Archive for the ‘Reviews of Hollywood Movies’ Category
The Must Watch Movie of Ranbir Kapoor - Rockstar
Saturday, December 24th, 2011
Movie: Rockstar
Director: Imtiaz Ali
Time: 2011
Stars: Ranbir Kapoor, Nargis Fakhri (debutant) and late Shammi Kapoor
Snapshot of the story
Yet another love story from Imtiaz Ali camp but bit different from his earlier romantic story like Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal. The movie is about a Delhi based college student Janardan Jakhar aka Jordan who dreams of becoming a “Rockstar” someday. He gets suggestion from his friend that true music can evolve only from the broken heart, and he tries to get his heart broken from a girl Heer who has done this many time with other guys. But as fate has decided something else they fall for each other and then separate because their ways were different. Rest of story shows us the music evolving from the broken heart and how deep was the love between Jordan and Heer.
Movie reviews and Ratings
Storyline
Story of the movie starts with a nerdy college student from Delhi Janardan aka Jordan (played by Ranbir Kapoor), who has fond of music and dreams to become a Rockstar someday. Once while sitting with his best friend he is told that “tute hue dil ses hi sangeet nikalta hai” means true music evolves only from the broken heart. Now Jordan tries to get his heart broken from a girl named Heer who is famous for ditching guys.
On meeting Heer first he gets insulted by her but later on both of them gets befriended and slowly starts loving each other. But as their ways were different they have to get separated. Heer gets married in Prague and Jordan becomes a Rockstar (as his heart is now actually broken). Then there are few superb songs from A R Rahman and beautiful camerawork by Anil Mehta.
Now the story gets a turn when Jordan gets a chance to go for a music concert at Prague. There he starts searching Heer and finally meets her. Confronting each other both Heer and Jordan feels refreshed and becomes exciting. There are few romantic scenes that show the love between both of them still alive even after so many years.
Final Thoughts
Rockstar is emotional love story where Janardan Jakhad becomes Jordan. Ranbir Kapoor acting was awesome in the movie. Nargis Fakhri is impressive in her debut movie more with her beauty. Music composed by Oscar award winner A.R. Rahman and songs sung by ace singer Mohit Chauhan create the magic as they made the chart topper songs. Rockstar certainly established Ranbir Kapoor in the industry and gave Nargis Fakhri the perfect start needed.
Rating
Rockstar scored 7 out of 10 with rocking performance from Ranbir Kapoor. Director Imtiaz Ali has proved him as versatile director but he still need to come out of his emotional love story theme. Even though Rockstar failed to bring expected audience but it silence all his critics.
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Tags: Imtiaz Ali, Moview reviews and Ratings of Rockstar, Nargis Fakhri, Ranbir Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, The Must Watch Movie of Ranbir Kapoor - Rockstar
Finest Sci-Fi by James Cameron: The Terminator
Wednesday, November 9th, 2011
Movie: The Terminator
Genre: Science Fiction/Adventure/Thriller
Year: 1984
Director: James Cameron
Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn
Snapshot of Story:
A person arrives from the future and takes on an human appearance but is in fact a state of the art robot with super human abilities and skills. He has come back to eradicate a human that gives birth to someone that changed the course of a future war and goes about hunting that person with total ruthlessness.
Finest Sci-Fi by James Cameron - The Terminator
Story:
James Cameron’s brilliant direction of this movie set a new dimension in Sci-Fi action adventure coupled with horror. The story starts with the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who appears from the future on the planet earth and then immediately goes about hunting Sarah Connor played by Linda Hamilton.
The superior skills of the Terminator in imitating voice over and the callous nature of his approach to the killings suggests a human-like person but with no emotions. The resistance group of the future also sends back Lieutenant Kyle Reese to thwart the cyborg’s attempt at killing Sarah Connor.
There are some heart thumping wild chases through the city when both Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor almost comes face to face with the Terminator. It is in those clips that James Cameron shines as he delivers the special effects along with very believable scenes to heighten the reality of those shots.
Sarah Connor develops an affection for Kyle as the movie progresses.
