Thor

With Chris Hemsworth in the lead (yummy), Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins, how could this film possibly fail? Well it certainly didn't! As the name suggests, this film follows the story of Thor, Son of Odin and the God of Thunder. Hot-headed Thor gets exiled from Asgard, realm of the eternal, after storming the icy world of Jotunheim, where he sought to discover why the Ice Giants had broken an age-old truce and snuck into Asgard. Landing on earth, Thor meets Jane (Natalie Portman), Darcy (Kat Dennings) and Erik (Stellan Skarsgard). Thor's trio of curious friends, unsure of his sanity, decide to help him retrieve Mjolnir, his beloved hammer which also fell to earth, after a government organization called S.H.I.E.L.D. confiscate Jane's research, and they have nothing left to lose. Filled with fantastic special effects, and particularly good acting from Tom Hiddleston, who plays Thor's devious brother Loki, this film ticked all the boxes. Magic, giant robots with lasers, theatrical fight scenes and of course, a budding romance between Thor and Jane, what else does this film need? Nothing, in my opinion. Highly enjoyable.

Released: 2011
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins


Rating: 10/10

Review By: Willow

Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom takes into the domain of underworld crime in Melbourne Australia and the struggle of a 17 year old boy Joshua “J” Cody (James Frecheville) as he deals with survival amongst those he should be closest too. The film is powerful drama which examines family ties, deception and murder. The opening scene of a bank robbery truly sets the bar for the proceeding tale of a suspenseful and realistic storyline.

I must be honest with my disfavourable perspective on Australian cinema I didn’t have great expectations; however I was proven wrong. With an eerie mood pacing accompanied by a smart script, and talented cast, Animal Kingdom represents the finest the Australian film industry has to offer. If you are a fan crime-based movies you will not be disappointed!

Released: 22^nd of January 2010

Directed by: David Michod

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, Luke Ford and James Frecheville.

My Movie Rating: 9/10

Shutter Island

This drama set in 1954, U.S Teddy Marshall is sent to the island to investigate a recent disappearance at a hospital for the criminally insane. The film twist and turns and resulting in the audience losing scope on the direction the film will take. the term, "mind fuck" is really viable in this film. shutter island leaves the audience confused and wanting more.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

Laeta Kalogridis (screenplay), Dennis Lehane(novel)

Stars:

Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Mortimer and Mark Ruffalo

My rating: 6/10

Tom Swift

Tron: Legacy

The bright flashing lights in the trailer lured me in. And it will do so for those who feast on visual effects that take on an imaginary and thrilling level. Tron: Legacy is a Disney-produced sequel to the original cult science-fiction film - with high expectations, the film fell short of its predeccesor in terms of story and characterisation. The disappearance of Kevin Flynn, an innovative software engineer, influences his son Sam to discover an interactive, virtual world in which he must battle against technological forces to save his father. But where it lacked in story, the film's CGI and thundering soundtrack shone. Mesmerising battle scenes and the incentive of 3D places Tron: Legacy at the forefront of technological film production.





Released: 2010
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Garrett Hedlund, Jeff Bridges, Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen, Bruce Boxleitner

My rating: 6/10

Red Riding Hood

This B-Grade but mildly enjoyable film is based on an extended adaptation of the original fairytale, following the story of Valerie (Amanda Seyfried), who lives in a medieval village under siege by a werewolf. As the film plays out, director Catherine Hardwicke ("Twilight") does a surprisingly good job of keeping you guessing, when Father Solomon (Gary Oldman) reveals that the werewolf lives among them, and could be anybody. The subplot to this film, of course, is the love triangle between Valerie, Peter (Shiloh Fernandez) the boy she loves and Henry (Max Irons) the boy she is set to marry. Throughout the film both boys strive to be the hero and save her from the werewolf in order to win her. Valerie begins to have strange dreams of the werewolf, and during one particularly violent siege on the village, she discovers she can talk to it, leading the villagers to hail her as a witch, and leading Valerie to start suspecting Peter, Henry, her grandmother and everybody close to her. It is not until the (poorly done) ending that the identity of the werewolf is finally revealed, and while it is not someone I suspected at all, it almost seems the only reason that character was picked was because it wasn't obvious. Despite the horrible acting by everyone (excluding Seyfried and Oldman, who in some sense saved the film) and weak plot, I did actually enjoy this film. I'm just not sure why.



Released: 2011
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Shiloh Fernandez and Max Irons


Rating: 4/10

Review By: Willow

127 Hours

Based on a series of non-fictional event, 127 hours centers on the survival of a mountain climber who is trapped under a boulder for 127 hours. Although most of the movie is situated between a crack in the mountains, the story doesn't get too melodramatic nor uninteresting or predictable. The film cleverly encompasses the challenge the survivor faces and lets the viewer feel these challenges by putting them through the similar experience as Aron's thanks to the astonishing study of his character and his survival process. I also found the movie quiet entertaining, the movie mixes up humor with drama and tense situations, which make the viewing a lot more pleasant. By showing Aron’s flashbacks, disappointments and premonition it really increased the level of sympathy I was holding for him, through his inspiring ambition and desire to live and not accept death he is able to exceed all odds.

