A few less men

RNIS was invited to the screening of this movie by Weekendnotes and did not have to pay.

The movie was set in Australia and London. This is the sequel to A Few Best Men where there was a wedding in Central Australia. The movie is directed by Mike Lampell.

This was a feel good movie but not in the family way. It was more about sexism and cocks. It was set in Australia with Xavier Samuel being the angry brother in London. All four boys are British and they were portrayed very well by the actors. Xavier Samuel portrayed a very good David who is British.

It all started when the wedding went horribly wrong. Mike who was very drunk fell off the cliff and then a rock hit him. From there the three boys had to take the body back to London. First of all they crashed the small plane which would bring them to Perth and then they had to find some other way in the form of Maureen and others to take them there.

In London though Graham had to read the eulogy which was really funny as they mentioned cock one last time and he passed out from it. And then they cried.

Jeremy Sims played a very serious pilot and he was great at the job. Shane Jacobsen did really playing someone who is gay and intimidating to the three boys.

This would be a really good movie for all my queer friends (and some not so) to go and see it now. 

ben hur

Ben Hur is a remake of the 1959 classic starring Jack Huston and Morgan Freeman. It is set in Rome and Jersualem and it is where Judah Ben Hur was falsely accused of killing someone of the Roman empire.

This version of Ben Hur is pretty good and the sound effect are great- if not captivating. There is a lot of violence and blood in the film so it may not be for everyone. The English actors who played Judah and Messala were great.

The movie is set in 33 BC and starts in Rome. Here Judah and Messala are living the happy life partying and then their father dies. Three years later Messiah is now the captain of the Roman army and Judah is living in Jersulem married to Esther, Messala's ex. War breaks out and one of the soldiers is shot by an arrow killing him. Messala wrongly accuses Judah and the family and then they are sent away on the ship. Five years later Judah meets Ilderim, a free man with the chariots.

One day Judah races against his brother in those chariots and he kills him and wins. And there is a happy ending.


Do go and see the film if you love blood and action and killing.

The new minion movie and why you should see it

As part of Bupa's best blog competition for 2015

They say that laughter is the best medicine and it is. Students now is a good time to see the movie, now that your exams are over.

Following from the old movies (Despicable Me 1 and 2) there is a new movie featuring minions and Scarlett Overkill. It is set in the year of 1968 when the Beatles were famous and 40 before Gru came along. There are three minions: Bob, Steve and Kevin. Bob was the youngest one and the overzealous one and Steve was the hungriest one.

A thousand years ago the Minions had a few rulers and they overpowered them all. They were left on their own for some time now and they got bored. So Kevin had an idea to find a new one in New York. He chose the two companions and together they set off. In a department store in New York they found out about the Villian Con and they got there.

This is how they met Scarlett (voiced by Sandra Bullock) who is pure evil. She lives in London and wants the queens crown. She gets it alright but then they get locked up. At the coronation she is about to be crowned queen when the Minions stop her. The other thousands of minions arrive to save the day.

It was a pure joy to watch and it will have you laughing until the very end. Do see this enjoyable movie.

The Emperor's New Clothes

RNIS was invited to the screening of this movie which starred Russell Brand.

Directed by Michael Winterbottom this movie was really thought provoking. All throughout the movie they kept to referring to the big banks in London. We can say the same in Australia as well where the richer get richer and the poor get poorer. Whilst the rich don't have to pay much tax, the poor people have to pay lots.

Although it is based in Britain and the US we will also compare it with Australia.

Its very much the same in Australia under Tony Abbott where there is a doctor fee and food is becoming more expensive.  Like London where the big corporations don't pay tax and pay their workers little, Australia is the same. All the people want the big companies to pay their fair share and we all think that its not fair that the low income workers have to pay. There is also a huge gap in yearly salaries. The average worker takes home about 20,000 British pounds

But in Australia most of the fast food, retail and hospitality jobs go to the International students. Melbourne is multicultural in which it owns lots of Asian eateries and stores- some of which don't pay their workers well. Also housing like in the UK is a huge problem in Australia where the poor are homeless. Like the UK, Melbourne and Sydney have a lot of greedy landlords who are willing to charge high prices

They also talk about the GFC where Wall Street came crashing down.

