Not My Cup of Coffee (Bonus Paper)

Image Source:
https://ipolitas.wordpress.com/tag/a-coffee-in-berlin/

Oh Boy or A Coffee in Berlin is a German film in 2012. I believe it was a depressing film, as almost every character in the film has an unfortunate story to tell. The color of the film was mainly black and white. I thought it suited the movie well, given that it was gloomy. The main character, Niko, for instance, is experiencing a tragedy. He drops out of law school as he is trying to discover himself. It is worth noting how his father is not proud of what he is done.

The movie revolves around Niko, as he tries to drink a coffee. All throughout the movie, he tries to drink a cup of coffee, however it seems that he never gets to drink one until the end of the movie. Throughout the movie, I felt like I was listening to various stories by individuals who are suffering from past traumas or hardships. One of which is Julika, who is an old friend of Niko. She used to be bullied for being fat. She also reveals that they never continued to be classmates in school because she was moved by parents to an education for having an overexcitement condition. Another story that I found depressing was his neighbor who wanted a child but couldn’t have one. Eventually, the situation got worse when his wife was diagnosed with cancer. As a result, he is left depressed.

The movie also does not spare the main character. I felt that he was also quite unfortunate, as seen in what he experiences in the movie. From the very start of the movie, he already experiences an obstacle. Aside from the fact that he never gets his cup of coffee, he is also dealing with personal matters. He dropped out of law school, as he felt that he needed to find himself and law school did not seem to fit him.

For the plot, the movie does not seem to focus much on other characters except Niko, as every character he meets has no relationship with the rest that he meets. In other words, there is not much connections between each person he meets. In typical Hollywood movies, main characters usually go on a journey and there is a significance in every scene that contributes to the buildup of the movie.

In terms of the ending, like the European films we watched, it shows an ending that has no dialogue but is revealed through an action that implies a form of closure. In this film, Oh Boy shows the various scenery of the city such as factories, traffic, and many more then it ends with Niko finally drinking a cup of coffee that he has requested from the very start of the movie.

Overall, it was a movie that was not happy. It certainly possesses a depressing mood. Although Niko finally gets his cup of coffee, he meets various people along the way such as strangers and people from his past that are suffering various hardships as he himself as well is left to deal with personal matters.

Comedy With a Little Adventure (Bonus paper)

Image source:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0453451/

Mr. Bean’s Holiday was a film that had a lot of humor and a sense of adventure. It is not really similar to the comedy films of America such as American Pie, Blockers, Central Intelligence, or Bad Moms. This is because Mr. Bean’s Holiday does not really show its main character speaking fluently or being understood. The comedy in this film was not hinged on the words that come out of the main character but rather it relied on the unfortunate events and laughable behavior of Mr. Bean. An instance of this is how he wasn’t able to catch his train due to the fact that his tie got stuck in the vending machine, when he inserted his bill that was stored in his necktie. On the other hand, American films would usually generate the comedic feel from a dialogue between characters or punch lines. The main character, Mr. Bean never really says any punch line although it is worth noting how his expressions also contribute to the comedic element of the movie.

Another element that gives Mr. Bean’s Holiday a comedic feel is his mischievous behavior. Common in most comedic movies, including US films, there is always a naughty side of its characters that make the overall movie funny. What differs is that US movies tend to make jokes that could be linked with sex, drugs, or drinking. In Mr. Bean’s Holiday, his behavior is far from any of those vices but rather it is very childish. One instance of this is how he calls every possible phone numbers which the father of Stephan was showing through the window however the last two digits were blocked by his fingers. While calling each number, he is oblivious to how his phone call affects the people in the other end of the line. Another instance is how he did not like the oyster served to him as it was still alive so he places all of it in a woman’s bag. Lastly, he also dresses as Sabine’s grandmother as a disguise during the premiere of the movie of Sabine and eventually disrupts the whole thing altogether.

