25           Jaan Gabriel C. Lacson       10-A                       Movie of the Week (The Giver)

Summary:

In a seemingly perfect world without pain, lies or feelings, Jonas, an 18 year old is chosen to be the next Receiver of Memory, the one who has the memories of the old world. This Receiver gets the memories from the previous Receiver, who is now known as the Giver. After receiving memories, Jonas realizes that there is more to his world than meets the eye, and that there is still a lot left for him to learn.

Review:

          About the script, it can be said that it can leave a lot to be desired from the audience. Compared to the book that it is based from, it did not have the same impact because it didn’t make you stop and think like the book did. The themes of freedom and such are there but it did not flesh them out that well. It felt like you were watching the scenes unfolding compared to actually experiencing them because of the lack of emotional and mental impact.

However, the visuals used were great, for example the community really seemed like it was a world that was perfect, especially the airborne shots. Also, the scenes in the wilderness were also well done; the landscape shots were brilliant in their execution. The acting was fine; there were some highlights from the Chief Elder and the Giver. However, after the movie, the performances tend to start to mix. Also a small point, sometimes the reality of the movie doesn’t make sense; I don’t think it’s possible for someone to not fall off when sliding tens of stories down a metal slope using a tray, among other things. All in all, it is still an okay experience in the cinema, which can still be enjoyed; however, it’s not one to win an award.

Joaquin Quizon

Chef: Movie Review

Story:

The story is pretty simple; a chef comes into conflict with his boss over creativity and quits. He then starts his own venture with the help of his son and some friends. I personally enjoyed the story as firstly, it’s about food and secondly, it is also about standing up for one’s principles and learning to get back on your feet. However, I feel like the ending was rushed and it gives you a feeling that something should be there but itsn’t.

Acting:

Jon Favreau does an excellent job in portraying Casper as he made it seem that he was a real chef and not an actor portraying one. The others were not really that astounding in terms of performance but were still good nonetheless, especially Robert Downey, Jr. who only appeared for like 5 minutes but still gave an above average portrayal.

Technicality:

The movie was well-made, the lighting was spot-on and the camera work felt natural. The sound was clear and I liked the twitter feature used for some scenes, which really brought the movie to life. The soundtrack was not really that great as there were no memorable songs or tunes. Everything else was great and the movie was a joy to look at.

Overall:

Chef is a great movie and one that I find rather inspiring. It has a great cast, wonderful camera work, and a great story. Although I think the ending fell flat, it was still a joy to watch and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good foodie movie once in a while.

Final Score: 8/10

Movie of the Week: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

A continuation of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes", it takes place many years into the future, where humans were thought to be extinct and apes rule as the dominant race. The movie revolves around the struggle that Caesar and the other apes deal with when they are re-introduced to humankind. This struggle then turns into all-out battle against the humans in pursuit of power led by Koba, an ape who had usurped Caesar as leader of the apes.

This movie had a lot more action in it when compared to its prequel as it was more focused on the conflict between each character rather than on character development. It was also quite dark, both in lighting and in nature. For the lighting, there were many scenes that were shot at night or in a dark area, which made it a bit difficult to see what was happening. For the nature of the film, there were times when the scene would be centered around joy and laughter, and would suddenly change to hate, anger, and even murder.

As a fan of the first film, I really liked how the sequel was made. The pacing of the story was a bit slow, but it had a good plot. What got me the most though was that despite using many computer-generated graphics, and the fact that the apes were talking in incomplete and sometimes incoherent sentences for most of the film, the emotions of the apes were still shown and emphasized.

If you liked the first film, I highly recommend that you watch this one if you haven't already.

- Lee Balmaceda, 12-F

The review was written by Karlos Dawang of 10-A.