Ran

The film "Ran" directed by Akira Kurosawa, is a Japanese movie about an elderly lord who abdicates to his three sons.  One son is disowned and the other two become traitors to their father subsequent to attacking his kingdom.  Throughout the film, the former lord is in an attempt to restore peace to his family, but to his surprise, finds it quite difficult.  In my opinion, I sought the movie to be quite slow and boring for its long moments of silence.  However, this 1985 film was nominated for many academy awards including: Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, and Best Picture.  In all fairness, the movie deserved these nominations for its superb background imagery, choice of music during war scenes, and the fact that each scene was done authentically.  Unlike many movies, there were few special effects in this movie.  As the executive producer, Akira Kuroswa took the time to put together real horses, soldiers, and explosions, which deserves some recognition.  With this in mind, I would personally rate "Ran" an overall score of 4 out of 10.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

In Rupert Wyatt's film, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," a super-intelligent chimpanzee, Caesar, leads a revolution of apes to freedom, escaping the torturous living environment that man has provided for the past eight years. This hyper-intelligent chimpanzee was the product of a successful experiment that scientist, Will Rodman(James Franco), had performed in order to increase the intelligence of ordinary apes. Subsequent to injecting, what he called the "113" solution, Will Rodman learned that this solution would continue to increase apes' intelligence, however, he did not know that the solution also acted as a fatal virus to humans. As a result of Will Rodman's invention, one would realize that as humans die off, apes enhance physically and mentally, which will eventually produce a world run by apes.

This movie does a superb job of beginning the classic story of a world that is controlled by apes. I am positive that there will be a sequel to this movie. A sequel, in which, the remaining of this classic story will be told.

The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia

The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia is a 2009 documentary film, directed by Julien Nitzberg, about a family that is extremely wild, however, not so wonderful. Living in the Appalachian mountains and exposed to the hill-billy mentality, each member of the White family struggles to pursuit happiness in their crime and drug infested lives. In their town, they are one quite infamous family for their frequent appearances in prison and the police's "most wanted" list. Usually when an individual misbehaves, one would would expect their loved ones to attempt in resolving their problem, unfortunately, that is not the solution to the White family's problem for each family member has participated in unacceptable acts. The White family's only solution would be to attend a rehabilitation institution. As the film proceeds, The White Family not only discusses their struggle to stay out of trouble, but the serious consequences that occur as a result of their sinful ways. Overall, I would recommend this movie because this film reminds its audience of the deletrious effects that drugs and crime has on not only an individual, but a group of people.

The Book of Eli

One of my favorite holiday films, "The Book of Eli," creates mixed emotions amongst most critics. Only receiving a 68% on Rotten Tomatoes instead of a deserving, at least, 98%, "The Book of Eli," is religiously based. This is the reason why the film received such a mediocre rating. This exquisite film was written and directed by the Hughes Brothers and starred mega-superstar film actor, Denzel Washington, who played the lead role of Eli. On his westward journey during an post-apocalyptic era, Eli is hunted for a possession that every survivor desires for, a special book. Eli and many other characters, such as Solara (Mila Kunis), who later joins Eli on his quest, symbolizes a plethora of religious ideas and concepts concealed within the "Holy Bible." Even though this film does not have scenery filled with snow, Christmas lights, nor any other characteristic that one may find in most traditional christmas films, this film is filled with faith and hope. Faith and hope are major conceptual idealizations of the holiday season. This allows the film to be a holiday movie. "The Book of Eli," will keep you on the edge of your seat, from the time it starts until the time it ends, in anticipation of the next scene to come. The end will blow your mind and leave you wanting more. This film, overall, is a well-done film and should influence one to rethink and reestablish their ideas and morals for the improvement of society.

The Dark Knight

In similarity to its title, Christopher Nolan’s, “The Dark Knight,” had many night scenes. Without the help of the sun, many filmmakers find it difficult to light up night scenes, but not Christopher Nolan. Nolan’s professional lighting throughout the film is the most impressive part of the movie, especially since there was a lot of movement within these scenes. Since, “The Dark Knight,” is a super-hero movie, Nolan provided more authenticity in the crime fighting than most of the other super-hero movies. In addition to the super-hero aspect of the movie, Nolan provides hidden secrets within his characters, which naturally adds suspense to the film. Batman (Christian Bale) must decide whether to turn himself into justice, allowing the joker (Heath Ledger) to stop killing the citizens of gotham. However, if Batman does this, the world will know his secret identity. Throughout the 2 hour 30 minute movie, there is suspenseful music as well as dark, shadowy settings. This movie is indeed the best superhero movie due to its gothic elements.