 Moana
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4/5
Recently, I watched Moana and I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. Moana is set three thousand years ago, when the greatest sailors in the world voyaged across the Pacific Ocean, discovering the many islands of Oceania. But then, for a millennium, their voyages stopped - and no one knows exactly why. Moana follows the story of a girl as she craves to explore the ocean again. However, because she is the chief’s daughter and the water is unsafe, she cannot. When fish become scarce and the Island that she calls home begins to die she goes on a courageous adventure to save her people. During her journey, Moana meets the mighty demigod Maui, who guides her. Together, they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds, and along the way, Moana fulfills the ancient quest of her ancestors and saves the island she calls home and the islands surrounding. The music was consistently great and there wasn’t a song that I didn’t like however they were not as catchy and ‘iconic’ as their previous movies. I also enjoyed the fact that there was a strong female lead and the film was diverse; something that Disney had only explored in the movies ‘Princess and a Frog’ (Diversity), and ‘Frozen’ (An independent woman). The characters were developed well and there wasn’t really a lot that I disliked about the film or would improve on. Although Moana is not my favourite Disney film (although will any film top Beauty and the Beast?!), it was definitely good, and I can see why so many of the younger audience loved it. It was a good watch, but I wouldn’t recommend it for any older viewers (13+). By Olivia Burgess, Year 10. |
The Secret Life of Pets
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4/5
This movie was very good and the main characters were developed very well. But, they could have added a bit more of a backstory to the other pets in the apartment building. For example, in the hamster’s case, why was he lost? How did this happen? My favourite character was probably Gadget since she was a likable character also very funny. I also liked Max since he was kind of the leader turned into a scaredy cat. Overall it was a good film and I liked it apart from its very minor flaws. By Jay Harmes, Year 7. |
Of Mice And Men (1992)
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4..5/5
This film adaptation of the 1937 novel (of the same name) by John Steinbeck is possibly the most accurate version of the film as of 2017 (despite there being only two). Some might question the casting choices – namely Sinise casting himself as George, but in my opinion, he did a good job, and he definitely made the right choice of casting John Malkovich as Lennie as Malkovich portrayed Lennie perfectly: giving him a bit of a lisp, playing with his clothes to convey a childlike image of Lennie, and portraying each of Lennie’s emotions as strong and quickly-developing, whereas in the 1939 version, Lennie is just seen as a big, gullible guy rather than a large, slightly mentally-handicapped man. My only real problem with the film is the ending (warning: spoilers ahead!): with the 1992 version, instead of George finishing off the story, then shooting Lennie, he shoots Lennie mid-sentence, during the line “An’ I get to tend the rabb- “. As much as I understand it was for dramatic effect, for those who’ve only seen the film and not the novel, and for GCSE students revising especially, they may think that the film ending is exactly like the novel’s and quote the film instead of the novel. Likewise, the scenes at the beginning with the lady in the red dress in Weed may confuse viewers as, in the novel, it’s mentioned as a past event, whereas in the movie, it’s the opening scene. Director: Gary Sinise Review by Hannah Willman, Year 10 |
