Film Review: Mortal Kombat

Film Review: Mortal Combat

Vivian Gil

To enter the great realm of Earth and take over our world, the Outerworld must win ten Mortal Kombat tournaments. Once in a generation the greatest fighters in the world are rounded together to fight for the safety of our Earth. Now, after winning nine tournaments, the Outerworlds need one more win to invade and conquer Earth. Three fighters, Liu Kang, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade band together to fight for the safety of Earth.

Based on the video games, Mortal Kombat, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, is an action-packed film that brings to life the characters from which it was inspired. On their journey to win the tournament, each fighter must battle with their demons to truly become the winners of Mortal Kombat. Helped along the way by Raiden (Christopher Lambert), the God of lightening, he tries to help his chosen fighters overcome their demons to win. Liu Kang (Robin Shou) seeks revenge on Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), a sorcerer and tournament host, for the murder of his brother, Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby) aims to prove himself after the actor finds himself the center of the media’s joke, and Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson-Sampras) hunts for revenge after the murder of her partner.

Although this movie dates back to 1995, it still enjoyable today. The lines sound cheesy now, but to anyone who has played the videogame, lines like “finish him” are classic. To those who have never played the game, the movie is easy to keep up with and the fight scenes do not disappoint and the film even throws some funny lines and hints of romance, effectively expanding its audience.

Film Review: Miracle at St.Anna

Miracle at St. Anna

Vivian Gil

Director Spike Lee brings us a story by New York Times bestseller James McBride. Miracle at St. Anna follows four Buffalo Soldiers from the Army’s Negro 92nd Division during World War II. After they cross over German lines, the Buffalo soldiers find refuge in a small Tuscan village. Fighting a war for a country that doesn’t respect them, the soldiers manage to find solace in the unlikely peasant village. Although they are fighting along Buffalo soldiers, the white American soldiers still experienced racist feelings towards their fellow comrades. On the other side, is the Buffalo soldiers’ unfamiliar friendships with those of white skin. The film stars Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, and Omar Benson Miller as the African American soldiers.  

Along with tackling the racial tensions that occurred in the period, Lee tiptoes around the mysterious and unexplained.  After finding the head of a statue, the soldiers begin to experience life or death situations and prevail numerous times. They begin to treat the head as a superstitious magical power. When one of the soldiers rescues a little boy (Matteo Sciabordi), the boy returns the favor by helping them in inexplicable ways. It becomes a war movie with a touch of fantasy.

Lee confronts a side of war that is often never portrayed: the African America point of view. He not only tackles a difficult story, but also shoots in an exhilarating way. With slow death scenes yet quick transitions, he leaves you no time to mourn the losses until the final shot that scans over the dead bodies so you can take in the full effect. 

The film does struggle with length and fluency. At around 160 minutes you have to make a conscious effort to focus on the story. Different sub plots occur that intertwine and it becomes difficult to keep track of them all. But in the end, the movie captures an emotional story with lead characters that hardly ever get their story told in Hollywood.

Dark Elf Featured Talent: Melissa Heflin

 

Where do you see yourself as an actress?

I want to be a Screen Queen-I am an aspiring to be a Screen Queen anyway!

Tell us a little about yourself- how did you get into entertainment?

I did an online web commercial for Reese’s peanut butter cups when I was 14.

I started runway when I was 13 or 14 and when I was 19 I got to be a supporting lead in my first film, “Scarlet Rain,” a Horror film.

 

Who do you enjoy working with?

My friend Johnny Sullivan-I worked with him on Scarlet Rain, Crave, Plan 9 from Outer Space the remake and a few others. He has worked on Pirates of the Caribbean, and he’s really really funny.

Any upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for?

I am in the process of going to Rome to film Left 4 Dead, as a witch. I’m very excited, I love that video game!

Film Review: Snow White and the Huntsman

Snow White and The Huntsman 

Vivian Gil

Director Rupert Sanders’ Snow White and The Huntsman tried desperately to be something it’s not: epic.

