Die Mitte der Welt (Centre of My World)

Die Mitte der Welt (Centre of My World): 2016

Cast: Louis Hofmann (Phil), Jannik Schümann (Nicholas), Sabine Timoteo (Glass), Svenja Jung (Kat)

IMDB: 7.2

The movie takes place in the countryside of Germany. It starts by introducing the characters through Phil's point of view. Phil has a routine in his life which includes his mom, sister and best friend Kat. His routine is broken when he returns from the language camp. He finds his mom and sister not speaking to each other for a reason and he falls for a new guy. It's about the complications of relationships and the non-ideal bonds that people form.

Personal Thoughts: The movie was great even if it was about a clishé subject like relationships. The characterisations were really interesting and detailed especially of Glass and Kat. I just really like that his mother's name was Glass which somehow suited her fragile character. It was sort of mysterious what had caused for the relationship of his mother and sister to fall apart and even though his sister had done something horrible, the storytelling of the scene was authentic. I thought the parts where Phil was telling about his childhood were one of the most fascinating parts of the movie. Also, most of the movies are about how people fall in love and everything in their lives become perfect but the fact that all the relationships in this movie were imperfect was what made it undeniably realistic. I think the atmosphere and how people and events were so integrated with nature were also pretty interesting. For example, when Phil first arrived, he found out that a storm had wrecked the whole town just before he realised nothing is perfect anymore in his household which does bring a metaphorical meaning to the storm itself. I also enjoyed the fact that his sister was able to connect to animals which made everything even more supernatural yet not even a bit unrealistic. Similarly, the problem between his mother and his sister was connected to nature. I later on realised that nature symbolised problematic events in their lives. One more thing to add is that Germany was a pretty setting for the scenes since everything was so green and almost disconnected from the rest of the world. Overall, I really liked the symbolism and characterisations in the movie which definitely makes it worth watching.

Oroi (Jitters)

Oroi (Jitters): 2010

Cast: Atli Oskar Fjalarsson (as Gabriel), Hreindis Ylva Garöarsdottir Holm (as Stella), Haraldur Ari Stefansson (as Markus)

IMDB: -

The movie takes place in Iceland, even though it starts from the summer camp experience Markus and Gabriel had together in England. It's mostly about the problems that teens have such as neglection, restriction, falling in love with the wrong person, sexuality confusion etc. It revolves around how Markus and Gabriel fall for each other while also touching upon other characters' lives and problems. The cover, name and trailer make it seem like it's all about Markus and Gabriel but I'd say it's equally about every other character and theme.

Personal Thoughts: First of all, it was a truly flawed movie so watch it at your own risk. It was also kind of hard to find a version with English subtitles so good luck with that. It starts off with Gabriel and Markus's meeting in a summer camp in England. It's understandable for Gabriel to go to a summer camp but Markus's character is nothing like the type that'd study for summer, and he doesn't anyway. The first thing that came to my mind was "Why the hell is he there? It doesn't look like his parents would force him into it either knowing that they're not even once mentioned and he can quit studying just like that without anyone stopping him" Second thing that came to my mind was how random their kiss was. There have been scenes that they were hanging out together, okay, but that doesn't mean they have chemistry or anything. I think they tried to create a love-hate relationship for them but it backfired since even their hate wasn't that passionate. The movie was sort of all over the place in terms of the plot and the characters. The story isn't entirely about Gabriel and Markus's relationship so why the hell did they make it seem that way? It was equally about Stella's family problems, attraction to her gay best friend and suicidal tendencies (which was far more realistic to be honest.) and Greta's search for his father. I felt like they tried to squish a lot of themes together while abandoning each one at a weird point. It was realistic though, I have to agree on that. Also, there was something so dark about the way it was filmed.  If I haven't watched thousands of movies like this, I'd say it was even impressive at some points (definitely not the Markus-Gabriel relationship though) Like Markus went out of his way to go to an expensive summer camp to do nothing and then ended up leaving school and being a hairdresser? I'm still confused about that. Anyway, I think it has a few good points mostly related to Stella's life (and death). Also how her grandmother was so protective on her while crossing the line so much might be something relatable. Her death was dark and it was out of the blue which is how death is sort of like I guess but I would've expected a better performance from Gabriel since he was supposed to be her best friend. I swear the boy doesn't have emotions which is not something you expect from a supposedly lead character who has to be in multiple complicated relationships. The good part of the movie was that it had a different way of portraying things than accustomed which perhaps is because I personally haven't seen many (if any at all) Icelandic movies. It's an okay movie to watch if you're into slightly dark teenage dramas not to mention the two main characters are kinda cute. However, you've been warned...

