The Shawshank Redemption

Without going into too much detail, The Shawshank Redemption follows the time of banker Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) and his time serving his two life sentences for apparently murdering his wife and her lover. During Andy’s time in Shawshank State Penitentiary he befriends contraband smuggler Ellis “Red” Redding (played by Morgan Freeman) and this friendship develops throughout the film.  This film was met with only moderate success upon release and only barely broke even at the box office. Although after positive reviews from critics and multiple award nominations it has seen remarkable success after theaters.

Generally I am not one to watch movies more than once, and even if I do it is even rarer for that movie to have the same effect on me, however with The Shawshank Redemption it was the complete opposite. I was completely gripped by this film and found myself immersed within the story while feeling the overwhelming sense of emotions associated with this film. From the fear to the happiness The Shawshank Redemption takes a hold of you and brings you on a journey, it is story telling at its finest. While watching this movie I never found myself checking the time, or checking my phone, or even worrying about much of anything other then what was going on in the film and with its characters.

Of course The Shawshank Redemption touches on a side of the world I have no experience with, and even further a time period I have no experience with, so this makes it extremely hard to speak about the legitimacy of the film. The Shawshank Redemption is based off of Stephen Kings book "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption" and is obviously made to create a compelling film; however the culture of the prison is something that the film trusts you to believe to make the story work. As someone watching the film you must accept that this a different time period than now and was much easier for things to go unnoticed then. 

"Hey, this movie is pretty good"

Basically if you have not watched this movie yet, do so! Don’t try to look up anything about it, or any in depth reviews, just sit down without any real knowledge of the film and allow yourself to become immersed in the story. If you have already seen it, or you come back to this after watching it let us know what you think of the movie and what you do or don’t like about it. I know I did not go into much detail on the movie but that is only because if you have seen it it is something that we can start a discussion about, and if you have not seen it then it is something I wanted you to be able to enjoy fully.

Chris 10/10 – because really what is a perfect movie? Obviously nothing is ever perfect, however when I sit down to watch this film I find myself completely invested in the movie and find myself fully immersed in the film, isn’t that what makes a good movie? Let us know what you think of  The Shawshank Redemption, and what you think qualifies as the perfect movie.

The Expendables

The Expendables is your typical action flick. If you are looking for extensive character development or an intriguing story, look somewhere else. While the film doesn’t offer either of these things, what it does bring to the table is an enjoyable movie experience. The Expendables brings action at a breakneck pace, with more explosions, fist-fights and gun battles than one would think could fit into a two hour film. The film does suffer from typical action movie traits such as the storm trooper syndrome (bad guys with notoriously bad aiming, compared to the good guys who can snipe a bumblebee from a mile away), but the action is at such a fast pace that it is rarely noticed. While the majority of the acting isn’t particularly strong, the performance of Mickey Rourke draws attention. It was quite refreshing to see an actor actually act at a high level in a film such as this, where actors don’t need to be have particularly strong performances in order for the audience to become invested.

However the film does have some major drawbacks; while most action flicks don’t focus on much character development anyways, The Expendables brings even less than the typical. Outside of Stallone and Statham’s characters, we know almost nothing about the mercenary team. While in no way do I expect the film to focus on developing an extensive story for any of the other characters, it could have shed a little more light on the other members of the team, because from what little we saw of them, they seemed to be intriguing characters. In addition, the members of the team really don’t experience much hardship. They are essentially amazing at their job, which is unfortunate because the audience loses a sense of comradery with them. In order to feel a connection, we need to believe that the protagonists need to be cheered on in some way; when they have no significant obstacles or major events to impede them, they seem almost not dependent on our support. An event such as a member of the team being killed could have acted as a rallying cry for the audience. Instead, the film seems to be lacking that one event to inspire the team. 

Oh, and the dialogue…..is just bad. Very few characters are given speeches of any worth, and a grand majority of the film is spent reciting cheesy lines that make the viewer cringe. Again, these are complaints that are normally expected when dealing with this genre of film; but having the ability to recognize these flaws and improve on them could greatly affect the film experience.

