Highlight: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

Did you ever have the feeling of expecting something that will amaze you in a movie but just ending up watching another cliché film? I had. Most Hollywood horror films are predictable I would say. But not for this one that I will be sharing with you on The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Put yourself in the shoes of being one of Emily’s friends or even a family member. How far would you go to discover the truths of the underworld? The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a film based on a true story of Anneliesse Michel. In this film, it combines a decent hybrid of courtroom drama and a taste of horror. Director Scoot Derrickson says he wanted to tell a good story that would make people reflect deeply on the religious and philosophical questions it engendered. So, he intended to make this film in such.

How it all started? Emily Rose (Jennifer Carpenter) grows up as an ordinary girl just like no other teenager who goes to school and have fun with friends. One day, she was offered to study in a college under full scholarship. This is when Emily’s life started to change. While attending college, Emily believed she was possessed by demons. The alternative was to turn to medical treatments. After medical care ceases to work, she turned to her faith. While under the care of her priest, Father Richard Moore (Tom Wilkinson), she dies two days after exorcism was carried out. The priest goes on trial for her death allegedly accused by the state of negligent homicide. In order to avoid this controversial issue, the Archdiocese hired a lawyer, Erin Christine Bruner (Laura Linney). She is a person who does not believe in God. Thus is the story of Emily Rose, told by those in the trial and the priest who watched her through her possession.

Do you think possession is science or faith? According to science, it is believed that a patient may be suffering from hallucinations, epilepsy or seizure. Emily is possibly suffering from Epileptic Psychosis which means a result from rapid uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain. Or maybe was she really should have depended on her medication. So was Emily Rose possessed by demonic forces or was she a very sick girl who walked away from medical treatment that could have saved her? In the end it is still up to you to decide the existence of demonic forces.

Highlight: Mall Cop

What is in your mind when you hear “comedy movie”? Jim Carrey? Adam Sandler? For me, both of them are my favorite comedians. But today, I am going to introduce you to another comedy actor who is also very suitable in acting a comedy movie; Kevin James

Paul Blart: Mall Cop” is a comedy film directed by Steve Carr and starring Kevin James.

In the movie “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”, Kevin James plays the plus-sized mustache boasting security guard without an ounce of good looks or moves. And then there's the name: Blart. It doesn't exactly role off the tongue or inspire thoughts of romance.

The actual plot, in which Paul (Kevin James) must pull himself together and defend his beloved mall against bad guys, takes forever to get going, as scene after scene awkwardly sets up exposition and jokes that will pay off, meagerly, later in the story. A completely unnecessary prologue showing Paul at training camp for real cops gives way into an awkward dinner scene, in which Paul's daughter (Raini Rodriguez) and his mom encourage him to try online dating. At work Paul patrols the mall endlessly on a Segway, flirts awkwardly with kiosk girl Amy (Jayma Mays), fails to break up a series of conflicts, and most painfully, accidentally gets drunk while hanging out with co-workers. Finally, the heist story gets going-- time for some real laughs!

I think this is a comedy film that suitable in all ages especially for those who want to relax by watching movies, “Mall Cop” would be the best film for it because this movie is not boring and you can laugh very frequently due to it story line.

Nothing is impossible and be who you are! That’s what I learned from this movie. So don’t miss it!

Highlight: Hairspray

John Travolta is acting as a woman in Hairspray? No way! I guess this is one of the reasons Hairspray stands out.

This musical comedy film was released in year 2007.The director of this film is Adam Shankman. The cast consists of Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Brittany Snow, James Marsden and Amanda Bynes. The story revolves around an overweight teenager, Tracy played by Nikki who chases after her dreams of being a singer and performer on the famous television program, Corny Collins. Tracy, who has confidence, joined the audition but then she did not qualify because of her plus sized figure. She does not give up easily and at last she wins a spot on the show and she becomes an instant on air-sensation, much to the despair of the show’s princess, Amber. Tracy is brave enough to fight discrimination with her talents and thus winning over the hearts of America. The audience was impressed with Tracy and same goes to Amber’s boyfriend, Link. At the dance party, Tracy was crowned as the “Miss Teenage Hairspray”.

