In History we are learning about the American
Civil Rights movement. As part of the course, we went to see the Oscar winning
film Selma yesterday. It stars David Oyelowo as Martin Luther
King Jr. and tells of the march organised from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 in
protest against voting restrictions for black people in Southern America. The
film had an amazing cast including Oprah Winfrey, Common and Tim Roth.
I really loved this film. There were many parts that showed horrible racial violence towards innocent people. I found it shocking that this happened not too long ago. Some parts of the film were really sad and there were a lot of girls crying! I'm glad we got to go see the film and I'm more interested in learning about the American Civil Rights Movement now that I've seen it.
In Religion we're learning about MDG #6 - Combat HIV and AIDs. For the past few classes we have been watching the 1993 film Philadelphia. It's about a man with AIDs who is fired from his job in a law firm because of his illness and how he hires a homophobic lawyer to try win his case against the law firm.
Although the film is about AIDs, the main theme was homophobia. I thought this film was really good but extremely sad. It's upsetting to see how sick Tom Hanks' character is but also how badly gay men were treated at the time. I think this film has taught me a lot about HIV / AIDs and now I know much more on the topic!
I really love movies. I love going to see new movies in the cinema or just watching my old DVDs at home. The Oscars are on 20th of February and I'm excited to watch them! So here's some reviews of a few of the films that are nominated for Best Picture..
Boyhood
When I first heard about this film last year I was so excited to see it and had to wait nearly a year before it came out last summer. Boyhood was filmed over 12 years starring the same cast. The story is told through the eyes of Mason (Ellar Coltrane) who we see grow up from age 5 to 18. The movie just explores his family life and the different relationships he has in his life and how they change as he grows up.
I really liked this film. Because the same cast are used over 12 years, we literally see everyone grow up on screen. It's extremely realistic because of this. Ethan Hawke who plays the father of Mason is so good in his role. I feel like everyone can relate to at least one aspect of this film. Also, the length of the movie is nearly 3 hours, so it almost feels like you are watching someone's life it's so long! I definitely recommend this movie but it should only be watched in full, so only start it if you feel like sitting down for three hours!
The Theory of Everything
The Theory of Everything stars Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking, the theoretical physicist. The film is about the relationship between Stephen and his wife and how their relationship changes when he is diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease.
I liked this film but I didn't think it was amazing. It's not really about Stephen Hawking's work, but honestly I was glad about that because I didn't want to have to watch a movie all about physics. It's mainly just to do with his disease and how he and his wife copes with it. It was really sad to see how his body starts to deteriorate and how it negatively affects his relationship with his wife despite both of their efforts.
Although I didn't think the movie was brilliant, Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking was amazing! As the character has MNS he had to show his body shutting down muscle by muscle, which would've been extremely difficult to do, but he did it perfectly. I would recommend watching this movie purely for Eddie Redmayne because he was so good!
Whiplash
Whiplash is about a young jazz drummer Andrew (Miles Teller) who is studying at the best music conservatory in America. Andrew wins a place in a jazz band led by an instructor (J.K Simmons) who uses fear and intimation to push his students to perfection. This film is extremely intense. The instructor is really extreme in his teaching methods like slapping players and throwing chairs at peoples heads.
I loved this movie. After watching it I had this sudden urge to listen to Jazz music. The playing is really impressive in this film. This film is so amazing. It is fast-paced, just like the drumming in the movie, and full of suspense. It was probably my favourite out of the three. I think that everyone would enjoy this film, even if you don't like jazz music or play an instrument. The acting is brilliant and it's not like anything I've seen before.
