movie reviews

The Dark Knight is Riveting Masterpiece

2008-09-24T22:09:00.000-07:00

The Dark Knight---This is not only a superhero movie its a crime epic. This could easily have been a mess if fallen in the wrong hands but given that Nolan who haven't even made any single so-so flick forget about bad flick, things could have never gone wrong. A line from his previous movie "The Prestige": "The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary." Nolan have been a magician here. With Insomnia, Batman Begins, Memento, The Prestige and The Dark Knight, Nolan leaves every other director far behind this decade.

As the Batman's character have been explored beautifully in Batman Begins so this time focus is not just on him but other characters like Harvey Dent, Lt. James Gordon and off course The Joker.

Aaron Eckhart is brilliant in the flick. Gary Oldman and Michael Caine do well specially Oldman who have better sketched role this time compared to Batman Begins. And Christian Bale as Batman is as convincing as ever giving it more human touch.

But this review and the movie itself is incomplete without mentioning the performance of Heath Ledger. Heath Ledger deserves all the praises he is getting...one of the most unforgettable performance given by any actor ever. One of the most scariest and creepiest villain of all time. Yeah its so damn good performance. His last devilish laugh at the end of the movie makes you cry. Ledger was not a big star but people started recognizing him after his Oscar Nomination for Brokeback Mountain..but still he needed something big...some big blockbuster movie and a performance which could have brought him on the front. What TDK is doing right now (both at box office and critical reception) and how people are in love with Ledger's performance this was what he all needed. It makes me sad and emotional when I think he is not with us to see what Dark Knight is doing and how people are crazy about his performance, to see the success and what his future in Hollywood would have taken turn from here onwards. Ledger was BORN to play the Joker. We all love you Heath and we miss you. A great loss to Hollywood and its fans...RIP.

Inspite of a running time of over 152 minutes this movie keeps you on the edge of the seat throughout. This is a fast, exciting and clever thrill ride with excellent performances, dazzling effects and beautiful cinematography. Its not only best movie of the summer but the best movie of the year. Nolan and team lives upto the expectations and successfully manages to come up with a dazzling masterpiece.

9/10

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

2007-09-17T06:50:00.000-07:00

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Reviewed by: Edward Douglas
Rating: 8 out of 10

Summary:
The slow pace and the fact that the title gives away the entire plot should only be a minor annoyance to those who love strong writing, powerful acting and great filmmaking.

Story:
The last days of the outlaw Jesse James (Brad Pitt) is seen through his last big train robbery and the men involved, including Robert Ford (Casey Affleck), a young wannabe who idolizes James.

Analysis:
The second movie by Australian filmmaker Andrew Dominik, whose indie "Chopper" brought Eric Bana to attention, can never be accused of false advertising. It's exactly what it says it's about: "the assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford" and much of the fun comes from wondering exactly when this preordained event will occur. Certainly, there are a lot of opportunities for Ford, played by Casey Affleck, to get the better of Brad Pitt's notorious outlaw, but you'll have to wait over two hours from the first time they meet, as Jesse and his brother Frank (Sam Shepard, impeccably cast) recruit a group of men to help them in an elaborate train robbery. If not for the title, we probably wouldn't presume much from Robert Ford, the youngest of his family who's used to being picked on and bullies by his older brother Charley (Sam Rockwell) and his friends, but he's also headstrong about being exactly like his idol Jesse James one day.

Most of the film is little more than a prologue to set-up the confrontation between the two men, and it's a fairly lengthy one at that, as it moves away from Jesse after the train robbery and starts focusing on the relationship between the other men involved. Jesse's presence is always felt though, as he keeps showing up unannounced "just to stop by", which usually means trouble or death for whomever he's visiting. We see this happen a few times, which makes it clear why everyone is so nervous around him. Meanwhile, the relationship between the other men has soured and a conflict between two of them leads to a gunfight in which Jesse James' cousin is killed. Due to their involvement, Rob and Charley Ford are worried that Jesse will be paying them a visit next, and sure enough, Jesse returns to plan their next job, with the Ford Brothers on edge wondering when Jesse will find about their part in his cousin's death. Earlier, Robert is told by Frank not to ever be alone or turn his back on Jesse, and sure enough, it's exactly what keeps happening, adding even more tension to a situation that builds over the next half hour as we wait for the fateful confrontation.

If you hadn't figured it out, Dominik's second film is a deliberately slow-paced character piece dealing with a specific event in a highly detailed way, presumably extrapolating and fictionalizing when necessary. Because of this, one's interest in the times and the legend of Jesse James might have some effect on whether they're able to withstand such a languid pace. This is clearly not Sergio Leone and anyone looking for a movie full of gun battles might be better suited for James Mangold's "3:10 to Yuma" but regardless, the entire film looks absolutely stunning, every frame and scene meticulously lit and shot, especially the way that Dominik captures the stark wilderness.

The casting of Brad Pitt as Jesse James couldn't be more perfect as the actor should be able to understand the perks and price of global fame and the necessary paranoia that comes along with it. He's equally strong at playing James at his most gregarious, when telling a wild anecdote from his adventures or playing with his kids, but he's even more effective as the serious, brooding killer whose unpredictable behavior makes everyone around him sweat. After Pitt disappears for an extended period of time, the movie becomes just as much about Casey Affleck's Robert Ford, and the young actor does a great job showing the different sides of this complex character, including the slow burn most have seen or felt as all of the light-hearted ribbing from his brother and Jesse starts to get to him.

Like far too many Westerns, the women are little more than an after-thought, clearly the case with Zooey Deschanel who shows up towards the end as Robert Ford's wife. It's also disappointing how Sam Shepard's Frank James disappears from the film almost completely after a great scene where he gives the young Ford a complete dressing-down.

Hugh Ross' voice-over sometimes acts like tryptophan lulling the viewer into a bit of daze, much like the narration in P. Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia," but fans of the Aussie Western "The Proposition" should appreciate what the ambient score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis brings to the film. An appearance late in the film by Cave as a troubadour singing about Jesse James' shooting doesn't work as well.

Surprisingly, the actual shooting is almost an anti-climax compared to all of the build-up, but the narrator continues to relay the story, as the story continues to follow Robert and Charley, showing how their lives have changed by being the men responsible for Jesse James' death. Ultimately, it leads to a backlash from those that revered the outlaws' exploits, and the negative effects of fame on Robert and his brother are far more cruel than James' fate. It's probably not too coincidental how many metaphors that can be drawn from this fable, especially by film critics and tabloid journalists, but considering the lack of humor among both groups, one can presume that opinions will be divided whether Dominik's atmospheric Western is genius filmmaking or the height of pretentious cinematic wanking. Unlike the work of some of Dominik's precursors--Terrence Malick is the most obvious comparison--this is a movie that grows on you as the characters are developed and the tension builds to its inevitable climax and an unforgettable epilogue.

(source: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/reviewsnews.php?id=36950 )

The Bourne Ultimatum:Movie Review

2007-08-17T06:41:00.000-07:00

THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM---***1/2
by Pete Vonder Haar
(2007-08-04) 2007, Rated PG-13, 111 minute

It’s been a long, contusion-filled road for Jason Bourne, the amnesiac assassin who’s spent two movies alternating between trying to piece together his past (“The Bourne Identity”) and avenging the murder of his girlfriend (“The Bourne Supremacy”). During that time, he’s been beaten, shot, blown up, and has squared off against a succession of shady CIA officials, all portrayed by the underappreciated character actor du jour (Chris Cooper, Brian Cox, and – here – David Strathairn). Very loosely based on the works of Robert Ludlum, the Bourne movies have always been characterized by frenetic chase sequences, impressively brutal fight choreography, and a welcome devotion to non-CG automobile mayhem.

“The Bourne Ultimatum” starts right where “Supremacy” left off, with Bourne (Matt Damon) fleeing Moscow police. While field dressing a wound, he suffers a flashback involving some sort of training session and a bit of water tank torture. Having achieved closure with the offspring of his first government-sanctioned murder in the last movie, Bourne decides to set his sights on the people who made him what he is, which means another violence-fueled romp through a number of exotic locales, culminating in what we must assume will be a final confrontation with those responsible for turning him into a ruthless killing macheen.

Like the first Bourne films, “Ultimatum” is a tense and often gripping effort. Damon and director Paul Greengrass have both helped to develop a thoroughly engaging franchise, with the latter ably capturing the former’s ass-kicking prowess. The two have slipped comfortably into their respective roles, picking up “Supremacy’s” threads without a hitch.

But if there’s anything bad to say about “Ultimatum,” it’s that perhaps Greengrass and three-time Bourne screenwriter Tony Gilroy has grown too comfortable with the franchise. There are the requisite thrilling chase scenes, including a fine foot-race across the rooftops of Tangiers, and they wisely elected not to try and top “Supremacy’s” superb climactic car chase (though this one ain’t half bad). But for all the combat, you get the sense the third movie is merely coasting along. We know Bourne is more or less the baddest dude on the planet, and could probably take on Col. Guile, Sub-Zero, and Liquid Snake at the same time, but maybe enough is enough.

The characters of Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) and Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) are also trotted out once again, but both are actually given fairly hefty roles for once, and Strathairn’s Noah Vosen is by turns coldly evil and grossly incompetent as the head of the CIA’s covert ‘Blackbriar’ operation (as is the case with the real CIA, one suspects).

Which brings me to the movie’s most hilarious problem; Landy repeatedly tries to convince Bourne to trust her, ultimately distancing herself from Vosen’s executive assassin program by claiming, “This isn’t us.” It isn’t? You mean the Central Intelligence Agency, when not failing to accurately assess the stability of the Eastern Bloc or gauge al Qaeda’s capacity to attack the mainland United States, hasn’t maintained a 60-year campaign of destabilization, murder and deception? Wow. Someone should notify the estates of Mohammed Mosaddeq and Jacobo Arbenz.

“The Bourne Ultimatum” is a perfectly serviceable action movie…better than most, in fact. The entire premise is growing creaky, however, leading us to think we might want to leave this particular spy out in the cold a while, before he becomes completely tiresome.

(source: http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=10212 )

Grave of The Fireflies movie review

2007-01-10T09:03:00.000-08:00

Hotaru Nu Haka(Grave of The Fireflies)

****1/5

Made in Japan in 1988.Also known as 'Hotaru no haka' in Japanese

Is there any bond stronger than 'Love'??.Love which has so much depth that human beings never understand it fully Is there any crime greater than killing humans by humans??

Grave of the Fireflies tells the story during World War 2.U.S bombers used such bombs against Japanese cities which creates fire storms.Among such cities was Kobe.It tells the story of Sieta a young teenager and his sister Setsuko who is 5 years old.Their mother is wrapped in bandage struggling in hospital.Their home,school everything burnt down Then starts one of the most beautiful and hauntingly emotional journey of struggle for survival And also embarks the faith of love between a brother and sister.

Grave of The Fireflies is an animation flick.But the beauty of story is so much realistic that it leaves even a more powerful impact.

The story of survival gets stronger and stronger as the movie moves on. They are given sheltered and food by a relative.But as we know our shadows even leave us in our bad times The brother and sister moves in a hillside cave and their survival story gets even stronger

The story is not only about survival and struggle but also the evil and ghostly effects of war. The story is about love and caring attitude which Sieta shows towards her little sister

The biggest asset of the flick is that it never tries to be melodramatic but it moves like a poetry Some of the most remarkable moments include when they catch fireflies to light up their cave and next morning Sieta finds his sister burying those dead fireflies Another moment is that when Sieta tells her sister that their mother is in hospital and she starts crying For a moment he keeps quiet and then starts rolling trying to make her sister laugh

But the most impactfull and tearjerking moment comes when Sieta brings many things for her sister to eat while she is ill and founds that her sister had made 'rice balls' of 'mud' and asks him to have it.This was one of the most 'Unforgettable' moment of cinematic experience.The truth,the beauty,the love,the struggle,the hunger and the soon the fate they are going to achieve all involve in this scene makes it 'One of the most haunting and depressing moments of a movie'

As being made in Japan many people haven't watched this.But with release of English dubbed DVD it is reaching to more and more people. Watching it feels like a privilege.

Grave of Fireflies is one of the most haunting war films.And in spite of being animated one can feel for the characters which is the biggest triumph of this flick.Elegance,tearjerking,sad and yet so much beautiful and cute

This is the best animated movie which beats all animated movies without having special effects with its touching storyline.Moments and dramatic events are not forced to create impact.But the story moves with so much elegance that the impact is spellbounding.A story told so beautifully that can melt everyone

To sum up this is the most humanly animated flick which connects with our heart more than any human flick.One of the most beautiful and emotional flicks ever.It's a film about death, but the film connects itself with life. This is not only a flick this is a treasure

Pan's Labyrinth movie review

2007-01-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

"A long time ago".......
With this line we are drawn straight towards into.....

Laberinto del Fauno, El(Pans Labyrinth)---2006

****1/2

Honestly speaking i have always found fairy tales absolutely childish
Although there remains some magic and cuteness in the flick but
there wasnt any fairy flick which satisfied me or kept totally engaged

Then i came across Pans Labyrinth trailer which caught me and excited me
But later i got disappointed to know that its an spanish flick and its
actual name is Laberinto del Fauno, El.

But again when i saw the reviews(84 positive reviews out of 85) which are
99% positive and also the movie climbed at #155 at Imdb top 250 i couldnot
controlled myself and downloaded this spanish flick

Pans Labyrinth is the story of a young girl who comes with her pregnant mother
to live with her step-father.Story is set in 1944,at the time when the country
was at war.But the girl gets caught in her own fairy and imaginative world

Prior to watching i thought that this flick will be very good but i ended
up watching a flick that is downright extraordirany in every aspect

Its a story which also compels that inspite of so much brutality going on in
world one tries to find peace and happiness by creating another world

There have been uncountable fantasy and fairy flicks but Pans Labyrinth beats
the hell out of every such flicks.This simply blows every others out of the water
Dark yet astonishingly beautiful...extremely brutal at times yet deeply
emotional and touching.Innocence vs brutality,dark vs light and
Fantasy vs Reality all interwooved together this is the fairy/fantasy flick
that i had always been waiting for or i had always dreamed of

Performance by Ivana Baquero(young gal) is nothing sort of extraordinary.
While her display of a gal caught between real and fantasy world left us stunned,
then her emotional display sent us on the verge of tears
Ably supported by Sergi Lopez and Maribel Verdu

But above all this is the flick of director "Guillermo del Toro"
He havent only succeded in making an astounding visually crafted flick
but also in unique style of storytelling.And all bow to him for making a fairy
flick that is for "grown ups".
And one must admire him for his unique vision and imagination and furthermore
finally being able to convert his vision into a masterpiece,
both as writer and director

Apart from the mesmerizing visuals,deeply touching storyline,extremely brtual
and dark scenes i would like to mention about its haunting and sad music.
Its one of the best i have heard in years if not the best.

kudos to Guillermo del Toro for creating a dark,beautiful,brutal and deeply
emotional fantasy flick which connects with our heart

Apparently Pans Labyrinth won over 20 minutes of standing ovation at Cannes,after
the flick ended.That says something

Finally,Pans labyrinth should definitely win Foreign language Oscar for best
flick if not the best Oscar in hollywood category

Stunning,amazing,spectacular,instant classic,extraordinary,masterpiece are some
of the proverbs that can be attached with Pans Labyrinth
Its sensitive as well as shocking

Pans Labyrinth is such a magical labyrinth which viewers dont want to leave
even after the flick gets over.

Bottomline:Its not only magical and visually appealing but it connects with our heart
and its deeply touching and emotional.A not to be missed by viewers who loves quality
cinema.A prime example of cinema which have got amazing direction,brilliant execution,astounding screenplay and a powerful script
A real cinematic masterpiece in true and every sense

4.5/5

The Departed movie review

2006-10-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

The Departed----****

It’s a pleasure to report that "The Departed," the gritty crime-gangster drama, is Martin Scorsese’s best film since the 1990 “The GoodFellas,“ to which the new film bears loose resemblance in thematic rather than stylistic terms.

After two quasi-epics, “Gangs of New York” and “Aviator,” both of which Oscar-nominated, and both flawed for different reasons, Scorsese is back on terra firma with a movie that’s right up his alley, one that’s linked directly not only to “GoodFellas,” but also to “Mean Streets,” back in 1973.

Like Michael Mann (who, incidentally, produced Scorsese’s “Aviator”), Scorsese is one of American cinema’s strongest proponents of film noir, infusing most of his films with darkly humorous approach and quintessentially noirish themes, motifs, and visuals. Nonetheless, unlike Mann, particularly in his last, disappointing effort, “Miami Vice,” in which striking style triumphed over a routine narrative, Scorsese is trying to find new subjects, with varying degrees of success, to which he can apply his singular noirish paradigm.

The story of "The Departed" is vaguely based on the 2002 brilliant Hong Kong thriller, "Infernal Affairs," which achieved great success in Asia before being released (briefly) in the U.S. in 2004. The collaboration with writer William Monahan (“Kingdom of Heaven”), an Irish-American native of Boston, proves fruitful in ways that the teaming with Paul Schrader was a generation ago in movies like “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull.” Monahan and Scorsese treat their movie as one inspired by “Internal Affairs,” rather than a remake per se.

Putting aside that film’s distinctive milieu, they have created a different setting--South Boston--with different actions and subplots. Monahan has judiciously expanded the scope of that movie, adding new characters, and enlarging one key role, mobster Frank Costello (played by Jack Nicholson), which was minor in the original saga.

Collaborating for the third time with Scorsese, after "Gangs of New York" and "The Aviator," Leonardo DiCaprio gives his first truly mature performance; it’s the first film in which he doesn’t look “boyish.” Along with DiCaprio, the film stars Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and Vera Framiga, which makes “The Departed” as this year's the best-cast feature.

The story centers on two complex and morally ambiguous copes: Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) and Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio). Smart and unabashedly ambitious, Colin appears to be on the fast track of Massachusetts State Police Department. The Department’s Elite Special Investigations Unit is waging an all-out war to take down the city's cop organized crime ring from the inside--their goal is to end the reign of powerful mob boss Costello (Nicholson).

