Dead cOoL [Reaction to Trailer]

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ??

 D e a d  P o o l  2 

Do we rate Dead Pool 2 based on the trailer?

Back and better than ever! Good, bad and ugly, we're not even sure tbh. We're reviewing a film, before we have even watched it! Classic judge a book by it's cover. 

'Cause really, if a trailer doesn't get you keen on the film, the film may not be all that good at all. The make and break of whether or not the cinema's get the chance to pack out, the trailer really is the epitome of the film industry. 

So here we are! 

Bringing to you fresh off the press we have gone ahead and decided if Dead Pool 2, the sequel to Dead Pool, is worth the watch.

Have a look at our new vlog! We'll let you know what we think! 

We all came together to think of a couple questions to lay out our thoughts on the film! 

Edited by the Leila and Melissa! Featuring the likes of all members of the GBU Blogger team. 

Enjoy!! xx

+  I mean honestly if we're basing the films worth on the posters than I reckon a solid 10/10 +

<---------------------------------Upcoming films and what to view ---------------------------->

Life is Beautiful

LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL 

Hey everyone, it's Leil, back with my final movie review. My past reviews have been quite light-hearted and not-so-serious movies. However, the foreign film 'Life is beautiful' is one of my more sophisticated movie choices, that has a soft spot in my heart. 

The film beings by exploring the blossoming love between Guido and Dora circa 1930s. In a fairytale-esque way, Guido sweeps Dora off her feet through extravagant displays of affection and they eventually marry and have a son, Giosue, together. Unfortunately, all movies have a complication to entice the audience, and this one happened to focus on a real-life event: The Holocaust. Guido is Jewish and was subsequently taken with his son to a concentration camp. From this point, Guido's mission is to hide the harsh reality of whats to come from his son, pretending that their capture is all part of an elaborate game.  

THE BASICS

CAST:

Roberto Benigni (Guido)

Nicoletta Braschi (Dora)

Giogio Cantarni (Giosue)

DIRECTOR

Roberto Benigni (Multitalented legend)

WRITERS

Vincenzo Cerami

Roberto Benigni (like seriously talented) 

I was first introduced to this movie in Year 10 as part of the curriculum. Something that I am very grateful for. Not only did this open my eyes to the beauty of foreign films, but it also made me acknowledge the very real situation and how it affected families across the world. The innocence of Giosue and the imagination of Guido is so powerful that it not only evokes sympathy in the audience, but it also increases the acknowledgment of the Holocaust. 

The strength of which has recognised by the industry, being shown at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival, winning the Grand Prix, as well as winning Best Actor and Best Foreign Language Film at the 71st Academy Awards. 

Overall, it is an excellent movie that pulls on the heartstrings. The main takeaway message is that in the face of adversity, love and family can provide guidance and mitigate even the toughest of situations. 

Please watch this movie, you will be a better person for it. 

Swiss Army Man

Swiss Army Man (2016)

Rate: 😎😎😎

Production: 

Genre: Drama/Dark Comedy

Rating: M

Now my first real annoyance with this film was that Hank got hold of the corpse's phone but doesn't wait until climbing the hill. The phone was charged at 10% or so which is enough to give anyone a heart attack, especially when you are stranded on an island! So it should have been obvious to him to take the phone of Bluetooth straight away! That eats up soooooo much battery life. Shaking my head. 

Anyways, the corpse is played by none other than Daniel Radcliffe, who's only dialogue is a series of uncomfortably coordinated farts for the first part of the film.

 UGH! But it got really awkward when Hank drinks water from the slowly decomposing body. Eventually you come to learn that the body is decomposing way too slowly, at a rate that his consciousness and ability to talk has not kept up with his decaying body.... so yes, the dude comes back to life - sort of.

You later discovery the undead has a name, Manny. 

There were some cringey lines that aimed to make some deep or thought-provoking comment on the current state of society yet 9 times out of 10, seemed to barely touch the surface on anything meaningful. Some ideas had about as much depth as those Teen <3 Quotes Facebook pages that we were all probably guilty of liking at some point. Making implications like it being a bad thing that people don't sing to each other when they catch the bus to work but whatever, to each their own I guess. 

Here's an direct example of what I'm talking about:

"If my best friend keeps his farts from me... what else is he hiding?"

Overall, some scenes seemed to drag out a bit too long. This was hard to watch at some points, because you never knew if a scene was going to be either really cringey or really good and heart-warming. 

One thing I will say, the performances were beyond brilliant. Daniel Radcliffe has really proven himself as more than just a child actor. Swiss Army Man was Radcliffe's very own Elephant Man and he did it remarkably well. 

