Noah is based on the famous biblical story of Noah’s Ark. The movie could have been called Genesis 6-9 cause that is where the story is in The Book of Genesis. Now, being the nerd that I am, I actually read the story of Noah’s Ark on my cell phone before I went to the cinema with my friends.

Biblically speaking, this story is not word for word accurate with what goes on with the film at all. Most people who watch this movie from a religious perspective will not like the film. But, people who watch this from a moviegoers perspective will enjoy the film! Why? Because there just isn’t much that is explained in Genesis 6-9. Noah’s wife didn’t even get a name mentioned in the story! The three sons didn’t have any central roles in the story. There was no old man who was Noah’s grandfather, who lived in a cave! Oh yeah, thank God for Director Darren Aronofsky for writing Emma Watson’s character into the story. No pun intended.

Overall I really enjoyed a lot of things about this movie because this is an excellent storytelling. Director Darren Aronofsky took like 15 pages of scripture from the bible and created a whole story out of it with dialogue. That has to undertake major research!  There was nothing in the story of Noah’s Ark that said that Noah had to fight off all of these sinners, heretics, and people of Cain. We don’t know what Noah said to his son’s about not having kids! But as a filmmaker, that is what you have to do! You have to fill in the blanks! If I didn’t know a damn thing about the story of Noah’s Ark and I wanted to go and see a Russell Crowe movie, then yeah I would have totally bought all of this because it is pretty realistic. That is the whole job of a filmmaker to take the unreal and to make it real. Filmmakers are storytellers, and some storytellers try to be accurate, others try to make you believe that their story is real and some storytellers try to get you to understand what they are showing is the truth through their illusion.

Three Odd Balls
1. Why did Anthony Hopkins over due to his creepiness factor in this film? Every part he was in was totally overdone. Also, you see him like five times in the film, and the first time you see him, you know that he’s been living in a cave for like 150 years and he is all pale and hermit-like. The next time you see him, he is on his death bed pretty much, and he looks like a corpse! Now, the third time you see him, he is tan, white teeth and he is moving around and functioning normally. Those details really bothered me. 

2. I love Jennifer Connelly for some reason. I just really admire her, don’t ask me why. Maybe because there are so many famous “Jennifer’s” out their and she is like the forgotten one. Anyway, she had 3 scenes where she had to stand up to Noah, and Russell Crowe totally overpowered her in her most famous scenes. If I were the director, I would have hired another actress that could have handled Russell Crowe’s screen dominance. OR I would have just said “YO RUSS,” take it easy on her, will ya? Overall, she did an excellent job preparing for this role, considering Noah’s wife had one mention in the Genesis 6-9. She said to interviewers that she met and spoke with archeologists and historians to figure out a voice, manners, and how women would act at the time. Now, maybe that added a lot to her character but Russell Crowe can totally overwhelm you in any scene. 

3. I would just like to point out the outfits in this film. I am pretty sure the women didn’t have symmetrically low cut tops, wearing perfectly fitting long sleeves back then. Oh, and yes, you see all of these nicely put together jackets and backpacks. That really threw me off. I am pretty sure people wore rags and what not… but what do I know.

I love how this film was totally romanticized. How they created magic and explained other stories through visions and showed other creatures, we had never seen before. Like those rock giant things. I thought that was good. Because… how did Now build that big ark without help from anyone besides his family? That is one big Ark? So, I can accept the fact that there were Rock Giants that protected Noah and helped him. 

1. Again, Russell Crowe. That is all I have to say. Like what do you expect from him? I thought he could have been Noah. His character progression throughout the story was terrific. He slowly went from this prophet, this protector, or this savior to this tortured man who really wanted to follow the creator’s orders. So halfway through the film, you see a complete 180 in his character as he is building the boat. Everyone starts to question his ways and to disagree with him. The book of Genesis didn’t really go into detail of how hard it was for Noah to do this task…. especially cause he was 600 years old. His character progression could have told the story itself. 

