Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 10:14 PM
Starring: Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kathy Bates, Kathryn Hahn, David Harbour
The people who appear to be the most happiest in their lives may not actually be as happy or lucky as their outward appearance would suggest them to be. Frank Wheeler (DiCaprio) and April Wheeler (Winslet) were the envy of a lot of people because of their positive relationship. Even though they appeared to be the best couple in the neighbourhood, there were a lot of fissures in their relationship. April was a budding actress whose career never actually took off. Her theatre performances are just about mediocre and she cannot take any more of peoples false praises of her acting. Frank is doing a job he hates which he only got since his father previously worked in the same company. In order to give herself a new life and give Frank the option of discovering what he wanted to do, April suggests they start a new life in Paris. Initially absurd, Frank slowly buys into it and they start preparing, only to find out that April is pregnant and cannot risk travelling to Paris in this condition. All their ambitions and whatever they hoped for come crashing down on them and Frank gets a surprise promotion which gives him every reason to stay back and not go to Paris. The movie taps on a unique fundamental thought that many of us what to do something very absurd but somehow don't explore it due to fear of being labelled as 'weird' and 'impractical'. The movie is quite slow, which is expected from its kind, but makes up to it by the fabulous performances of Kate Winslet and DiCaprio. The two make a good on-screen pair and their spectacular acting makes the movie worth that watch. There is a climax to the movie that you would yourself looking forward to, but the slow nature of developments and progression may not go down well with everyone and may not be to all tastes.
Thumbs up: Fabulous Winslet and DiCaprio
Thumbs down: A bit too slow for everyones liking
Rating: 7.5/10
Drama,
Good Movies,
Romance,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 10:13 AM
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Crime
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, Suniel Shetty, Tabu, Gulshan Grover, Om Puri, Asrani, Kulbhushan Kharbanda
The epic movie that permanently changed the face of comedy in Indian cinema and type-casted Paresh Rawal's role as the funny man. Ghanshyam Tiwari aka Shyam (Shetty) has migrated to Mumbai city from his village in pursuit of a certain bank job. His father, who worked at that very bank, passed away years ago in a fire and was promised compensation in the form of a job. Anuradha Panikar's (Tabu) father too passed away in the same manner, and is fighting against Shyam for the same job since only one position is vacant. In search of a house to stay in, he meets Baburao Ganpatrao Apte aka Babu-bhaiya (Rawal), a car garage owner, who agrees to keep him provided he pay rent and do the chores around the house. Raju (Kumar) is another resident at Baburao's house and Shyam and Raju start hating each other the moment they meet. Raju's mother lives at an old age home and he has lied to her that he has a high paying corporate job and is constructing a lavish apartment in downtown Mumbai for them to live in. With all three hungry to get rich and live a lavish life, fortune comes knocking on their door, or rather calling on their phone number. The movie is a cult comic epic and Paresh Rawal has put on, what can probably be termed as, the best ever comic performance in Bollywood cinema. This movie saw all three lead actors becoming comic actors for at least 10 years down the line and even today. Many have tried to replicate the comedy of errors but most have failed. A complete laugh riot and a must watch.
Thumbs up: Superb acting and amazing humour
Thumbs down: Unwanted song sequences
Rating: 8.4/10
Amazing Movies,
Bollywood,
Comedy,
Crime,
Drama,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 9:28 AM
Genre: War/Historical Event/Drama/Romance/Animation/Action/Biography
Starring (voice): Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, Simon Abkarian
The story of a young girl who witnesses the rise and fall of Iran and its evolution from a free monarchy to an intolerant democracy. Like any other country of its time, Iran too was ruled by a ruler, the Shah of Iran. The Shah's ruthlessness against his enemies and those who opposed him did not go down well with his citizens and was eventually overthrown in the Iranian Revolution. Marjane Satrapi (Mastroianni) was brought up in a contemporary Muslim family, where freedom and western lifestyle was easily accepted and widely protested against the Shah and wanted Iran to be free. When Islamic Fundamentalists win the first general elections with a landslide victory, the peoples hopes of any freedom are squashed. Woman are forced to cover themselves from head to toe, all forms of music and entertainment are banned and life becomes hard to get by. Marjane's parents do not want her to be brought up in this Iran and send her off to Europe to experience a good life with freedom and education. If it is a lesson in history that you seek, the movie accurately recounts the Iranian Revolution and depicts modern fundamentalist Iran very accurately. The childish but yet modern animation is clever and easy to watch and makes the movie much lighter than what it would have been in regular print. An autobiographical movie is made only when the persons life story has something unique to narrate. Apart from being a part of a revolution at a young age, most of Marjane's life is like any other teenage girl and does not reflect a uniqueness that it should have. A slow and slightly tedious movie but a must watch for history lovers.
