Titreenp SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

HeadlinesExotic Boring

Hattie I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Fallen Eye The problem is this; If you just make it publicly known that; "Your information is being surveilled", without really digging deep into the ramifications of such an invasion, the public won't care, much like the more recent Facebook scandal. What I'm trying to say is, news feel like just news, not reality. News feel like that 30 minutes with adverts in between, like a TV show."Verizon is hacking into all your phone calls" is interpreted by the public as; "Sure, but not my phone calls". I mean here we are, "reviewing" on IMDb without a care as to what is being tapped into.Films like Snowden and The Big Short, and and and, are important and more than just movies. Their topics are difficult to articulate perhaps, but, they transcend entertainment.As a film however, Snowden was sluggish at points, but I do feel it did put in a concerted effort to simplify as best as it could, the applications and repercussions of the missions and actions in play.This movie also kept unveiling some pretty serious star power I didn't know it had, and of that star presence, Zachary Quinto was the most quintessential.Some aspects in Snowden were hard to follow; "All this effing intelligence jargon is hurting our brains". That line was so appropriate, true (Hell, it even gave Ed himself a seizure, and they called it "epilepsy") and incredibly funny, that it showed me that Snowden was self aware, however, amidst all that jargon, I understood one thing as it was mentioned; Going to Hawaii was OBVIOUSLY a TERRIBLE idea, if the aim was for Ed to have, "less stress"!!!Like I said, Snowden is one of those movies that, expose a truth that never really dies, no matter how much it's said that it has, and that is significant. And, in this movie, that story is illustrated quite efficiently, though a bit slow at times. 7/10.

Neil Welch Edward Snowden works for various clandestine elements of the US government machinery. While writing software to shut down Chinese hackers, he discovers that the US is carrying out illegal surveillance over billions of emails from US citizens. What should he do?Well, we know what he did, he blew the whistle. And despite the fact that he was proved right, and measures were taken to stop the illegal collection of uncountable emails, his copybook is so comprehensively blotted that he remains an exile in Moscow.Oliver Stone takes things very seriously indeed, and this can sometimes result in two things: one, his personal agenda overtakes the story he is telling and, two, the issues he is raising overpower the entertainment value of the movie. Both these flaws are at work here.Stone clearly regards Snowden as a hero, a martyr. Maybe this is justified, but it is a little difficult to tell because Stone only ever gives us one side of the picture.And, unforgiveably, the movie is somewhat on the dull side. Snowden's story is interesting and has built in suspense but, at 134 minutes, the telling of it drags noticeably at times.Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a good performance as Snowden, as does Shailene Woodley as his girlfriend Lindsay Mills. For me, the best performance was Rhys Ifans, almost unrecognisable as CIA Deputy Director Corbin O'Brian.I came out of this better informed I think, though it was difficult to tell how much of what I was being fed was fact, and how much was Stone's overheated agenda at work. But I can't honestly say I was entertained that much.

The Movie Diorama Edward Snowden. Some may view him as a criminal for breaking the law and leaking secure information from the NSA, however the film took a more patriotic approach and portrayed him as a hero for revealing this information to the world. It's a very tricky subject. Did he have any right to go against his government and be considered a traitor? Perhaps, if it meant that the public knew that they were being spied on. Privacy is such an integral part of our interconnected lives, so my views may suggest that I agree with Snowden's actions...but as a self-proclaimed critic I shall remain unbiased. As a film, I thought Snowden was actually pretty well executed. Oliver Stone did a great job at balancing Edward's private life with his career which definitely made him more relatable as a character. I really appreciated the technical jargon, as a computer programmer I understood it all and felt like saying "Yes! I could easily become a hacker!". Alas, writing code in film is much easier than in reality...so my genius thoughts were shot down immediately. What really took me by surprise was the cast. ALOT of big names here that I wasn't expecting to see. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was perfect casting, took me a while to tune into his voice imitation of Snowden but I thought he was excellent. Rhys Ifans, Tom Wilkinson, Melissa Leo, Timothy Olyphant, Shailene Woodley (who's chemistry with Gordon-Levitt was slightly underdeveloped) and the one...the only...Nicolas Cage. Yes, stop what you are doing and gasp in revelatory excitement...Cagey boy, is in a good film. I thought the dramatic moments were tense, the plot was educational...all the elements for perfection were there. I just felt the structure was too basic and familiar. Nothing extraordinarily groundbreaking. It's a functional biopic and it succeeds in what it sets out to do. I couldn't help but think this was similar to The Fifth Estate...just better. Overall, an enjoyable basic biopic that addresses an important issue.

Ian Like most folks, I probably picked up on the Snowden papers through the press and media. Assuming you don't believe it was 'fake' news, you'll already have a good idea of the story.What's verging on the unbelievable is that there were calls for 'his head' among US politicians (although, as we now absolutely know for certain, election to office is no guarantee of intelligence, reasonableness, open-mindedness or sanity). The NSA et al think they are powers above all else. And that's such a dangerous stance. It's held by a few scared egotists at the upper echelons of power and the fear and paranoia pervade down through the entire system.We need people like Snowden and other whistle blowers to hold the 'government' to account and it's impossible to know how much of a sacrifice such people have made in order to attempt to secure the freedom and liberty - such as it is - for the rest of us. It's when good men do nothing that evil prospers.And so to the movie :-) It's absolutely excellent, from the acting to the direction, editing, production, music - the lot! If you knew nothing about Snowden you'd approach it as a political thriller and you'd be engrossed. Even knowing the history, the movie and story move along at a cracking pace. It never drags, it's never dull or boring; it's always engrossing. Snowden's little speeches are eloquent throughout and it's impossible to come away from the movie without knowing that this guy did the right thing.It's a thriller with a message. If not for people like Snowden we'd be on our way to 1984. Orwell may have got the year wrong but the prospect of Big brother looms larger now than it has ever done.Watch it. Enjoy it. Learn. Remember.