2. His second son, Ham played by Logan Lerman gave the story a excellent side route. This was a boy who was old enough to know the difference between being a man and a boy. Now, at this time, meant to have a family is what would make you a man. He was upset that his father had a wife ready for his older brother and not him. So OBVIOUSLY he is going to be upset about it! He goes and runs into the village looking for a girl to save and take her to the ark. During this time, we see that people are naturally good despite their sins and greed. So he brings this girl back, and Noah doesn’t save her at the end of the movie, creating this great tension between Ham and his father. I kind of viewed Ham like Scar from Lion King or Claudius from Hamlet. You know the character in the family who becomes somewhat evil. 

3. People in this movie talked so up close to each other’s faces. This really bothered me cause I couldn’t imagine what their breath’s smelled like back then.

I went into this movie thinking nothing of it, knowing nothing about it just going to see Shailene Woodley (the love of my life) kick some ass. My friends wanted to go, and if you know anything about me, I really have no interest in movies based on books for middle schoolers. That sound’s awful.  But I left the theatre, shocked! I found this movie so fascinating!  But when I left the theatre, I knew that it would get so many bad reviews regardless of how amazing I thought it was. I was right. HOW can Rotten Tomatoes give this movie 40%? I found this movie great for different reasons. In fact, I bought the book by because I loved it so much.

Leading off…

Divergent follows a story in a dystopian future, where basically the world is wiped out because of some war. Everyone is divided into five factions based on their personalities. Erudite (intelligent), Amity (peaceful), Candor (the honest), Abnegation (selfless), and the cool people who run around doing cool things DAUNTLESS  (the brave). Oh and yes, the factionless which are people who don’t belong and basically represent the homeless people.  Beatrice Prior (Shailene Woodley), is a 16-year-old girl who is in the Abnegation faction and as every other 16 year old she has to take a test to be placed in the faction that you belong in. This test is supposed to tell you what one you reside in, and every year the 16-year-olds have a ceremony that they get to go up and choose what faction they want to be in. Well, Beatrice’s test results were inconclusive because she could belong in any faction making her Divergent.  This stirs lots of trouble for her in the film because she chooses a different faction, the dauntless, and she is the only one who can fight the rebellion. You can read the plot summary right here on Wikipedia… I don’t want to go into all of it. 

Three Strikes

1. This film makes me think so much for many reasons. When you are in high school, college, the work place, etc. you have to choose what group you want to belong too. That is an adamant thing to do. Imagine a 16-year-old girl having to pick what social group she wants to be in for the rest of her life? That is nuts!

2. The style of how the film is presented, shot, edited and so on is very similar to any blockbuster teen novel adaptation in the last 15 years; Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games, etc. So, if this movie were to come out 8 years ago, it would have gotten stellar reviews and would not have been so highly compared to The Hunger Games. You cannot compare Hunger Games to this movie or story. Hunger Games is so damn unrealistic, where every year people select 2 people from every district, and they fight and kill each other to survive. That is unrealistic that will never happen in real life! 

3. When you think about how this society works in the film and compare it to real history, you can see that stuff very similar has happened before! Really? Why do you say that, Zos? Remember those concentration camps in world war 2? Hitler separated people, grouped them, and said you aren’t allowed to talk to anyone else outside of your group and you can only do this job until told otherwise. When I visited Dachau in Munich, I learned that each of those designated groups would have a job to do every day just like how in the movie each faction had their job to keep peace in society. Then we all know that he would move those groups around and kill them through various ways of Nazi torture and punishment. Remember the French revolution? There were 3 groups; clergy, monarchy, and everyone else. Two percent ruled 98%. This was a time during the Enlightenment, where people who didn’t know any better were starting to think otherwise about how society should be formed and ruled and etc. Anyway, some guy named Maximillian Robespierre, someone who was divergent and believed that you could change the way society worked and how people were ruled, lead the French Revolution and the downfall of Louis the 16th.  If you think about it, then maybe we already live in a society like Divergent. There is upper class, middle class, lower class, and people who live in poverty. People get taxed differently based on their class that they fall into. When you apply for a job or fill out any information, they always ask you what race you are. People still refer to different groups of people based on where they come from, the color of their skin, or what they believe in. 

This is my third review based on some sort of scripture or previous writing. Back then, there were comic books, and now they are called graphic novels. As we all know the first move, 300 is based on Frank Miller’s epic graphic novel of the same name. This movie came out before the graphic novel did. I think that is an attractive marketing ploy.

If you didn’t see the first film, then I would say this film would be very confusing to follow due to the unique story line the movie shows. My favorite part was how Themistocles goes to Sparta while the Spartan men are at war during the first 300 movie. Here you can tell that this is happening during the first 300 and here he asks Queen Gorgo for Sparta’s hand in the War because with out Spartans the rest of Greece has no chance to survive. I like how you can see the contrasts between other Greeks and the Spartans. You see all of these teenaged boys training to become warriors, built to battle versus the middle-aged Greek men who do not even compare to the Spartans at all. Queen Gorgo refuses and sends them away, saying that they do not want to become part of Greece. This leaves the protagonist, Themistocles, and the rest of Greece hopeless against the Persians. But, Themistocles gives the Greeks hope and they fight the Persians anyways, despite being entirely out numbered! The coolest part of the story is where they are going into the final battle, and you see Queen Gorgo with her Spartan men traveling on sea, where the movie started off. She just finished telling the story of Themistocles and his bravery to unite a country, and then the Spartans ambush the Persians in the final battle scene of the movie. That part sort of stunned me but I really liked how the story line went back to the beginning of the film where you first here Queen Gorgo leading her men to the battle.

There really isn’t much for me to say about this movie because it is one of those movies that I will buy on DVD and watch it 100 more times before I get a reasonable opinion on anything. But, overall if you enjoyed the first 300 and understood everything in it, then this movie is for you.

In this day and age of film distribution, independent films get lost in the midst and lore of big-budget, superhero, sequel, or any high-end studio film. It takes me six to seven months to see any independent film because I have to wait for it to be on-demand or on Netflix. This is because the major movie theaters out there are not playing these movies, and if they are, they will be on screen for such a short time.

This is why I am going to write about what independent films you should watch on Netflix. So, cuddle up with your significant other, dog, or cat. Grab some food and “Netflix and chill,” to an independent film called, “About Alex.”

The logline states:

“After a troubled young man attempts suicide, six of his former college classmates stage a reunion to help him heal, but old issues resurface.”

Before you continue reading, I want to give a shout out to my sponsor Regain.US. I wrote this article about this film because the film touches on the complexities of relationships, mental health, and suicide. A very important step towards achieving better relationships with friends or loved ones is by finding the right therapist/counselor. For more information, please check out this link here: https://www.regain.us/advice/

This film is very dialogue-heavy, it takes place in one location, making it a “horror film with no horror” and contains powerful themes such as friendship, trust, and honesty.

What I loved about this film is how the titular character, Alex, is the first character that has a big problem and suddenly all of his best friends from college come from all over the US to help him out on a moment’s notice. These characters are all in their early thirties and are really into their careers.  Which, I don’t see most friends doing for most people in this day and age. But that is why we watch movies like this so we can understand what a good friend being is to someone from another perspective other than your own.  As the other characters in the film are trying to help Alex, everyone else realizes that they all have significant issues as well that have been seriously bothering them before the film. My favorite part of the film is that we don’t ever get to know what exactly lead Alex to attempt suicide, but we get to see what other internal problems that all of the other characters have and how ironically enough, Alex is the one who helps solves everyone’s issues.  This movie teaches us that if we were to be in a room with a bunch of people and if we all told each other what our most significant problems were that no one would trade their problems for yours.

The plot of this film sounds like the plot of a cheesy 1980’s coming of age teen angst film, but since Alex is the one helping everyone get through their issues despite his own, it gives a refreshing twist to the film.  Another refreshing thing is how one of Alex’s friends, Isaac brings his new girlfriend to the reunion. Her name is Kate, and she is 22 while the rest of the characters are in their early thirties. Kate brings light to the film, and while being an outsider to the group of friends, she makes them all appreciate their friendship that they all had.

Jason Ritter was phenomenal in this film as Alex. I think it was the best performance that I have ever seen from him. Without him, I don’t believe that this film would have worked so well.

Aubrey Plaza plays Sarah, a tax attorney who is very sweet and caring. Most people know her as April Ludgate from Parks and Recreation. I really think if you are a fan of Aubrey Plaza that you will enjoy her playing a character who is nothing that you have ever seen before. I was thoroughly impressed with her performance that stepped way outside of her boundaries.

