Showing posts with label Charlize Theron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Charlize Theron. Show all posts

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Prometheus (jhunterfilmreview)

 My Rating:
 IMDb Users:
(2012)
Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller/Adventure
Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: Jon Spaihts, Damon Lindelof
Producers: Michael Costigan, Michael Ellenberg, David Giler, Walter Hill, Mark Huffam, Teresa Kelly, Nikolas Korda, Damon Lindelof, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott

 
Nominee

Synopsis: Ridley Scott, director of Alien and Blade Runner, returns to the genre he helped define. With Prometheus, he creates a groundbreaking mythology, in which a team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a thrilling journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race. -- (Written by 20th Century Fox)

Cast:
  • Noomi Rapace
  • Michael Fassbender
  • Charlize Theron
  • Guy Pearce
  • Idris Elba
  • Logan Marshall-Green

IMDB - Prometheus

jhunterfilmreview: Upon hearing that a new Ridley Scott sci-fi film was imminent, I immediately found it difficult to control my excitement. I am a huge fan of the Alien saga - particularly Alien, Aliens and Alien: Resurrection. Then I saw the cast, and I instantly knew this would be one of, if not the most anticipated film for me this year. After conducting a little research on this exciting new motion picture, I discovered that Prometheus was to be a sci-fi/thriller and a sort of 'quasi-prequel' to the Alien saga. Furthermore, the film was to boast an amazing cast including two of my favourite female actors; Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Babycall), and Charlize Theron (Monster, Æon Flux, Young Adult). 

The film is set in the year 2089, where the protagonist Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and a team of scientists discover ancient cave paintings which match other artefacts from several unconnected ancient cultures. They interpret the pattern as a map and sort of invitation from humanity's forerunners, the 'Engineers'. Peter Weyland's (Guy Pearce - Memento, L.A. Confidential, The Hurt Locker) Weyland corporation funds the creation of the scientific vessel 'Prometheus', and the expedition to follow the map to distant moon LV-223. While the ship's crew travels in stasis, an android named David (Michael Fassbender - Shame, A Dangerous Method, Inglourious Basterds) monitors their voyage. Arriving in 2093, the crew are informed of their mission - to find the Engineers, but to avoid making contact without the permission of mission directer, Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron).

Prometheus is an extremely ambitious project which I feel may have suffered from the pulling of (and often relying on) the strings of anticipation a bit too much. Not only this, but the film's main weakness is its screenplay. Written by John Spaihts and David Lindelof, it somewhat fails to develop some key characters and aspects of the narrative, leaving a lot of its big questions unanswered.

Ok so the film is not perfect…but there are SO many amazing and jaw-dropping aspects which make it a thoroughly entertaining sci-fi flick. For one, the production design and visual effects are beyond stunning. Production designer Arthur Max led the film's design crew. His team were tasked with deconstructing the art direction and visuals of Alien, and reverse-designing them for the chronologically earlier setting of Prometheus. The film was shot using 3D cameras throughout, almost entirely on practical sets, and on location in England, Iceland, Spain and Scotland. The out-of-this-world (pun intended) 1,300 digital visual effects shots are the works of a combination of different effects studios, including Moving Picture Company and Weta Digital. Prometheus also features a number of compelling performances from its cast. Particularly Michael Fassbender as the scrupulous Weyland android, David.

If I had to pick my favourite scene, it would be without a doubt the intense surgery scene featuring Rapace. The emotional intensity that she brought to what is intentionally an absurd sci-fi scenario, felt real, gritty, grounded and horrifying. All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this highly ambitious and visually stunning film. Due to its occasional scripting hiccup however, I recommend it only to those who aren't opposed to a little 'Why?' in their sci-fi.

I give this film 8 stars.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Snow White and the Huntsman

 My Rating:
 IMDb Users:
(2012)
Genre: Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Director: Rupert Sanders
Writers: Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, Hossein Amini
Producers: Laurie Boccaccio, Gloria S. Borders, Sarah Bradshaw, Helen Hayden, Sam Mercer, Palak Patel, Joe Roth

 
Nominee

Synopsis: In the epic action-adventure Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Charlize Theron) out to destroy her. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) dispatched to kill her. Sam Claflin joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White's beauty and power. -- (Written by Universal Pictures)

Cast:
  • Charlize Theron
  • Kristen Stewart
  • Chris Hemsworth
  • Nick Frost
  • Toby Jones
  • Ian McShane
  • Bob Hoskins
  • Sam Claflin
  • Brian Gleeson
  • Lily Cole

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Young Adult

 My Rating:
 IMDb Users:
(2011)
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Jason Reitman
Writer: Diablo Cody
Producers: Brian Bell, Jason Blumenfeld, Diablo Cody, Helen Estabrook, Lianne Halfon, Nathan Kahane, Beth Kono, Kelli Konop, Mary Lee, John Malkovich, Mason Novick, Steven M. Rales, Jason Reitman, Russell Smith, Charlize Theron

Synopsis: Charlize Theron plays Mavis Gary, a writer of teen literature who returns to her small hometown to relive her glory days and attempt to reclaim her happily married high school sweetheart (Patrick Wilson). When returning home proves more difficult than she thought, Mavis forms an unusual bond with a former classmate (Patton Oswalt) who hasn't quite gotten over high school, either. -- (Written by Paramount)

Cast:
  • Charlize Theron
  • Patrick Wilson
  • Patton Oswalt
  • Elizabeth Reaser