Thumbs up: Good animation
Thumbs down: Slow, nothing unique about the autobiography
Rating: 6.4/10
Action,
Animation,
Average Movies,
Biography,
Drama,
Historical Event,
Romance,
War,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 9:12 AM
Genre: Drama/Romance/Historical Event
Starring: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Pietro Notarianni
When a ravishing, young damsel enters the heart of thousands of men, young and old across entire Sicily, she indeed must have been something. Malena Scordia (Bellucci) is a goddess, who walks down the streets with every head turning, every nose picking up her smell, every set of male eyes visually undressing her and every set of female eyes visually beating and scarring her. Even though every man would die for her love, a young 12-year-old Renato Amoroso (Sulfaro) shows that he loves her and not lusts her like everyone else. He secretly watches her every move, watches her dress, her cook, her walk, her cry, her laugh and wishes with every passing day that he walk up to her but never has the courage to do so. With Mussolini announcing war against Britain and France, Malena's husband has gone to war to fight for Italy. With her husband away, the men become wolves and when they learn of his death they all became monsters. The movie fantastically portrays how society creates a demon and then blames the demon in the end for becoming one. It is a fabulous story of a young boy who learns of manhood and a young woman, learning the hardships of being far too beautiful. The movie is exquisite and very European, develops well and keeps you gripped for a very long time. Not too long, compact and brilliant and just what the doctor ordered for.
Thumbs up: Gorgeous Bellucci who does a lot without speaking a lot
Thumbs down: Nothing specific
Rating: 8.1/10
Amazing Movies,
Drama,
Historical Event,
Romance,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 11:09 AM
Genre: Comedy/Crime/Adventure/Action/Drama
Starring: Michael Winslow, David Graf, Leslie Easterbrook, George Gaynes, G. W. Bailey, Charlie Schlatter, Christopher Lee, Ron Perlman, Claire Forlani, Greg Berger
With every passing movie, it seems as if this series is just getting even worse. And its not just me, but the facts support this very idea too. The eight movie of the infamous series was the least performing one and the only to not make $1 million. The story is probably a case study of how to make a ridiculously outrageous movie that makes very little sense and can be a very very big bore. An infamous Russian mafia, Konstantine Konali ((Perlman) has developed The Game, a video game which the entire world is addicted to. There is intelligence that he now wishes to modify the game which when played would extract all data from the individuals computer. Konali intends to ensure the game reaches US government computers and steal all the governments secrets. In order to tackle this situation, a team of officers from Comdt. Eric Lassards (Gaynes) academy are being sent to Moscow to apprehend Konali. From what you have now read, it is quite understandable at the tacky nature of the story and the even worse humour and bad plot execution. The movie does not have any bit of 'academy' left in it and is simply the story of a bunch of police officers and their supposedly hilarious adventure. A complete bore and a pure waste of time.
Thumbs up: (blank)
Thumbs down: Story, acting, humour, lack of entertainment, far too unrealistic.... a long list
Rating: 1.8/10
Action,
Adventure,
Comedy,
Crime,
Drama,
Pathetic Movies,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 10:11 AM
Genre: Action/Adventure/Crime/Drama
Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen
Black Mamba (Thurman), still has some unfinished business to do. Ever since the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad opened fire at her wedding rehersal, Black Mamba aka The Bride aka Beatrix Kiddo has sworn to hunt and kill each and every one of the squad members. Having fulfilled 2 of the 5 targets in
Vol. 1, Kiddo has her eyes squarely set on Budd aka Sidewinder (Madsen), Bill's younger brother, Elle Driver aka California Mountain Snake (Hannah) and of course, Bill aka Snake Charmer (Carradine). Bill was once Beatrix's lover and she was pregnant with his child when Bill and the rest of the squad killed her, or at least that is what they thought they did. Although Bill and Kiddo are emotionally attached to each other, Bill still tried to kill her and the Black Mamba is going to find out why. The reason why we loved the earlier movie is because of the phenomenal action that was presented. Heads rolling, blood spurting and the raw fight scenes made this movie a visual treat for fans. Sadly though, the second movie does not tread the same path as the first one and tries to be more sober and simple with a larger focus on dramatic sequences. Although some might hail the toned down action, I personally preferred the slashing Hanzo sword dripping in blood with a severed hand squirming in a corner.
