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drhupp
Reviews
Confusion Na Wa (2013)
Funny
Confusion Na Wa was very different from any other movie I had ever seen before. This movie takes place in Nigeria and the movie was based around two people who stole a persons phone in a small burglary. The mans whose phone was stolen name is Emeka, and the only reason his phone was stolen was because he was stuck in traffic after someone had died on the roadway. The two burglars names were Chichi and Charles. These two try to mess with Emeka's marriage by using his phone. They also try to get him to pay a ransom. The end of the movie was better than most other films I had watched, as it had an unexpected death. Other than that this movie was alright, not quite the comedy that I was told about before I had seen it. However, if someone was trying to branch out and watch foreign films, then I would recommend this one.
Timbuktu (2014)
Good movie
This movie was very slow paced, something that swayed me to dislike the film. One of the reasons it was so slow was because not everyone spoke the same language, so there was always a need for a translator in a conversation. This movie takes place in the Middle of the desert in Mali, where there is a group of jihadi extremists who are controlling the area. The extremists run a tight law system that goes too far for no reason, an example being that there is no singing allowed in the city. After a girl was caught singing, she got 80 lashes to the back, quite over the top. But I think that the producers of this film were able to show what a real extremist group would be like, always having guns, enforcing every little thing to the way they see it best. The way the movie ended was sorta random and quick, it didn't give me the closure that I wanted to see. The Dad dies, then the mom shows up and gets shot right away, then after that there's a "high-speed" scooter chase. And then we don't get to see how that ends, which aggravated me a little.
Rebelle (2012)
Exciting
This movie was very extraordinary and it is one of the first movies I've ever seen with a female child soldier. The way this movie begins is quite gory, where the girl is captured but she is forced to shoot her parents, something I could never imagine having to do. Then having to live with the people who just killed your entire village, very unimaginable. The idea of Witchcraft in this movie seems a little far fetched to me, I don't believe in magic so I'm not sure why the rebels think that they can win the war if they have to Witch. I really liked how the movie showed the progression of the main character by showing us two years of her life. She faced great amounts of adversity, the main thing that showed this was when she killed the rebel general by doing a not so okay thing to him. The way this movie ends is not the most awful or best ways I've ever seen, she ends up having a baby that does not belong to her Albino husband. She also gets on a bus headed to the butcher's house, so it seems as if things may start working out for her.
Simshar (2014)
Suspense packed
Simshar was a very suspenseful movie that included many political problems regarding refugees coming from Libya and other African countries to Malta. However, that was not the main focus of the movie, but it was something that had a great influence on the rest of the movie. It was almost as if the movie was telling two stories in Malta. One story included a doctor having to stay on a boat and help tend to the injured, sick, or pregnant women. The other story involved a family that were fisherman, they were being almost tormented by the government for having to re- apply for a fishing license. The family went out anyway, well the Mom and youngest son stayed home, but the dad, grandpa, and oldest son went fishing. They headed south and turned their satellite tracker off so the government couldn't find them, but one night a fire goes of in the hull of the boat and everyone has to jump overboard and hang onto small debris. The grandpa died right away which was sad, but expected. In the end only the Dad survives and he can't help but think about the death of his son. I'm pretty sure this story was true, so I don't think the ending needs to be changed at all.
Un homme qui crie (2010)
Too slow
A Screaming Man was a very slow movie that took a very long time to develop, so I was left waiting for things to happen which I was not a fan of. It was one of the most quiet films I've ever seen, and I've been told that that was showing the Chadian culture, where silence between people is not awkward. When Adam was sitting around the pool he seemed to really enjoy taking in the things that were taking place in the area. As soon as Adam lost his job working at the pool and was moved to the gatekeeper position, his life started spiraling out of control. I thought it was the wrong move when he sent his son Abdel, to the front lines of the war. He did that just to get his job back from his son! This to me just seems morally wrong and his son should have been extremely angry when he saw Adam again. It was sad when Abdel died because he did not deserve to fall for his dads decisions. And I'm not sure how Adam will be able to go on with his life after getting his son killed and being so selfish.
Kinyarwanda (2011)
Good representation of the genocide
Kinyarwanda was a film that took place in the country of Rwanda in Africa. In the beginning of the film, everything seemed to be fine, showing no ethnic discrimination, until people were seen lined up in the streets at night after Tutsi's had been captured hiding in a church. Then a character came home one night to see that her parents had been murdered by a Hutu, that would be an awful experience that I'm hoping would never happen to me or someone I know. For a movie filmed in Rwanda it seemed pretty Americanized, English was the main language in the movie and it had a sort of happy ending like an American film. This was of course because the director was Jamaican, so English was the language. Personally, I liked the ending of the movie and don't think there's anything much different that could have happened to make the film better.
