Film Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

Reviewed by Indranil (8S)

I decided to watch How to Train Your Dragon 2 as I thought it was going to be as action-packed as the first one.

The plot develops around a boy named Hiccup. At the beginning of the movie, Astrid (Hiccup’s future wife), Snotloud, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut (twins) are having a race. The race is to ride your dragon, find and collect sheep in your basket and whoever has the most sheep wins. At this moment Hiccup and Toothless, Hiccup’s dragon, are exploring to find new lands to wander.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 by Dean DeBlois is an animation that is full of action, silliness, extreme sadness and adventure. The movie creates tension when Hiccup and his friends are in deep danger from Drago Bloodfist, the antagonist of the movie. The movie also creates sadness when Hiccup’s dad, Stoik, gets shot by Toothless, who was under the spell of Drago Bloodfist. Action can be seen when Hiccup’s army have a huge battle with Drago Bloodfist’s army. The movie also shows adventure when Hiccup and his friends are exploring new lands. This film is action-packed and full of adventure. These genres are the most important ones in the movie.

Overall, this film has definitely supplemented my personal collection of favourite animations. The action and adventure really managed to create an exciting atmosphere. I think this film is targeted to 7 year-olds but can be watched and enjoyed by all the family.  

Film Review: SALT (2010)

Reviewed by Nikita (ex-media student)

Angelina Jolie plays the titular character of Evelyn Salt, a CIA operative that is accused of being a Russian spy. It then quickly becomes clear that she is not quite who she says she is, which leads to Salt hiding from, and then fighting, almost every other person in this film.

This is obvious, modern day, propaganda but it is still enjoyable if you narrow your scope a little. The plot itself isn't very complicated but that doesn't matter because this film is almost entirely comprised of action. Although this doesn't sound very entertaining, it is! Angelina Jolie undoubtedly contributes to this but perhaps the biggest component of these action scenes is the editing, as well as the soundtrack. In hindsight, it is really an achievement that the filmmakers have managed to create a film that is intensely suspenseful and gripping for almost two hours without spending a whole lot of time on anything else.

Salt isn't a deep film, it's also not very realistic; this is the more realistic equivalent of a superhero film. That said, the film is enjoyable and (slightly) thought-provoking, and definitely holds up to repeat viewings.

Film Review: Kidnap (2017)

Reviewed by Zeel (A2 Media)

It was a cat-and-mouse thriller, which is expertly choreographed, and Halle Berry's acting was exquisite! However, at first I was initially put-off by the film's synopsis. Usually I would have passed this over in an instant but I decided to be open minded and give it a chance and I have to say I was not disappointed.  The acting, cinematography and stunt-work were masterfully crafted in such a way so as to get you emotionally invested throughout and are constantly given just the right amount of information to keep you on the edge of your seat. I believe that this film engendered such a visceral reaction. Sometimes whilst watching a film, if you cannot relate to nor care about the characters the film falls flat, and you consequently lose interest very quickly. Not so with 'Kidnap'. The relatability of Berry's character, plus the superb job she did with this role, puts you right in the car seat next to her.

Initially I felt let down by the length of the car chase scenes as they dragged along in some cases, but despite this the storyline was hooking and the plot twists kept me enthralled. The camerawork and cinematography are enough to keep audiences confused yet still understand what is going on.

Overall, this movie was utterly jaw-dropping.

Film Review: Captain America - Civil War (2016)

Update: Nikita's review made it to review of the week on the Into Film website. Well done!

Reviewed by Nikita (A2 Media)

Although the title claims Civil War is a Captain America film, it is really another Avengers film. The large starring cast helps keep the film fresh and funny but it also means that Captain America's personal story line (his relationship with Bucky, and with his girlfriend from back then Peggy Carter) is almost entirely sidelined. This is also especially disappointing as it is the end of Cap's trilogy. If you were looking for a film about Captain America, you're not going to find it here.

The film starts with half of the Avengers on a mission that leaves an apparently large amount of civilians dead. Although nobody has cared about this before, this particular incident is enough for the government to step in and try to rein the Avengers in through the Accords, a contract that means that the Avengers' every move as superheros will be controlled by a panel of strangers. Tony Stark, feeling fresh guilt over the death of a teenager, agrees to sign it, saying that they need to be controlled. Steve Rogers notes that governments have agencies and agencies can change. It's a very interesting debate but unfortunately, the film doesn't actually spend much time on this. Instead the plot really revolves around Sebastian Stan's Bucky/The Winter Soldier - except it doesn't. Very quickly, the action is reduced to childlike arguments; they fight for the sake of fighting. 

The budget for Civil War is huge and it's clear where they've spent it. The film is packed with very impressive fight scenes (and one even more impressive scene with a young Robert Downey Jr.). While the fight scenes add little for the amount they're on screen, they are very entertaining. Oddly enough, the big fight with all of the Avengers is hilarious. That's right - hilarious. Anthony Mackie, as Sam Wilson, has witty one-liners throughout the film whilst Paul Rudd's maniacal Ant Man and Tom Holland's first appearance as wisecracking Spider Man truly elevate the fight scene in terms of humour. Their short stint in the film is also perhaps the ideal length for a superhero to appear in another superhero's film.


The truly annoying thing about this film is the potential it had as a solo Captain America movie and how entertaining it was despite that. Am I still annoyed at the lack of focus on Captain America? Of course. Is it still funny and worth your money? Unfortunately so.

Film Review: Sanjay's Super Team (2014)

Update: Rushi's review made it to review of the week on the Into Film website. Well done!

Reviewed by Rushi (8T)

An action short animated film created by an amazing company named Pixar. This story starts off with a young boy, named Sanjay, stuck between his love of superhero characters and his father’s religious traditions. One day he disturbs his father’s prayers by putting the TV on too loud so his dad switches the TV off and makes Sanjay sit with him. Magically Sanjay is transported to a cosmic temple in another world where he must bond with three Hindi gods to beat the evil Ravana.

Sanjay's Super Team feels like a true story that many Asian people might go through because it is based on some of the things that the director, Sanjay Patel, went through as a child. It was really different to see Asian culture and its religion in a Pixar film as this is not something that has been done before. It was great to see Hinduism and its Gods shown in a positive fun way and might help young western children understand their parents traditions and their own culture better.

I would recommend this film to my friends just for its title! Will Sanjay ever make a connection with his dad’s traditions and his own culture?

Film Review: The Present (2014)

Reviewed by Ethan (8T)

The present is a short animated film and it is 7 minutes. This film is based on a boy who is addicted to gaming and his mum is worried about him because he is not active and does go outdoors enough. Due to this, one day his mum buys him a dog. At the beginning the boy doesn’t like the dog because that was not the dog that he wanted because the dog had one of his legs missing. Will the dog and the boy ever become good mates?

Overall I think this film has a good message as it teaches you to never judge people by how they look. All of us should be happy how god made us. This story explains a lot about our lives and tell us to give people/things a chance even if you don’t think you will like it because they can surprise you.

Film Review: Piper (2016)

Reviewed by Vansh (8T)

Piper is an animated short film. It was directed by Alan Barillaro and it is made by Pixar and Walt Disney films. It was shown in cinemas before Finding Dory.

In the beginning Piper is facing problems to get food as it is a small sandpiper. Piper is scared of the waves coming from the sea as she had a bad experience once before. Someday Piper will have to go sea to collect food or she will not survive. If Piper gives up she will starve to death. Will she be able to get over her fears?

The film has a lot of moral values like: never give up and try and try until you succeed. It is about resilience! I think the film was inspiring and I would recommend it to my friends.

Sneak peak: