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AMDG

23           Mikael M. Laurel                                                                                                       Submitted 09/23/15

10M       FCC Movie of the Week

“Everest”

Directed by Baltasar Kormakur (2 Guns)

Starring:

Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) as Rob Hall

Jake Gyllenhaal (Southpaw) as Scott Fischer

Josh Brolin (Labor Day) as Beck Weathers

Keira Knightley (Begin Again) as Jan Hall

Robin Wright (The Chronicle) as Peach Weathers

Summary:

The film is based on a true story. In 1996, a group of mountain climbers prepare for an expedition to the summit of Mount Everest, expecting an adventure where they would overcome great odds and face their fears. However, an unexpected storm hits, and the expedition turns from an overwhelming challenge into a fight for survival.

Review:

                When I entered the cinema to watch the movie the other day, the left and right rows and columns of seats were nearly empty. It’s no surprise; the movie wasn’t promoted as much as blockbusters such as Terminator Genisys or Jurassic World. However, I believe Everest could go down as one of the most underrated movies of the year.

                In my opinion, the film’s cinematography was its best part. It magnified the Everest and showed its vastness one moment, then scaled down and showed the mount’s minute details the next. Lighting was very good as well, as it set the tone for particular scenes, like when the storm hit; that scene’s lack thereof gave it a slight feeling of suspense and danger, which was most likely its intended tone.

                The composed musical score wasn’t a masterpiece, but like with the lighting, it set the tone for many scenes, particularly at the end, where there was a feeling of extreme melancholy.

                The make-up was superb. Many actors were glammed up so well to the point that they looked almost exactly like their real counterparts (pictures were shown at the end). Clarke and Gyllenhaal were almost unrecognizable. Beck Weathers apparently got hit with frostbite, and Brolin’s makeup really made it looked like he had that particular disease.

                However, I do believe that many characters had one-dimensional personalities. One particular example is Scott Fischer, who was energetic, daring, and happy go lucky throughout, and I’m quite sure that the real Scott Fischer would not have been happy go lucky all the time, especially in situations of near death. It would have helped if a little more serious scenes with Fischer were added to test Gyllenhaal’s acting chops a little, and to intensify the movie more.

                Speaking of which, there were many cases in Everest where the actors weren’t quite as intense as they should have been. Even in climactic situations, many of the actors, I felt, were too calm. They showed emotion, but didn’t exaggerate it as much as they should have.

                Taking note of the pros and in spite of the cons, I think Everest was a very good film. It was definitely flawed, but its positives outnumbered its negatives, as shown. It could have been much better though, with the stellar casting and visuals that it had. However, the film was still well executed, and it got its point across clearly. It was still able to tell a shocking and tragic tale about survival on top of Mount Everest.

Jose Miguel B. Fernandez                                                                              Film Critique                     

10-D

Inside Out

            To start my review, I will first give a short summary of Inside Out. The main character in this movie is Riley; at the start of the movie, we see how she got her emotions/feelings (joy was gotten from birth, sadness followed soon after, disgust when she was forced to eat broccoli, anger when she retaliated against her dad for forcing her to eat broccoli and fear when she nearly tripped over a lamp wire). To continue, she lives in Minnesota but then due to her father’s work, her family is forced to move to San Francisco. Riley doesn’t take this lightly as there are many setbacks to being in SF (for example: being away from friends, new school, moving truck not arriving, not having her hockey team, etc). The movie then focuses on Riley’s emotions as sadness and joy are accidentally taken away from the main control room ( spoilers ahead). When joy and sadness are roaming Riley’s long-term memory, the remaining emotions (anger, fear, disgust) are then forced to take control of Riley, disabling her to feel joy and sadness. After a few days, anger gives Riley the idea to run away by stealing her mom’s credit card and using it at a bus station; luckily, joy and sadness return and get Riley to go back to her parents. She then joins her university hockey team and the movie ends.

            To start the actual review, I would say the movie was pretty good. The animation was well done; the story is clichéd but that’s acceptable because it’s a kid’s movie. The humor was fairly good too but what I really noticed that for a movie made for 5-12-ish children, the theme of running away and depression wasn’t really appropriate. Nonetheless, it’s a good movie. 7/10

Joaquin Quizon

12-E

Terminator Genisys

Story: The story was quite good, quite fresh and really is a great take on the whole time

travel plot of the series. Although there are a few plot holes here and there, it is overall a

great story that is entertaining and keeps you interested. 8/10

Cast: The cast was great; Emilia Clarke was phenomenal as Sarah Connor, even pulling off a

great American accent. Jai Courtney also plays Kyle Reese well and Jason Clarke puts in an

amazing performance as John Connor. However, the biggest praise goes to the big man

himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who reprises his role as the terminator and shows that

even in his advanced age, he can still put on a wonderful performance. 10/10

Sound and sight: They brought back the old theme song which really got me watching the

movie and the way it was filmed was great, a typical action movie which I enjoy a lot .

The explosions were great and so were the shooting scenes and overall, it was a great sight

to behold. However, the cgi was a bit off in some parts.

Overall: Great cast with great directing and story make for a great movie that features a

classic. If the director keeps this up, I can see another trilogy coming up for Terminator.