Metro's Monthly Movie Review

Each month a team member of Metro will be writing a movie review to share with you. And this month team member Karli Wise has reviewed '21 Jump Street’ Directed by Phil Lord & Chris Miller Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum and Ice Cube.

Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum make a hilarious crime fighting couple in “21 Jump Street, the movie is based on the Johnny Depp TV series in the 1980’s. The actors represent two policemen who go undercover at a local high school.

In high school Schmidt and Jenko were definitely opposites, one being a lot more popular than the other. Schmidt was the nerd while Jenko was the typical jock. The two of them were not friends at all. A few years later they met up again at the Police Academy where they trained to become police officers. They formed a pact where Schmidt helps Jenko with the written work which is to be completed to pass and Jenko helps Schmidt with the physical.

On one of their first missions the two are assigned to 21Jump Street with a leader who is actually actor & rapper ‘Ice Cube’. They are given their assignment where they have to act as high school students and try and find out information about a new drug that is being sold.

The majority of the movie is based on the two undercover policeman acting as “students” being clumsy and messing around. The two succeed in their assignment and in the meantime there are many crude jokes and funny situations which they get themselves in. One scene has the two of them throwing a party where they serve alcohol and drugs to all the underage kids.

This movie is a very different role for Tatum, everyone who is familiar with Tatum as an actor would be used to him being in a romantic movie where he is known for his good looks and amazing body. This movie shows a new side to his acting and his ability to be the ‘funny guy’, which comes as a surprise. He has both an intense and goofy approach in this movie that makes the scenes involving him better than they should be.

Johnny Depp, Holly Robinson Peete and Peter DeLuise starred in the original TV series and they make appearances in the movie which is great considering it was based on this  series.

Overall I thought this movie was great, it was very amusing and such good eye candy for the ladies. Who doesn’t love a movie with Tatum in it?

Metro's Monthly Movie Review

Each month a team member of Metro will be writing a movie review to share with you. And this month team member Melissa Venn has reviewed 'Any Questions for Ben?' Directed by Rob Sitch, Written by: Rob Sitch, Santo Cilauro & Tom Gleisner, Starring: Josh Lawson, Rachael Taylor, Felicity Ward, Daniel Henshall & Christian Clark.

To start with I love Australian Film and I love to support it wherever I can and when I saw the cast of this film my friends and I were keen to see it especially since the writers had in the past come out with some fantastic films such as The Castle & The Dish - no pressure?

The story follows Ben a 27yr old guy living in the heart of Melbourne with a job that most people could only dream of a ‘Strategic Brand Manager’ where socializing and partying all part of his job it seems. Ben is loving life and enjoying it to the full ie: dating famous tennis players, being paid to party and attend ritzy events with the ‘beautiful people’ until he is forced to stop to truly reflect on his life. Ben is asked to speak at his prestigious academic high school. He is invited by the principal (cameo by Director Rob Sitch) to speak about his job, according to his friends this is a great honor and he should feel excited and proud of this achievement.

The night of his High School speech night he meets Alex (played by Rachael Taylor) an ex-student that he has lost touch with over the years who has a fulfilling life as a Human Rights Lawyer in Yemen. In comparison Ben’s career and life seems insignificant and it is from this point in the movie we begin to see Ben’s internal struggle. Everyone tells Ben how GREAT his lifestyle is but he himself no longer sees the value in it. His lifestyle in his eyes is vacuous and pointless.

He tries to reconnect with Alex but Ben has this habit of not “following through” (a constant theme throughout this film that becomes a bit frustrating). We watch as Ben makes attempts to connect with Alex but she remembers him, how he was, and believes he won’t change. It takes some ‘mountain moving’ gestures on Ben’s behalf to try and change her mind.

The film in my mind began really well; the characters, script and actors were really great. I particularly enjoyed Felicity Ward’s character and there are many great laughs in this film aside from the issues it deals with. I felt however as we watch Ben we feel for him and want him to succeed in finding himself but about two thirds of the way through I just could not relate to him anymore. I felt frustrated by him and lost interest in the character completely (I felt this was a story issue and not the acting of Josh Lawson).

Overall the movie was (believe it or not from what I have said above) worth seeing. There are some great lines, beautiful scenes and cinematography of Melbourne. To be honest I feel you could wait for this one to appear in the DVD store for a night in on the couch with your friends.

Metro's Monthly Movie Review

Each month a team member of Metro will be writing a movie review to share with you. And this month team member Erin Cheasley has reviewed 'Immortals'. Director – Tarsem Singh, Starring: Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke, John Hurt & Stephen Dorff.

The first thing that comes to mind when you see the trailer for the movie is that it is another 300 movie take off, apart from both being the sword and sandals genre and shirts were optional the director for ‘Immortals’ had a lot more visual tricks up his sleeve and took another approach with the Greek Myth concept, quite a comparison to 300.

Immortals definitely portrays a storyline of a battle between good and evil. Evil King Hyperion is leading his army of murderous mask wearing villains across Greece searching for the magical bow that will free the imprisoned Titans so they can attack the gods. Whilst the hero Theseus who is displeased by King Hyperion’s attack is going on the quest to obtain the magical bow himself, and in the end finding courage and leadership abilities within him to lead his forces of good against evil, which eventually wraps up into one big battle. A highlight of the movie are the action sequences, the Director really captured a level of gore and violence that will have anyone’s jaws drop using slow motion action, it will not only give you chills but have you at the edge of your seat.

This is an age of myth, a world where the gods are real, people have visions of the future and magic exists so this movie is allowed to look weird, mystical and over the top. If Greek mythology tickles your fancy then this is a movie I would recommend. Having a keen interest for Greek mythology and the way this movie used every aspect of what Greek mythology is, I found the movie Immortals to be a worth look (and so to the shirtless men) and it maybe even better than the movie 300.

Metro's Monthly Movie Review

Each month a team member of Metro will be writing a movie review to share with you. And this month team member Merryn Schmidt has reviewed 'The Cup'. Director – Simon Wincer, Starring - Stephen Curry, Brendan Gleeson, Shaun Micallef & Daniel MacPherson.

'The Cup' is based on the true story of champion jockey Damien Oliver and his inspirational ride to win the 2002 Melbourne Cup. Damien (Stephen Curry) crosses the finish line onboard horse 'Media Puzzle', and salutes the heavens as a gesture to his older bother, Jason, who died tragically less then a week prior, in a track accident.

Unfortunately, ‘The Cup’ is not going to stop the nation as the actual race does, but it is certainly an entertaining and enjoyable flick. As the film is set in Melbourne, I appreciated the familiarity of locations such as the Yarra River and Flemington Race Course and the infusion of original photographs and film footage of the Melbourne Cup history over decades.

'The Cup' is a little slow ‘out of the gates’ and moves slowly to give an insight to the danger, the early starts, the half starving themselves, and the dedication jockeys, trainers, strappers and the like give to their careers, all so we can be enchanted by these majestic animals as the thunder down the track for our entertainment.

Released with perfect timing, during the Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival, ‘The Cup’ may attract good odds, but I have to say it is not a must see on the big screen. When you do see this film be warned you will require a tissue or two.

- by Merryn Schmidt