Aside from the comedic feel, another thing that struck me was how Mr. Bean’s Holiday gives an adventure feel because of the sceneries and the shots that it shows. It is as if it is marketing the beauty of Cannes or Europe in general. An instance of this is how Mr. Bean hikes a mountain or when he sees a Cannes photo there is a background music that conveys heavenly. It also shows scenic shots when Mr. Bean travels with Sabine and Stephan in his classic Mini Cooper. The movie allows its audience to travel with Mr. Bean, especially when there are shots of the film that use his camcorder, which he won from the raffle as well. Adventure films from the US are usually about a world that is fictional or alien such as Journey 2, Avatar, or Kong: Skull Island.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. It was really funny as it showed the classic behavior of Mr. Bean. The additional characters also contributed to the film, as they surprisingly successfully deal with his mischievous behavior.

Epic Failures (Bonus Paper)

Image Source:
https://strikingfilmreviews.wordpress.com/2016/03/28/johnny-english/

Epic Fail, those are the words that describe the character of Johnny English. I really enjoyed the first of the three Johnny English movies because of the comedy that it brings. What really kept me watching was the string of failures that English experiences because of his overconfidence. He is very much excited to be a secret agent finally on the field but at the same time, he is overconfident despite his lack of experience. To a certain extent, there was a James Bond vibe to it, given that there are guns, luxurious sports cars, and a woman with action. However what makes it different is that English isn’t successful in executing the suave that James Bond brings. An instance of this is how Johnny was never really able to use his gun as the parts were messily assembled or had feces inside the barrel that did not allow him to fire a bullet.

For an action film, this is very much different from American action movies. First, Johnny English does not show a lot of fighting scenes. In fact, it only teases them. The kicks and punches were countable and it is worth noting that the main character does not even do the heavy lifting. Also, gun shots were very limited, and when you start to expect them they don’t really come through especially when it came to the main character. Furthermore for an action film, there is really no killing scene and only implies it as it only shows an explosion where multiple agents were killed. Unlike in American films, killing scenes are made explicit enough to add a dramatic effect. Some American movies that come to mind in terms of action are Mission Impossible, Taken, or Die Hard. These movies show how the main characters prevail adversity with their skills as they convince the audience to see them as a legitimate hero that will become victorious.

Johnny English shows the very opposite as he does not bring the typical hero effect. In fact, he is the last guy you would ever think of when it comes to saving the country or the world. To a certain extent, it makes the audience wonder how a guy like him would prevail in the end, especially with the presence of his overconfidence that is a main flaw that is rooted in his string of failures. Because of this, one would even think that the antagonist is even more skilled. However, English would be lucky and something out of his control allows him to be the hero, which will be discussed later on. This is different from American movies because the protagonists become victorious because of their abilities and smarts.

I really enjoyed the laughter that Johnny English brings, especially when his overconfidence and unintentional acts affect the people around him. From the part where he clicks the pen and accidentally shoots the secretary unconscious to breaking in a hospital and threatening the doctors, patients, and nurses thinking they were all working for Savage or the part where he interferes a funeral, thinking it was all a setup as he walks on top of a casket.The funniest among them all is when he reveals the Archbishop’s buttocks to the entire nation, thinking that this one was an imposter. It seemed like Johnny English would never learn that he should tone down his confidence.

Even though Johnny English faces a string of failures, the movie does not end with his demise. He actually becomes successful as it seemed like Lady Luck was on his side. For me, English is a guy who’s way of thinking is detached from reality. One instance of this was when he and Lorna, another agent, was imprisoned. English thought that a way to escape was blowing through the locked door knob, which was ridiculous and unrealistic. Because of this, some force out of his control has to save him. In this case, it was his loyal partner Bough who frees Johnny and Lorna. In the concluding scene of the movie, Johnny also gets saved as he daringly used the rope to swing in order to grab the crown of Savage, which ticks of the latter and reveals his evilness to the public. Johnny gets tangled and unintentionally drops to Savage and was crowned King, which was a shock to the crowd. Because of this, English had Savage arrested and the movie ended on a bright note.

