lileonhirth Reviews

Zero Motivation (2014)

Zero Motivation review

[4/10 · 18 December 2017]

Zero Motivation is an Israeli film about a group of women who are working in the Israel Defense Forces. Zohar and Daffi are best friends who traveled together daily to work at the Human Resources Office at a remote dessert base in Israel. One day when they arrive at the base Daffi finds her replacement named Tehila. Daffy's big dream is to work in Tel-Aviv, so she tried to get a replacement and reassignment, so she could work in Tel-Aviv. Rama is the supervisor and head of all the girls working in the defense forces. Daffi and the rest of the base soon found out that Tehila was not her replacement. Tehila snuck onto the base to see a boy that she fell in love with. This boy serving in the forces rejects Tehila, and she then commits suicide. Daffi decided to apply for a position to be an officer because she saw this as the only way to achieve her goal to work in Tel-Aviv. She got transferred to another base, and left her friend Zohar in bad terms. Daffi then graduates from officer training, and instead of being placed in Tel-Aviv, ironically she receives Rama's old position which was extremely ironic. Daffi struggles to discipline the girls that she used to be friends with while working in the office. Zohar and Daffy get involved in a violent fight. These girls got arrested because they were harassing each other. In the end Zohar takes the blame, so that Daffi can experience her dream by working in Tel-Aviv. I would recommend this film to someone who is not looking for a lot of action, and wishes to learn about women's role in the Israeli troops. I have watched many films throughout this school year, and Zero Motivation has not been very intriguing. This film was very boring and did not have any climax which does not allow the viewers to question what will happen next. Although I did not enjoy watching this film, I thought it was very interesting to see footage of all the soldiers serving for the Israel Defense Forces.

Turtles Can Fly (2004)

Turtles can fly

[3/10 · 1 December 2017]

Turtles Can Fly is a film about a ton of refugee kids living in Iraq. These kids work extremely hard every single day. The main character Astrin was abused, raped, and had at kid at the age of 13. Astrin spends her time with her armless brother Hengov and her baby Riga. Throughout this film it is very obvious to see that Astrin struggles with depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. One of the older kids Satellite organizes children into work gangs, and sells mines to dealers. Satellite falls in love with Agrin and tries his hardest to make her happy. Agrin is traumatized throughout the whole film because her parents were killed and she was rapped. Agrin does not live her life because all she can think about is her past. I did not enjoy watching this film because it carried a lot of depressing content. This film was very interesting because it showed a new perspective about the kids in Iraq. I was very interested in how hard the children work to try and make money. Although I did not enjoy watching this film, I would recommend this film to someone who is interested about the history in Iraq. A normal day for children in Iraq is extremely different to a normal day in the United States.

Sand Storm (2016)

SandStorm

[4/10 · 16 November 2017]

This film is about a young Bedouin girl named Layla who is struggling to become free from old traditions, and trying to keep her love for Lamis a secret. Throughout the majority of this film Layla was trying her hardest to keep Lamis a secret from her family especially her mother. This film was not my favorite film I have watched. This film was extremely slow, and many of the scenes did not grab and hold my attention with something exciting. I like how this film took place in Israel because a few years ago I visited Israel, and I thought it was cool how I could relate to the locations and religion. One major theme in this film was how the main characters did not have much to do. In my opinion this made the film boring because there was not a lot action involved. There was only one conflict in this film which was how Layla was trapped between her secret love and her family. This whole film was tied around one main theme which was choice. I would recommend this film to someone who is not looking for a lot of action or exciting scenes.

Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013)

Journey to the West

[4/10 · 24 October 2017]

Journey to the West is about an odd Buddhist monk named Xuan Zang. Xuan Zang is a young demon hunter who must vanquish all of the demons he can find. In the beginning of this film, he is helping a bunch of frightened villagers to take down a giant, hungry, fish that is leaping from the water starting chaos. Xuan Zang has a preferred method of attacking and capturing the demons. He has this book called "300 Nursery Rhymes." Xuan Zang uses this book as a guide to capture and kill all demons. A rival demon hunter named Miss Duan keeps running into Xuan Zang. Miss Duan is a hardcore demon hunter, who is a fearless female that is not afraid of death. Miss Duan fights demons using her magical golden bracelet which is called "The Infinite Flying Rings". She uses these rings to duplicate them and then fling the circles through the air. Xuan Zang and Miss Duan go on many adventures together trying to capture demons. These two characters come across and face many different types of demons. With a sudden change of events Miss Duan finds herself falling hard for Xuan Zang. This film was extremely entertaining to watch. I like how there was so much action involved, and how the plot was constantly changing. One major theme tied into this film was the Buddha.

Chennai Express (2013)

Chennai Express

[7/10 · 12 October 2017]

I enjoyed watching this film, Chennai Express. This film is about a man named Rahul who goes on a trip to Rameshwaram to fulfill his grandfather's last wish. This trip turns into an unexpected adventure when he meets a young woman from southern India named, Meena. This film was extremely enjoyable to watch because it was very unpredictable. There was a lot of action and funny scenes which kept me very entertained. My favorite part of this film was the singing and dancing numbers. These numbers stood out to me because it had hundreds of people wearing these crazy outfits while dancing and singing. I like how the director incorporated these numbers into this film because it was very unique, and something the viewers are not used to watching. Because this film was quite unpredictable, there was a lot of confusing scenes that happened between Rahul and Meena. Many different types of conflicts arose between the two, and it was very hard for me to follow. Besides some of the confusing scenes that showed a great amount of conflict, I would recommend watching this film.

Departures (2008)

Depratures review

[10/10 · 29 September 2017]

I really enjoyed watched the film Departures. This was my favorite film that we have watched this year. This film is about a man named Daigo who quit his passion of playing the cello. Daigo and his wife move back to his hometown in Northern Japan to look for a new living. Daigo finds an ad for a job in which he thinks is a travel agency. Once Daigo was hired, he found out he was actually working as a mortuary. He learns the rituals used in preparing the dead for their final rest. I enjoyed watching this film because it was extremely easy for me to follow, unlike other films I have watched. It is very easy to tell that this film is not American because there is barely any fighting or rivalries. I did not like the beginning of this film because the start of it was a very slow pace. The more I watched this film, the better it got. My favorite part of this film is how the main character, Daigo quits his one and only passion to find a new one. I was expecting that Daigo would have different life because he quits what he loves the most. I like how the director displayed Daigo's character to be bold and willing try new things even if he fails.

Merantau (2009)

Merantau summary

[10/10 · 6 September 2017]

I really enjoyed watching Merantau. This film is about a man named Yuda who left Benaue to go on his Merantau. Yuda started chasing this young boy named Adit because he stole his wallet at a restaurant. Once Yuda got his wallet back, he watched Adit's older sister getting into some trouble. Yuda realized Adit and Astri were good people who has had a very hard life. Throughout the rest of the film, Yuda was trying his hardest to protect Adit and Astri from any type of danger that comes their way. I enjoyed watching this film because I appreciated how thoughtful and protective Yuda was to help others in need. He fought so hard to save Astri and Adit even though he did not know much about them. I thought that Yuda's character in this film showed an immense amount of bravery by sacrificing himself in order to help others. I was extremely confused in the beginning of the film why Yuda was helping people he did not know. Towards the end of this film it is showed why Yuda protected Astri and Adit. Yuda protected Astri and Adit from danger because he is remarkably kind, caring, and is always going to help others.