Thumbs up: Very gripping and a good entertainer
Thumbs down: Toned down action and more drama results in a slightly slower movie than the earlier one
Rating: 7.8/10
Action,
Adventure,
Amazing Movies,
Crime,
Drama,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 10:20 AM
Genre: Crime/Drama/Action
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Huma Qureshi, Richa Chadda, Pankaj Tripathi, Raj Kumar Yadav, Zeishan Quadri, Piyush Mishra, Jameel Khan, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Satya Anand, Vineet Kumar
The murderous filth and slime of gangs and street lords is never ending. In continuation to
Part I , Sardar Khan was seen being murdered by Sultan Qureshi (Tripathi) who in-turn was hired by Sardar Khan's arch rival, Ramadhir Singh (Dhulia) to do the job. Swearing revenge for murdering his father and grandfather, Sardar's elder son, Danish (Kumar) plans revenge but fails and is killed. It's now up to Sardar's second son, Faizal (Siddique) to win back his family's pride by taking revenge on Ramadhir and his associates who have wiped out half his family. The pot-head that he is, Faizal's mother and rest of the family have little hope from him that he would actually do something. Definite (Quadri) is Faizal's half-brother, born to Sardar's second wife, Durga. Definite too wants a share in the family business and decides to help his half-brother in his quest to wipe out Ramadhir and his henchmen. The movie treads on paths similar to that of
The Godfather, where the family boss is killed and the younger son is forced to join the family business and uphold the family name. Even though the movie was shot in continuation and was intended for a one part release, there is a stark difference between the two parts. Part 2 has less humour and the occasional sarcastic line to make you laugh and has for more gunshots and blood than the previous movie. Manoj Bajpai's presence in the previous part added some form of character to the movie which part 2 seemed to lack. The missing presence of a prominent lead actor is a bold move by the makers but somehow left behind a huge hap. The movie in all, is a crazy mix of slang Indian abuses, raw action and cunning crime plotting. It may not be as phenomenal as its predecessor, but its still highly enjoyable.
Thumbs up: Fabulous performances
Thumbs down: Gets a bit stretched, lack of strong lead performer
Rating: 8.0/10
Action,
Amazing Movies,
Bollywood,
Crime,
Drama,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 9:12 AM
Genre: Thriller/Crime/Drama/Fantasy
Starring: Keanu Reaves, Charlize Theron, Al Pacino, Jeffrey Jones, Connie Nielsen, Craig T. Nelson
A small-town man captures the eye of a big-city business tycoon who offers him everything in the world. But as so many movies in the past on this plot line have taught us, too much money can cause too much collateral damage. Kevin Lomax (Reaves) is a successful lawyer based in a small town in Florida. Lomax has a record for never losing a case even though he knew his client to be guilty but yet managed to get an acquittal. John Milton (Pacino) a senior partner at Milton, Chadwick and Waters learns of Lomax and his winning streak and offers him a big figure salary in his firm in New York City. A fancy apartment in a prime location and a whole lot of money tempts his wife Mary Ann (Theron) who wants Kevin to accept the offer. However, Kevin's job demands far too much of his time and Mary Ann having no job to spend her time, starts getting increasingly annoyed with staying at home alone day in and day out which starts straining Kevin and Mary Ann's relationship. Although the movie classifies itself as a 'thriller' there isn't too much in it to send chills down your spine. Most of the movie appears to be a rags to riches story and the eventual downfall, but the climax turns out to be surprisingly different. Al Pacino puts on a good performance and there is something about his look in the movie which gives him a very sly and cunning appearance right from his first shot. Theron puts on an outstanding performance, especially in the second half and does every piece of justice to her role. A decent fantasy cum thriller but with a slightly tried and tested story.
Thumbs up: Charlize Theron's fabulous acting
Thumbs down: Stretched, run-of-the-mill story
Rating: 6.2/10
Average Movies,
Crime,
Drama,
Fantasy,
Thriller,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 11:08 AM
Genre: Historical Event/Action/Crime/Mystery
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Ashraf Barhom, Ali Suliman
Most of the wars fought in the middle east for the past half-century have more or less centred around oil. Inspired from two separate terrorist attacks in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the movie focuses on 4 FBI agents who travel to the middle-each kingdom to solve a similar terrorist attack. A housing complex of an American oil company with American citizens residing with it, is bombed during a Sunday softball game that strains the relationship between Saudi and USA. FBI Special Agent Ronald Fleury (Foxx), Special Agent Grant Sykes (Cooper), Special Agent Janet Mayes (Garner) and Special Agent Adam Leavitt (Bateman) are sent to investigate the attacks, in spite of disapproval from various US agencies. Col. Faris Al-Ghazi (Barhom) from Saudi State Police is put in charge of their security for the entire journey. Fleury is shocked to learn that he and his team are not granted permission to investigate and can only 'watch' the Saudi investigation which is far from acceptable. The movie narrates a good spy story with a lot of action and thrilling sequences to keep you entertained. Although the mystery solving goes well, its the climax that is a let down. An average ending with no twists is a huge let down to otherwise good movie.
