Disturbia (2007 Film) Review, sort of.

I recently enjoyed a night over at my girlfriends, which is always a humbling and loving experience. Among many things, both of us share a love for movies, especially the kind that trigger thought and provoke emotions of a more mature and deeper nature. I'm not talking incredibly dramatic and intricately twisted plots with many underlying themes beneath the main plot that are teaming to escape; I mean a basic enough film that is generally for the more aware and intelligent sort of audience.

So on that night, pretty early into the hours of the morning, we decided to put on a film called Disturbia. A 2007 remake of Alfred Hitchcock's classic, starring Shia Labeouf. Now, I've never seen the original, so don't expect a comparison of the two films in this article. I had read a few things on the plot of the original, but was mostly clueless thus particularly excited to see the film as my girlfriend, Demi, had highly recommended it.

Now the plot, as I discovered, is about a young man (played by Shia) who is forced into home arrest, soon overwhelmed by the sheer scope of boredom that now plagues his teenage existence. As expected in every Hollywood movie, there is a blonde American sweetheart that acts as eye candy more than anything and begs the question; is her character really that important to the story? In my opinion, no. But nonetheless, it doesn't harm the integrity of the movie in the slightest.

The film does a very good job of putting forth this notion of boredom and the way it can eat at someones soul. And it is equally good at pacing the story in the beginning, however as I'll explain in a while, less so towards the end. The main plot in the storyline, without spoiling too much for you, is that Shia witnesses what could possibly be a murder, or so he assumes. Some shit happens, other shit happens, and yet more shit happens as different interests and side plots ensue, then before you know it, it's all kicked off and without a warning, it's all over. I can't stress enough how much I loved the pacing in this film. It was slow in the beginning, but it had to have been to emphasize the loneliness of house arrest, rather than just having a cheesy 2 minute montage. But the end comes about far too quickly. There is a lot of semi suspense, then all of a sudden lots and then in a flash, the credits start rolling.

Although the main theme of Disturbia is thriller and suspense, the 2007 remake seems to have a good dose of comedy thrown in there with a bit of loving in the air. But it has been masterfully blended, like a fine salad, so that no taste is over the top or demeaning another, rather, they are all complimenting one another in a majestic and light fashion that is highly praised in the world of cookery, as is the art of blending 3 genres into one single film. Only some films do it right, and if they do, they have the right to be branded as good films, if they don't, nothing else will make up for it. Disturbia succeeds in this department, as I have just said, with flying colours.

The acting on Shia's behalf is superb. I've seen a few films with him in them, but I mostly remember him from Even Stevens, nonetheless, his performance is absolutely fantastic. The nature of the role and the script itself in this remake relies on Shia putting across a very realistic portrayal of a real life teenager. This requires a technique of acting that makes you feel like you're watching people from outside your window as they go on about their daily lives, which is ironically what the film is about. It's difficult to put into words, but one insignificant scene where Shia walks up to his room and is peering through the window only to be scared to death by his mother who stalks up behind him to say bid him goodnight. The reaction by Shia and the way they interact over this little misunderstanding is remarkable. It seems so organic, free flowing and totally unscripted. I had instantly thought, "Woah, hold on, that felt like I was watching my mother interact with my brother!".

So without further ado, go watch this bloody movie. Prefebly with a partner so you can hold them during the suspensive scenes; or as I did, jump off the bed on all fours and pretend to be the demon possessed girl from The Exorcist to scare the shit out of my girlfriend. But seriously, Disturbia, fantastic film. I haven't done it any justice with this half hearted review, but trust me when I say, a definite must watch.

Oh and Shia sort of looks like me, according to my mum, so yeah. Bye.

-Leutrim

Make the most of it

As much as we dislike and disagree with the very foundations of religions, and not so much the people who follow them but more so their irritating ignorance, us sane minded folk must give our thanks to them. If it wasn't for the lunatics who celebrate the birthday and "deathday" of a make believe character, you and I would have no holidays to look forward to.

A holiday we are about to begin enjoying is Easter holiday, which should span about 2 weeks. For most of us it's a welcomed break from work and studying. Allowing us instead to enjoy the finer things in life; such as the company of friends and loved ones or as I love to spend my lazy afternoons, playing PC games while eating a whole batch of green olives. What? I like the taste and I heard a rumor somewhere that they're healthy for you.