A poorly written, one-dimensional character, Snow White’s (Kristen Stewart) mother dies of an illness and her father remarries only to be killed by his next wife, Ravenna (Charlize Theron). The new queen takes over his kingdom and locks her stepdaughter away in a tower. The queen asks the infamous question to her mirror “Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is fairest of them all?” And so the queen tries to kill snow white, who escapes conveniently now but never before, and the queen hires the huntsman (Chris Hemsworth) to track her down. 

It’s sad that the huntsman and the queen had more depth to their characters than Snow White herself. 

            One of the main problems with this film is, Snow White played by Kristen Stewart. Her moody acting was great for a role where her character is almost always found in a grey, cloudy darkness. The problem with Snow White is that you never feel that she’s this awesome and amazing person. She’s described in the movie as being “life itself” but she doesn’t DO anything. She can’t fight, doesn’t know magic, and they never glamorize her to be the most beautiful person in all the land. It’s completely unbelievable that she’s treated with such specialty.

Overall, the film had good imagery, set, and costumes but it fell short with the plot. It had the potential to be good; you go in there thinking it’s going to be a whole new spin but instead it’s a five minute story made into a two hour movie.

Film Review: Melancholia

Melancholia 

Vivian Gil

Written and directed by Lars von Trier, Melancholia follows two sisters’ Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), relationship while a planet threatens to collide into Earth. Justine, whose wedding party is being thrown at her sister’s estate, is unconcerned about the whole affair. The first half of the film is her indifference towards the reception but trying for the sake of her husband, (Alexander Skarsgård), her sister, and her brother-in-law, (Keifer Sutherland).  She struggles with depression on a day of celebration. Claire is forced to mediate the situation with the guests and care for her sister but she’s obviously disappointed at Justine’s attempt at happiness. 

The eerie tone set through the instrumental music, the crisp, clean visuals, and the melancholy state of its main characters sets a different tone on our doom. These days, films about the end of the world focus on the destruction of our planet and how to defend Earth and protect humanities. The characters are in a constant state of panic. Here, instead, we’re given a situation and shown two different responses.  The film opens with the end of the world; you know it is going to happen. It’s not about the suspense of saving the planet; it’s how people react, their personalities.

Dunst and Gainsbourg deliver opposite reactions: numb and nonchalant and panicky and chaotic. At one point in the film Justine utters to her sister, “And when I say we're alone, we're alone. Life is only on earth, and not for long.”  She leaves you thinking: how would you react if you knew the world was ending; if there was nothing left but to die?  And that’s what makes this film unique.

I'm So Fly Episode 2 Trailer

Film Review: Prometheus

Prometheus 

Vivian Gil

Prometheus is a prequel to the Alien films directed by Ridley Scott. The film takes place towards the end of the 21^st century and follows archeologists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) and Charlie Holloway’s (Logan Marshall-Green) search for the meaning of life and humanity’s purpose.

Prometheus starts with Shaw and Holloway, who having found similar star maps in different unconnected ancient civilizations, believe that it is an invitation from the Engineers (creators of humanity) and seek them out.

Their search for the Engineers is funded by an eccentric trillionaire and Shaw and Holloway travel to the distant moon, LV-223, aboard the ship Prometheus with a crew, expedition manager Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron), and humanoid robot David (Michael Fassenbender).

       
Upon reaching their destination, the Prometheus crew quickly discovers that some terrible disaster has stricken moon LV-223. Instead of answers, Shaw and Holloway face hidden agendas and a terrible truth: The Engineers, who have created humanity, now seek to destroy it using a biological weapon.

       
Although it is a prequel to Alien, Prometheus only gives an idea of why the Alien creatures were created and why they came to earth. Prometheus is its own separate story and it is not necessary to have watched the other Alien films to understand this one.

             
Prometheus features many outstanding performances, especially those by Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassenbender. The acting itself is enough to entertain the viewer, but fortunately Prometheus also offers stunning visuals, plenty of suspense and an intriguing story that will keep the audience alert throughout the entire film. I thoroughly recommend this film for sci-fi fans and even non-sci-fi fans as the film offers a lot more than just flashy spaceships.

The only bad thing I can say regarding Prometheus is that it leaves many of its questions unanswered. But this could have been done on purpose because we, as humans, are not meant to know, since the characters’ search for life’s meanings only leads them to destruction.