Art, Entertainment & Reviews
Nerve Review
Morgan Stark
Drawing by Emma Duffy
Husky Howls: 8/10
Main Cast: Emma Roberts (Vee)
Dave Franco (Ian)
Genre: Mystery/Crime Film
The Characters
The movie starts with high school senior Venus - otherwise known as Vee - beginning her last couple of weeks of school. During this time we learn that she is very shy, and that taking risks is not one of her strong suits. She is very unlike one of her close friends who is outgoing, adventurous, and headstrong. She possesses all the right qualities needed to be a good Nerve player. Then there’s Ian, an older guy Vee meets later with seemingly no fears and a sense of mystery about him.
The Story
Vee seems to fit into the cliche of a “normal”, shy main character afraid of venturing outside of her own comfort zone. That is until her nearly fearless best friend pisses her off and drives Vee to sign up to be a Nerve player. She signs up hoping to prove something to her friend but also to herself. Never did Vee consider continuing past her first dare, until she meets the mysterious bad boy player, Ian. Soon enough they are thrust into the world of naive and eventually dangerous dares of Nerve. This leads them to work together and for Vee to finally overcome her fears and give risk- taking a chance.
The Opinion
At first this movie seemed like a run of the mill story of a shy girl breaking the glass and “finding herself”; however, the faint traces of a predictable plot ended up being outweighed by many twists and surprises. It ended up giving a fun and exciting vibe to the storyline. The one area the film failed in was trying to connect the real-life traumatic events and empathy towards Vee’s character. Her back story included a close family death but when conveyed in the movie, Vee’s emotions seemed to be played down and only impacted a small part in her character. Regarding this it looked fake and unreal. To end on a good note, the soundtrack that accompanied the film was well placed and added to the emotions that were being conveyed at certain moments. All in all Nerve was a pretty great movie and worth a watch.
Main Cast: Emma Roberts (Vee)
Dave Franco (Ian)
Genre: Mystery/Crime Film
The Characters
The movie starts with high school senior Venus - otherwise known as Vee - beginning her last couple of weeks of school. During this time we learn that she is very shy, and that taking risks is not one of her strong suits. She is very unlike one of her close friends who is outgoing, adventurous, and headstrong. She possesses all the right qualities needed to be a good Nerve player. Then there’s Ian, an older guy Vee meets later with seemingly no fears and a sense of mystery about him.
The Story
Vee seems to fit into the cliche of a “normal”, shy main character afraid of venturing outside of her own comfort zone. That is until her nearly fearless best friend pisses her off and drives Vee to sign up to be a Nerve player. She signs up hoping to prove something to her friend but also to herself. Never did Vee consider continuing past her first dare, until she meets the mysterious bad boy player, Ian. Soon enough they are thrust into the world of naive and eventually dangerous dares of Nerve. This leads them to work together and for Vee to finally overcome her fears and give risk- taking a chance.
The Opinion
At first this movie seemed like a run of the mill story of a shy girl breaking the glass and “finding herself”; however, the faint traces of a predictable plot ended up being outweighed by many twists and surprises. It ended up giving a fun and exciting vibe to the storyline. The one area the film failed in was trying to connect the real-life traumatic events and empathy towards Vee’s character. Her back story included a close family death but when conveyed in the movie, Vee’s emotions seemed to be played down and only impacted a small part in her character. Regarding this it looked fake and unreal. To end on a good note, the soundtrack that accompanied the film was well placed and added to the emotions that were being conveyed at certain moments. All in all Nerve was a pretty great movie and worth a watch.
Lights Out Review
Valerie Mecha
Drawing by Emma Duffy
Before I even saw the movie “Lights Out”, I was terrified.
I remember the original Swedish short film, which was released in 2013, as clear as yesterday. A lone woman walking through her house, turning off a light, and seeing the shape of a humanoid creature. She turns the light on; it vanishes. She turns it back off and it reappears, only a bit closer...inching closer and closer with every flick of the switch.
A creature that travels in the darkness.
I am already terrified of the dark and this addition to my imagination does not make my phobia any easier to deal with. This original two and a half minute short is what inspired Lawrence Grey, the producer, to create a full length movie.