To the Bone: 2017

Cast: Lily Collins (as Ellen), Keanu Reeves (as Dr. Beckham), Alex Sharp (as Luke)

IMDB: 6.9

To the Bone is about teens who have anorexia nervosa, bulimia and similar eating disorders. Ellen, who is anorexic, is an aspiring artist with a depressive attitude caused by her eating disorder and self image. Her family is separated and has different opinions on her behaviour while no one seems to really listen to what she has to say. We often see Ellen as sarcastic and aggressive. The movie shows the smallest of sparks she has when she meets Luke and how her behaviour changes according to the events in her life. It focuses on the disorder itself  with the slightest hint of dark humour.

Personal Thoughts: It's sort of educative and enlightening and it grabs the attention of teens since it is essentially a teen drama. There were contradictions between people saying that it romanticises the disorder. The thing is, it doesn't really romanticise the disorder itself, at least I didn't feel that way but I can definitely see where those comments are coming from. Lily Collins looked really pretty in the movie and her outfits and character was really impressive. Her character and the way she dresses seem to be all connected with her inner suffering which is caused by anorexia. We often see that she reflects her thoughts to her art. Of course teen girls will find themselves admiring her. But luckily, the movie includes some graphic, realistic images of anorexia. Overall, I liked the movie because it talks about taboo topics that most parents are scared to talk to their kids about. It sort of reminds me of 'the Road Within' which focuses on Tourettes. As a person who has Tourettes, I thought the movie was pretty realistic and reflective. The thing with these kinds of movies is that they focus on children's relationships with parents which is a good point to start off to understand the disorders themselves. I recommend you to watch it, although it's not really something to watch on a girls night or when you're looking for something entertaining.

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X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: 2014

Cast: Hugh Jackman (as Wolverine), Jennifer Lawrence (as Mystique), Michael Fassbender (as Magneto), James McAvoy (as Professor X), Patrick Stewart (as Professor X), Evan Peters (as Quicksilver), Halle Barry (as Storm), Nicholas Hoult (as Beast), Lucas Till (as Havok)

IMDB: 8

Like all the X Men movies, it consists the same team. This time, X Men is trying to prevent a war going on between mutants and humans. Humans have invented gigantic robots that were made by mutant genes so they're unstoppable. X Men send Wolverine back in time to erase their mistakes which was Mystique fighting against humanity.

Personal Thoughts: First of all, it was awesome. I liked how the time shifts were so professional. Everything about the plot was logical. It was also funny at times but mostly, it made me wonder if the war was gonna be prevented or not since Mystique held her guard against all the X Men members. Of course, my favourite character was Quicksilver. Although I quite like Magneto as well. I first watched X Men Apocalypse but this one was as good as the other one, maybe even better in terms of the plot. In comparison, Apocalypse had some nonsense scenes but it didn't make any difference. The movie was quite entertaining no matter what. I recommend everyone to watch this one if they're looking for something entertaining.

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Spiderman Homecoming

Spiderman Homecoming: 2017

Cast: Tom Holland (as Peter Parker), Zendaya (as Michelle), Robert Downey Jr. (as Iron Man)

IMDB: 7.5

Most of us are probably familiar with the original story of Peter Parker. However, the story is a bit altered in this one. Peter Parker is portrayed as a youtuber, high schooler. He wants to be one of the Avengers but isn't taken seriously by Iron Man so he decides to prove himself by helping out with the crimes on the street. It is when he decides to get involved with the big crimes that he gets noticed by the Avengers. Iron Man tries to stop Peter from getting involved and with Peter's insistent personality, it turns into a dare for him to catch the bad guys and become an Avenger.

Personal Thoughts: Like the majority, I had bigger expectations so I  wasn't quite satisfied with the movie. Peter was portrayed as a complete teenager rather than the bigger-looking version of himself that we became used to in the other Spider Man movies. To be honest, I liked Andrew Garfield a lot more than Tom Holland. He kinda looks like he's keeping something in his mouth. (I saw a meme about it) the plot wasn't so complicated so I expected at least a good amount of humour like in other Marvel movies. It can be watched to spend time but I compared to other Spider Man movies, this wasn't the best.

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Palo Alto

Palo Alto: 2013

Cast: James Franco (as Mr. B.), Emma Roberts (as April), Nat Wolff (as Fred), Jack Klimer (as Teddy)

IMDB: 6.3

Palo Alto is a movie about teenage life and choices and where they lead people. It's different than most of the teen movies I watched because it's dark and sad and there's no comedy in it. It just puts out the solid truth of how actions and consequences are tied together. The actions of the characters in Palo Alto represent the confusion of the age and none of them end with happiness unlike what they expected.

Personal Thoughts: First of all, this movie is like Cherrybomb's American version but there aren't that much of partying scenes unlike Cherrybomb. It just reveals the whole truth of teenage years without any judgement. I must say, I didn't quite like the movie but the scenes were visually pleasing just like in Cherrybomb. The outfits of the characters -especially Emma Roberts' famous yellow sweater- were well chosen. I personally value the outfits in the movies. I also think that the atmosphere of the movie, the in-between state, is what we feel most of the time (at least I) so it's perfectly realistic. Maybe that's why I can't say I like it completely because movies are thought to be exceptional life stories which we watch to get out of our boring personal lives. Palo Alto, with its slow story development, wrong choices, hidden emotions, is our lives (mostly teenagers of course). I think if you think enough, you can find bits and pieces of yourself in every character. That's why I'm glad I watched it.

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The Amazing Spider Man 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2: 2014

Cast: Andrew Garfield (as Spiderman), Emma Stone (as Gwen Stacy), Dane DeHaan (as Harry Osborn/ New Goblin)

IMDB: 6.7

The Amazing Spider-Man series has continued with the second movie. The movie is about how Peter Parker deals with the family secrets while his girlfriend is going away to England and his friend requests his help which he can't offer. His friend Harry is dying because of a genetical disease and asks Peter to get Spider-Man's blood to  help him cure himself with the special feature in the half-spider blood. Nevertheless he isn't aware of the fact that none of the people except from Peter's blood line is suited for it and it can actually kill him. When Peter (Spiderman) refuses Harry, he chooses a much different path which includes getting involved with a guy that has turned into an electric-person because of some accident in the Oscorb centre. When Electro is released, he tries to wreck the whole city to get back to Spiderman while Harry finds another way to cure himself. He finds the special projects which includes the spider project and injects himself a liquid and turns into the Goblin. He finds out that Peter is the spiderman and hates him for betraying him and not offering his help while he was dying. While they fight, Gwen gets involved and she dies eventually which makes Peter depressed.

Personal Thoughts: It really was amazing. I liked the story line for different reasons. When people watch Spiderman, they usually focus on Spiderman's side of the story but this movie gave an insight to the side of the "bad guys". To be honest, I find Electro really interesting because of his past of being almost invisible to people even if he was so important to the city. He has turned into a mutated person and I think that's a part of the reason why he became so angry all of a sudden. He had been ignored for so long that when he became another person, he automatically abandoned his old self because people actually acknowledged him and that was as good as it could get for him. I found it sad because the day he turned into that person, it was his birthday and since he didn't have any friends, he was celebrating his own birthday by his own. I think these people in movies represent the people in reality so much that it adds even more to the movie. Also, the reason why I watched the movie was because of Dane DeHaan and he truly was amazing. He's probably my second celebrity crush and he's married. Anyway, he was also great. I just find his voice and look so captivating that he can suit any character and make them seem dramatic and elegant. His desperation was really visible in the movie. I believe he became so cold because of how he was treated. He was all alone even if he didn't look like it. He had to look strong even when he was dying and nobody was helping him. It was the part where the lawyer guy said that he was basically a nothing to the world that affected me the most in his scenes. Also his personality as Harry, not the Goblin, was funny in a weird way. I think in some parts of the movie he was the funniest character (of course that's before he turned into a green skinned ginger who flew around the city on a board). I used to look at Marvel movies as simple super hero movies but I think some of them are more than that. They portrait the bad characters so well that it foreshadows the good ones to be honest. Ps: I know it sounds irrelevant now but Gwen's death was sad.

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