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Very detailed film
Before I watched this film I had heard of the Rwandan genocide a few times. It was explained as a really horrific thing which had mass killings of people, that's why going into this movie I was interested in what I would be shown. The way the movie started gave me the American movie type feel, having a successful man with a family running a hotel and of course the language of the film being in English. As soon as the killing started I couldn't quite see why it did, but it turns out the reason was that one ethnic group disliked the other, that's all. In my opinion, the most horrific scene in this movie was when Paul was driving down the "clear" road and it was really bumpy and foggy out. Then they discovered that the road was full of dead bodies. I like doing the way the movie ended with Paul's family making it out mostly safe, but I would've liked to see where the young went after they got onto the bus.
Voces inocentes (2004)
Great Film
I have now seen this movie twice and I have greatly enjoyed it both times. It is more of a suspenseful movie as you have to wait for things to work themselves out. Chava was definitely my favorite character in the movie even though he was a bit stubborn at times. I've never seen a movie that has a plot relating to this one, where once you turn 12 you are taken to the military and forced to fight against rebel forces. That sounds terrifying to me as I think back on my twelve year old self. I couldn't do that! It's very easy to tell that this is nothing like an American film because for one, speaking Spanish, and the cultural values are much different than that of Americans. Overall, I liked this movie and how it is based off a true event that took place in El Salvador and I wouldn't change the ending at all as Chava was reunited with his mother.
Cidade de Deus (2002)
Such a well put together movie.
This movie was so full of suspense and I was always trying to guess what was coming next. I was even able to guess correctly a few times, pure luck I must say. The way the movie started with the "legendary" three gangsters was really cool. Yes, the three were bad, but they never wanted to kill anyone. They only used their guns for hold ups, no killings. That was the case until a crazy little gangster named Lil Dice joined the gang and immediately went on a killing spree. Why did he do this? Because he was psychopath, that's basically it. After the three gangsters had either been killed or left to have new lives, Lil Dice moved the Rio. From here on he was able to conquer the slum killing anyone that annoyed him at all. he was eventually killed by a bunch of little kids that he gave guns to. Ending the legend of Lil Dice.
Hermano (2010)
What a Movie!
The movie "Hermano" was like a movie I had never seen before. The plot was crazy and pretty unpredictable, it always had you on your toes preparing for what might happen next. The way the movie started
rescuing a baby from a dumpster. How third world does that sound? I've never heard about anything like that over here in the United States, hopefully that doesn't ever happen. I've also never seen a movie that has taken place in Venezuela, so I didn't know how to expect life in Caracas. I definitely didn't think that there would be gangs like other third world countries. Anyway, I liked Julio's character because he was basically "the man", he did whatever he wanted even though he was just another gang puppet. Julio was a lot stronger than his little brother. However, in soccer Daniel was better. At least with his technical skills. Well, I liked everything about this movie until the ending, where everything went wrong.
Una noche (2012)
Great Film
Una Noche was a very interesting film since it was depicting a true story showing the lives of two young Cuban adults trying to go through the process of illegally leaving the country to enter America. They had many troubles along the way with gathering stuff for the long 90 mile journey to the southern coast of Florida because the way they were obtaining all of their materials was by stealing everything. I thought it was really cool how everyone that could tell that they were planning on leaving didn't care about them trying to leave. Like reporting them to the police so they would get arrested. As soon as the engine on the raft didn't start up I would've turned around and headed back home because it's not really possible to travel 90 miles by paddling. Also when the GPS didn't turn on I would've headed home because it's not possible to paddle in a straight line out at sea with no land references. I would recommend this movie to someone else.
También la lluvia (2010)
Pretty good movie
I'm not sure that I've ever seen a film like Even the Rain, where the plot of the movie involves filming another movie. It's really cool to think about, and I think they did a great job. The producers were able to explain things that took place hundreds of years ago involving Columbus, Las Casas, and the Indigenous Indians that they experienced; while also showing the water wars that took place in Bolivia between the government and citizens. Here in the United States, I am fortunate to never have to experience the lack of water or suffering that these Bolivians had to go through. If I were in Daniels shoes in this movie, I'm not sure I would've been able to do what he did. Lead a bunch of people in a rebellion against the government, sounds pretty scary to me. I understood most things about this film except for the title of the movie. What does it mean and where is it represented in the film?
Sin nombre (2009)
Loved the film, but would've changed the ending.
I personally enjoyed this movie a lot as it was my first viewed international film. I liked how the director was able to show us what gangs might actually be like in these Central American countries and how they are spread out throughout the continent. Willy seemed to be getting tired of the gang life, and when the La Mara leader killed his girlfriend, Willy was tipped over the edge. Willy then proceeds to kill the leader of the La Mara which basically turns him into a dead man because every La Mara person is coming after him. I thought that this would be very uncommon of a gang member killing another "brother" because they all treat each other like family. At the end of the film, I didn't really enjoy seeing Willy getting shot by Smiley. I would've rather liked to see Willy to escape with Sayra and cross the creek, making it to America to start a new life.