Recent cinema views and mini reviews!

Stoker

Directed by Park Chan-Wook, this psychological thriller begins on India Stoker’s (Mia Wasikowska) father’s funeral, who has tragically died in a car accident just after his daughter has turned eighteen, leaving her with her widowed, distant mother, Evelyn (Nicole Kidman). Mysteriously, on the day of the funeral, her estranged uncle Charlie (Mather Goode) turns up, after he has grew tired of travelling the world; whilst seemingly pleasant, India is initially wary, as this is disturbingly the first time she is told of his existence. Whilst India is at first cautious, Evelyn is won over by his charm, and gladly allows Charlie to move in for a while. Upon moving in, however, mysterious events begin to occur; from brutal slaughter scenes to sexual encounters to unanswered questions, this film is ideal for one who likes to be on their toes and guessing until the very end.

What’s good? Wasikowksa flourishes as the lonesome coming-of-age woman whom finds herself thrown into a bizarre, alluring relationship with her uncle. Goode is rightly creepy with a fixed hardened but humorous persona throughout. Towards the end the twist becomes slightly obvious, but it’s still a successfully shocking ending. The cinematography throughout is also impressive and the music compliments the tone of the film throughout.

What’s bad? Mother Evelyn is irritating; she heartlessly neglects to mourn her husband and becomes fixated on Charlie a bit too quickly. Also, India seems to neglect really obvious elements within the narrative; for example, she doesn’t seem to realise obvious hints of close ones disappearing, and when she founds out the reasons for their disappearance, she simply shrugs them off.

Side-Effects

Doctor Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) is a successful psychiatrist, with numerous patients who praise him highly. He begins treating Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara), who has a long history of depression but appears to be on the road to recovery, even after the death of her husband, Martin (Channing Tatum), whom dies shortly after being released from prison. However, upon testing her in a new drug trial of anti-depressants, his career hangs on the balance; Emily takes a rocketing turn for the worse and once the press and his colleagues get involved, his career his hanging on the edge. However, to outline his innocence and what he believes to be a ‘fake’ patient, he attempts to seek out the truth and get her exposed as a phoney.

What’s good? Jude Law successfully suits playing a serious and intelligent psychiatrist, whom is determined to find the truth and save his career. The visual tone of the film is excellent; clear, bleak tones throughout denote the mood of the film, which is mainly pessimistic and thought-provoking.

What’s bad? The film is fairly slow-paced; it is like a mini rollercoaster throughout, as you think the turning-point is approaching with Law making a possible breakthrough, but instead various slow-paced scenes follow. The film gets heated at about 20-minutes in which shocked the entire cinema audience and gets you involved, but a dull atmosphere follows this. The ending also seems rather rushed and forced.

Oz the Great and Powerful

 

Starring James Franco as Oscar Diggs (the Great Oz), Mila Kunis as Theodora, Rachel Weisz as Evanor, and Michelle Williams as Glinda, this fun and funky family film is a great Disney adventure that explains the origination of the prequel to the 1939 MGM film, The Wizard of Oz. Oscar is a mischievous magician, whom cons and is deceitful to his audience, his single friend (scrubs man) and the majority of women he meets; upon escaping the clutches of the circus that he is involved in, he arrives on a hot-air balloon in the Land of Oz. Upon his arrival, the citizens of Oz are won over by his fake compliments, with them believing he is the great Wizard who they have been waiting for to save them by defeating the Wicked Witch. He promises to help, but his greed is still shown; only if he can keep the gold that the palace is consumed by – will he overcome his selfishness and attempt to save the great land, even though he not actually a wizard?

What’s good? Whilst I did not see this in 3D, I know it would be a typically magical, Disney experience; whilst not a classic Disney picture, it is full of colour, laughter and – a few – happy songs. The film is visually stunning, and loads of the cute, quaint characters will surely win you over – children will definitely love it. Michelle Williams’ depiction of Glinda is exquisite and welcoming.

What’s bad? The choices of actors didn’t win me over – Mila Kunis’ transformation (I will not spoil!) did not persuade me at all; she is irritating throughout the motion-picture. Whilst children will love the bright colours and happy scenes, the scary scenes are fairy eerie and jumpy; you may want to cover their eyes at the introduction of the flying monkeys!