Max Greenfield, we may know him as Schmidt from New Girl, plays the overdramatic “know it all,” like he always does. But, he brings something new to this type of character that he always plays. I won’t ruin it for you, so that is why you have to watch the movie.

Although having a minimal role, Jane Levy, who plays Kate steals the show. She is going to be an acting talent that everyone should watch out for.

If you want to see a film that will give you a new perspective on friendship, trust, honesty, then I highly recommend that you watch About Alex.

First of all, I would like to say that this film is a classic. But, it is not a classic in the sense that The Godfather, Forrest Gump, or The Wizard of Ozis.  I am suggesting this film because despite being labeled as a “classic,” not many people that I know have even heard of this film.  I believe that this film will grow and build it’s following in years to come in sort of the same manner that The Shawshank Redemption and The Boondock Saints has. When this film reaches that cultural relevance and longevity 10 years from now, I am going to be proud to say that I endorsed it.

The logline states:

“It was perfect, pleasant… and boring. But not for long. Two kids are about to give this place a big, colorful shake-up.”

The film stars Tobey Maguire who plays a teenaged boy who is obsessed with a 1950’s television show called Pleasantville, where everything is pleasant. Reese Witherspoon plays his cooler older sister who stirs up trouble throughout the film. The main plot point in the movie happens when the two are magically transported to the 1950’s black and white sit-com world of Pleasantville, playing the two main characters. The two notice how everything is so dull and odd. There are no toilets in the bathroom’s, the basketball team never misses a basket, words in books and firefighters do not know how to put out fires; because there is no such thing as fires in Pleasantville.
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Paul Walker plays Skip Martin who goes on a date with Reese Witherspoon’s character Mary Sue. Despite finding him super attractive, she doesn’t want to go out with him because he is plain, dull, and boring. Mary Sue forces him to have sex with her, which changes his outlook on everything that Skip Martin knows. This is the beginning of the theme of “change” in the world of Pleasantville. Suddenly in this black and white world, there is color. With a long chain of events that you will see in this film, people start to act differently because they find the “change” that is within themselves. This is because the people of Pleasantville have found that they are capable of such things.

This is a visually striking film. Once people start to discover themselves in the film, you see many shots of striking black and white images sprinkled in with subtleties of color. The build-up of color in the black and white world was very elegant. It wasn’t sudden and horrific to the viewers, but it was to the characters living in this world. When the characters in the world of Pleasantville begin to turn from black and white to color, the town starts to live in fear, and people become segregated. Everything that the people of the city has been forgotten and tension is created within the community.

People everywhere are afraid of things within themselves that they may or may not be capable of. We are so scared of change in the world and the change that we have in ourselves, and as human beings, we project that fear onto other things that develop ugly social situations. With our presidential election coming up, I believe that this film is a good one to watch that will help you realize what kind of change we want for our country. I say that because you will learn that in this film, personal repression gives rise to political oppression. Politicians represent a false hope to many people, and that is what Pleasantville represents. Authorities want us to live in a black and white world where we follow a certain model on how to live life, but we cant. Everyone needs color in their lives, and that is why the change from black and white to color represents the change in oppression to enlightenment.

If you lack color in your life, then go and watch this film. Human beings have always been afraid of color because it is something that we do not understand, so hence, we live in fear of change. But, that is precisely what we need; color.

All we need is color.

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

If you are into African American culture or if you are interested in it then go and watch this film. My best friend said, “Anyone who is actually in with Black culture has seen this film.” That is why I am about to tell if you know nothing about black culture and if you are completely oblivious and ignorant to it, then you should explore something new and walk in the shoes of these three best friends who take over the drug trade in the streets of Harlem.

The logline states:

“This fictionalized account of three real-life Harlem drug dealers is told in flashbacks as they plunge into the world of hustling.”

Wood Harris plays Ace, who at the beginning of the film works at a dry cleaner and resists the temptation from his sister’s boyfriend Calvin to join the drug game. Despite his best friends being drug dealers as well, he still resists. After Calvin goes to jail and comes across some free cocaine, he begins to take Calvin’s spot on the streets and slowly with his connections with the Dominican drug cartel through his job at the cleaners. He begins his rise to the top of the streets with his best friends Mitch and Rico becoming the Kingpin.