For other people, it's a perfect opportunity to accomplish hobbies and goals that they've had their eye on for a long time. Whether it be to visit the Natural History Museum, to begin telling a story through the medium of written text in the form of a novel, learning to play guitar so that they may write a petty but adorable love song for their girlfriend or simply to complete some essay work they're tutor won't get their arse off for. Whatever your goals may be, now is a good time to act and make them come to fruition.

If the whack jobs in their churches have brought us any gift, it is a 2 week holiday which we can use to our advantages. And sure it is only natural you take this time to kick back and enjoy life, but my argument is that it is far more fulfilling to try to achieve something with this time instead. If of course there is an achievement you aspire to acquire at all. If however there isn't, I would still recommend you stay open to possible influences by watching a film, a TV show or listening to some music as you never know what will inspire you next. As was the case for me earlier this week.

Now I've always wanted to write a novel of some sort in my life time, so that someone, somewhere, can appreciate my weird and intricate sense of creativity. I've always put it aside, mostly due to the obvious fact that writing is a lonesome pursuit and requires absolute concentrate and definitely no distractions, something I can't seem to grasp or oblige to. I've tried writing this blog and it certainly helps to keep my mind functioning, even if nobody reads the articles; I've still come out with a profit. But sometimes we just need a little inspiration from some of the most unexpected sources to really let our imagination run riot. For me, all it took was a Family Guy episode where Brian get's published for me to start asking questions to myself. What if I was a successful author? What sort of books would I write?

A little bit of inspiration, random photograph of a cat, gently stirred with some 2 weeks holiday and I smell a novel a'cooking.

The moral of the story, chaps, is to make the most of any free time you have. You only have one life, unlike what the folks who made this holiday possible so that you may come to this conclusion, would have you believe. Can you see the irony in that? Don't fret if you can't. But keep this in mind. Really try to live every week at least, as if it were your last.Make something, do something. Keep yourselves busy and stay happy.

Until next time guys,


-Leutrim

Assassins Creed: Brotherhood Video Review

The pleasure of hard work

While fellow students in my class have slaved away for nearly 8 months, trying to produce an essay of worth, I left it to the last minute. While they sucked balls even though our teacher was quite evidently not bothered and would much rather prefer hacking away at her laptop than teaching the class, I decided not to give a shit right until the deadline. And yesterday, almost unwillingly at first, I found it in myself to finally go ahead and begin on a 5000 word essay about something I really couldn't care less about.

As I stared blankly at my screen, temptations started to whisper at me from deep within my sub-conscience. I think at one point, after staring at a blank word processor screen for 15 minutes straight, I had a crazy urge to look at photographs of horses on Google images. This was the extent of my utterly self defeating boredom.

Nonetheless, a good friend of mine suggested a nice online radio, by the name of Mountain Chill. As soon as the first note rang from the first song, I entered a blissful state of mind. At ease with my situation, unconcerned by the implications that failure would provoke, I began typing. From about 8pm till about 2am into the night, I had written the large part of my essay. I went to bed that night very chilled out and woke up in an equally hopeful mood. 8am. Only 6 hours sleep. That wasn't going to slow me down.

I worked hard. Wrote a paragraph. Read it over 10 times before moving onto the next one. Then read over both paragraphs 10 times again before moving onto the next, and so forth. I redrafted over and over again till in my eyes at least, I had reached as close as I could to perfection. I even had enough time to write a full 1500 word review for a game I had been playing for the past few days. Assassins Creed: Brotherhood.

And I didn't stop there. I went on to record footage as well as audio and to produce a full video review which will be posted up here very shortly for anyone who wishes to view it.

The point of this blog may be a tad unclear but I'll try to summarize. When faced with an seemingly impossible task, do not back down. Have a clear and logical mind to ask yourself, is it a battle worth fighting? The answer my case, yes. And then put on inspirational music and just get on with it. Cut off all interaction with the outside world and just do it. Pure and simple.

The pleasure that derives from it is immense. Although it may not seem like much to any of you, from my perspective, I can now look back on today and say, "Yeah, I got on with it, got lots of work done and I'm very proud of myself."

Till next time,


-Leutrim

Tropico 3: Absolute Power Video Review