“Lights Out” focuses on the young adult, Rebecca, (Teresa Palmer) and the strange occurrences that her and her family have been experiencing. Her brother, Martin, (Gabriel Bateman) seeks her out after undergoing some extreme sleep deprivation. The audience later discovers that these disturbances in the family are caused by a spirit with a severe allergy to light named, Diana.
Overall the acting is well done. I believe I felt the same levels of terror that the actors were projecting. This particular film rarely has a calm moment amongst its intense music and continuous jump scares. Sitting in the theatre the tension is almost palpable. However, Rebecca’s boyfriend, Bret, (Alexander DiPersia) provides good comic relief throughout the film. A final area of praise goes to the animation of Diana. The super human movement and her vanishing when she comes into contact with light is extremely realistic.
Despite how well “Lights Out” did in theatres, every motion picture still has some areas in need of improvement. I left the theatre wanting more. I want more background on Diana. Though there is some in the film, I am left with questions unanswered. Also once the audience discovers Diana’s connection to the family, the ending is quite predictable. In spite of this commentary the film is still enjoyable.
After spending nearly 5 million on the production of the film “Lights Out” and gaining a profit of over 40 million, the plans for making a sequel are underway. How will they make a sequel to “Lights Out”? I have no idea. The ending to ‘Lights Out” seemed pretty solid. All I know is that I am not looking forward to Diana returning to theatres, because I am still trying to overcome my nightmares from the original film.
Rating: 8/10
Would I see it again? Totally!
I remember the original Swedish short film, which was released in 2013, as clear as yesterday. A lone woman walking through her house, turning off a light, and seeing the shape of a humanoid creature. She turns the light on; it vanishes. She turns it back off and it reappears, only a bit closer...inching closer and closer with every flick of the switch.
A creature that travels in the darkness.
I am already terrified of the dark and this addition to my imagination does not make my phobia any easier to deal with. This original two and a half minute short is what inspired Lawrence Grey, the producer, to create a full length movie.
“Lights Out” focuses on the young adult, Rebecca, (Teresa Palmer) and the strange occurrences that her and her family have been experiencing. Her brother, Martin, (Gabriel Bateman) seeks her out after undergoing some extreme sleep deprivation. The audience later discovers that these disturbances in the family are caused by a spirit with a severe allergy to light named, Diana.
Overall the acting is well done. I believe I felt the same levels of terror that the actors were projecting. This particular film rarely has a calm moment amongst its intense music and continuous jump scares. Sitting in the theatre the tension is almost palpable. However, Rebecca’s boyfriend, Bret, (Alexander DiPersia) provides good comic relief throughout the film. A final area of praise goes to the animation of Diana. The super human movement and her vanishing when she comes into contact with light is extremely realistic.
Despite how well “Lights Out” did in theatres, every motion picture still has some areas in need of improvement. I left the theatre wanting more. I want more background on Diana. Though there is some in the film, I am left with questions unanswered. Also once the audience discovers Diana’s connection to the family, the ending is quite predictable. In spite of this commentary the film is still enjoyable.
After spending nearly 5 million on the production of the film “Lights Out” and gaining a profit of over 40 million, the plans for making a sequel are underway. How will they make a sequel to “Lights Out”? I have no idea. The ending to ‘Lights Out” seemed pretty solid. All I know is that I am not looking forward to Diana returning to theatres, because I am still trying to overcome my nightmares from the original film.
Rating: 8/10
Would I see it again? Totally!
The Milwaukee Film festival
September 22 - OCTOBER 6
MORGAN STARK
|
This is the festival’s eighth year running, with fifteen days of opportunities to see several movies in a variety of categories. Some of these categories include:
This being an annual event, attending this fall in 2016 might be your only chance for this year to see a wide collection of films not only in diverse languages and categories, but also represented in different cultural values |
Drawing by Valerie Mecha
|
TMNT: Out of the Shadows
★★★★★
Alexis Torres
PG-13
Action/Adventure
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” was an outstanding sequel to the previous “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle” movie made in 2014. Truly adventurous and hilarious, this film will exceed expectations.