The music and songs composed in the film by Marc Shaiman is catchy and great for singing along. The characters in this movie are great as well with the colorful and pretty costumes that remind us of the 60s. The acting in this movie is good and the choreography enthralled me to sit down throughout the whole film. Now I know that back in the 60s, the African Americans were treated unfairly because of their skin color.

In my opinion, I think this film is suitable for all ages. Tracy, the main character does not give up easily and tries her best to achieve her dreams. This film has moral values to the younger generation not to give up easily no matter what they faced. Tracy who is optimistic and she has the confidence face the obstacles in her way.

In conclusion, Hairspray is one of the must watch musicals and the message it delivers is that even though other people do not support you, keep following your dreams and work hard for it and one day you will succeed as well. And yeah, Hairspray is worth watching! Do not miss it!

Highlight: Spirit; Stallion of the Cimarron

“Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” is not your typical animation film. Firstly; the protagonist doesn’t really talk. Secondly; though the film has been touted as a musical, none of the characters actually sing. Both of these are major reasons why I love this movie so much.

“Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron” is a breathtaking (and I mean that in every sense of the word) journey through North America, during the time when the Wild West was really wild (think cowboys and herds of buffalo!). Even though it is animation, you’ll really feel like you’re there, running on the plains of North America, right beside Spirit.

What drew me to this movie was that Matt Damon (excuse me while I squeal for a moment) was voicing Spirit. Actually, he does not voice his character in the traditional sense but provides a retrospective narrative.

I love the artwork in this movie. It is a mixture of traditional hand drawn artwork and computer animation. They are blended together so perfectly that I couldn’t tell what was hand drawn and what was CGI. And the attention to detail! Wow. You won’t believe it.

The movie begins with a young foal being born in long grasses. We watch him grow up; watch the adventures and antics he gets up to as he grows up. I fell in love with Spirit during this time, and it is hard not to. He is brave, mischievous, clever, and, most of all, curious. It is this curiosity that brings him into trouble, actually.

Most of the movie is about Spirit’s encounters with man. He meets the first of our species when he investigates a strange fire. This strange fire turns out to be a campfire and he is then captured by a bunch of cowboys. When the cowboys sell Spirit to the US army, we finally meet his nemesis for the movie: the Colonel. The Colonel is, obviously, a colonel in the army and actually breaks Spirit for a moment (just a moment!).

Soon after we are introduced to the Colonel, we are also introduced to Little Creek. Little Creek is from the Native American tribe, the Lakota, who ends up becoming Spirit’s ally.

Without giving too much away (I want you to watch the movie to find out what happens next), I can tell you Spirit finds love and earns respect from an unexpected quarter.

One of the things I love most in this movie is the soundtrack. The songs were written by Bryan Adams and the music by Hans Zimmer, two old dogs in the business. The creators of the movie describe it as a musical and, boy, does it deliver. Even though none of the characters break into song (think “Prince of Egypt” and “Mulan”), the soundtrack is just as powerful, sometimes even more powerful than, if they did just sing.

One particular scene – and song – that stuck in my mind and just struck (as in ding!) my heartstrings is when Spirit is captured by the US army after escaping them with Little Creek’s help. In this scene, he is unsure if his love is alive and he is depressed enough to refuse food. He is in a train, the kind with a locomotive engine and wooden carriages (like in “Zorro”), and he looks out the slats to see winter has set and there is snow billowing around outside.

This is where sight and sound combine to give you a moment that is heartbreaking in its intensity. The song is called Sound the Bugle, with Bryan Adams on vocals. His husky, slightly raspy voice suits the song to a T. The song starts out slow, sad, and then builds and builds and builds until it becomes an inspirational melody that leaves your heart bursting.

While the song is building, Spirit is looking out at the land, coated in winter, and he begins to, well, for lack of a better term, hallucinate. He sees, in the snow fall, the image of his herd, led by his mother, running through the plains of his homeland. At this moment, the song’s lyrics change, from depressing to inspirational and, even now, after watching this movie for the umpteenth time, give me the tingles.

It’s not just this song that’s great. The whole soundtrack, even the instrumental parts (which I normally don’t like) are good. No, not just good. Really good. If you’re anything like me, heck even if you’re nothing like me, I think you’ll still run out to buy the soundtrack. It’s just. That. Good.

Now, if you think this is sounds like some fan girl rambling on about her favourite movie: you’re right. I loved this movie when I first watched it and I love it still, as I sit here and watch it again while I write this. It has all the elements of a good story; a determined, courageous hero against impossible odds; an enemy that seems to always appear just when you think the hero has won; a love that is touching and sweet; and a mission to save a much loved and much missed homeland.

The main characters may be horses instead of humans but they touch you all the same. Spirit, especially, has such human expressions that you can’t help but identify with him. You can tell exactly what he’s thinking from his expressions, even without the benefit of Matt Damon’s admittedly brilliant narration (well, that’s my opinion anyway). Even without the benefit of a cinematic experience, I was blown away, wowed, and any other synonym you can think of for awestruck, by this movie.

So, if you have some spare time – actually, even if you don’t have some spare time, make some. This movie is a must see. Some might think its concept is a little adult for young viewers but who says animation is only for young viewers?

Watch it, and then watch it again and again and again. You can watch it as often as you like and, believe me, you’ll never get sick of it.

Highlight: The Fellowship of the Ring

After much thought, I still could not choose whether to review Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers or The Return of the King from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I had to make up my mind and chose The Fellowship of the Ring at last. The beginning of every story is rather important as without a beginning there is no end.

Before the Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (FOTR) came out, I myself had never heard of this popular classic or even the much acclaimed director, Peter Jackson. There was so much hype about this movie adaption, I figured I should watch it and experience it myself. I was treated to a three hour plus long magical adventure that reminds me a bit of the Harry Potter series after a couple of times or vice versa.

The cast consist of Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen and Orlando Bloom, who were relatively unknown. They became stars almost overnight with one movie. Some important characters that should be noted are hobbits Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee (Elijah Wood and Sean Astin), the wizard Gandalf, Ian McKellen and Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn.

In my opinion, what made this movie such a huge success was that it was almost flawless. Time flies when you are with the fellowship in Mines of Moria, gasping at the goblins sudden attacks and the realization that they were hugely overpowered. After that, you feel your eyes get wet and you start sniffling when the Fellowship start off with nine and come out of the mines with only eight. The young hobbits, Frodo (Elijah Wood), Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd,) who start out the journey carefree and innocent now harden up with shock and realization that the quest is extremely dangerous. With a swarm of goblins hot on their heels, it leaves them no time to grieve for their fallen member but to travel on as fast as possible to evade them. All these exciting adventures, as you might call it, happen near the end of the movie of course.

At the beginning, FOTR starts of with a much more pleasant introduction but hints at the dark paths that lay ahead. A few minutes of prologue about the legend of the ring (the most important item) for those who did not know the story beforehand like me. After that, a cheerful Bilbo Baggins celebrates his one hundred and eleventh birthday in the Shire. The plot takes a darker twist from there when he mysteriously disappeared and gave Frodo Baggins (the hero!) the ring to keep. I shall not reveal anymore of this exciting plot as you should watch it yourself and do not be surprised if you will rush to get your hands on The Two Towers and The Return of the King.

My ratings you ask? Ten thumbs up! Well if I had ten of course.

What I know at the end of the day is that FOTR became a big hit while staying true to the book. It leaves fans like me wanting more.

If you would like to know the whole story of FOTR this is a rather informative review.