Final Thoughts:
The ironic part of this movie is that the child that Sarah Connor bears is from the resistance fighter Kyle Reese sent back to protect her. Effectively, the cyborgs who starts the war in the future seal their own doom by sending back the Terminator, a very nice touch.
Like many outstanding directors of his time James Cameron pushes the limits of technology and movie making scenes with the Terminator. It is for this reason we need to thank and appreciate the great works of all the famous directors such as Ridley Scott, Alfred Hitchcock, Victor Fleming, Stanley Kubrick and more.
Rating:
8.5/10
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Tags: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Finest Sci-Fi by James Cameron: The Terminator, James Cameron, movie reviews, movie reviews and ratings, review of The Terminator
Murder Mystery: Dial M for Murder by Alfred Hitchcocks
Monday, November 7th, 2011
Movie: Dial M for Murder
Year: 1954
Genre: Murder Mystery
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Stars: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly and Robert Cummings
Snapshot of Story:
This is another engaging crime thriller by Alfred Hitchcock with Ray Milland (Tony Wendice) and Grace Kelly (Margot Mary Wendice) delivering towering performances as actors. The story is about an husband Tony Wendice who tries to stage the perfect murder of his wife Margot Mary Wendice.
Murder Mystery Dial M for Murder by Alfred Hitchcock
Storyline:
Tony Wendice finds out that his wife Margot Mary Wendice has been seeing another man behind his back and goes about planning the perfect murder. He black mails an old university acquaintance to murder his wife through a staged break-in into their apartment. Unfortunately, the whole sequence of events goes wrong and the man who was supposed to kill the wife gets killed himself. Tony using his quick wit and judgement is able to manipulate the situation to his advantage and as a result able pin the blame for the murder on his wife and send her to jail. Meanwhile, Chief Inspector Hubbard played by John Williams decides to investigate further and through various twists and turns is finally able to apprehend the true culprit.
Conclusion:
Hitchcock in his true form is able to paint an entirely believable crime drama that keeps the viewer engaged right up to the end. There is plenty of dialogue as is expected in a crime drama and there are times when one can become lost in some of the scenes. In particular, the part where the key was left under the carpet for the person to get into the apartment. This piece of the puzzle was the most damning evidence that the inspector was able to use to uncover the murder mystery.
Rating:
8/10
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Tags: Hollywood movie reviews, movie reviews and ratings, Murder Mystery: Dial M for Murder by Alfred Hitchcocks
Relive the Adventure: Serenity
Sunday, November 6th, 2011
Movie: Serenity
Year: 2005
Genre: Adventure/Sci-Fi
Director: Joss Whedon
Stars: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres and Chiwetel Ejiofor
Snapshot of Story:
Mal is the captain of the space ship Serenity and he and his crew engage in transporting cargo from one planet to another in the federation of planets that are under Alliance control. They find themselves embroiled in action and pursuit when one of the passengers River holds some deep secrets that the Alliance is after.
Storyline:
The story begins with the doctor Simon played by Sean Maher brother of River played by Summer Glau infiltrates the Alliance medical center where River is kept. They both manage to escape and and become fugitives to a cold-blooded assassin played by Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Relive the Adventure Serenity
The pace of the movie is intense and entertaining where the plot and the character evolves in much the same manner as the tv series Firefly. The movie is carried with substance and excellent special effects unlike some of the shortcuts of the original series where the movie is based. There are no specific character that stands out in this movie and the acting of the whole crew in the space ship is well done.
Although the crew hops from one planet to another, the story does not appear disjointed and the direction is such that one can feel immersed in the bigger story.
Some of the highlights of the movie were not just the action scenes but the hidden attraction that exists between Simon-Kaylee and Mal-Inara. Both Simon and Mal are unable to express their true feelings for the persons they have the attraction for.
At the end we see a twist in the ending where the assassin has a change of heart and learns the true nature of River.