The film was funny in some parts but thought provoking in others. All in all it is a great film for those that love a documentary.

The Avengers- the land of Ultron

" Trouble is always brewing"

The Avengers is one of Marvels works and they are successful. The first movie was a success and now this one is too with all the students talking about it at uni. So RNIS went and saw the movie at Hoyts.

Directed by Joss Whedon, the movie is from the novel by Stan Lee.

The movie featured lots and lots of stunts and it must have cost them millions as town after town was destroyed. The sound effects were really good. The movie is really long and goes 141 mins

Robert Downey Jr stars as Iron Man/Tony Stark who was dominant in every way shape or form. Ultron was voiced by James Spader who loves to play tough characters and he does it very well. Look at "The Black List" and you'll know why.

It also stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor. You may remember him from Home and Away.

Your favourite characters are back but Ultron breaks their bond and kills them. But they all survive and eventually they kill Ultron by working together and its happily ever after.  But there are also some new ones such as Quicksilver and Scarlet witch who were under Ultron's spell but then in the end they decide to become an Avenger and fight him and his cronies which destroyed town after town. They also destroy the genric science laboratory where Dr Cho resides and kill her when she fails to perform something for Ultron.

Ultrons mission is to destroy the world and that is what he did. He wanted the cradle in the laboratory but Hawkeye seized it and gave it to Ironman.

Do see the movie as it has lots of good stunts and this movie is best seen in Lux or Gold Class as you can enjoy a beer with this.

The Gunman

RNIS was invited to watch The Gunman courtesy of Weekend Notes

Starring Sean Penn, Javier Bardem and Jasmine Trinca the movie is about this guy (Terrier)'s movements between Barcelona, England and Congo. Along the way he meets agents from the Intrepol for his drug movements.

Directed by Pierre Morrel, the movie has lots of action. Jasmine Trinca's English and her portrayal of Annie was really good.

Sean Penn plays a sick guy who loves his guns and he does a good job of this. He looks a lot like Grant Bowler.

The story started eight years ago when Terrier (Penn) kills the minister in Congo. He then since started working for the mines. After eight years there was a fight in the mines and Terrier travelled back to London where he meets his friends Cox and Stanley. Cox ran his own gun business (or so we think when he is an actual Interpol agent who betrayed Terrier. He was trying to catch Terrier out).

Terrier goes to Barcelona to reunite with his girlfriend (Annie played by Jasmin) and fix things up with Felix.  Annie is married to Felix. Jasmin Trinca does a good job of playing Annie. There is sex and Annie kisses Terrier at the apartment. Terrier is invited and during the lunch there is a shootout. Felix ends up dead and the Terrier and Annie escape.

Stanley takes both of them into his flat and looks after them. That is until Stanley is shot dead and Annie is captured.

In the end all the Interpol agents are dead and Annie and Terrier reunite in Congo

The action in this movie is intense and good and the gun shots are loud so if you don't like loud gun shots and get nightmares easily then don't watch this. But if you love action then this is for you.

Many thanks to Weekend Notes for the invite.

Moonlight Cinema

As part of Bupa's best blog competition for 2015

Logo from dailymelbourne.com

Moonlight cinema has been around for a while and its popular with the locals

It is outside and it is cold in the Royal Botanic gardens Tickets are $10-$19 and bean bag hire is $9 extra. Do bring your own rug. It is also BYO wine.

The walk from the tram stop to the cinema is quite long so do wear comfortable shoes. Dogs are also welcome and we patted two very friendly dogs.

Moonlight Cinema has some hot food available but sometimes there is none and they will tell you in advance. We didn't buy any food having had dinner in the city.

Dior and I is a documentary.

We saw Dior and I which was a true life story about Christian Dior and fashion the way it is today. It was all about being elegant and feminine. He started his clothing line in 1947. By then fashion was about the square shoulders and not about being feminine.

In this we loved the black and white pictures and the very pretty artwork that was used. We also loved the watermelon colored material that was used on the model to create a dress.

In the current day we take a look inside a fashion designers house where they are presenting 10-15 designs for a big fashion show. Everything of course is frantic. The boss is a little bit like Miranda Priestly of the Devil wears Prada where he won't take no for an answer. He also mentions that you had weeks and weeks to prepare.

