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Missing Child (2015)
Missing Child: More Than a Story of a Missing Girl
10 June 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Missing Child is a narrative film by the award-winning director, Luke Sabis. When the narration of the movie first starts, the audience anticipates an ordinary story of a girl trying to find her parents. However, the story is far more than that. It is a moving struggle of a woman who has been kidnapped and sexually assaulted as a child.

Sabis excels at reflecting the pain of what a victim experiences as a result of such experience. The cinematography, lighting, and prop placement are also good for a low-budget movie. However, the plot is weak as a whole.

Gia is a 21 year old woman who is struggling with lost memories of her past. She lives with her boyfriend who gets paid for finding missing people. When he convinces Gia that Henry could be her father, they set out and find Henry. The rest of the story takes place in Henry's home.

One of the best scenes of the movie takes place when the trio is having dinner at the table. It is an intense scene where the audience starts getting the hint that Henry is being tricked by Gia and that he is aware of it. He drugs Gia and her boyfriend and handcuffs them. An unexpected move by the sweet old Henry character. After this point in the film, there is no clear resolution. An expected conflict does not take place. Henry simply kills himself; Gia ends up killing her boyfriend and sending the money to her friend as a surprise.

There are moments between Henry and Gia that confuse the audience. In one scene he acts as if he is about to assault her. However, in another scene he opens up to her about killing his own daughter. This inconsistency in the characters also damages the plot. The only character that saves the film is Gia. The viewer sees character development in her. At the end of the movie, she succeeds in being able to stay alone with her thoughts. However, it is up to the audience to decide what has led to this development. Once again, the plot is not strong enough to clearly point out an incident that could have led to this development.

The music and settings of the movie are well picked with the musical score composed by Luke Sabis. They fit to the action and create the atmosphere needed. In addition, the dialogues are natural and characters are well played. I would recommend seeing the movie if the topic interests you and if you want to see the psychological state of a subject who has gone through sexual assault as a child.
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9/10
DOWN WITH THE Nazis
4 August 2015
Inglourious Basterds is simply a master-piece.The movie is composed of two different stories which each are original and flowing within themselves.

The first story is that of the escaped Jew Shoshanna. Shoshanna lives in occupied France undercover. She owns a cinema and goes under the name of Emmanuel. The second story is about the Basterds who hunt down Nazis. Their leader is Brad Pitt with his incredible acting of a Southernern bad-ass leader.

Both sides end up having the same goal at the end of the movie even though they never confront each other. Their goal is to blow up the cinema which will hold a German premiere with the Führer attending the premiere.

The movie captures all types of feelings. From excessive hatred to pity. Its this quality that makes the movie so successful. Even though the amount of violence might disturb some viewers. Thats Tarantino there for you.
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Fight Club (1999)
8/10
Rebel but How?
11 February 2015
When looking at the general message of this film, its really saying something. It is a sort of reminder to the middle class that they are being used and have no revolution anymore. But that's it. Its only a reminder and the film is not suggesting what the middle class should do about it because the things done in the film are ridiculous and definitely not a solution. However, this does not make the film a bad one. A film's job is not to show people what to do. At least thats what I think. This film entertains us with its own solution and also surprises us throughout. The acting, filming, and narration are all fit together for the purpose. Some scenes are too long but other than that the movie is a lot of fun to watch on the whole.
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The Cut (I) (2014)
7/10
"The Cut": A Deep Wound of a Society
8 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This movie directed by Faith Akin really turned out to be different from what I expected. From some earlier research I had conducted, I was expecting a movie based on the story of the Armenian "genocide". However, the movie turned out to tell a story by itself. Of course, the Armenian "genocide" could be a story itself but this movie showed us something more. This movie really cut deep into the wound of a society.

The Armenians have a wound and no one can deny this. No one can stand up and say that those people didn't suffer or that they were treated fairly in 1915. No historian should yell out that the Turks were just but the circumstances weren't. Maybe they can confirm this with their mind but not with their soul. And Armenians on the other side shouldn't be yelling out that the Turks have to pay for what they did. How can you make someone pay for what happened 100 years ago? Well then, the Germans should pay for what the Nazis did back in the World War II. Is that how things work around with history and the mistakes our ancestors have made in the past?

Going back to the movie, it really has a touching story though it bores the viewer at some points. Not to mention some really disturbing scenes. The movie starts out kind of slow and emotional but as our main character Nazar develops; we get more interested in him than the historical bullshit going during the time. The movie achieves to capture the attention of the audience with a side story. Then that side story becomes the real story itself. A father searching for his lost daughters. The hardships and sacrifices he has to make. The emotional sufferings he has to go through. It all attracts the viewer.

As a whole the movie is worth watching. One particular scene that I enjoyed the most is when an audience is watching a Charlie Chaplin movie. The scene was so ironic and filled with contrary emotions that it gave me the chills. The scene perfectly raises a purge of emotions. It also foreshadows the ending of the movie. So if you also want to be slightly cut by a misfortune event that cut many things from many people, I would say go for this movie. It is definitely worth getting cut for..
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Wag the Dog (1997)
5/10
The Show Must Go On
11 November 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This movie actually makes the viewer think from beginning to end which is not something all movies aim for.It makes you think about your role as a citizen and the things you are fed by the media.In fact, this movie could be seen as the first examples of this questioning. Furthermore, the movie is a success in combining filming with politics. Other than these two aspects,personally I didn't find the film very interesting. This could be due to erosion of time on this movie. Other than that though, it wasn't very fun to watch because it was all too predictable and corny like the president's speech. So the only case I would recommend to watch this movie is if you are told to by your film teacher as was the case with me.
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8/10
Emotionally Good- Beautifully Filmed
15 October 2014
The first thing I want to stress about this movie is the incredible acting. Each actor, from the lead to the minors were just great. They fit so well to the composition and texture of the movie that whenever a new actor appeared I couldn't help myself from being awed.

Apart from the acting, the way the film was captured in union with the setting was very successful. The natural beauty of southern American landscapes stood out in the movie. Each scene felt like a new experience and really made me wonder what's going to happen next. These are essential factors in the success of a movie and this movie definitely used these factors well.

The only negative part about this movie could be that it is a bit too sentimental and therefore, might not be everyone's cup of tea. Other than that it is undoubtedly a success and I definitely recommend film buffs to watch it.
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8/10
Another "Teenagers Save the World" Sequel; but Good
26 September 2014
There are many works this adaptation can be compared to. The first one to pop up in my mind while watching this at the theater was The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The all male group trying to survive on their own made me go back to the grandiose classic book. There is also The Hunger Games and Divergent both of them being adaptation of books like this movie The Maze Runner. However, the bigger comparison can be made in the idea of teenagers attempting to save a world that is corrupt and destroyed.

In my opinion, each movie I listed above is original in its own way and The Maze Runner is here to compete with them. The idea is not new but the way the idea is conveyed in the movie is authentic. You feel every bit of action like you're there while watching this movie. The acting is also undeniable great. Hollywood definitely hit the spot with these entertaining sci-fi movies. So this movie is definitely a yes from me.
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Citizen Kane (1941)
6/10
Rosebud: What Kept the Movie Alive
25 September 2014
This movie is only great in the cinema world due to its outstanding use of new techniques in cinematography. So the great things could be listed on and on about why its such a great movie technically etc.

However, while watching this movie the most impressive technique I found was using a human characteristic in keeping the viewer alert. That was: curiosity, that was: rosebud. The urge of wanting to know what rosebud means makes the movie good to sit through.

Other than that, there isn't anything else that made the movie fun to watch. Of course, the acting was great also but this movie is already a professionally made movie which naturally leads the audience expecting good acting anyway. So if you want to know what rosebud means in the movie, go ahead and watch it.
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6/10
Teenagers Will Always Be Teenagers
23 September 2014
The main topic and message this movie is trying to give is a very universal theme; teenagers. Its been almost 7 decades since this movie has been shot and what the movie is trying to convey can still be applied to our day and that is, the problem with being a teenager. The problem with not knowing where you belong and where you should be.

Time Stark and his fellow friends each represent this problem. However, the movie's main concern isn't this problem. In my opinion, the movie's main concern is how parents lead to this problem and lack in bonding with their teenager to fix this problem.

The movie does a great job in showing reckless teenagers, but does an even better job showing the more reckless parents. Society should question themselves here. Why are teenagers having these problems? What is the core of the problem? The answer is easy; family. In the end of the movie this is what I understand and I believe that it is a great message to give. So one factor that makes this movie successful is the main theme and message it gives. There are other factors also; like the acting of the main characters and especially Tim Stark. However, without going onto further detail with the other factors of why the movie is good, I want to also mention why I dropped 4 stars out of the movie.

The movie is definitely saying something but it loses one star from the lack of ability to combine effective music with the scenes. It loses the second star from the inefficient acting ability of the background actors. Next, it loses the third star from some unneeded scenes that just took up time. For example, the scene with Tim's parents and his dialogs with his father were very lengthy. Lastly, it loses the fourth star because of lack of emotion in the movie. The movie could have raised its standards with the use of more emotional scenes. After all, teenage years are one of the most emotional years of a human's lifetime.

Therefore, it can be said that it is a sufficient movie with a nice little message that could have been conveyed better.
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Casablanca (1942)
10/10
Time Will Go By~ But this movie won't
19 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I was surprised to see the option of "hated it" on the filters of these reviews. This movies is simply perfect and the points to be criticized are so few that its flaws would be the salt and pepper of the movie which I seem to see none.

The acting, directing and every scene shot of the movie was flawless. The script and plot was very well thought out and the movie didn't bore me at all.

Another amazing factor of the movie was the music and musician Sam. The makers of the movie did an incredible job in making the audience move with the music. The scenes and the music were so in sync that the film at some point felt like a melody. I can't find further words to describe the art of this movie but to sum up, I can say that time will go by but this movie will not be forgotten.
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Melancholia (2011)
2/10
Art not a Movie
16 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
I get it, a movie is supposed to have some kind of message. This movie definitely has one, but the way that message is being transferred is very dull besides the beautiful imagery shown only for about 3 minutes of the movie. Why does the viewer have to be bored to receive a message? Aren't movies supposed to also entertain while saying something? Something this movie isn't doing..

It is also very hard to relate with this movie if you've never been through depression. So its not a very enjoyable movie to sit through.But to be fair, the ending was a "blast". So if you want an idea of what this movie is about, I suggest reading the plot and then watching the end. Hope you enjoy.
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Modern Times (1936)
8/10
"Hard Times" turns into "Modern Times"
15 September 2014
The title of Chaplin's "Modern Times" reminds us of the novel "Hard Times" by Charles Dickens. In fact, both masterpieces are examining the same subject, that is the mechanization of human beings that came with the Industrial Revolution. However,this mechanization is criticized in different ways.

Charles Chaplin makes fun of the modern times which is around the Industrial Age, with a satirical tone. He puts smiles on the viewers' faces throughout the movie. So not going into further detail about the technicalities of the movie, it can be said that it makes you smile and think at the same time. Therefore, if you are a Charlie Chaplin fan and want to smile and maybe even laugh, then go for this movie. Because it is one of a kind.
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Divergent (2014)
A Different Version of the Hunger Games
15 September 2014
Having read the book and seen the movie,obviously,I can say that this movie adaptation of the book by Veronica Roth does the justice to the book. So does this mean that the movie is successful? Well, in general this does not apply to all adaptations, however, for Divergent the answer is a simple yes.

Not only does it do the justice to the book but also is a successful movie within itself. This is due to the good acting, setting, and successful directing of Neil Burger. The movie does not bore the viewer even though it is more than 2 hours long. So if you're looking for adventure without intense fight scenes then Divergent is a really good choice.
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7/10
A movie within a movie directed by Max
15 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
"Madame" is still living in her movie which is also her own world. This hits he audience in the end of the movie in the creepiest way possible. However, until the audience gets to the end, they are given some clues to what kind of a woman this "Madame" is. She is a worn out star who is 50 and lives alone in a house which reminds us of Ms.Havisham from Charles Dickens' "Great Expectations". This bit of comparison is actually made by the narrator of the movie who is also one of the main characters, who is also Madame's platonic crush.

The movie actually starts off with a death scene and then is narrated by the victim himself. Then goes back 6 months and is oddly narrated by the dead character. Joe is a writer in Hollywood who is after his Hollywood dream. However, he has realized that it is just a dream for him unlike Betty who is a script reader who has a passion for her job and later for Joe. They start working on a script together while Joe is in a complicated relationship with Madame. Things get tragic in the end because the movie ends in a traumatic way for Betty and Joe. Madame on the other hand, is just starting her own movie which Max is directing for her.

This movie does the justice of putting a few smiles on the viewers face. In fact, in the end when you feel like you should be crying, you end up smiling because of the ridiculous feelings Madame and Max make you go through.

So if you would like to see a fake movie within a real movie then this 1950s wonder is the right "picture" for you.
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5/10
A Cliché with a pinch of cancer
15 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is an average when compared to other horror movies due to a slight difference. The difference is that it is based on a true story and it is given to the viewer to decide whether to believe it or not. So if you want to get scared and think that true stories are the right factor then grab a bowl of snacks and enjoy the ride!

It should also be noted that the main character of the movie is also different in that he is suffering from cancer. Usually horror movies do not deal with this sort of extra qualities in their main character. So if you're looking for an originality in this movie I have listed all that original it can get. There is nothing more to the movie if you are a horror fan.So enjoy the Cliché!
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