Even though the film is well made there are some holes in the movie such as how the ‘rivers’ who are a cruel and violent blood-thirsty group of cannibals can manage to maintain a spaceship and pursue humans for fodder. Also the fact that an entire planet can be hidden from everyone within the Alliance is a bit unbelievable.
Final Thoughts:
Serenity is based on the original 13 episode made for tv series called Firefly produced by ABC. However the series was abandoned after 13 episodes with no reason given and now has a cult following. The movie that was spawned from the series was likely a result of the intriguing plot that was in the original series.
Rating:
7.5/10
Tags: Hollywood movie reviews, movie reviews and ratings, Relive the Adventure: Serenity
The Raunchy Comedy of Jake Kasdan: Bad Teacher
Saturday, November 5th, 2011
Movie: Bad Teacher
Year: 2011
Genre: Comedy
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel and Justin Timberlake
Snapshot of Story:
Bad Teacher is a comedy movie that stars Cameron Diaz who’s sole life is to squander other people’s monies in order to live a lavish lifestyle. When newly married husband opens up to this fact, he divorces Elizabeth (Cameron Diaz) very quickly and Elizabeth now has to find a job to survive. She goes back to teaching school kids and finding a man to date that can put her back on her path.
The Raunchy Comedy by Jake Kasdan-Bad Teacher
Verdict:
The story has an interesting plot where the director Jake Kasdon could have done more to lift this movie. Cameron Diaz who plays Elizabeth keeps the audience engaged but the whole story is let down by a weak plot. Although the movie is funny at times, it does become a bit tiring in a few of the scenes where the scenes don’t follow from one to the next and one can be left a bit bemused.
Once Elizabeth ends up at the school she has no intention of teaching and get’s by in the worst way possible. She let’s the kids watch tv, while she snoozes from the previous night’s drinking binge or catches up on sleep.
In one interesting scene, Elizabeth hunts down the examiner residing in another state in order to find the answers to an exam paper that would allow her pupils to pass without much effort. Like in other cases Elizabeth uses her charm and good looks to bag the paper from the examiner.
Justin Timberlake’s appearance gives it a fresh look to this movie and he comes across the morally scrupled teacher very well. When Elizabeth finds out how wealthy he is, she sets about to acquire his attention and many mishaps and comical scenes follow as a result.
Towards the end of the movie Elizabeth wakes up to some of her faults and also manages to find genuine love.
Conclusion:
The movie does have some underlying messages to it’s story and shows that teachers can be very neglectful of their teaching and more interested in getting by. Also, the bureaucracy of the teaching system can be clearly seen which show how stifling this can be on the school educational system.
Rating:
6/10
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Tags: movie reviews and ratings, review and rating of Bad Teacher, review of Hollywood movies
Come to Fantasy Land: The Wizard of Oz
Saturday, November 5th, 2011
Movie: The Wizard of Oz
Year: 1939
Genre: Family/Fantasy
Director: Victor Fleming
Stars: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan and Ray Bolger
Snapshot of Story:
A timeless classic fairy tale that is still watched by many today especially around the Christmas season. Judy Garland who plays Dorothy Gale comes to an enchanted land full of magic and fairies and she must make her way to see the Great Wizard of Oz to get back home. On her way she meets very unlikely characters that also travels with her to the great city of Oz.
Review of movie The Wizard of OZ: The Fantasy Land
Storyline:
Judy Garland plays the sweet and innocent young girl where her house gets caught in a tornado and then lands in an enchanted land of fairies, witches and magic. She makes her way back by following the yellow brick road and so begins her adventure with the evil Witch of the East trying to thwart her every move. Through her adventure she comes across companions who travel with her and they all encounter many obstacles from the evil witch who tries to stop her.
There are many great moments in the movie with many scenes to please the young and old. The story has some undertone messages for the human spirit and comes in the form of the characters that Dorothy meets on the way. The first character she meets is the scarecrow who thinks he has no brain, the second is a tin-man who believes he has no heart with the third being a lion who has no courage. When they finally meet the great Wizard of Oz they discover that their search was in vain and what they sought was always been inside of them.
