Post Grad (2009)

★★★½✩

Post Grad is the story of a girl with a plan—the perfect plan. School, work, she’s got it all figured out—until the plan fails.

Ryden Malby’s life seems to fall apart after her college graduation, when she is forced to move back in with her (slightly kooky) family after she doesn’t get her dream job—in fact, she can’t seem to get any job at all. Her relationship with her best friend is faltering, and she just can’t seem to get her act together. Played by Alexis Bledel, Ryden reminds us of Rory, the character we all know and love from Gilmore Girls, but is different enough for us to believe that she is not the same person. The roles of Ryden’s parents are played by Michael Keaton and Jane Lynch, ensuring that the viewer is always kept smiling. There is some romance for the girls, and some comedy so that the boyfriends don’t fall asleep on the couch. All in all, Post Grad is a well-rounded comedy with a little something for everyone—perfect for watching in groups, with your family or by yourself.

This film also serves to remind us all of a valuable lesson: life doesn’t always work out the way you expected—which is not always a bad thing.

La Cabina (a.k.a. The Phone Box) (1972)

★★★½✩

A short horror film from Spain and made in 1972, La Cabina reminds us of what horror movies are supposed to be: carefully thought out and cleverly made productions. That scare the crap out of us.

Unlike the blood, guts, gore and monsters that are shoved into our faces in modern-day horror flicks, La Cabina, like other horror films of its time, scares us with ideas, fear, and how people treat other people—and, in this case, with accepting the impossibility of changing your fate. The plausibility of this story actually happening is probably what makes La Cabina—at least according to many—one of the scariest short films ever made. In fact, perhaps that is why people have stopped making scary movies like greats such as Alfred Hitchcock once did—it is easier to be faced with monsters and unlikely explosions of blood than to be faced with your own realistic fears.

Regardless of whether you enjoy modern-day or old-style horror flicks, two things are certain; Firstly, La Cabina is worth the watch; Secondly, once you’ve seen it, you’ll never again look at a phone box without fear.

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

★★★★✩

With a record breaking first weekend at the box office and several huge stars, combined with the facts that it is one of the most beloved stories of all time (and in 3D!), the expectations for the film Alice in Wonderland are extremely high. Unfortunately, such high expectations are rarely fully met, and this is no exception.

Most noticeably, the name of the movie is deceiving, for while it is based on the books ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and ‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’ by Lewis Carroll—and noticeably so—it is a completely different tale. It is more of a continuation of the original, and those who expect to see their favourite fairy-tale in a new light don’t get what they expected. There are also several points in the plot where there is a lull, or where everything happens much too quickly, as if the film's suspense and excitement were not properly distributed. The movie’s ending, in particular, seems out of place and unrealistic—reactions seem unsuited to characters and something seems, well, “off”.

HOWEVER, one has absolutely NO TIME to dwell on these negative aspects because they are greatly outnumbered and outdone by the positive ones. The digital effects are awesomely magical and the costumes and make-up are extremely impressive. One finally gets to enter the world that everyone has dreamed of being in—the 3D helps with this, of course, but is not a necessity. High-profile actors are seen in roles the likes of which we have never seen them in before, and fun ones at that—Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat, and Alan Rickman as the Blue Caterpillar, to name a few.

All in all, despite it’s faults, Alice in Wonderland deserves a high rating, and is definitely worth seeing. However, is it a film I could see again and again and never ever tire of? Probably not.

Once (2006)

★★★★½

With it’s moving music and sweet storyline, Once is a film that touches your heart. The fact that it is an independent, low-budget production filmed with a handheld camera and acted in by musicians, not actors, makes it real, relatable and all the more amazing.

The story is of two people, a guy and a girl—their names are never mentioned—and their connection through their love of music. The paths of their lives cross for only a short period of time, and it is this period of time that the film in focused on. The atmosphere is formed by amazing songs and only improved by the impressive cinematography—which doesn’t include the excessive shaking a handheld camera usually results in.

This film touched the world—and for good reason. For ‘once’, the little fish made it in the big tank. The VERY big tank, actually, if going home with an Oscar in your hand is big.