The film, while possessing a few flaws, is still an enjoyable experience for any fan of the action film genre.

Cody- 7/10

Disney Fun Day- Meet the Robinsons

Thanksgiving is a time to appreciate all the things and people in our lives and in honour of Thanksgiving this weekend I've decided to look at a movie that is all about family- Meet the Robinsons. This is the tale of Lewis, a brilliant inventor, who meets a mysterious stranger named Wilbur Robinson. Wilbur whisks Lewis away in a time machine and together they team up to track down Bowler Hat Guy in a showdown that ends with an expected twist of fate.

I must admit that the first time I saw this movie I was not a huge fan. The characters were a little too wacky and the villain’s motivation a little too weak. As Lewis is taken around the Robinson house there are so many people to meet that it is impossible to really flesh them out as characters. Despite all the flaws, the more times I watched this movie I found the odd quirks to be quite charming; the singing frogs, the T-Rex, and particularly Bowler Hat Guy’s affinity for unicorns.

Though I would have liked to get to know the Robinsons a little better, I think what is most important about the family is that though they are interesting individually their true strength lies in them being a family unit. Despite the fast pace it is still clear how close the family is and how important they are to each other.

The beginning and ending of this movie are filled with so much heartfelt sincerity that I cannot help but love it, despite the wackiness in the middle. I truly feel for Lewis and his desperation to find a family and someone to love him. When you pair the montage of the final scene with Rob Thomas’ “Little Wonders” I want to cry because I am so happy that Lewis got everything he ever wanted. Add to this the final quote from Walt Disney?! LOVE IT!

Anyone watching this must be prepared for silly antics, but if you can get past the oddness you can really appreciate the message to “keep moving forward”. Thanksgiving is a holiday for us to look back and appreciate everything that has gotten us to where we are today. But we must also be thankful for people and opportunities in the future that will help as grow and hopefully help make the world a better place- even if our contributions aren't quite as fantastic as those of Lewis!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 

Ellie- 8/10

Week 4 Films

This Friday, Sylvester Stallone’s new film Escape Plan hits theaters. The film stars Stallone as an engineer who is falsely arrested and thrown into prison. He is also one of the engineers who designed the prison, giving him intimate knowledge of the structure which will help in his escape plan.  This week we are going to review two films to dedicate to the release of Escape Plan - The Expendables and The Shawshank Redemption.

The Expendables is a film also starring Sylvester Stallone, who works with a team of mercenaries to resolve global conflicts around the world. The film has an ensemble cast featuring the likes of Jason Statham, Jet Li, Eric Roberts and Dolph Lundgren.

The Shawkshank Redemption stars Tim Robbins as a banker who is accused of murdering his wife and is thrown in jail. Once inside, he attempts to escape with help of a fellow inmate, played by Morgan Freeman.

Tweet us @moviereviewclub for your thoughts and recommend a film for next week’s reviews!

What's New?

Released on DVD this Tuesday

Tuesday, October 15

Pacific Rim

As a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to make one last stand for humankind.

The Heat

An uptight FBI Special Agent and a foul-mouthed Boston cop join forces to bring down a ruthless drug lord.

Coming To Theatres Next Friday

Friday, October 18

Carrie

In a remake of the 1976 classic, Carrie White is a shy outcast at high school and has been sheltered by her deeply religious mother, When Carrie is pushed too far at her senior prom, she unleashes telekinetic terror on the entire town.

12 Years A Slave

In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.

Escape Plan

When a structural-security authority (Sylvester Stallone) finds himself set up and incarcerated in the world’s most secret and secure prison, he has to use his skills to escape with help from the inside.

The Fifth Estate

A dramatic thriller about the news-leaking website WikiLeaks, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as its editor-in-chief and founder Julian Assange. Based on real events, this film reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21^st century’s most fiercely debated organization.