The reason why I recommend this film is because rather than focusing on the flash and bling of being a drug dealer it emphasizes how greed can overcome trust and friendship. Would you cross your best friend and rob him for money? Also, this film highlights how hard it is to get out of the drug game because of the temptation, pressure, and protecting your reputation on the streets. Wood Harris’ performance in this film neutralizes all of the opulence, temptation, and glory that this type of culture is usually portrayed and brought upon in pop culture. That is an adamant thing to do as an actor because his performance peels all of those layers away and focuses on the main themes of temptation, greed, trust, and friendship; making this film special.

Ace is quite the opposite of most hustlers on the streets. He is quite, lays low and wants to stay out of trouble. He only cares about his soldiers and making his money. He doesn’t care about driving fancy cars, watches, clothes, women, or partying. He is boring, and that is why he is successful.

I felt very empathetic towards all three of the characters. I understand why they choose the life that they did choose and, that is why this film is enjoyable to watch. Most movies about the streets glorify robbing, money, drugs, sex and etc. This film focuses on its major themes and gets you to empathize with people of whom you would not ever give a to chance in real life.

I would also like to point out that the film’s soundtrack is incredibly authentic to the place and time. Films are how I discover music that is old or new. The soundtrack alone should make you go and watch this film. It features Eric B and Rakim, Doug E. Fresh, Phil Collins, Special Ed, Twista, Jay-Z, and even Kanye West. If you love films with great soundtracks, then give this one a chance.

“Hood” is short for the neighborhood. Everyone has their own “hood.” We fear and reject what we don’t understand in life. That shouldn’t be the way we live life. If you want to understand something outside of yourself, then go and watch this film and comment below on what you think.

I’ll leave you with a quote from Beyonce, “I grew up in a very nice house in Houston, went to private school all my life and I’ve never even been to the ‘hood. Not that there’s anything wrong with the ‘hood.’”

“When 17-year-old Kat Conners’s mom, Ever, vanishes, the teen relishes her newfound freedom – until the reality of her loss sets in.”

In this film, Kat (Shailene Woodley) is a victim of her mother’s (Eva Green) sudden disappearance when she was just only 17 year’s old. This is a film about a young girl finding her mind, body, soul, sexuality, and youth while the mother deals with her own aging and yearning for her youthfulness. The mother, played by Eva Green, was once an attractive, wild, crazy girl, who marries an uneventful man and becomes a domesticated housewife, only to find that she is unfulfilled with everything in her life. Through a series of flashbacks, this film displays the character arch of the mother from a happy young lady to a disgruntled housewife with significant issues. When the film takes place in real time, we see how Kat deals with her mother’s disappearance for three years.

As Kat and Eve grow older together, they begin to reject who they are on the inside and then soon to become estranged from their mother-daughter relationship.

Abandonment represents the core of human fear. If that is something you would like to explore, then go and watch this film. This is because each day, people everywhere get to the point where life has left them on a doorstep or has thrown them away. The central core of this recurring theme in the film is about the loss of love itself and the severe loss of feeling connected with someone, which involves betrayal and loneliness.

Shailene Woodley’s performance is very engaging, and from the opening scene to the ending credits, I was on her side the whole time. She has this great voice that makes her narration of the story very welcoming, giving the film a calm but yet edgy tone. Eva Green stole the show with her performance, making her character relevant by bringing more and more curiosity to the viewer throughout the story in each scene that she appeared in.

This film has a lot of unique twists and turns and is very unpredictable. I guarantee you will be shocked by the ending. You will be taken through an “odyssey” of the human psychological development of dealing and overcoming abandonment.

When you watch this film, you will understand the psychological pain that abandonment brings to human beings.  This film is relatable to anyone because neglect is a universal wound. It makes heartbreak painful and shows why separation causes such anxiety because losing a friend, lover, job causes our self-esteem to go on a downfall. It also causes you to feel unworthy and not being able to belong in anyone’s life, leaving you powerless in your own life. The wounds cut deep, and that is why unresolved abandonment is the primary derivative of self-sabotage.

That is why you absolutely need to watch this film to find out how Kat overcomes her abandonment by finding the truth because the most painful goodbyes are the ones that are never said or explained.