Ashdoc's movie reviews
World war Z---
Zombies---the new supplement to ghosts as the macabre danger to humanity in the movies..... Or rather it's the new method to earn moolah---for both Hollywood and Bollywood..... And unlike ghost movies the scope for zombie movies is vast.... Simple---just show zombies bite normal people to convert them into more zombies and you have the weapon to create mass panic---at least in the movies.... While ghost can terrorize only a house , zombies can terrorize larger areas.... The recent Bollywood movie ' Go Goa gone ' showed people taking a drug and becoming zombies on an island.... Somebody from Hollywood thought---why not show the whole world turn zombie by an epidemic of some viral infection ?? Let them bite each other like rabid dogs and spread zombiedom..... Actually rabid dogs would be ashamed of the small number of humans they infect compared to the vast numbers that humans can infect when they really start biting..... Whole gangs or rather mobs of nutcases ( actually they are undead---whatever that means ) roaming the streets and landscapes and indeed entire nations searching for people to bite..... In fact religious leaders would be flummoxed as to why they didnt think of this idea to convert other people---just bite other people and they get converted to your religion And from where does the energy to sustain such activity come from---since they dont seem to eat anything after becoming zombie ?? Sshh !! Dont ask uncomfortable questions if you wanna enjoy the movie..... Leading your foray into this macabre enjoyment is superstar Brad Pitt of Angelina Jolie fame.... He and his family narrowly escape a zombie massacre , and very conveniently he is shown to be so important that the deputy secretary general of UN no less arranges for his and his family's rescue to an aircraft carrier..... Once rescued it is made clear to him that only essential people have been rescued and he has to take part in the fight against zombies for his family to survive---otherwise its back into zombiedom for them..... Yeah , he's no Dharmendra or Amitabh to become saviour of innocent people and only reluctantly agrees to help save the earth.... But once he does enter the fray he does so with aplomb and carries out his task rentlessly..... But the zombies he is up against are rentless as well ( they have to be---to make the movie interesting ) .... Any noise and they are attracted to it for biting people like a moth is attracted to a flame.... And they develop herd mentality and all of them get violent and agitated if one of them is killed and attack the person who has done the killing..... And they pile up on each other in one spectacularly shot scene and climb the great wall that the nation of Israel has built to protect itself.... Superbly shot aerial photography shows dense masses of zombies stalking planet earth.... And you get to watch it in the full glory of modern 3D effects.... No place seems to be without these zombies---even the plane carrying Brad Pitt has one on it and the whole plane gets infected..... However Brad discovers a way of avoiding zombie bites by observing their pattern of behavior.... And if the whole of humankind can be made to avoid zombie bites in the manner discovered by him then there's a way to survive.... But the secret to make humans avoid zombie bites lies on a path being blocked by the zombies themselves..... Brad will have to walk through it to bring back hope to humanity..... Walk through a horde of blood crazed zombies waiting to bite---how does Pitt accomplish that ?? Go and watch the movie for that.... Would be a nice outing.... Verdict---good . rating--- |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Nice review :highfive:
I havent seen this yet as I have seen mixed reviews, mostly bad ones so im waiting for the DVD :yup: I wouldnt say 'Brad Pitt of Angelina Jolie fame' as he was a very successful actor before they were together. |
The reluctant fundamentalist---
America in the nineteen nineties.....At the top of the world as it was still enjoying its victory in the cold war..... .......An innocent time when it was a genuinely free society without the encumbrances of security checks everywhere..... And above all at the peak of economic prosperity and confidence..... New York in the nineteen nineties.....Heading towards becoming a real melting pot where people of diverse races and cultures lived with each other---christians and jews and muslims and hindus and sikhs and caucasians and blacks and hispanics and asians..... And New York was....is the economic centerpiece of America..... And towering over New York were the Twin towers---elegant as well as brute symbols of America's economic dominance over the world...... Men and women dreamt of working in or near the Twin towers of New York city---for working here meant that you had arrived..... And then they came down at the start of the twenty first century---destroyed by the most astonishing and devastating terrorist attack on any urban center in the world..... And lives changed after that.....America changed..... America's perception of the religion of those who had brought down the Twin towers changed too..... The hero of the this film ( played by Riz Ahmed ) belongs to that religion---yes he is muslim.....and a Pakistani to boot..... Riz is is one of those whom Tom Wolfe so famously called ' Masters of the universe ' in his acclaimed novel ' Bonfire of the vanities '....... Yeah , he has achieved his dream of working at a top position at the firm Underwood Samson in New York..... And he has a white girlfriend..... He thinks he's made it..... ......Until it all comes down---thats is , until the towers come down..... And here he is---sitting in Lahore in Pakistan telling his life story to an American journalist who's come to give a patient hearing to his twisted tale...... The journalist has come to hear as well as record Riz's tale because he is now purported to be a fundamentalist..... All this is happening under the shadow of the kidnapping of an American professor in Lahore---so times are grim..... Its upto Changez Khan ( thats Riz's name in the movie and no , he's no mongol emperor ) to convince the American reporter that he may be a fundamentalist but he's a reluctant one---the reluctant fundamentalist..... So what does the term ' reluctant fundamentalist ' mean ?? It means that he's been forced to become a fundamentalist by circumstances , by people's , by America's behavior towards him---especially after the 9/11 attacks..... So does he manage to convince the American journalist that he is a fundamentalist of the reluctant variety ?? Go and watch the movie for that..... The more important matter is----did he manage to convince the audience watching the movie that he is a reluctant fundamentalist ?? This I can answer only for myself..... And the answer is that at least I wasn't fully convinced..... Agreed , some of the humiliation Changez had to undergo as America became suspicious of muslims does not make nice viewing..... He is repeatedly singled out for security checks and on one occasion is forced to strip naked in front of policemen..... And he becomes a target for minor hate attacks.... Even his girlfriend betrays his trust..... Agreed with all that.....agreed..... But would the Pakistanis have behaved less paranoically had their country been attacked by outsiders in a brutal terrorist attack ?? Would their behavior towards the people of the attackers' religion been any different than the Americans' behavior ?? Would Changez behave in a different manner than Americans did with outsiders if his country was attacked by their people ?? And why does Changez have to become a fundamentalist ( however reluctant that fundamentalism may have been ) because America was was not good to him ?? Why does he have to grow a ' fundamentalist ' beard ?? Is it compulsory for people ill treated by America to grow a beard ?? OK , if he does not feel comfortable in America he can go back to Pakistan---but why cant he live a secular life there ?? What is the need for Changez to come close to religion even if America was not good to him ?? For example if an Indian or Chinese or Korean suffers racism in America , then that does not mean he comes close to his religion does he..... In my opinion these Pakistanis use any excuse to turn to their favourite haunt---religion..... Its to the credit of the character of Changez that he does not let his fundamentalism divert into terrorism---for his experience as an evaluator has given him enough brains to figure out the sinister aims of those who want to recruit him for terror and refuse them..... The movie unfolds as a series of flashbacks as Changez tells the American journalist his story and becomes more gripping as it becomes interconnected with the fate of the kidnapped American professsor..... And aquires the properties of a thriller as it becomes intense and Changez reveals that he knows who the American journalist really is..... Mohsin Hamid's novel has been well adapted on the screen using several Indian actors like Shabana Azmi and Om Puri who play Changez' parents , and the atmosphere of and contrast between New York and Lahore has been well created . I found the movie worth a watch.... Verdict---Good . |
Zero dark thirty---
Osama Bin Laden---the man who dared to take on the might of the most powerful nation on planet earth in the most astonishing manner possible---in a way not even dreamed up by American fiction writers.... The moment he did so , he was a marked man..... But the onus was on the USA to find him and kill him---it was a question of honour and justice and of prestige.....The world had to be reminded that you cant target the USA without terrible repurcussions on yourself.... But where to find him ?? Especially in a position where elements of the Pakistani establishment were in cahoots with him and protecting him.... Not surprisingly , it was a long and hard wait to get to him..... And to get him a CIA agent called as Maya worked painstakingly for years in Pakistan collecting information bit by bit till she hit paydirt.... But until she hit paydirt , she had to go through plenty of disappointments and see many tragedies unfold---and she had to see this happening for many years.... Bombs exploded in places where she was eating ( like Marriott hotel ) , she lost her colleagues in terrorist attacks and she herself became a target for assassination bids as news leaked out that she was a CIA agent---but she was unwavering in her devotion to the task of getting Bin Laden.... During this time she rejected any idea of romance in personal life and became detached from her family..... People who worked with her , including torturers who were beyond caring about human pain , also got tired of their brutal task and left for other more comfortable shores.... But in the end it was a triumph for Maya....so triumphant that a large part of the movie focuses on her and in essence she is the heroine of the movie.... Of course , in the end the raid to kill Bin Laden was carried out by other people , but it was her decisive pinpointing done after extensive research that made it possible.... The movie begins with torture scenes of suspected Al Qaeda members which may make one cringe....and they make even Maya flinch for a moment.... But this tough lady goes through seeing it all and survives grittily to stick to her task.... The movie has expletives being used continually by all Americans---and the word fcuk is most used.....even by Maya , who introduces herself as the motherfcuker who pinpointed the target to the commitee that has to approve the mission to kill Bin Laden..... And she uses the word in a way that would warm the cockles of your heart if you are a true patriotic Indian ( like I fancy myself to be )---she calls Pakistan a fcuked up country in a way no Bollywood ( of pak appeasement fame ) movie has dared to call in recent times.....Bravo Hollywood !! The raid which kills Laden is shown like a thriller with a touch of suspense.....and also with some comic relief as a US commando begins to call out ' Osama , Osama ' while searching for him in the house , as if Osama really was going to come out !!---Now did that really happen ?? Acting by the actress playing Maya is great , and the filming of the raid on Osama's house has been done with military precision..... And in the end you conclude that the USA is made of manly men and courageous women who are kind to those who seek shelter and are unforgivingly vengeful to those who have done them harm---and I wish some of these qualities were embibed by my countrymen.... And I wished that we Indians could similarly rain death on those who seek our destruction.... And with that thought for you to ponder , I conclude.... Verdict---Good . rating--- |
Man of steel IMAX 3D---
Superman---the prince of superheros....the one with the greatest powers of them all.... Young and handsome with a perfect built and appropriately caucasian white and American to boot ( why cant he be black or brown or nonamerican ?? Shh !! Dont ask silly questions !! )..... But even he has to be reinvented for the 21st century..... Gone is the underwear worn outside the body....and even the S on his chest has a new meaning---it's a symbol of hope now.... And the story of his birth and journey to the earth is more complicated now.... It's complicated by the fact that people from his original planet ( Krypton ) have come back almost from the dead to colonize the earth by wiping out the human race and replacing it with themselves.... ....And the man of steel has to choose as to whose side to take---the earthlings who gave him shelter , or the ones to whose race he belongs.... Ultimately its the power of love which prevails--the love he got from his foster parents on earth....and the love he gets from his ladylove Lois Lane.... So he chooses to fight for his adopted planet for what is right.... But though on earth he is superman , his fellow Kryptonites and their leader General ZoD can fight him as equals.... So can he save the earth and it's civilization from extinction ?? Go and watch the movie for that.... The first part of the movie showing his growing up years is the better half of the movie , and is filled with sentimental moments.... His foster father ( played by Kevin Costner ) advices him to hide his powers and sacrifices his life but does now allow him to display his powers.... Yet situations do occur where he has to use and display his powers in order to save people.... And an intrepid reporter ( Lois Lane ) of Daily planet newspaper gets scent of his unearthly powers and gets on his track.... And what powers !! Power to flit from one corner of the earth to another in a jiffy..... Power to lift entire buildings as if he is lifting feathers.... Power to heal fatal wounds in seconds.... Power to fly with beautiful girls in his arms ( Aaahh !! Now why didn't I have that power ?? )..... It seems the man of steel is set for a ride to superherodom....until his fellow Kryptonites come to conquer the earth in the second part of the movie.... It is this part which does not deliver the goods... Mind you...its actionpacked all right , but the problem is that it is massively overactionpacked..... The fighting....it seems less like fighting and more like carnage at times.... ....And once the fighting starts , it's unstoppable....it veers to the point of utter destruction.... No breather is given either to superman or the villains or to the viewer..... And in the end the excessive action tires you out.... Of course , I had the pleasure of watching the movie in the full glory of IMAX 3D.... And IMAX 3D is a different experience in itself.... While I had seen movies in IMAX form separately and 3D form separately , combining the two brings special effects to full flower.... Actually the superman movie series had died out with superman 4 , and the man who played it with awkward perfection in the past ( Christopher Reeve ) was no more.... While this attempt to revive the series is not perfect , it does have its moments.... And in Henry Cavill we have a real new superman---so Christopher Reeve can sleep peacefully in his grave.... Verdict---decent enough . rating-- |
Now you see me---
Four magicians pull off a heist---and with what verve and panache and mind blowing speed.....!! Yeah , they are the ' four horsemen ' selected by a mysterious person who prefers to remain behind the scenes to carry off three spectacular heists in the form of magic tricks in full view of the audience . They are carefully selected after close observation of their skills and include a card trick player , a mentalist , a conman and a an escape artist---the last being deliciously and sexily feminine..... The film certainly begins well as the four magicians pull of a sensational robbery of a french bank in a magic show in Las Vegas by teleporting a man to the bank and helping him rob the money---money which is showered on the audience watching it . The special effects are dazzling and a visual treat . But there's also a person ( played by Morgan Freeman ) who debunks these magicians and shows us just how the magic was not really magic..... But who cares....There's the next trick to be pulled off..... The movie moves at electric pace and breakneck speed and leaves you with very little time to wonder and ponder about whether it was really magic or not..... But as the movie moves on to the next trick you realize that behind it is one man's personal agenda---and that agenda is nothing but revenge..... Revenge for past wrongs , revenge for past sins committed against someone.....But the question is---whom ?? The second trick dazzles you again , but the vengeful motives of the person behind the whole thing become clear too.... But the police and a beautiful Interpol agent are after the four magicians , though they always manage to stay one step ahead of the cops , and Morgan Freeman the debunker is not far behind too.... The question again is---why all this elaborate deception , and by whom and for what purpose ?? Go and watch the movie for that.... Its in the third trick that the movie fails , for it is way too complicated to watch....and the car chases are something that we have seen in other movies as well.... In the end , the magician's tricks and special effects become too much to handle , and so does the superfast pace of the movie.... There's a twist to the tale in the end as the villain/hero reveals himself and his motives , but to me the bigger question was---why would the four magicians take such risks with the police for another person ?? Why would they go to so much trouble for a person they did not even know ??....and that question was left unanswered.... The movie begins spectacularly but loses its way towards the end.... Had it been the opposite , with the movie starting slowly but getting better towards the end , then it would have been a good one.... But then , not all fridays ( actually I saw the movie in sunday ) are lucky for the audience---are they ?? Verdict---Okay . rating--- |
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Hummingbird ( in Britain and India )/Redemption( in USA )/Crazy joe ( in France )---
This is what the site spiritanimal.info has to say about hummmingbirds--- '' The hummingbird spirit animal symbolizes the enjoyment of life and lightness of being. Those who have the hummingbird as a totem are invited to enjoy the sweetness of life, lift up negativity wherever it creeps in and express love more fully in their daily endeavors. This fascinating bird is capable of the most amazing feats despite its small size, such as traveling great distances or being able to fly backwards. By affinity with the hummingbird, those who have this bird as totem may be encouraged to develop their adaptability and resiliency while keeping a playful and optimistic outlook. '' Maybe thats why Jason Statham hallucinates about Hummingbirds in the movie of the same name..... ......For he's got a chance to redeem his wasted life when he accidently breaks into the house of a well off man after being chased by goons after a fight and finds the credit card of the owner of the house . He also finds out that he has the chance of free use of the house for several months as the owner is out of town and country for months.... Those months by the way , are exactly the months that the hummingbird makes its temporary appearance until it migrates to other parts.... And just like the hummingbird , Jason sojourn in the house he's occupied is temporary---only until the owner of the house comes back..... And also temporary therefore is his lease on respectable life..... For he's a Afghanistan war veteran ( a trained commando no less....) who has been scarred by his experience in the war and come back to Britain to live on the mean streets of inner city of London snorting drugs.... But Jason wants to believe that he is good man..... .....And has the urge to justify his self image as one.... So he begins to spread his newly found money around among the poverty struck folks that desperately need help..... And the more specific target of his largesse is a unconventionally good looking nun who has taken a liking to him..... .....For she has a story of injustice in her own life too , of having had to commit a crime at a tender age and being forced to live a life of a nun for repentance---a life she did not choose.... Jason shamelessly admits his attraction for the nun when confronted with the situation of being forced to confess it..... .....And he wants her to wear an attractive red dress when coming to meet him..... ......And he dreams of making torrid love to her on satin sheets.... His own conscience nags him for using another man's credit card and he decides to not use it and tries to find work.... However the only work a man like him can get is in the underworld , and the netherworld again sucks him in.... But his life is turned upside down when he learns that a woman ( not the nun ) he has formerly loved has been killed.... .....And Jason is determined to catch the killer.... So does he succeed in bringing the killer to book ?? And does he get to live his dream of making love to a lovely nun ?? But most importantly , does he get to use his temporary good fortune to turn around his life and do some good deeds ?? .....For he has a daughter somewhere who has dreamt of seeing photos of her father in respectable clothes as a respectable man..... ....And he actually dreams getting such photos taken and wants to personally hand them over to his daughter..... Above all , does he manage to come out of it all really believing that he is a decent and honourable man as he would like himself to be ?? And will the audience believe that inspite of his bad habits and bad company Jason is a nice guy in the end ?? Watch the movie for that.... For Jason Statham has put a rare display of real acting and tried his best to convince us of his intentions.... Yeah , instead of a slam bang action movie what we have is a nicely slow paced film that goes a low on the action and more on emotion as Jason and his beautiful nun stalk London's dark underbelly..... ......And that underbelly shot at night forms the backdrop of Jason and his nun's attempt at redemption.... .....An attempt at redemption that at the end brings a lump in your throat..... You really wished things hadn't finished the way they did.... But then , thats real life.... Verdict---At least I liked it.... rating--- |
Django unchained---
I have seen very few of Quentin Tarantino's films.....rating--- |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Glad you enjoyed Django Unchained. Definitely one of the best movies of 2012, it's just awesome.
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Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Lincoln---
The world in the mid 19th century---a world in the grip of colonialism and a world of slavery..... .......And no one feels the crushing burden of slavery more than the black man of Africa---their alleged mental inferiority and lack of civilization in sub saharan Africa makes them a race looked down upon as subhumans fit only to serve others , their dark skin further deepens this racism , and their considerable physical strength makes them thought of as ideal beasts of burden..... The slave markets of America and the barbaric middle east are awash with black slaves kidnapped by brutal slave traders from the coasts and interiors of Africa , sometimes aided by their own black brethren..... While the Turkish sultan needs them in the castrated form as eunuchs to guard his harem , the American white man needs him as laborer on his cotton plantations.... Its the black man's hard labour that drives the economy of the southern part of the United States.....and without him to serve the needs of the whites of the southern United States as a slave the entire way of life of the southerners would collapse like a pack of cards..... But can they stop the powerful winds of the civilized impulse of emancipation ?? .....For leading the charge of the anti slavery agitation is the President of the United States no less---and his name is Abraham Lincoln..... Needless to say he is a great man leading a great nation..... So can Hollywood produce a fittingly great film on him ?? Let's see.... The movie begins in the middle of the war that has been unleashed as the southern states declare their secession from the United States in view of the impending anti slavery decision that is going to be imposed on them by the northern states and Abraham Lincoln declares war on them calling them mere rebels..... The United States is actually going to civil war for the freedom of people brought from the alien shores of the African continent !! If that is not the measure of the greatness of America then what is ?? For hundreds of thousands of young American men are dying for stopping something like slavery---something that is accepted as part of everyday life in the middle east during that time without batting an eyelid , something that exists as the tyranny of the upper castes on untouchables in the India of that period !! But in order to foist this greatness upon America , it requires the tireless efforts of a great President..... And indeed , the emancipation of slaves is the one big aim of his life , something that he stakes his entire political career on..... He is determined to bring about the end of slavery by all means , by hook or crook..... By crook ?? Yeah , this great man is ready to use all means whether fair or foul to get votes of congressmen---for those votes are needed for passing the 13th amendment to the US constitution which abolishes slavery . For him the goal is important , not the means to reach it.....and the goal , can anybody doubt its laudability ?? So congressmen are coaxed cajoled browbeaten to bring them to accept his point of view , and his hirelings pass money and promises of opportunities of earning money to recalcitrant congressmen.....all and everything for a good and just cause.... All this while a great war rages on killing people in the thousands.... But like all great men , Lincoln knows that the great questions of the day sometimes have to be settled by the force of arms , and he is not averse to shedding blood for his august goals.... And the blood that may be shed could be of his son , for his son insists on joining the armed forces to the chagrin of Abraham's wailing wife who fears losing another son for she has lost one already..... Indeed , his wife seems to be ever complaining ever wailing for she simply cannot match his greatness.... But great or not , she is a loyal wife as they used to be in the 19th century---and Lincoln is a deeply attentive husband and father..... ....For he listens to his wife and fulfills his son's wishes only to allow him a posting well behind the war's frontlines..... So does his nepotism distract from his greatness ?? Hardly.... For as you watch him talking to friends and foes alike convincing them of the need to end slavery you begin to have respect for the man.... ......And the interesting stories he tells and the anecdotes he relates in his own inimitable manner give you an idea of his intellect and his sense of humour.... Or maybe it is the acting of Daniel Day Louis that makes accepting Lincoln with his small faults and all his greatness so easy..... Aiding Lincoln in his quest is an extremist politician who has made it his life's mission to end slavery from the land....but he is too impatient , and Lincoln has to use all his powers of persuation to convince him of the need to be patient and not do anything rash.... They are all good men really , and their sheer enthusiasm makes your heart bat for their ambition.... But the real star of the show is the day the anti slavery amendment is put to vote..... You can feel your heart pounding as the one by one the votes are counted..... And when the results of the vote came out---there were tears in my eyes , just like they were there were in the eyes of those black people who had assembled to watch the vote with a mixture of hope and fear.... So were they tears of joy or sadness ?? Of victory or failure ?? To those who know their history well , the answer is well known.... But for those who dont , this is a fine chance to brush up your history ( my fave subject in school , by the way ) Its not an action packed movie , and the its not about the American civil war.... But what it lacks in action , it makes up with emotion as you see history in the making..... And the emotion makes it well worth a watch..... At least I thought so.... Verdict---good . rating--- |
The host---
The earth has been invaded by aliens . The alien souls enter human bodies and take them over and in this way they have taken over most of the human beings on earth . How to detect that a human body has been taken over by aliens ?? A strange glow comes into the eyes.... ......And most former humans on earth have this glow in their eyes.... Only a few real humans are left . They are hiding in deep crevasses carrying out a guerilla war against the alien occupiers . The aliens are searching for the remaining humans who are fighting for survival . One of the remaining humans gets caught and her body too is taken over by an alien soul . But her mind is too strong and resists this takeover of her body . She escapes from clutches of the human bodies having alien souls who have captured her and makes her way back to human settlement . But she still has the strange glow in her eyes that marks her out as a human body taken over by an alien !! So will the humans accept her as one of their own ?? And what will she achieve among humans when her own body is caught between the alien soul that has occupied her and the exceptionally strong human mind that resists this occupation ?? Watch the movie for that.... So is it another sci fi flick ?? Another one about humans and aliens fighting each other with superadvanced weapons ?? No , in fact it is a film about winning the fight using an old weapon called love and tenderness..... About romance blossoming---and romance fulfilled---in a confrontation between races from different planets..... For it is romance and the pining for lost love that makes the heroine's mind resist the alien soul's occupation of her body.....love for her lover and affection for her younger brother..... And it is the search for that love that makes her run back among humans..... As the aliens begin to track her down to her hiding hole bringing the whole human settlement at risk another battle is going on within her---her alien soul falls in love with a goodlooking boy much to the chagrin of her mind which loves her old lover !! Behind all this pining for love I suspected the hand of a sensitive woman.... But the director of the film is a man.... As the credits rolled I found out what I suspected---the movie is based on a novel written by a woman..... So will love conquer all and everything---just like a woman would like it to happen ?? I really wish that things were that way---that the slogans like ' make love not war ' were translated into reality.....that all soldiers dropped weapons and won hearts rather than wars.... Real life however is different..... But for those who believe in the power of love there is this movie.... Verdict---Not a bad outing..... rating--- |
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The call---
America's obsession with crazed psychos continues---this time with ' The Call '...... Halle Berry ( looking attractive in a smart new hairstyle ) works in the police operations room as a officer who takes calls of victims and directs police squads to crime scenes . .....And like any beautiful sensitive woman ( dont we all like our women that way....) has a propensity to get emotionally mixed up in the plight of the victims she gets calls from..... But one day Halle loses her peace of mind when a female victim who is being stalked by a psycho and from whom she gets a call gets killed due to a silly mistake Halle has made during the call..... Halle changes her job while still working for the police , until she is confronted with a similar situation again---that of a young girl being kidnapped by the same crazed man..... Halle cant fail this time.....not again , especially when confronted with the same killer.....she's got to save the lovely girl she's promised she would save..... So can she.....??? Watch the film for that..... The film is an edge of the seat thriller that keeps you tense throughout..... And where's tension there's interest---from the audience that is..... If you get entertained by films which bring on the tension then certainly this film is for you..... .....For as the chase to save the victim in the killer's clutches hots up , so does the body count increase..... .....And needless to say , the body count is that of innocent people..... ......Innocents being smashed by spades and burnt alive after being doused by petrol---its all there..... Yeah , nothing works like little bit of cruelty to bring in the viewers..... Halle has that remarkable propensity that all actors in thrillers possess---that of going without untrammelled fear into dangerous places where others would be scared to tread..... ......And the killer has an obsession with beautiful women like her..... All the better to give some thrills.... Thrills to bring relaxation of body and mind to your dull existence.... Not a bad outing I had , I would say..... Verdict---nothing fantastic , but good enough..... rating--- |
The collection---
From the makers of the SAW series comes this new movie..... And when the makers are of the SAW series you know what to expect---a feast of delicious blood what else..... So off I went to the cinema hall to engorge myself in a bloodfest..... And the director didn't disappoint.... For its a movie that proves that as far as blood and gore and sheer imaginative violence is concerned , no one can match Hollywood---and especially the makers of the SAW series...... For who else can think of such devices for killing and maiming people in the worst way possible..... All horrifying sharp instruments cutting up people , shredding their body parts and dropping on unsuspecting victims from above.... Devices that I can only imagine but cannot name..... And those devices tearing off peoples' flesh , oozing out their blood and breaking their bones in an awesome crunching sound..... Of course , there are other methods of pointless barbarism in the movie....like howling wolves attacking their prey , deadly poisonous spiders crawling on human bodies bringing them closer to death.... And those dead bodies are cut up to be exhibited like museum pieces in liquid filled glass cases..... A special weapon is nails fixing people on the ground by splitting through their hands before the real torture begins.... And people are locked in boxes with small openings to see other victims torn into pieces so that they know what is going to happen to them---as they are next in line for some mindbending cruelty..... All blood blood blood everywhere..... And who is presiding over this mayhem ?? Its a mysterious masked man who kills people for no other reason than that of giving pleasure to bloodthirsty people who enjoy such things in the movies and making those bloodthirsty people shell out their money at multiplexes so that the producers rake in the moolah..... And do I even have to spell out the fact that he shown to be a totally demented psychopath..... And the story begins as he kills everyone in a nightclub and kidnaps a goodlooking girl..... big mistake.... .......for the girl has protectors who are ready to spare no method to bring her back..... And their search leads them to an abandoned hotel where the masked man has created his den of horror..... But how come he creates such a monstrous place without being noticed by police and authorities ??? And from where does he get the resources and money and supplies to get such weapons and gasoline and machine guns and create such torture chambers ??? SSHH.....Dont ask uncomfortable questions that will spoil your enjoyment of the movie.....if you can enjoy it at all...... .....For its not a film for the fainthearted..... So do the rescuers of the girl manage to rescue the girl and bring the terrible masked man to justice ?? Watch the movie for that....if you can that is.... Verdict---Okay. rating--- |
Taken part 2
Constantinople in Turkey.....now Istanbul.....at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.....where the civilized west meets the barbaric east..... And what happens when a man from the civilized west takes the danger of venturing into the barbaric east ?? He's TAKEN....or rather kidnapped by men taking revenge for the well deserved justice he meted out to one of them who was a rapist..... The civilized man taking the risky venture is Liam Neeson.....and the barbarians who are out to seek bloody revenge are Albanian muslims..... Yeah , its nice to see Islam in the movies....but hey , only in the movies.....all stories of mayhem and murder and loot and destruction and kalashnikovs and massacre..... And when these savages come to know Liam has come to Istanbul with his exwife and daughter they jump at the opportunity like a dog to a bone..... ......And they plan to kill his wife by cutting her up piece by piece and sell his daughter to a whorehouse to be raped again and again by lust crazed men..... Yeah , the men Liam is up against have no honour nor dignity nor respect for rights of women..... All that they see is their ancient call for restoring their honour---by taking an eye for an eye..... But what they dont know is that Liam is too formidable an enemy.....a man who has survived a hundred battles and has an incorrigible taste for winning this one.... And his daughter is not a wimp either....she's ready to help her dad in every situation..... And thus---when two powerful teams meet for confrontation there is bound to be hell raising action..... .....And hell raising action is what I love.....all bullets flying and grenades exploding and jaws getting crunched and cars getting smashed.....all in the shadow of the Aya Sophia mosque which was once Saint Sophia church the largest church in Christiandom.....and also all under the shadow of the flag of Turkey---a republic seemingly powerless to stop all the carnage..... So whose gonna triumph in the end ?? The bloodthirsty barbarians or the civilized ones ?? The people who look at other people's daughters with an evil eye or people whose mundane dreams include their daughters passing a simple car driving test ?? Go and watch the movie for that....I wasn't disappointed by the experience.... Verdict---Good action . rating--- |
Safe---
Calling all the aficionados of slam bang action...... The movie you dreamt of in your dreams is here..... Yeah , your dreams are going to come true..... The dreams you dreamt of seeing pile after pile of dead bodies , of blood being spilled all around , of jaws being smashed and bones being broken---are all gonna come real..... And doing all the damage is Jason Statham---the half baldie hero of the twenty first century ; the successor to the half baldie hero of the twentieth century---Bruce Willis , who else..... Yeah , I am remembering the days when Bruce Willis was half bald.... Now he is completely bald , but thats another matter.....he was only half bald in my younger days......:D Its another matter that Jason cannot compete with Bruce as an actor , but he makes up in brawn for what he lacks in acting..... Now back to the action..... Bullets are fired like hail in a hailstorm , or rain in a downpour---take your pick..... Bodies fly around like ninepins..... Tables and chairs smashed around like anything..... Blood spattered around makes neat and colourful configurations on the walls or carpets depending on what the dead body hits after being shot..... Mean baddies roam around the city lusting for mayhem..... And they all vie for the post of who is more cruel than the rest.....and man , the competition for that post is pretty tough.... And in the midst of all this is a little Chinese girl whose brain works faster than a computer..... .....And she's memorised the very long combination number which can open a safe that contains a lot of money..... Big trouble.... For now everyone's after her to get the number---the Chinese gang , the Russian gang and also the crooked police..... But triumphing over them all is Jason Statham the one man army cum messiah of the little girl..... Yeah , she's orphaned and he's lost his family---so they both need each other..... Thats the story..... But who cares about the story..... For there's never a dull moment when Jason is around---as he always is.... And because he's always around , dull moments in the movie are as rare as ice in the deserts of the Sahara and as rare as cactus plants inside the artic circle..... And towards the end , the lack of dullness is too much , the nonstop action is way too much and the breakneck speed of the movie is a little too much..... But its still enough for some timepass..... Verdict---nothing great , but you can call it watchable..... rating--- |
Mirror Mirror
Its the story of snow white and the seven dwarfs---retold and remodelled for the modern era..... .......Or so I assume..... ......Because I have totally forgotten the original fairy tale I liked during my school days , which my mother used to read out to me diligently in childhood . And remodelling it for the modern era involves it being told to us by the villain herself---Snow white's step mother , who else..... .....And the evil step mother is played by the ever green Julia Roberts..... And so in never never land there is a king.....and he's a good king..... And he has a beautiful daughter---with skin as white as snow and hair that is jet black.....in fact so white she is that she is called Snow white..... Now wait a minute.....does this mean that whiter the skin more goodlooking the person is , in this politically correct era of ours---where black people are encouraged to be proud about their colour ?? Well , we have to remind ourselves that fairy tales were born in a different era and cant be changed for today---and any attempt to tweak a story too much will be a reason for failure if it deviates from the original too much.... But snow white's mother dies and the king marries Julia Roberts who sends him to the forest from where he does not return...... And Julia takes over the kingdom and misrules , keeping the people in dire poverty while she enjoys.... But the magic mirror she keeps does not hide the truth , and keeps warning her that there is a price to pay for her deeds---deeds which she does by making the mirror cast a spell on anyone she wants to ensnare..... One day Snow white grows up to be eighteen and eager to see the world..... ......And when she goes out into the world she sees her people suffering..... But never mind..... When she goes out into the world she also meets the man of her dreams---a handsome prince of course..... And she meets and befriends seven lovable dwarfs..... And many hands make light work..... In short when allies meet they can change the old and evil order..... Doesn't matter that the evil step mother falls in love with the handsome prince too , and tries to marry him by casting another spell on him...... As the mirror warns her , its her last spell---and she has to pay the long accumulated price for her evil deeds..... Time and tide are on Snow white's side.... That and youth and innocence and virginity and goodness of heart..... In the fairy tales its always the fair and the good who win dont they..... But before they win , we get to see a world of magic and dances in fairy tale ballrooms and handsome princes and lovely princesses and small adventures and demons and witches and potions and spells---all of which brings nostalgic memories of your childhood alive..... .......A carefree childhood spent on your mother's lap listening to Grimm's fairy tales free from the worries of the world as only a child can be...... .....And all of it accentuated by modern special effects..... Now why did the director have to ruin it all by ending the movie by making the actors dance a bollywood-like bhangra ?? Oh , he's an Indian and wanted to have some Indian touch to a Hollywood film...... Never mind again.... Its still a decent watch..... rating--- |
In time---
Remember the old cliche ??--time is money. Well , hollywood brings the old cliche to life , literally , in this film. Its about a world where everyone is programmed to die at 25 , and anyone who wants to live longer than that must earn his time . In short time replaces money . A room in a luxury hotel costs you 2 months of your life , a ferrari costs even longer , and so on and so forth . So who can afford to give two months of his life for just a stay in a hotel ?? The answer is that the rich do , for they have earn't more time than they could do with.... For if you are smart enough , or more correctly mean enough , you can earn plenty of time lasting for millions of years--in effect , making you immortal . And time can be swapped from one person to other by touching each other's hands in the right position.... Which means stealing time from a person is easy..... And to prevent precisely this kind of theft are the policemen in a new avtar.....they are called timekeepers , literally..... And they are here to protect the rich--for the mass of common people have no access to large amounts of time , and have a notorious predilection for stealing others time.... Indeed , to protect the rich from thievery , there are special time zones separating rich people literally having plenty of time on their hands ( i mean literally ) from the poor who have none......the separation is done by heavy barriers...... The mass of poor people live in different time zones which are nothing but ghettos for the penniless--or rather the timeless..... And in such a ghetto is born our hero ( Justin Timberlake ) , son of an idealist who gave up his life fighting against such a cruel and unjust system--and Justin is a son who would make his dead father proud , for he is destined to bring the whole edifice down..... But before he brings it down , he gets to romance the oh-too-willing daughter of a finance magnate , and escape some hair raising situations , and fight some fights...... The movie is gripping enough in the first half , but meanders in the second half especially towards the end . But you can watch it for the novel idea of time replacing money . Verdict--just about okay . I would give it 2 and a half stars . rating--- |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Fire in Babylon---
Sport and politics have always been inseparable , for as sport grows in prestige it binds the emotions of the teeming millions and becomes a vehicle for expressing popular opinion . In fact sport is more easily understandable to the common man who is least bit interested in politics and binding sport with politics makes a political event of greater interest for him . ' Fire in Babylon '......So what is Babylon ?? I had to search the internet for it..... And the word has different meanings including a biblical one , so I had to hit upon the right meaning to understand the title in the context of the subject of the movie . It means an oppressive system where a particular race is discriminated against . ' Fire in Babylon ' is not just a documentary on the success of West Indian cricket ; it explores the emotions and the reasons behind the pride felt by people from the Caribbean Islands because of the success of their cricket team in the cricket field . As one explains , it was for the first time that the black people had produced something that was the best in the world and was unbeatable for a long time . The west Indian team of the late 70s and eighties was not just the pride and joy of the black people , it was the manifestation of black power..... And it was not just that , it was the black challenge to those who felt that blacks were not capable of anything , and it was a fitting rebuke to the unjust system that discriminated against black people---the intention was literally to set fire in Babylon.... Against such a towering and grand backdrop we enter the movie..... The movie unfolds through the eyes and the voices of legends of West Indian cricket---giants such as Vivian Richards , Micheal Holding , Colin Croft and Andy Roberts....we are truely in august company..... We hear form the horses' mouths how the West Indian team was a team of gentlemanly losers in the 60s ; a team which produced occasional flashes of brilliance and individual stars like Gary Sobers , but never managed to win consistently . They were called calypso cricketeers , a name based on the brand of music that flourishes in the Caribbean---frivolous people who could not be taken seriously . And to some dedicated individuals , that fact hurt.... It seemed that the Black man was destined to lose ; his job was to make the white man conscious of his own superiority..... Cut to 1975---West Indies tour of the Australia..... The West Indian cricketeers are subjected to racial abuse and physical intimidation by the arrogant Aussies , with fast bowlers like Lilee and Thompson pouring fast balls and scorn in equal measure..... And a gentle giant of a man , the West Indian captain Clive Loyd makes a decisive decision---He would make use of the immense physical strength of the African male to produce his own fast bowlers....and while Australian fast bowlers hunt in pairs , he would outclass them in their own game by producing a quartet of them ; four menacing lethal fast bowling machines that would rain fire on their opponents....fire in Babylon !! Its not just reform in West Indian cricket but revolution !! A revolution that is set to move the tectonic plates of the world of cricket.... For a sporting superpower is born.... And as speed demons like Andy Roberts , Micheal Holding , Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall unleash their terror on world cricket the accusations begin to fly thick and fast---of having reduced cricket to war , though the west Indians feel that converting it to war is an elevation not a reduction :cool: The movie is a feast for those who enjoy the perverse pleasures of seeing faces and bodies of batsmen reduced to bleeding jelly---for interspersed throughout are such shots from real matches..... And defying all attempts to introduce new rules to curb their speed and lethality , the deadly foursome continue to rule the game ; first defeating India , then Pakistan , then Australia and then England---all in their home countries . But for all their deeds there is no moolah..... It is Kerry Packer the Australian billionaire who gives the devil his due by inviting the world's top cricketeers at what seem to be astronomical amounts of money at that time---changing the financial equations of the game.... And then there is the rebel tour to Apartheid struck South Africa---some black men are willing to barter their honour by playing cricket in the mecca of racism..... Not so the superstar of cricket Vivian Richards , who refuses a million dollar check to play there , a fact appreciated by Nelson Mandela no less.... Amidst all this mayhem there is no mention of One day cricket even though the West Indies lorded over it by winning two world cups---thats because ( as a cricketeer explains ) it is test cricket which is a real TEST of the endurance of a man ; what sets apart the men from the boys . That why its called TEST cricket---other forms of cricket is for minnows . And West Indian overlordship of test cricket lasts for 15 years---a source of immense satisfaction to dark denizens of the Caribbean isles who justly gloat that in no other sport has anyone dominated for so long..... Amen to that.... Verdict on the movie---Good if you are a cricket aficionado . rating--- |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Just wanted to let you know I'm sitting here alone and I felt compelled to read a few of your reviews out loud to myself. The punctuation... in particular the ellipses... make this the most dramatic review thread ever.
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Originally Posted by Upton (Post 988966)
Just wanted to let you know I'm sitting here alone and I felt compelled to read a few of your reviews out loud to myself. The punctuation... in particular the ellipses... make this the most dramatic review thread ever.
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Originally Posted by Upton (Post 988966)
Just wanted to let you know I'm sitting here alone and I felt compelled to read a few of your reviews out loud to myself. The punctuation... in particular the ellipses... make this the most dramatic review thread ever.
Originally Posted by j751 (Post 988973)
Yes....:)
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Two reviews of movies based on Frederick Forsythe's novels--
Day of the jackal--- I saw this 40 year old movie on VCD at home on a lazy sunday --- instead of going to the cinema hall....err , multiplex---since no really good movie seems to be in the cinemas....err multiplexes . The movie is based on the classic novel of the same name by Frederick Forsythe ; and mind you , the novel is one of the great thriller novels of all time . The movie is of course an abridged version of the novel . The plot is placed ten years earlier than the movie , and the year is 1962---exactly fifty years ago . That year Algeria was liberated from French colonial rule . To give some of the history behind the plot , the French didnt leave Algeria without a fight . In fact it was a bloody fight . When the Algerians revolted against the French , the French used brutal torture to quell the rebellion in what was known as the battle of Algiers ( search google for that ). But this aroused international sympathy for the Algerian cause and when world war hero Charles De Gaulle was elected as president of France he announced that he was going to give independence to Algeria . But their was one impediment to this---the French who had settled in Algeria who formed a hefty 10 percent of Algeria's population and who believed in the slogan Algeria Francaise , meaning Algeria is France.... And they resolved to kill De Gaulle , the president who dared to think of giving freedom to Algeria . After numerous attempts to kill De Gaulle ( and here the movie begins ) , they decided to hire a contract killer---a man who for a hefty sum of money would kill Charles De Gaulle...... ......And since its a Frederick Forsythe novel , but naturally its an englishman who is chosen...... ......And what an englishman...... All blond and blue eyed and lean and fit ---one wonders why he chose to be a contract killer and not an actor or model.....oh I forgot that he IS an actor just playing the role of a contract killer for a movie ....And he is a true professional.....a man on a mission..... And when he takes up a job he acts like a man possessed...... But the moolah he demands is so much that the organisation that has hired him has to robs banks and jewellery stores and other places to get the required money---thus alerting the French govt to the fact that they are planning something big.... .....And what could be more big in this political atmosphere that the assassination of De Gaulle...... So the govt begins its hunt for the potential killer..... But thats hardly going to deter our man on a mission---who uses the code name JACKAL..... He uses various tricks to get multiple passports including stealing the passport of one man in broad daylight , and then kills the man who made the passports for him for daring to blackmail him---no one blackmails the jackal without incurring his wrath ( mind it !! ) And the jackal gets a telescopic gun made for him that can fit in the pipe of a car or the walking stick of a handicapped person....and finetunes it himself by spending hours in practice in the jungle..... And he is a master of changing his disguise and his appearance like a chameleon would do..... And using these disguises he crosses borders of nations with ease fooling guards and border security..... .....And when the police recognise his car he just changes its colour by spraypainting it himself in the woods on his way to Paris...... Both women and gay men swoon on his chiselled features.... But the jackal has not come for fun and games and he has to kill them all to cover his tracks---leaving a pile of dead bodies behind him along the way..... One word about the killings though---the violence is only hinted at and aficionados of slambang action may pause to frown....there are no brutal fights or bloodcurdling screams in the movie.....the action is all cerebral and the movie is a cerebral thriller..... But the jackal has not contended for one man---a French police officer who hides a razorsharp brain behind his affable nature ; and who is on his tracks , sometimes missing to catch the jackal by inches.... The jackal is saved in these situations because the organisation he works for has a mole among the very persons the police officer reports to---and who informs the jackal of the police's every move..... So the game of cat and mouse continues.... But the big question is---will the jackal succeed in his mission , or will the police be able to stop him ? That can be answered only on liberation day , when De Gaulle will come to witness a parade in the capital city . And only if the jackal manages to kill the president on the day will that day be known as the day of the jackal..... So will it be known as that ?? Watch the movie for that..... I found it a worthy watch...... rating--- The dogs of war--- The tin-pot republic of Zangaro---typical specimen of the hellhole that is Africa..... Its ruled by a typically brutal dictator called Simba....oh actually it is Zimba.... But Zimba Simba who cares......they are all the same in the banana republics of Africa arent they..... He's come to power by killing all his enemies , and to make sure no one entertains any future thought of enemity to him , he kills them before they have such thoughts..... And he lives lavishly with his harem in the midst of his garrisoning troops in their barracks while his country is awash in a sea of crime and injustice..... Into this godforsaken place comes our hero---posing as a wildlife photographer..... He's instantly suspected for what he is---for who would come to this hellish place taking photographs if he is not sent by Zimba's enemies for taking measure of Zimba's power and the potential of destroying it..... ......And so he is packed off to jail where amidst myriad tortures , he meets the leader of the democratic movement of Zangaro who is cooling his heels in jail for the past 4 years for preaching democracy..... But our hero's a white man---a citizen of the United States , and that country wont take the death of its countryman so lightly..... So he cant be killed and has to be sent home..... A home where the people who have sent him are waiting for his report on the situation in Zangaro...... For them he is just a mercenary , a dog of war...... .....And such dogs are expendible....... But before such dogs are expended they have their uses..... And his use to his handlers is to assemble a pack of dogs like himself and start a revolution in that little corner of Africa called zangaro..... .....And their plan is to prop up a suitably black president who allows them to loot the mineral resources of his country and make money..... But our dog is a dog with a mind of his own..... And above all he's a good dog..... He's not got long to live due to a fatal disease, and so has no use for the money his handlers are offering him..... And at the end of his life he wants to do something good for humanity..... But firstly , does he succeed in bringing revolution to Zangaro ?? Happily he does , and the director torches alight Frederick Forsythe's dull novel by moving away from the script and showing some real action unlike the novel which concentrated only on the planning of the coup and disappointingly stopped before some fighting broke out..... As President Zimba's palace is swept by a hailstorm of firepower and the invaders fire grenades , rockets and bullets into the garrison protecting Zimba , the question is not whether Zimba will go but in how short a time will Zimba's power collapse..... But the bigger question is---what is our hero's plan to put idealism in action in Zangaro ?? And will the people who financed him take his betrayal lying down ?? For answers to it , watch THE DOGS OF WAR..... I found it a decent watch..... rating--- |
The wolf of wall street---
Thank god I don't play on the stock market..... The kind of greedy selfish and gone case people who are shown to be part of the profession called stock brokers in this film would make a good person quit playing in shares after seeing this film anyway.... The moment Jordan Belfort ( played by Leonardo Di caprio ) enters the profession he receives the following advice from his boss---'' After you have earned your client some money , make him invest the same in buying some more shares on the stock market . So his increased money will remain only on paper . On the other hand you take real moolah in cash , so that your money is real..... '' And among other advice he gives for fleecing innocent clients , he also recommends regular intake of drugs and sex with prostitutes in order to keep the mind sharp.... With this advice being taken to heart by the leading character , the movie is set on a course of showcasing of unscrupled fraud , insane drug fuelled debauchery , whoring and whatnot.... Of course , it is to the credit of the director that the whole thing is shown in a terribly funny manner , keeping the audience in splits all the time.... Even though it's a long movie , there's hardly a dull moment.... .....And as if to make the dull moments too come alive , Leonardo gives an energetic performance as the man who earns a lot of ill gotten money and fraudulent success but does not know where to stop . Evidently he has not heard of the saying---'' quit while you are ahead ''.... Of course , Jordan Belfort as portrayed in the movie is a totally '' gone case '' person , and it is to the credit of Leonardo Di Caprio that he has put up a convincing performance of such a wild character . The director does a commendable job too , making us believe that Jordan was some kind of hero inspite of the things he did , and in the end you do feel sympathy for the lead character.... This inspite of the fact that he has no scruples about dumping his first wife for a more beautiful one , and cheating even on her by going to prostitutes and hitting on her old aunt.... The drug addiction of Jordan gives the director ample scope to raise some real laughs--- especially in the scene where he and his associate try a new drug called ' lemmons ' which kicks in late and gives rise to a situation which would have been called terrible if it had been not filmed so brilliantly funnily---full marks to the movie makers for showing a potentially life threatening situation in a comic manner.... Even more hilariously , Jordan wants to have his drugs even when the ship he is sailing on is sinking and in fact dreams of dying in a drug fuelled stupor.... Margot Robbie raises the hots in her role as the second wife by going fully nude and even rubbing her pussy in one scene , but the real triumph of the movie makers is in showing crooked minded people as lovable characters in the movie . In real life you wouldn't want to be near such people but there is an endearing quality about the way they have been shown in the film---even the drug dealers.... Eventually the law in the form of the FBI does try to catch up to these frauds , and Jordan shows the chutzpah of trying to bribe off FBI officers too.... Of course , he is a hero for some people whom he helped become rich . But it's an empire built on shady deals and law breaking scams.... And when the law does catch up with Jordan , it creates havoc even in his personal life leaving it in tatters.... So does he and the motley crowd he has assembled around him get the just desserts for their perfidies ?? And what is Jordan's role if any in getting his colleagues behind bars ?? And does the tiger change his stripes.....In other words does Jordan come out of all this as a changed man ?? Watch the film for that.... It was certainly one of the better outings I made to the movie theater this season.... Verdict---good . rating--- |
The American---
This is an art film that has been unfortunately been marketed in India as an action movie ,so many will leave the theater disappointed. Actually it is a cold hard look at the cold hard world of an professional assassin . It starts with George Clooney ( the assassin ) taking a vacation with a girlfriend in Sweden , but he is hunted down by his enemies here too ,and has to shoot them .But his girlfriend too has seen this ,and he has to shoot her too ,so that no-one who saw this killing is left alive......... ...........And poof !! goes also any sympathy you may want to feel about Clooney's character ( right from the beginning of the movie itself ).......what sympathy are you going to feel about a man who shot dead his lover ?? ............But thats exactly the way the director wants it..........to get the audience to know how it is to be an assassin in real life.......... This life has no thrills ,no excitement ,no fun ,no james bond like lifestyle...... Instead ,its a brutal ,long ,unforgiving fight for survival against enemies who want revenge .........death is constantly round the corner ,and the wait for death is as taut as it gets........ There is no practically no music to the movie .........yet the silence is enough to convey the grim tension that Clooney has to live under. His handler sends him to Italy to escape from his enemies.......but the life of tension is too much for Clooney ......he wants a way out of this business...... But is there a way ever out of this business ??........His handler asks him to do one last job ........to make a very quiet weapon for a stunningly beautiful woman..........But what Clooney does not know is that he is crafting his own noose........as the weapon is meant to kill him....... George Clooney emerges as a man who wants to remain aloof from everyone in this movie ........as those who come close to him also come close to death....... ......And yet , even though he speaks very few words ,he conveys the desire that everyone feels for companionship..........in the end he falls for a beautiful prostitute.........but its far too late.......... George has delivered a quiet but superb performance in the movie........watch the scene in which he catches the priest who wants him to confess off guard ,and makes him confess his own sins. But this strictly is for art-movie parallel cinema lovers........dont expect any thrills........ rating--- |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Devil---
'' The devil takes care of his own ''.......evidently not...... At least not in this movie ,where the devil plays the role of god ,bringing to justice some evil doers ........ ........But it is the devil's way of delivering justice , after all ........and the devil's way is a dirty death........ A group of people gets trapped in a elevator in a high-rise . Mysteriously ,one by one they begin to get killed ,as police watch helplessly on their screens via a camera in the elevator . As the identities of all who are trapped become clear ,it's clear all of them are evil , in one way or the other....... But those watching on the screen are haunted by their own past........ The devil has evidently chosen his characters with care....... Only confession of ones sins can give hope........ ........For confession can bring out the god in those who have been wronged...... .....And only god can forgive......... Manoj Night Shyamalan has delivered a uncomplicated thriller that is not too heavy on the senses ,or the intellect , but keeps you interested throughout. Verdict--watchable. rating--- |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
You will meet a tall dark stranger---
This is the first film I saw which has been directed by Woody Allen , and its full of extra-marital relationships , of which Woody must know a lot considering his personal life....... Because anyone in India doesn't know this , let me tell that he and actress Mia Farrow had a long standing relationship , and they raised a lot of adopted children , from many countries , including a little girl from Korea .This girl was raised as his adopted daughter , and he technically had a father-daughter relationship with her ( though he was not her actual father--the girl was an orphan he and Mia had picked up from a visit to Korea ), but as she grew up he began to take sexual interest in her , and when she was twenty , he broke up with Mia Farrow and openly began to have sex with this girl ,who was still technically his daughter , and not even half his age .Later he married this girl. Mia was so hurt that she sent him a birthday cake with her and their other adopted children's names on it encased in hearts , which were being broken by arrows !! The situation raised a furore , and magazines like TIME and NEWSWEEK ran articles discussing whether a father could have sex with his adopted ( though not legally ) daughter , even though she was not his natural child . Coming to the film ,its a funny ,though not comedy film on extra-marital relationships , people flitting from one relationship to another.......good for a light fun-filled evening........ The reason I wrote more about director Woody Allen's personal life than about the film is obvious.......his personal life is way much more interesting than the film !!:D:D rating--- |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The hole 3D---
A mother and her two sons move in to a house in a small town from the big city. In the basement the two sons discover a hole in the ground , and upon opening the doors that keep the hole locked ,they find that the hole is bottomless ;anything thrown into it keeps on going , it leads to infinity..... But the real power of the hole is that , if you look at it , your worst fears are realised--the thing that you fear worst appears in front of you...... But what are these people from the city doing in some hick town ?? Well , they are running away from something they wanna forget...... And with the hole coming handy in making your worst fears come alive , they are about to be confronted with the very things they have come to the town to escape from...... Helping our friends along in the is the friendly neighborhood blonde , who looks lissome and curvaceous on 3D when she ( occasionally )wears bikinis. The film gives some scares upto the middle third ,though they can be enjoyed only in digital sound and 3D. Towards the end however ,the film meanders , and the build up does not end with a bang..... Verdict--okay , if you are not expecting too much..... rating--- |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Black swan---
Natalie Portman plays a beautiful , fragile , delicate ballerina who is obsessed with perfection . She reaches the top of the profession after she is chosen to play lead role in the ballet Swan lake . But she feels that her mother , who is a failed ballerina herself , is jealous of her , and doesn't want her to succeed . And has a hunch that another ballerina , seductively played by Mila Kunis , is out to oust her from the position of lead performer by seducing the director of the ballet ( played by Vincent Cassell ) , who himself is a sleazy guy . And what are those blood-stained scratches appearing on her back every morning ?? Things are not quite what they seem to be....... All the makings of a thriller movie , eh......or is it really one ?? The photography is terrific , and makes feel that something ominous is going to happen in every frame of the film . Acting is class--by everyone . Verdict-- good stuff . rating--- |
No strings attached---
In this film Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman decide to have a relationship of casual sex with no strings attached.....of emotion ,that is--become sexfriends or fcukbuddies as they call it . But of course , love has to come in to make the film interesting ,or rather to get it moving . Actually , the first part ,where they are into casual sex is more funny , and raises quite a few laughs . After the interval , they fall in love , but the movie becomes somewhat sentimental , and the director loses his grip a little.......a few laughs are still raised , but clearly the first half was better . verdict--its still watchable , anyway. rating--- |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The rum diary---
As the publicity says , nothing in the movie is in moderation--especially the drinking...... There's plenty of boozing boozing and more boozing.... .....And there's drunks raising hell everywhere and not paying their drinking bills..... There's even a shot of drunks filling their mouths with alcohol and then spitting it out forcefully on a lighter to create a ball of fire coming from the mouth.... ......And getting hauled up in courtroom for that..... .....Only to vomit in front of the judge !! And there plenty of fast cars and one even faster woman...... Yeah , the woman..... A red hot blonde who smoulders fire from head to toe..... .....And she lights up every scene she walks in..... Dancing with free abandon in parties..... Taking her clothes off for men..... They call her Chenault in the film , but whenever they call her name it curiously sounded Chinaal to me..... ( I hope you know that it means '' loose charactered woman '' in hindi !!) Hell ,there's even Adolf Hitler's voice bellowing as a old gramophone player suddenly cranks up.... Ooops !! I forgot to add the cockfights adding to the entertainment.... Everything for everyone.... For a person who does not drink much like me , watching chinaal( ;) )...err...Chenault itself was worth it..... But for those who get a high just watching others drink and raise hell.....well ,this is the movie for them..... And what about the story ?? Well , Johnny Depp is a journo who lands in Puerto Rico in the 1950s and amidst all the boozing ,uncovers a scam there.... But the story leads nowhere and the ending is disappointing..... Verdict--If you are not bothered about the disappointing ending , then its good for some laughs . rating--- |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Lord Mountbatten , the last viceroy---
The last viceroy tells the story of the last but momentous chapter in the history of British rule over India---of the end of the empire in a bloodbath of epic proportions . Lord Louis Mountbatten arrives in India with his wife Edwina to close the 175 year old rule of Great Britain over the Indian subcontinent---the jewel in the King's crown . He arrives just as a sea of violence is about to erupt in India---for led by the ambitious and powerhungry Muhammad Ali Jinnah , the muslims in the subcontinent are not only demanding the carving out of the nation of Pakistan , but they are also baying for the hindus' blood..... ......For the nation of Pakistan has to live upto its name---pak means pure in urdu , and what better way to make it pure than to ethnically cleanse it of all the infidels who dared inhabit it...... The hindus on the other hand , are led by the apostle of nonviolence---the ' great soul ' mahatma Gandhi who has made himself great by teaching a pacifist ideology and taught the hindus to bow and acceed to the muslims' every demand , including the creation of Pakistan . But Gandhi has such a hold over the mind of the hindus due to his saintly behaviour that it is said that the capital of India is not at Delhi , but at wherever Gandhi is camping !! ......And this Gandhi is not there to greet Mountbatten as he alights from his plane ,for he has gone to bihar in one of his hopeless attempts to create communal amity between hindus and muslims---a fact which erks Edwina Mountbatten . On the other hand , she is mightily pleased with the reception given to her by the future prime minister of India Nehru , and this leads to not only mutual attraction between them but a fullscale affair..... All this happens under the watchful eye of Louis Mountbatten , who not only takes it all in his stride , but also develops a liking for Nehru himself !! On the other hand , Mountbatten is not impressed by the personality of Jinnah , whom he grows to detest.... While Nehru is all charm , Jinnah is cold and forbidding , and the viceroy finds him quite extravagant in his demands for his new nation . But first things first , and Mountbatten has to make a tour of the north west frontier . Here on landing , he is confronted by savage pathans in the thousands , all well armed and screaming for being given the Pakistan they want. Mountbatten is well prepared for this , as he disarmingly waves at the barbaric horde wearing a muslimtype green dress , making them think he has acceeded to their demands and they are appeased without violence ! As everywhere Mountbatten tours he sees scenes of muslims butchering hindus , he not only concludes that Pakistan must be given , but also feels that the British must pull out of India before mayhem is unleashed and thereby makes a fatal mistake---he brings forward the date of declaration of independence from june 1948 to august 1947 , leaving the state machinery no time to cope with the mammoth task of partition . ......For not only is the nation to be partitioned , but govt property has to be divided ; but above all no proper arrangements are made to garrison the state of punjab , where post partition violence is expected . Mountbatten does make a last attempt to convince Jinnah of the cabinet mission plan of a united by loosely federated India , but Jinnah is unrelenting..... The ' great soul ' Gandhi goes one step forward by offering Jinnah the prime ministership of undivided India , but Sardar Patel simply refuses to entertain this idea ( thank god !! imagine Jinnah as India's PM..... ) The friendship between the Mountbatten couple and Nehru increases in the cool climes of Shimla , the summer capital of the British raj , where Nehru and Edwina find time to romance...... But Nehru's temper explodes when Mountbatten shows him the future plan of India---it envisages total balkanisation of the subcontinent as the princely states are left to choose to remain independent . Mountbatten has to sooth Nehru by removing that option , leaving them to join either India or Pakistan . Jinnah is another matter altogether---he is unwavering and says that the Pakistan given to him by Mountbatten is divided into two wings with no link to east Pakistan---he calls it motheaten..... But Mountbatten proves a tough negotiater and forces Jinnah to accept his partition plan at the meeting of representatives of all religions by forcing him to nod slightly in acceptance of the plan . The die is cast , and Sir Cyril Radcliffe is given 5 weeks to draw the map diving the nation , giving precious little time for minorities on both sides to shift to the nation where their community is in majority . The day the Indians have been waiting for a thousand years arrives as the nation awakes to life and freedom at midnight when the world is asleep---in Nehru's words , at least . Mountbatten invites the press to take photos as the Indians blow conches of triumph , and to his surprise Future president Rajendra Prasad toasts King George with a glass of wine on this august occasion..... But independence unleashes a torrent of violence as trains carrying dead hindus and sikhs come to India---and hindus and sikhs unleash bloody revenge . Mountbatten's mistake of bringing the independence date forward has produced terrible results...... Gandhi's attempt to save muslims in India only makes them spit on him.... But Nehru sees no choice but to ask Mountbatten to continue as governor general . This is opposed by Edwina who feels she might get too deeply involved with Nehru if this sojourn in India continues . But Mountbatten's continuance proves lucky for India as he answers Nehru's desperate plea to save his home state of Kashmir from pathan irregulars sent by Pakistan to invade it by sending the Indian army after the maharaja signs the instrument of accsession . When Mountbatten confronts Jinnah over the rape of scottish nuns by his pathans in Kashmir , Jinnah candidly admits to his hold over them by offering to pull the pathans back if India pulls back its forces . Back in India , Gandhi has paid for his appeasement of Pakistan by his death at the hands of an assassin---sending Nehru into grief . Mountbatten consoles Nehru and asks him to speak to the Indian people on radio that very night . Nehru responds by making one of the finest speeches in his life . And its time now for Mountbatten to leave India---his work is over..... This time Edwina asks him to stay on---as Mountbatten himself admits , she has found love here...... But time and tide wait for none , and the time of the British is over..... As they leave , the Indian public crowds the last viceroy's motorcade in a moment of brief nostalgia for the raj...... Most nostalgic of them all is Nehru , who gifts a rose to Edwina to cherish the bygone days of love before she ascends into the aircaft that will take her away.... An era has passed...... The halycon days of empire are over..... And so is the movie.... Verdict----good , if you are a history buff . rating--- |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Today I have posted 8 reviews back to back in this thread itself . I hope you all find time to read them....
Just was digging out my old reviews written for Indian forums earlier . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The fast and furious ( fast five )---
Spoiler alert !! A gang of nice crooked guys plan to pull off a heist . And whom do they plan to rob ??--another ( much bigger ) crook..... This helps to keep their consience clear , and keeps us ( the audience )sympathetic to them But the bigger crook is smart too , and he keeps his 100 million dollars in a huge vault , which is located in a police station and is protected by police officers . Yeah ,this is Brazil , and police protect crooks' money ( anything happens here ) So how to do the heist ?? Here's how-- Smash through the police station with an armoured car , lasso the huge vault with the help of strong ropes to a couple of cars , and drag it down the streets through surprised onlookers , and bring it dragging to their adda where it can be opened safely..... Simple , isn't it...... Well ,there are complications in the form of police cars chasing the vault as it is dragged down the street , but they can be easily resolved by maneuvering the thick-iron-clad vault itself to smash the police cars . But where do they get the armoured car and all ?? Simple--one of the law enforcers who commands an armoured car has a change of heart as he realises that he is protecting a crooks money , so he joins the bunch who wants to steal it...... But where do you get the tough cars to drag the huge vault down the street at breakneck speed ?? Thats simple too--break open a train transporting the cars , and drive the cars out of the running train , but not before you have piled up some dead bodies ( now thats a must )..... But where do you get the capital to fund such awesome ventures , and more importantly , people to take such mad risks ?? Shh--dont ask uncomfortable questions...... But , on the other hand , if you want the answer--hollywood has a lot of money to waste on stupid movies , and lot of out-of-work actors are ready to act in them..... All fast and furious...... Verdict--okay if you are an aficionado of slam bang action...... rating--- |
Great reviews Ashdoc; I'm glad you also liked The American, very underrated in my mind.
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Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Defiance---
The jews of russia have always suffered pogroms for centuries immemorial ( jews of which country haven't ? ......yeah I remember one nation--India ..:)) ,but in 1941 comes another deadly danger..........the germans have invaded mother Russia........ ..........and needless to say , the jews are on top of their hitlist....... This is the story of Russian jews fighting a grim battle for survival in the misery of the second world war........ To say that the odds are stacked against them is to say the obvious........ ...........and the courage they have to show would put a Rambo to shame...... Daniel Craig leads their battle for survival , as the battle moves on in the unforgivably cruel russian winter........ Not only the elements are against them , but the Russian army too is indifferent........viewing them as expendables....... They have to fight the Germans ,and also the epidemic of typhus that war has brought............with the Russians , their own people ,refusing to give them medicines.......... Amidst all this they have time to fall in love , sometimes sing and dance for one of their own's wedding.........and try to keep religion alive.......in a situation where belief in god would be suspended without being noticed....... To some ,Daniel Craig seems like a new Moses ,destined to lead them to their chosen land........ But does he succeed ??......Go watch the movie for that....... Some of the moments in the movie are heart-rending ,as the woman who is shot dead deliberately falling in such a way that her finger remains pressing the machine-gun she is firing after she is dead ( did I see a similar scene in Haqeeqat ?) The movie also shows how miserable a war is.......and is depressing to be honest...... But ,its a good movie ,really....... rating--- |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Hey Doc!
We have just brought the new reviews section online, and we are in the process of tagging all user reviews for the system. If you want to have your reviews listed on the search index, I need you to edit your reviews to use the official MoFo rating system or they won't integrate properly. If you are interested, just add the popcorn rating to each review: Use this code: [rating]3.5[/rating*] Just remove the asterisk to make the code live (I broke it here so you can see the example). This particular code would rate the film 3 and one half boxes of popcorn out of five, for instance. just change the middle number to reflect your chosen rating. Once rated, I can tag each review for the system. Thanks! |
Originally Posted by Sedai (Post 1089145)
Hey Doc!
We have just brought the new reviews section online, and we are in the process of tagging all user reviews for the system. If you want to have your reviews listed on the search index, I need you to edit your reviews to use the official MoFo rating system or they won't integrate properly. If you are interested, just add the popcorn rating to each review: Use this code: [rating]3.5[/rating*] Just remove the asterisk to make the code live (I broke it here so you can see the example). This particular code would rate the film 3 and one half boxes of popcorn out of five, for instance. just change the middle number to reflect your chosen rating. Once rated, I can tag each review for the system. Thanks! I have given ratings for all movies in this thread at least . Giving ratings for movies in Bollywood movies thread and searching for the movie reviews which i have written in threads dedicated to those movies is going to take a little while more....please bear with me . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The new world ( 2005 )
http://static.rogerebert.com/uploads...Xguen3dzjH.jpg In 1607 ships carrying men , arms , ammunition arrive in what is going to be called as 'Virginia' by them . The men have one ambition---to achieve a higher standard of living in what they call 'the new world' ; a standard higher than that of the 'old world' with all it's injustices . And for all of them on the ships that have arrived in this corner of America, the old world is merry old England . Among them is a captain with a quintessential english name---John Smith . Their flag is still a red cross indicating that the scottish flag has not yet been added to it to make it the union jack , but their ambition is to soar across the world's oceans to plant their flag everywhere.... But as they arrive , more pressing problems plague them---like their dwindling ammunition , their dwindling food supplies and their dwindling manpower... So John Smith ( Colin Farrell ) is elected to lead an expedition upriver to make contact with the chief of the native americans , who are called 'naturals' by those favourably disposed towards them and 'savages' by those who are not so well disposed... John Smith is nearly killed by the natives , but he is saved by a young girl who has taken a liking for him---Pocahontas ( Q'orianka Kilcher ) , who is the daughter of the native king and also his favourite child . And she not only saves Smith , she loves him and makes love to him and dreams of life with him . And she is too innocent to understand the catastrophe that the ships from the old world have brought for her people . So Smith is allowed to go back to the fort his people have built on the condition that his people will leave in spring . And when the calamity of famine strikes his camp , it is Pocahontas who arrives with food and supplies to save his people . Smith is torn between his loyalty to the woman he loves and to his countrymen---for they never intend to leave as he has promised , but intend to conquer the land that has been inhabited by the native americans for millennia . And also Smith has been selected to lead distant expeditions to find other lands for his king , so he has to leave a weeping wailing devastated Pocahontas behind . But she is too beautiful and young not to catch the attention of another englishman (John Rolfe played by Christian Bale ) , and he proposes that she convert to christianity and they get married and settle in England . So will the native princess accept his proposal ?? Will she be able to adjust to her new home if england is to be that ?? How will she be received by english people if she goes there ?? And most importantly , will she be able to forget her first love ?? Watch the movie for the answers... The movie has a totally poetic touch to it with the thoughts of each character shown flowing through their minds like sheer poetry . And true to ancient cinematic tradition , the true story of Pocahontas is presented as romance---romance amidst the conflict between the native american and the white man , romance amidst the great sweep of history in which the europeans are destined to rule over the americas , and a romance surprisingly approved by both peoples without any hint of racism . The music complements the poetic touch of the film flowing seamlessly in between the dialogues and thoughts of each character . The romantic scenes are more like scenes of tenderness.... Both Colin Farrell and Christian Bale look dashingly handsome with their beards and long hair , and Q'orianka Kilcher has her own beauty. The director shows an idealized depiction of native american people---they are shown to be innocent of greed jealousy and hatred . This is probably the most naive assumption by the director . Are we ( the audience ) supposed to be so naive as to believe this depiction just because the native americans are the conquered people ?? After all they can still kill with their bows and arrows and machetes , though the fight is an admittedly hopeless fight. Of course , the same depiction of Pocahontas as innocent by nature makes her character so endearing like a flower and her love so look pure and unselfish . Acting is good by everyone , and the photography makes America doubly attractive---all green and verdant and rich with promise , just like the early settlers must have found it to be and just like todays settlers find it too !!....except for the concrete jungles that have been added.... I only wished that the tides of history could have been turned , and that every meeting that the natives had with the white man would have been like the experience of Pocahontas , and that sheer poetry like the film could have been weaved out of that meet.... Verdict---Good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Step up revolution 3D ( 2012 )
http://www.gstatic.com/tv/thumb/movi...13_p_v7_ab.jpg Welcome to Miami---the freewheeling city in the land of the free... A land where the best way to make sure of a girl's coming for a date is whisper in her ear that her father will disapprove of it...and bingo !! she's ready... A land where a billionaire father has to ask '' May I come in '' to enter his daughter's room... A land where the daughter coolly tells her father over breakfast that she got laid last night and his only mild objection is that she shouldn't have got laid with a slumboy in a slum..... This is America... And who is the girl ?? She's actress Kathryn MacCormik , a Natalie Portman lookalike who sets the screen on fire along with leading actor Ryan Guzman in the film called step up revolution... And how does she set the screen on fire ?? By dirty dancing with a flair that drools our senses... Yeah , go and watch as she arches her sensational body and curves her sizzling curves by crunching her toned muscles in her dancing moves... ......And she gives you a high that only a hard on can give---a hard on that is a tribute to her smashing body as well as her sexy dancing... But above all when she dances you feel the white hot wave of liberation sweep through your body along with the sweet passion of unbridled desire.... So whats the story ?? There's leading actor Ryan Guzman who is the leader of a pack of flash mob dancers who surprise people by suddenly erupting in dance in Miami city.....a pack that consists of people of diverse races---whites , hispanics , blacks.... They wanna win a contest to get maximum hits on youtube which has a prize of a hundred grand..... But their homes are about to be raised by the plans of a real estate developer who has bought the land they live on.... But the real estate developer has a sizzling daughter ( the leading lady ) with a mind of her own.....and a heart of her own too.... .....A heart which beats for leading actor Ryan..... And when Ryan and Kathryn dance together the gods in the heavens stand still.....or maybe its only the poet in me speaking..... But as I said the lady has a mind of her own..... And she tells her friends to dance as a protest against the uprooting of their homes..... And what dancing.....what moves.....what photography..... ......And all that with heartpounding music.... So does their unique form of protest succeed in stopping the project to tear down their homes ?? Go and watch the movie for that.....its well worth a watch..... Verdict---electrifying. |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The woman he loved
http://imagensubida.historiasdepoca.es/53464.jpg The movie deals with the romance and marriage of an American divorcee with King Edward the eighth , the king/Emperor of the British empire---the man who actually abdicated his kingship for the love of a woman.... She is Mrs Simpson , an American divorcee who has come to Britain with her second husband and gets into the inner circle of the prince's ( he is not yet king ) friends along with her husband . Soon his female partner begins to trust her so much that she leaves for a long foreign hiatus with him in the care of Mrs Simpson---with predictable consequences that she has to face after coming back.... But the movie does not start there ; it actually starts with the death of the duke ( the king is reduced to duke after abdication ) decades later , as his wife sentimentally remembers the time when she and the future king had met....and straightway I must say that the makeup of the duchess in old age is horrendous---she looks like a zombie really . But she looks better when she is shown in her youth , and the movie has a sentimental quality about it that appeals to the heart.... Of course , Mrs Simpson has been accused to be a gold digger who wanted to marry the rich king and become queen , but the movie shows her to be better than that . It does so by not dwelling upon the part where she and he duke were accused to have pro nazi sympathies later . As the romance develops between the two , morning walks in rain soon transform into direct meetings in her apartment where her husband himself backs out of the situation like a true gentleman . And alarm bells ring in the British establishment . But no bedroom sessions are shown---the movie does not cross that line . The crisis of the situation occurs when it is time to become king Edward the eight , but the British people and establishment are not ready to accept an American woman who will be twice divorced ( she will have to divorce her second husband ) when she eventually marries the king . This raises the question as to whether kings should behave like commoners and give importance to romance....should people in positions of power who have fates of millions hanging on their decisions marry for love ?? Should not they give more importance to their political careers and build the nation rather than get embroiled in love like petty people ?? Love is a luxury of commoners that the high and mighty cannot simply afford.... Of course , there is the lobby that says that the king of Britain had very little power anyway because of that thing called democracy....and some say that the abdication was a good thing given the king's pro nazi sympathies and the impending world war with the nazi war machine.... So king Edward the eight chose to follow his heart , and Anthony Simpson and Jane Seymour have acted really well to show the emotions and the pain that they had to go through to take that decision.....and in the end you have to admit that the King was a lucky man indeed---for lucky are those who have found true love.... The music is most appropriate for the situations in the movie and helps accentuate the emotional tone of the movie . And the emotional tone helps in making it a decent watch.... Verdict---three stars . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
I've just watched Devil for my review thread horror section and i really enjoyed it. I thought it was quite scary, and the concept of the movie was very simple yet very entertaing.
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Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The life of pi
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...qh_nEoHkUsru82 Its jungle book all over again.....but with a story more like that of Robinson Crusoe..... Its a world of nature that the director creates.... A world of the rolling sea and the vast ocean..... Of water all around as far as the eye can see..... Of thunderstorms and lightening and rain that soaks the body till it becomes bonechilled...... Of schools of flying fish that move like a wave hitting you like hail in a hailstorm..... Of dolphins and giant whales that splash around with all their force resulting in mighty ripples..... Of fluorescent fish whose light looks like a magician's dream silhouetted against the dark sky...... Of the sky gleaming with the billions and billions of stars at night..... Of a remote island with unknown dangers the like of which you have never seen before..... Of raccoon like creatures moving over your body in the thousands on the island..... Of mighty carnivorous animals and predators and prey.... And above all a mighty tiger..... Its the world of Pi.... And who's Pi ?? He's a person with an incredible story about being marooned alongside a lifeboat on the high seas along with a royal bengal tiger for company..... An astounding tale of survival against all odds..... And you do get amazed and enchanted by the special 3D effects that go a long way in making the movie pleasurable..... Its the second half that holds the movie together and silences the sniggerring that the audience was doing at the end of the first half..... For in the second half Pi learns to tame the tiger , crush his own fears , raise his hopes where there seem to be none and try to reach the realms of land and shore and civilization..... And while doing so he looks more and more like a modern day mowgli from jungle book.... But does he succeed in his quest ?? Go and watch the movie for that..... It wont be a bad outing.... Verdict---Good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The man who captured Eichmann ( 1996 )
http://www.cinemaretro.com/uploads/eichmann1.jpg After the German defeat in world war 2 , many of Hitler's top brass ran away to south America . Both Josef Mengele ( who had committed horrible experiments on bodies of live jews ) and Adolf Eichmann ( who had helped in transportation of jews to death camps ) fled to Argentina , where the far right wing government offered them a new identity and a chance to live . But the Israeli spy agency ( MOSSAD ) was on the lookout for them and not all of them were able to lead peaceful lives . This movie is about the capture of Adolf Eichmann by the MOSSAD in 1960 and his transportation to Israel to face trial . He was eventually executed for his crimes against humanity . But as the movie shows , identifying Eichmann was not a easy thing as he had acquired a new identity . He was first suspected because the father of the woman his son was dating repelled him as the father of the woman had the serial number of a nazi death camp on his wrist ; the number being a sign that he was a jew . The father contacted the Israeli authorities and they were not sure because the father was blind . But eventually a team is sent to try identify Eichmann , led by MOSSAD agent Peter Malkin ( played by Arliss Howard ) . This team keeps a close watch on the activities of Eichmann and hits pay dirt---for the person they are watching celebrates his marriage anniversary on the same date as Eichmann's marriage anniversary , thus confirming his identity . The capture of Eichmann is planned to be a relatively simple affair ; just overpower him while he is walking towards his home after alighting from a bus that he regularly alights from , and bundle him in a car and speed off....but the plan almost misfires as the target does not alight from the bus that night and heavy rain starts pouring . But the MOSSAD agents are nothing if not patient and wait till Eichmann alights from another bus later . Luckily by this time the rain has stopped . And the agents succeed before Eichmann's waiting wife can raise a hue and cry . In the safe house where Eichmann is kept as a captive , the Israeli agents take turns to guard him . And they make him confess his real identity . In the beginning some kind of rapport develops between the captors and captured . But as they talk over food and wine Eichmann tries to deny his culpability in the holocaust . His rants touch a raw nerve and the agents guarding him are utterly repelled from the task of guarding him ; no one wants to give him company . As arguments start between Eichmann and Peter Malkin , a powerful scene in which Peter goes away from the room to cry his heart out brings out the difference of the jewish experience from the life experience of normal people like us ; Peter cries because he has lost much of his family to the holocaust and hence can't bear Eichmann's rants , and similarly all the other members of the capturing team have lost their families . In effect , they are torn and uprooted people....not a single one of them has led a normal life of security and comfort like us....One wonders why the jews are such a hated people and why have so many atrocities been committed on them ? Capturing Eichmann is one thing , but taking him out of Argentina is another....for Eichmann's son has contacted the Argentinian police and they are on the lookout for the Israelis ; the police has promised Eichmann's son that all exit points from Argentina are being watched and the Israelis won't be able to take Eichmann to Israel to stand trial . So how do the Israelis manage take their prisoner out of Argentina to Israel ? Watch the movie for that.... Robert Duvall has put up a good performance as Eichmann and Arliss Howard is good as Peter Malkin . Towards the end the movie comes close to look like a thriller....but it being made for TV , it is hampered by it's low budget . Still it is an okay watch . Verdict---Okay . Two and a half stars . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The Gift
http://images.redbox.com/Images/EPC/Kiosk/8614.jpg A couple ( played by Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall ) moves into Los Angeles from Chicago and they run into an old schoolmate ( played by Joel Edgerton ) of Jason , who begins to regularly drop in their house . Everytime he comes he comes with a gift . Soon his visits get creepier and the gifts become creepier too and the couple soon begins to feel uncomfortable with his visits . But the really creepy experience is when the two are invited to his house ( I am not telling what is so creepy ) . Jason warns Joel not to ever visit them again . Jason is satisfied with this , but Rebecca is worried and keeps thinking about this whole thing again and again . She steals pills from her neighbour and begins to wonder if someone is constantly in her house watching her every move . Sick with worry , she faints for a prolonged period one day . After this , the couple receive one last gift with a letter with from Joel in which the Joel says that he is willing to 'let bygones be bygones' . Soon Rebecca become pregnant and the couple forget the whole thing in their happiness , until Rebecca sees Joel watching her in a supermarket one day . Intrigued by all the events , Rebecca begins an investigation into events of the past and soon secrets begin to tumble out . Rebecca has to soon confront facts about her husband that make her thoroughly uncomfortable about him . So who is the hero and who is the villain of the story ? What are events of the past that Joel is raking up ? What does he want ? Watch the movie for the answers.... Joel Edgerton pulls off the feat of looking menacing and a victim at the same time ; a man thoroughly wronged but also doing wrong villainous things....you don't know whether to sympathise with him or to be terrorised by him . For a long time the movie moves smoothly with small hints given of what is going to happen ; subtly the terror descends upon the couple and the audience . Everytime Rebecca is alone in the house is a nerve racking time for the audience ; you feel relived that nothing happens to her when her husband returns from work to give her company , but just as you begin to think nothing has happened to her suddenly your worst fears for her are realized at the climax . Violence is largely underplayed in the film , but what happens in the climax is worse than violence . An atmosphere of fear is constantly kept in the film , but no garish sound effects or flamboyant visual effects are used . I was rooted to my seat throughout the movie watching experience . Verdict---Good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The Jungle Book
http://cdn1-www.comingsoon.net/asset...ychgallery.jpg Sigh....years of watching Discovery channel and National geographic have really taken it's toll on me.... That is , taken it's toll as far as watching 'Jungle book' movie is concerned.... In 1985 , I watched the animated version of 'Jungle book' that had been released in India that year....and I enjoyed it with gusto.... The sights and sounds of animals of the jungle were new to me at that time and that's what made watching the animated movie so special.... Or maybe I enjoyed because at that time I was just a little kid.... But now after years of watching channels like Animal planet etc , watching the new version of 'Jungle book' is like watching the wildlife centred TV channels again.... At least the animated version looked different.... But the fact that the animals have been made so life like in the latest version of 'Jungle book' makes it appear more like a episode of National geographic and Discovery channel.... The only difference from the TV channels is the presence of Mowgli , and he does make a lot of difference.... He is the kid whose father was killed by the tiger Sher Khan and was rescued by a black panther and raised by a group of wolves.... And Sher Khan wants him killed too.... At the pond where all animals gather to drink water he declares his intentions to kill.... But Mowgli has protectors too---a loving female wolf mother who looks tenderly at him with such expressions that only Disney can create on an animal's face ....and a stern but kind wolf father who takes charge of him with fatherly concern.... To save him from Sher Khan they decide to send Mowgli back to where he came from---the humans of course.... But the journey to that destination takes up Mowgli on many adventures....adventures that Rudyard Kipling cleverly imagined in his book....Of coming close to death in the knots of a giant python , of stealing honey from bees for his bear friend , of bowing before tusked elephants and saving their little one , of being kidnapped by monkeys and brought before a giant monkey , of swinging from tree to tree.... But instead of reaching his destination , Mowgli is called upon to complete a mission of revenge.... So what is that mission ?? And is he able to elude the mighty Sher khan ? Watch the movie for that.... The special effects are undoubtedly great---of rivers flowing with speed , of waterfalls gushing with ferocity , of fires raging to destroy the forest.... The animals seem human , with real feelings....almost . And Mowgli is all too comfortable with them . But the whole thing is for kids ; and indeed many children had flooded the cinema hall.... I for one , was out of place---for I am not a kid nor am I the father of one.... Mowgli is the only real actor in the film , and he is played by Neel Sethi . The rest are just voices behind special effects created characters of animals . But the voices have done their job with aplomb , and so has Neel . So if you have a kid , go take him or her to the nearest theatre to watch this movie...it will be a treat for the children... Verdict---Good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Pretty much all kids movies are for adults now. :(
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Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Pele , Birth Of A Legend
http://www.freepressjournal.in/wp-co...6/05/pele1.jpg Footballer 'Pele'---meaning 'black diamond' in portuguese , the national language of Brazil . The man justly declared to be the national treasure of that nation . But as the movie reveals , the name 'Pele' was actually a kind of racist slur on his black colour---a slur by his white master's son , for his mother worked as a servant in the house of a white man . That is how Pele grew up---facing challenges of poverty , racism and the high crime rate of Brazil . He and his friends ( most of them blacks ) grew up in slums and had to steal peanuts in order to get proper shoes for playing football on equal terms with the team of white boys including his white master's son---but the shoes didn't work and they decided to play shoeless anyway ; and 'shoeless ones' was their team's name . But he lost his best friend when the men whom they stole peanuts from chased them and his friend got buried in a swamp---so he was no stranger to tragedy.... But his father ( a former footballer who was deeply affected when Brazil lost the 1950 world cup match ) helped him hone his skills by patiently giving him tips on how to play ; and he wanted his son to escape the drudgery of the menial work of cleaning toilets that he himself did . The son's skills drew the attention of an important football selector , and he decided to send Dico ( Pele's real name ) to a proper football camp for real training . In the football camp Dico realised that his way of playing football was frowned upon by the higher authorities and the coach ( all whites ) as being primitive , and as the cause of Brazil's defeat in the 1950 world cup . And for a nation in which football is religion , the defeat stung like nothing else . So what was Pele's version of playing football ? It was known as 'ginga'---based on a martial art that had been developed by african slaves who had escaped into the jungles centuries ago . The whites in higher positions may frown upon it , but it is what is the unique quality of Brazil's game---the way which has made Brazil's football playing so different and flamboyant . So when will the higher authorities realize that 'ginga' is the Brazilian way of playing football , and playing it is the way Brazil is going to achieve success . But to realize that , the whites have to get it out of their heads that they are no longer europeans that they think themselves to be---that they are Brazilians and their destinies are tied with that land . And watching that happen is an emotional journey in itself , something that made the experience of seeing this movie so special . For the higher ups are made to realize the truth in a non confrontational manner---the Brazilian way ; Brazil is the country where racism has been tackled without major problems between the races , and the movie shows how the white members of the team finally integrate with the non whites without any major confrontation erupting out . And this integration results in a world cup winning performance , the star of which is the 'black diamond'---Pele . He is just sixteen when he is selected in the team , and does not even play the first few matches of the 1958 world cup as he is ruled out by injury . But when he does play , it's sheer magic---if football played poetry , then Pele would be the poet . And Brazil goes on to win the next world cup too in 1962 , and again in 1970 . The world celebrates the Brazilian way of playing football as the 'beautiful game' . I particularly liked the flow of the film , which showed Pele's story in an understated manner without any major drama erupting out . It only on the football field that Pele and his game creates drama--- drama that has the world enthralled . Acting by everyone is most satisfying , and music is appropriate for the situations . The film has some sentimental moments---of Pele's parents' joy when he is selected for the national team , and the joy that erupts in Brazil when it wins the world cup . The highbrow critics have not liked the movie , but who cares....the common people like us will like it . That's the way Pele , a common man who came from the underclass himself , would have preferred it to be.... Verdict---good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Money Monster
http://www.arabseed.com/images/produ...c9af343c36.jpg George Clooney plays a financial guru who gives advice to people about the stock exchange on his show 'Money monster' . Julia Roberts is the director of the show and George repeatedly asks her out for dinner only to be refused by her . George has advised people to invest in a company called IBIS global capital , but suddenly the company loses 800 million dollars due to what is claimed to be a glitch in a trading algorithm . Obviously that is a story not everybody is willing to buy....especially those who have lost money by investing their money on IBIS . One day as George is hosting the show , a man ( played by Jack O' Connell ) who has lost his entire life savings on IBIS because he took George's advice comes disguised as a deliveryman and gatecrashes the show with a gun aimed at George . He seems to be a looney who forces George to wear what he claims are explosives and holds the trigger in his hand . He holds George responsible for his misfortunes and threatens to blow him up . Julia takes charge of the situation and along with George tries to clam the man down . The man has forced the camera to telecast live proceedings of all this and soon the spectacle which is unfolding is being watched by millions . But the CEO of IBIS ( played by Dominic West ) is nowhere to be seen and he has left his communications officer ( played by the svelte Caitriona Balfe ) to answer everything . Caitriona is totally baffled for answers and begins to search for her own answers . All this while the matter has snowballed into a major crisis in the TV studio with the police coming in and planning to take a gunshot at the receiver of the bomb attached to George Clooney , thus potentially threatening his life . And they bring the looney's girlfriend to try to talk to him , but she verbally attacks him so spitefully that the looney is left teetering at the edge of hopelessness in which he could set off the bomb , thus killing everyone in the TV studio . So how will the crisis end ? Most importantly , where is the CEO of IBIS and what fraud has he done ? Watch the movie for the answers.... As the crisis snowballs into a bigger confrontation , the director ( Jodie Foster ) does take some cinematic liberty in showing the whole thing escalate from the studio to the streets . The movie is a thriller that does give you some on the spot entertainment as there is never a dull moment in the film . Acting by everyone is decent enough and the sense of crisis is kept looming on throughout the film . But in the end you come out of the theatre feeling that the whole thing was a bit frivolous . Not to a remembered as anything great... Verdict--decent . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Me Before You
http://images-cdn.moviepilot.com/ima...til-819188.jpg William is a wealthy young man who wants to live life to the full , indulging in adventure sports and hard work in equal measure . But his life is turned upside down in an accident that leaves him paralysed . He loses his girlfriend to another man , and also his will to live . Enter Louisa , a young woman who comes from a working class background and who takes up the job of William's caretaker because she needs the money . She has no training to take care of a paralysed person , but is confident that her cheerful bright personality will help her in her job . And this fact is proved true beyond her expectations . For using her charm she manages to strike a good relationship with William , who is ill tempered with her at first but soon warms up to Louisa . Louisa decides to bring the spark back into William's dark life , and takes him out to outings like music concerts , to vacations , to her birthday party , and to his own girlfriend's marriage with another man where she openly flirts with William . She begins to entice William by wearing enticing clothes exposing her body , and cheers him up by doing the things he loves like seeing non english movies with subtitles along with him , and giving him tub baths . And William again begins to laugh and feel better and begins to yearn for her company . And soon Louisa's relationship with her own boyfriend begins to feel the strain of her outings with William . Very soon Louisa is in love---with the paralysed William !! She begins to care for him deeply and wants to share her life with him and dreams of everlasting romance , and he too seemingly reciprocates her feelings . But William has actually come to a terrible decision , and unknowing to him Louisa has come to know of his decision !! She is hoping against hope that he will change his decision , and that her company will help in that . It is romance at it's very best , but with a heart rending twist.... So what is the terrible decision that William has taken ? And will Louisa be able to change it ? Watch the movie for the answers.... The movie rests on the good performances of the lead actors , and on their good looks . Sam Claflin who plays William looks too good as the tragic wheelchair ridden hero of the tale---just boyishly handsome , and Emilia Clarke looks and acts wonderfully as Louisa the small town girl with limited ambitions who finds her horizons widened by her association with William and hopes to genuinely bring light in his life . She has such a toothy smile and such infectious laughter , and you smile and laugh with her in the good times and there is a tear in your eye when she is having her bad times . Janet McTeer and Charles Dance act well as the hapless parents who have seen their young son become paralysed in his youth , fraying relations between even themselves as they struggle to help William . Music is nice too , and is more sentimental than romantic---appropriate for the situations . Photography is good too---of a lonely castle , and the sea and the rains . Women will especially appreciate the sentimental moments in the movie , but men won't be unaffected too---just like I was . Verdict---Good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Before the rains ( 2007 )
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/3olGIsAPXF8/hqdefault.jpg i bought this DVD because the movie is shot in some of india's most favoured tourist destinations in the south indian state of kerala---the hill station of munnar situated at the height of 5000 feet above sea level amidst magnificent coffee plantations , and athirapally waterfalls . and the photography and colours of the film are superb indeed , just as i expected . so what conflict could be emerging in this sylvan bounty of nature ? in fact , it is not conflict but appropriately in the lovely settings it is love....love between a british plantation owner ( linus roache ) and an indian woman ( nandita das ) , during colonial times when the british ruled india . but the love itself is of the kind that inspires conflict , because both are married people who have spouses . so an illicit affair is on between two lusty people , and it leads to some red hot kissing and love making scenes in the green settings of vegetation and waterfalls . but there is a difference between the positions of the two ; while linus is a scion of the master race the british , nandita is a servant belonging to a conquered race the indians . above all , linus is a man and can get away with anything but nandita is a woman and women are never forgiven for their perfidies !! so nandita's husband discovers that she is cheating on him , and beats her up . she runs for shelter to her lover , but he proves to be a man of straw . he asks his loyal indian friend ( rahul bose ) to send nandita off and rahul does so , but she returns back . linus refuses to take her , fearing the wrath of his wife ( jennifer ehle ) who loves him dearly and dotes on their son . out of sheer dispair , nandita shoots herself dead with a pistol that linus had given to rahul . linus and rahul dispose off her body in a rivulet despite rahul's misgivings that not giving her a proper hindu cremation will force her soul to remain unreleased from her body . linus and rahul return to their work of building a road that will help export their plantation's spices to the outside world , and they hope to earn enormous profits after that road is built . this even though whether the road will hold after the onset of the heavy rains that plague this part of india is open to question . however all is not placid in the world around them ; an independence movement is gathering storm to drive the british out of india , and rahul has to resist calls to join the movement . he is torn between his friendship with linus and the call to drive linus's people the british out of his motherland . rahul's father accuses him of forgetting the traditions of his motherland and becoming a slave of the british ways and customs . the situation comes to boil when nandita's brother asks his villagers to search for her , and her body is found with the bullet that matches the caliber of the gun that linus has given rahul . the villagers drag rahul in front of the elders because they suspect him of having killed nandita . and they ask him to undergo trial by fire to prove his innocence . so will rahul come out of the trial by fire unscathed ? will he blurt out the truth of the affair of linus and nandita which led to her suicide ? will the real culprit ( linus ) be brought to book ? as the whole drama is being played out just before the onset of the rainy season ( hence the name of the movie ) , will the coming rains destroy the road that is being built or will the road survive ? watch the movie for the answers.... the movie is brought to life by director santosh sivan's great cinematography of the lush greenery of kerala , and some stupendous acting by rahul bose and linus roache and nandita das and jennifer ehle . linus roache particularly has a difficult job to do---play a person committed to his wife but also unwilling to be able to let go of his sexual attraction for nandita for whom he has begun to care , and being forced to dump nandita because he does not have the guts to face the consequences of his actions . music is beautiful too , though there are no songs despite the film being set in india ; it is an english movie after all and not a bollywood film , though some dialogues are in malayalam which is the language of the state of kerala . the climax has some real meaning but will be disappointing for some viewers ; it will be liked only by those who like art films . the director has managed to create drama throughout the film and help maintain audience interest . but again the drama will be of interest only for the art film buffs . verdict---decent . three stars . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Lights Out
http://s3.india.com/wp-content/uploa...Created195.jpg This horror movie I saw today . Predictably , the ghost in this movie can attack only when the lights are out and it's powers wane when the lights are on . So the trick to keep the ghost away is to keep the lights in the haunted house on permanently . But the ghost ( it's a female spirit ) of course is all too desperate to resort to any measures to turn off the lights . So what do the persons / victims do ??---they keep all sorts of flashlights and torches with them in case the lights go out...and they do go out !! ( remember the name of the movie ) . But the beam of torches and flashlights can be directed only in one direction and in the other direction there is darkness...and in the other direction lies the ghost ( you guessed it :D ) which is waiting to attack...and attack it does , for it is quite a murderous spirit . There are scenes in which the evil spirit is seen in the darkness and disappears when the light is turned in that direction . But when the flashlight is turned off or in other direction the spirit is again seen... but this time it is closer !! terrifying....for it gets closer every time the torch is switched off.... So who is the spirit ? It's a lunatic woman's spirit ( she had a strange skin disorder too ) ---a woman who was killed in some experiment in the lunatic asylum , but her spirit managed to latch on to another female inmate of the asylum who was released later . And the evil spirit keeps the woman imprisoned , and sets it's evil eyes on destroying her family too....a family consisting of the woman's husband ( whom the spirit kills in the opening of the movie itself ) and her luscious blonde blue eyed daughter and her young cute son and the daughter's boyfriend . The police who come to investigate are not spared either . I got some jolts watching the movie , and did enjoy it . Will you get the same enjoyment ? Depends on how much you enjoy horror movies like I do---I am a fan of the genre . |
Originally Posted by ashdoc (Post 1556485)
Lights Out
This also reminds me a little of Entity, which I would recommend. |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Secret in their eyes
http://www.marilumeza.com/wp-content...7970737401.jpg Julia Roberts plays a CIA agent who along with her partners is investigating a mosque which may have islamic radicals . But one day her own daughter is found murdered near the mosque . Julia is totally shattered by this , and looks haggard throughout the film---of course , she will probably look haggard in all her films after this unless she does some surgery...she's become old . Nicole Kidman ( her CIA boss ) on the other hand still looks good even at this age---so good in fact that her black colleague hits on her . Julia's friend ( the black actor who played slave in '12 years a slave' ) decides to track down the killer , who is a psychopath who come from the mosque . He is a serial killer rather than an islamic radical . In fact , he is the contact who is going to give proof to the CIA about the islamic radicalism in the mosque . So the CIA decides not to arrest him , for tracking down islamic radicals ( whose information the man is giving ) is more important !! There are major showdowns over this in the CIA office . In the midst of this the man escapes to nowhere . Julia is distraught . Her black friend vows to track him down and for 12 years searches for him , finally thinking that he has zeroed down on him . But trying to get to the man costs the CIA some men . In the end the whereabouts of the man all these years are a major surprise to us all---the viewers . That is the major shock at the end . The movie is based on an argentinian movie , and the argentinian movie is supposed to be much better . This english copy has a 'tired' flavour to it---does not pick up pace . The premise is good , but the movie is slow paced and sloppy . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The gallows
http://www.geeklegacy.com/wp-content...ws_660x440.jpg The movie begins with a play gone horribly wrong in a school---the actor is to be shown to be hanged , but the base on which he is standing crumbles abruptly and he gets stuck in the gallows and gets really hanged to death . Decades later , the same play is to be enacted again in the same school . All the sets are placed in position , including the gallows of the hangman . But the night before the play , a group of disgruntled students decides to play havoc with the sets . The students have discovered that a door to the interior of the school has a broken latch and they can enter the school at will in the night . So they enter and find that some attractive female students also want to come in . Having created havoc with the sets , the students decide to get out---only to discover that the door through which they came in is now firmly closed and they can't get out . To be honest I was expecting this---what else could happen....? Once trapped inside , the students try to search ways of getting out---only to go deeper and deeper into the quagmire of evil...for predictably , an evil spirit is out to get them inside the school ; indeed , it has haunted the school for ages.... As the body count piles , you wonder if anyone will get out alive . The scares in the movie are pretty routine stuff , but you do get the jolts every now and then . But then , I am a aficionado of horror movies---primarily because I don't get scared much of them and can sleep well at night even after watching them ; yes , not being able to sleep well after watching a horror movie is a major reason for people not watching them . But for me it is not an impediment . In between the jolts old secrets tumble out and the doomed students realise why everything is happening ; nice to know the reason why you are going to die... The ending is bad and the director should have thought of some way better to end it . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The way we were ( 1973 )
http://static.rogerebert.com/uploads...aksZHFrg6G.jpg The common saying is that opposites are attracted to each other , but this love story will make you lose belief in that saying . The story begins in the 1930s and moves in the 1940s . Barbra Streisand is a committed communist , making fiery speeches in college espousing communist causes in various wars like the Spanish civil war inspite of fun being poked at her by her college mates . She is a jew . And with curled frizzly hair , she is no beauty . The one thing about her personality is that she is driven for her causes , and has a passion for them that others don't have . Robert Redford is the the opposite---a person with a laidback lifestyle and no strong views politically , but with a talent for writing . He is a protestant of English ancestry and comes from an affluent family . Above all , he is conventionally handsome with blond hair . Naturally it is Barbra who is attracted to Robert in college , as he can get any girl he wants . But she is not just attracted to his looks , but also to his writing skills . But they lose touch as the second world war interrupts . They meet again after the war , and Barbra makes the first move . Opposites attract , and they are soon in a relationship . Barbra irons her hair in order to look conventionally beautiful . But she begins to have strong arguments with his friends over what they feel are trivial issues for them---political issues , what else . Robert feels rightly that Barbra is does not have the temperament for becoming part of his circle , and tries to cut off . But Barbra is too deeply in love to let him go , and agrees to change herself in a desperate attempt to cling on . Robert begins to write for TV shows and gets some real money , which allows the two to live a lifestyle . But once again Barbra wants him to do serious writing , and her driven personality clashes with his laid back lifestyle . As suspicion grows in political circles that Hollywood has closet communists , Barbra finds that she cannot keep herself away from politics which is her first love . This bring Robert in trouble . Barbra is pregnant , but Robert has a one night stand with another girl . This pains Barbra greatly . Robert is however frustrated by her meddling with politics . Finally , they both realise that they are not made for each other . He is never going to realise the potential of the writer that he can become ( and that Barbra wants him to be ) and is satisfied with writing for TV . She is never going to quit politics . They agree to part ways after their daughter is born . When they meet again years later , they both remember the way they were....and they remember with nostalgia . She has her curled frizzly hair again , and is again fighting for communist causes . He is with a conventionally good looking girlfriend . And yet they both acknowledge that there was something special in the way they were....he was at his creative best , and that was due to her !! And remembering those times fills her with tears of nostalgia....'the way we were' will be forever in their memories.... Looking at Robert Redford's personality , I was reminded of myself---with some writing skills but not willing to go into serious writing ; instead writing frivolous movie reviews....When will I meet the Barbra Streisand in my life , who will egg me on for serious writing ?:D I liked the emotional tone of some scenes , and was impressed by the music . The song 'the way we were' ( presumably sung by Streisand ) is simply beautiful , and so is the background music . A fine romantic movie full of nostalgia for the bygone times . But don't see it if you are in the middle of a break up with your partner :nope: Verdict---good . Three and a half stars . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Obsessed ( 1992 )---
https://youtu.be/TiGmwVgQzys This movie I saw on youtube recently . It's about a young woman ( Shannen Doherty ) who falls in love with an older man . She goes crazy over this man , to the point of trying to sacrifice her own life over him---attempted suicide what else.... She is in her early twenties and he is in his mid fifties . He even has a daughter who is probably older than her !! But she quickly latches on to him , and they make love on satin sheets several times . But she cannot adjust in his older circle and he decides to end the relationship . On hearing this she is shattered and refuses to end it , forcing herself into his living quarters and his group of friends again and again in sexy clothes....and soon she resorts to increasing violence.... To me the whole idea of a sexy hot young woman falling so quickly in love with a man much older than her was corny to say the least . How many men in their mid fifties get to bed and have a full scale relationship with a much younger woman unless they have a fat account book---nobody I guess , and this guy is not that rich even though he is financially well settled . But the idea of him tiring of her was even cornier , and I wondered why he wouldn't give even his arm and leg to date a woman so young and hot and sexy . How come he wants to cut off from someone who gives us the hots....?? Who cares anyway---Shannen looks good enough to eat , and shows enough of her body to keep us interested . Her cleavage , her thighs , her legs , her face---all are good enough to not shut off the film . There are one or two love making scenes . In the end she goes totally bonkers over his rejection and blows off his luxury boat by gasoline . Tries to kill herself and when that fails , to kill his daughter . That fails too---the director was sensible enough not to convert this into a tragedy.... She is admitted to a mental institution by the authorities , and on being released ( how come a person who has committed crimes gets released so quickly ?? this the director only knows ) she latches on to another older man !!....does she not have interest in young men , who would presumably make a beeline for her if she gave them the chance....? Verdict---film with a stupid premise of a young woman going mad over an older man , but reasonably well executed . Maybe it is for letting old men indulge in their fantasies about bedding young women . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Unindian
https://scontent-sit4-1.xx.fbcdn.net...2d&oe=585DC083 This is an Australian film with a director of Indian origin---for even though the film is called 'Unindian' , it predictably has several Indian characters . But the star of the show is Australian , and he is none other than Australian sportsman Brett Lee . Brett , who was a fast bowler in the game of cricket was hugely popular in India due to his sporting feats---because India is mad about cricket , which is nothing less than religion for Indians . The film was released in Australia nearly a year ago , but obviously the big draw of the film will be in India even though the language of the film is mostly english . Thats because the number of Indians who understand english is more than the population of Australia . Brett is hoping to leverage the popularity he enjoys among Indians and Australians to become a film star in India and Australia both . So how is Brett Lee the actor ? Surprisingly , he has acting talent along with good looks . Women won't fail to be attracted to his natural charm and the way he makes acting look easy . But in the movie he is after one particular woman---dark and dusky Tannishtha Chatterjee , who is not so easy to get . That's because she has parents who frown on any partner for her who is not Indian , and Brett is as 'unindian' as it gets.... Brett's job is to teach how to speak the english language in the aussie way to migrants to Australia , and the setting is Australia's biggest city Sydney . He gets to meet Tannishtha at an Indian celebration of holi ( the festival of colours ) when she throws colours at him by mistake , but then proceeds to colour him up up because that is the way holi is played---you smear colour on each other's bodies . Brett is charmed , and he tries to woo Tannishtha the aussie way---without any hint of subtlety . Tannishtha is intrigued though hesitant , and it takes a little time for her to warm up to Brett . Meanwhile an Indian suitor selected by her parents for her crops up , and a rivalry begins between him and Brett for her affections . When a chance misunderstanding makes Brett give up , Tannishtha realises that she misses him . As she herself now tries to wean Brett back , it is only a matter of time before kisses ( and there are plenty of them in the movie ) lead to lovemaking in the bedroom.... But will her parents ( and parental opinion is very important among people of Indian origin ) accept Brett---a white man with blonde hair ? More importantly , will her daughter from her first marriage ( yeah , Tannishtha is a divorcee ) adjust to Tannishtha's relationship with another man ? And who is the person who follows the daughter wherever she goes ? Will Brett be able to even keep his job which is threatened by his superior's attitude of not accepting the aussie way of speaking english and concentrating only on Queen's english ? A crisis is building up.... The film has several light hearted and funny moments without making it a comedy ; it remains firmly a romantic film with a mildly emotional ending . The film belongs above all to Brett Lee , and his strength of character is tested as the crisis builds up . Her dusky looks make Tannishtha look sensuous , and she does act properly . Music and songs are more Indian in touch , and are decent to hear . Photography and colours are nice . Verdict---Nice . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
yeah honeykid , i should have written win instead of wean .
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Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Warrior ( 2011 )
http://synergytvnetwork.com/synergy2...or-movie-1.jpg Spoiler alert A lethal dose of action mixed with real emotion---that's what this movie is all about...about broken family ties and loss and pain and about recovering from it all---but a lot of sweat has to go , a little bit of blood spilled , and a lot of punches traded to make everything all right in the end.... Nick Nolte's family has splintered long ago , primarily because of his heavy drinking . His wife left him long ago , and her younger son ( Tom Hardy ) chose to go along with her . She was sick due to a fatal disease , and Tom had to take care of her alone---because his father and his older brother ( Joel Edgerton ) never knew about that . Joel too broke ties with his father , but chose to remain in town because he was in love with a local girl ( Jennifer Morrison ) and he married her . He became the more stable of the two brothers because his life was settled by domesticity . But misfortune struck as his daughter was having a heart condition and he had to mortgage his house for treating her . So he decided to earn money by taking part in professional fighting . However , the news reached his school where he has a job as a teacher and he was suspended . Younger brother Tom Hardy however has been emotionally shattered by his mother's death , which he had to face alone when he was young . He becomes an ace marine who is a real hero because he saves the lives of other soldiers , but is too emotionally distraught to try get a medal for his brave act . He is further emotionally wrecked when he and his comrade are attacked mistakenly by his own country's warplanes in Iraq and his comrade is killed . He deserts the marines and gets a new name because he feels forsaken even by his country . But he decides to help his comrade's wife , and decides to fight in a mixed martial arts tournament to win 5 million dollars and give the wife that money . And whom better to train him than his father Nick Nolte , who was an ace trainer....but as his father ( who has given up alcohol now ) tries to make a bond with him , Tom rejects any personal feelings and refuses to rebuild their relationship . Nick Nolte now tries to reach out to his older son Joel , and Joel is not ready at first and refuses to let him meet his daughter and wife . But being the more stable of the two brothers , he finally forgives his father . His more pressing concern however is to earn money by entering the mixed martial arts tournament himself . So both brothers are destined to meet in the ring . It is Tom who is the more powerful of the two , as his life's experiences have made him a meaning killing machine....without emotion , rentless . On the other hand Joel is more capable of taking a beating without backing down and then persisting and beating the opponent . And soon news spreads about Tom's heroism during his marine days and the marines turn up as spectators to cheer him . Joel's students ( whom he taught at school where he was a teacher ) too come to know of his new career and they turn up to watch the tournament to watch him . So both brothers have their own supporters . But whoever of them wins , it's all going to be in the family....or is it ? For there are other fighters in the tournament as well including the unbeatable Koba from Russia . As the movie gets more violent with what the punches being thrown and kicks landed and wounds inflicted , it also gets more emotional as the three ( father , brother and brother ) grapple with their feelings for one another . But out there in the fighting ring , it's a cruel world where the one who can take maximum punishment can survive . The climax is a gem where inspite of all the animosity that Tom has with Joel for not choosing his mother over his girlfriend , the two estranged brothers are able to make a connection in the ring---but not before we are treated to some real action of mean fighters having a real go at each other . The acting of all concerned makes the film worthwhile to watch , and so does the fighting in the ring....what is emotion if not mixed with sizzling action after all.... Verdict---Good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Kundun ( 1997 )
https://www.movieposter.com/posters/...n/71/MPW-35581 This film tells the story of his holiness the Dalai lama , the spiritual and the political leader of Tibet who is affectionately called 'Kundun' by his people . Regarded as the living manifestation of the Lord Buddha , the Dalai lama is regarded as God himself in Tibet . The film was made by Martin Scorsese with co operation of the Dalai lama and his family along with other Tibetans . It tells the story of the Dalai lama while he lived upto his youth in Tibet , but ends at his self imposed exile into India . It does not tell how the Dalai lama spent and continues to spend the rest of his life trying to work out some solution to the brutal Chinese occupation of Tibet . The film begins with monks coming to the Dalai lama's birth place , first in disguise and then openly to identify him in childhood . He is just a toddler when he is given things to pick , and when he picks out things which were property of the previous Dalai lama then he is identified as the next Dalai lama . He is taken to the Potala palace in Tibetan capital city Lhasa , where his education begins . Frankly , this first part of the movie was somewhat boring , for it showed us the wonder that the young child felt at the new things around him ; the story simply didn't seem to get a start . Of course , real care has been taken to show tibetan traditions and customs , but to westernized persons these must look like a morass of superstitions and otherworldly traditions . And who cares for the customs of some godforsaken place that is inaccessible across the mighty Himalayas.... What held me however was the enthralling music in true and rich Tibetan style , something that was present throughout the movie . The blow of the Tibetan horns somehow seemed to convey a sense of impending doom , and the doom arrived in due course in the form of the invading Chinese . This was the reason why I was watching the movie anyway , and the reason why it was made ; had Tibet remained an independent country , no one would have made or seen any movie on it---it was the Chinese invasion and rape of that land that made it such a cause celebre..... From being immersed in some ancient rituals and hanging out among animals like peacocks in his palace , the Dalai lama is rudely awakened to the fact that his country is under foreign occupation and that he can do nothing about it . At first the officers of the Chinese army are respectful to him but as the movie progresses they become more and more rude . Chairman Mao , whom the Dalai lama goes to visit in Peking / Beijing , is outwardly friendly but to him religion and any person practising it is poison . As his own people tell him of horror stories of Chinese persecution and he comes to know of them being killed by the Chinese , the Dalai lama feels himself in danger . One night he and his entourage flee across the mountains towards India . The last shot of the Dalai lama in Tibet is truly heartrending . He turns to say goodbye to the soldiers who escorted him to the Indian border and has a vision of them bloodspattered and shot dead by the Chinese , for that is exactly what is going to happen to them as also the the rest of the Tibetan people . There is little hope of him ever being able to return to his homeland again.... Of course , given the immense human tragedy of the destruction wrought by the Chinese in Tibet , the necessity of making such a movie is obvious . This is especially true because the Tibetans are a gentle people , wedded to the arts of peace rather than war---one of the few peoples on earth to be so . As an Indian whose country has given refuge to the Dalai lama and hundreds of thousands of Tibetan refugees , my sympathies invariably lay with the Tibetans....and as the movie progressed I could not help but be moved by what was unfolding on the screen . This despite the fact that I had waited shamelessly for the Chinese to emerge on screen to get the story really moving . Photography and picturization of Tibet is really perfect , and you get a authentic glimpse into Tibetan culture if you are interested in it---though actually I wasn't to be honest . Every cloth , every frame has been carefully constructed , and is rich with colour . But in the end all the colours are swept away by the hand of fate....for as predicted in the movie , he and his entourage are reduced from kings to wandering people who are saved only because the Indians agree to give refuge to them at terrible price to themselves ; the Indians have to incur the unending enemity of the Chinese for that act ( the last part of the sentence is not shown in the movie , but as an Indian I have to say it ) . The movie will be liked only by the art film lovers , and also by those interested in history---I am both . But those interested in commercial fare can go for 'Seven years in Tibet ' which tells the story of a German's quest for reaching Tibet and his friendship with the Dalai lama . But 'Kundun' is the more authentic movie , if you are really interested in authenticity . Verdict--decent . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Unfreedom ( 2015 )
http://static.rogerebert.com/uploads...9XpTABwxoS.jpg This review has spoilers This english film with characters who either live or originate in the Indian subcontinent has been banned in India due to scenes of brutal violence and graphic depiction of lesbian sex---and banning a film is like waving a red rag to a bull as far as I am concerned . The film is easily available on the internet , and I had already been enticed by a clip of the film showing explicit lesbian sex that was circulating on whatsapp . It deals with two parallel plots ( one originating in Pakistan and the other based in India ) that never intersect , but are interconnected anyway due to the fact that in both plots the victims have to face brutal violence for believing in their beliefs and living their way of life---and the director's message is that though technically India and Pakistan are both free countries , it is 'unfreedom' that prevails . In one plot a muslim leader ( played by Victor Banerjee ) living in New York is kidnapped by a fundamentalist muslim ( played by Bhanu Uday ) sent from Pakistan . He is kidnapped because he preaches tolerance and moderation and he refuses to recant his views in front of the camera placed by his kidnapper . So he is forced to undergo the most brutal torture by his kidnapper using the most sharp and vile instruments---the kind of savagery which will make you puke if it goes on any further on the screen in front of you . The kidnapper himself is mentally tortured by an incident in his past and this results in a bizarre ending to the torture fest . The other plot is more tantalising---at least at the start . It is based in Indian capital city Delhi , and here a girl ( Preeti Gupta ) is being forced to marry against her wishes by her policeman father . She cuts her long traditionally Indian hair to short tresses as an act of rebellion . But when her father admonishes her , she tries to kill herself with a pistol . Finally she plucks up enough courage to run away to the the person she romantically loves---another woman , played by Bhavani Lee . AAH Bhavani Lee....the start of the movie itself shows her strutting about completely naked painting nude paintings and giving fiery speeches espousing lesbian and transgender rights . Her butts and her boobs are just perfect---butts are shapely and boobs are taut and erect . She is bisexual and Preeti Gupta has to shoot Bhavani's male lover ( they are shown having sex in a parked vehicle when Preeti arrives waving gun ) to kidnap Bhavani . Having kidnapped Bhavani they escape across a river and then Preeti proposes marriage to Bhavani . They marry in front of the sacred fire , and then comes what I had been waiting for---their lovemaking scene . The sight of two beautiful naked bodies entwined and gyrating in pleasure and rubbing each others privates is one of the most hot and sexy scenes I have seen in mainstream cinema---and I have seen a lot of mainstream cinema . Bhavani is more fair skinned , while Preeti is dusky in complexion with heavier breasts . But Preeti's father has policemen after her and two lesbian lovers are caught . In the police station he asks Preeti to leave Bhavani and when she refuses , he does what is the most gruesome act I have seen in a film ever---he makes his fellow policemen rape his own daughter in front of his own eyes as punishment for her lesbianism ( which he feels is against Indian culture ) !! The director has truly crossed all limits as far as taking cinematic liberty is concerned , and his method of showing the 'unfreedom' in the Indian subcontinent is really too way off.... Of course , the movie does leave a lasting impact and the director has made it with extraordinary zeal . Inspite of the brutal scenes , you have to credit him with that . The film is obviously not a good advertisement of the subcontinent and will make a westerner have the most horrifying image of south asia and it's people . 'Unfreedom' does exist in both India and Pakistan , but to this degree of violence ? Not surprisingly , it is banned in India . Acting is good by everyone and the two girls have put real zest in their lovemaking . Photography and music is decent and appropriate for the situations . Verdict---No holds barred stuff . I would give it three stars out of five . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Don't Breathe
http://cdn2-www.comingsoon.net/asset...eathelarge.jpg Three burglars decide to rob a blind man who has a large sum of money stacked in the safe in his house---money he got as settlement when his daughter got killed in an accident . The blind man lives in an isolated neighbourhood and lives alone---so the task of robbing him seems to be easy . But the blind man is an army veteran and he has a ferocious dog , so for the first time one of the burglars carries a gun with him , even though they have no experience or intentions to use it . The other two burglars do not know of the gun at all , and are shocked by seeing it later . One of the burglars is a girl ( played by Jane Levy ) and she is pretty with blond hair . One wonders why such a pretty girl would get mixed up with this kind of crime , but as she explains she has had a tough childhood in which her mother used to keep her locked up in the trunk of a car and even now practically neglects her . The burglar girl dreams of moving to California with her cute little sister , and her motive for the burglary is that the money would help her achieve her dreams . One of the two male burglars is also a cute kid who is initially reluctant to join and scrams off for a while on seeing the gun , before deciding to come back . As the three give the dog some spiked food to eat which puts it to sleep for a while , they enter the house . But the blind man does not turn unconscious by the gas they propel into his room , and that is where things turn wrong . The blind man has a gun too , and being an army veteran he is more prepared to use it . On the other hand the burglars do not have to guts to use their gun , and this turns things really awry for them . The blind man has far more physical strength than the three , and he is far more vicious than they think . He is able to fire his gun accurately in the direction of sound , and the sound of heavy breathing ( which the terrified burglars are likely to make in their fright ) is where he will fire . So the key word for the burglars is 'don't breathe' while being confronted by the blind man , which fully justifies the title of the movie . As the burglars cannot escape from the house , they go deep inside it and that is their mistake---for they stumble upon the blind man's dark secret , and that really sets him on finishing them off . So what is the secret that the man is hiding ? Will any of them escape from the situation alive ? As the man switches off the lights of the house , the movie is in darkness ; another element is the dog who is ferocious when he finally wakes up and has a serious impact on the proceedings . The movie moves forward in the dark rooms and underground corridors of the house and later outside in the surrounding streets , and keeps you tensed all along . The movie is more thriller than horror , though some jolts in the movie remind you of horror movies especially because they are in the typical setting of horror movies---in a darkened house . Photography and sound effects are appropriate for the situations and the acting is in capable hands . The triumph of the director is in making the criminals look like victims once inside the house and making you sympathise with them ; I was really hoping that the three would escape from the house and escape with the money they came to loot !! So do they ? Watch the movie for that... Verdict---Good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Sully
http://cdn3-www.comingsoon.net/asset...mkukaas8-9.jpg This movie is based on a real life incident where an aircraft carrying 155 passengers had to be downed in the Hudson river at New York because both engines had failed due to colliding with birds ( Canadian geese ) . As all passengers were evacuated safely , the pilot Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger became a hero---albeit a momentary one . He was feted wherever he went . But the movie says that personally the immediate aftermath of the incident was not great for him . According to the movie there was an investigation into the whole episode instigated by insurance companies who frankly did not want to pay the huge amount of money that the plane had been insured for . They tried to prove ( or so says the movie ) that the forced landing into the Hudson river was due to 'human error'---that is , the pilots were the ones who made the mistake . That they could have landed at nearby airports but it was their 'human error' to have not done so . The movie however shows another immediate aftermath of the episode on Captain Sully ( played by Tom Hanks ) ---he suffers post traumatic stress disorder , whereby he has dreams of him not being able to dive safely towards the river but crashing into nearby buildings . This would have been a repeat of 9/11 if this happened , and indeed was a very real possibility in actuality . The highlight of the movie is the landing in the Hudson river by the aircraft , which has been filmed well by the moviemakers . It is shown repeatedly in the movie as it is the central event of the film . Also the movie shows the passengers and crew being evacuated by craft moving on the river , but not before some of them are forced to land in the freezing cold water and have to undergo a distressful time . Captain Sully asks for pilots to simulate the incident in real time on simulators and shown to the public investigating committee on screen by data link . This is because if he is shown to be guilty of human error , then he will be forced to give up flying . So what happens in the public investigation ? Is it Sully and his co pilot's mistake or was the incident unavoidable ? Watch the movie for the answers . The main problem before the movie makers must have been the fact that they were basing the film on a real life incident and could not bring other dramatic twists to it as it would have compromised the truthfulness of the film . Is that why the landing on the Hudson is shown again---because there is no other drama really to be shown ? Possibly . Is the investigation into the crash perhaps over dramatised to add drama to the movie ? Can't say , but that is possible too . It is a movie after all... Acting wise , everyone is perfect . Tom Hanks is shown with his hair completely white , just like that of the actual pilot . Photography is good , especially of the landing---another reason to show the landing again ? But the lack of other drama does hamper the pace of the film , and I was not impressed by the first half of the film . Only in the second half does the film pick up pace , and in the end you come out with the impression of a very decent effort . Verdict---Very decent . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The Magnificent Seven
https://geekdad.com/wp-content/uploa...gnificent7.jpg I must confess that it was the first time I saw any version of 'The magnificent seven' . I haven't seen the original , and the fact that I haven't seen it aided greatly in my cinematic entertainment as I could not compare with the original and did not have the feeling of seeing the same thing again ; the whole movie was brand new for me . So the setting is in the 1870s somewhere in the north part of the United States , judging from the snow I could see in distant horizons . It is the wild west , and it is as wild as it gets . If the movie is to be believed , in these distant parts there is no such thing as law and order ; might is right . And in this village called snow creek , the might belongs to Bartholomew Bogue ( Peter Sarsgaard ) and his men . He is pitiless ; just slaughters anyone who dares stand up to him , and even many who don't . Of course , he is no rag tag bandit and looks as dapper as anyone can because he is well dressed . In this situation , a lovely young woman ( Haley Bennett as Emma Cullen ) who Bogue has just made a widow decides to avenge her husband's murder by his men . She is in search of a man who could organise some men who could bring Bogue and his tyranny to heel by coming to snow creek , and chances upon Denzel Washington playing Sam Chisolm, a bounty hunter . Emma asks him to do her bidding for a sum of money , and he agrees . They go about searching for other like minded men who could join , and get Josh Faraday ( Chris Pratt ) , a gambler ; Goodnight Robicheaux ( Ethan Hawke ) , a sharpshooter ; Jack Horne ( Vincent D'Onofrio ) , a tracker ; Billy Rocks ( Byung-hun Lee ) , an assassin ; Vasquez ( Manuel Garcia-Rulfo ) , a Mexican outlaw ; Red Harvest ( Martin Sensmeier ), a Comanche warrior . The assembled men look like an odd bunch , with Chris Pratt looking the most dashingly handsome without question . All are rough men whose business is firing bullets into live men , or at least firing arrows or knives . But can they inspire the people of snow creek to fight Bogue and his men ? Yes , they can . The movie does not move an inch without bullets being fired and the boom of guns firing is a constant in the film . There are loads of untrustworthy characters and the answer to their untrustworthiness is a bullet to the head . The body count just piles up like anything and so does the entertainment get jacked up . It seems everyone has a gun and a plentiful supply of ammunition . Bodies slide away to dusty death as if human life is of no count . But the grand finale outclasses even this . You can feel the fear when news comes that Bogue and his men are coming to deal with the seven men and the village folk they have organised against him . You realise how ancient towns must have felt when they knew that a barbarian army is heading to sack them ; the swiftly descending terror was palpable in the theatre . One last prayer is said and candles are lit by the villagers ; no one knows who is going to survive the coming dawn . And dawn brings the advance of the terrible army of death . It looks like a dramatic cavalry charge straight from the medieval times and the village looks like a warzone under seige . The coming fight is not just a fight but a battle and the coming morning the village will be converted into a battlefield ; almost like full scale war.... I had seen a Bollywood film called 'Sholay' ( the splinters ) loosely based on this film , but the scale of the fighting in this film totally eclipsed that film . Dynamite and explosives , Gatling guns---all add drama to the proceedings . Many are going to die defending the village , but the surviving ones are going to live with that precious thing called honour...and the seven who help them are going to be honoured with the title 'The magnificent seven' . So who is going to live and who is going to die ? Watch the film for that . Watch the high action of dynamite exploding and firearms booming and flames and dust erupting and bodies flying . Hear the enthralling music that fills your heart with emotion at the end . Watch a black man save white folk from destruction even as he seeks revenge for atrocities committed on his family in bygone days . Watch an unlikely band of warriors turn heroes.... Acting by anyone is not too spectacular . Denzel Washington is not impressive . But cinematography is better and direction is good enough . A black man leading 'The magnificent seven' soon after a black man played Django is the face of the new politically correct America . Verdict---Good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Queen Of Katwe
https://www.ms2sm.com/customimages/M...enofkatwe1.jpg In the slums of Katwe in Uganda lives a rather uncommon person who is in contrast to the settings---Phiona Mutesi , a young girl who plays the cerebral game of chess ; and she has been recognised as a master of that sport . But it is the struggle that she has to put up in her personal life while she continues her passion for the game that is more inspiring than just her excellence in the sport . For she has to face innumerable obstacles due to the poverty of her slum , and her struggle to rise above all that to excel in such a cerebral game is nearly astonishing . Remember that this is the dark continent of Africa that we are talking about , and Uganda is more famous for producing a cannibal dictator like Idi Amin . For that nation to produce a chess prodigy is something to cheer about , and the horrid conditions in which that prodigy rose up to create a name for herself is worthy of making a film on . Phiona's life takes a turn when she is taken under his wing by Robert Katende , who runs a chess class in a ramshackle structure . Other children scoff at the smell that comes from her body because she has not taken a bath , but Katende urges her on and she comes back after bathing for the first time in days . Her talent soon presents itself , and Katende vows to take her with other children to a competition in King's school . He has to raise money to get the children in , for they are slum children coming to a clean place where they are frankly unwelcome . But Katende's efforts pay off and they win the competition . The rest of the film shows the teacher and the student struggle to make her success even bigger , and the conditions that they have to put up a fight against are truly heart rending . Phiona and her family are evicted by the owner of their rented house , they have no money to pay hospital bills when Phiona's brother is hurt in an accident , their new home is flooded by water when the rains come , her sister is forced to sell herself to earn money , men are lusting after her mother because their father is dead , and soon men will come after Phiona herself.... In all this Katende is Phiona's pillar of strength because he has faith in her talent , and she proves him right by outclassing him in the game . He takes her to an international competition in Sudan and she wins it too . Katende asks his teacher wife to help Phiona read and write , and he even gives up on a better job offer to help Phiona . But Phiona grows too confident of herself and does not win at the bigger chess competition in Russia , which is disappointing . But remember that this is true story and not some film fiction . In the end Phiona is recognised as master in chess , which is stepping stone to the title of grandmaster . And being so young , one day she might get there too . For her efforts she got a house for herself given by the Ugandan government , and she became a famous figure coming out of that nation . Some of the people I know frankly refused to see the film because they ''didn't want to see a film about black people from some godforsaken part of Africa with only black faces to see'' , which is an indicator of the odds of racism that Phiona must have had to put up to become master of chess . Acting is good by all actors , and music and photography is good too . Because the story is real , the drama is less flamboyant than fictional movies . But reality is more inspirational than fiction... Verdict---Decent . |
Originally Posted by ashdoc (Post 1577136)
Unfreedom sounds like an interesting film and as usual it's good to get a sample of the reaction within the country in which it's set – for instance what you mention about the level of violence relating to "unfreedom" and its veracity. I started by admiring the typography on the film poster :) – the kerning on the title itself is really excellent; just enough, with the font allowing it to be very readable, and also puts over the idea of claustrophobia and restriction. |
Originally Posted by SeeingisBelieving (Post 1591643)
for instance what you mention about the level of violence relating to "unfreedom" and its veracity.
|
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Ashdoc - if you haven't seen ANY version of the Magnificent Seven, then you need to see Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954) - the original original!
It's very long, but a cinematic masterpiece and work of art compared to its many copy cats. |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The Girl On The train
http://static.srcdn.com/slir/w1000-h...mily-blunt.jpg Review has spoilers For starters---the movie should have been named 'The woman on the train' instead of 'girl' , for Emily Blunt is obviously not shown young enough to be called a 'girl' . But the moviemakers probably wanted the movie to appeal to a younger audience . Emily plays a woman who thinks that her marriage has collapsed because of her drunkenness and the blackouts that occur because of it , and also because she can't conceive a child . She sometimes stalks her ex husband and his new wife and child , taking the baby in her arms one day until his wife forces her to lay it down . Emily no longer goes to her job and her obsession is to travel to and fro by the same train everyday . The train passes by her ex husband's neighbourhood and she can see his family . Also she develops an addiction to watch a beautiful blonde girl and her husband romancing on their house's balcony many times while watching through the train . But one day Emily sees the girl kissing another man on the same balcony and she is deeply disturbed by the sight of the perfect romantic marriage breaking down . After a drinking binge , she decides to go and confront the girl and call her a whore , but has a blackout as she goes to confront and does not remember what she saw . Later she comes to know that the girl has disappeared.... So what could have happened ? Did the girl just run off with her new lover ? Or was she murdered---but by whom ? The psychiatrist when she was regularly visiting and on whom she was trying to hit on ? Her husband in a fit of jealousy ? Or did Emily herself murder her her but did not remember later due to her blackout ? Watch the movie for the answers . The movie rests on the acting capabilities of Emily Blunt , and she carries it off with aplomb . Her acting of a person who is unstable due to heavy drinking is perfect ; the voice and expressions and her own anguish at her condition has been thoroughly well acted out . Other actors act well too . Photography is okay and background music is appropriate for the situations . But even though I have not read the novel on which the movie is based , I could sense that it is not as great as the novel . Of course , except on one point the novel is copied faithfully in the movie according to what I heard . But I was not fully convinced when the mystery was solved . The person who did what he/she did on a reason that does not fully qualify as a valid reason for doing that ; many people would let things solve themselves out if confronted with the same situation . The situation was not extreme enough to warrant taking the step that person did . Or so I thought , for others who see the movie might disagree.... |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The Accountant
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....0,1200_AL_.jpg Ben Affleck plays an accountant who was diagnosed as autistic since childhood , but possesses extremely high intelligence . So high that he can account in a short time for internal embezzlement of money from enterprises that others would take a long time to unravel . He now works to do this job for criminals who need to keep tabs on their money and see if any from their organisations have embezzled money . But he donates his money for a neuroscience institute which handles autistic children like him---which means that he is a good man inspite of his criminal connections , establishing him as the hero of the film . His father was a military officer who was offered the chance to enrol his son to the same neuroscience centre he now donates to , but the father refused as he wanted his son to grow up facing the world rather than remaining sheltered from it . This led to Ben's mother being driven to abandon her family , and the only emotional attachment he had was to his brother . His father toughened him for physical combat since childhood , teaching him to fight bullies who picked on him . Cut to the present---J K Simmons plays director of financial crimes for treasury department , who forces Cynthia Addai-Robinson ( on pain of her criminal past being exposed ) to try to find out the identity of the accountant . But Ben has his own protector---an unknown 'voice' on phone that normally brokers the tasks given to him to track the embezzlement from criminal enterprises . This time the voice sends him to do the same task for a legitimate company , in order to keep Simmons and Cynthia off track in their pursuit of Ben . But Ben and that company's associate ( played by Anna Kendrick ) uncover a huge scam there too---which leads to a bloodbath.... If you think that the story is getting complicated , then it turns more complicated from here . Lots of twists and turns occur even as the action does hot up . Some of the twists and turns and coincidences are frankly unbelievable , and in the end the story does seem to be dragged too long . Towards the climax there is a lot of needless melodrama , like Ben's long lost brother suddenly being revealed as the long lost sibling . And the revelation of the identity of the 'voice' is too much to believe ; suffice to say that such things happen only in films . Ben acts in his usual way---with a deadpan expression on his face and with no emotion , which is what is expected from a person with autism . Rest are all okay with their acting . Photography is decent , and so is background music . Colourwise the film is not that impressive . Action is what holds sway in the second half , and it is well pictured . Ben acts as an autistic action hero who is unbeatable in combat and may work for you if you like emotionless deadpan fighting machines without hypermuscled bodies of Stallones and Schwarzeneggers as actors . Verdict--decent . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Inferno
http://img.goldposter.com/2016/09/in...l_800w_80q.jpg One of the reasons for me watching this film was the inclusion of Irfan Khan , an Indian Bollywood actor in the cast . And I belong to the same country . When I watched it I found one more 'Indian' thing about the movie . The movie gives us a tour of Florence and it's tourist attractions and in the end adds the Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul to be watched in the climax . This is similar to Indian movies like 'Love in Tokyo' and 'An evening in Paris' that were made in the sixties to show Indian audiences the wonders of those cities . Tom Hanks plays a professor who wakes up in Florence to not remember what he went through in the last few days , but having visions of earth being converted into hell . He has by his bedside Felicity Jones , who says she is a doctor and helps him by tagging along with him for the next few days . And help is needed , as he is promptly attacked by a female assassin and he has to escape . Among his belongings Tom finds an image projector which projects a modified version of Sandro Botticelli's Map of Hell, which itself is based on Dante's Inferno . This is a clue among a series of clues that were left by a brilliant but deranged geneticist to the location of a virus he had created to decimate much of the world's population as he believed it was growing far too much , but had to commit suicide because armed agents were hounding him . The virus is named inferno . Obviously other people are after the virus too , some to release it and some to not let that happen . This leads to a chase up and down Florence and some real action . Tom is repeatedly targeted and is repeatedly helped by Felicity . Except for problem of the age difference between the two , it would have been a fine chance to fall in love along the way.... It becomes difficult for Tom to distinguish between the good people ( those who want to stop the virus from being released ) and the bad people ( those who want to release it ) . Who is who ? And why has Tom been chosen to be presented with clues ? Tom has to find out the answers before catastrophe beckons . The movie is fast paced enough , but I found the action to be disjointed . Surprises do strike in between the movie keeping you in suspense throughout , but I wondered if there were too many of them . Acting by everyone is decent enough . Colours are decent , and photography is touristy and spectacular it you like to see the wonders of famous architectural and artistic marvels from both inside those marvels and also from vantage points . How is Irfan Khan ? He does have a role of substance in the movie . But his Indian accent stands out like a sore thumb while speaking english . I was not too impressed by his acting . He does look suave though . On the other hand Tom looked harassed throughout the movie while Felicity looked more confident essaying her role . Verdict---average movie . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
I read the book Inferno. but haven't yet seen the movie.
Don't know if the movie ends the same way (and I won't get into spoilers) but I liked the book's ending. It was the first time I was rooting for the bad guy's doomsday plan to work (as I'm something of an over-popu-phobe)! |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Mr Church
https://i2.wp.com/teaser-trailer.com...04%2C600&ssl=1 Review has spoilers Young Charlotte and her mother ( who is dying of breast cancer ) get a new person in their house all of a sudden---a person ( Eddie Murphy ) who comes as a cook , but soon turns into the caretaker of their life . He has been hired by the mother's ex lover for cooking as long as she lives , and that means an expected six months . After that Henry Church ( Eddie ) will get financially free due to a large monetary settlement he will get for working those six months . But six months turn into six years , and the mom is still holding on---though she has weakened down . And the amazing thing is---Henry does not show an ounce of desperation for being free from his commitment and being able to go his way . Instead , he relishes coming and helping these people as also he likes making delicious dishes for them to savour . It is obvious that he is doing so and feeling so because he has no family to call his own . Charlotte has already gone from resenting this black man's presence in her life to depending on him for everything . And she wants to know more about him---where he goes after he completes his job in their house , and where he lives . But that is one topic which rouses the wrath of Mr Church like nothing else . He is not ready to discuss that . Years pass by , and the mom dies ; but not before she has had the joy of seeing her daughter go to dance with the best looking guy in school at prom . The scenes of caring for her as she nears death were agonising for me to watch---brings the spectre of similar scenes witnessed in personal life . I was shamelessly waiting for the mom to die so that my agony could end.... Charlotte ( played by Britt Robertson ) who has grown up has no money to continue her education , but Mr Church is again the angel of her life---he has saved money from coupons which her mother gave him and thus the education is funded . But she wastes her college opportunity . For she is the daughter of a mother who was free enough to give birth to her outside wedlock . And , like mother like daughter....one day Charlotte arrives at Mr church's door pregnant . As he opens his heart wide enough to take care of her , her curiosity in his life increases . Why does he go at night to some nightclub ? Why does he come home drunk blabbering to himself ? What is his past and has something dark happened to him in bygone years that he lives all by himself without woman or family just taking care of her ? And this leads to confrontation that nearly costs Charlotte her baby's life.... But as the years roll by , she has to come to terms with the fact that the answers to the questions in her mind are not important and they may never be answered ; that she should be thankful for having such a father figure in her life . And like a daughter takes care of her father , she will be called upon to take care of him in old age . As Mr Church slid towards a dignified journey towards mortality , this time death was not agonising for me to watch....I was just wrapped in the sentimentality of the scenes and just was not able to stop a tear from coming my eye.... Both Eddie Murphy and Britt Robertson do justice to their roles , and music and photography and colours are appropriate for the situations . There is case for saying that the character played by Eddie Murphy is shown only through Charlotte's eyes and his feelings and his life ( which doubtlessly had an unhappy past ) are not shown . But isn't it better to remember that he redeemed it all by helping another family survive ? Verdict---good . |
Originally Posted by ashdoc (Post 1602497)
Mr Church
https://i2.wp.com/teaser-trailer.com...04%2C600&ssl=1 Review has spoilers Young Charlotte and her mother ( who is dying of breast cancer ) get a new person in their house all of a sudden---a person ( Eddie Murphy ) who comes as a cook , but soon turns into the caretaker of their life . He has been hired by the mother's ex lover for cooking as long as she lives , and that means an expected six months . After that Henry Church ( Eddie ) will get financially free due to a large monetary settlement he will get for working those six months . But six months turn into six years , and the mom is still holding on---though she has weakened down . And the amazing thing is---Henry does not show an ounce of desperation for being free from his commitment and being able to go his way . Instead , he relishes coming and helping these people as also he likes making delicious dishes for them to savour . It is obvious that he is doing so and feeling so because he has no family to call his own . Charlotte has already gone from resenting this black man's presence in her life to depending on him for everything . And she wants to know more about him---where he goes after he completes his job in their house , and where he lives . But that is one topic which rouses the wrath of Mr Church like nothing else . He is not ready to discuss that . Years pass by , and the mom dies ; but not before she has had the joy of seeing her daughter go to dance with the best looking guy in school at prom . The scenes of caring for her as she nears death were agonising for me to watch---brings the spectre of similar scenes witnessed in personal life . I was shamelessly waiting for the mom to die so that my agony could end.... Charlotte ( played by Britt Robertson ) who has grown up has no money to continue her education , but Mr Church is again the angel of her life---he has saved money from coupons which her mother gave him and thus the education is funded . But she wastes her college opportunity . For she is the daughter of a mother who was free enough to give birth to her outside wedlock . And , like mother like daughter....one day Charlotte arrives at Mr church's door pregnant . As he opens his heart wide enough to take care of her , her curiosity in his life increases . Why does he go at night to some nightclub ? Why does he come home drunk blabbering to himself ? What is his past and has something dark happened to him in bygone years that he lives all by himself without woman or family just taking care of her ? And this leads to confrontation that nearly costs Charlotte her baby's life.... But as the years roll by , she has to come to terms with the fact that the answers to the questions in her mind are not important and they may never be answered ; that she should be thankful for having such a father figure in her life . And like a daughter takes care of her father , she will be called upon to take care of him in old age . As Mr Church slid towards a dignified journey towards mortality , this time death was not agonising for me to watch....I was just wrapped in the sentimentality of the scenes and just was not able to stop a tear from coming my eye.... Both Eddie Murphy and Britt Robertson do justice to their roles , and music and photography and colours are appropriate for the situations . There is case for saying that the character played by Eddie Murphy is shown only through Charlotte's eyes and his feelings and his life ( which doubtlessly had an unhappy past ) are not shown . But isn't it better to remember that he redeemed it all by helping another family survive ? Verdict---good . one i largely missed . mr church is probably gay . but i missed out on that one because he is not shown to be openly gay at all . i did get a faint suspicion because he is without a woman . but to an ordinary viewer like me it is not clear at all . what the highbrow critics are saying is that charlotte is shown saying that she has heard rumours about the nightclub he goes to . and the critics are saying that mention of the rumours could mean only one thing---the nightclub is a gay nightclub . the other point is that the movie shows a black man serving a white family as if all black men are born to do that . his life and it's struggles are not shown at all ; probably he has gone through worse than charlotte because he is black , but no importance is given to that because he is black . however i dont live in the united states and do not fully understand this living in india . as an ordinary viewer the film is likeable for me . i am not a highbrow critic to fully understand the finer nuances of the film . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Battle of Kosovo ( Yugoslav movie---having english subtitles on youtube )
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....0,1200_AL_.jpg This is a film made in 1989 when the state of Yugoslavia was still in existence , and it was made on the 600th anniversary of the battle of Kosovo . To those who know what happened later in Kosovo , the movie can give some insight into why Serbians hold the ground of that region so sacred---for it was literally strewn with the bodies of martyrs who laid down their lives for protecting Serbia . 1389---The high noon of Turkish expansion in Europe is yet to come , but already the tremors of their armies are being felt all over the western world . One block to their expansion is the medieval state of Serbia , and sultan Murad sets out to destroy the state with all the power of his terrible armies on the battlefield of Kosovo . The movie begins with a lost man asking an old man as to where do two particular roads lead to--and the old man answers that today all roads lead to Kosovo , for that is where the fate of Serbia is going to be decided . And some people within Serbia itself have already decided that fate , for defeatism has crept in Serbian ranks and crooked people are even minting dinars ( Turkish currency ) anticipating the impending Turkish rule over Serbia . Earlier under emperor Dusan Serbia was a great power , but now it has been divided into fiefdoms where magnates rival each other for power . And these magnates are divided and cannot present a united front for defending it against the Turkish hordes . One man however decides to fight out with whatever forces are available with him , and that man is prince Lazar---the chief magnate among all the magnates of Serbia . Some other magnates disagree with him and ask him to accept the suzerainty of the Turks , but his wife supports him in his resistance . For as some common people say , even if their suzerainty is accepted the Turks will force their Islamic religion on the Serbs and their forces will trample the land and they will kidnap young girls and even boys to fulfil their sexual lust . Serbs will have to kiss the boots of the Turkish conquerors and Serbs will have to become the slaves of the Turkish overlords . Prince Lazar wants to fight for Serbian honour even though he may lose his life in the coming battle , for only those who fight will be remembered by the common people for centuries as martyrs . And the common people heed his call , for an army of more than 70,000 men collects to fight for their nation . But they are divided , for the leaders of various contingents that compose the army are divided . And anyway their army is outnumbered by the Turks , who have an endless horde of more than 160,000 men---all waiting like predators to pounce upon their prey ; there will be no mercy for the Christians as Serbia will be looted devastated and it's people massacred after the battle . As a girl lamenting for her fiance even before the battle begins says after the battle , there wont be any men left to marry and to father children after the battle . Catastrophe is beckoning.... At the last dinner before the battle begins next morning , one of the nobles ( Luc Brancovic ) who himself is going to abandon the army to it's fate and turn traitor accuses Serbia's finest warrior ( Obilic ) of having colluded with the enemy because Obilic has protected a turkish spy whose intentions he failed to recognise . Obilic is so incensed by the accusation that he vows to kill the sultan Murad himself on the field of battle . As the battle begins next morning Obilic surrenders to the Turks by throwing away his weapon . As he is recognised for being Serbia's best warrior , the sultan asks him to come near to pay obeisance to him and the Turkish nobles ask him to kiss the sultan's feet . What they don't know is that Obilic has hidden a dagger within his clothing . As he comes close to the sultan , Obilic murders Murad by plunging his dagger into his abdomen . He is put to death by the sultan's angry soldiers . But Obilic has proven his loyalty to Serbia.... Immediately a rivalry opens between the sultan's two sons , and the elder son Bayazid has his younger brother treacherously strangled by a cord of silk . Bayazid is then proclaimed sultan and he takes command of the Turkish armies . The battle continues . At first the Serbs who fight bravely have made headway into the Turkish flank , but the treachery of Luc Brancovic seals the fate of the Serbian army as Luc flees the battlefield . Prince Lazar is made prisoner and too late he realises the loyalty of Obilic as he sees his head impaled on a pike . His own fate is the same , and a Serbian man volunteers to let one of his hands be cut by the Turks as price for taking Lazar's and Obilic's heads back to their people for a decent Christian burial . Today it is Prince Lazar and warrior Obilic who are remembered centuries later by the Serbian people , for they were men of honour ; and while power on the earth is fleeting , the glory of having fought with honour is immortal !! The movie is hampered by it's low budget , for it was produced by a medium sized European country and not by Hollywood with it's big bucks . So the battle could not be reproduced on a vast scale . Instead it is shown as a series of local actions . But acting by everyone is good and background music is decent . The emotions on every Serb's face as they face the impending catastrophe are authentic . The old sultan Murad is a picture of calm as he rentlessly carries out his sinister intentions , and he faces his own assassination by Obilic calmly too . In contrast , his son sultan Bayazid is haughty and arrogant as he carries out his task cruelly . Those who like history ( like I do ) will be interested in this movie . I would rate it as okay . Two and a half stars . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
La La Land
http://contrapunto.com/uploads/2016/9/20/LLL2.jpg This is the first time I watched a Hollywood musical , and I must confess that I dont know how to review a Hollywood musical . Though I review Bollywood musicals all the time ( for almost all Bollywood movies are musicals ) , I am finding out that trying to review a Hollywood musical is difficult . Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are strugglers trying to make ends meet in Los Angeles . They bump by chance into each other again and again---on a crowded flyover as Emma's car blocks Ryan's car , in a restaurant where Ryan plays piano , in a poolside party where Ryan is playing music....and they begin to go out together , trying to help each other in their respective careers . Emma is a wannabe actress , but her initial attempts at auditioning all fail . But Ryan is the one who eggs her on to not quit but keep on trying . Ryan wants to start his own jazz club , but he has to initially accept being part of a musical group ( led by John Legend ) which does not play music the way he wants it to be played . But he joins because he gets regular pay . The couple fight over this and temporarily break up because Ryan does not find time to show up for Emma's show . They come together again , but this time a more solid reason comes up for them to break up---they are finding success in their respective careers and both have to go their respective ways . When they see each other years later , their emotions are filled with nostalgia . They imagine in their mind's eye how life would have been if they had chosen to stay together and had children and there is some regret for having to chose career over love . But such is the reality of life that there is a price that has to be paid for achieving success.... Some of the music is pure romantic fantasy , like the scene in which they go to a astronomical observatory at night and a song is filmed with them dancing among the stars in the sky . Acting is good too and photography is decent . J K Simmons' role in the film however is forgettable . I kind of liked the movie , though not as much as the critics who are gushing over it . Verdict---Decent . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Arrival
http://static.rogerebert.com/uploads...oster-2016.jpg Amy Adams plays a linguist who is shown caring for her daughter , but the daughter dies in adolescence due to cancer .However , the situation in the world is turned upside down by the appearance of 12 extraterrestrial craft containing alien species . Amy is hired by the government to make contact and try to communicate with this species using her linguistic skills . For a layman like me , the best part of the movie was when Amy and her team is taken to the alien spaceship . The sight of Amy and Jeremy Renner ( a military theoretical physicist ) and others suddenly losing the control of gravity over them and floating and walking upwards into the spaceship through a tunnel is enthralling . Once in contact with the aliens , Amy begins to learn their language using written symbols . Some of their messages nearly send earthlings of other countries on warpath with the aliens . But as Amy begins to understand what the aliens really want to say , she not only gets a new concept of time and about the past and the future , but begins to understand things about her own life--a life in which Jeremy will play an important role . The aliens have a totally different understanding of time , and the understanding of their language is the key to understanding their concept of time . It was nice to see movies go beyond the concept of 'little green men' that used to be our image of aliens in the past . But are the intentions of the aliens good or bad ? Why have they come to earth ? The movie does throw up some interesting answers . Towards the end , I was finding it difficult to make sense of what was happening . Maybe the movie is too intellectual for ignoramuses like me . But actually the most interesting part is towards the climax . But it is only after after reading about it on a couple of sites on the internet later that I could understand it . Once I understood what I had seen , I liked the film . In the theatre I was not fully in sync with the happenings towards the end . I can only hope that others understand the movie fully and it's 'intellectual' climax does not prove to be a impediment to box office success with the audience not fully understanding it . Photography is great , of the alien spaceships hanging in the atmosphere full of mist and clouds ; the visuals taken from high up in the sky are breathtaking . Background score and acting by everyone is okay . Verdict---Good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Nice reviews :yup: Thanks :)
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Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The Bye Bye Man
http://dailydead.com/wp-content/uplo...Man-620-10.jpg Over 40 years ago , a crazed man living in a particular house shot dead scores of people . The findings of the investigation into the crime were suppressed till the current era . The happenings were long forgotten till a group of three young students ( two males , one female ) decide to lease the same house for themselves because the male and female are in a relationship and want to live in . As they move in , predictably strange things begin to happen . The first person to make contact with the spirit ( what else it could be....?? ) in the house is a little girl . Now this is typical of horror movies . Small children and especially girls seem more vulnerable and them making contact with the ghost does give you the chills especially because the little girl is alone in a big dark room . Also the girlfriend develops a peculiar persistent cough , and the boyfriend begins to see things that make him suspect the nature of the relationship between his girlfriend and his friend . Also they begin to find coins again and again in the house , something that the little girl had already found lying in the big room . They have a seance in the company of another girl and the girl detects the presence of something in the house . Already the boyfriend has found some strange writings written somewhere in the house and in the middle of them are written some words . The speaking of the words in the middle of the seance is the beginning of the horror.... As the boyfriend investigates the past , he finds out that in the house is a curse . Anyone who speaks the cursed words ( which were written in the middle of the strange writings ) gets afflicted by the curse . And he or she begins to go mad and see weird things and suspect wrong things about his near and dear ones . It is like a virus that spreads to anyone who knows about the cursed words . So what is the solution to this ? The solution is to kill anyone who has heard the cursed words , for if he or she speaks them to other persons then those too are likely to get affected like a viral infection that has no cure . But this solution means a pile of dead bodies.... The movie has the standard tricks of a horror movie . The presence of the house in a remote forested area , the house having plenty dark rooms , also the cellar below that is frightening , the doors slamming shut in the house suddenly without warning---all this is cliched stuff . But the curse which when spoken afflicts the person spoken to---this was new stuff to me at least . And the solution---to kill anyone who has heard the cursed words---was newer still . So the movie had something to hold my interest . The audience was getting nervous during the horror scenes , which meant that the audience was interested too . The girlfriend ( played by Cressida Bonas ) looked lovely , with a delicate body to go along with her blue eyes and blonde hair . Acting by her boyfriend ( played by Douglas Smith ) and his other friend ( played by Lucien Laviscount ) was not great however . The horror scenes are decently created . But photography and background music leave much to be desired . However , me being a aficionado of the horror movie genre made me find the film interesting enough . Verdict---Okay . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Rings
http://horrormoviezone.com/wp-conten...er-676x491.jpg A cursed videotape causes the death of anyone who sees it seven days after that person has watched it , and immediately after watching it that person gets a phone call informing that he/she has seven days....seven days in which that person has to make another person ( denoted as tail ) watch it so that the curse moves on to the other person and the earlier person is free from the curse . The movie begins with two persons on the same plane having watched the videotape without having a tail . So they are doomed , and the plane crashes . But why did the other passengers in the plane die unnecessarily without having watched the videotape ? Can anyone tell why come they were doomed too ? Shh !! Don't ask uncomfortable questions !! Two years later a college professor buys the same tape , but he organises an experiment with some of his students to pass on watching the video to a tail . The heroine's boyfriend ( who is the professor's student too ) gets caught up in this too , and our heroine is too deeply in love to let him alone in this...she watches the video too . But her copy of the video has another video inside it that is only for her and to solve the mystery she has to go to this wretched town where it all started... So what is so special about the heroine that only she gets a video that has another video inside it ? Simple really , our heroine has probably been selected to star in the next part of this movie too what else !! Problem is---there are hardly any jolts in the film that give you the chills that a horror movie gives . Most jolts look and sound more like jolts from a thriller than a horror movie . Later on as the movie moves to the wretched town and the blind priest and the tomb where lie all the secrets to the happenings , the film has become more a mystery movie with some thrills rather than a normal horror movie . The grip which the movie has in the first half is lost in the second half . I was missing what I had thought were the usual cliches of a horror movie---haunted mansions , darkened rooms , small children making contact with the ghost first , doors slamming shut , our leading actors searching darkened rooms of haunted mansions with candles....where was all that when I needed it most for my staple of entertainment ? What I had once dismissed as cliches were coming to haunt me by their absence !! Matilda Lutz and Alex Roe look cute as the leading pair , but otherwise the film is not interesting . It frankly gets overcomplicated in the second half and I wasn't impressed . Photography is decent and so are the colours . Verdict---Not good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Split
http://movierecipe.infoversant.com/w...views-wiki.jpg The critics were crowing about this Manoj Night Shyamalan film , and after a long time and a number of bad films he seemed to have found his groove back . So off I went to the theatre , like a loyal Indian to support this director of Indian origin in Hollywood . The villain is also the leading actor of the film , and he is played by James McAvoy . The heroine is a young girl played by Anya Taylor-Joy . The movie has no hero , for no knight in shining armour comes to save the three young girls including the heroine kidnapped by the villain . The three must try to escape by themselves . The villain has a strange disorder in which he has multiple personalities . The three young girls must cope with them during their harrowing time with the villain . Sometimes he is menacing , sometimes like a small child , sometimes like a woman , and so on and so forth . But when the girls try to ask his other personalities to help them escape , they don't help . However when the menacing personality comes forth , he is horrible and does bad things to them . The girls are shown in various stages of undress , which makes for some shady viewing . The heroine has a past and present of have suffered sexual abuse , and seems to be most capable of surviving the ordeal because she seems to be capable of manipulating the various personalities for her survival . Maybe the reason is that the villain is a victim of childhood abuse himself in the past . The villain visits his psychiatrist ( played by Betty Buckley ) regularly , and she detects something wrong since his villainous act . She fancies herself an expert on his condition and delivers international speeches on it . The sufferer of this syndrome can have different physical attributes for his different personalities , and the most dangerous of these personalities gives him awesome physical powers like a superhuman . The psychiatrist decides to visit his place to see what is wrong , and therein lies the chance for three girls to escape . But can they escape ? Will the villain allow this ? The movie will have to be watched for the answers . The acting by the leading actors is very good and they show a range of emotions . But the movie drags on and on and a satisfactory conclusion is not reached . Shyamalan tries to make cerebral thrillers , but maybe I am not cerebral enough to like what he makes . It cannot be called regular commercial fare and I could not make out if it was an art film ( non cerebral person you know ) , but maybe the hi fundoo people may like it . I being low fundoo , I didn't particularly care for it . Background score , photography is good and colours are decent . The movie is low budget and has no fancy locations or any stupendous special effects . Verdict---Not good . |
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Kong - Skull Island
https://i0.wp.com/media2.slashfilm.c...t-choppers.jpg A man ( John Goodman playing Bill Randa ) hell bent on proving the existence of monster sized creatures tricks the US military into an expedition to a forbidding island---forbidding because it is surrounded by perpetual storms and getting helicopters into it is not easy . Having got there through those storms the expedition faces the bigger dilemma of getting out safely , because there is only one escape route and the way to it is across a path strewn with monsters ; the fact that Randa is trying to prove is true . The monsters are nothing new but mostly oversized versions of common creatures---oversized buffaloes , oversized insects etc . But at that size they are enough to terrify humans who look tiny in front of them . Of course , the most terrifying are the most ugly---giant reptiles what else . They are hell bent on killing anything that moves on the island . And the biggest on them has been woken up by the explosives that the military team detonates on the island . Lording over all these creatures is the 'hero' of the film---the massive ape called King Kong what else . At first Kong has to destroy the helicopters killing many of the expedition's men in order to stop them from exploding explosives which will wake his biggest enemy---the big reptile . This rouses the ire of the military team's leader ( Lt Colonel Packard played by Samuel L . Jackson ) who vows to kill Kong . Little does he realise that Kong is the only hope for the surviving men and women ( the expedition has been joined by female photojournalist Mason Weaver played by Brie Larson ) in the expedition to reach home alive---for only he can counter the big reptile awoken by the explosives who wants to eat the remaining members alive . I saw the film in IMAX 3D form and straightaway I must say that the film has been tailormade for that form . 3D effects are really good and IMAX lends full glory to the visual beauty of the film . The film's photography is it's strong point---stunning scenes of helicopters weaving their way through storms to reach a beautiful island carpeted by a cover of dense green vegetation pleasing to the eyes , towering shots of the huge monsters on the island including a full scale one of Kong in all his majesty , long range shots of the destruction of the helicopters by Kong , and a superb shot of the delicately vulnerable Mason Weaver held tenderly in his hand by Kong . The background score is not the strong point of the film , but that is not noticed due to the other strong points of the movie . Action scenes are well pictured too , though they do not convey any seriousness even in life and death situations . Acting is good by everyone , particularly by Samuel L. Jackson , John Goodman and John C. Reilly ( who plays a quirky old soldier stranded on the island for 28 years ) . Brie Larson looks good , particularly with her lovely breasts thrust out from under her top . The native humans of the island look appropriately peaceful and helpful . The film does manage to convey a sense of impeding mystery and doom as the helicopter ride into the island begins , and also manages to convey a sense of adventure throughout . What else is a non serious adventure film meant to do for entertainment ? Nothing more , I guess . Verdict---Good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Beauty And The Beast
http://cdn2-www.comingsoon.net/asset...17/beauty1.jpg Once upon a time ( this archetypal start means that this is nothing but a fairy tale ) there was a good looking prince ( played by Dan Stevens ) . But he was also arrogant , so arrogant that he refused an enchantress refuge in a snow storm . Angry , she cursed him to become a beast and his entourage to become just pieces of furniture and the castle in which they all lived to be forgotten in the midst of perpetual snow . In order to lift the curse , a beautiful girl has to fall in love with the beast before the petals of a rose the enchantress has planted all fall down . In a village not far away there exists just such a girl ( played by Emma Watson ) . But a formidable obstacle exists in the form of another suitor ( played by Luke Evans ) who will do anything to get the girl . And that includes attempting to kill the beast . However fate has other plans , and the two lovers are destined to meet... The film has been created with great attention paid to every small thing especially in the castle . The director sure is a perfectionist . The visual beauty of each and every chamber and the costumes is almost too good . The pieces of furniture ( who are nothing but humans cursed into become furniture ) sure make bedlam while dancing . Music is the high point of the film ; this fact is very important as the film is a musical . The music just keeps getting better and better as the movie progresses with the music director reserving the best for the climax . The scintillating music sure adds to the grandeur of the film . Also photography is very good and every frame is rich with colour . The experience is heightened if you see it as I saw it---in IMAX 3D . The visuals of the interiors of the castle , of the snow outside , of both gentle as well as ferocious animals , of the green countryside and hills , of the beauty of the heroine---all are well captured on film . Emotion is a strong point in the film too , and the film gets more and more high on emotion as the climax approaches ; the emotion is nothing but pure love with pure hate and evil as obstacle....but what is a film without struggle between good and bad . What could be more debatable is the necessity of the over political correctness of the film . Did blacks really get to mix and dance as equals in the eighteenth century with whites as shown in the film ? Were interracial couples accepted so easily in those times as shown in the film ? The film's villain has a gay sidekick who eventually meets a similarly inclined partner , albeit only for a brief moment ; but what was the need for an old fairy tale to have it's gay moment ? But the enjoyment of the film is not marred by the debatable issues , and I liked it especially towards the end . The film will be appreciated by those with a yen for romance , and women may make a beeline for the movie in the theatres---as indeed they already have . Verdict---Good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Life
http://www.cultjer.com/img/ug_photo/...0324100133.jpg The international space station gets samples of mars soil from a probe sent to that planet , and the crew begins studying the sample for finding extraterrestrial organisms . They do find one which has been dormant , and it begins to grow under their stimulation---too rapidly in fact . And their worst fears come true . The organism in fact is a very vicious predator and it begins to attack and kill everyone of the crew . It can feed off anything , including coolant gas of the station . And it is very smart and knows it's way around the ship very quickly . As the cat and mouse game of survival begins between the crew and the predator , things get very thrilling indeed . The predator very rapidly moves from place to place within and even outside the spaceship , and can even temporarily survive without oxygen for a brief period outside . It's ultimate survival however depends on oxygen and the crew tries to lock it outside the spaceship....unsuccessfully , as the too smart predator finds a way to enter even though one crew member has sacrificed her life for keeping it out . The predator looks ferocious very fully grown , and one wonders if the film can be called a sci fi film or a thriller or is it horror . One by one each member of the crew is finished off by the predator by either going inside the mouth and killing the person and coming out even bigger than before or by latching on to the leg and eating it . The crew now have to find ways of preventing it from reaching the earth , for if it does reach it could devastate population on earth . The movie has good photography and good colours and decent background score . As usual , I was enthralled by the shots of earth taken from space and by shots of the infinite cosmos beyond . Acting by everyone is good and the the pace of the movie is good too---the thrills keep coming and the speed of the movie never slackens . But the ending disappointed ; it was typical of horror movies and establishes the movie as from the horror genre . The climax has been created to probably ( in my thinking ) make a part two of the movie just typically like horror movies where endless parts are made one after another . The director had the chance to make the perfect ending and make the movie a great sci fi movie like 'Gravity' or 'Interstellar' but he chose exactly the opposite way out , to my chagrin . The climax brought down my rating from four to three stars . Even the audience , which until then had watched the movie in rapt attention , began to snigger at the climax . Verdict---Good . |
Originally Posted by ashdoc (Post 1577136)
Unfreedom
https://youtu.be/u5Ln5ehQNLQ |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Lion
http://images.mid-day.com/images/2017/jan/24LION-1.jpg Lion is the true story of an Indian boy adopted by Australian parents , who grew up to search for his long lost biological mother in India decades later . He remembers calling himself as Saroo , and his brother as Guddu . Real mother's name he does not know , and he remembers her just as 'mother' . He remembers stealing coal from freight trains for a living , for his mother was too poor to feed him and his brother . His brother was older , and they both used to climb the trains together . One day he insists going with his brother on a longer distance journey , and his brother leaves him asleep on the platform never to return . What happened to his brother ? It takes a quarter century for him to know the truth... Meanwhile , what happens to him ? Not finding his brother , he takes a train going in the opposite direction of his home to the city of Calcutta . But he is saved from the worst horrors ; runs off when child traffickers try to kidnap him among other street children , runs away again when he feels he is going to be trafficked again by a seemingly kindly woman , and finally a person takes him to the police . They send him to a children's home which is not completely safe too , judging from what happens to another child there . But he is selected to be adopted by an Australian couple , played by Nicole Kidman ( Sue ) and David Wenham ( John ) . These good people have their own quaint reasons for not having their own children and instead adopting them , which are later revealed in the film . But when Saroo grows up , he discovers he has not left the baggage of his Indian past ; wants to reach out to his origins . I watched his search unfold on screen , and it does fill you with real emotion . Of course , the first half of the film ( which I have described in short above ) once more brought focus on the west's obsession with the poverty of India . It seems India has to carry the can for all the world's poverty . Africa may be poorer , but the country selected for showcasing poverty is India . Because it is politically incorrect to show african poverty for fear of being labelled racist . Pakistan and Bangladesh have similar poverty , but it is 'communal' to show them as poor because both of them have the same religion . China has poverty too , but it is a dictatorship which firmly closes it's door on foreign media to areas of it which are not worth showing . Only Indians do not mind being denigrated as poverty struck and the west takes full advantage of this attitude . Also , Saroo is everywhere in danger from human traffickers when separated from his brother . Presumably , Indians don't mind being demonised as traffickers too . The above mentioned dark side of the film is counterbalanced by some great photography . Watch from long distance as only the lights of the train are on as it moves forward in the darkness , and watch an even better shot of the train silhouetted against the backdrop of lightening . Emotions are of course the highlight of the film , and the film grows more emotional towards the end ; does manage to jerk a tear or two out of you at the climax---all the more because it is a true story . Acting by Sunny Pawar ( the young Saroo ) and Dev Patel ( the grown up Saroo ) and Nicole Kidman is simply great . Music is good too . So why is the film named 'Lion' ? The reason is revealed in the end . But that is not the only reason why it is worth watching . Verdict---Good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The Salesman
http://cdn-media.festival-cannes.com...oster_big.jpeg This Iranian film is currently being screened in India , as it was the winner of an oscar in the best foreign film category . It is in the farsi language I guess , but I saw the movie with english subtitles . One of the reasons for me seeing this film was the insight I would get into the islamic republic of Iran , which since the islamic revolution has become a most interesting place---to watch on film I mean . Aah , so how is the society of Iran ? The first thing that strikes you is , how goodlooking the people of Iran are . They are so proud of their looks that Iran has a politically incorrect name---Iran means 'Aryan' in the farsi language . The term was inspired by Hitler , who had endorsed the persian peoples aryan origins . Even the cats ( persian cats ) are goodlooking , though I did not see any dogs---they are considered unclean in islam . So how are the women ? Their hair is partially covered by the scarf which they have to wear since the islamic revolution . But otherwise can wear western clothes , though they have to cover major part of the body . Even the men were wearing full clothes , largely because iranian capital city Tehran ( which is the location of the film's happenings ) is a cold place . But these were modern city women . What is the condition of women in the countryside ? That is not shown . The people still greet each other 'khuda hafiz' while leaving instead of the 'Allah hafiz' that is common among the muslims of the Indian subcontinent ever since Pakistani dictator Zia ul Haq changed the wording . I could catch a few words from my knowledge of urdu language , which has words of farsi---'azizi' means 'dear' . So onto the movie . Emad ( Shahab Hosseini ) and Rana ( Taraneh Alidoosti ) are a married couple who act in the theatre . Emad works as a teacher in a school where he is allowed to teach only boys ; girls have separate school because the islamic republic forbids co education . The schoolboys make fun of Emad behind his back and jokingly call him salesman because he and Rana act in a production of 'Death of a Salesman' by Arthur Miller . So a play from what Iran calls the 'great satan' ( America ) is allowed to be enacted by authorities , eh ? The couple is forced to leave their apartment which is collapsing , and have to move in another arranged by a fellow actor called Babak . They move in without knowing that it's former owner was a prostitute . One day while she is alone , Rana is assaulted by a former client of the sex worker . Even though the two do not talk about it openly at first , the couple both know that the assault is sexual . Here their asianness comes in to play . We are not talking of a happening in the west ; it is the backward east we are talking about . And in the east a woman's honour will be tarnished if the matter of sexual assault becomes public knowledge . So even though the neighbours know about it , the couple does not go to the police . The first half of the movie is about the effect of the grave event on the couple's marriage . Rana is so shaken that she cannot stay alone , and even cannot go to the toilet without her husband standing outside . She breaks down while the play is being enacted and does not allow even her husband to touch her at night . Emad insults Babak who had given them the apartment while on stage enacting a play , because he blames Babak for guiding them towards such a place . The second half is dominated by the asiatic male's need for revenge for this insult on his family's honour , though Emad is shown to be a relatively civilised man . So he traces the person who did the assault . To be honest his revenge is milder than what I have seen in Bollywood films . But on the screen it seems terrible because of the way it has been brilliantly filmed . The movie really keeps you on tenterhooks as to the fate of the accused . And that is the triumph of the director , I feel . So how is the revenge taken ? What happens to the couple ? The movie is worth watching for the answers . Acting is good and cinematography is good too . Tehran , which forms the backdrop for the happenings does not seem to be a rich city and has crumbling infrastructure inspite of all of Iran's oil because Iran suffers from sanctions forced by the west . Deservedly so , I suppose . Verdict---Good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The Zookeeper's Wife
http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...HEqQCvvP914M63 1939---the nazi panzers are going to roll over Europe and ignite the second world war . Poland is going to be the next victim of nazi aggression ( Czechoslovakia was the first ) . One of the biggest zoos in Europe is the zoo of Warsaw , the capital of Poland . It's zookeeper is Jan Zabinski , who is played by Johan Heldenbergh . But the movie's main focus is his lovely wife Antonina , played by Jessica Chastain. The movie begins with Antonina waking up in a shining figure hugging nightie , and considering her looks and figure , you want more of her to be shown . And she does further entice you by wearing enticing clothes all through the movie---lacy and backless and having put on enticing make up . Her scenes with her nude thighs wrapped around the thighs of her husband and again around her admirer's thighs give you the hots . Of course , the complaint can be made that this beauty fest takes away from the main theme of the movie---the holocaust . But this is not exactly a holocaust movie anyway . It is not meant to show how jews were murdered by nazis during the world war . It is meant to show how this brave lady saved the quite a number of jews from the nazi killing machine with help from her husband . It is not meant to take us to view a concentration camp and all it's horrors . Another focus of the movie is the animals of the zoo and their fate . It has quite a few scenes of Antonina caring for animals and fondling the more smaller among them , to the point where I was lusting to be in place of the ones she was fondling ;)....she was holding it quite close to her breasts:D To anyone who is sore that this once again takes away focus from the holocaust , let me remind that the name of the movie is 'The zookeeper's wife' and she is the centrepiece of the film ; the jews she saves are not the centre of the film . In fact we are not introduced to the names of some of the jews and about their background stories . But the heroine and her husband do take enormous risk in hiding jews and smuggling them out and feeding them out of the rations allotted to them . But the enormity of the risk they take is not properly shown in the film ; seeing the film , their task seems easier than it actually was . They were at the risk of being killed ( or worse ) by the nazis if found out , but somehow you don't 'feel' the risk in the movie . Only at the end when their son is about to be shot dead as punishment for the hiding jews does the enormity of what the couple were doing strike you fully . Such a beautiful woman is bound to use her beauty to survive at a time when only six percent of Warsaw's population managed to survive the war . She does so by winning the attention of Hitler's chief zoologist ( Lutz Heck played by Daniel Bruhl ) and luring him with her charms to make him accept the idea of making the zoo a farm for breeding pigs for food for the war effort , which she and her husband will run . But this strategy carries it's own price as Heck demands sexual favours with increasing boldness as the movie progresses . It is a measure of the heroine's character that she not only ensures her own survival but also that of jews taking grave risk on herself and her family . The movie does have a sentimental and 'happy' ending , if such a sordid tale set in a city and nation which is in ruins could have one . That is because her own family and most of the jews the heroine tried to save survived the war . And that was the triumph of the heroine---worthy of making a movie over . One thing the film does not show ( but I forgive the director for that ) is that after the war majority of Polish citizens refused to take back the jews who tried to come back to Poland . The music of the movie is sweet , the colours and photography are so good---they go a long way in making the movie worth watching . Acting by Jessica Chastain is superb , of being strong and looking vulnerable in the appropriate situations . Daniel Bruhl plays the mean nazi villain , but even his cruelty is tempered ; this being a major flaw of the film , which does not show the full extent of nazi barbarity . Verdict---Good . |
As much as I like Jessica Chastain, that movie doesn't interest me at all.