In contrast, Billy is street-smart, tough, and suffers from a violent temper that has cost him his badge and eventually lands him back on the rough streets of South Boston, where he is recruited into Costello's ranks.

The story is about how two young men are shaped by the three major forces in their lives: the police, the crime group, and the neighborhood. In a flashback, we see Costello taking Colin as a young boy and making him into a seeming pillar of the community so he can rise up in the hierarchy of the state police. But, in reality, he is Costello's inside man.

In contrast, Billy’s determination to become a police officer is rooted in his desire to escape his upbringing. Billy comes from an underworld background and has many chips stacked against him. Joining the police because he has no other options, he wants to do things differently than his family. Ironically, Billy is asked to go undercover and pretend to be the very man he was determined not to become.

Billy is the perfect material for the police to send undercover, because he comes from South Boston's working-class element. He is put in the position to join Costello's crew, but he has really been set up to rat on Costello.

The one main character who is neither a cop nor a criminal is also its only woman: Madolyn (Vera Farmiga), a psychiatrist who specializes in dealing with troubled people on both sides of the law. In a twist of fate, Madolyn becomes another unwitting link between Colin, who she dates romantically, and Billy, the man she starts out seeing professionally.

For Billy, Madolyn is the only emotional connection he has, and the one person he can confide in, though in a limited way, because he can't reveal anything about himself, or what he's doing. As his counselor, Madolyn tries to help him initially, but then a stronger personal bind develops between them.

Like most of Scorsese’s films, “The Departed” is about sin, guilt, and redemption. Trying to redeem himself and not just be a product of his environment, Billy he ends up deep in a situation that's extremely dangerous. There are moments when he could be easily caught as the "rat," and everything begins to cave in around him.

Damon's and DiCaprio’s characters are, of course, two sides of the same coin; they even hail from the same neighborhood. Colin chooses one path, and Billy chooses another, but their lives are fatefully intertwined in ways they themselves could never understand. Ultimately, running on parallel tracks, Billy and Colin must--and do-- end up on a collision course.

The film gradually becomes a tense cat-and-mouse chase, based on information and misinformation, conveyed via computer and cell phones; here is one film that couldn’t exist without the cellular technology (for reasons that cannot be disclosed here). However, this being a noir policier-—and a quintessential Scorsese feature-—neither man is what he seems to be. As they work at cross-purposes, Colin and Billy are plunged into a dangerous game in which the stakes are high, really high.

Each man becomes consumed by his double life, gathering information about the plans and counter-plans of the operation he has penetrated. But when it becomes clear to the gangsters and the police that they have a mole in their midst, Billy and Colin find themselves in constant danger of being caught and exposed to the enemy. Each must race to uncover the identity of the other man in time to save himself.

Duplicity and deceit are manifest in Scorsese’s film, but, thematically, borrowing from noir, “The Departed” is soaked with the logic of a well-constructed crime melodrama (in the positive sense of the term) and the fatalism of a tragedy, focusing on the postmodern issue of identity, namely, what constitutes identity(a fluid concept to begin with), and what happens when people depart from what they really should be doing, instead playing roles allotted to them by social agencies.

In this film, Scorsese takes the crime-gangster genre and turns it into something different, more compelling and original. The uniquely American story involves the Irish underworld, the police force and the corruption, within and without that agency, which make the tale more relevant. The film's depiction of the characters and their attitudes toward the world, in both its public and personal domains, is uncompromising.

The production benefits from the cooperation of Thomas B. Duffy, a 30-year-vet of the Mass. State Police, who served as a technical consultant. Though the characters are placed in a specifically Irish-Italian milieu, as a story of trust and loyalty, betrayal and deception, it could be found in any big city around the world.

Giving the strongest performance of the all-star cast,DiCaprio excels in conveying the conflict of a young man who has gotten himself into a bad situation and then wonders what the hell he's doing there. DiCaprio renders an intense, volcanic performance, based as much on gestures as on words, resulting in high-impact emotional turn. Of the three roles, he played for Scorsese, this is by far DiCaprio's most impressive.

While the story is set entirely in Boston, principal photography was executed in and around Boston and New York. Most of the exterior scenes were shot in the Boston Common, Boston Harbor, Chinatown, and, of course, South Boston, known to the locals as "Southie." Traveling outside of the city, the company also shot in the neighboring towns of Braintree, Quincy, and Dorchester (where cast member Mark Wahlberg comes from).

Production designer Kristi Zea (who had previously collaborated on "GoodFellas") and longtime Scorsese vet cinematographer Michael Ballhaus capture the specific style of New England architecture, like the three-story wooden houses with front or back porches on each floor, and what they label as 'brutalist' mode of architecture, including the City Hall.

Outside of Downtown Boston, most of the structures are low, with plenty of sky view.
Juxtaposed with the city's historical landmarks, the imposing, cement-gray Hurley Building, in the heart of Boston's Government Square, was selected to serve as the exterior for the utilitarian headquarters of the Massachusetts State Police.

The team created the interiors of the headquarters on a cavernous soundstage in the Brooklyn's Williamsburg section, with the gray and brown palette of the existing structures.

As noted, “The Departed” is strongly shaped by the noir vocabulary. The film is lit like a black-and-white work, especially in the police station, which doesn't have much color. Ballhaus takes a similar approach to lighting the police headquarters, normally lit with fluorescents, thus creating a wash of light with no tension. Instead, Ballhaus uses direct light and shadows to add variety and texture to the atmosphere.

That said, whenever used, color creates an intense dramatic effect. Costume designer Sandy Powell utilized color to set Nicholson's Costello apart from the rest. Most of the characters wear uniforms or ordinary street clothes in neutral tones of brown, gray, and beige. Not so in the case of Nicholson, perhaps due to his interpretation, which carries his role to an extreme. Consistent with the view that Costello has so much power he can wear whatever he wants and no one would dare question it, Nicholson is clad in orange shirt with blue jackets and leoprad robes, or other lurid colors that call attention to his idiosyncratic character--and acting.

This being a vantage Scorsese picture, “The Departed” is richly dense with references and homages to other directors. Taking a cue from Hitchcock’s “Marnie” and its use of red, there’s a deliberate injection of red within the predominantly colorless settings. Whenever there’s red on screen, it stands out, because most of the costumes and sets are almost monochromatic. Scorsese utilizes this specific color as a subliminal message, as a sign of risk and danger, with blood being the most obvious correlate.

Speaking of blood, the last reel is particularly violent, and some of the shootouts are deliberately staged in grotesquely extremist way. Two climactic encounters owe (perhaps unintentionally) a visual debt to Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction.”

The letter X is also used symbolically, on windows, walls, and floors, as a tribute to the 1932 movie "Scarface," directed by Howard Hawks and produced by Howard Hughes (the subject of "Aviator"), in which the X has special significance in the text.

The X is, of course, a sign of death, and it’s used in the film in both subtle and blatant mode. The concept of death harkens back to the film's title: The Catholic Church refers to the dead as “the faithful departed.” Among other things, “The Departed” is about faithfulness—to self as well as to others.

Finally, I recognized an explicit allusion to Carol Reed's “The Third Man.” Toward the end, there’s a poignant scene at the cemetery where Vera Farmiga walks by her lover Matt Damon without looking at him, recreating the scene between Alida Valli and Joseph Cotten in that 1950 masterpiece.

The Illusionist movie review

2006-10-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

The Illusionist----****

Does the title, The Illusionist refer to the main charachter or does it refer to its director, Neil Burger? Because The Illusionist is just that; an illusion. As this story of love and magic unfolds, it became very apparent that Burger's script and directing style is fairly immature. It appears to be really good, but the use of smoke and mirrors (quite literally) can't hide this film's mediocrity for the full 2 hours.

Eisenheim (Norton), a one-time poor peasant of the country side, has become an extremely proficient stage magician in turn of the century Vienna. During one of his infamous shows, Eisenheim asks for a volunteer from the audience. The fiancee of the Crown Prince (who is also in attendance) volunteers willingly and it is then that Eisenheim discover this woman (Biel) is his long lost love from their adolescent years. What ensues is Eisenheim's plot to get his girl back and expose the corruptness of the Crown Prince, all the while keeping the chief inspector (Giamatti) off his back. Of course tricks and illusions come into play as the tensions mount. As his illusions become more and more ellaborate, the people of the town begin to think these aren't tricks at all, but he may actually have a divine power. To be honest, the audience in the theater doesn't know either. I went back and forth trying to decide for myself, which was a lot of fun.

First of all, the performances are brilliant. Brilliant. Giamatti is always amazing and he is no different here. Within 5 minutes, Giamatti's charisma and strength as an actor is brought to bare and a huge smile crossed my lips as I knew this was going to be a treat. His grumpy disposition and those huge, piercing eyes were perfect for this pseudo-villainous, against typecast role. Edward Norton doesn't make bad performances or bad movies for that matter, and his facial features were perfect for this role of a mysterious outsider who conjures spirits and mesmerizews people. Rufus Sewell, who plays the ferocious and villainous Crown Prince Leopold surprised me a great deal. I recognized him from the Zorro series and Tristan & Isolde. He was deliciously mean and corrupt and reminded me very much of an older Jude Law. Throw Jessica Biel into the mix for.... well, the hottie factor (an unfair comment since she does actually show some decent acting chops) and we've got an A-list cast that is nothing short of amazing.

As the story went along, especially after about 45 minutes, I began to think to myself, "This is really good and it may just have a shot at an Oscar nod." But as it began to wind down, it became apparent that the story, although original and interesting, was actually fairly predictable and kind of corny; especially the very end. However, although I had it predicted correctly (as did everyone I'm sure, as it was actually very obvious), there were pangs in my chest of uncertainty. This coupled with the amazing performances and the fun-ness factor of the illsusions kept me very interested.

To make the illusion more convincing, the producers have hired the great Phillip Glass for the film's score. It is truly amazing and some of Glass' best work in my opinion as it really sets the mood well. It is very reminiscent of a Hitchcock film or Basic Instinct. Perfect.

Since this is 19th centruy Vienna, of course the costumes and sets have to be convincing. And they are. They are, they are, they are. From Biel's beautiful gowns to the Crown Prince's amazing looking uniform, down to even the peasant folk, the costume designers may be the only group from this film to come away with an Academy Award. They are gorgeous and eye-catching and add a great deal to this movie's style and mood. In one of the first scenes of the film, we see Giamatti's character walking down the long hallway of the royal palace to meet with the Crown Prince. The hallways and main office in the palace are fantastic feats of design and authenticity. Bordering on distracting actually, are these great costumes and sets. The only disappointing factor was we never get to see the town from a distance. Everything is shot on a set and it is apparent. But that's nit-picking.

So it comes down to this; almost everything in this film teeters on perfect: the performances, the music, the dialogue (yes, even the corny lines), the sets, the costumes, the music and the illusions (some of which were "real"- i.e. not CGI). There is every ingredient to make this movie great. The only reason I can't give it a 100%, thumbs up, is for the cliche and predictable ending. It lacked a true climax or an original idea. If not for this, I would put this movie in the best of the year category. I still recommend it to all. It's a very good time and in fact, I would even watch it again simply for the fantabulous performances and to try and figure out how some of those tricks were pulled off (remember, many were true magic tricks, supposedly). So I recommend giving this one a try, you won't believe your eyes.

Little Miss Sunshine movie review

2006-10-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Sunshine----****

Olive (Breslin) is a young girl who dreams of winning a beauty pageant. Her parents Richard (Kinnear) and Sheryl (Collette) decide to drive Olive to California so she can compete in the Little Miss Sunshine pageant. However, Richard's father (Alan Arkin), their son Dwayne (Paul Dano), and Sheryl's brother Frank (Steve Carell) also come along for the ride, and it's not long before everything starts to go wrong for the traveling family.

Charming, funny, and always involving, Little Miss Sunshine is a film with something for everyone. A fine script by Michael Arndt is bolstered by a number of excellent performances, and the direction remains focused at all times.

Young Breslin is simply a revelation as Olive. Her range is extraordinary, and she really makes the role her own. Kinnear and Collette are both ideal as her parents, and Dano, rather ordinary in The King, makes up for that with a fine performance here. Arkin is an absolute delight as Richard's foul-mouthed father. This sort of character is tricky to pull off, principally because there's no guarantee the audience will like them, but Arkin allows us to see that there's a good heart behind the gruff exterior. Carell gives a very fine performance too, particularly when you consider this is rather new turf for him.

There are a number of things that make Little Miss Sunshine work so well. The most important reason is that the family comes across as real. This is partly due to the performances, but also because of the writing. Each character has strengths and flaws, and every single one of them has to come to terms with these as the film progresses. The dialogue between the family members is extraordinarily realistic, the characters are properly fleshed out, and the cast have a wonderful chemistry together.

The other main reason why the film is such a delight is because it accomplishes so many things. Little Miss Sunshine is essentially a black comedy, but it's often rather touching, poignant, and moving as well. The way these elements combine is excellent, with the more emotional moments never permitted to become overly saccharine or trite. The film even manages to include some decent satire as well, and the way it moves between these elements ensures that it's never predictable.

Credit is also due to Dayton and Faris, whose direction is so well suited you'd think they wrote the screenplay. They never allow the comedic moments to become silly (even though a couple of them have the potential to do so), and they don't force the audience to wallow in pity every time something bad happens to the family. They display a respect and an understanding of the writing that isn't always seen from directors.

I am genuinely at a loss to think of films similar to Little Miss Sunshine. Very few films have so adeptly woven extremely black comedy and such a charming story together. Perhaps the most recent example would be As Good as It Gets, but even that doesn't offer comedy as deliciously wicked as what Little Miss Sunshine has on display. When awards season rolls around Little Miss Sunshine may well find itself ignored, but some of the performances in particular are deserving of accolades.

Life Is beautiful

2006-09-18T07:18:00.000-07:00

Life Is beautiful---****1/2

Vita è bella, La(Life Is beautiful)-----1997

Made in Italy by actor and director Roberto Benigini
This flick is not about racism but about the human spirit
Life Is Beautiful shows how humour can set the spirit free
even in the most darkest circumstances of life.

In 1939 Italy,Guido(Roberto Benigni) is a carefree Jewish person who wants to open bookstore
With his amazing sense of humour he woos a beautiful school teacher Dora(Nicoletta Braschi)
Later on they marry and story moves to 5 years later.Now they have a son Joshua(Giorgio Cantarini)
1945 during WW2 they all are captured by fascists and sent to death camps.Guido makes
his son believe that this is actually a game of 'hide and seek' in which one have to get 1000 points to be a prize winner which is a tank

The first half is full of comedy and humour and one might think its romantic comedy
But second half takes a u turn and makes the movie intense and tragic yet lighter
The second half gives a feeling of 'Schindlers List'.But this movie is not as brutal as that
rather we see a deeply touching story told with imagination and humour
Inspite of second half being dark and grim,light and comical moments are interwoven with death and misery all around

Life Is Beautiful is a daring,original story
As an innovative director and a supremely talented actor.
Critic Roger Ebert,the first person ever to win Pulitzer Prize for film criticism says
...Guido uses the only gift at his command to protect his son.
If he had a gun, he would shoot at the Fascists. If he had an army,
he would destroy them.He is a clown, and comedy is his weapon.

I couldnot have agreed and decribed it more profoundly

Guido in profound fashion, Guido personifies the axiom "Life is what you make it".
It is an unexpected,oddly passionate yet deeply emotional portrayal of a father's sacrificial love for his son.

Roberto Benigini popularly known as Jim Carrey of Italy gives his lifetime performance
Its unimaginable to believe the way he portrays humour even in heart wrenching and emotionally driven scenes which can put many audience on the verge of tears
He got well deserved best actor Oscar that year

Roberto Benigini...again truimphs as a writer and director.The scene where he is caught and sees his son hiding leaves you just speechless.Even in that haunting scene by dispalying humour he makes his son believe its part of the game.A class act

Life is beautiful is not about barbarism and brutality but about human spirit.About hope for future
Its about victory of hope over despair,light over dark and also this deeply affecting film triumphs humour over hatred
In the battle against barbarism,Benigni is saying, there are also the weapons of joy and imagination.
It makes u believe that life is not what happens to us,but how we react to it.We must learn to enjoy every moment of our life.
It is up to us to make it beautiful.

And one can assume the greatness of flick as inspite of being made in Italy this timeless classic doesnot only got oscar nomination for 'Best Foreign' language film but it got 7 Oscar
nominations in leading categories out of which it won 3 oscars.

Winner of Grand Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival 'Life is Beutiful' poignantly shows us that in the midst of dark ugliness of death the light of life shines at its 'Most Beautiful'

Unarguably among the greatest flicks.....

..........4.5/5

World Trade Center :Movie Review

2006-09-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

World Trade Center---***1/2

At the end of April, British documentarian Paul Greengrass gave us a harrowing re-creation of the only one of four hijacked airliners which didn't reach its target in the docudrama United 93. Now, American filmmaker Oliver Stone recounts the memories of two Port Authority (PA) policemen who survived the attacks on the Twin Towers on 11 September 2001.

The name "Oliver Stone" conjures up thoughts of conspiracy theories and the like. However, in World Trade Center, Stone has given us a film based solely on the recollections of the two policemen (and their wives) that this story follows. It is a story about the human spirit. It is about fear and fraility as well as strength and courage.

Nicolas Cage plays John McLoughlin, a patrol sergeant with the Port Authority stationed at the authority's midtown bus terminal. On the morning of 11 September, McLoughlin awakens early to prepare for his day at work. Stone deftly lets us know without a whole lot of exposition that there's trouble in the McLoughlin marriage. The sergeant rolls out of bed without so much as disturbing his wife. He showers, dresses and checks in on his children. He then makes the drive into New York City to begin his day.

Through a variety of establishing shots and background radiocasts, Stone lets us know that it is what passes (then) as a normal day in New York. Meanwhile, rookie patrolman Will Jimeno (Michael Peña) jumps in his SUV and heads to work as well. After a time, Stone takes us to morning roll call at the bus terminal's police sub-station where McLoughlin makes routine assignments for the day.

Jimeno, after bantering with his buddy Dominick Pezzulo (Jay Hernandez), heads out to Eighth Avenue to begin his assignment. Our first inkling that something is wrong is when Jimeno hears a jet roar overhead and we see the shadow of an airliner against a nearby building. In short order, the various members of the squad hear a code on their radios which they recognize as an emergency order to report back to the substation. As Jimeno, Pezzulo and their colleagues return, they see newscasts of the crippled North Tower. Speculation starts to run rampant about what has happened at the Trade Center.

McLoughlin assembles a team and commandeers a city bus for his team's trip downtown. On the bus, the patrolmen speculate on what has actually happened. One of the patrolmen has talked to his wife and learned that a second plane has hit the South Tower. Meanwhile, in a department Suburban, McLoughlin and his lieutenant (Kassimatis, played by Nick Damici) discuss the rescue plan for the Towers. It's here where we learn that McLoughlin helped draw up emergency plans for the Trade Center complex after the 1993 terrorist bombing. However, McLoughlin lets Kassimatis know that there's nothing in their plans to cover the scenario facing them.

Once downtown, McLoughlin asks for volunteers to go into the Towers. After some hesitation, Jimeno, Pezzulo and a few others step forward. What follows is nightmarish as McLoughlin and his team set about gathering equipment to help rescue people in the Towers. There are sheets of paper everywhere, falling debris, and the frightful sounds of explosions and the buildings shuddering.

Just as McLoughlin's team has gathered all the equipment that they need, the tower above them starts to shudder and McLoughlin, realizing what is happening, shouts “Run!” McLoughlin and his team head for an area between the two towers which McLoughlin knows holds the best chance for their survival. However, we soon learn that only McLoughlin, Jimeno and Pezzulo seem to have survived.

From this point forward, we're watching what those three officers did to survive and what those above did to rescue them. Interspersed with these images are how the officers' families deal with the uncertainty of not knowing whether their husbands are dead or alive. We particularly follow the tribulations of Donna McLoughlin (Maria Bello) and Allison Jimeno (Maggie Gyllenhaal) as they wait for word about their missing husbands while trying to cope with their families around them.

What happens to McLoughlin, Jimeno and Pezzulo after the towers collapse is positively frightening. Stone doesn't spare us any intensity as we view what happens below and above the rubble.

I should mention the performance of Michael Shannon who plays ex-Marine Dave Karnes. Karnes, who was an accountant who decided to go to New York to help search for survivors of the attack. Karnes calmly leaves work, gets his hair cut, dresses in Marine fatigues, and heads for Ground Zero. Save for the fact that this part of the story is based in reality, this would seem incredulous. Karnes is single-minded in his attempt to find survivors. When he, along with fellow ex-Marine PFC Dave Thomas (William Mapother), finds the buried PA patrolmen, it brings one of the few uplifting moments in the film. When Jimeno pleads for Karnes not to leave, Karnes simply states “You are our mission!”

[The identity, until last week, of the second Marine was unknown to investigators and filmmakers. However, it is now known that he is former Marine Sgt. Jason Thomas. You can read about Karnes and Thomas in the articles cited at the end of this essay.]

World Trade Center is heart-wrenching while at the same time exasperating. Unlike United 93, which more or less took place in real time, this film takes place in compressed time. With the amount of narrative that Stone has to cover, that shouldn't be such a big problem. However, despite a running time of two hours and five minutes, I would like to have seen just a tad more exposition leading up to the critical events. Also, since a great deal of the narrative takes place beneath the rubble, the film tends to be claustrophobic and sluggish. The nature of the material also tends to make this film much more melodramatic than United 93.

All in all, this is a film worth seeing. It exposes the raw elements of human nature but also the triumph of human spirit. It makes an excellent bookend with United 93.

At the close of the film, we learn that 2,749 people died in the Twin Towers attack. Only 20 people survived.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby:Movie Review

2006-09-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby-----***1/2/*****

Columbia Pictures

Year Released: 2006
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Adam McKay
Writers: Will Ferrell, Adam McKay
Cast: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Sacha Baron Cohen, Gary Cole, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Jane Lynch, Amy Adams.

Review by Rob Vaux

As you are no doubt aware, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby stars Will Ferrell, who many people consider tremendously funny. I find his humor more sporadic than hysterical, but he's hit the target enough times to give a movie like this at least modest potential. Thankfully, Talladega Nights fulfills it with admirable professionalism, delivering another idiot man-child for Ferrell to inhabit while broadly skewering the admittedly easy target of NASCAR culture. Its trump card, however, comes not just in the star, but in the very funny supporting cast chosen to back him up: people you've likely seen before but whose names don't register on the National Fame Barometer. Names like Gary Cole, Office Space's Boss from Hell, who rocks the house as Ferrell's shiftless dad. Or Jane Lynch -- last seen freaking out Steve Carell with details of her deflowering in The 40-Year-Old Virgin -- as Ferrell's cheerfully mordant mother. There's John C. Reilly slam-dunking another doofus best friend, Molly Shannon getting her groove on as an alcoholic trophy wife, and even Michael Clarke Duncan raising more than his share of unexpected snickers. That the film wastes the wonderful Amy Adams is less a case of ignoring her brilliance than simply lacking the time to let her strut. With such an army behind him, Ferrell need only find the right tone and step up to the plate. If he misses, they're still going to knock it out of the park.

And that's all that matters for movies like Talladega Nights. Are we laughing? Yes? Then throw away the checklist, because our money is officially well spent. Ferrell and director/co-writer Adam McKay find fertile ground in the Red State tackiness of professional racing, but like all good satirists, they temper their jabs with heartfelt affection. Their fulcrum is Ferrell's Ricky Bobby, stunningly dim king of the NASCAR circuit whose win-at-all-costs philosophy consumes every inch of his distressingly limited brain space. Like Anchorman's Ron Burgundy, he lives in a fantasyland of insecure male adolescence, complete with a toadying pal (Reilly) happy to always come in second and a bling-laden missus (Leslie Bibb, another standout) who seems cloned from Jessica Simpson's hair extensions. Trouble enters his paradise with the arrival of Jean Girard (Sacha Baron Cohen, another standout), who embodies the unholy trifecta reviled by all of Bobby's ilk: he's French, he's intellectual, and he's very very gay. Even worse, he's a better racer than Bobby, and a few easy humiliations soon reduce Ferrell's Champion Good Ole Boy to a blubbering wreck. It will take the love of a patient woman (Adams), a newfound sense of humility, and a few manly-man lessons involving blindfolds and cranky mountain lions to get him back into the winner's circle.

The faux machismo of Bobby's lifestyle makes a tasty satirical snack as Farrell and McKay again look to deflate the hubristic preening that passes for male emotional development in our society. Gauche materialism, xenophobia, and the "second place is the first loser" mentality of Ugly America take it on the chin as well, giving Talladega Nights a timely feel even as it apes Anchorman's winning formula. Obvious swipes are the order of the day, but McKay still knows how to invest them with insight and wit, and he never takes the buffoonery for granted. The second half runs low on gas, as the formulaic plot sputters a bit and the guffaws of the first hour slowly diminish to quieter chuckles, but even when it stumbles, someone amid the standout ensemble is always ready to pick up the slack.

And for all of its barbs, it retains a core of sweetness at its heart. Talladega Nights mocks NASCAR, to be sure, but it never shortchanges the excitement and atmosphere that have made the circuit such a phenomenon. McKay keeps the racing scenes pumped full of adrenaline, and though he spares nothing in assaulting the zeitgeist surrounding them, he never questions why people should love NASCAR, or devalues the immense skills displayed by Bobby's (hopefully brighter) real-world counterparts. Adam Sandler's films leave a bad taste in the mouth because they have fundamentally nasty souls -- an ugly, bullying mentality that displays open contempt for their chosen targets. Talladega Nights, on the other hand, loves what it ridicules, even at its most chiding. For all his stupidity and arrogance, and for all the appalling shortcomings of the bubble he inhabits, Ricky Bobby is basically a decent guy underneath. Talladega Nights always keeps that gentleness in mind, even as it refuses to let him off the hook for all of his dipshit idiocy. Its laughs are broad, but consistent, and its creators adore the subject enough to find all the proper tickle spots. Talladega Nights requires nothing more in order to cruise happily across the finish line.

Invincible:movie review

2006-09-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Invincible (2006)----***
The latest in a recent string of fact-based, sports-themed dramas from Disney, Invincible neatly balances the inevitable, Frank Capra-esque sentiment with a welcome dash of blue collar grit and rowdy good humor. This engaging, classic underdog yarn inspired by the remarkable story of Seventies-era Philadelphia Eagles player Vince Papale may not break any new cinematic ground or have the emotional texture of Friday Night Lights, but on its own populist filmmaking terms, Invincible succeeds without yanking on the heartstrings too blatantly.

Cinematographer-turned-director Ericson Core and his production team effectively capture the look and feel of Philadelphia, circa 1976, when the Philly's rabid football fans were showing little of their city's famed brotherly love towards the Eagles, then in the midst of a humiliating, eleven-season losing streak. Hard times have also hit schoolteacher Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), who was ditched by his wife and lost his job in crushing succession. Just when it seems he's hit the proverbial rock bottom, however, Vince gets a second chance, courtesy of the new Eagles coach, Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear), who decides to hold public tryouts for the NFL team. At the urging of his buddies Tommy (Kirk Acevedo), Pete (Michael Kelly), and Max (Michael Rispoli), Vince reluctantly goes to the tryout—and surprises everyone, including himself, by surviving the first cut. Immediately embraced by the media as the local boy made good, Papale receives a far chillier reception from the Eagles players, who dismiss him as an over-age amateur—that is, when they're not pulverizing him on the field. But in time-honored underdog fashion, Vince gradually proves that Vermeil was right to pluck him out of obscurity.

Making a solid directorial debut, Corr generally refrains from milking Papale's story for maximum syrupy uplift. To that end, he's aided enormously by his cast, which also includes Elizabeth Banks (Seabiscuit), who brings a refreshing spikiness to what could have been a thankless love-interest role as Janet, a pretty barmaid and adamant New York Giants fan. She brings much-needed energy to her scenes with Wahlberg, who's likable, albeit a tad recessive, as the modest, "regular Joe" hero. But if the sleepy-eyed Walhberg appears to lack the larger-than-life charisma of a true movie star, he's certainly a convincing and sympathetic presence in Invincible, especially in the football scenes, which Corr shoots with an exciting, bracing immediacy. Yes, Invincible has its fair share of earnest, "one for the Gipper"-style moments that are probably unavoidable in sports-themed films, yet these moments don't undermine what is ultimately a stirring crowd-pleaser about a real-life gridiron version of that other Philly underdog, Sylvester Stallone's Rocky.

Superman Returns:Movie Review

2006-07-14T06:56:00.000-07:00

***1/2/****

Does the world really needs Superman??

While Lois Lane ex-girlfriend of Superman has written off about him.She wrote 'The world does not need Superman' and she won prizes and medals for this article too.

But Clark Kent says:You wrote that the world doesn't need a saviour, but every day I hear people crying for one.

'The Man of Still' is back after a gap of 20 years

Positive aspects: This Superman has soul.Inspite of all those superpowers which makes him god alike Bryan Singer have shown his inside feelings Brilliant special effects

Negative: Love Story--Its quite irony..really irony for me to write that which is the strong point of the movie also becomes its weak points When love story seems to get overdose and hampers the progress.The pace lacks

Performance:

Brandon Routh:Its quite unbelievable to imagine playing the iconic character played by Christopher Reeve during 80's by anyone else Doubts galore surrounded whether a bartender could pull off this character?? Yes he does.He had played the portrayal of Superman and Clark Kent so much convincingly that its impossible for the makers to take any other actor for the sequels. From the Superpower guy saving the world to a normal reporter Clark Kent he is outstanding.From the man flying in air to an emotional person who have lost his love he is incredible One sentence--'Bartender have become a star and a convincing actor'

Kate Bosworth:She looks good and acts good.Her performance is not on par with Brandon Routh but a good performance overall

Parker Posey:She is good and carries the character of Kitty Kowalski in same vein as it was left

Sam Huntington is good adding some humorous elements to the flick

Kid is so cute

Now Kevin Spacey.Anyone who have seen the flicks of this two time Oscar winning actor(usual suspects,American beauty) even without watching this flick can tell that he will be good in the flick He takes the character of Lex Luther to another level.He brings charm in the flick whenever he comes on the screen

Now finally Bryan Singer,the director---Bryan singer had himself stated that Superman had been his favourite superhero character And he shows how much respect he gives to this 'iconic character'. From making the best ever thriller(The Usual Suspects) and generating a new breed of superheroes(X-Men) and going back for making a sequel of the 'American Icon' he had came a long way And being so young he will go a long way.Thanks Singer for making the 'dad' of all superheroes so superhuman

So,so what if Superman costume is not good looking and kewl in todays perspective....so what if superman getup does not look kewl as Batman,Spidey or X-Men But 'Man of Steel' has a heart of gold.Whether its Batman or Spiderman everyone's path for saving the world starts from revenge.Later on they turn for good cause But SuperMan had always been there fighting for truth and justice.And his mission does not starts with revenge.This makes me to give him the most respect of all superheroes

Now the big question floating prior to its release..'Whether SuperMan beats Batman Begins in terms character and storytelling' Frankly no.And its quite unfair to expect that too.Cause Batman Begins started from beginning and Spiderman-2 was 2nd flick of the series,SUperman Returns is the third flick of their franchise So,the 'character stabilisation' and all such things cant be as much strong.However SR will top Batman Begins in terms of Box office

We have never seen superman so much struggling...a bullet shot straight into the eyes,got beaten badly and left into the sea with crystal in back.SuperMan was never so much in trouble

While the first half is slow paced,second half before the climax is as fast as it could have been and does not let u even drop your eyelid. The special effects are sensational and mindblowing.But the climax again slows down the film And pace of the film had been the major problem with the audience.Many people can find it bit slow

In the climax of the movie,when lois lane and kid went on to see Superman,we see mother(who have raised him) of Superman struggling and standing with normal people to see his son And i ran into emotion seeing that being ex-gf how lois lane easily meets Superman but her mother not cause no1 knows her. The old woman stands there with emotion and sadness on her face

A worthy sequel.The wait is finally over

So long SuperMan,where have u been??

Pirates of The Caribbean:Dead Man's Christ--Movie review

2006-07-14T06:48:00.000-07:00

'Pirates' sequel long but occasionally strong
By Glenn Whipp, Film Critic

***/****

Just like its predecessor, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" is an exercise in forgiveness, asking its audience to sit through the bloat to get to the treasure.

Blowhard director Gore Verbinski gives us two of everything — villains, self-sacrificing fathers, love triangles — when one would have sufficed. He never stages an action sequence that he doesn't want to repeat for lessened effect. The result is a 21/2-hour movie that starts slowly and only gets up to full sailing speed by its last hour.

Johnny Depp redeemed the first "Pirates" movie, and if they gave Oscars the way baseball crowns its league MVPs — for contributions to the success of the team — Depp would have won best actor, hands-down. Take him away from that 2003 film, and you're left with an empty, unwatchable spectacle.

Depp, of course, returns in "Dead Man's Chest,"
again playing everyone's favorite, mascara-wearing prancing pirate, this time leaning more on the character's Pepe Le Pew inspiration, though Keith Richards still comes through, too. While the thrill of discovering the character and Depp's performance is gone, it's still a joy watching him play this narcissistic, word-slurring anti-hero. Just seeing Depp run — and Capt. Jack runs a lot in this movie — is to behold a Chuck Jones cartoon come to life, and it makes me smile every time.

Given how Depp so thoroughly stole the movie from Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley the first time around, you wish producer Jerry Bruckheimer would have been smart enough to jettison the bland characters and let Sparrow fly alone this time around. But that would violate the laws of sequels, not to mention run the risk of alienating the teen girls who blush at the sight of Bloom.

The problem is, credited screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio struggle in putting the three main characters back together, delivering an opening hour that is incoherent and largely uninvolving. Separated lovers Will (Bloom) and Elizabeth (Knightley) are present only because one of the villains (the boring, non-CG one) wants something from Jack.

Meanwhile, the other villain, the astounding, computer-generated, squid-faced Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) wants something from Jack as well — his soul. This is where the movie gets good, if not great: when Jones' submerged Flying Dutchman ship pops out of the ocean, revealing its barnacle-covered, bizarro crew of the aquatic undead, adversaries more than worthy of Capt. Jack. One other item of note: Jones commands a giant squid that makes the beastie in "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" look like a wee jellyfish.

Davy Jones and his crew are fantastic,
flawless creations — you can't take your eyes off them. John Knoll's Industrial Light & Magic visual effects team have gone above and beyond the call here, creating a band of characters that impeccably serve the story without needlessly calling attention to themselves.

There's a Hammerhead Shark Man, a Hermit Crab Head ... really it's a rogues gallery straight out of Dick Tracy. Although they're almost entirely computer creations, they feel as real as the flesh-and-blood humans.

More real, in fact. If Depp was the Oscar nomination waiting to happen for "Black Pearl," it's Nighy's turn for "Dead Man's Chest." Nighy has spent his entire career elevating bad movies ("Underworld") or turning good films into near-great ones ("Shaun of the Dead"). Here, even though everything about the squid-faced Jones, even the eyes, are artificial, Nighy's performance comes through loud and clear, full of magnificent menace, a villain for the ages.

His presence makes the prospect of next year's third "Pirates" movie palatable, even if, given the progression of the series, Verbinski pushes the running time to 3 hours. These are movies that cry out for the "scene selection" feature on the DVD.

But when the scenes work and cook, they're the essence of summer moviemaking. They shiver your timbers and make you feel like a kid.