Released: September, 2010

Directed by: Danny Boyle

Starring: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara

My Movie Rating: 8/10

Just Go With It

This hysterical film follows the trail of lies created by plastic surgeon Danny Mackabee (Adam Sandler), who uses his wedding ring to pull women after finding out his wife-to-be doesn’t love him. Katherine (Jennifer Aniston), his secretary and friend, gets dragged into the web as his ex-wife when Danny finally finds a girl worth keeping (Brooklyn Decker), as do her children and Danny’s brother, making for a deceitful rollercoaster of laughs as they all try to keep up with who is lying about what. The majority of the film plays out in Hawai’i, where they are all on holiday in order to “bond” (a neat trick by Katherine’s son, who wanted to swim with the dolphins), and happen meet Devlin Adams (Nicole Kidman), an old nemesis from Katherine’s past who brings on a surge of new lies, to the point where Danny and Katherine have to start making index cards to remember who knows what. With hilarious debuts from people who have seen the bad end of plastic surgery and a plot that requires you to actively think in order to keep up, Just Go With It is just the sort of comedy that shines in a world of duds.

Released: 2011

Directed by: Dennis Dougan
Starring: Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston

My rating: 9.5/10

Review By: Willow

Due Date

Highly strung father to be Peter Highman (Robert Downey Junior) is forced to road trip across America with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis), to make it in time to see the birth on his first child. Along the way there are car accidents, clam baking a range rover and being arrested at the Mexican boarder to name a few. This wild adventure makes the audience love and hate the antagonist. Zach Galifianakis is a lovable character whom manipulates the film into being the funniest film I’ve seen all year.

Released: 2010
Directed by: Todd Phillips
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Zach Galifianakis

My rating: 8/10

Easy A

Surely the high-school teen comedy sex romp storyline has been overused (and abused) within films over the years, but Easy A is an exception to the cliché. A witty exploration of the power of gossip and popularity within a high school setting, Easy A is the spring board for upcoming actress Emma Stone, who stars as the sarcastic Olive Penderghast. The hilarious consequences of her little white lie - losing her virginity - are interwoven into a moral tale of discovery and love. Self-depreciating humour and a well-rounded cast of characters make this film a standout of the teen comedy genre.





Released: 2010
Directed by: Will Gluck
Starring: Emma Stone, Penn Badgley, Amanda Bynes, Lisa Kudrow, Alyson Michalka, Thomas Haden Church, Stanely Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Cam Gigandet

My rating: 8/10

Review by Monique Som

The Other Guys

Two mismatched New York City detectives seize an opportunity to step up like the city's top cops whom they idolize -- only things don't quite go as planned.

Director:

Adam McKay

Writers:

Adam McKay, Chris Henchy

Stars:

Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg and Derek Jeter

6/10

The Social Network

There's no denying that nerds have all the fun - with astute knowledge come fast money, hot girls, social power and scandal. This is what The Social Network makes aware to the masses, and it is this message which makes the film so appealing to our Facebook-riddled minds. Who knew that an idea conceptualised by college freshman high on code would amount to a billion dollar business? David Fincher's directorial effort is as slick and smart as Mark Zuckerberg himself, a man who took control of the social networking empire. With an engaging script and young, hot, talented actors at the helm, The Social Network is a scintillating insight into the foundations of Facebook. Take a poke at it.





Released: 2010
Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Brenda Song, Armie Hammer, Max Minghella, Rashida Jones, Rooney Mara

My rating: 9/10

Review by Monique Som

Story Board

This is the story board I designed:

the left hand side has a bar for:

1. Twitter
2. Facebook
3. Hotmail
4. Gmail

these social networks wil help to get the blog around the the net for tones of views.

The font and formatting is similar to the other story boards of my team mates with the only difference being the rating. this rating box with be my opinion of how good the movie was, and also allows other people to rate my review.

Tom

04.04.11

Omeed's storyboard

This is a basic storyboard depicting the blogs layout and main features.

Willow's Storyboard

Not really that different to Monique's, but I shall post it regardless xD

I haven't picked any different fonts or colours because I am happy with what we've got at the moment :)

Monique's storyboard

- Image header in red and black.
- Main text area boxed by black, thick outline.
- Posts consisting of text, images, videos and other embedded objects.
- Right hand side navigation: Twitter on the top with recent tweets and follow button, mini description and authors, labels accompanying posts and archives.