One of the memorable moments was the enchanting song ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’ with with music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E.Y. Harburg sang by Judy Garland herself.
Final Thoughts:
The movie is much loved by children and adults alike and has a special meaning to many people because of the beautiful script and story telling. The direction by Victor Fleming was ahead of its time and was one of a few movies that was done with Technicolor.
Rating:
9/10
Tags: Come to Fantasy Land: The Wizard of Oz, Hollywood movie reviews, movie reviews and ratings, Review of Hollywood movie The Wizard of Oz
The Action Packed Thriller: Die Hard
Friday, November 4th, 2011
Movie: Die Hard
Year: 1988
Genre: Action/Thriller
Director: John McTiernan
Stars: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman and Bonnie Bedelia
Snapshot of Story:
This edge-of-the-seat movie is a high-powered action thriller starring Bruce Willis who gets stuck in the Nakatomi Skyscraper seized by a group of professional criminals while on his way to a Christmas party held by his wife’s boss.
Storyline:
Die Hard is a fast paced action packed movie with towering performances by both Bruce Willis (officer John McClane) and Alan Rickman (Hans Gruber). Hans Gruber along with some other accomplices takes hostages of the office workers of the party in order to steal millions of dollars worth of bands stored in the secure safe of the building.
The Action Packed Die Hard 1.0 (1988)
Although gruesome and violent at times, the whole film comes together as a well thought out action-packed movie that will have have you glued to your tv.
At one point, John McClane’s wife accuses Hans of simply being a common thief to which he replies ‘I am an exceptional thief’. The story shows the mishaps of the gung-ho FBI characters that come to the scene only to bundle up the whole operation even more. A lifeline kept between John and an officer of the LA police is John’s only hope of survival and preventing much casualty amongst the hostages. Using his quick intelligence and wits McClane is able to thwart Gruber’s plans and causes much chaos and confusion amongst the group.
A very memorable ending where good prevails over bad and McClane is able to again outwit Gruber and save the day after a few twists and turns.
Final Thoughts:
The director was able to produce a heart thumping action thriller thanks to the portrayal of very believable characters by the main actors. Although having a few cliches here and there, the film was surprisingly entertaining to watch and will have movie goers glued to their seat.
Rating:
8.5/10
Tags: Review of the movie Die Hard, The Action Packed Thriller: Die Hard
The Criminal Fantasy Drama: The Green Mile
Friday, November 4th, 2011
Movie: The Green Mile
Year: 1999
Genre: Drama/Fantasy
Director: Frank Darabont
Stars: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan and David Morse
Snapshot of Story:
The movie centers around a death row prison and it’s guards with a black inmate who has been accused of child rape and murder. The inmate is found to have a special gift of healing.
Storyline:
The Green Mile movie is wonderfully directed by Frank Darabont who presents an engaging movie for the audience with the two central characters Tom Hanks who plays Paul Edgecomb and Michael Clarke Duncan who plays John Coffey.
The Criminal Fantasy Drama: The Green Mile
Paul Edgecomb is a fair but a strict guard officer whose duty was the proper running of the prison were John Coffey was housed. Paul soon discovers that John has an uncanny ability to heal the departed and he demonstrates this with a mouse that was killed by one of the officers. Paul realizes there is more to this inmate than meets the eye and is able to utilize his powers for other causes. This makes Paul become more attached to John and to work on his case as he is certain of his innocence.
Paul shows his resilience and maturity when dealing with another guard that many others in the prison disliked and his portrayal of the guard is very well performed by Tom Hanks.
In one memorable part of the movie, John takes the dead mouse in his lap and open his mouth wide to expel what appeared like insects coming out of his mouth. He manages to revive the mouse much to the amazement of the other guards.
The acting by all the characters in this movie is just-right and brings about the story telling that keeps you fixated without even knowing. Set in the beginning of the 20th century the vocals, languages and the discriminatory nature of the people at it’s time was well portrayed.