Filled with car chases, explosions, intergalactic beings, mutants, traveling, and realistic but uncommon occurrences-all mesh together to fill that 1 hour and 52 minutes. The animation was neither subpar nor easy. When viewing the movie, “it feels as if you are witnessing it in real life”. With the car chases and new technology used in the movie to tell the story, everything is so lifelike and makes you think, “What if this was real?”
With director Dave Green, and writers Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, this movie came together smoothly. Dave Green’s new angles is what makes him unique. Using his different aspects he was able to create new visionaries such as the 2014 movie Earth to Echo, some short films, and now “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the shadows”. Being only 35 years old, so far he has truly made his mark in the cinematic world.
Since the original “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, made in the 1990’s- the productions have really outdone themselves. The original movies were directed by Mr. Steve Barron. He also directed the 1993 movie Coneheads and in newer news, he is directing the 2016 movie, The Durrells.
What makes these directors productions so different, besides the technology, would most likely be there lifestyles. With Dave Green growing up in the US and Steve Barron growing up in Dublin, Ireland. Based on this they both grew up in different times and with different atmospheres, making their own creative styles, which influenced their movie-making decisions, the cast, crew, settings, and text.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” casted, Megan Fox (as April O’Neil), Will Arnett (as Vernon Fenwick), Stephen Amell (as Casey Jones), Tyler Perry (as Baxter Stockman), and the new “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, Noel Fisher (as Michelangelo), Jeremy Howard (as Donatello), Pete Ploszek (as Leonardo), and Alan Ritchson (as Raphael).
In the end, with such a fresh director,inspirational writers, and a wonderful cast-”Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” was one of the best movies of the 2016 year and made box office gross of $239.20 million USD.
TRAILER: TMNT:Out of the Shadows
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=teenage+mutant+ninja+turtles+out+of+shadows&&view=detail&mid=EF0BC0A5B231E989D528EF0BC0A5B231E989D528&FORM=VRDGAR
Action/Adventure
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” was an outstanding sequel to the previous “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle” movie made in 2014. Truly adventurous and hilarious, this film will exceed expectations.
Filled with car chases, explosions, intergalactic beings, mutants, traveling, and realistic but uncommon occurrences-all mesh together to fill that 1 hour and 52 minutes. The animation was neither subpar nor easy. When viewing the movie, “it feels as if you are witnessing it in real life”. With the car chases and new technology used in the movie to tell the story, everything is so lifelike and makes you think, “What if this was real?”
With director Dave Green, and writers Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, this movie came together smoothly. Dave Green’s new angles is what makes him unique. Using his different aspects he was able to create new visionaries such as the 2014 movie Earth to Echo, some short films, and now “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the shadows”. Being only 35 years old, so far he has truly made his mark in the cinematic world.
Since the original “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, made in the 1990’s- the productions have really outdone themselves. The original movies were directed by Mr. Steve Barron. He also directed the 1993 movie Coneheads and in newer news, he is directing the 2016 movie, The Durrells.
What makes these directors productions so different, besides the technology, would most likely be there lifestyles. With Dave Green growing up in the US and Steve Barron growing up in Dublin, Ireland. Based on this they both grew up in different times and with different atmospheres, making their own creative styles, which influenced their movie-making decisions, the cast, crew, settings, and text.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” casted, Megan Fox (as April O’Neil), Will Arnett (as Vernon Fenwick), Stephen Amell (as Casey Jones), Tyler Perry (as Baxter Stockman), and the new “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, Noel Fisher (as Michelangelo), Jeremy Howard (as Donatello), Pete Ploszek (as Leonardo), and Alan Ritchson (as Raphael).
In the end, with such a fresh director,inspirational writers, and a wonderful cast-”Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” was one of the best movies of the 2016 year and made box office gross of $239.20 million USD.
TRAILER: TMNT:Out of the Shadows
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=teenage+mutant+ninja+turtles+out+of+shadows&&view=detail&mid=EF0BC0A5B231E989D528EF0BC0A5B231E989D528&FORM=VRDGAR