Review Of : Upside Down

Just watched the Premiere Screening of "UPSIDE DOWN".

Directed By Juan Diego Solanas

Starring Kirsten Dunst, Jim Sturgess, Timothy Spall 

Synopsis: 

In an alternate universe, there are two worlds; "Up Above" and "Down Below". The two worlds are separated. While Up is rich and prosperous, Down is poor. Going Up is strictly forbidden and the only connection between the worlds is through the company "TransWorld".The movie tells the story of Adam(Jim) who lives Down Below but he falls in love with Eden(Kirsten) who lives Up Above. Then, as they were about to meet, the law enforcers took Eden away & Adam is thrown back to live back in Down Below. As years pass, Adam saw Eve on TV, and with this, his pursuit to find Eden begins and he will let nothing get into his way, not even the law enforcers and the forces of nature. 

So, when I first saw the trailer in the cinemas, I was literally amazed & stunned at the whole concept of the movie. I mean, two worlds living simultaneously but they can't meet each other because the laws of nature/gravity forbids them. 

With a great idea & concept that almost blew my mind like how Inception did, I was hoping for a great story too. But the story was below expectations. The story was not all that bad but the script & plot can be improved a whole lot. I was expecting the genre of sci-fi/romance to be as interesting as The Adjustment Bureau.

So the up side of the movie is the concept & visuals but the down side is they could've written a better script. (Haha puns! Get it? Up side & Down side. :P ) 

Anyway, back to the movie, it was visually stunning & the concept as I said, blew my mind. 

The story was really good. Overall concept & idea. But keep in mind, you have to listen & understand the movie well, so pay attention. 

Just a head's up, here's some info about the movie's story you might want to know. 

The two worlds; Up Above & Down Below live opposite to each other, but they cannot meet each other, one of the main cause is the gravity of each world. The gravity has 3 rules:

1) Everything is pulled only by the gravity of its own planet

2) One thing can pass to the other gravity field by touching something belonging there

3) The thing that passes to the other gravity field starts to burn in time

Plot wise, could've been a lot better. I was hoping for a little twist or something, but instead the ending was a little hurried & left me "What? Ended like that? There could've been more." 

Acting, quite good. 

Visually, amazing. Great designs of the two worlds. Nice cinematography. 

So, all in all, UPSIDE DOWN is somewhat an interesting movie, it could've been better but it was okay. Worth a watch. Once, again, pay attention to the concept of the idea. 

My Rating?

Plot : 3.25/5

Storyline : 4/5

Characters*: 3.75/5 

Effects** :4.5/5

OVERALL : 7.5/10.

Trailer: 

(^ the movie is in English, but the only trailer I found online is this French version. So yeah.) 

Review Of : Les Miserables

Just watched "Les Miserables" yesterday. (: 

Directed By Tom Hooper

Starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter 

Synopsis: 

An adaptation of the successful stage musical based on Victor Hugo's classic novel set in post-revolutionary France, the story reaches resolution against the background of the June Rebellion. . Prisoner 24601, known as Jean Valjean, is released from prison and breaks parole to create a new life for himself while evading the grip of the persistent Inspector Javert. 

So, just in case if any of you are oblivious, yes, this is a musical. It has around 90% singing. (So, don't be shocked if they sing instead of talking to each other)

When I entered the cinema to watch Les Miserables, I was expecting a few singing scenes (e.g. character monologue scenes or group singing), but at the first scene(as above), Prisoner 24601 (acted by Hugh Jackman, yes, doesn't looks like him right?) and the rest of the prisoner were singing about their misery as a slave. 

The funny thing is that even in conversation scenes, they sing instead of talk. Maybe it's because I've not watch much musical or musical movies much, yup, I've yet to watch the theatre musical of "Les Miserables". So this is somewhat different for me. But, I come out of the cinema, "Les Miserables" is a really amazing movie that can be slowly appreaciated. (: 

It's quite a well done movie as the props, visuals & acting was really quite good. Also bravo to the makeup department for "dirtying" & making the actors looks "pathetic & miserable". 

The story & plot is based on the classic novel written by Victor Hugo. Which is quite the tragic story. 

The acting was surprising, in a way. I mean, this is the first time I see actors like Hugh Jackman & Russell Crowe sing. Also Anne Hathaway did a good job on the famed song "I Dreamed A Dream". I would give good an applause to the all the actors & actresses  for practicing the songs & still portraying emotions at the same time through their acting. 

Visually, the whole movie was done really well from the cinematography, props & the background of France Revolution. 

Music, really good. Captivating songs that brings out emotion & tells the story well when the words/lyrics are observed & understood. Really nice songs from the movie namely "I Dreamed A Dream", "Do You Hear The People Sing","One Day More", Red & Black" and a few others.

All in all, if you love musicals, you might love & appreciate this movie. If you have yet to watch any musical, this might be an eye-opener of some sort. Its really good movie that should be watched & appreciated for the holidays. (: 

My Rating?

Plot : 3.5/5

Storyline :3.75/5

Characters*: 4.5/5 

Effects** :3.5/5

OVERALL : 7.75/10.

Trailer: