Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Ride Along

   You can expect to laugh while you watch “Ride Along” an action and comedy movie starring standup comedian Kevin Hart and old school rapper Ice Cube.

  The premise of the movie is Ben played by Hart has just been admitted to Atlanta police academy and wants to propose to Angela played by Tika Sumpter, before he gain get permission to marry Angela he will have to get approval from Angela’s older brother James played by Cube. James is an Atlanta police officer, and wants Ben to accompany him on a 24-hour ride along. James wants to see how well Ben can handle police situations. If Ben does a good job James will give Ben permission to marry his sister and he will put in a good word for him at the academy.

    Hart’s character played a lot of video games which made him believe he would make a great police officer. When he gets prepared for the ride along he tells James how he is going to do a good job and that he knows how to shoot a gun because of the video games. James does not believe any of this so he takes him to the shooting range. When Ben pulls the trigger he falls into and box  because of all of the power of the gun.

   When Hart and Cube go on the actually Ride Along Hart does not do as well as he was expecting to do. “Throughout the different situations he faces Hart has funny lines that keep you laughing,” WSU student Christina Sessoms said.

     Kevin Hart is known for standup comedy so it is expected that the movie is going to be funny. Hart was an important character because he brought the entertainment to the movie. Cube had funny lines as well but for most of the movie Cube is just trying to figure out ways to get rid of Hart and not actually give him a chance. WSU student Rita Best said, “I believe that Kevin Hart really showed his talent in this movie. His jokes and hit lines were a story and they came together to make the movie.”

    Towards the end of the movie Hart helps Cube get out of a situation with a dangerous man that Cube had been trying to catch for a while. Cube becomes closer with Hart which was great to see because without Hart he would have most likely died. The scene was very action packed and funny as well. There were many one-liners that made me laugh throughout the entire movie.

    The characters worked well together to bring something funny for all of America to see and laugh at. Hart’s comedy is really great and he makes it and enjoyable movie to watch.

Sources:
http://www.redding.com/news/2014/feb/04/review-ride-along-offers-laughs-along-way/ http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ride-along-2014
Christina Sessoms christina.sessoms@email.wsu.edu
Rita Best rita.best@email.wsu.edu

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Her

Spike Jonze, who wrote and directed the film Her, has created a world in the future where technology is so advanced that voice operating systems are intelligent enough to form human relationships. Many audience members say the film is foreshadowing what the future of technology will become someday. This world seems very far-fetched but at the same time very realistic.    
Joaquin Phoenix plays the lead character named Theodore Twombly. His character is very lonely, depressed, and not very social. The movie is set sometime in the near future where technology, especially computers are more used than this day in age. A new voice operating system for computers is created and able to think and evolve into a brilliant mind. This operating system has the ability to do anything for an individual in the virtual world. Twombly and his operating system Samantha create a relationship deeper than one might have with his typical computer. They fall in love.
The writer and director Spike Jonze does a great job in making the relationship between the characters believable and organic. While watching the movie I found myself beginning to root for the relationship between the man and the artificial intelligence. I also felt that this technology is not far off from where our culture is headed. This movie touches on so many different topics about society today. Jonze portrays the future of humanity so well and accurately it is almost scary. The movie depicts a time where it is easier to become more introverted and less social. With less social contact it is also easier to feel alone. So the yarning for companionship is more abundant.
When I was researching what viewers thought about this film I came across a podcast called “Two Guys, One Movie” where Matt Galo and Justin Dubin discuss and review movies. Both Galo and Dubin said that they loved the world that Jonze built. Admiring how incredibly detailed everything was, they thought that the film illustrated a number of deep concepts. One in particular is the study of human nature and what makes a person human.
“The creativity with how they make the relationship work is mind blowing and the study of human beings and how we can evolve into society that is accepting with these things is not that far fetched,” Dubin said.
Some viewers’ thought that the movie was not all that it was hyped up to be. Darcy Austin a 20 year old movie goer says that the nominations for the Golden Globes and all of the publicity for the movie was what made her go see it. Austin felt that the film lacked story development and was expecting more of a character build up. However she also felt that the futuristic world was very visually appealing and she loved the colors that were used in the cinematography. Austin also thought that she could see a community eventually being much like the world we saw in the film.
“The sad thing is I know people like that, who have relationships that are only online and have never met the person before. I can definitely see a culture where it is more common to have relationships online or with a computer than in person,” Austin said.
Her has won a Golden Globe for best screenplay and is nominated for three Academy Awards for best picture, best screenplay, and best original song. Joaquin Phoenix was also nominated for a golden globe for best actor in a motion picture. The Academy Awards are less than a month away and although there are many talented nominees this year, Her is a great contender for the academy.
This romantic sci-fi drama will leave the audience wondering what the future has in store and reflecting on what qualifies for a real relationship. Overall many people enjoy this creation by Jonze and really appreciate the simplistic environment that the film projects. Even if some viewers find the movie dull at some points, they can still appreciate the message and futuristic world that is on the screen.

Sources

Darcy Austin











Transforming the Silver Screen for the Fourth Time

            One of Hasbro’s biggest lines is returning to the silver screen this summer. “Transformers: Age of Extinction” will be the franchise’s fourth blockbuster entry and will explode onto the big screen June 27.
            After a 3 year absence from the silver screen, director Michael Bay and executive producer Steven Spielberg return with an entirely new human cast. The characters Optimus Prime and Bumblebee will also return for the new film, taking place four years after the event of “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”.
            Bay initially said that he would not be returning for a fourth film during the production of “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”, but producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura confirmed that Bay would return to direct the fourth film. Bonaventura expressed his positive aspirations for the franchise and Bay’s return by saying "Yeah Michael’s gonna direct and it’ll be releasing in the summer of 2014. We’re excited and I think the challenge there is we really are gonna do a reboot, and what that’s gonna be we don’t even know yet."
          Mark Wahlberg was cast as in the lead role, replacing Shia LaBeouf. Bay has worked with Wahlberg in the 2013 action-comedy film “Pain & Gain.” Bay expressed his enthusiasm for Wahlberg’s addition to the franchise: “Mark is awesome. We had a blast working on “Pain and Gain” and I’m so fired up to be back working with him. An actor of his caliber is the perfect guy to re-invigorate the franchise and carry on the Transformers’ legacy.”
            Taking place four years after the events of “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”, the Autobots have gone into hiding after the devastation caused in Chicago. The destruction of Chicago has led to public fear and now all Transformers are being hunted down. Details of the plot have been few but it has been confirmed that the Dinobots, the sub faction of the Autobots who transform into dinosaurs, will appear in the film.
The first teaser trailer for the film premiered during Super Bowl XLVIII. A Fandango poll by fans showed that the trailer for “Transformers: Age of Extinction” was the most anticipated trailer to premiere during the big game.
Audiences will now have to wait until this summer to see the fourth installment in this big-budget, explosive franchise. Perhaps the film will truly be, more than meets the eye.

Sources: