Opinion Battles Results

This round we have had an excellent selection of Martin Scorsese movies, but just which one was the most popular?

3^rd

Choice – Shutter Island, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Aviator

Players – Darren, Table 9 Mutant, Diana

Points – 1

2^nd

Choice – The Departed

Players – Emma

Points – 6

1^st

Choice – Goodfellas

Players – Milo, Movie Rob, Tom

Points – 12

If you want to take part in the next round, we are looking at Worst Horror Franchise (5 films minimum)

send you choices to moviereviews101@yahoo.co.uk.

Closing Date – Friday the 5^th October

Here is the table, (Drew – Drew’s Movie Reviews, Kim – Tranquil Dreams, J – Film & Nuance, Cinema Parrot Disco, Rob – Movie Rob, Damien Riley – Riley Film Reviews, Emma – Emma Explains It All, S.G. Liput – Rhyme and Reason, Rachel – 54 Disney Reviews, Tom – Plain Simple Tom Reviews, John – Johnrieber.com, Diana – DB Movie Blog, Milo – Stuff and That) can anyone take this league by storm like last year?

Director: Richard Linklater

Writer: Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke (Screenplay) Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan (Story)

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy

Plot: We meet Jesse and Celine nine years on in Greece. Almost two decades have passed since their first meeting on that train bound for Vienna.

Tagline – Everything’s better with maturity

Runtime: 1 Hour 49 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Nice Conclusion

Story: Before Midnight starts in Greece now, Jesse (Hawke) must say goodbye to his son who lives back in America, Jesse and Celine (Delpy) are now married living the life they had dreamt with children of their own with a vacation.

While Jesse is having troubles dealing with the idea that his son will be hitting the important years of his life away from his father. Jesse is also working on his new book which is going to be more ambitious that he previous work, the books which told his time with Celine. The couple enter conversations how different generations have dealt with love, the first meetings and how they each kept their relationship happy.

Thoughts on Before Midnight

Characters – Jesse and Celine are now a married couple, they live in Paris with their own twins, they have grown older like they had imagined. They are the same characters that we have met, with the only thing that keeps them feeling different is that Jesse has a son from his previous marriage he wishes to be able to spend time with.

Performances – Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy pick up where they left off 9 years previously, older, mature performance which has done well, even if the characters have started to become generic married couple.

Story – The story picks up 9 years later, Jesse and Celine are now married, dealing with everyday life with their own problems, Celine with the job she has dreamed off and Jesse torn between whether he can spend more time with his son back in America. This shows us just where relationships can go, teaching us they do become harder over time, but love will always pull people through.

Romance – The romance focuses more on what happens when you have been with someone for a longer period of time, it changes what we have been seeing even though it can remain true life.

Settings – We are in Greece this time, showing us the beauty the backdrops this country has, this complete the special look each film offers.

Scene of the Movie – The walk together.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – This one is longer, it does start to lose its special uniqueness of the other two have.

Final Thoughts – For a final chapter of a trilogy this is delightful, it has everything you need to see when it comes to the main idea of being in love with someone, needing to face difficult decisions.

Overall: The end we all deserved.

Rating

Director: Richard Linklater

Writer: Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke (Screenplay) Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan (Story)

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy

Plot: Nine years after Jesse and Celine first met, they encounter each other again on the French leg of Jesse’s book tour.

Tagline – What if you had a second chance with the one that got away?

Runtime: 1 Hour 20 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Beautiful Character Piece

Story: Before Sunset starts as Jesse (Hawke) is in Paris on his book tour, the one telling his story from 9 years ago, meeting Celine. When Celine turns up at the store, the twos spark is still there and today they have only hours to catch up and answer the big question, did they meet up in Vienna.

The two have seen their lives fly by as we learn how their careers have gone in directions that make them happy and the natural catch up just relights the fire they had, only now they have more responsibilities now they are in their 30s.

Thoughts on Before Sunset

Characters – Jesse is now a best-selling author, his book is about the time he spent with Celine, he has still has unanswered questions about what happened with Vienna. Married he has moved on with his life. Celine has followed her career choice, seen more of the world and has been left wondering if Jesse has ever made it to Vienna, after she hadn’t. the chemistry between the two is still strong, as we get to learn what happened in the last 9 years of their lives.

Performances – Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy are back carrying this movie, they are involved in every scene and the chemistry between the two still shines and is something you can barely see in any movie, while this isn’t as strong as the first film because they feel even more comfortable than before when there should be moments of awkwardness.

Story – The story sets up to answer the big question the fans of the first film had, did they meet up 6 months later. We do learn this answer and how the two didn’t meet, we learn how they have lived their own lives, forever changed by their time together. This story is told in real-time as the two only get a couple of hours together, to learn if the life had gone the way they had planned and whether they still think about that time they spent together, which is both brilliant and heart-breaking to watch. This story gives everyone that has ever thought they met the one a chance to see how things could have gone for them with a second meeting.

Romance – The romance shows us how that one moment with someone magical can affect your life for many years to come.

Settings – This time we are set in Paris, yet again we have a beautiful backdrop to discussing life for the two characters.

Scene of the Movie – Boat trip.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Partly knowing what happening with Vienna 6 months later.

Final Thoughts – This is a wonderful sequel, it gives hope to people that have had that one meeting with someone and it can happen again, but life is someone out there can change things.

Overall: Beautiful sequel.

Rating

Director: Lisa Mikitarian

Writer: Lisa Mikitarian (Screenplay)

Starring: Connie Lamothe, Darren Barzegar, Nick Nerangis, Madeline Mikirarian, Tony Villa

Plot: Poor Herbert…if only the brain tumor had killed him… A charming dark comedy with a vintage vibe. A wife and son live it up while their miser-rat of a husband/father lies in a hospital bed–death by brain tumor imminent. It’s all fun and games until he experiences a miraculous 4th of July recovery.

Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict: Quirky Funny

Story: Spent starts with Lonnie (Barzegar) son of Herbert (Nerangis) is ready to spend his father’s money and Evelyn (Lamothe) is preparing to remarry with her husband’s money, the plan goes wrong when Herbert recovers.

With Herbert recovered, Lonnie and his lover Margot (Mikitarian) and Evelyn with her lover Gregory (Villa) must plan a new way to get rid of Herbert which leads them down an elaborate plan to poison him and pocket the money.

Thoughts on Spent

Characters – Evelyn is the unhappy wife ready to see her husband die, so she can move on with her life and new lover, she enjoys spending and this new life would give her this chance. when he survives she is left wondering just what to do next. Lonnie is the son that quits his job at the cinema when he knows when he father should be dying, he wants to use the money to get a fancy sports car to get the lovely Margot, he is the first not to believe going through with anything would be a good idea. Herbert is the one everyone thinks is going to die from brain cancer, only he makes a miraculous recovery leading him to become the target to be poisoned, but his new love of life shows just how much he has changed. Margot and Gregory are the lovers waiting to get their hands on the money that could come back their way.

Performances – Connie Lamothe, Darren Barzegar and Nick Nerangis are good to watch as the family members, they each bring a quirk to their character which will get a laugh along the way which makes them standout through the solo or group scenes.

Story – The story follows a mother and son that have been planning their life after their husband and father dies, planning what to spend all the money he will leave them. The problem comes when he doesn’t die and they must figure out how to get him out of the picture. We get to see how a plan starts to come together with multiply people trying to stay ahead of each other it plays into the idea that Herbert is always finding a way to get away from any situation. We can see how the ideas can come together to add in the story to keep us guessing to just what will happen to Herbert. There is also a serious element to parts of the story which will become clear as the story unfolds.

Comedy – The comedy seems to come from the mishaps the family suffer trying to bring about the end of Herbert, this will get the most laughs through the film with ease.

Settings – The film keeps the locations around the idea of a close community who know the secrets to each other’s lives.

Scene of the Movie – Off to feed the ducks.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – We could focus a little bit longer on why Herbert was the way he was before the miracle.

Final Thoughts – This is a fun dark comedy about life, death and rat poison which does offer the biggest questions about where people can go after a sudden change in life.

Overall: Deliciously dark.

Rating

Director: Richard Linklater

Writer: Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan (Screenplay)

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy

Plot: A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.

Tagline – Jump on and live a Eurorail journey you will never forget!

Runtime: 1 Hour 41 Minutes

There may be spoilers the rest of the review

Verdict: Stunning Look at Love

Story: Before Sunrise starts on the train heading through Europe, American man Jesse (Hawke) meets French woman Celine (Delpy) and get chatting, until they end up in Vienna, Jesse’s stop, he takes a chance to invite Celine to spend the evening and night with him wandering the streets to Vienna before his flight home.

As the two spend their time together, they visit the landmarks and learn how they both see life, being able to discuss the futures they are unsure about while falling in love knowing they can’t have more than this night together.

Thoughts on Before Sunrise

Characters – Jesse is an American traveling through Europe, he is on his last day after breaking up with his girlfriend a few weeks before. Heading to his flight home, he meets Celine, a woman he falls in love with and asks to join him around Vienna while waiting for his flight. Celine is the French woman heading home to Paris from Budapest, she joins Jesse knowing she can head home tomorrow. To truly talk about these characters, we need to simplify the idea that these two are strangers who meet on a train and fall in love, they are smart enough to know their lives will go in different directions, but don’t want to waste this one moment together.

Performances – We have a two person show here, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy have brilliant chemistry which is what makes this movie stand out, to see an acting partnership feel so natural in everything they do makes you believe each feeling and emotion their characters are going through.

Story – The story of love is one that is filled with happiness, sadness, missed moments and moments that change our lives. This story has all of these moments that two strangers meet on a train, fall in love with completely different lives that will see them thousands of miles apart after this night. It answers the what will happen, where can you go and tackles the realisation that this is a once in a lifetime meeting which will only break your heart being apart. These moments are so rare and to see one shown on film shows us just how magical they can be.

Romance – Romance has never been shown in such a natural story than this one, one evening, night with the one person that will take your heart in true love, the one person you can’t be with.

Settings – Vienna is a beautiful setting for this movie, we have the historical buildings providing the backdrop for this movie which adds beauty to the story.

Scene of the Movie – Goodbye and what next?

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Nothing, just watch it.

Final Thoughts – This is easily one of the best romantic movies I have ever seen, it feels so natural and hits hard for the reality of what we will go through ourselves.

Overall: Beautiful, wonderful and amazing.

Rating