This week I watched Hocus Pocus which was directed by Kenny Ortega in 1993. It is a family comedy. It takes place in Salem, Massachusetts on Halloween and follows a teenage boy named Max. He recently moved into Salem from Los Angeles. Max is forced to take his sister trick-or-treating. They go to an alleged witch-house where he accidentally revives three witches who suck the lives out of children. This movie is not exactly kid friendly, but I can not see any teens/adults enjoying this movie. The jokes are childish and the plot is extremely dry. The movie has lots of activity and confrontation but very little progress in the story arc. I'm sure the plot all made sense in the writer's heads, but as a normal viewer, the movie was confusing and highly repetitious. The whole movie is a giant chase through graveyards, a school, and the crowded streets of Salem. There was nearly zero character development, especially concerning the witches. The only character I understood at all was the main character, Max. One of the three witches, played by Bette Midler, said all of the dialogue that relates to the plot. It seems that her sidekicks, played by Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy, are only in the movie to say some bad jokes. In all, I would not recommend this movie to anyone. The special effects are shoddy and the characters have no development. The jokes are not funny and the movie gets too repetitious to watch. Two out of ten stars.
Take a Ride on the Snowpiercer
Today, I watched Snowpiercer, directed by Joon-ho Bong. Snowpiercer takes place in the year 2031 inside a train that travels around the world. This is in a post-apocalyptic Earth where several countries tried to solve global warming. This resulted in all of the world freezing over and the only survivors were those who boarded the train. Curtis, played by Chris Evans, and his sidekick Edgar, played by Jamie Bell, live in the tail end of the train. This is where the people who could not afford the train fares lived. Curtis is planning a rebellion with the rest of the people who live in the tail end, and is receiving mysterious notes in his food to help him with his planning. The movie instantly raises more questions than there are answers. The entire movie focuses on order, and how some extreme measures can be taken to keep order. There were many great twists that keep you on your toes. There is tons of action and bad language, so I would not recommend this movie to kids. The movie always seems to be five steps ahead but leaves some credit to the viewer which makes it seem like you are answering some unanswered questions instead of the movie just telling you. There is constant character development throughout the whole movie until the very last scene of the movie. The movie creates a whole backstory that gives lots of motive to the hero. The plot is clear and the movie has excellent flow. There are rises and falls in action, but there is always forward movement. As you travel towards the front of the train, you realize what extremes the bad guys go to to keep order; they get more and more hateable. The only problem is that the movie is not very rewatchable because of how much mysteries there are. I would definitely recommend this movie to any fans of action or mystery movies. 8 out of 10 stars.
Recently, I watched the movie Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan. Interstellar takes place in the near future where drought and famine are ruining the earth. The main character Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey, goes on an exploration journey through a wormhole to find another planet that is suitable to sustain human life. He has to leave his family, his father and two kids, to go on this trip, and he does not know when he is coming back. This movie has an excellent plot and great flow. The suspense and action grows and grows throughout the whole movie until after the climax. While the movie is just under three hours long, every minute is spent either with important plot points or giving backstory to all the characters. The movie never ceases to amaze you with how crazy space can be. It gives a perspective of how unforgiving some other planets can be. Interstellar has the most scientifically accurate representation of a black hole ever made. His scientific consultant, Kip Thorne, worked with 30 members of the special effects team to work out how to make a CG black hole that is extremely realistic. This process took a whole year. This movie involves lots of relative science, but the movie does a great job at explaining it all. When you leave the movie theatre, you will be amazed and slightly amazed, but mostly blown away by not only how good the movie was, but also how much amazing things happened in the movie. This movie is definitely a must-see, and I would recommend you see it a second time to figure everything out. There are a handful of emotional scenes which I did not expect going in. 9 out of 10 stars.
Movies