Source:http://www.dailynews.com/filmreviews/ci_4014836

Ice Age:The Meltdown:movie review

2006-04-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

***/*****
Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) / Animation-Comedy

MPAA Rated: PG for some mild language and innuendo
Running Time: 90 min.

Cast (voices): Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Will Arnett, Jay Leno, Joseph Bologna, Alan Tudyk
Director: Carlos Saldanha
Screenplay: Peter Gaulke, Gerry Swallow

It's rare for a sequel to be on par with the original film, but Ice Age: The Meltdown is, thankfully, not a letdown. It's also less dark than the first entry, and doesn't carry the baggage of having to introduce the characters and scenario, which allows for a more free-flowing and buoyant effort. This one's an easy recommendation: if you liked Ice Age, you'll probably like this one, and if you didn't, you probably won't. I liked the original modestly, and came away with the same feeling here, although both have their share of weaknesses and lulls.

At the very least, at least you can't say that this film is bogged down by excessive plotting. As the ice of the dam surrounding the valley where our protagonists live begins to melt and break down, it becomes apparent that a flood of cataclysmic proportion threatens all life there. As the creatures begin their mass exodus to get to the other side, Manny (voiced by Ray Romano, Eulogy), the hapless mammoth, begins to lament the fact that he maybe the last surviving member of his species. His fears are allayed somewhat when he encounters a female mammoth named Ellie (Latifah, Beauty Shop), although he has a hard time convincing her that they need to keep their kind alive, especially as she believes herself to be a possum.

Ice Age: The Meltdown will probably fit the bill for the intended audience of young children, most of whom just enjoy seeing funny talking animals and lots of silly, high-energy slapstick. Adults will probably be mixed in their enjoyment, but if it keeps the young ones quiet for 90 minutes, at least they will have a pleasant experience outside of the movie itself. As with most current animated fare, there is an emphasis on fast-paced, frenetic action, which can be a bit hard to take for those that don't enjoyed frenzied, noisy films.

There are plenty of sight gags, and the usual mirth and mayhem, although they are mild in humor value, as the Ice Age series has run mostly on charm and affability, rather than on catchy zingers and genuine wit. Although many of the scenes are aimed at children, there is some mild innuendo that will keep the adults in the audience tuned in. This is the kind of film you go to for some escapism and a pleasant time, and along those lines, I suppose one can call The Meltdown a successful venture.

While this isn't nearly the caliber we might expect from a Pixar release, it's better than other recent 3D animated efforts, strictly for audiences that like these sorts of cutesy, computer-generated comedies. Top-notch production values help.

Source:http://www.qwipster.net/iceage2.htm

Scary Movie 4:movie review

2006-04-30T10:47:00.000-07:00

SCARY MOVIE 4
RATING 2.5
(Director: David Zucker, PG-13, 88 min)

The scariest thing about this is that they’re still making these sequels (even if they promise this 4th edition is the final chapter of the "trilogy"). But as long as there is an audience who’ll pay money to go see these spoofs, we’ll continue to get a new version every couple of years. The good thing is that this is an improvement over the last couple of installments; the bad thing is that wouldn’t take much.

In this go round, the movie opens with Shaquille O'Neal and Dr. Phil having a Saw moment. Then the story settles down into a combination of The Grudge meets War of the Worlds – Cindy (Anna Faris) returns as a home caregiver for the nearly comatose Cloris Leachman and the ghost-kid hanging around the house. She lives right next door to Tom Ryan (Craig Bierko) who is trying to reconnect with his kids, hook up with Cindy, and save the world from invading aliens – when he’s not busy visiting Oprah (Debra Wilson) to dance on her couch and proclaim his love for Cindy.

This franchise doesn’t just spoof the horror films (probably because they need more material). To incorporate more movies into the mix, Cindy has a Million Dollar Baby flashback, while Tom’s friend Mahalik (Anthony Anderson) fondly remember his fishing trip a la Brokeback Mountain. Then Cindy learns she can get the answer to the alien problem if she and her old friend Brenda (Regina Hall) go to visit the set of The Village and speak to the one with the answers (Bill Pullman).

Some old characters return for a brief cameo (and a paycheck) including Carmen Electra (who gets to have the embarrassing toilet humor moment), Leslie Nielsen as President Harris, and Charlie Sheen as Tom Logan.

Scary Movie 4 starts with some promise – sure, it’s like sketch TV, but at least it’s SNL in the good years. Unfortunately, when it starts to fall apart, it takes a dive, then falls so fast the g-forces shock the audience into silence (no wait, they just got quiet because it stopped being funny). There aren’t even outtakes or any fun stuff during the credits to leave on a good note.

source:http://www.themoviechicks.com/early2006/mcrscarymovie4.html

V FOR VENDETTA:Movie reviews

2006-04-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

***1/2/*****
V FOR VENDETTA

by Pete Vonder Haar
(2006-03-18)
2006, Rated R, 132 minutes, Warner Bros.

Famously disowned by creator Alan Moore (who, it should be noted, behaves towards every film adaptation of his works in the same way) and held back from release following 2005’s London subway bombings (for more “tweaking,” according to producer Joel Silver), this 20-year old story of a masked terrorist who does battle with the government of a fascist future Britain finally comes to theaters. Written by the Wachowski brothers and directed by Wachowski crony James McTeigue, it’s understandable that people might fear more of the same ridiculousness that permeated the “Matrix” sequels.

Happily, that’s not entirely the case. The core of Moore’s original tale – England as a security state, where news is generated by the government and undesirables (be they sexually, racially, or politically so) have long since been “removed,” their disappearance blamed on external forces. The lone challenger to the regime is a strange man in a mask with a penchant for quoting Shakespeare.

In this pleasant setting we’re introduced to young Evey Hammond (Natalie Portman) just as she is about to be assaulted by several of the government’s internal security agents (unfortunately referred to as “Fingermen”). However, before anything untoward takes place, a mysterious fellow in a Guy Fawkes mask appears. He explains, in a lengthy and obnoxiously alliterative soliloquy, that his name is “V,” right before he kills the three men and spirits Evey to the rooftops so she can watch while he blows up the Old Bailey.

V, in a happy coincidence, also temporarily takes over the TV station where Evey works, announcing his presence and telling everyone he’ll be blowing up Parliament as well in a year’s time. Evey is implicated in the incident and goes into hiding as well, learning more and more about V’s motivations and goals. Finally – in one of the larger plot developments retained from the comic – she is forced to choose between giving up her life and protecting his. Meanwhile, the police (led by a suitably bedraggled Stephen Rea) attempt to track V down before he can make good on his promise.

Although the marketing for “V for Vendetta” relies heavily on the fact that this is from “the creators of ‘The Matrix’ trilogy,’ there’s surprisingly little of the expected wire fu and CGI shenanigans that helped make the second and third “Matrix” movies nigh unwatchable. Aside from a handful of fight scenes (only one of which evokes any serious eye-rolling), the Wachowskis actually seem to have given serious effort to telling a story, and not taking three movies to do it.

Of course, this is still a 2-hour adaptation of a wordy, 300-page comic book. Much of the subtlety and ambiguity of Moore’s original work had to be abandoned in favor of unlikely coincidences and plot conveniences. And, as with any Hollywood version of revolution, the film makes the assumption that every oppressed citizen is actively skeptical of their own government, can see through its propaganda, and is eager to take up active resistance. Quaint, but depressingly unrealistic.

Despite the fact that “V for Vendetta” has been bouncing around with different studios for some time, there’s no denying that the finished product was created with the war in Iraq and the ongoing domestic debate concerning wiretaps and shrinking civil liberties in mind. In that respect, it’s one of the first major Hollywood films to take such an overt anti-Bush stance. Certainly there have been a number of documentaries and subdued flicks like “Good Night and Good Luck” casting their stones at the Bush Administration, but the parallels between the Orwellian future onscreen and today’s chilly domestic political climate can’t be denied, and the Wachowskis are far from delicate in their rhetoric.

Finally, when I reviewed the movie “Constantine” (about another Alan Moore creation, humorously enough), I did a version for fans of the comic as well as those seeing the movie cold. This was mostly because I’m a huge fan of that character, and the tactic won’t be repeated here. While I can see the places where the Wachowskis kept Moore’s story and the (many) places where they just ignored it, I think they’ve done as decent a job as can be expected in making the story accessible to a wider audience. With its emphasis on dialogue and political machinations over explosions and kung fu fighting, it remains to be see whether or not “V for Vendetta” will actually find one.

Source:http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=8807

Silent Hill:Movie Review

2006-04-30T10:33:00.000-07:00

***/*****

SILENT HILL
Director: Christophe Gans
Cast: Radha Mitchell, Laurie Holden, Sean Bean, Deborah Kara Unger, Tanya Allen, Jodelle Ferland, Kim Coates, Alice Krige
(TriStar, 2006) Rated: R
Release date: 21 April 20

by Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters Film and TV Editor

It's Close to Midnight

Rose (Radha Mitchell) loves her little girl more than words can say. And more often than not, she's reduced to base expressions of that affection. Take the start of Silent Hill, where Rose appears in mid-panic, running after Sharon (Jodelle Ferland), a longtime sleepwalker who has wandered off into the night, leading her mom on a wild chase across the highway through a nearby stretch of scary woods, and finally to the edge of a cliff that features an odious waterfall. Rose yells "Sharon!" and "Wait for mommy!" repeatedly as she scurries over this bizarre terrain while dressed in her sleepwear -- short shorts and skimpy undershirt -- bounding in front of oncoming traffic and leaping across ridiculous heights, and reaching the girl just in time to save her from plunging into the thrashing water below.

Phew. Or... maybe not so phew. This opening scene sets up the film's fundamental troubles. Long on atmosphere, it's way short on cunning or beguiling. It's also short on sense, which may be a function of a submerged plot point, that everyone is dead and all that you see here is a series of unattributed hallucinations. Perhaps the simultaneously obscure and derivative plot (screenplay credited to the usually smart Roger Avary) has to do with its basis in a video game. And maybe its lumbering pace and awkward editing -- which hardly match up with director Christophe Gans and editor Sébastien Prangère's previous, strangely elegant collaboration (Brotherhood of the Wolf) -- result from some other, unknown influence (whether studio or otherworldly, the effect is the same).

Following its moody, unfathomable start (why are Rose and her husband Chris [Sean Bean] living near a cliff if they know Sharon sleepwalks? Why are doors unlocked?), Silent Hill offers a briefly incoherent sunshiney-idealy respite: sitting beneath a tree in a lovely open field, Rose tells Sharon they'll be on the road, looking for Silent Hill, the name a town in West Virginia Sharon pronounces during her sleepwalking adventures. Somehow, Rose imagines, going to this place will solve her adopted daughter's trauma. They both close their eyes and maybe they fall asleep, to suggest that what follows is a dream; or they're both already dead from the first scene, and what follows is set in some terrible purgatory.

The drive to Silent Hill is utterly ooky, punctuated by Chris' frantic phone calls to Rose, imploring her not to go -- as he looks up on the town's history on the net and discovers it's actually closed down, owing to an ongoing coal mine fire beneath the ground. (Somehow, Rose missed this tidbit during what you might presume was her own research.) En route, Rose draws the interest of motorcycle cop named Cybil (Laurie Holden), who wears one serious pair of skintight shiny britches and black knee-high boots, not to mention her helmet and large handgun. Cybil seems equipped to deal with whatever comes her way, but of course, she's not, because what does come her way makes no sense. To start, when she tries to pull Rose over on the highway, Rose guns her Jeep and heads off down a dark and windy road marked "Silent Hill," crashing through a large metal fence while instructing her understandably screaming daughter to hang on.

The town itself is as creepy and confused as any of this lead-up intimates (and it's actually full of noise, as opposed to silence), with weather ranging from dreadful downpours to pervasive ash-in-the-air, sometimes night, sometimes day. As Rose has been knocked out by her car crash, and wakes to find Sharon missing from the car, she spends the rest of the film trying to find her daughter, wandering desolate streets and occasionally running into dread-headed Dahlia (Deborah Kara Unger), another mother of a missing daughter. (Again, the waking in this perverse place suggests Rose might not actually be awake, but again, it doesn't much matter.)

While Rose persists in her pursuit of resolution (or something), Chris heads toward Silent Hill as well, where he's stopped by a police inspector, Gucci (Kim Coates), who has found the wife's Jeep and agrees to bring Chris along to search for her. Gucci tells some spastic story about the town's coal fire, the "hellish" day in 1974, when "people were dying and disappearing." (You might think that weirdly poetic and unspecific description, coming from a cop, would worry Chris, but no.) Gucci's dad died that day, but that doesn't quite explain his efforts to keep Chris in the dark. Then gain, "the darkness" is pretty much a character here, literally "coming" at certain times and scaring the occasionally-appearing inhabitants into a church, where they gather to "pray," which means chant and moan and hate on everyone outside.

Sharon also appears intermittently, running through hallways or leading Rose on lengthy chases down dark alleys and into grim basements (at points the music soundtrack turns grindy industrial, at other times bland metal). Conveniently discovering a lighter in her pocket and a series of flashlights that always light up, Rose comes on a number of oddballs, some with miners' gear and a canary in a cage, some seeming boneless or reminiscent of the scary screamer in Aphex Twin's "Come to Daddy," others marching in jaunty-out-of-joint step as if they've emerged from "Thriller" (If only Vincent Price might have provided voiceover explanations). Sometimes their skin flies off like its burning, sometimes they spew bloody-seeming goo. One particular victim-monster has his head tied to his feet, and kind of scoots along the floor as if menacing Rose, who screams bloody murder while standing still and holding her flashlight -- again, miraculously working -- on her ostensible assailant, who actually never quite makes it very far, seeing as he's all tied up and bent.

Even if you decide to go with Silent Hill's not-making-sense premise (which is, really, fine, as the mindscape here is plainly nightmarish and so not bound by physical or emotional logics), the film slips another mickey into its narrative cocktail. And that would be Christabella (Alice Krige, still looking a lot like the Borg Queen), leader of a kind-of cult inhabiting Silent Hill. Self-identified witch-burners, they announce to Rose that she, Sharon, and Dahlia's missing girl are all witches and must be burned in order to maintain their own "purity," whatever that can possibly mean, as they do all resemble ghouls and corpses.

The hordes of folks reciting and grabbing at Rose and Sybil (who shows up to do some ineffective shooting with her big gun) make for a familiar nightmare image, as do Christabella's invectives: "We fight the demon," and "We drew a line in the sand." Barbed wire grows up from a hell-hole below the church floor (it's as if the Big Bad was re-making its appearance in Buffy), a previous victim appears looking burnt, bloody, and gooey, they burn a designated witch (whose skin yuckily melts and falls off). All the while, Rose keeps telling Sharon, "It'll be okay, baby." Er. No.

Eventually Christabella starts to sound a little too familiar, especially as Rose interprets her. Trying to win over the corpsey folks, Rose describes herself as coming from "a world outside," then explains, "This woman uses your fear to control you." This comes very late in the proceedings (which run 127 minutes), when your eyes are well-glazed over, and you might be forgiven for thinking maybe the movie has suddenly turned into a critique of the war on terror. Or maybe not.

source:http://popmatters.com/film/reviews/s/silent-hill-2006.shtml

Eight Below:Movie review

2006-03-08T14:46:00.000-08:00

***1/2/*****
The screening of Eight Below: Inspired by a True Story was on the morning before a major blizzard was to overtake the Philadelphia area. I was hoping to make it home before the flakes started to fall. I did, but of course the movie, which tells a conventionally wrenching story of eight beloved sled dogs accidentally left to fend for themselves at an Antarctic science base when the inhabitants have to make an emergency evacuation, made me feel vaguely silly. Twelve inches of snow? Thirty degree weather? Really, how horrifying.

I learn from the credits that Eight Below was both "inspired by a true story" and "suggested by" the Japanese film Nankyoku Monogatari, released on video in America as Antarctica. So the true story, whatever it is, is at best at one remove from this Disney affair, which takes as its mission to be as tearjerkingly fanciful as possible. Paul Walker is the human hero, but the dogs are the stars, and the movie spends considerable time alone with them in the Antarctic, where they do things that I doubt any dog would even consider, including some fairly incredible acts of altruism (as the audience coos at the screen in unison). As an aside, the canine actors are also often more expressive than Paul Walker. Just sayin'.

Actually, this is one film that Walker doesn't manage to ruin, though oh how he tries, as does Jason Biggs as his doofus sidekick. It labors hard and for a long time to evoke as few exasperated groans as possible: Walker's Gerry Shepherd, Antarctic guide extraordinaire, seems to have genuine, sweet affection for the animals he works with, and the intrepid scientist whose foolhardiness leads to the rushed abandonment of the base (Bruce Greenwood) seems like a nice, reasonable guy. Whoever is responsible for the hideously stupid trailer, in other words, does not get fruit cup: most of what made me roll my eyes when I watched the advertising and vowed -- vowed! -- not to go see Eight Below is not nearly so offensive in context. Even the immortal line "you gotta take chances for the things you care about," delivered by the ceaselessly dull-eyed Walker at what looked at the time to be some sort of gala or ball, ultimately makes more sense than one might expect. And another clip, the one where Bruce Greenwood wistfully waxes on "these eight amazing dogs," seems to have been excised entirely.

The extended sequences with the dogs alone in the Antarctic wild are at least as impressive as they are silly, the ludicrous title cards helpfully giving us both the date and the number of days the animals have spent on their own notwithstanding. At one point, the dogs have a scary encounter with a leopard seal, and how the scene was filmed remains beyond me -- was it a CGI seal? I honestly do not know. The animal action is flawless, and I could spot no obvious camera or editing tricks to facilitate it. I half-expected to be annoyed, but if anything annoyed me, it was the audience, which invariably interpreted desperate attempts at survival as just adorable. What the hell?

Eight Below becomes cloying in its last act, which also heralds the return of Jason Biggs, an actor with a filmography that can't suggest anything quite this insufferable. There is a series of shameless scenes leading up to the triumphant rescue, and of course the rescue must include the scene where the hero thinks his most cherished friend is dead, but -- wait a minute! -- maybe not. These missteps aside, Eight Below steadfastly resists attempts to pigeonhole it into being merely one of the execrable Disney live action canon. It's a solid adventure film.

Something New:Movie Review

2006-02-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

***/*****
Kenya (Sanaa Lathan) is an ambitious African American career woman too driven to have a romantic life, yet too tightly wound to remain grounded without one. Landscape architect Brian (Simon Baker) is a blind date who winds up hanging around to reclaim the jungle in the backyard of her new home.

You know how it works. She's a control freak workaholic with demanding standards and an aversion to nature that isn't tamed and trimmed. He's a free and easy green thumb with a spontaneous streak and a romantic sensibility.

And there's one other complication: he's white. In Kenya's cultural circle, dating a white man is something akin to racial betrayal.

Despite the title, "Something New" is nothing new, a familiar tale of lovers separated by cultural assumptions and social expectations. It just feels like it is fresh because it's so rare to see the situation approached from perspective of the black professional community, which director Sanaa Hamri and screenwriter Kriss Turner (both making their feature debuts) explore intelligently -- it's as much about the expectations Kenya has internalized as it is about social pressure -- if not always deftly.

The film comes down to the same question: Will these crazy kids survive the personal clashes and social disapproval? Brian is hardly the ideal pedigree for Kenya's social status -- he's not just white, he's a gardener! -- but if he's the one under scrutiny, she's the one who squirms.

The experiences of a professional African American woman in a predominantly white business culture gives "Something New" an interesting perspective. The warmth of Baker as the cuddly nature boy (another idealized image, certainly, but a romantic one) and the intelligence and fire of Lathan give the lesson, and movie, just enough heart to make it enjoyable.

Schindler's List Movie Review

2006-02-07T22:09:00.000-08:00

****1/2/*****
What is called true cinema?Is it special effects,fantasy or mindless actions.No cinema is an art and it depends on director to create magical art of cinema.One such movie which can be called pure cinema and triumph of meaningfull and sensible cinema is Schindler's List

Story:
The true story of Czech born Oskar Schindler, a businessman who tried to make his fortune during the Second World War by exploiting cheap Jewish labour, but ended up penniless having saved over 1000 Polish Jews from almost certain death during the holocaust.

Winner of 7 oscar awards Schindler's List is story of Nazi barbarism.It shows how mean the human beings can be sometimes.Its the most powerfull story ever told about barbarism and brutality.Even the words barbarism and brutality are too less to describe what happened to the jews.Its not only related what happened to the jews but its a slap on face of humanity.How can we call ourselves human beings

The duration of movie is over 3 hours still it never losses its hold.

To call Liam Neeson had given outstanding performance would be an understatement.From a greedy businessman to a humanitarian he is extraordinary.His broke up at the end of the movie is so touching i lost my words to define them.Incredible.I am surprised how he lost the oscar

Ralph Fiennes have given his career best performance.Playing the role of frightening Nazi commandant he just rocks.

And Schindler's List only proves how great a filmmaker is Steven Spielberg.From making movies like (JAWS) to Close Encounters of the Third World to ET to Jurassic Park and recently released Munich and many endless works he is 'God of all Directors'.The way he have shown the brutality and what had happened in past only a great ones like him can do that.

Many of you have seen this movie but i posted review cause i wanted all to know what is called sensible cinema.

With Spielberg's one of the best directed movies and spellbounding performance by Liam Neeson Schindler's List is a must watch for everyone.Especially for them who want to see sensible and meaningfull cinema.

4.5/5
.....A True Classic

Hoodweekend:Movie review

2006-01-16T02:21:00.000-08:00

***/*****
Everyone has heard the story of Little Red Riding Hood (Anne Hathaway) – sweet innocent kid with fashion sense, the big bad wolf (Patrick Warburton) - a cross-dressing carnivore, the unsuspecting feeble old granny (Glenn Close), and the mighty woodsman (James Belushi). It’s a classic tale of good vs. evil with good triumphing in the end. Or so we have been led to believe all this time. Detective Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Steirs) doesn’t think this is such an open and shut case and he thinks this “domestic disturbance” may be linked to the “Goody Bandit” who has been stealing recipes for all the sweats and yummies in the forest. He and Chief Grizzly (Xzibit) question all the suspects starting with Red.

It turns out that everyone has a different version of what happened and each account reveals some secrets about the storyteller (some more interesting than others). When all the pieces of the puzzle are revealed, are they any closer to the truth about the Goody Bandit? Or do they need to review the stories to see the common threads?

They have done a marvelous job spinning a fairy tale classic into a modern crime drama with lots of humor. The writing is clever, funny and once you get past the first song it zips along at a pace only cartoons could keep up with. The supporting characters are very entertaining from Twitchy (Cory Edwards) the squirrelly side-kick with way too much energy, to Boingo (Andy Dick) the fuzzy long-eared bunny, Japeth the Goat (Benjy Gaither) who sings instead of speaking, and Woolworth the Sheep (Chazz Palminteri) an informant in sheep’s clothing. Plus you get a gaggle of police creatures, foreign bad guys and woodland inhabitants - they all add humor and visual interest.

This is definitely designed to hold up to multiple kid viewings because there is so much going on that you would notice something different each time. It does have a lot of adult humor that may go over the heads of little children but not so much that it’ll lose their attention.

Last Holiday:movie review

2006-01-16T02:14:00.000-08:00

***/*****
If you were given only three weeks to live, would you A) hightail it to Venice and spend the remaining 21 days in the Presidential Suite of Il Palazzo, sipping Chianti and gorging on Linguini Vongole, all while gazing on the majestic Grand Canal, B) throw yourself a pity party and hand out parting gifts to friends and family with the requisite question, "Why me?" written all over them, or C) speed up the inevitable and jump off the nearest bridge? How you answer the aforementioned question will not only reveal whether you're a cynic or an optimist, but how well you'll respond to the new romantic comedy, Last Holiday, starring Queen Latifah.

Like Fun with Dick and Jane, The Producers and Yours, Mine and Ours, Last Holiday is Hollywood's fourth consecutive remake to hit theatres in nearly a month. Based on the 1950 British comedy of the same name, starring the venerated Alec Guinness, Last Holiday reexamines the classic what if theory, only this time with a female character in the lead role.

Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifah) has never been lucky in love, nor in her professional life. In fact, Georgia's one of those rare women who's so sweet and unassuming that every night she dines with a motherless neighbor kid (Jascha Washington, Antwone Fisher), preparing him a multitude of gourmet treats while watching the Emeril Lagasse Show, without even tasting the fruits of her labor. So, when a bump on the head midway through a conversation with a gorgeous appliance salesman named Sean (LL Cool J) leads to the grim diagnosis of a potentially life-threatening brain tumor, Georgia's life seems like it could be over even before it's begun.

Of course, when Georgia's health insurance won't cover the operation to remove her brain tumor, and her vile boss ignores her as she tries to tell him she's dying, Georgia decides to cut her losses and cashes in her savings for the vacation of a lifetime. Arriving in style via helicopter to the posh Grand Hotel Pupp in Karlovy Vary, a picturesque resort in the Czech Republic, Georgia immediately strikes up a friendship with the gregarious staff, including an acclaimed French chef named Didier (Gérard Depardieu), who takes a liking to the New Orleans native when she orders an entire night's worth of specials just for dinner. But all this adoration doesn't sit well with Matthew Kragen (Timothy Hutton), a wealthy retail magnate, who thinks Georgia's nothing more than a corporate spy posing as a fun loving socialite, in order to expose an unauthorized business deal for a new group of Kragen department stores.

Although the film's premise leaves much to the imagination, in order for a romantic comedy like Last Holiday to truly succeed the following criteria is expressly required: a witty script filled with humor, insight and poignancy, a talented cast well versed at juggling comedy and drama, and an experienced director who's shrewd enough to trust his instincts without going overboard and draining the life out of an otherwise good-humored film. Despite the fact that Last Holiday never quite fulfills the aforementioned list, milking laughs from nearly half a dozen one-liners that are neither fresh nor snappy, its heart remains in the right place, even when it fails to generate little more than sympathetic giggles from its target audience.

Fans of the original Last Holiday will likely be disappointed by the way in which screenwriters Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman (Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas) have taken J.B. Priestley's clever script and turned it into a modern-day fairytale, complete with a designer makeover montage and cameo appearances by Emeril Lagasse and Smokey Robinson. Of course, anytime Hollywood remakes a film that is considered a classic, there are always those skeptics who are so hell-bent on labeling it a fraud that they spend the entire movie comparing it to the original without even appreciating what it gets right. The whole point of a movie like Last Holiday is to inspire viewers to lighten up, seize the moment and embrace life's monumental ups and downs with courage, grace and an unwavering sense of humor. And that's exactly what Last Holiday does, thanks to director Wayne Wang (Maid in Manhattan), who keeps the film moving without it becoming too sentimental.

Still, much of the film's heart comes from its stellar international cast, who infuse Last Holiday with a palpable sense of joy. In one of his last performances before retiring (Please say it ain't so), French superstar Gérard Depardieu proves once again why there's no role he can't conquer, elevating his character from a haughty, temperamental chef to someone the audience can actually relate to. While Ranjit Chowdhry (Mississippi Masala) scores big laughs, delivering a memorable performance as Georgia's high-strung neurologist. As for Last Holiday's star, Queen Latifah, not only does she up the film's status from genre fluff to heartwarming romantic comedy with merely the power of her presence, but she creates such a fun, irresistible character that viewers are happy to follow her even on a slightly turbulent Last Holiday.

The chronicles of Narnia:Movie review

2006-01-16T02:01:00.000-08:00

****/*****

Wow, this has got to be one of the longest damned titles ever for a movie. It’s good that they’re pushing the Narnia part as it’d never succeed with people trying to remember the title of it, that’s for sure. Welcome to the Next Big Franchise, well, so the studio hopes. I have my doubts though, to be honest. I think this is a great film, I think it’s an amazing book series, but I can’t see the fervor for this series that kid’s have for the Harry Potter films and books. Which will be a shame as this is a great series, but, if nothing else, maybe some new people will get into reading the entire series from this film. As adaptations go, you can’t get much closer than this does, which is a blessing, but can also be a curse.

It’s World War II and the Nazis have targeted London. The city isn’t safe and so the children are shipped out to the country for safety’s sake while the parents remain and watch the skies. Four young children are sent off by their mother to stay with a reclusive professor and his housekeeper far away from the falling bombs, though to the children, this is far worse than the world they are leaving. The mansion they arrive at is enormous, and full of wonderful places for children to hide, and the grounds are expansive and waiting for adventure but as soon as they arrive they are given a very strict list of guidelines to follow, setting the tone for their stay and sending them a clear message – they are not wanted there. The children make do as best they can and, upon the first rainy day, manage to find good use for the great house they find themselves within – a rousing game of hide and go seek. Three of the children take their places as the eldest boy counts. When she can’t find a hiding place of her own, the youngest, Lucy, finds an open room that is empty save for a large wardrobe full of the professor’s fur coats. She slips into the room to hide and, while moving to the back of the wardrobe finds that there is no back, that in fact it leads to a veritable winter wonderland. Shocked and excited she explores a bit and comes upon a strange man with cloven hoofs who calls himself Tumnus and who invites her to tea. Alas, tea is not the only thing on the mind of Mr. Tumnus as a decree has been issued by the self-appointed queen of Narnia that any humans that find themselves in the lands must be brought before her majesty, and those who do not abide by this command will suffer her wrath. Tumnus cannot bring himself to turn in his innocent new friend so he smuggles her out of Narnia before she is seen. When the girl returns to her own world and tells her siblings where she’s been no one believes her, much to her dismay, but it won’t be long until they more than believe, but find themselves in this very dangerous world. Narnia is a world perched on the edge of war, the tyranny of the queen, known by many as the White Witch, has doomed the world to ice but the real king, a great lion named Aslan, is prepared to return, but needs the assistance of four human children to do it. So these four children, who have been sheltered from the war by their mother, must now actively take part in the greatest battle another world has ever seen in order to redeem a sin one of them has committed there, and to restore peace and happiness to this world. But battle has its costs, and they have yet to fully understand that, but shall soon enough.

It’s a shame that so many big Hollywood movies are forced into the same release dates during the year as this is a film that really deserves an audience. It’s a terrific fantasy and is a good film for children. Sadly it has to battle Harry Potter and a big ape and it’s not going to be a great thing for any of the three films. This is a very fine film though. The special effects, save for some awkward blue screens in the background once in a while, are great. The children are fine actors. They got a fantastic voice for Aslan in Liam Neeson. I love the way the filmmakers mimic the film’s opening, the bombing of London by the Nazis, during the beginning of the great war at the end of the film. This is about as true and fine an adaptation as you can ask for. I loved that they let the movie be what it is. Yes, it’s a religious film, and book, if you are looking, but these are not things that get in the way of, or become a focal point for the film. So if you are looking for it, it’s there, if not, then you miss nothing.

Though being a perfectly true adaptation can be a problem in and of itself. The thing that made Lord of the Rings so great was that they fleshed the books out in the adaptation. They added a lot more depth to the characters. The same needed to be done here. There is so much going on that C.S. Lewis didn’t take a lot of time to really flesh the characters out, at least not to me. They were outlines with shading. The film does the same thing. You meet a lot of great characters but none of them, save for Tumnus and the children, do you feel really connected to, which harms the film during the battle when characters are falling to their deaths and you can’t really get too upset for them as you don’t know them as more than a face. The power of the Harry Potter films is that you really know these kids through the films and so you care about them. You don’t quite get that in Narnia. Some have been put off by the appearance of a character in the film, who I won’t name, but this is a classic character in literature and yes, he’s in the book, check it out.

The thing we forget these days is how generally bad fantasy films were in the past. Not all, no, no, but a lot of them were very bad. And while we were spoiled by the LOTR films, there are some damned good fantasy films being made these days, as well as some very good book adaptations being done. I hope that this will become a film that finds a second life on DVD and on the television so people can get a better feel for how good this film is. I wouldn’t say it’s an instant classic, but it’s a solid film that some day may well be seen as a near miss classic.

Glory Road:Movie Review

2006-01-16T01:51:00.000-08:00

***1/2/*****
Glory Road has its share of clichés and is fairly one dimensional character-wise, but nonetheless surprises as an absorbing film. It’s the story of how the 1966 Texas Western Miners won the NCAA Basketball Championship with an all-black team. Led by an upstart coach, Don Haskins (Josh Lucas), the team faced extreme intolerance throughout their championship run. Derek Luke co-stars as star point guard and team leader Bobby Joe Hill. Glory Road does an excellent job recreating the racial injustice of that era. Similar films have addressed this issue, but failed to illustrate what those times were really like for black athletes. This film delivers the message and is entertaining to boot. It has some of the best editing I’ve ever seen in a sports film. Director James Gartner really captures the frenetic pace and excitement of the games.

The chemistry between the lead actors is also very good. While the film focuses primarily on racial themes, the players are seen facing these obstacles together. It reinforces their bonds and contributes to their success on the court. The white players on the team do get some screen time. And the film does not gloss over the antagonism between the different races as they come together. What it could have done better was define these characters. After a while, the white players become just faces in the crowd. They are seen, but heard and are given nothing to do. While Glory Road is primarily the story of the black players, it would have been more interesting to have the white characters explored as well.

Racism is front and center in the film. Director James Gartner does not shy away from the bigotry the team faced. It’s in this sense that Glory Road really succeeds. It depicts a time that most people have no concept of. Racial slurs are constantly hurled at the players, along with food, fists, and death threats. Those were ugly times and the film dramatically captures it.

The pace of the film drags at points, but pick up with the excellent shooting of the basketball games. Ever game gets progressively better and incorporates a myriad of camera angles. Gartner and his editing team do a great job here. They get creative with their shot choices and it adds real style to the film.

Glory Road is not on par with the great sports films, but is a worthwhile attempt to match them. It has the right ingredients but comes up a little short. That said, it’s definitely worth seeing and is easily the best choice of new releases this weekend.

Brokeback Mountain :Movie Review

2006-01-16T01:47:00.000-08:00

***1/2/*****

Ennis tells Jack about something he saw as a boy. "There were two old guys shacked up together. They were the joke of the town, even though they were pretty tough old birds." One day they were found beaten to death. Ennis says: "My dad, he made sure me and my brother saw it. For all I know, he did it."

This childhood memory is always there, the ghost in the room, in Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain." When he was taught by his father to hate homosexuals, Ennis was taught to hate his own feelings. Years after he first makes love with Jack on a Wyoming mountainside, after his marriage has failed, after his world has compressed to a mobile home, the laundromat, the TV, he still feels the same pain: "Why don't you let me be? It's because of you, Jack, that I'm like this -- nothing, and nobody."

But it's not because of Jack. It's because Ennis and Jack love each other and can find no way to deal with that. "Brokeback Mountain" has been described as "a gay cowboy movie," which is a cruel simplification. It is the story of a time and place where two men are forced to deny the only great passion either one will ever feel. Their tragedy is universal. It could be about two women, or lovers from different religious or ethnic groups -- any "forbidden" love.

The movie wisely never steps back to look at the larger picture, or deliver the "message." It is specifically the story of these men, this love. It stays in closeup. That's how Jack and Ennis see it. "You know I ain't queer," Ennis tells Jack after their first night together. "Me, neither," says Jack.

Their story begins in Wyoming in 1963, when Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) are about 19 years old and get a job tending sheep on a mountainside. Ennis is a boy of so few words he can barely open his mouth to release them; he learned to be guarded and fearful long before he knew what he feared. Jack, who has done some rodeo riding, is a little more outgoing. After some days have passed on the mountain and some whiskey has been drunk, they suddenly and almost violently have sex.

"This is a one-shot thing we got going on here," Ennis says the next day. Jack agrees. But it's not. When the summer is over, they part laconically: “I guess I’ll see ya around, huh?”Their boss (Randy Quaid) tells Jack he doesn't want him back next summer: "You guys sure found a way to make the time pass up there. You weren't getting paid to let the dogs guard the sheep while you stemmed the rose."

Some years pass. Both men get married. Then Jack goes to visit Ennis in Wyoming, and the undiminished urgency of their passion stuns them. Their lives settle down into a routine, punctuated less often than Jack would like by "fishing trips." Ennis' wife, who has seen them kissing, says nothing about it for a long time. But she notices there are never any fish.

The movie is based on a short story by E. Annie Proulx. The screenplay is by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana. This summer I read McMurtry's Lonesome Dove trilogy, and as I saw the movie I was reminded of Gus and Woodrow, the two cowboys who spend a lifetime together. They aren't gay; one of them is a womanizer and the other spends his whole life regretting the loss of the one woman he loved. They're straight, but just as crippled by a society that tells them how a man must behave and what he must feel.

"Brokeback Mountain" could tell its story and not necessarily be a great movie. It could be a melodrama. It could be a "gay cowboy movie." But the filmmakers have focused so intently and with such feeling on Jack and Ennis that the movie is as observant as work by Bergman. Strange but true: The more specific a film is, the more universal, because the more it understands individual characters, the more it applies to everyone. I can imagine someone weeping at this film, identifying with it, because he always wanted to stay in the Marines, or be an artist or a cabinetmaker.

Jack is able to accept a little more willingly that he is inescapably gay. In frustration and need, he goes to Mexico one night and finds a male prostitute. Prostitution is a calling with many hazards, sadness and tragedy, but it accepts human nature. It knows what some people need, and perhaps that is why every society has found a way to accommodate it. Jack thinks he and Ennis might someday buy themselves a ranch and settle down. Ennis who remembers what he saw as a boy: "This thing gets hold of us at the wrong time and wrong place and we're dead." Well, wasn't Matthew Shepard murdered in Wyoming in 1998? And Teena Brandon in Nebraska in 1993? Haven't brothers killed their sisters in the Muslim world to defend "family honor"?

There are gentle and nuanced portraits of Ennis' wife Alma (Michelle Williams) and Jack's wife Lureen (Anne Hathaway), who are important characters, seen as victims, too. Williams has a powerful scene where she finally calls Ennis on his "fishing trips," but she takes a long time to do that, because nothing in her background prepares her for what she has found out about her husband. In their own way, programs like "Jerry Springer" provide a service by focusing on people, however pathetic, who are prepared to defend what they feel. In 1963 there was nothing like that on TV. And in 2005, the situation has not entirely changed. One of the Oscar campaign ads for "Brokeback Mountain" shows Ledger and Williams together, although the movie's posters are certainly honest.

Ang Lee is a director whose films are set in many nations and many times. What they have in common is an instinctive sympathy for the characters. Born in Taiwan, he makes movies about Americans, British, Chinese, straights, gays; his sci-fi movie "Hulk" was about a misunderstood outsider. Here Lee respects the entire arc of his story, right down to the lonely conclusion.

A closing scene involving a visit by Ennis to Jack's parents is heartbreaking in what is said, and not said, about their world. A look around Jack's childhood bedroom suggests what he overcame to make room for his feelings. What we cannot be sure is this: In the flashback, are we witnessing what really happened, or how Ennis sees it in his imagination? Ennis, whose father "made sure me and my brother saw it."

Munich Movie Review

2006-01-08T17:21:00.000-08:00

****/*****

History is a funny thing; it isn’t just that the victors write the history books but that after a while, certain events lose their immediacy and impact as the years pass and are eventually relegated to textbooks where they may die silent deaths. The great things about movies are that events like the Olympic hostage crisis and eventual tragedy in Munich in ’72 can be remembered and brought back to us so we don’t forget them so easily yet, a movie isn’t always the best place to start for the truth. Movies aren’t made to teach us history, they are made to tell us stories, and as such, this is a hell of a story, but whether or not this is true, well, it’s for books, teachers, and talking heads to say, not me.

Munich begins with the 1972 Olympics where eleven Israeli athletes and trainers were taken hostage by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September in the hopes of bringing the attention of the world to the struggle for a Palestinian state. When the hostage crisis ends in the worst of ways the Israeli government decides it’s time to fight back and to send the world a message that the Jews will not be targets any longer. A married man on the verge of fatherhood is pulled away from his job in an elite police arm and is given a devil’s bargain – will you leave family, country, and safety to pursue the men that perpetrated this horror on Israel? He will leave his career, his pension, and his security behind and will be essentially dead to the government until the mission is completed. He will be paid, yes, but only after the mission is complete. This mission consists of eleven names and eleven lives that must be taken by this man and a team of four that shall be assembled for him. The man, the son of a hero, feels compelled to take the mission as this is not simply revenge but is a warning to the world that such crimes will not go unpunished. The man, a simple policeman on the verge of a family, takes this mission, and in many ways sells his soul to his nation. What he and the men chosen to be his team, all of them men with businesses and lives but who serve Israel as it asks and all of them bound to become friends, is that the path of vengeance is one wrought with peril and terror, and one upon which it is easy to lose one’s mind. Things begin easy enough, the men responsible for the terrorist strike not taking care to hide from the world, but as each body falls the stakes rise higher, the danger grows, and the risks increase tenfold. For these five men though, the real monster is not stalking them from the shadows, but from within, as they slowly realize what this mission is making them into.

The unfortunate thing about Munich is that it will be seen by far too many as a reflection on the truth of what really happened, and I can see that. When you present a factual event – the Munich massacre – but then surround it by hyperbole it’s hard to know where the truth ends and the story begins, but never once does Spielberg present this as utter fact. The film states clearly as it begins that this was ‘inspired by real events’. What I would hope is that this film would spark resurgence in the discussion of this event and how it relates to the world today, and perhaps shed new light on what may have happened. More than that though I’d like us to look long and hard at the notion of revenge presented, a notion that stands today, that revenge can eventually lead to peace. Perhaps it can, but perhaps it cannot, and this is not a question the film dares to answer, but asks of us quite clearly.

Eric Bana is superb in the lead role and truly shines here. I have known of him since Chopper and knew then he was a talent but hopefully this film and an Oscar nod will show the world what many of us already knew. This is filmed in a similarly gritty style as Saving Private Ryan but doesn’t have that film’s horror, where moments of peace would be shattered with death and loss. In Munich there is never a sense of peace, never a sense of safety or rest. These men have walked into Hell and shall not return until they are allowed to return, if at all. The brilliance in the filmmaking is that we never even quite see what happens to the hostages, though we are told of their fate, until the end of the film. Just like the men in the film we are asked to believe what happened before we are shown it because that’s how these thing work. You do what you are asked and are told what you need. Another great point is that Spielberg makes it a point not to show anyone as a pure monster. The terrorists are family men, men with hobbies, men who were like anyone else save for their blind love of an ideal. The men sent to hunt them are the same. There is even an assassin that looks like anything but one, and who doesn’t seem necessarily better for their trade, but who is in it nonetheless. This is not a world of black and white but of degrees of gray where no one is innocent and truth is in the eye of the beholder.

This is a departure in some ways for Spielberg in that there is fairly graphic sex and some very graphic violence in it, and I applaud him for both. He is portraying a world that is as close to reality as he can get and as such you can’t always close the blinds. Sex in the film is as much about healing as it is about passion just as violence is as much about revenge as it is about duty. These men do what they have to because they believe in it, yes, but when their belief begins to waver they do it then out of a sense that it is what they must do to get home. There are tremendous performances throughout the film and it’s a testament to the quality of the production that you believe each actor is their character. You believe in this film, and in your belief you find horror.

This will never make a lot of money for Spielberg but this is easily one of his greatest films. In the top three, if not top two. It is not as emotionally resonant as Private Ryan but it’s a better film. The great thing about this filmmaker is that he’s learned how to balance his desire to make big, popular ‘blockbusters’ but also has found a way to tell these harder, darker stories that need to be told. I would never say that this is the truth, but there is truth in this film, and for that reason alone it earns a viewing. A tremendous work of art and film.

King Kong:movie review

2005-12-25T02:48:00.000-08:00

***3/4/*****
Director Peter Jackson is back with another 3 hrs extravaganza
Well the most crtically acclaimed movie of hollywood in recent times doesnot seem to meet the hype.But it had enough to grab your attention throughout

Set in the 1930s, this is the story of a young and beautiful actress Ann Darrow from the world of vaudeville who finds herself lost in depression-era New York and her luck changes when she meets an over-ambitious filmmaker Carl Denham who brings her on an exploratory expedition to a remote island where she finds compassion and the true meaning of humanity with an ape Kong. The beauty and the beast finally meet their fate back in the city of New York where the filmmaker takes and displays the ape in quest of his fame by commercial exploitation which ultimately leads to catastrophe for everyone including a playwright Jack Driscoll who falls in love with Ann and plays an unlikely hero by trying to save her from Kong and her destiny.

Performancewise Jack Black delivers good performance.Adrien broody is ok in his role.Naomi watts delivers an excellent performance.Whether its emotional or funny she rocks.
But the scene stealer is King Kong itself

If people thought that Jurassic Park adventure was the best of its type think again.The special effects are splendid and rocking than ever.Awesome and breathtaking seems to be too low keywords to explain it.Peter Jackson proves he is not limited to Lord Of The Rings triology.And there cant be end of best special effects
However the biggest drawback seems to be its length.It should have been cut short.

Inspite King Kong is a mammoth movie in terms of production and you can see the flow of money in movie
A must watch.Especially if you like special effects movies then you cant miss this one

3.75/5

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Review

2005-12-21T09:30:00.000-08:00

***1/2/*****
Well one of the most awaited muvy of the year finally released.

The fourth muvy in series is the darkest and most scariest muvy in the potter series.This muvy in the series ud be little difficult for the childrens which means a dip in its bo gross.From begining to end this muvy is dark.

Harry's fourth summer and the following year at Hogwarts are marked by the Quidditch World Cup and the Triwizard Tournament, in which student representatives from three different wizarding schools compete in a series of increasingly challenging contests. However, Voldemort's Death Eaters are gaining strength and even creating the Dark Mark giving evidence that the Dark Lord is ready to rise again. In the unsuspecting lives of the young wizard and witches at Hogwarts the competitors are selected by the goblet of fire, which this year makes a very surprising announcement: Hogwarts will have two representatives in the tournament, including Harry Potter! Will Harry be able to rise to the challenge for the Tri Wizard Tournament while keeping up with school or will the challenges along with Voldemort's rebirth be too much for the young hero?

Now potter and other characters have grown up in this muvy.
Basically this muvy marks the return of Dark Lord voldermart.His return is spectacular and breathtaking making him the most legendary villains after Darth Vader of star wars on the 70mm screen.He arrives in the climax in style but his role is short.But he will be from the begining in 5th part making it most awaited muvy

The special effects are stunning and the visuals have been great as always.The triwizard tournament is here.The dragon chase,rescuing of potter's friend from under water is not only breathtaking but spectacular also.Potter have given a matured performance.Emma watson looks gorgeous than ever in this muvy but her role is bit short in this muvy.
Brendan Gleeson is good in his role

This muvy is on par with Harry Potter 1 and 2.But the 3rd part is still the best in the series.The creativeness and thinking brought in 3rd part cant be touched here.However the special effects takes place here.

A must watch not only for potter fans but for others also.3.75/5

A movie called Forrest Gump

2005-11-25T12:29:00.000-08:00

*****/*****

Many of you have heard of this movie.Many of you have seen this movie. Forrest gump directed by Robert Zemeckis is a classic.Winner of 6 oscar awards including best picture,actor and director this movie takes you to a dream.

I have been big fan of Tom Hanks.I was eager of watching this movie previously too but never got the chance.My friends who have seen it before called it classic some called it slow.But yesterday finally i watched it.

Forrest Gump (Hanks), named after a civil war hero, grows up in Greenbow, Alabama, where his mother (Sally Field) runs a boarding house. Although Forrest is a little "slow" (his IQ is 75, 5 below the state's definition of "normal"), his mental impairment doesn't seem to bother him, his mother, or his best (and only) friend, Jenny Curran (played as an adult by Robin Wright). In fact, the naivete that comes through a limited understanding of the world around him gives Forrest a uniquely positive perspective of life.

During the next thirty years, Forrest becomes a star football player, a war hero, a successful businessman, and something of a pop icon. Through it all, however, there is one defining element in his life: his love for Jenny. She is never far from his thoughts, no matter what he's doing or where he is.

Forrest gump is a masterpiece.A noble and beautifull story which touches your heart.We hardly find any movies in hollywood which being slow and without special effects becomes blockbuster.Forrest Gump is among one of those rare gems.

There are movies and movies but only sometimes you find a movie which stays in your heart and becomes one of your all time favourites.I have to search for words how to describe such a magical movie.

And finally Forrest Gump would have never been a forrest gump without Tom Hanks.Playing the character of Forrest Gump he is incredible.His performance was just out of the world.One of the best performances given by any actor ever.I cant find out words to describe how great his performance was.Just look at his expressions in the scene in end when he says'I miss you Jenny..If there is anything you need i wont be far away'.Totally unforgottable.Even stone hearted people would melt.

I gave this review here cause i wanted everyone who have not seen this movie to know how beautifull and magical forrest gump is.A must watch for everyone

...........A timeless classic

2005-10-02T16:34:00.000-07:00

Serenity:*1/2/***

This is only the second time it has happened. By "it," I'm referring to the process by which a science fiction television show is canceled, becomes a cult hit after its removal from the air, and is brought back to life as a major motion picture with the original cast. Serenity, Joss Whedon's follow-up to his defunct TV project Firefly, thus enters rarefied territory. The only other franchise to make such a lofty claim is Star Trek. (To be fair, X-Files did something similar, although it was still on the air when the movie reached theaters.) The box office numbers will determine where the Firefly characters go from here: to a sequel, to a new TV series, or to the dusty part of a DVD shelf.

One question that's impossible to answer for a Firefly fan is whether the film works on its own. To that end, I have avoided the TV series for the sake of this review. I have been tempted to sample it (opportunities abound), but have avoided doing so. My goal with this review is to present the perspective of someone who appreciates science fiction but has never been exposed to Joss Whedon's universe (I never saw Buffy or Angel, either). Fan reviews have flooded the 'net. This is an opportunity for a different point-of-view.

Serenity is a fast-paced, engaging science fiction adventure tale. The emphasis should be on "adventure;" the "science fiction" just gives Whedon (making his directorial debut) an interesting canvas to paint upon. In many ways, the film is old-fashioned. The space-ships are not sleek and streamlined - they're hunks of junk being held together by paperclips and masking tape. The characters talk like they learned English in the 19th century Old West (with occasional Chinese curses thrown in for good measure). And guns fire bullets, not laser blasts. This is one of the key elements that separates the Star Trek camp from the (new) Battlestar Galactica one. Serenity falls in the latter, "retro" category.

The storyline is set up economically, albeit with a little too much starting exposition. A 17-year old telepath named River (Summer Glau) is being manipulated by this universe's version of the Evil Empire (called the Alliance) to become a weapon. She is rescued by her brother, Simon (Sean Maher), and the two seek refuge upon the mercenary ship Serenity. The ship is captained by Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), a war veteran who is more compassionate than he lets on. His crew consists of his second-in-command, Zoe (Gina Torres); her husband and the ship's pilot, Wash (Alan Tudyk); Kaylee (Jewel Staite), an engineer who's prettier than Scotty; and Jayne (Adam Baldwin), a tough-talking bruiser. At first, having River and Simon on board doesn't seem to be a problem, but Simon's unwillingness to take orders and River's increasing mental instability generate friction. Then a real problem becomes apparent: River is being pursued by one of the Alliance's elite operatives (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and he will stop at nothing to eliminate her. This puts the crew of Serenity in the cross-hairs of a galactic showdown.

For a two-hour movie, the characters - even the secondary ones - are remarkably well-drawn. The ones with the most screen time and opportunity to establish themselves are Mal and River. Kaylee and Simon have a coy romantic subplot. Jayne gets all the good one-liners. Wash and Zoe don't have a lot to do, but I assume they had their moments in the TV series. The newcomer is the Operative, and he's about as interesting as villains get. This guy isn't your usual run-of-the-mill megalomaniac or battle-hardened warrior. His motives may be simple, but his characterization isn't. As played by talented actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, he is arguably Serenity's greatest asset.

The characters and circumstances reminded me of the late '70s/early '80s British science fiction series Blake's 7. There, as here, there's plenty of tension amongst the crewmen. Some are more in the crusader mold than others. Some are in it purely for the money. Some are affable, some are antisocial. And there's plenty of bitterness, anger, and resentment to go along. Comparing Serenity to Blake's 7 is compliment, since I consider the earlier TV show to be the best science fiction program ever to appear on the small screen. There are similarities, and those represent strengths for both franchises.

There are plenty of special effects, including an impressive space battle that, while not on the same level as the one that started off Revenge of the Sith, is nice enough in its own right. But Serenity isn't about effects. It's about narrative and characters, and it does a solid job in both areas. Whedon propels the story along at a breakneck pace, but keeps it smooth enough that we never get lost, and occasionally pauses to allow for character interaction. There are plenty of "fan moments," but they don't interfere with the overall viewing experience. And there are times when the unexpected occurs. Being space mercenaries harboring a fugitive can be a dangerous business, and Whedon doesn't shirk from bringing death into this movie.

The film leaves open the possibility of future adventures - whether they materialize remains to be seen. Whedon went all-out for the fans with Serenity, including going so far as to hold special pre-release screenings in the late spring. (The final cut was reportedly tweaked based on audience response.) For the average movie-goer, the movie may not have the same emotional resonance it achieves for Firefly aficionados, but those who enjoy science fiction adventure will find plenty to appreciate. It's self-contained and entertaining - arguably the two things most necessary for Serenity to soar.

A Histor Of Violence

2005-10-02T16:30:00.000-07:00

Rating:***1/2/*****

David Cronenberg says his title "A History of Violence" has three levels: It refers (1) to a suspect with a long history of violence; (2) to the historical use of violence as a means of settling disputes, and (3) to the innate violence of Darwinian evolution, in which better-adapted organisms replace those less able to cope. "I am a complete Darwinian," says Cronenberg, whose new film is in many ways about the survival of the fittest -- at all costs.