Overall, it is a movie that I really loved. Not only because it was Rowan Atkinson, but the character that he plays and the plot of the movie where it really showed the true character of Johnny English. It is like you can anticipate the failures he is about to face and then just appreciate the effects of his epic failures.

Marathon of Outcomes (Bonus paper)

Image source:
http://rubinmuseum.org/events/event/future-run-lola-run-03-09-2018

Run Lola Run, was a German film marathon of different outcomes. For me, I believe I could compare this to other movies where the plot is not really similarly structured as Hollywood movies. The movie does not give the answers to the background of the characters. At the same a lot of things were not really explained in the movie. For instance, when Lola the main character runs by a couple of people who do not really make an impact in the movie somehow get a segment where snippets of their future are shown. The most important aspect of all I believe is how Lola is able to go back in time or even resurrect in order to go through the same situation again. For me, it was the most important because it is how the movie keeps on progressing. I could very much relate to the movies we have watched such as L’avventura where you do not really get the answers you were expecting. In the latter, the question we were expecting to be answered was what happened to Anna.

Another segment that caught my attention was how they used a running segment in the form of cartoons. It kind of reminded me of films such as Lizzie McGuire or Enchanted. For me, it gave a whimsical feeling and saw it as quite fictional as the world of animation and cartoons comes together with live action.

In terms of the introduction, I actually felt like the movie was like a game. The characters were shown with their faces in boxes like a video game. In a sense, the movie was like this. This is because every time a character dies, somehow the whole movie allows its characters to restart the whole movie again. Like in a game, when your main player dies, the whole game restarts again. In the movie, at first Lola dies when she gets unintentionally shot by the police after they did a holdup in the supermarket. She resurrects and starts all over. Lola escapes the hands of the police as they never suspected she was the holdup-per in the bank. Unfortunately her boyfriend, Mannie, dies due to a collision with an ambulance. Lola only gets it right the third time wherein she plays in a casino as Lady Luck was on her side. However in the end, it wasn’t needed as Mannie finds the man who got the bag of 100,000 marks. Like a usual game, she had three lives. I thought she also had like special skills similar to a character in a game, she had the ability to run and to scream.

I also liked the part where she goes through various adversities and tries to overcome them. An obstacle that I believe that really rattled her was when her “father” revealed to her the truth that he is not the real father and he has the desire to leave he family for a new mistress, who is his coworker as well.

Overall, it was a movie that had a lot of thrill. What kept me watching was how is she gonna get 100,000 marks in 20 minutes. Even though the money was not needed in the end, I thought it was entertaining to see whether she was going to get it or not.

Rock Band Comedy

Image source:
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/heavy-trip-2018

Movies revolving a band are not really my type. However, Heavy Trip was a movie I enjoyed as it showed a lot of comedy and a little bit of romance. I believe the characters really did an amazing job in executing their roles. They really produced a lot of laughter, from the whole band to the police officer and to the antagonist, Jouni. One funny moment is when the band chose to travel to Norway and they were branded terrorists. Moreover, the other van that they met showed a parody, and a separate parody for the soldiers in the area that were obviously inexperienced and showed insufficient training. In relation to Jouni, he was an antagonist that resembled one that had shallow goals, as he was destined to fail. He made it clear that his main intention and goal was to sleep with Miia, who is also the love interest of Turo the main character. However, he becomes responsible for his defeat as Miia catches him making love to another woman. In terms of the band itself, they really showed a lot of humor as a group. The name of the band, for instance, was decided to be “Impaled Rectum”, which was very funny.

Another thing I noticed in the movie is how it makes use of a typical Hollywood plot where the main character is brought out of his comfort zone and to face adversities where he eventually meets a climax to see whether he is successful or not. In the case of the Heavy Trip, the main character was successful as he was able to perform in Norway in front of a large audience.