Thumbs up: Good entertainer
Thumbs down: Average climax
Rating: 7.0/10
Action,
Crime,
Good Movies,
Historical Event,
Mystery,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 10:21 AM
Genre: Action/Adventure/Science-fiction
Starring: Devon Aoki, Natassa Malthe, Jaime Presley, Holly Valance, Matthew Marsden, Sarah Carter, Kane Kosugi, Eric Roberts, Steve Howey, Collin Chou
Princess Kasumi (Aoki) is the leader of an Asian clan whose brother has been missing since a long time. Hayabusa (Kosugi) her brothers' best friend has not been able to find his body, leading Kasumi to believe that he might still be alive. She escapes from the temple and gets labelled as an outcast by her clan, forcing Ayane (Malthe), a ninja, to chase her and kill her. Tina (Presley) is a professional wrestler, looking at doing something more 'real' with her life. Christie (Valance) is a master thief and along with Tina and Kasumi, the three are invited to the DOA tournament. The tournament features a group of people skilled in their own form of fighting and combat to battle it out to win $10 million. Kasumi's brother, Hayate (Chou) had abandoned the clan to take place in the previous tournament and Kasumi believes he is still alive. DOA is headed by Dr. Victor Donovan (Roberts) whose secret plan is to inject each of the participants with nano-bots that would track and record each of the participants combat moves. The moment the movie takes off, you quickly realise that you have booked yourself for 90 mins of atrocity. The movie aims to showcase an overdose of bikini-clad woman doing kung-fu with each other for most of the movie. Although each of the participants are supposed to 'excel in their own field of combat' everyone seems to have the exact same martial arts technique for fighting. Don't waste your time on this, even the bikini-clad women are not all that worth it.
Thumbs up: You can give credit to the action, but it gets extremely repetitive
Thumbs down: Everything else that isn't covered in 'thumbs up'
Rating: 4.9/10
Action,
Adventure,
Pathetic Movies,
Science-fiction,
{[['
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 10:05 AM
Genre: Science-fiction/Action/Crime/Drama
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman
Its amazing how the performance of a single person can cast such a huge effect on the entire movie. The Joker (Ledger) is a psychotic villain at Gotham who seemingly does random acts of death and destruction without any certain motive. The Batman (Bale) is Gotham's vigilante who has managed to keep the cities streets more or less clean from what it previously was. Harvey Dent (Eckhart) is the new DA and has infused stringent measures that have kept the mobs illegal money at bay. The mob bosses are worried cause they cannot get their money out of the city and The Joker offers his services as a cure. He wants The Batman to remove his mask and if he doesn't, one person will be killed everyday. The Joker was a man who never planned anything, who went with the flow and did whatever he felt like. His only ambition was to show that the good may not be all that good and they can come down to the levels of the bad. The movie is a fabulous improvement from the previous movie and Heath Ledger (RIP) has put on, what I believe, the best performance anyone has ever done in any movie. The lunacy and sheer craziness that his performance brings out, completes the movie and shows the true Joker the way he was created to be. The movie is nowhere near being a superhero movie and is very typically Nolan in a lot of ways. Respect for the movie and Ledger would remain always.
Thumbs up: Heath Ledger and only Heath Ledger
Thumbs down: Nothing
Rating: 9.0/10
Action,
Amazing Movies,
Crime,
Drama,
Science-fiction,
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Posted by Bell Mattew
Posted on 10:06 AM
Genre: Action/Crime/Mystery
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Michael Pena, Kate Mara, Danny Glover
A retired US Marine Corp Sniper, Sgt. Bob Lee Swagger (Wahlberg) was double-crossed by the Army during combat when backup did not arrive and was left to die. Surviving and returning home, he retires with anger and rage against the government. Swagger was known for his sniping ability and one of the few people in the world who is capable of hitting targets from over a mile away. Col. Isaac Johnson (Glover) approaches Bob and asks him to help the government in a top secret assignment. There is a tip that the President will be assassinated from three possible locations and will be done from over a mile away. Johnson wants Bob to scout the three locations and derive which exact location is the President most likely to be shot from and help capture the assassin. The movie is a very typical action movie with American heroism and conspiracy theories. Mark Wahlberg puts on a good show but his performance is lost with lack of support from other actors and the movies overall plot line. If run-of-the-mill and watch-and-forget action movies is what you are seeking, then this movie delivers just that. If your hoping it would be something different or interesting, that probably wont be the case.
Thumbs up: Mark Wahlberg.
Thumbs down: A regular action feature with nothing unique to offer.
Rating: 6.4/10
Action,
Average Movies,
Crime,
Mystery,
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