The movie opens in a small Indiana town. Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) runs one of those friendly little diners that acts as the village crossroads and clearing-house. He's the kind of guy everybody likes, married to a lawyer named Edie (Maria Bello), father of the teenager Jack (Ashton Holmes) and young Sarah (Heidi Hayes). He has one of those middle American accents in which every word translates into "I'm just folks."

So persuasive are the opening scenes that we wonder if Cronenberg has abandoned his own history of violence and decided to make a small-town slice of life: a Capra picture, perhaps, with Viggo Mortensen as Jimmy Stewart. Then all hell breaks loose. Two tough guys enter the diner to try a stickup. They have guns, mean business, threaten the customers and a waitress. Moving so quickly he seems to have been practicing the scene as choreography, Tom Stall takes out the two guys and ends up on the local front pages as a hero.

He makes a shy hero. He doesn't want to give interviews or talk about what he has done, and there are strained moments in his household as his wife worries about a seismic shift in his mood, and his son can't understand an unstated change in their relationship. Read no further if you want to preserve the reasons for these changes.

Tom Stall, as it turns out, has a secret he has been guarding for 20 years. He is not named Tom Stall but Joey, is not from Indiana but from Philadelphia, has tried to start a new life in a small town and failed because of this unexpected publicity. Soon more strangers arrive in town: Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) turns up with two hard men in his employ. Something really bad has happened to Carl earlier in life, and we don't want to know how his face got that way.

Tom Stall has transformed himself so completely into a small town family man that maybe there were years when he believed the story himself. The arrival of Fogarty makes that an illusion impossible to sustain, and he must return to Philadelphia and to an extraordinary scene with a man named Richie Cusack (William Hurt), whose role in Tom (or Joey's) life I will leave for you to discover. Let me say that Hurt has done a lot of good acting in a lot of intriguing roles, but during his brief screen time in "A History of Violence" he sounds notes we have not heard before.

Another important element in the plot involves the Stall family, especially Edie the wife and Jack the son. What do you do when you discover that your husband or father has concealed everything about his early life? Was he lying to you, or protecting you? Did you love someone who did not really exist?

Cronenberg is a director with a wide range, usually played by the left hand. He has ventured into horror, the macabre, science fiction, satire and the extremely peculiar. In his 2003 film "Spider," he starred Ralph Fiennes as a mental patient in a halfway house whose reality balances between everyday details and haunting memories of his past. "Dead Ringers" (1988) has Jeremy Irons in a dual role as twins, one not so nice, the other not so nice, either. "Dead Zone" (1983) has Christopher Walken losing five years of his life and becoming a different kind of person. These shifts in personal reality seem fascinating to Cronenberg.

But what is Cronenberg saying about Tom, or Joey? Which life is the real one? The nature of Joey's early life was established by the world he was born into. His second life was created by conscious choice. Which is dominant, nature or nurture? Hyde, or Jekyll? Are we kidding ourselves when we think we can live peacefully? Is our peace purchased at the price of violence done elsewhere? In "A History of Violence," it all comes down to this: If Tom Stall had truly been the cheerful small-town guy he pretended to be, he would have died in that diner. It was Joey who saved him. And here is the crucial point: Because of Joey, the son Jack, makes discoveries about himself that he might not have ever needed (or wanted) to make.

"A History of Violence" seems deceptively straightforward, coming from a director with Cronenberg's quirky complexity. But think again. This is not a movie about plot, but about character. It is about how people turn out the way they do, and about whether the world sometimes functions like a fool's paradise. I never give a moment's thought about finding water to drink. In New Orleans a few weeks ago, would I have been willing to steal from stores or fight other people for drinkable water? Yes, if it meant life for myself and my family. But I would have made a pitiful thief and fighter, and probably would have failed.

Since I am wandering, let me wander farther: At the Toronto Film Festival I saw a screening of "Nanook of the North," the great documentary about Eskimos surviving in the hostile arctic wilderness. They live because they hunt and kill. Of the three levels "A History of Violence" refers to, I think Cronenberg is most interested in the third, in the survival of the fittest. Not the good, the moral, the nice, but the fittest. The movie is based on the graphic novels by John Wagner and Vince Locke. It could also be illuminated by The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins. I think that's why Cronenberg gives his hero a son: To show that Jack inherited what he did not ever suspect his father possessed.

Movie review:Transporter 2

2005-09-05T08:23:00.000-07:00

**1/2/*****

France/United States, 2005
U.S. Release Date: 9/2/05 (wide)
Running Length: 1:23
MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Violence, sexual content, partial nudity)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast: Jason Statham, Alessandro Gassman, Amber Valletta, Katie Nauta, Matthew Modine, Jason Flemyng, Keith David, Hunter Clary
Director: Louis Leterrier
Producers: Luc Besson, Steve Chasman
Screenplay: Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen
Cinematography: Mitchell Amundsen
Music: Alexandre Azaria
U.S. Distributor: 20th Century Fox

I don't have a lot to say about Transporter 2. It's a sequel that outdoes the original in terms of flair and outrageousness, but it will appeal to much the same audience. If James Bond is too tame for you, Frank Martin (Jason Stratham) is your man. This guy is so suave, he keeps an extra suit in his trunk in case he gets blood on his current one. His adventures are lifted directly from the pages of comic book, with little consideration for prohibitions imparted by the laws of physics. Like logic, that sort of thing doesn't apply here. Transporter 2 delights in placing the main character in precarious situations, then having him use the most unlikely (not to mention unbelievable) methods to escape.

The key to the film working is that the filmmakers understand this is all ridiculous, and, while they don't play the movie strictly for laughs (nor is it intended to be a parody), they recognize that there needs to be a little tongue in cheek. Lead actor Jason Stratham is perfect for the part; what Frank lacks in depth (he has no backstory), he more than makes up for in charisma. Stratham never cracks a smile; when he makes a dire pronouncement, we tend to believe him.

This time around, Frank, a.k.a. "The Transporter," is protecting a different kind of package - a little boy by the name of Jack Billings (Hunter Clary). Jack is the son of a pharmaceuticals CEO (Matthew Modine), who is separated from his wife, Audrey (Amber Valletta). A group of good-for-nothing thugs are out to kidnap Jack. They include the deadly Lola (Katie Nauta), who likes firing guns while dressed in lingerie, and her lover, Gianni (Alessandro Gassman), who amuses himself by beating up his henchmen in hand-to-hand combat. At first, it looks like Frank saves Jack from stumbling into a trap, but when the Transporter makes a mistake, the bad guys are ready to capitalize on it.

Transporter 2 is almost all action, all the time, from opening titles to end credits. There are brief breaks - these are necessary for exposition, plot advancement, and horrible overacting by Matthew Modine, who plays the kidnapped boy's father. The scheme of the kidnappers, which is more complex than one might initially assume, is equal parts audacious and ludicrous. Once the truth is revealed, however, the movie doesn't pause long enough for the audience to contemplate how irrational it is. Instead, it moves smoothly to the next action sequence. Transporter 2 features plenty of martial arts fights (including one that's a ten-on-one affair) and chase scenes (most of which end with some vehicle - not necessarily a plane - airborne).

In The Transporter, Frank lived by three rules. In Transporter 2, he also lives by precepts, but this time there are four of them, and they're different than in the original. There's also a little more emotional content this time around (presumably to counterbalance the outlandishness of the action sequences). Frank and Jack have a relationship, and, after Jack is snatched, some of what occurs echoes Man on Fire.

Luc Besson, the French filmmaker who makes Hollywood-style movies, is the co-writer and co-producer of Transporter 2 (he served similar functions on The Transporter). Although Besson often directs, in this case he has ceded the job to Louis Leterrier, whose only other big screen credit is the Jet Li vehicle, Unleashed (also written by Besson). Leterrier knows how to film fight scenes. There's plenty of energy as Statham kicks, punches, and clobbers his way through wave after wave of foes. For fans of The Transporter, Transporter 2 offers what you're after - loud, kinetic, unflinching action. In essence, it's more of the same.

The Brothers Grimm:Movie Review

2005-08-29T06:11:00.000-07:00

Terry Gilliam rarely has it easy making movies. Whether its his unfinished Don Quixote or the brilliant Brazil, the suits always want him to change things. The Brothers Grimm, with the shots called by the brothers Weinstein, is no exception.

The $80 million biopic, starring Matt Damon as the skeptical Will Grimm and Heath Ledger as his susceptible brother Jacob, is so loosely based on the nineteenth-century German siblings who wrote Hansel and Gretel, Little Red Riding Hood and other famously grim fairy tales that there's hardly a word of truth in it.

If you're a Gilliam junkie, as I am, you go with it, even when the script by Ehren Kruger (The Skeleton Key) loses its shaky hold on coherence. Damon quickly loses his hold on his accent and his wig. Ledger fares better as the nerdy brother who goes along with Will's plan to scam German villagers with fake witches that the boys banish for a fee. But Jake keeps looking for real magic.

Ledger lets us see the hope in Jake's eyes when the brothers enter a forest ruled by a genuinely evil Mirror Queen (Monica Bellucci). It's Gilliam's chance to run amok, and watching him do it is eye-popping fun.

Gilliam is Jake at heart, and it's a treat to see this former Monty Python (the troupe's only American) fart in the general direction of the Age of Reason in the persons of French governor Delatombe (Jonathan Pryce, pure ham and fromage) and his Italian henchman Cavaldi (an untamed Peter Stormare). Even when Gilliam flies off the rails, his images stick with you.

PETER TRAVERS

The Skeleton Key :Movie Review

2005-08-18T03:34:00.000-07:00

Rating:***/*****
BY ROGER EBERT / August 12, 2005

In the real world, motorists get their gas at shiny 24-hour travel plazas, many of them incorporating Taco Bells and sales on the latest cassettes by

Jeff Foxworthy. Not in horror movies, where the Chainsaw Family lurks in the shadows behind the cash register and cackles unwholesomely about newcomers.

The visitor in this case is Caroline (Kate Hudson), a nurse who grows despondent when a beloved patient dies, and quits her hospital job and sign on as private care giver. Her first job pays $1,000 a week, which right there should send up a flare, especially since several earlier employees have quit. She meets a lawyer named Luke (Peter Sarsgaard), and he sends her on to his client, an old lady named Violet (Gena Rowlands). She has lived in the decaying mansion since 1962, "when we came over from Savannah." Now her husband Ben (John Hurt) has suffered a stroke and can't talk. But he sure can look like he really wants to tell Caroline something.

The big house has rooms Ben and Violet have never used. Caroline is given a skeleton key that opens all of them, except, wouldn't you know, a door in the attic. This door rattles loudly, as if someone is locked inside; the Self-Rattling Door is a variation on the Snicker-Snack Rule, which teaches us that in horror movies a knife will all by itself make a sound like it is being scraped on metal, even when it isn't. All movies with self-rattling doors and/or knife self-scraping sounds also contain Unexpected Foreground Surprises, when the heroine is terrified because a character (or a cat) suddenly leaps up out of nowhere.

The opening scenes of the movie promise a degree of intelligent menace that few movies could live up to, including this one. But it works while it's happening. Gena Rowlands, looking far less elegant than when she played James Garner's fading Southern love in "The Notebook," distrusts Caroline: "She wouldn't understand the house," she tells her lawyer. But then again, who would? And what's to understand?

Old Ben, meanwhile, grabs Caroline's wrist in a deathly grip, and really, really has something on his mind. Although he uses a wheelchair, one evening during the nightly monsoon she finds him missing from his room. He has crawled out of his window and onto the porch, and falls to the ground, for reasons that seem clearer at the time than they do later. Carolina becomes convinced that Violet is a threat to Ben, and tries to help him escape, ramming her VW into the big old iron gates, which are mysteriously locked.

Underlying all of these alarms is a local practice known as Hoodoo, not to be confused with voodoo. Hoodoo, we learn is American folk magic incorporating incantations, conjurations, herbal remedies and suchlike; voodoo is a religion, Caroline is told, but "God don't have much to do with Hoodoo." From Violet, she hears the story of Papa Justify (Ronald McCall) and his wife, Mama Cecile (Jeryl Prescott Sales), who were servants at the plantation 90 years ago, and how their Hoodoo practices got mixed up with the rich family that owned the house.

"The Skeleton Key" is one of those movies that explains too much while it is explaining too little, and leaves us with a surprise at the end that makes more sense the less we think about it. But the movie's mastery of technique makes up for a lot. Kate Hudson is convincing as the young nurse determined to help her patient, Gena Rowlands is awesome in the Joan Crawford role, and John Hurt, who says not a word, semaphores whole dictionaries with his eyes.

There's a kind of moviegoer who likes a movie like this no matter how it ends. It's about the journey, not the destination, even though the ending of "The Skeleton Key" really is a zinger. It's just that -- well, what did a lot of the other stuff have to do with anything? How do all the omens and portents and unexplained happenings connect? And what's the deal with Hoodoo? It doesn't work unless you really believe in it, we're told, but if you really do, it really does. Considering what happens when you do, I think it's better if you don't.

Besides, I believe things either work or don't work whether or not you think they can. Especially things that God don't have much to do with.

FOUR BROTHER:Movie Review

2005-08-18T02:58:00.000-07:00

Rating:***/*****

There's a shoot-out between critics over John Singleton's Four Brothers that rivals anything seen in the movie itself. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times bestows three stars on the movie and remarks that while it "wants basically to be an entertainment ... it deliberately makes the point that in an increasingly diverse society, people of different races may belong to the same family.

" (The point is embodied by the four brothers of the title, two white and two black, raised by a white foster mother who is murdered at the outset of the film.) Glenn Whipp in the Los Angeles Daily News describes it as "a rousing revenge flick that delivers the goods with a mixture of tight action, vivid performances and an old-school soundtrack that evokes the best of blaxploitation cinema.

" Lisa Kennedy in the Denver Post remarks that the film might be criticized as old-fashioned, then adds: "Listen up: If old-fashioned is just code for leaving the theater smiling, sign me up." Like several other critics, Carrie Rickey in the Philadelphia Inquirer thinks of the film as a kind of contemporary B-movie. "It's your basic patter, car chase and shootout.

No big budget, stars, or computer-generated tricks. Like cheap booze, it does the job," she writes. But Stephen Holden in the New York Times describes the movie as an "atmospheric, propulsive and ultimately preposterous melodrama.

" Ty Burr blames Singleton for the film's problems. "Grubby to look at and edited with a rusty knife, it's a bumptious, low-rent ride and further proof that Singleton, for all his status and acclaim, doesn't have impressive filmmaking chops," he comments. Kyle Smith in the New York Post is less guarded in his review, writing "Four Brothers? Ringling Brothers is more like it, because John Singleton's latest stinks like something the elephants left behind."

Movie Review:SKY HIGH

2005-07-31T05:44:00.001-07:00

Sky High

A Film Review by James Berardinelli

***1/2/*****
United States, 2005
U.S. Release Date: 7/29/05 (wide)
Running Length: 1:38
MPAA Classification: PG (Violence)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Cast: Michael Angarano, Danielle Panabaker, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kurt Russell, Kelly Preston, Steven Strait, Dee Jay Daniels, Nicholas Braun, Kelly Vitz, Bruce Campbell, Lynda Carter
Director: Mike Mitchell
Producer: Andrew Gunn
Screenplay: Paul Hernandez and Bob Schooley & Mark McCorkle
Cinematography: Shelly Johnson
Music: Michael Giacchino
U.S. Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures

Initially, Sky High looked like it was going to be one of the summer's throw-away movies - a family comedy with suspicious similarities to last year's The Incredibles. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that not only is Sky High too good to be considered a mere "throw away," but, from a pure entertainment perspective, it is arguably the most enjoyable motion picture of the season. Sky High is funny, smart, energetic, subversive, and has a few substantive things to say. There's nothing on director Mike Mitchell's dismal resume to indicate he was capable of crafting such a welcome diversion.

There is a little of The Incredibles to be found in Sky High, but that's not where the cinematic connections end. Other allusions include X-Men, Harry Potter, Spy Kids, and Can't Buy Me Love. The script, credited to a trio of writers (Paul Hernandez, Bob Schooley, Mark McCorkle) succeeds at the tricky task of lampooning a genre while also becoming an entry. The writing is sly and knowledgeable, and chock full of "in" jokes and witticisms in categories ranging from character names ("Warren Peace" - say that aloud) to set design (Bat-poles) to throw-away lines (Lynda Carter saying, "Who do you think I am? Wonder Woman?") No, this isn't Tolstoy, and despite the "Warren Peace," it's not intended to be. But it is perfect for the mood of the film, which is one third comedy, one third action, and one third drama. And, with no sex or profanity, and only a little in the way of cartoon violence, it's appropriate for the whole family.

The central character is Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano), the 14-year old son of the world's two most revered superheroes, Commander (Kurt Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston). In costume, they repeatedly save the day, while hiding behind their secret identities as mild-mannered real estate agents. For Will, it's time to start high school at his parents' alma mater, Sky High - the learning center for people with superpowers. Joining Will is his best friend, Layla (Danielle Panabaker), who has an affinity for plant life. But there's problem - Will hasn't shown any signs of superpowers, and this gets him placed in the "sidekick" class. While there, he has little chance of attracting the girl of his dreams, Gwen Grayson (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a senior with an affinity for technology. And it doesn't help that one of his teachers, Coach Boomer (Bruce Campbell), doesn't like him. How can Will survive without powers living in his parents' shadow, and how can he find a way to tell his mother and father the truth about his non-existent abilities? And what happens when Commander and Jetstream's arch-enemy hatches a diabolical plan?

For a film as effervescent as Sky High frequently is, the characters are surprisingly well developed. And there are lessons to be learned. Will's experiences with different high school cliques ("heroes" and "sidekicks") are allegorical, and illustrate themes that many pre-teens and teenagers can relate to (alienation, rebellion, etc.). A subplot that has Will turning his back on his friends when the lure of fame and status beckon recalls the storyline of the '80s teen comedy, Can't Buy Me Love. The lesson is the same: popularity is fickle, but true love and friendship last forever.

