jsummers88 Reviews

American Reunion (2012)

A Welcome Return

[7/10 · 21 March 2012]

My school was handing out tickets for a special screening for American Reunion tonight, I just got back from the screening. I was never a die hard fan of the American Pie series, but I've always found them to be quite enjoyable. I still feel the same way when I was watching this film. I'll be honest, I thought this one wasn't going to be any good and I thought it would be toned down, I'm glad to be wrong this time around. I'm not going to go much into the plot except that it's simply a reunion as all the characters are here to return, which it what you'd expect coming into this. It's just as sweet and crude as the previous three. Just like the other films, Seann William Scott is still the best part of the film. The rest of the cast did just as good as they did with the previous films. If you're a fan of the previous films, you'll still find something to enjoy. If you never were a fan, this isn't going to change your mind.

Black Death (2010)

Black Death: Public Discourse

[8/10 · 2 March 2012]

Black Death works as a voyeuristic, vicarious, and visceral experience. The film effectively shows how far a person is willing to go just to show loyalty to their own faith. The graphic violence in this film may be uncomfortable for some, but the film works as a voyeuristic and visceral experience to show the terrible things people do to each other in the name of religion. The actions of Eddie Redmayne's character are quite vicarious as the audience feels like they were living in the 14th century when the black death was spreading. The film effectively makes the viewer question whether these violent acts go to far or whether they were justified for the sake of faith. I felt that the film displays an unfavorable stance of the Christian faith as far as their views of killing one another as an act of justification, especially at the scene where the monk (Redmayne) is confronted by his girlfriend who may or may not have contracted the plague. While the film does manage to come off rather two-sided on its stance throughout the film, the final scene however shows that the viewer that the film is taking its one-sided view that these actions are not justifiable despite the events that occurred with the monk. A powerful, though-provoking, yet graphically violent film.