My First Movie Review

BRAINSTORM-film: Across The Universe

1. Music: pretty good, but no one can justify covering The Beatles

2. Acting: Joe Anderson-Max, plays the tortured, angst driven, young adult well. He is a lovable character

3. Writing: the movie gets a bit long. It seems as though they cram as many songs as they can in towards the end.

4. Historical: relatively well done, with minimal modernization. The war was well described; TV brought it into people's living rooms. Detroit Riots as well.

5. Personalities such as Dr. Robert were close and recognizable.

6. It has a classic American 'happy ending', driving home the point of universal love (derived in the 60s)

7. I thought the cultural clash of the times was well portrayed, showing many different aspects of it (generational, racial...etc.)

8. I enjoyed the character of Jude, as it is a creative role.

9. My favorite number the cast did was "Because". The harmonies were well done and executed, making it the perfect contrast to the previous scene.

10. The way the directors and writers put the songs together into a story was pretty good. Yes, the idea has been used several times in musicals, but this movie left very little untied and open. (Good, aside from the length)

11. I noticed that this movie brought the Beatles back in a way. Younger generations now know the Beatles instead of the audience being limited to the children of the era.

12. I think they could have shown more of what was happening in Britain at the time. (It revolves more around the American issues)

13. It has depth. Not only comedy and romance, but also the drama and despair of this point history.

14. Visuals: I liked how they combined more modern visual/special effects yet kept the feel of the 60s tie-dye/lava lamp style.

15. The actors playing the music was/seemed real. (I hate when you can tell they're faking it)





REVIEW: Across the Universe



Across the Universe, simply put, was a blend of rock musical, romantic comedy, and historical drama. The way the writers used The Beatles, a legitimate and accurate group depicting the uprising of the counter culture of the 60s, to relay the story of young adults growing up during the political unrest of the Vietnam War was ingenious.
First of all, the music used in the film was decent. personally, no one can do quite what the Beatles did. They were truly revolutionary in the world of music culture. However, the actors and musicians used in the film are good at what they do, and made some creative versions of some of the Beatles' best songs (i.e. "I want to hold your hand")
The characters of Across the Universe were instantly lovable. My immediate favorite was Max, played by Joe Anderson, who was the classic angst-filled child of the counter culture. He was the one that opened the door to the 'hippie' lifestyle both for main character Jude, setting the premise for the film.
From a historical stand point, I think this film was also relatively well done. Yes, it had its moments of modernization. But all in all, the turmoil of the Vietnam War, the Detroit Riots, the counter culture uprisings, the social unrest with racism and class clashes...etc. were all there. The emotional impacts these events had on the characters depicted the era well to a post millennium audience.
One of the only issues I had with the film was length. Instead of creating a film with an intriguing and motivating plot, the writers simply jammed as many songs as they could onto the end of it. By the third or fourth time viewing the film, the lack of plot and endless music makes the thing simply too long.