There are plenty of opportunities for laughter in Sky High, and I won't ruin the surprise of discovery by cataloguing them here. The soundtrack is strong (although there are quite a few covers), with many of the songs used in inventive ways. (Spandau Ballet's "True" being the most striking example.) The real-life difficulties of being a superhero while raising a family are acknowledged, but not overplayed. This does not feel like a rip-off of either Spy Kids or The Incredibles. The special effects are solid - believable when desired and intentionally cheesy when that's called for (such as the robot at the beginning). And the powers of many classic superheroes are represented: Spider-Man, the Flash, Plastic Man, the Human Torch, the Thing, Iceman, and Superman.

The actors are well-cast. Most of the young thespians are fresh faces with limited experience (primarily in TV projects). Michael Angarano, Danielle Panabaker, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead top a list of strong performers who capture the essences of characters that are more compelling than one might anticipate. Steven Strait is suitably James Dean-ish as Warren Peace, Will's nemesis. Better-known actors like Kurt Russell, Kelly Preston, and the always welcome Bruce Campbell miss few, if any, notes. And Kevin Heffernan has a small part (as bus driver Ron Wilson) in which he channels John Candy.

There have been so many disappointments during the summer of 2005 that, upon finding something that exceeds expectations, I want to trumpet its existence. One could successfully argue that Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith and Batman Begins are more complete motion pictures, but it's hard to deny that Sky High has more charm. With likeable characters, an involving and amusing storyline, and solid direction, the film's appeal is hard to deny. Ignore the lame trailers and give Sky High a shot.

Movie Review:Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

2005-07-31T05:40:00.000-07:00

The so-called "chocolate factory" of Willy Wonka (above) does not, in fact, manufacture chocolate exclusively, but other kinds of sugary confections as well.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

BY ROGER EBERT / July 15, 2005

***/*****

Cast & Credits
Willy Wonka: Johnny Depp
Charlie Bucket: Freddie Highmore
Grandpa Joe: David Kelly
Mrs. Bucket: Helena Bonham Carter
Mr. Bucket: Noah Taylor
Mrs. Beauregarde: Missi Pyle
Mr. Salt: James Fox
Oompa Loompa: Deep Roy
Veruca Salt: Julia Winter
Violet: Annasophia Robb
Mike Teavee: Jordan Fry
Augustus Gloop: Philip Wiegratz
Dr. Wonka: Christopher Lee

Warner Brothers Pictures presents a film directed by Tim Burton. Based on the book by Roald Dahl. Running time: 115 minutes. Rated PG (for quirky situations, action and mild language).

Now this is strange. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" succeeds in spite of Johnny Depp's performance, which should have been the high point of the movie. Depp, an actor of considerable gifts, has never been afraid to take a chance, but this time he takes the wrong one. His Willy Wonka is an enigma in an otherwise mostly delightful movie from Tim Burton, where the visual invention is a wonderment.

The movie is correctly titled. Unlike "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (1971), which depends on Gene Wilder's twinkling air of mystery, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is mostly about -- Charlie. Young Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore) is so plucky and likable, and comes from such an eccentric and marvelous household, that the wonders inside the chocolate factory are no more amusing than everyday life at the Bucket residence.

The Buckets live in a house that leans crazily in all directions, and seems to have been designed by Dr. Caligari along the lines of his cabinet. The family is very poor. Charlie sleeps in a garret that is open to the weather, and his four grandparents all sleep (and live, apparently) in the same bed, two at one end, two at the other. His mother (Helena Bonham Carter) maintains the serenity of the home, while his father (Noah Taylor) seeks employment. Grandpa Joe (David Kelly) remembers the happy decades when he and everyone else in the neighborhood worked in the chocolate factory.

Alas, 15 years before the story begins, Willy Wonka dismissed his employees and locked his factory gates. Yet the world still enjoys Wonka products; how does Willy produce them? One day, astonishingly, Wonka announces a contest: For the five lucky children who find golden tickets in their Wonka Bars, the long-locked factory gates will open, and Willy will personally escort them through the factory. A special surprise is promised for one of them. Of course Charlie wins one of the tickets, not without suspense.

This stretch of the film has a charm not unlike "Babe" or the undervalued "Babe: Pig in the City." A metropolis is remade to the requirements of fantasy. Tim Burton is cheerfully inventive in imagining the city and the factory, and the film's production design, by Alex McDowell, is a wonder. David Kelly, as Grandpa Joe, is a lovable geezer who agrees to accompany Charlie to the factory; you may remember him racing off naked on a motorcycle in "Waking Ned Devine" (1998). And young Freddie Highmore, who was so good opposite Depp in "Finding Neverland," is hopeful and brave and always convincing as Charlie.

The problem is that this time, he finds Neverland. Johnny Depp may deny that he had Michael Jackson in mind when he created the look and feel of Willy Wonka, but moviegoers trust their eyes, and when they see Willy opening the doors of the factory to welcome the five little winners, they will be relieved that the kids brought along adult guardians. Depp's Wonka -- his dandy's clothes, his unnaturally pale face, his makeup and lipstick, his hat, his manner -- reminds me inescapably of Jackson (and, oddly, in a certain use of the teeth, chin and bobbed hairstyle, of Carol Burnett).

The problem is not simply that Willy Wonka looks like Michael Jackson; it's that in a creepy way we're not sure of his motives. The story of Willy and his factory has had disturbing undertones ever since it first appeared in Roald Dahl's 1964 book (also named after Charlie, not Willy). Nasty and frightening things happen to the children inside the factory in the book and both movies; perhaps Willy is using the tour to punish the behavior of little brats, while rewarding the good, poor and decent Charlie. (How does it happen that each of the other four winners illustrates a naughty childhood trait? Just Willy's good luck, I guess.)

We see the wondrous workings of the factory in the opening titles, a CGI assembly-line sequence that swoops like a roller-coaster. When the five kids and their adult guardians finally get inside, their first sight is a marvel of imagination: A sugary landscape of chocolate rivers, gumdrop trees and (no doubt) rock candy mountains. Behind his locked doors, Willy has created this fantastical playground for -- himself, apparently. As the tour continues, we learn the secret of his work force: He uses Oompa Loompas, earnest and dedicated workers all looking exactly the same and all played, through a digital miracle, by the vaguely ominous Deep Roy. We're reminded of Santa's identical helpers in "The Polar Express."

It is essential to the story that the bad children be punished. Their sins are various; Veruca Salt (Julia Winter) is a spoiled brat; Violet Beauregarde (Annasophia Robb) is a competitive perfectionist; Mike Teavee (Jordan Fry) approaches the world with the skills and tastes he has learned through video games, and Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz) likes to make a little pig out of himself.

All of these children meet fates appropriate to their misdemeanors. I might be tempted to wonder if smaller children will find the movie too scary, but I know from long experience with the first film that kids for some reason instinctively know this is a cautionary tale, and that even when a character is suctioned up by a chocolate conduit, all is not lost.

Charlie and his grandfather join wide-eyed in the tour, and there are subplots, especially involving Violet Beauregarde, before the happy ending. What is especially delightful are the musical numbers involving the Oompa Loompas, who seem to have spent a lot of time studying Hollywood musicals. The kids, their adventures and the song and dance numbers are so entertaining that Depp's strange Willy Wonka is not fatal to the movie, although it's at right angles to it.

What was he thinking of? In "Pirates of the Caribbean" Depp was famously channeling Keith Richards, which may have primed us to look for possible inspirations for this performance. But leaving "Pirates" aside, can anyone look at Willy Wonka and not think of Michael Jackson? Consider the reclusive lifestyle, the fetishes of wardrobe and accessories, the elaborate playground built by an adult for the child inside. What's going on here? Bad luck that the movie comes out just as the Jackson trial has finally struggled to a conclusion.

Movie Review:Must Love Dogs

2005-07-31T05:38:00.000-07:00

Must Love Dogs
A Film Review by James Berardinelli 2.5 stars
United States, 2005
U.S. Release Date: 7/29/05 (wide)
Running Length: 1:39
MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Sexual situations, profanity)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Cast: Diane Lane, John Cusack, Elizabeth Perkins, Christopher Plummer, Dermot Mulroney, Stockard Channing, Ali Hills
Director: Gary David Goldberg
Producers: Gary David Goldberg, Jennifer Todd, Suzanne Todd
Screenplay: Gary David Goldberg, based on the novel by Claire Cook
Cinematography: John Bailey
Music: Craig Armstrong
U.S. Distributor: Warner Brothers

Must Love Dogs is a product - a pre-packaged, easily-digestible motion picture designed with one particular audience in mind. You know the kind of film. You have seen it before, usually with names like Nancy Myers or Nora & Delia Ephron involved. Those with ovaries have a better chance of appreciating Must Love Dogs than those with testicles. For some members of the latter group, sitting through this will be akin to having those organs trodden upon. Must Love Dogs is bland and forgettable - a romantic comedy with affable characters and some funny lines, but where love never really takes flight. It fizzles when it should sizzle.

Watch that hand...Sarah (Diane Lane) is a recently divorced woman who is intimidated by the thought of returning to the dating scene. Before the ink is dry on her divorce decree, various members of her family - including her forthright sister, Carol (Elizabeth Perkins), and her father, Bill (Christopher Plummer) - are urging her to get "out there." Carol even goes so far as to put Sarah's profile up at an on-line dating service, which results in a number of supposedly hilarious misfires. (One of these is funny; the rest are re-treads of bad blind dates we have seen in dozens of other movies.) Eventually, she meets Jake (John Cusack), a guy who's different from the losers she has been hooking up with. Jake has the soul of a poet and the verbiage of a philosopher, and, like Sarah, he is still coming to terms with the breakup of his marriage and no longer knows how to date. Their first encounter doesn't go well, but each is willing to try again. A threat to their newly-hatched relationship occurs when Sarah, an elementary school teacher, falls for Bob (Dermot Mulroney), the father of one of her pupils.

The strange thing about Must Love Dogs is that it's funnier than the average romantic comedy (most of which lack true, laugh-aloud humor) but less romantic. There's a great scene in which Sarah and her father are matched up for a blind date. There's a late night quest for an open drug store selling condoms. There are some pointed comments about Dr. Zhivago. And the opening "interviews" are on-target. This stuff works. Sadly, the love affair between Sarah and Jake does not. There are no sparks. They seem better suited to be best friends than lovers, and it shows. Plus, while Sarah is at home in this sort of by-the-numbers movie, Jake is out of place. He's a riff on the character John Cusack played in High Fidelity or Say Anything, and is out of step with writer/director Gary David Goldberg's screenplay. That's not a bad thing - I enjoyed watching Jake - but he's more interesting than the material surrounding him.

The happy coupleMaybe the relationship between Sarah and Jake would have worked if they had been given more screen time together. Unfortunately, Must Love Dogs feels the need to incorporate the age-old contrivance of "romantic complications." In this case, they are provided by Bob, who is supposed to be engaging and charismatic, but is instead boring. Dermot Mulroney looks like he's playing the part under duress. Perhaps it's a symptom of Sarah's desperation that she is attracted to this personality-deprived individual. We don't like or dislike Bob - he's just sort of there, taking up space and screen time, and limiting interaction between the protagonists. This prompts me to raise a quibble I have about romantic comedies: What's wrong with a movie that takes its full 90 minutes to develop a living, breathing relationship between two people? Why clutter things up with superfluous characters whose only purpose is to keep the lovers apart until the end?

Other romantic comedy elements are recycled from the scrap-heap. Both Sarah and Jake have support groups (although Jake's "support group" numbers one) who act as a Greek chorus in critiquing potential partners. There are several cute animals and a cuddly gay couple, who, like most gay couples in movies designed for heterosexuals, avoid anything overtly sexual so as to remain unthreatening. There's a young blond bimbo who has the hots for Jake (just to ensure that the romantic complications aren't one-sided). And the climax involves one of the parties chasing the other to make a confession of love before it's too late.

It's fair to argue that there are not many romantic comedies available featuring middle-aged characters. So why, when one is made, does it have the same rhythm as what we get with similar movies for twenty-somethings? Neither The Upside of Anger nor Something's Gotta Give was a perfect motion picture, but both took things in more interesting directions. Must Love Dogs' reluctance to put a chip in the mold becomes its undoing. Diane Lane and John Cusack are better actors than the material, but their presence will function as a chick flick magnet. Sadly, only those with minimal expectations will come away satisfied. There are things to like about Must Love Dogs, but not enough to earn it more than a half-hearted nod.

© 2005 James Berardinelli

Movie Review: 'Stealth'

2005-07-31T05:32:00.000-07:00

'Stealth' creeps toward credibility in second half

Jamie Foxx and Jessica Biel
Columbia Pictures

'Stealth'

Director: Rob Cohen

Stars: Josh Lucas, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx

MPAA rating: PG-13 for intense action, some violence, brief strong language and innuendo

Two stars(2/5)

By Ed Blank
TRIBUNE-REVIEW FILM AND THEATER CRITIC
Friday, July 29, 2005

You have to figure Jamie Foxx didn't know when he signed for "Stealth" that he'd receive two Academy Award nominations early in 2005 -- one for his supporting performance in "Collateral" and one for his leading portrayal of Ray Charles in "Ray."

The latter paid off with an Oscar.

So what's he doing in the third role in what amounts to a brash, loud reimagining of TV's "The Mod Squad" -- white guy, white gal, black guy, showboating heroics?

Sure, good actors are always taking secondary parts in distinguished plays and movies. But "Stealth"? It's like "Pearl Harbor" dumbed down further.

It seems 400 of the Navy's finest applied to be the pioneer pilots of new fighter jets.

How lucky for the film that the three selected -- Josh Lucas (Lt. Ben Gannon), Kara Wade (Jessica Biel) and Henry Purcell (Foxx) -- just happen to look like the trio you'd want for a movie poster.

Capt. Dick Marshfield (Joe Morton) may have reservations about sending the mod squad on a mission before the planes are fully tested. Capt. George Cummings (Sam Shepard) respectfully tells Dick to put a lid on it. There's no time to tinker.

Besides, the insufferably egotistical poster kids will be guided by Eddie, a sphere-shaped computer with all of the aptitude and ambition of HAL, the resident Mind Of Its Own in "2001: A Space Odyssey."

The first hour of "Stealth" is so over-wound and empty it threatens to clear the house before the stronger, second half takes over.

"Stealth" is the kind of movie so fearful of its target audience's attention span that even while the kids are studying their manuals for what is to be a life-and-death mission, loud rock music blasts freely.

The kids go for sushi, make out early and often, and enjoy a sexual interlude in Thailand. Every woman who passes by is a babe.

W. D. Richter's screenplay, or what's left of it, isn't serious about these characters, their politics or anybody's loyalties.

As directed by Rob Cohen, "Stealth" is a sound blast set to a quickly cut action video, interrupted by the dialogue of people not worth listening to.

Even the moments of devastation are sliced up into such short pieces that the impact is depersonalized.

There's one genuinely tense scene that involves landing in North Korea, but it leads to a sequence so implausible that even the comparable "Behind Enemy Lines" winds up seeming more realistic in retrospect.

Give us a little credit, guys.

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2005-07-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

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Movie Review:War of The Worlds

2005-07-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

"No one would have believed in the early years of the twenty-first century that our world was being watched by intelligences greater than ours"...
"We always thought they would come in peace...but we never know...

Rating:****/*****
"With this Steven Spielberg takes us to the adventurous journey of alien invasion.Back 1982 when Speilberg gave us all time classic blockbuster E.T.(Extra territorial).It seems only few days back it had released but it had been 23 years old still charming in our mind.

Comes 2005 and here again spielberg brings another alien movie.But...but this time the aliens are not for friendship,not for war but for total extermination of human beings.H.G.Wells 1898 novel had been turned into visual stunner by Steven Spielberg

Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is an average
blue-collar worker living in a cluttered
him to barely meet his mortgage
payments. He rushes home from work one
morning to greet his kids - 10-year old
Rachel (Dakota Fanning)
and her 16-year old brother, Robbie
(Justin Chatwin) - who are being dropped
off by his ex-wife,Mary Ann (Miranda Otto)
, for a weekend visit.

Ray doesn't have the best relationship with his offspring,
and his deficiencies as a father are immediately apparent.
But this isn't a normal day. Before it has ended, bizarre
lightning storms have caused gigantic alien tripods to
explode from beneath the ground and entire towns are being leveled.Ray grabs his kids and takes them on a frantic roadtrip to find their mother. But, in a world where nothing can stop the mechanical monsters and humans are turning on humans for basic necessities, where can safety be found?

Tom Cruise yet again gives a knockout performance.Dakota Fanning is outstanding as Cruise's daughter.Tim Robbins is excellent in his small but significant role.

The only negative aspect of the movie is its ending.The ending is a total letdown especially if we consider its a 'spielberg' movie.However the movie takes you to the ride of breathtaking devastation and destruction by the aliens.

"Techno maestro" Speilberg proves that no one can beat him when it comes to special effects.Fabulous,shocking and stupendous words should be used for such type of special effects.For every destruction there is new technique,for every devastation there is new style.Best ever special effects for such kind of movie.

Cracking of buildings,shattering of earth and nervous gasps can make your blood chilling even in this summer.So get ready this summer for joycoaster ride and breathtaking adventure never seen before in an alien movie.H.G.Wells would be very pleased.his novel had been turned into visual stunner.One of the best alien invasion movie

We always thought they would come in peace...but we never know

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2005-07-05T11:58:00.000-07:00

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2005-06-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

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Box Office

2005-05-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

Weekend Box Office September 14-16	Gross in Million
1.The Brave One	$13.47M
2.3:10 to Yuma (2007)	$8.93M
3.Mr. Woodcock	$8.76M
4.Superbad	$5.1M
5.Dragon Wars	$5.04M

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2005-05-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

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2005-05-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

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