Posts Tagged ‘movie reviews and ratings’
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
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
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