In terms of the reputation of Heavy Metal, the movie tackled the stereotypes and prejudices linked with it. For instance, the residents in the area would always make fun of Turo’s long hair as they called him “homo” or “gay”. Another strong stereotype was that this kind of music is very much associated with anti-Christ or satanist. This could be linked with how one of the band members, Pasi, would describe Heavy Metal or the songs that the band plays. However, the movie obviously supports Rock as the movie allows the band to perform at the stage while glorifying the vibe of a troublemaker that comes as well with being a rockstar as the movie ends with the whole band being arrested and yet, they were still continued to be cheered on.

Overall, I really enjoyed the movie because it was a light movie that made me laugh with their jokes and funny segments. Moreover, I could also relate to the main character, Turo, as he is always scared to go out of his comfort zone or to take risks for bigger things. As a person, I know what it is like to be scared of moving on to bigger things, as it takes courage. In the case of the movie, he was motivated to be like a hunter not afraid to take away a lion’s food. In the end, he was able to fulfill his goal of performing in front of a crowd.

Bloody Instinct

Raw was a movie that had involved a lot of blood and gruesome shots that were difficult to watch. For me, I believe the movie exerted efforts to place emphasis on the sense of gore into the movie. The best instance for this is when Justine wakes up with Adrien. Justine tries to please him however she finds out that Adrien’s leg has been devoured by Alexis, the sister of Justine. The shot of what is left of Adrien’s leg does not go uncensored.

I believe the camera shots of the film like to focus on details that are not exactly the most comfortable. One case would be the bikini wax scene of Justine being made by her sister. Furthermore, the same case can be said when Justine slowly eats the finger of her sister just right after, which I will go back to later on. Another scene would be how Justine sneaks in the refrigerator after eating shawarma with Adrien. She eats a piece of raw seafood that sparks this behavior. This is also the case where Justine fights with Alexis after the video went viral for the whole school to see an intoxicated Justine being teased by her sister with a dead human body. The fight involved a lot of scratching, exaggerated biting, and deep wounds.

In terms of the movie’s plot, it does cover the holes. One thing that shocked me at first is when Justine ate the finger of her sister, Alexis was pissed. However, I honestly expected a more shocking response or one that exhibits panic. But then, we would find out that her sister also exhibits the same behavior. In fact, we would also find out at the end of the movie, the ending scene implies that the behavior is inherited from their mother, wherein their father shows Justine his scars. This explains the reason why the mother only cooks vegetables for the family, as meat triggers this type of behavior. Furthermore, the movie does not fail in conveying to its audience that their mother was also part of the same fraternity. I believe implicit endings are very common in European films, one of which is L’avventura, where the ending show its characters not saying anything to each other. In the case of Raw, words were mentioned however it ends with details that convey sufficient closure.

The title of the movie seems to be linked to the plot as well. This is because Raw somehow could be related to animalistic instincts and tendencies. Justine and Alexis exhibited this in terms of diet and behavior. The same could also be said in the love scene where Justine becomes aroused and had the urge to bite Adrien. It is worth noting that Justine and Adrien are not a couple, which shows also how it is linked to the title of the movie.

For me, the movie does not fall short in relaying to its audience as a gore film. I believe it can be as bloody as the likes of the Saw movies, where explicit blood, wounds, and injury are very much exposed to the audience. I am not really a fan of Gore movies as I am afraid of blood and the movie did a great job in showing scenes that actually made me uncomfortable.

Idealism, Romance, Life

The Edukators was a film of ideologies and frustrated individuals who want to change the capitalistic system and despises those who thrive in it. I believe that the explores the idea of naïveté, where young adolescents act upon the dream of living in an ideal world thinking that it benefits everyone however they come to a realization that the ideal world they dream of is a dominantly just a selfish and impossible desire that may never become a reality.

In the film, the behavior of the main characters in Jan, Peter, and eventually Julie manifested this wherein they would break-in big villas and disarrange the furniture while leaving a threatening note. For me, I believe the behavior was one that may not translate into actions such as theft however it does express a form of disrupting a sense of peace. Because of this, as an individual who is about to embark on this kind of world, it made me question whether our motives to transform the world is really for the betterment of the people in the country or whether it was just for myself. As the film progresses, the main characters come into this realization when Julie admits that kidnapping Hardenberg, who Julie owes a debt to after she collided with his Mercedes Benz. It was a realization that showed how actions may seem to fight for justice, however it was motivated to benefit oneself over other people.