Finally the day arrives and like in 1947 the boss is a bit nervous about the journalists and being photographed.

Do see this documentary if you are fashion lover.

The Book of Life

RNIS was invited to this screening by 20th Century Fox.

This screening was at the Jam Factory in South Yarra. The movie was well received by many bloggers and their children who were happily playing with balloons during the movie.

The story is about being true to yourself and being selfless. It is also about fighting the enemies within you.

The story is set in Mexico during the Day of the dead. Mary Bell (Christina Applegate) reads a story about Maria and her true love Manolo in the 19th Century. Zoe Saldana was wonderful in playing the rebellious princess and Diego Luna is Maria's true love.  Maria is a beautiful woman.

The story starts when Joaquin, Manolo and Maria were kids and Maria was being rebellious. One day she let the bull into the town and it scared most people. Manolo fought off the bull but Joaquin was praised for his actions. As a punishment for her actions Maria is sent to Spain to learn how to be a lady.

Over the years Maria learns lots and appreciates the finer things in Europe. Manolo is trained to be a bull fighter but his heart is into songs and his love for Maria. When Maria returns Joaquin proposes. She thinks about it and eventually they marry.

But she still loves Manolo and they meet over the bridge. Xibalba (from the Land of Forgotten) sends a snake and it bit Maria. She dies and Manolo is blamed for her death.

Then Manolo goes home to the Land of the remembered and he reunites with his family and learns that his relatives were good at bull fighting. The scenery for the Land of the remembered was nicely done

Mary Bell in the present day aslso tells the children about the land of the forgotten and the land where everyone remembers you. The Land of rememberance is beautiful and that's where Manolo's family lives. When Manolo visits they forgive him for not visiting sooner and in the end they help Manolo fight against the bandits.

In the end they get married and fight all the bandits together.

Thanks Nuffnang for the invite and do watch the movie when it comes out on the big screen

The Second Best Marigold Hotel

RNIS received a complimentary ticket thanks to City of Melbourne. They received this for volunteering at the Student Welcome desk

They say that laughter is the best medicine and that is very true.

The story follows on from the first one where the hotel is succeeding and there is virtually no vacancies. It starts off when Dev and Muriel are in the US trying to get the expansion. They are told that a hotel reviewer will be staying at the hotel and then providing the feedback. The hotel reviewers are Lavinia Beech (its actually Teresa) and Guy Chambers (played by Richard Gere). Sonny treats them both well and he takes roll call every morning

The story is set in India and it is captured well.

The hotel is a place where the elderly stays.

Dev Patel was really good in playing Sonny and the movie was funny in lots of areas. Sonny gets on well with the girlfriend but there are a few fights about the little things and the wedding didn't quite go as well as planned.

His mother, Mummyji got along well with Guy on a date.

Evelyn accepts the job offer in Mumbai and has moved there. But she came back for the wedding.

Do see the movie if you love a good laugh and being transported to India.

Elle as part of the Alliance Francise Film festival

This French Film festival is on again this year for two and a half weeks. All the movies are showing at Palace Cinemas which is a lovely location and in fact they even have their popcorn combos online which makes buying snacks much easier. We wished that Hoyts did this.

Well we went to see Elle which is part comedy, part action. It was $19.50 for the ticket and we paid online as to skip the queue.Do book your tickets online

The Como was a lovely intimate place in which you can bring alcohol and your own meals in.

Now onto Elle

Directed by Jeanne Herry this film is a must see if you love both comedy and action.

Elle is a story about a husband (Vincent Lacroix) who murdered his wife Julie. Vincent is a famous singer in Paris. One night Vincent and his friends were playing poker and Julie was watching TV. She had enough of him and his friends and she went upstairs. She started throwing her things around and Vincent got annoyed. He got so annoyed that he pushed Julie into a bookshelf and accidentally killed her. He then went to his sister (Muriel's ) place and asked her to drive to Switzerland with the body in the trunk and dispose of it there.

Muriel is a compulsive liar who likes to tell stories.

