Straight Outta Compton

Directors: F. Gray Gray

Stars: O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell

Summary:

A group of rappers in the mid 1980s from Compton, California join together to form Niggas With Attitude (NWA) to revolutionise the Hip Hop culture with their music and experiences from life in the hood. They tour the USA to share their music and life in the mean streets of Compton through lyrics while dealing with the hardships of racism and being of African American background during the 1980s.

My Review:

This movie was intriguing and gave me a better understanding as to how life was for successful African American singers and groups. This movie drew me in based on my personal experiences in which I have had many trips to the United States where I failed to have a true understanding of the culture due to the short period of time spent in one particular location. The most successful part of the movie in my opinion is when the NWA group start to tour and get big media coverage. They leave the familiarity and security (somewhat) of Compton in the endeavour to get their group name recognisable nation wide. I would recommend this movie to anyone who has a serious passion for rap music and the African American culture or who like me have been to the US and are craving for a better understanding of life during the 1980s for a rap group.

My Rating:

8/10

Crazy Stupid Love (2011)

Directors: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Stars: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, Emma Stone

Summary:
Crazy Stupid Love is a romantic comedy film that captures the life of Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) as a middle-aged husband that learns that his wife, Emily (Julianne Moore), has cheated on him and has her heart set on a divorce. He then spends his lonely nights sulking at a bar until he is taken on as wingman by Jacob Palmer (Ryan Gosling). By doing so, Cal rediscovers his manhood by flirting women, consuming manly drinks and altering his sense of style. The film captures the love story of more than just a love triangle but more so a love square. At the pinnacle of the film, these 'couples' see each other in a different light and hilarious conflicts arise. However, after all of Cal's changes and differences, he can only be lead back to that one person and where he began.

My Review:
As a romantic comedy fan, I found that this film was quite enjoyable to watch. Although the movie is not deep, it considers problems that develop within relationships including growth and satisfaction which gives the film a touch of drama. I liked how the directors manage to represent the various generations and their take on romance. The structure of the film helps to build the story line and develop the characters through film transitioning techniques which merge at the complication of the film. The strong cast makes the film hilarious and entertaining. However,  I can see why many may not enjoy it because of its complicated screenplay and sophomoric vibes. Personally, I loved it and i reckon it's worth a watch!

My Rating: 8.5/10

Now You See Me

Directors: Louis Leterrier

Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco

Summary: Charismatic magician Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) leads a team of talented illusionists called the Four Horsemen. Atlas and his comrades mesmerize audiences with a pair of amazing magic shows that drain the bank accounts of the corrupt and funnel the money to audience members. A federal agent (Mark Ruffalo) and an Interpol detective (Mélanie Laurent) intend to rein in the Horsemen before their next caper, and they turn to Thaddeus (Morgan Freeman), a famous debunker, for help.

My Review: Now You See Me is a superficially diverting but substance-free concoction, a would-be thriller as evanescent as a magic trick and one that develops no suspense or rooting interest because the characters possess all the substance of invisible ink. Propelled by hyperkinetic action, constantly swooping camera moves and a techno score that never quits, this attractively cast caper makes such a big point of things not being what they seem that, by process of elimination, you can hardly help guessing who's really behind everything. This Summit release could do reasonably well out of the gate but will have trouble holding its own against heavy summer competition.

The cast of characters in this quick-fingered charade consists of hustlers, con artists and tricksters, the core group being (despite the fact that one of them is a woman) The Four Horsemen, entertainers so popular that they can draw sell-out crowds in giant arenas. There's cocky illusionist Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), wise-ass mentalist Merritt (Woody Harrelson), feisty escape artist Henley (Isla Fisher) and scamming pickpocket Jack (Dave Franco). Brought together by an unseen hand with an eye to melding their skills to spectacular effect, the flashy quartet takes to the Las Vegas Hilton stage with the announced intention of robbing a bank before the spectators's eyes.

In a rapid-fire mash-up of high-tech gizmos and flashy showbiz razzmatazz, a randomly selected French audience member dons some futuristic headgear and is teleported to his bank in Paris, whereupon the millions in paper money in a vault there magically rains down on the delighted onlookers. Among those in admiring attendance are august figures of uncertain intent, the show's financier Tressler (Michael Caine) and Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), a debunker of magicians' tricks who discreetly videos the proceedings.

My Rating: 10/10

Movies Now Showing!

There are a variety of movies now showing in theaters near you!

Here are some showing this week, just to name a few:

• Captain American: Civil War
• The third installment of the Captain America films. 
• Director: Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
• Stars: Chris Evans, Rober Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Paul Rudd

• Bad Neighbours 2: Sorority Rising 
• Comedic squeal to the 2014 film.
• Director: Nicholas Stoller
• Stars: Chloe Grace Mortez, Zac Efron, Rose Bryne and Selena Gomez

• Mother’s Day
• A film based on the three generations coming together a week leading up to Mother's day.
• Director: Gary Marshall 
• Stars: Jennifer Aniston, Timothy Olyphant, Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson and Jason Sudeikis

• The Boss
• Based on an original character created by Melissa McCarthy and on a story hatched by Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone.
• Director: Ben Falcone
• Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Bell and Peter Dinklage

• The Divergent Series: Allegiant
• Based on the finale of Veronica Roth's bestselling Divergent trilogy.
• Director: Robert Schwentke 
• Stars: Theo James, Shailene Woodley, Miles Teller and Naomi Watts

• Eye in the Sky
• A UK-based military officer who is remotely commanding a top secret drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya. 
• Director: Gavin Hood
• Stars: Helen Mirren, Aaron Paul and Alan Rickman

• The Huntsman Winter’s War
• An adventurous action movie that intertwines Snow White and the Huntsman. 
• Director: Cedric Nicolas-Troyan
• Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Jessica Chastain, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt and Nick Frost

Grab your popcorn, drinks and your friends and enjoy these must see films!

500 Days of Summer (2009)

Director: Marc Webb

Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, and Geoffrey Arend

Summary:

This romantic comedy-drama film captures the views of two contradictory personalities when it comes to love.  Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a greeting card copywriter, is a hopeless romantic who believes happiness comes from love, affection and a fulfilling relationship. However, Summer (Zooey Deschanel), Tom’s co-worker is quite the opposite. After the disintegration of her parents’ marriage, she articulates that she does not believe in true love. As Tom falls for Zooey and the feelings are not reciprocated, he reflects on his failed romance and soon rediscovers himself in the process.

My Review:

I love the screenplay and directing of the movie as the story is unfolded in an unchronological order. It is presented in a nonlinear narrative structure, jumping within the 500 days of their relationship. I enjoyed this because it accentuated how the relationship was blissful yet also self-destructive for the both of them. Additionally, the untraditional style of filming highlighted the contrasting nature of their connection with time and created a refreshing, unpredictable and sometimes realistic point of view of love. The acting in the film is definitely believable and I found that the plot was original and very much entertaining.  It’s one of the movies you can watch over and over again and notice different things every time. Definitely recommend!

My Rating: 9.5/10