I liked the idea of how Hardenberg also developed a relationship with the main characters. It showed a glimpse of Hardenberg’s past, as he could easily relate with the main characters who had respectable idealisms. It shows how Hardenberg’s character is quite dynamic as he reverts back to the old ways, where he detaches himself from his city and material possessions.

Aside from the thrill of seeing how the main characters would get away with the kidnapping of Hardenberg, I also liked how the film factored in the love triangle between Jan, Julie, and Peter into the plot. For me, it added some more flavor and tension to the film as it dealt with the “free-flowing love” that everyone experiences as Hardenberg mentioned. It goes to show how reality can change us in ways we could never imagine. For instance, Jan has always been very grounded on his morals. However when he gets close to Julie, he would give in despite knowing that it would become a messy situation as his friendship with Peter could result into danger.

Overall, it was a movie that showed a lot of idealisms for the young adolescents. Furthermore, it also shows how actions can result into consequences, which is why it is imperative to know the real underlying motives of our actions as idealisms can blind us into thinking it is right. In relation to this, the characters in the film despised people like Hardenberg, however, people will eventually buy into the system, as reality will come toward you where it can possibly transform you into the person you were very much against.

Caught In a Loop

I felt a lot of thrill in the first part of the movie. It really showed a lot of suspense, as if the main character was being haunted. In a sense I thought it would be a creepy serial killer, similar to movies like Happy Death Day, where the killer wears a mask to haunt the main character. In the first part of the movie, when there was a naked lady, I thought that it would either be a woman who could possibly be a ghost or a woman who was a victim. The latter one was correct but there was a deeper story at play. When I saw the title, I thought it would be a form of detective film, similar to NCIS however it would actually be more of a time travel film although some detective films do entertain the element of time travel in order to see or to know missing parts of the story.

When I heard, it was a low budget form of film, it was indeed inconsistent with the nature of the film, as it involved time traveling which entails advanced technologies however the low budget film somehow pulls it off by placing it in a rural setting. I thought that the rural setting was indeed a way to cover up the low budget. On the other hand, the house of the scientist also contributed to covering up the low budget factor. I believe it tried to look futuristic with the coffee maker, laboratory, and etc. However, I thought it looked like a regular mansion that a rich person may own instead of a house that contains inventions and advanced technologies.

It would not take long in the movie for viewers to realize who the killer is. However, I thought it was also entertaining how everything in the movie is caught in a loop where it uncovers how each sequence plays out through the view of each Hector that came from different times. It would then be uncovered that it was Hector himself, that causes all these catastrophes. Of course, this would be in different forms and also with the scientist contributing to the event.

I believe in one scene of the movie, which brought back the suspense was when the woman dies. At first, I thought he killed his own wife accidentally by trying to chase the other woman, whom he met in the forest. However, it will soon be found out that it was the latter who was unintentionally killed. I believe the different characters of Hector is the one that really drove the plot.

Overall, I believe it was a great movie that uncovered different aspects of a specific story. I really enjoyed the film, especially when it comes to solving crimes and this was a movie that was different from what I have seen before. Usually, there is a detective that drives the plot but in this case, it was Hector himself through different versions of himself that allows the story to unfold.

Humor and Secrecy

Trollhunter was a movie that showed a coexistence of humor and suspense. I believe the movie was a great artwork that thrilled its audience with the kind of thrill you get from horror movies such as Jaws, Anaconda, Crocodile, and etc. In this case, the movie made use of mysterious creatures in the form of trolls. I thought it was also creative of them to make the film into a video made by students, of which were silenced by the government in order to prevent the public from knowing the existence of trolls. Because of this nature, the film was able to get away with shaky cameras and poor video effects, as the nature of the film made it understandable.