It stuck very true to the style and just screams Dark Comedy + Feel-Good Movie fairly well. There were a lot of wholesome bonding between the two best friends. Some Manny scenes were really disgusting and gross, though I guess that is all part of the message of the story which is in the root of human nature, that we as humans are actually all pretty disgusting if you think about it.

However, no regrets, glad I bothered to finally come round to watching this. Not bad. Even if it meant grudgingly staring at this on my screen for too many seconds as the multi-purpose dude returns from whence he came. 

The Fifth Element (not Boron)

THE FIFTH ELEMENT 

FILM NAME: The Fifth Element (1997)              RUN TIME: 2h 7 min                                  DIRECTOR: Luc Besson                                      LOU REVIEW: OmG so good hey I reckon solid 4 out of 5 Catch 

This film is the ultimate alternate and futuristic hit that completely entices and amazes you from start to finish. If it isn't the wacky as clothing, the honest discussions of pollutions effect on society in the future, the look into the human condition and what makes us so very us, then at one point of another Mila Jovovich is bound to win you over in this film with her incredible performance as a strong and powerful female figure. She is honestly so darn cool and kick as in this film. And she acts alongside Bruce Willis!!! What an absolute combo. This rendition of what a future civilisation could look like is so authentically 90's to it's heart. The end of a century ideologies scattered along the films plots, costuming, attitudes and characterisations, with subtle hints at contemporary and more relevant film thoughts and feelings beginning to gain fruition. 

BASIC PLOT:
Set in the near future, planet Earth will be destroyed if not for the restoration of the highly coveted "fifth element" who finds help and protection from ex- cop Korben Dallas.  

FILM HIGHLIGHTS:

- Everything LeeLoo (Mila Jovovich) does- she plays a character with a childlike understanding of the world, and it's so interesting watching her character 
development and understanding of this world blossom, also she's a really kick-ass strong female lead 
- The Setting of this film in the 'Sky', with high-rise buildings and flying cars, as sollution to the pollution that is too dense and thick for humans to be able to survive on the surface of the planet 
- That TOP NOTCH Performance of "The Diva Dance", an incredible intense Opera. 

--> Spolier Alert Scene <-- 

COSTUMING:                                                      The most fun part of this film is the incredibly diverse costume department and the various kinds of "creatures" created for this film. 10/10 funkiness. It gives a really authentic experience having such a cool look that really emphasises the personalities of the characters. 

OVERALL:

Must see! If you love to see wacky takes on the future with strong female leads, quality banter with a hint of ridiculousness- than this is for you! The Fifth Element will keep you on your toes, bordering on action, romance and cheap thrills to get you through! 

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Bridge to terrible-ithia

BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA

FILM NAME: 'Bridge to Terrabithia' (2008)

RUN TIME: 1 h 36 min

DIRECTOR: Gabor Csubo

LOU REVIEW: -1 out of 5  Throw the fish back to sea L

Do not watch this film. Like, honestly. Do not follow it’s acclaimed direction, or it’s beloved cast, ignore the “must see” pleas and the calls for more films like this one. Just don’t. These are the kind of films that ask you to fall in love with the characters and the hearty- child like gentleness of adolescence and then BAM. Take it all away from you. Whoever read the book and decided to make it a film must have wanted demise because wowzers this was mental. If I'm going to be honest there isnt too much I can say about this film except that it is sad, very very sad. And when you watch it you will be sad. And when you think about it you will be sad. And everyone who knows this film will know it to be the sad work that it is. I'm not going to tell you to watch it, but if you gain anything from this film, you will gain an understanding of how much you can cry in a 1 hour period. 

BASIC PLOT: 
Friendship is sparked between couple of youngters Leslie and Jesse when they both create their own magical imaginary world.

CASTING:

A film where you get to see your favourite actors in different crying poses!

- Josh Hutchinson (will make you cry)

- Anna Sophia Robb (really, really cry)

- Zoey Deschanel (just cry)

                      

SET:
Incredible views. Filmed in New Zealand. Stunning. Wow. Won’t make me forget that it’s a sad movie though.

FAVOURITE LINES:

LESLIE : [speaking about the Bible] You have to believe it, and you hate it. I don't have to believe it, and I think it's beautiful. 

LESLIE: You're lucky to have a sister.

JESSIE: Yeah, I got four of 'em, and I'd trade 'em all for a good dog.

OVERALL:
If you enjoy hysterically crying, pain, death, childhood sadness and overall lots of bad things then you'll love this one! I don't recommend this, I really don't, but you'll watch it anyway, or if you've already seen it and are looking for some closure, you will not find it here. I would recommend watching Carrie Diaries or something else with Anna Sophia Robb as she's older - Spoiler - and you can pretend that Leslie is alive and well. Which is she. Older and grown and moved onto another town. So happy for her. Yay

Bottom of Form

Enjoy this Misleading Trailer...