But Muriel does not go there. In fact she dumps the body in the forest in countryside France and then goes to visit her mother who lives about a six hour drive away. Muriel was at the flea market selling her goods when Vincent rang using a mobile that he stole from his favourite café.

A few days after Julie's death Vincent goes around pretending that Julie is alive and missing. But then the police find her body in the forest and then they blame Muriel and Muriel tries to tell them the truth.

But in the end does the police find out the real truth- ie that it was Vincent that murdered his wife?

Do watch this movie at Palace before the film festival runs out.

50 Shades of Grey

RNIS went to see 50 Shades of Grey at Hoyts and enjoyed the film. They also learnt a few things. Here is their recap of the movie. Do watch the trailer below.

50 Shades of Grey is a powerful movie about sex and abusive relationships which is based on a book by E.L James. The movie is rated MA for the sexual scenes and it is best to see this in Hoyts Lux as it is more intimate.

The movie stars Darkota Johnston as the university graduate, Anastasia Steele. Anastasia studied English literature and in the beginning interviews Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) who is the successful millionare. He owns his own entreprise and mansion. He is abusive and cold towards Anastasia right from the very beginning.

At the beginning she shares the house with roommate Kate. They are very close.  But then she moves out and into his mansion with Christian manipulating her. Christian sells Anastasia's old car and givers her a new one much to her dismay. In the end she gets him to give all the money for the car.

He makes Anastasia sign the contract which in the end she does not do and she requests a business meeting with him in his office. He then takes her to meet his parents and then she goes and sees her mum in Georgetown. Christian then surprises her when she wants to spend some time alone with her mum.

He also takes off her clothes and we see her completely naked.

There are a lot of sexual scenes in the movie most of which are naked.  In these scenes Christian is really forcing Anastasia to accept them. She cries throughout. Anastasia is a virgin. Christian refuses to sleep with her saying that he had a rough time with his mum when he was little. Christian's mum died due to drug overdose and prostitution.

Everytime something bad happens he hits Anastasia in the playroom.

In the end she breaks it off with him in his mansion.

What do we learn from the movie?
* A relationship is a two way street
* You can say no to sex if you want. There is no excuse for raping a woman.
* It is not ok to hit a woman

Do see the movie to arose your sexual fantasies.

The Imitation game

RNIS was invited to this movie by Study Melbourne and they will review it shortly.

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley this is a good film to go and see. Directed by Mortem Tydlum. Mortem directed this film really well where it talked about themes and the game.

The story is set in London in the second world war.

"The Imitation Game" is a movie about Alan Turing's life and his contribution in World War two. Alan Turing did what no one else could do and that is to break the enigma code.  Benedict plays Alan Turing and he got a nomination for his work.

Plot
"The Imitation Game" is Alan's paper where it is a game of who decides the probability. It starts off in 1951 where Alan's home is robbed. Alan is a professor in Maths and he also has some secrets up his sleeve such as being a homosexual. In that time in Britain being gay was illegal and so of course Alan was punished. It was only in the late 1960's that homosexuality was allowed.

In 1939 Alan starts work in a supposed Radio factory. Really it is not. It is a place where the code is broken and where messages from the Germans are decrypted from 6am in the morning until 12 midnight. Alan is cold towards his teammates.

Alan meets Joan later on and she finishes the puzzle within six minutes. They fall in love and get engaged. But later on Alan decides its too risky for Joan to stay at Bletchey Park and so to get her to leave he tells her he is gay.

Alan had to be very secretive about it but he also found out who was the spy was and that was John. Stewart knows it was John and he placed him at Bletchley park. Stewart accuses Joan of being a spy and she is sent to military camp. Alan comes home and finds out and tells Stewart he knows as well.

Years after Alan died due to the hormonal medicine (his punishment for being a homosexual)  computers were developed. In 2013 Alan was recognised for his work.

Early Childhood
In 1928 Alan attended an all boys school and had OCD. He separated his peas and pumpkin and the other boys teased him for that. But there was one friend called Christopher who helped him out when he least expected it and they swapped codes. Christopher lent Alan the book.

Soon after the holidays ended Christopher died of illness. The machine was named after him.

Do go and see this film as it quite funny in some parts where Alan is cold and unsociable