In terms of the plot, it was very clear where the students want to expose the existence of trolls. Hans, the expert troll hunter, was the key to success for their mission. It started with convincing, then their persistence pays off and Hans made them a key figure in his pursuits. To be honest, I expected a lot more casualties especially with a film like this that evokes danger. By having more casualties, it would really give the trolls a lot of credibility as a dangerous creature. However, the movie did just enough to show what it is capable of such as barreling through trees, eating sheep, and killing their fellow camera crew. In terms of the ending, it was announced at the beginning and the real ending of the movie simply showed how it was played out. I believe the ending of the movie gave the audience a feeling of curiosity on the situation of the kids and doubt towards the government. The movie also inserted a short humorous clip that showed the government admitting to the existence of trolls to the public, with no one noticing.

One of the things I expected from the story was the effect of the bite on one of the main characters. After discovering that trolls had rabies, the character showed signs of weakening as if it is showing a more negative effect of the bite. However, the movie does not show what happens, although it gets away with it due to the fact that it was a film made by students who disappeared.

I believe the film also allows its audience to question the reality of hidden mysteries. For instance, the development of power lines is known to power cities, households, buildings, and etc. However in the movie, its hidden reason is to limit the movement of the trolls. Furthermore, the movie also conveys how the government is very serious about hiding facts from the public such as the existence of trolls. Instances of this could be seen on how they cover up troll incidents with dead bears, as authorities would always be a step ahead of the media. Another instance is how government cars chased the students who filmed the movie in the ending in order to prevent critical information from decimating to the public sphere.

Overall, I believe Trollhunter was a great suspense film. It made me watch, as there is always a thrill whether the characters will make it out alive or not in every troll situation. Furthermore, it also allowed Hans to exhibit his skills and show why he is the man they call on to control troll activities.

Mysterious

Holy motors was a strange film for me. Mr. Oscar, the main character at first seemed to be a legit businessman or politician at first, especially when he entered into a limousine in his business suit or talked about guns and security guards. However, I would be wrong and it was clearly a deception because he would then shift into various strange roles that had no connections with one another. First it was a lady that begs on the streets and next it was a virtual auditorium where he acted as something unusual and engaged in a sex scene with an actress, and so on. It was evident that character development is not really placed in focus as characters are static all throughout. For the case of Mr. Oscar, his motives and reasons for doing such acts is not really clear, as it only goes as far as saying that he does it for the “beauty of the act”. However, these acts may seem to even go over the line. In one scenario, he would bite off a finger of a lady, while acting as a really ugly man that wanted to wreck havoc. Things also got bloody when he acted as a gangster and stabbed a bald man that looked like him. In this scene, he also gets stabbed. The character of Eva Mendes also gives a strange feeling, as she does not react hysterically towards the actions of Me. Oscar, despite the chaos he brought. She also does not react violently when he bites her hair off, eats some bills, strips naked, or even licks her body. I found this scene quite disgusting, because even if he was really just acting for the “appointment”, I believe it was taken too far and no one was even watching anymore.

Because of his altering roles, his identity was never really clear and we only seem to know him as Mr. Oscar and he has a limousine and driver who brings him to his “appointments” which are located in different areas that require him to be in different roles. His limousine is also stashed with various costumes that allow him to fulfill his roles successfully. Another glimpse of his true identity came when he fetched his daughter from the party. As a father, he supported his daughter making friends and going dancing. However, he would be disappointed as his daughter did not engage with the people and hid in the bathroom instead, claiming that her friend Sonia is the one who had the attention of the boys. Furthermore, she believes she is also unattractive and manifests the same traits as her father. Mr. Oscar was disappointed and brought his daughter home as he continues to fulfill his remaining appointments. In some sense, I also get the feeling that Mr. Oscar is not in touch anymore with reality. Given that, he has performed various roles, it is possible that he is simply feeding an illusion that he is an actor. Overall, it was an odd film that wanted to showcase acting skills.