Filmclub Reviews

FILMCLUB

The chance to publish reviews by the young members of FILMCLUB is always a pleasure. This month, our young film critics review an exceptionally good documentary, a gripping monster movie and one of the best films of the 1970s.

March of the Penguins

Film review by Georgia, age 11, from Combe Down CofE Primary School

This film is an amazing documentary about the emperor penguin learning to overcome the fatal situation it faces every day of its life. The tone in the narrator’s voice was very expressive, and he told the story in an empathetic way.

Even though this story is very simple it made me think about the teamwork and co-operation that the male and female share to protect their race. If only humans were as peaceful as the penguins are. I especially thought that the filming was done skillfully because the penguins almost looked like humans. Usually I would not choose to watch a documentary, but the March of the Penguins was exceptionally good. A film all the family would enjoy.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Review by Louis, age 11, from Dobcroft Junior School

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is all about Caesar, an ape whose mother has been tested with a cure for Alzheimer’s that goes wrong. Caesar’s mother dies and the scientist, Will Rodman (James Franco), decides to raise Caesar himself. As Caesar grows his intelligence increases and Caesar’s life increasingly turns upside down.

The director of the film is Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist, Get the Picture and Subterrain). The film stars James Franco, Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter) and Frieda Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire). The film is an action drama. It had a dramatic opening and moved suddenly into action and returned to drama for the final scenes. It didn’t have a lot of variety but it wasn’t just one genre so that was good.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a bit like you were in a big lorry with a blindfold on about to hit into a big brick wall; you just knew the whole time that something was going to happen.

The films I can relate ROTPOTA to are King Kong, Godzilla and all other monster movies like that. This film had animation that was ape-tastic and could blow your socks off. The apes were so realistic!

Some bits of this film blew me away and I never expected them to happen. Although this film sounds quite brutal, it had a very touching moral story behind it.

The plot was very tense but still good because it gripped me the whole way through. The film made me think about how we treat animals and how we should treat them the way that we would like them to treat us.

Overall, I think I would give this film 4 stars because of its moral storyline, the gripping plot and the great acting. The only problems were that it was quite full-on, a bit too intense and the last scene was a little bit unrealistic. I recommend this film to kids age 10+ because it’s a kind of monster movie that most boys should really enjoy.

Dog Day Afternoon

Review by Elliot, age 17, from Farnborough Sixth Form College

Dog Day Afternoon is definitely one of the finest films of the 1970s. It perfectly captures the pessimistic view of America at the time, and succeeds in creating the ultimate anti-hero whom people across America turned to.

The film has a very simple storyline. Sonny (Al Pacino) and Sal (John Cazale) attempt to rob a bank, but only manage to get $1100. To make matters worse, the police arrive and the duo are trapped in the bank with 12 hostages.

Sidney Lumet had already proved his ability to direct long conversational scenes with his masterpiece 12 Angry Men, but Dog Day Afternoon, as mentioned before, does so in a much more sympathetic manner. The audience feels real sympathy for Sonny, despite his criminal intentions.

The character struggles through life as so many Americans did at the time. Sonny is kind hearted, and his inexperience and struggles only earn him more sympathy. Al Pacino portrays Sonny in a very realistic manner, based upon the real life Sonny whose attempted robbery inspired the film.

The sympathy and support for Sonny is intensified further when crowds in the film cheer him on, and the issue of homosexuality was raised, being a controversial topic. These make Dog Day Afternoon an almost unbearably realistic film, and this only enhances the quality of its direction.

The mixed pace of the film, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, only intensifies the confusion experienced by Sonny, and again intensifies the sympathy toward him. The film is intense, and this is a result of the pace, as the audience feels the anger and frustration that the characters do, unaware of what will happen. This is a very successful feature of the film. However, this does remove the ability to revisit the film regularly as the impact is not the same the second time around.

Nevertheless, I consider Dog Day Afternoon to be one of Pacino’s best films, and also John Cazale’s second best performance. The chemistry between Pacino and Cazale (real-life friends) is clearly visible onscreen and adds massively to the film's emotion, especially at the end.

Had the film not been up against One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest for the Best Picture Oscar in 1976, I am sure that Dog Day Afternoon would have won. This is a must-see film, guys, and definitely as fiercely relevant now as it was in 1975!

Education charity FILMCLUB helps schools in the UK set up and run their own film clubs for young people to watch, discuss and review a variety of films from past and present. Visit www.filmclub.org for more information.