Saturday, November 26, 2011

The Devil's Advocate

 My Rating:
 IMDb Users:
(1997)
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Taylor Hackford
Writer: Andrew Niederman, Jonathan Lemkin, Tony Gilroy
Producers: Barry Bernardi, Stephen Brown, Taylor Hackford, Anne Kopelson, Arnold Kopelson, Arnon Milchan, Erwin Stoff, Michael Tadross, Steven White

Synopsis: Based on a book by Andrew Neiderman, the film centers on a young lawyer who joins a New York firm only to discover that his boss has an increasingly bizarre personality. (Written by Erik Schuit)

Cast:
  • Keanu Reeves
  • Al Pacino
  • Charlize Theron
  • Jeffrey Jones
  • Judith Ivey
  • Connie Nielsen
  • Craig T. Nelson
  • Tamara Tunie

Sunday, September 25, 2011

The Road

 My Rating:
 IMDb Users:
(2009)
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: John Hillcoat
Writer: Cormac McCarthy, Joe Penhall
Producers: Marc Butan, Mark Cuban, Erik Hodge, Paula Mae Schwartz, Steve Schwartz, Rudd Simmons, Mike Upton, Todd Wagner, Nick Wechsler

Synopsis: A post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive by any means possible. (Written by IMDb Editors)

Cast:
  • Viggo Mortensen
  • Kodi Smit-McPhee
  • Charlize Theron
  • Robert Duvall
  • Guy Pearce

Friday, June 24, 2011

North Country

 My Score:
 IMDb Users:
(2005)
Genre: Drama
Director: Niki Caro
Writer: Michael Seitzman, Clara Bingham, Laura Leedy
Synopsis: A fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States -- Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines, where a woman who endured a range of abuse while working as a miner filed and won the landmark 1984 lawsuit. (Written by IMDb Editors)

Cast:
  • Charlize Theron
  • Jeremy Renner
  • Frances McDormand
  • Woody Harrelson
  • Richard Jenkins
  • Sissy Spacek
  • Michelle Monaghan
 

Monday, January 31, 2011

Monster (jhunterfilmreview)

 My Score:
 IMDb Users:
(2003)
Genre: Biography/Drama
Director: Patty Jenkins
Writer: Patty Jenkins
Synopsis: A dark tale based on the true story of Aileen Wuornos, one of America's first female serial killers. Wuornos had a difficult and cruel childhood plagued by abuse and drug use in Michigan. She became a prostitute by the age of thirteen, the same year she became pregnant. She eventually moved to Florida where she began earning a living as a highway prostitute--servicing the desires of semi-truck drivers. The tale focuses on the nine month period between 1989 and 1990, during which Wuornos had a lesbian relationship with a woman named Selby. And during that very same time, she also began murdering her clientele in order to get money without using sex. This turned the tables on a rather common phenomena of female highway prostitutes being the victims of serial killers--instead Wuornos, herself, carried out the deeds of a cold-blooded killer. (Written by Sujit R. Varma)

Cast:
  • Charlize Theron
  • Christina Ricci
  • Bruce Dern
 


jhunterfilmreview: A dark tale based on the true story of Aileen Wuornos, one of America's first female serial killers, Monster is a disturbing docudrama. Wuornos, a former prostitute, was executed in 2002 for the killing of seven men in the late 1980s. She is played by Charlize Theron (Hancock, The Burning Plain, The Italian Job), and her lover, Selby Wall, played by Christina Ricci (Sleepy Hollow, Anything Else, The Ice Storm). Other than a few short films, Monster, is the first feature film by writer and director, Patty Jenkins. The acting is definitely the highlight of this film, however. Theron gives her finest performance yet, as Wuornos the prostitute turned serial killer. She underwent a complete physical and psychological transformation for this complex and dark role - through the use of groundbreaking makeup and by gaining 13kg. Theron also utilised Nick Broomfield's 1992 documentary, Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of A Serial Killer, to enhance her interpretation of the character. This was all clearly worthwhile, as Theron won many awards for her portrayal, including the Academy Award for Best Actress, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Lead Actress. Furthermore, Ricci performs excellently in her supporting role as Wall. Perfectly conveying childlike naivety, seductiveness, stubbornness and growing manipulativeness. What is so unusual and fascinating about this film is that despite the heinous crimes that Wuornos commits, viewers actually begin to sympathise with her. Purely because you can clearly see what led her to make the decisions she made throughout her life. I absolutely love the graphic, disturbing, depressing and emotional aspects of Monster, and I am utterly fascinated by the Aileen Wuornos story...
I give this film 8 stars...

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

In The Valley of Elah

 My Score:
 IMDb Users:
(2007)
Genre: Drama
Director: Paul Haggis
Writer: Paul Haggis, Mark Boal
Synopsis: A retired military investigator works with a police detective to uncover the truth behind his son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq. (Written by IMDb Editors)

Cast:
  • Tommy Lee Jones
  • Charlize Theron
  • Susan Sarandon
  • James Franco
  • Josh Brolin
 

Sunday, October 24, 2010

The Burning Plain

My Score:
 IMDb Users:
(2008)
 Genre: Drama
Director: Guillermo Arriaga (21 Grams, Babel)
Writer: Guillermo Arriaga
Synopsis: A trailer is burning in the middle of a plain. The bodies of two adulterous lovers are found. Scenes from both families, before and after the dramatic events, suggest an unusual connection between them. But what is their secret? (Written by IMDb Editors)

Cast:
  • Charlize Theron
  • Kim Basinger
  • John Corbett
  • J.D. Pardo
  • Jennifer Lawrence
  • Robin Tunney
IMDb - The Burning Plain