...And try erasing this image from you mind :) 

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Dear Dictator

DEAR DICTATOR (2018)

Rate: 😎

Production: 

Genre: Teen/Drama/Comedy

Rating: PG/M?

*deep breath*

OK, here we go people...

Ah boy, I don't even know where to start with this one fellas.

This is awful. If you love yourself, don't watch this, please. I'm begging you.

I feel it is my moral obligation to warn you. 

Not only does it break my heart to watch Michael Caine's brilliant career go anything but gracefully down the pipe, it brings me great sadness to think that whatever they paid Caine was enough for him to go ahead and agree with this. Can someone please check on Mr. Caine? What's going on big guy? You good? I heard about what happened and I am so sorry, absolutely saddened by this.

Alright, I guess uh, we'll get into the storyline so here goes. 

😟

Our story begins in American suburbia where we find try-hard-punk rebel, Tatiana, who is supposed to be 16 - but I swear I had this same phase and got over it by the time I turned 12...anyway...

Tatiana is not a clever girl. She disrespects her mom, she hates her social sciences teacher, she's an outcast at school and the only friend she has is some boy that she's hopelessly infatuated with... but he has no interest in her and also disrespects her. Yeah, tragic. 

Oh, forgot to mention that she's pen pals with Latin American communist dictator, Anton Vincent, played by the once magnificent Michael Caine.

Oh, how far we have fallen.

So, it is with great difficulty to watch this whilst keeping in mind that that part of the story was written with the intent of being the most wholesome relationship that ever gets to develop in the story. With the exchange of handwritten letters being the only things keeping each other from sticking their heads in the oven. 

Pathetic.

Everything about this movie is pathetic. Don't expect that despite the awful storyline that you may be able to at least sympathise with the characters or appreciate a mature character development with each character. You'd be very wrong to expect so much. Especially with a half decent cast. On that note, I'd just like to say that I appreciate the casting was actually about the only thing that stopped me from screaming in agony for 90 minutes straight. They played their part to the best of their abilities and it would be unfair to blame them for having to play such tragic roles in a tragic story with a tragic script.

Shame.

Yet, despite all of Caine's experience, it is amazing how he didn't think to ask to improvise or even put on an accent the whole time. Yeah nah but yeah. He's playing a tyrant who has taken over some island in Latin America but with the same "Bri-ish accen'" with brave consistency.

Not to mention this movie from Hell is making a complete mockery of suicide and revenge porn to the point where you can't help but laugh, not because you think these aren't serious issues in real life, but because they thought it was a good idea to poorly communicate the seriousness of these themes. It is almost like as if their director and team actually sat down at a table and thought "hmm... yes... well what are some of the worst things that an American teen might face and how can we make it as cheesy as possible?".

Now I don't condone dictatorships or anything but this movie is so bad that its pushed me to the point of feeling kind of sorry for dictators, past and present, whose wrath have been totally undermined by this absolute fraud of a character they created, Anton Vincent. He's so bad at being bad that he makes historical bad guys look bad for being in the same bad category... if that makes sense. This man is so weak that he coughed after a sip of Red Bull. Not even with vodka. Just. Red Bull. Ugh.

source: The Death of Stalin, a much better movie than the focus of this review. 

This Fidel-Castro-wannabe would've been punished under a real authoritarian revolution. To be honest, Stalin would've had him in the gulag and no doubt about that. I mean it's not just about the Red Bull thing - this leader is so pathetic that he goes into hiding in a teenage girls bedroom. So for that, I'll add 'creepy' to the list of things that make him an awful and unrealistic character. 

I'm just gonna wrap it up with that. If you wanna see a real decent comedy about a real communist dictator minus the cringe teen drama, watch The Death of Stalin. You'd be doing yourself a favour.

Again, just see Death of Stalin instead!

- Melissa Yates

How to Train your Dragon

Hey everyone!

It's me, Leila, again. Now like I said in my introduction piece, I'm not the biggest movie buff. Most films I watch are forced upon me or were childhood favourites. 'How to train your dragon' is part of this latter genre, and has remained a go-to movie of mine for many years.

Hiccup, a scrawny Viking, desperate to get his fathers approval, attempts to kill the Night Fury, the rare, powerful dragon that generates fear in even the toughest of Vikings. It is literally described as "the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself".  Well, that sounds like the coolest dragon ever.



*Spoilers* Of course, Hiccup manages to find one, befriends it and then sets out to change the attitudes of the other Vikings. From this point, the audience has practically fallen in love with Toothless the dragon.