Final Thoughts:
The Green Mile is a movie that moves with a slow pace as the story unfolds but you never feel bored thanks to the execution of the script by the director. Tom Hanks gives a heart warming performance like many of his other movies to provide on-stage presence and add substance to the whole story. The unusually big build of Michael Clarke Duncan and the demure nature of his character also lifts the film by another bar.
Rating:
8/10
Tags: review of the movie Green Mile, The Criminal Fantasy Drama: The Green Mile
The Story From Different Planet: Alien
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
Movie: Alien
Genre: Science Fiction/Horror
Year: 1979
Director: Ridley Scott
Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and John Hurt
Snapshot of Story:
A mining space ship lands on an uncharted planet only to find deadly creatures that spawn from the human digestive system and wreak havoc on their ship. The later version Aliens (1986) by James Cameron is equally electrifying to watch.
story-from-different-planet-alien
Storyline:
This movie can also be categorized in the horror section since the aim is to shock and provide heart thumping action. Ridley Scott like other great directors of his time sets a new bar in entertainment with the Alien movie. The special effects at it’s time were nothing of its kind seen anywhere else and coupled with the excellent plot made this movie highly entertaining to watch.
The crew land on a planet and discover another alien ship that had landed and perished. They discover an area where some eggs where developing and take back a crew member that was infected by one of them. This sets the beginning of the horror that takes place on the ship with the deadly creature running amuck.
In one of many memorable moments in the movie we see Sigourney Weaver who plays Ripley confronted by the creature in the escape hatch and the stroboscopic light effect reflecting of the alien and Ripley heightens the intensity of this scene. Ridley Scott makes clever use of the lightning and the stroboscopic effect of the ship lights to create a macabre and sinister atmosphere.
In another scene we see the robots head placed on the table as they manipulate the electronics inside of it and looks very realistic.
Sigourney Weaver who plays Ripley gives a very believable performance throughout the movie and she continues to be the star in each of the subsequent Alien chain of movies that follows.
Final Thoughts:
The movie at its time created a new dimension in horror and also crossed the border of science-fiction to horror. Like other great movies it set the stage for new film making that was to follow.
Rating:
8.5/10
Tags: review of movie Alien, The Story From Different Planet: Alien
A Horror Masterpiece: The Shining
Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
Movie: The Shining
Genre: Suspense/Horror
Year: 1980
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall and Danny Lloyd
Snapshot of Story:
Jack Torrance played by Jack Nicholson has been hired to be a caretaker for the closing winter season of a big lodge along with his wife Wendy Torrance played by Shelley Duvall and their young son Danny played by Danny Lloyd. Upon arriving at the lodge, Jack becomes possessed by the evil ghosts of the past and tries to kill his wife and child. The movie is based on the book by Stephen King.
Storyline:
Stanley Kubrick’s direction of this movie is clearly evident by the way he creates a haunting atmoshpere in and around the lodge. Jack becomes mentally ill and the great acting of Nicholson makes you become immersed and you began to step into his shoes as he goes through the phases of psychoticness. Shelley Duvall gives a terrific performance as the mother in plight desperately trying to protect herself and the child from the changing beastling emanating from Jack.
The stunning photography of the scenes through the maze when Jack tries to pursue Danny is very cleverly executed and keeps the audience captivated. Wendy’s quick thinking and improvisation is clearly evident despite the horrific events happening all around her.
Another memorable part of the movie is when Danny continuously murmers ‘red rum’ and the audience comes to learn of its meaning when we see the words written backwards in a reflection of the dressing table mirror. The words spelt backwords is ‘mur der’.
Final Thoughts:
Movies of the horror genre have to be carefully crafted in the early days when special effects were not that advanced. Nowdays, horror movies tend to have a mix of special effects and much gore but the real horror movies are the ones that captures the audience and plays with their emotions. This is maybe why the Paranormal Activity series has done so well in the box office as it is something people can relate to easily since it is filmed in a typical family household. The great directors of our time uses a blend of camera techniques and sets to create the haunting presence that manages to keep the audience glued to the screen.
Rating:
8/10
Tags: A Horror Masterpiece: The Shining, review of movie The Shining
