta Critique

V for Vendetta is a film set in a false reality where England is ruled by an oppressive government, and it’s about a terrorist named “V” (Hugo Weaving) whose main task is to empower the people and overthrow the regime. The film is based on a graphic novel by Alan Moore. “V” is a freedom fighter attempting to stimulate a revolution against their fascist government. Evey (Natalie Portman), a working class girl, gets entangled in V’s mission and ends up bringing an end to the government, and a start to the people.

This movie brings attention to the truth of how corrupt government and politics are. While politicians lie to hide the truth, this movie is a lie to exhibit it. This idea is brought up throughout the movie. The idea that artists use a false image to hide what they want to say, which in turn allows them to say it. It shows us that art is normally a metaphor for something real. The reaction the public had to this movie, further proves the point. Many political activist groups have interpreted this movie as a symbol of the oppression of the government. An activist group called “Anonymous” sport the same Guy Fawkes mask that V wears in the film when they appear in public. This movie has become an allegory to the resistance to political and economic oppression.

The cinematography of this movie is interesting because it is very dark and gloomy which relates to the story and the characters in it. Most of the light comes from the fireworks/explosions that V sets off whenever he is attacking parliament, and it symbolizes the fact that authority reigns in the dark, and we can only fight back to find light. Another aspect of symbolism I found interesting was that in the movie, whenever the chancellor would speak to the government workers he would be projected on a giant screen showing that he is greater than everyone, but when we meet him in real life we realize that he is the same as us, the people. This illustrates the fact that we are all equal and there is no one greater than another.

I personally liked this movie and I think many people should watch it. It is captivating, and the acting is magnificent. I enjoyed it and I think others will too.