This is probably the inner Gryffindor in me, but the idea of being able to control the best, most feared dragon is exhilarating. It's like Harry Potter being the only one able to stop Voldemort. Plain and simply, it is cool.

Besides this, the characters, illustration, and angles of the film are to be applauded.

Hiccup is a character that children look up to, not only because he can ride a dragon, but he is lovable, dorky, and sarcastic. The underdog aspect of Hiccup is something to be praised also. Other characters such as his father and crush, Astrid, have wholesome characters arcs, leading to that classic DreamWorks happy ending.

However, one of the most praised elements of the film is its illustration, especially the wide and ariel shots. Though the sunsets and fight scenes are animated, they still enable a jaw-dropping 'wow' moment, capturing the audience.

Final sentence: I'm watching this movie while I write this.

Don't take it (twi)lightly

   Twilight 

FILM NAME: 'Twilight' (2008) RUN TIME: 2 h 2 min DIRECTOR: Catherine Hardwicke LOU REVIEW: 3 out of 5 a Catch 🎣 Honestly the best and worst kind of trash :/

Twilight has received an incredible amount of appraisal and criticism since it's early 2005 release as the first book in a four part series by Stephanie Meyer. Admittedly, the quality and content of the books and films, it's acting styles, direction and script are widely considered juvenile and honestly, a bit shit. It is often considered overrated and a real disappointment to the sensory experience. However through all these criticisms, I believe Twilight is misunderstood and occasionally under appreciated for its definite ability to exhibit the common idealisms and human nature of not just teenagers and young adults, but so many other individuals of varying ages and personalities that identify with this film and it's strange-ness.


Basic Plot:


Outsider Bella Swan moves to an isolated town to live with her father. Being a new student suddenly pushes her into an unknown world of attention she isn't use to, catching the eyes of Edward Cullen, the gloomy local vampire.


(Honestly, trying to write a plot summary for this film was difficult and I definitely cringed for that whole sentence.)

SOUNDTRACK:
A quality film soundtrack makes all the difference, and Twilight is no exception. Hit Paramore song "Decode" successfully gave viewers a song to play on repeat and rock out to. Gosh, it's in my head now. This soundtrack has a very moody, alternative rock feel that matched the eerie context of the Twilight saga, featuring music by Muse, Linkin Park and even featuring Actor Robert Pattinson. He can actually sing really well.

Check it out here --> Link to Soundtrack on Spotify





TECHNICAL ELEMENTS:

- Consistently dark hued colouring and tone of the film, emphasising darkness of theme and story. Colour is effectively used to represent feelings and character themes during these films. 
- Slow Motion- It's sad but so true that when Edward was so much more intense walking through that front door when he was slowed down. A lot of the Vampire movements were done in slow motion- it added a more intense feeling of them being less human- more immortal and feigned upon

Weird thing that happened because of Twilight: 

- Edward/ Jacob fights and teams
- People researching how to become vampires
- "It's not a phase mum" 
- Pre- teens reading something interesting to them! Reading is so good for the mind and any form of reading is great even if it is Twilight
- A general consensus that Kristen Stewart has one facial expression despite her numerous films and acting abilities             



FAVOURITE LINES:
Edward Cullen to Bella Swan:
"So you're worried, not because you'll be in a house full of vampires, but because you think they won't approve of you?" *Laughs*  (Classic Edwards, what a giggle) 

Bella: How old are you?

Edward: Seventeen.

Bella: How long have you been seventeen?

Edward: ...a while.

Bella: I know what you are.

Edward: Say it... out loud. Say it.

Bella: Vampire.

Twilight is a fun 'Romantic' Drama that is so, so cringy, but so, so fun. When engrossed in the drama of the film you seem to forget that Bella and Edward have had a conversational relationship for the better part of a week, before going to deadly lengths to sacrifice themselves for each other. Crazy stuff. Sure, there are some perks with having a cool Vampire Boyfriend, like he's really fast and can read people's minds (oooh juicy), but a heavy aspect of this plot is Edwards constant desire for Bella's blood, which is pretty uncomfortable after awhile. Like, Bella's 17, she get's her period? Right? How does this work? Do they not hang out? Is period blood not desirable to vampires? I don't know the logistics of this side of Twilight but it all seems very unlikely. 

OVERALL:
A must at any gathering. From the sub par acting, to the eerie nostalgic early 2000's vibes, this film and series will still impact you long after watching it. It has reached a time in my life when I believe it is not longer taboo to admit your love for Twilight, so, in light of this, tell everyone when you see it that you do love it, which you will.  It's the ultimate strange fantasy film that just continues to get weirder. But even if you don't like it, you will always be a little better for knowing you watched it. 

This has nothing to do with anything but honestly how relatable 

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