Great review though ash! |
Originally Posted by cricket (Post 1694906)
As much as I like Jessica Chastain, that movie doesn't interest me at all.
Great review though ash! |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The Sense Of An Ending
https://api.curtisbrown.co.uk/media/61236/show/square 'The sense of an ending' could have well been titled 'Making sense of an ending' , for at the end of the movie we are left confused as to who was dating whom and who was fathering whom in the past . The director ( or rather the novelist who wrote the book on which the movie is based ) has deliberately left the events that unfolded in the past somewhat vague , so that endless discussions are made on movie portals and drawing rooms about what exactly had happened in the fateful past . This seems to be the new trend of publicising movies ; 'Inception' movie greatly benefited from the endless discussions on it's vague ending , and this movie may too benefit from the curiosity generated by the discussions . So on to the story . A grumpy old man ( Jim Broadbent playing Anthony 'Tony' Webster ) leads an ordinary existence in Britain . He owns a small antique camera shop . He is not exactly polite to his customers , is impolite to the mailman , and has been divorced from his wife because of his unpleasant nature---as he himself admits at the end of the film to her . But lately his life has acquired a humdrum nature as he has gotten used to meeting his ex wife and daughter in between while ruminating over past memories of his life---some of those memories being notoriously selective as the events that unfold in the movie prove . The one thing that he can look forward to is the upcoming birth of his grandson , as his daughter is heavily pregnant . To interrupt in between from an Indian point of view ( as in my country India families are close knit ) , the standard of living of these people in the west is of course high quality but marked by loneliness . The three ( Tony , his wife , his daughter ) live alone in different houses . Yes , even the daughter lives alone without the man who fathered her son even though she is relatively younger , and it is Tony who goes with her to her pregnancy classes rather than her partner . The other thing I noticed was the difference between the past memories ( when native Britons predominated in the population ) and the present ( where society is multiracial , and the pregnancy class has even lesbians ) . Coming back to the story , the humdrum existence of the lead character is interrupted rather rudely by a letter that he has inherited a sum of money from his ex girlfriend'a mother . Along with that he has also inherited a diary which presumably contains some secrets , but when he tries to lay hands on that diary he cannot get it . Intrigued as to what were the contents of the diary , Tony contacts and meets his ex girlfriend Veronica ( played by Charlotte Rampling ) and when he cannot get her to divulge anything he starts to literally stalk her . During all this the unopened corner of his memories gets opened , and we get to see the flood of past events unfold before us on screen . They are shown to us as flashbacks and give a relaxed feel and languid pace to the film , tinged with nostalgia for what happened and what did not happen and what should have been.... A saga of suspense ran through the film very slowly , taking it's time to unravel secrets at low speed . And that was the way I liked it , for it was getting very cozy in the theatre as I sat pondering the mysteries of life in my cushioned seat as the film never rushed the flow of events even though the director had the chance to make things happen fast and finish it off quickly . And as Tony was handed a letter that he had written and had sparked off a chain of events that led to tragedy , he was being forced to rethink the fundamentals of his own existence . That he turned out into a better and more responsible man at the end of the film is what makes for a positive ending . Acting by all is good , even by the actors who play the young Tony and Veronica ( Bill Howle and Freya Mavor ) . Background music is decent and colours and photography are okay too . The film is for those who like off beat films without the thrills of high octane entertainment that mainstream cinema provides . Made on a presumably low budget , the film has no special effects or fancy locations . It rather depends on it's story , direction and acting skills of it's actors . Verdict---decent . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Everything , Everything
http://media.salon.com/2017/03/COVER_PHOTO-EEmovie.jpg Maddy ( played by Amandla Stenberg ) is a cute young girl who is supposed to have an immune disease that will kill her if she comes into contact with the outside world . So her mother ( played by Anika Noni Rose ) who is a doctor keeps her in a controlled environment where everything is sterlized and Maddy does not come into contact with any infection which can kill her because of her weak immune system . She is not allowed to ever go outside her house , and can only dream of the outside world . The only people who ever are allowed to come into the house are Maddy's nurse ( played by Ana de la Reguera ) and the nurse's daughter . Maddy's life is the internet and has learnt about the outside world due to this . The house in which Maddy lives is real posh and her mother it seems has real money to be able to keep her in such luxury with a nurse in attendance and her every need being taken care of inside the house . But the real need---to be able to breath the fresh air of the outside world ; what about that ? As if sent to fulfil her need for companionship one day a nice looking young boy named Olly ( played Nick Robinson ) moves into the neighbourhood , and he begins to flirt with Maddy from his window which is directly opposite Maddy's window . A young girl full of hormones kept closed in a house starving for someone to love and share and care...does it get more desperate than that ? Maddy directly hooks to Olly without any ado , and soon the two are messaging and texting each other all day and night . The two soon meet when her mother is not around and even though warned against physical contact , they can hardly keep their hands off each other . And why not ? For Maddy looks hot and sexy in cleavage baring and breast outlining and leg showing short clothes throughout the movie , and she is not the only one in the room loaded with hormones . And Maddy is in love....not just with Olly , but with the idea of going out with him and seeing the open sea and feeling the soft ocean breeze against her breath . She wants to explore the outside world and wants her love besides her everywhere and in all places . It is an idea for which she is ready to take all risks with her health and her life . So she asks Olly to elope with her to Hawaii . Love and longing is something for which she is willing to give up on everything , everything---including her very existence on earth....the scene is set for tearjerking tragedy.... Or is it ? For near the end of the film the director turns everything upside down with a revelation....a revelation that makes mockery of everything shown in the film till then....a revelation that will make the true blue critics shake their collective heads in condescension.... But I wasn't shaking my head in disappointment....for I am not a professional critic but am an ordinary person....and like an ordinary person I was rooting for Maddy to get her love....to not just get her love but to acquire it....and not just acquire it but to let her roam freely on the world's oceans like a carefree bird along with her lover...and I wanted to see her kiss her boyfriend with her red hot lips and and I wanted to see her making love on satin sheets....and if the revelation towards the end of the movie was going to make Maddy get what she wanted , then I was willing to let go of my critical sensibilities just for the joy of seeing her get what she wanted....to hell with the critics !! Photography of the movie is great , with stunning shots of the ocean at sunset in Hawaii and shots of the forest of Hawaii taken from above with it's winding road and great photography of the sea and the waters of the sea . Colours of the movie are rich , and house in which Maddy lives is beautiful . Background music is good , and the songs played in the background are obviously romantic . Acting is decent from all , and the chemistry between the lead pair is good . The film is for those with a yen for romance . Verdict---Nice . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
The Lost City Of Z
http://cdn-static.denofgeek.com/site...?itok=G0zJkTmU To be honest the only thing that prevents this film from being a borefest is the fact that the film is based on real happenings , and the acceptance of that fact that real happenings cannot be made to look as interesting as fiction . Of course , the moment I realised while watching the film that it is based on real exploration I knew that no grand discovery of any ancient civilisation was going to be made in the movie because I had heard of no such discovery in this period . But in the earlier part of the film a person who goes into the theatre without knowing anything about the movie may feel that some epically grand discovery of some ancient civilisation is going to be made in the amazon region of the south american country of Bolivia by the end of the movie . Charlie Hunnam plays Percy Fawcett---a soldier who is sent to that region to map the border between Bolivia and Brazil . Against orders , he and a few companions undertake a perilous journey deep into the amazon region . Here they are faced many difficulties like with deep forests , hostile natives who shower arrows on them , wild animals like poisonous snakes and black panthers , and strong currents in the river that threaten to sink their raft . The photography of the dense green forest is beautiful and the native americans look all too authentically real , and so do the dangers of the jungle . But after all the dangers the discovery of a few pieces of pottery in the jungle does not enthuse the viewer of the movie , however interesting it may be from an archaeological point of view . Another point I thought the director missed was showing how adventurous it can be to stay in the jungle in the night . I have lived in the jungle , and believe me---while it is beautiful during the day it is terrifying in the middle of the night . The sounds of jungle give you jitters in the dark . When Fawcett returns he vows to go back to discover what he feels is a lost civilisation , and he is faced with some ridicule . But biologist James Murray ( played by Angus Macfadyen ) agrees to come to a second expedition . Fawcett's wife Nina ( Played by Sienna Miller ) wants to come too as she dispairs of living years away from her husband , but Fawcett does not allow that . But Murray cannot face the rigours of the jungle and the expedition ends with acrimony . The first world war prevents a third expedition from being launched , but by this time the Fawcett family has developed an obsession for discovery of lost civilisations in the amazon that can be described only as crazed . So after the war a third expedition is launched . But by this time the movie was drifting into nothingness ; nothing was really happening . And Fawcett and his son never came back....What happened to them has only been guessed by the director , or so I guess....But Nina lives on hope that they are still living among the tribals in the wild , and that hope gives her courage to live on.... The acting by everyone is good , and more so by Charlie Hunnam . Sienna Miller looks really attractive . Colours of the movie are good , and the background music is haunting . But the end result of all the explorations is underwhelming at least to a lay viewer like myself . Verdict---Okay . |
I watched Split last week and I agree with you, I thought it was lousy. I also watched Lion and I liked that one alot. I believe I have The Salesman coming for next weekend.
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Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Baby Driver
http://i.iheart.com/v3/url/aHR0cHM6L...0Ni5qcGc=?ops= Baby ( played by Ansel Elgort ) is the nickname of a fabulously talented car driver who has had the bad luck of being forced to use his skills at driving for the wrong guys---thieves who carry out high profile and big stakes heists . His mom and dad got killed in his childhood when they got involved in an accident , leaving baby to be brought up be a black man named Joseph who also was deaf and mute . Baby got mixed up with gang when he tried to rob the head of the gang ( played by Kevin Spacey ) and was forced to join the gang to pay off his debt to the head . The accident in which his parents died left baby with tinnitus in his ears , and he listens to music all the time on earphones to drown out the noise in his ears . So far so bad for baby....I mean he has had a run of bad luck all of his short life . The good part about baby is that he is very young and looks kinda cute with a refreshing youthful innocence , which is the reason he is called baby in the first place . The other good part---he has managed to get a good girl for himself ; the kind of girl that not only looks good but is good from the heart as well ; the kind of girl who sticks with her boy through thick and thin and does not leave him even when he is in dire trouble....and we all know the importance of a woman's support in the success of a man don't we....I mean the importance of a girl's support in the success of her boy---they are still kids you know.... Baby's one dream is to break free from his boss and the gang and drive off with his girlfriend Debora ( played by Lily James ) to nowhere without a care in the world and without a plan in mind....yeah , that's what young love is like....but his boss threatens to kill his foster father and his girlfriend if he flees....so baby is forced to take part in the gang's activities against his will....and those activities become increasingly murderous with police officers getting killed and heists going wrong....and soon all hell breaks loose with the police hot on their heels.... In all this mayhem baby never loses his humanity and tries to save innocent people's lives , even though all around him guns are blazing and vehicles are turning topsy turvy after banging with each other . But baby has to take the path of violence too , when bad guys threaten his very existence and also that of his foster father and his girl ; all weapons booming and cars smashing into each other and blood spilling out of bodies... So will baby and his girl survive in this mess ? I kinda wished they would....but after a very good first half with great thrills and chills , the movie turns corny in the second half and the action becomes ordinary.... Never mind...the film has given some entertainment already.... Music is the hallmark of the film , for our hero has the habit of converting even ordinary conversations into music on cassette tapes . Photography I would rate as good . Colours are decent . It all adds up to a barely decent film . I am giving it three stars because I grew kinda fond of the pair---baby and his girl ; and like the gang leader in the film who finally decides to sacrifice his life for protecting the two kids because he remembers the time when he was young and in love , I too was young and in love once.... Verdict---Three stars . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Dunkirk
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CzflaX4WEAA2PhD.jpg For those who don't know , this is the background to Dunkirk . In the second world war , the Germans handed a huge defeat to the defending French and British soldiers in France . A part of the French army and almost all the troops the British had sent to help the French were trapped near the port of Dunkirk on the English channel surrounded by German soldiers on three sides . The only hope the British had was to escape from Dunkirk back to Britain by sea to live to fight another day . So many private boats owned by ordinary British people sailed across the English channel and brought back the soldiers stranded at Dunkirk . Though a retreat , Dunkirk was still hailed by Britons as a evacuation that brought back their army to regroup and re equip to fight the Germans again . The movie itself gets better and better as it progresses . The fear and the uncertainty of war---it's all there . The tension on the soldiers' faces as they wait on the beaches , the relief when they see dozens of small private boats coming for them , the cheering for those private citizens by the soldiers as they take in the soldiers , the uncertainty of war again as the boats are attacked by German warplanes and some get killed , the shame of having retreated from France , the disbelief when ordinary citizens do not treat them with contempt for having fled the battlefield but instead offer them food and drinks , and the stirring speech in the end by Britain's Prime minister Winston Churchill promising never to surrender---it's all there in the movie . Individual bravery does form a part , as is shown by the gallantry of a British pilot who has run out of fuel but still manages to shoot a German warplane trying to kill the soldiers on the beach . Individual cowardice too---as in case of a French soldier who tries to escape with the British instead of defending his country's land . Hard decisions taken too form a part , like the one to not use the Royal ( British ) navy to evacuate the soldiers and the Royal air force to help cover the evacuation from air---because they would have to be used later to defend the oncoming German invasion of Britain instead of being sacrificed at Dunkirk . The movie is well photographed , with the dogfights between British and German fighters in the air shown with precision . The cracking sound of gunfire hitting the aircraft , the thump of onrushing water when it lands into the sea---all look authentic . The desperation of a troop of soldiers who commandeer an abandoned boat on the beach and wait for high tide to come so that it can be put to sea , only to be shot at by Germans and holes drilled by bullets in the boat so the water will rush in when the boat is put to sea and will be sunk---all is well crafted . There is the heroism of an old man and his son who are joined by the ship's hand who wants to become a hero by saving lives , only to see his bid for heroism thwarted tragically by a shell shocked soldier who is picked up and does not want the boat to go to Dunkirk to get attacked again by Germans . A gunfire damaged German plane crashing into the water to ignite the oil spilled around it endangering the lives of soldiers stranded in the spill---that's the way it is in real war . The background music complements the events and many of the events are tragic with a suddenness that befuddles---one moment evacuated soldiers are enjoying their sandwiches in a ship , and next moment the ship is hit and drowned and they are in the midst of water.... The movie is relatively short but still delivers the bang for the buck , especially in IMAX form . Colours are authentically pictured and acting by everyone is appropriate . Verdict---Good . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
Lolita ( 1997 )
http://www.thedailystar.net/sites/de...?itok=l9SAMmJF The full movie is available on youtube in HD quality , so you dont have to go anywhere else . The movie is based on the famous novel---Lolita . Jeremy Irons catches the fancy of a young girl ( nicknamed Lolita ) played by Dominque Swain . They proceed to have a sexual relationship , and Jeremy marries her mother ( Melanie Griffith ) to stay close to her . But Melanie sends Dominque off to a boarding school , only to discover the relationship later . In a state of shock , she gets killed in an accident . This lets Jeremy get what he wants---guardianship of Dominique , and chance to continue their relationship . As she grows older , Dominique tires of him and wants to break away . Eventually she succeeds by going with a another man who exploits her . Jeremy searches for her in vain because he is in love with her . Finally Dominique sends a letter to him asking for money because she is married and pregnant . Jeremy is by now ashamed of having used her when she was so young and meets her and asks her to forgive him . She does , and he gives her a large sum of money to continue her life . But she also tells him of the man who exploited her and Jeremy is mad with rage and kills the man . He dies in prison and thus repents for his sin , but Lolita dies in childbirth too . Thus in effect both are equally guilty and deserve to die in the director's eyes ---or so I thought . Though Jeremy is more guilty because he was an adult using the body of a young girl , Dominique ( Lolita ) was not innocent too as she gave herself up readily to him . There are plenty of erotic scenes between Jeremy and Dominique . Dominique plays the unabashed sex kitten , spreading her soft milky white legs on Jeremy's thighs on innumerable occasions and acting in a sexually provocative manner and repeatedly making lascivious movements . Photography is splendid and so are the colours . Acting is good too from everyone . The movie moves from erotic in the first half to tragic in the climax and changes your mood swiftly . Verdict---good . Three and a half stars . https://youtu.be/oe6FJPzi-bQ |
Originally Posted by ashdoc (Post 1744384)
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Annabelle : Creation
http://i2.esmas.com/2017/06/20/93011...er-610x800.jpg Created as a prequel to the movie 'Annabelle' , this movie nevertheless can be seen as an independent horror movie by those who haven't seen the original 'Annabelle' . The basics are the same as any other horror movie . The setting is in a remote house in the countryside with no one around to help if help is needed immediately . The house has plenty of rooms for the characters to roam about when searching for ghosts . Most of the action takes place in the dark , which is obviously more terrifying and gives the chance for the ghosts to pounce suddenly . The victims are goodlooking females mostly , because females seem more vulnerable . And little girls seem even more vulnerable , so the main victims are small girls . The main difference is that the girl who is most victimised by the ghost is a polio stricken handicapped girl who becomes more handicapped as the movie progresses . So the ghost targets the weakest of the bunch . The movie makers must be thinking as the word 'ghost' or 'spirit' to be too mild and hence they call it 'demonic presence' . The movie has strong religious overtones with the bible being invoked consistently , the cross making it's appearance on several occasions to stop the demonic presence , priests chanting prayers to ward off the evil . But it all proves useless . The demonic presence is unrelenting , or maybe the lure of making the demonic presence unrelenting to make the movie interesting has not been resisted by the makers in the quest to make money . The use of small handwritten notes by the spirit to lure people by announcing it's presence with them is another feature that is different . A group of female orphans move into a house where tragedy has struck 12 years ago , and the youngest make contact with what seems to be the spirit of a little girl . But the spirit is malignant , and it's actions are evil . It resides in a doll which is scary from the start . As usual in horror movies , the girls tread alone where even adults would fear to go---into darkened rooms and fearsome closets . You really fear for the handicapped girl because she cannot even run quickly , yet she inquisitively opens even the most dangerous doors . The demonic presence comes covered in sheets at first and later reveals itself openly . There is no subtlety to it's moves and the movie is scary from the start . In fact I thought that the first half was more scary than the second . Not that the second half disappoints . It is interesting too as events unravel themselves . The audience was giggling nervously throughout , especially the women . The photography was decent , colours were regular but the movie was mostly in the dark with only few glimpses of sunlight . There was no underground cellar , but a barn outside containing a possessed scarecrow compensated for that to give us the chills . Background music was appropriate to give us the necessary jolts from time to time . We anticipate the coming jolt and our hair stand on end as we see it coming . And the jolt doesn't disappoint . More of a hammerblow than a jolt . Acting was authentic from all . Verdict---Fun for aficionados of horror movies . |
Re: Ashdoc's movie reviews
It
http://pre11.deviantart.net/b10d/th/...1n-db4i2ol.png The film starts with a kid rowing his paper sailboat made by his elder brother till it goes down a drain , and when he tries to retrieve it a clown appears in the drain . Needless to say , the clown is the evil spirit . And it grabs the kid down the drain like it has grabbed so many kids who are dead but who are floating in empty space down in the drain . His elder brother is part of the losers' group in school , and they are bullied regularly by the gang of bullies who are tall and lanky and real mean . But the losers' are joined by a goodlooking girl who entices by wearing exposing clothes like bikinis and has earned the reputation of a slut . But she actually is being sexually harassed by her own father and is a good person . Her looks reminded me of a young Nicole Kidman . Together the losers' group teams up to combat the town's menace---evil spirits what else . The bullies are after them too , and it is difficult to ascertain who is more fearsome---the bullies with their guns and sharp knives , or the evil spirit which keeps on reappearing as a clown which reveals extremely vicious teeth when it opens it's mouth to bite . The first half of the movie is real scary , with the evil spirit first appearing as a pair of shiny eyes that look real scary in the darkness before it fully manifests itself . But the second half is dragged too long and the movie goes almost to two and a half hours in length . In the end I was waiting for IT to get finished . Acting is good by everyone and photography and colours are okay . Background music is decent to give you the scares at the right time . I would have given three and a half stars had the movie been shorter , but the length of the movie made me reduce the points by half. |
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