Heavy trip is a light-hearted and light film to watch. It is not the type of movie that you should take very seriously. The actors were able to act their characters well that they were able to deliver the jokes and gags well that made the audience laugh.  It was a movie that was made to make the people who watch it laugh and it does its job so well.

We knew that they were called the Loser in their village. We knew that they do not have experience in performing live and they did not have their own songs until now. But all of that changed when they met a director of a Norwegian metal festival. Their band which was unnamed are now called Impaled Rektum.  Even though the stakes were high for the main characters the film was able to keep the atmosphere light and comedic so the audience did not have a hard time watching the movie. Instead it made the audience cheer for them more as they are the underdogs. Also things seem simple as they only have to go to Norway to play their music there.  But things escalate too quick that suddenly they are stealing a van and they have a corpse with them too. There are a lot of things that would not make sense or maybe too absurd for us. However we just have to remember not to take too things too seriously and that the movie was made to make us laugh. We don’t need the answers to our Why’s to have fun with watching the movie.      

As someone who does not listen to heavy metal music or have any knowledge about the genre, I thought I would be annoyed whenever the movie would play their music however I kind of enjoyed it instead especially after being introduced to the main characters of the film. Their passion for metal was presented well in the movie and can help the audience appreciate metal more. Heavy metal is usually not that respected by many people especially those of the older generation. But Turo’s line explains everything for me. “This music is our thing. Other guys can play hockey and drive around chasing pussy. We play metal.” Playing metal is not weird. It is just like any other hobbies or likes we have. It is something that other people can enjoy. And just because you can’t enjoy it doesn’t mean it is wrong or it is not good.

As a senior my journey in European films for this class ends with Heavy Trip. I am glad that the last film we watched was Heavy Trip because it is something familiar and light to watch especially compared to the other films where things were weird and I do not know how to understand like Persona which was one of the films our class started with. Now that we are bombarded with a lot of different requirements from different subjects, watching Heavy Trip was a nice break to have.

When I was watching this movie, all I could really thinking about was, “hey, haven’t have I already watched this movie?” let me explain…

So the movie “Heavy Trip” revolves around this heavy metal band called “Impaled Rektum” with their members: Turo, Lotvonen, Pasi and Jynkky. The band kinda sucks, but Lotvonen is keen on working hard to get is big break. A majority of the movie lies within this road trip that this band makes in order to play at a festival that they weren’t even invited in. This got me thinking, haven’t I seen this before? A movie wherein the protagonist, who is highly optimistic about their dreams and aspirations, and his band (yes pun intended) of comrades go on a road trip in order to accomplish something that initially seems impossible, along the way they have run-ins with many different characters who they seem to unintentionally rub the wrong way and have said characters chase them to their eventual destination. Once they get to their destination they do the impossible, but with the eventual repercussions of their actions on their way to get there, but they still emphasize the small victories. The plot of the movie isn’t an original one, it’s been done over and over again in movies like: We’re The Millers, Due Date, and Wild Hogs.

Just because the movie isn’t original, doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. The movie as a whole is very light-hearted, there aren’t too many scenes that require the full capacity of my brain to focus on every little detail, and sometimes that’s okay. Some movies are really just like that, like Heavy Trip, they’re just there for some cheap laughs and to, hopefully, bring a smile to the faces of the audiences, with a story of hard work, dedication, and eventual triumph.

From the movie title, I thought it was a movie about a person’s heavy journey somewhere. It surprised me when the movie was actually about a heavy metal band. It was a music genre that I never learned to appreciate no matter how many times I listened to that genre. Despite having this prior hesitation about the movie, the distaste that I had about it just made me think that I would not enjoy this film. To my surprise, some scenes in the movie had a comedic ring to it. I think the scene which made me laugh because I remember it being in Pitch Perfect. This particular part of the film was when the band lead singer probably had stage fright and accidentally pukes in front of their audience. The same incident happened in that aforementioned movie.Apart from that, I think one of the central themes that was quite evident in the film is camaraderie. It was showcased through the relationship among the bandmates of Impaled Rektum, which could be associated also with the Barden Bellas. Through their numerous garage practices, they have formed this bond with each other — some sort of brotherhood manifested in the movie. Despite the mishaps their band had to go through, they were successful in the end. I think what is important in the movie is how they regarded each member with the utmost importance. Basically, acknowledging that one another plays a key role in their band and they would not make it if one of them was not there. I honestly think that them having a strong friendship helped their band foster. Despite the many trials in achieving their dream to become a famous, concert playing kind of band, they obviously had to constantly persevere for this dream. They did not give up easily and showed their determination in pursuing this and eventually they got there and made it.

The film, Raw was honestly by far the the most disturbing movie I have ever watched. It was too gory, bloody and made my stomach churn each time Justine tried to eat human flesh. It was just crazy. There were scenes I really had to look away and cover my eyes and ask my seatmate whether or not the scenario already changed. I just could not handle it. I really expressed myself while watching it, I tend to react and just shake my head each time there were scenes that left me asking “WTF is happening”, “Why is she doing that?”

I realized that Justine was just really exploring herself as a freshman in College. I could remember the same feeling I had and the same urges I wanted to try and wonder around different aspects that can happen. It can be said that the film is a coming-of-age type of movie. She was a girl who was slowly transforming herself as a woman who was more aware about what she wants and needs. Despite having odd desires for cannibalism. Though, it can be said that the film was able to show the awkward transformation of a young woman who was eventually awakened with the desires she finally acknowledged.

Her new way of life was deeply emphasized in her stay in college. From being away from home and the rules of her parents, she was finally free to do the things she wanted and make decisions for herself. Though her struggle in discovering her identity was not entirely disturbing there were moments when I personally found it funny and embarrassing at the same time. Anyone who has moved out of their parents’ house could have related to the film especially the ones who dorm or condo around katip since  they understand the loneliness of being away from home.

Just like her, I think I’m pretty sure at some point most of us here already got drunk and made bad decisions while at a party and just realizing it the next day while recovering from a hangover. Basically, went through the same things as she did while she was still in college. Those kinds of moments were quite evident in the film but the things that happened to her was more on the extreme side of things.

Watching the movie Heavy Trip is like riding a roller coaster again and again, having yourself mixed with so many emotions that you feel like you’re going to puke. Literally. It all began with this oddly looking person… not even sure if it was a guy or girl at first glance. Only to find out that this seemingly quiet person is part of a heavy metal band with a bunch of his best friends who also have a similar look with him. And it wasn’t your typical heavy metal band. No, they were different, their band name was so unique that anybody who would hear it once would definitely remember it for the rest of their lives… Their band was called Impaled Rektum. And these weren’t your average heavy metal players because they had a higher goal in life: to create heavy metal music that could be equivalent to or hopefully more than a “symphonic post-apocalyptic reindeer-grinding Christ-abusing extreme war pagan Fennoscandian metal” sound. So Turo and his band are pretty close, they practically spend almost their entire days together in max’s basement. They’re so passionate for heavy metal music that max refuses to continue the stable job that his family owns and just continue improving his craft in creating heavy metal music. This just shows how they all practically live and breathe heavy metal that they’re almost willing to forego everything else. Another example of this would be where they had high hopes to be accepted into the big music festival happening in Norway and so they dedicated everyday to train for it because they knew that this opportunity was their calling and that something like this may not happen again. So they practiced and practiced really hard. Eventually it spread in the town of the news of them being accepted to the said concert. This inspired and motivated them even more to become successful in their concert that they decided they would stop at nothing until they would be there and perform to the best of their capabilities. It was sad to find out and see though that they in fact, were not included in the line up. This led to a series of unfortunate events. Not only did the entire town now despise them for lying, but they were also apprehended by the chief of police because he thought that they were a threat to the community. Their reputation now gone, no one left to support them, and still they managed to be struck by the worst possible event to date. They lost one of their band members to a car crash. But his death was for no reason, he died in vein trying to revive their hopes for their collective dream to perform in the music festival and make everyone proud of them and what they could achieve. Though tragic, this did not stop the band from pursuing their goal. They recruited a new member and managed to arrive in the music festival despite still having so many challenges on their journey on the way there. It was not a surprise that upon arriving there, they were granted passage to enter through their efforts and performed out of their minds that they had a standing ovation from everyone attending. It was surprising to see so much welcome from the crowd despite Turo throwing up on one of the persons in front of the stage, right before playing their first song. Everyone was just so happy to hear a unique and fresh sound to heavy metal music that they never heard of before. Of course, this was all possible because one of their band members had the brain capacity to distinguish whether that song they created was similar to any other song made and popularized before. So with this hit, their band was able to bring back their solid reputation within the community, as well as the heavy metal music industry and its fans. On a personal note, I’m not so much a fan of heavy metal music. Although, being a performer, I do understand the similar trials and circumstances that we face given that heavy metal music and dance, though different, are both within the overall performing and arts industry. We usually train long hours and sometimes people don’t see the importance of what we do or maybe that it isn’t stable as a job. But we continue to sacrifice and work hard for it because we’re passionate and we hope that we can touch others along the way. I really appreciate seeing this movie because it has given me a different aspect of the performing and arts industry that is unique, yet so extremely interesting. also believe that heavy metal music is not given that much recognition. And so to all those who like to critique this style of performing arts, I recommend you to watch this movie and see how it really is for yourself.

The movie, The Edukators directed by Hans Weingartner involved three main characters namely Peter, Jan and Jule. Peter and Jan claim themselves to be the “edukators”, they educate the wealthy class by way of entering their houses and leaving a notice that their days are numbered. Although, upon hearing about what the film was about, it immediately reminded me of the Hollywood movie, The Bling Ring since it also involved breaking into wealthy people’s houses in Beverly Hills, which usually were the house of actors and actresses. However, the characters in that film often stole things from  those places. Comparing these two films, they had different intentions even if they both trespassed into other people’s property. For the Edukators, it was trying to show that they were trying to make a statement, a stand that rich people will not always have it that way. Some sort of ‘all good things come to an end’ was the kind of mentality that they had. It could be said that Jan and Peter resented somewhat privileged people. It may be caused by the circumstances they were in, since they were part of the class who tries to get by and essentially not as privileged compared to them.

They initially did not have intentions in causing harm to anyone but this changed when one of the owners caught them in the act.  This was the time when Jan brought Jule with him in one of the visits, when unfortunately, Jule mistakenly left her phone. The only reason why they deliberately chose that specific house is because it was to help Jule to “educate” the businessman who she owes money to. This then quickly backfires when they thought they killed him but he was just knocked out pretty bad after getting hit in the head. The storyline progresses from there and to keep the audience interested, a love triangle was added, which added further drama between the friendship and relationship of the three main characters. Despite having this issue, they were able to resolve it and move on from the cheating and betrayal of Jule and Jan to Peter. Apart from this, I like how they were able to establish a strong relationship with the businessman that whom they kidnapped. Even if he was held captive, he was treated in a humane way and not as a prisoner. It was interesting how they allied with him and earned his trust that he would not tell on them.

The movie, Timecrimes of Nacho Vigalondo was a film primarily about time-travel. Before watching the movie, I actually built up my expectation for the movie since I compared to the Back to the Future films that I have already watched before. Anything that concerns time-travel clearly messes up or changes the present timeline especially if there were changes in the past.

I thought the movie was going to be chill but in the first few scenes turns out that the film had a thriller vibe to it. I think what’s common among time-travel movies is that each time-travel creates a different outcome, a new possibility of things that will transpire for that specific moment. This movie reminds us that each decision has their own consequences that can change completely your entire life. It’s crazy how that point at which where he left would not exist anymore since there is a tendency for the people who goes back to the past and change whatever they go through. What I like film though is that it touched on a delicate subject of life, which is death, it certainly is inevitable. However,  the progression of the story just shows that possibility of death was quite evident. I think that aspect of it makes the film more interesting since it makes or emphasizes the idea that death is inevitable.

Films like this makes me realize how life is short and how one should grab the opportunity when one can. It makes me aware that in life we do not really get second chances, it rarely happens. That is why when an opportunity presents itself, one must think about it critically but decide on it immediately as long as its there. Our choices and decisions will always have effects towards our life and the people involved in it. It could either have good or bad outcomes but these what shapes us to become better people.

Among all the films, the five obstructions had the most different format. It was like a documentary but not completely. It was a film about a film and how the film could be re done. I found it shocking how Von tier who seemed much younger was the one ordering Leth who appears to be the pro. With each obstruction he gave, leth would participate and was very professional with accepting the challenge as well. At first, I assumed that the obstructions were meant to really challenge Leth. I also assumed that it was von tier trying to modernize the film “a perfect human”. I saw how Leth wasn’t exactly comfortable with the obstructions given that it was far from his usual style. He did struggle with it but always tried his best to deliver. The first obstruction felt like a warm up round but nonetheless very different from what Leth has done before. But Leth was able to be innovative in incorporating the 12 frames obstruction that von tier gave. The result was beautiful and creative. The second obstruction for me felt like Leth sort of missed the point of the obstruction. The point was to show empathy which he Leth failed to do. The third obstruction was brought about by Leth’s “failure” in the second obstruction. Here, we saw the struggles of Leth as he created a film without his preferred rules. This obstruction seems to show that when one makes a film seemingly without rules, something can still be created out of sheer creativity and drive. The fourth obstruction for me was personally one of the things I liked the most. To see the film as a cartoon was definitely something fresh and different. It looked cool to see how a cartoon which for me usually meant that I was for kids, could have so much depth and mystery. I really liked how Leth was able to showcase his film using cartoons and how he went out of his way to understand the art (even working with a pro artist). This really showed how he was committed to what he was doing even if he said how much he hated cartoons. He was still up for the challenge. The fifth obstruction is where everything gets tied up. I realized here how all the four obstructions had a bigger purpose. It wasn’t just to test the capabilities of Leth as a film maker. It was in fact for Leth to see his full potential. I think that Von tier had so much respect for Leth that he made his own version of the perfect human and allowed Leth to narrate this so that Leth could be seen as the object of this film. The point for me here was to show that a perfect film and perfect human isn’t about how clean and “perfect” it is. It’s about the flaws that give it realness and character. Overall I enjoyed how these two directors, who are both amazing in their own right, found a way to learn and adapt from each other. It was such a well executed “documentary” showcasing the talents of both film makers. I feel like I have a much deeper respect for all those working in the film industry after watching the 5 obstructions. It really is no easy feat and it requires you to pour out your heart, passion and mind to it.