Movie Review: Mental

I always wanted to be a film critic growing up. I even had a small section in the school newspaper where I would write movie reviews. I don't know if anyone ever read them, but I enjoyed writing them. When I went to college I studied film with a focus on film editing. Although I enjoyed it, I know now that film editing, i.e. sitting in a little room all day with no one else around, doesn't really fit my personality.

Through the years I have come to understand myself better. I have grown to love writing, baking and photography, amongst other things, but I have never stopped loving movies! I will always love to watch new movies, and sometimes the same ones over and over. 

So, these posts may not interest many people, but I will write them anyways because they interest me. My intention is to write about movies that people may not have heard of before. Not just movies that you would expect to hear about. You can check out the other movies that I have written about here.

The newest movie interest for me is an Australian film called "Mental." It's from the director of another offbeat film that I loved growing up called "Muriel's Wedding." As soon as I started watching it I could see the similarities and immediately looked on IMDB to find that they had the same writer/director. 

It's about a family with five young girls, the mother goes "mental," as the title suggests, because the father is never around and she feels like an embarrassment to her family for various reasons. She desperately wants her family to be like the Von Trapps from "The Sound of Music," but they seem a far cry from it. For this reason the film is beautifully sprinkled with music from "The Sound of Music." 

As a result of this mental breakdown, the girls' father, who isn't really a father at all, goes out and finds Shaz (Toni Collette) on the side of the road and hires her to take care of his girls. The unconventional Maria figure changes the family in an unexpected way. Throughout the film you come to realize that the title of the film was not meant for the mother of the girls, but rather with the idea in mind that the people all around this endearing family of wild girls, the ones who all think they are normal, are in fact, themselves, the mental ones. 

In my opinion, although crude at times, and rough around the edges, this is quite a heartwarming and lovable film. The character development and transformation is fantastic. There are moments that make you want to rage against some of the 'normal' people in the movie for their villainous acts and moments of triumph that have you cheering for the underdogs who are featured in this film. 

I would recommend it to people who are looking for a lighthearted film with a great amount of depth and character. It's one of those that I could watch over and over, and I just might... 

Aal izz well...

I love movies. Especially when they promote happy thoughts. Seriously though. I don’t really like movies that leave me feeling depressed and empty or remind me too much of the terrible things that have happened or could happen. There is enough of that in my head already, I really don’t feel the need to be reminded. 

I do, however, need to be reminded of the good things that are happening. Which is why I usually stick with movies that do that very thing. That doesn’t mean that the movie doesn’t have sad moments. It just means that there is redemption to the sad parts of the movies, so much so that it makes you almost forget the tragic parts. 

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the movie that I watched last night is one of the best movies I have ever seen! It consisted of all of my favorite aspects including musical numbers. You may have guessed it, this was in fact a “Bollywood” film. If you are not familiar with the term, its basically refers to the film industry based in Mumbai India, and these films pretty much always include singing and dancing. There are only a few dance numbers in this film including a song called "Aal izz well" which we can't get out of our heads. 

This is a film about three young men who are studying to be engineers at one of the most prestigious engineering universities in India. It’s filled with beautiful scenes of India, it was a great mix of tragedy and tenderness, as well as laugh out loud humor. I found myself angry at the villainy, then touched at the transformation that took place in some of the characters and even a little bit surprised at some of the subtle plot twists.

I really cannot recommend this movie enough. Curtis and I have been talking about it all day. We watched an hour long of behind the scenes and extras last night after finishing the film. (if you know Curtis, you know that this NEVER HAPPENS!) I hardly want to give it back to our friends who lent it to us, so that I can watch it again. If you have the chance, you should really try to get your hands on a copy of this film and please do let me know if you enjoy it :) 

Movie Review: 180 Degrees South

We have been watching a lot of documentaries lately and I have really been enjoying them. But this one probably impacted me the most.

It starts out simple: a young guy who is an adventure addict, hears about something that these two crazy old guys did when they were young, and maybe even crazier, and he wants to do the same. But in the process of this journey the young man learns so much more than he bargained for and we learn right along with him.

The scenery in the film is breathtaking. I usually tend to think that photos and videos just can't capture the real beauty of a place, but this one gets so close. I really felt like I was on this journey right along with him at times, minus all the hardships.

The thing that really struck me about the film was the message to consumers. Do we realize what a large impact our consumption has on other societies? In this film they uncover just one story, but I am sure there are many more. It literally makes me sick to think of some of the beauty that is being destroyed because of my selfishness.

This film really made me take a step back to think about the footprint I'm leaving behind. I know it's not the most important thing in the world, but it impacts more lives than we often think about.

I would encourage anyone with a sense for adventure and a love for nature to watch this film. But to be honest, I think this film would appeal to most people just because of the sheer beauty of it all. Enjoy!

Movie of the year

Yes. I do realize that this is not a movie review site. But I write about what I am passionate about and at this moment, that's this movie! You MUST see it!

If you haven't seen it, rent it, NOW! Or buy it! I could watch it over and over. I laughed, I cried, I was super inspired. It is just a reminder that anyone's life can be changed and anyone can be a life changer.

It is a french film about a man who is quadriplegic and he hires a young African man to be his caretaker. Both of them could have been deemed useless by society, but they change each other's lives! Neither of them stereotypes or gives up on the other.

Yes, it is in french and yes there are subtitles, but they are barely noticeable because you are just reading along as you laugh and waiting for the next joke.

There are so many touching and precious moments, but there are even more laugh out loud moments. Seriously guys, you just have to see for yourselves. You may not agree that it's the movie of the year, but I doubt that you will go through the entire film without laughing out loud.

Life in a day- my first movie recommendation

I don't watch that many movies. I should re-phrase that, I don't watch that many new movies. I don't even know when this movie came out, but I do know that it was very interesting.

It may not be of interest to everyone, but it quite appealed to me. I will warn you that it did feel a bit like an hour and a half long youtube movie, but somehow much more complete. It was more than just a random string of videos. There was definitely rhythm and a flow to it all. 

There is no way to get a full picture of what life is like around the world one day out of history, but that is what this film strives for and it is done well. There are a few disturbing moments, I turned my head a few times. But nothing worth throwing the film away for. 

I would say that if you are interested in getting out of your box of romantic comedies, actions, dramas or whatever other films that you like to watch, or if you are just interested in getting out of your world for a day to see what the rest of the world is like, this is the film to watch. 

It captures so much of the raw beauty, pain and akward-ness of this world, without much of the gore and overwhelming shock value of many other films. 

I just wanted to share this rare gem with you all. 

We watched it on youtube for free. There are actually films that are legal to watch on youtube for free. Check it out if you want to experience something different, but very real: Life in a Day