Change Your Image
sandipbharj
Reviews
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
A very epic finale
This is a very tough end to the Nolan's Batman trilogy. It does well to show the extremely gruelling hardships that Batman and the other protagonists endure throughout the movie, and is a fitting conclusion to the overall story. It feels different from both the first and second movie, brilliantly creating a trilogy of excellent films that all have unique strengths whilst at all times flowing very naturally from one to the next.
The movie takes place 8 years after the events of The Dark Knight. We never actually hear what became of the Joker - the audience can think what they will of that. We are however, introduced to a tired and broken Bruce Wayne, who is very much a reclusive living in the aftermath of Harvey Dent's "White Knight" legacy, where Gotham is enjoying a fairly peaceful era. We soon encounter a very agile, sexy thief by the name of Selina Kyle, who has some sort of connection to a masked villain by the name of Bane. Bane, throughout the course of the movie, makes it rather clear he doesn't like Gotham City very much. Violence ensues.
This feels like a much grittier Batman movie compared to the previous two. The violence seems much more brutal, and does a great job to make you feel rightfully uncomfortable when the victims are the heroes you care about. I spent the first half of the movie feeling extreme admiration at the previous movie (The Dark Knight), since it's because of the superbly chaotic events from that masterpiece that the protagonists in this one are so tired and haggered. The characters are still recovering from the scars left by the Joker (and Two-Face), when Bane shows up with his mysterious agenda.
This movie shifts the focus back to Batman's journey. The second movie arguably had him chasing the Joker who drove that story forward, without any time to think or develop. This movie sees him going through hell to try and save his city, and himself.
All the actors do a fantastic job in their roles, and all the characters are written terrifically. Major kudos to Anne Hathaway, who I was admittedly terrified of seeing for fear that she wouldn't be able to adequately portray the role as necessary, but my gosh, Nolan's direction has paid off to nullify that fear in spades. There's even a practical way that Cat Woman's "ears" have been incorporated into the movie that is fantastically fitting to the serious nature of the movie.
My only real gripe with the movie - and it's something I find common amongst a lot of Nolan's work - is that the hand-to-hand action scenes, whilst indeed seeming quite brutal in this film, don't really show much ambition in their choreography, and more seriously, have sub-par camera work that often chooses not to show some of the punches or other angles that you feel would be key. I'm not saying I would expect some kind of lavish Jackie Chan fight scene, but when you see an extra-ordinary character like Batman having a fight, you expect the fight to be presented with a similar extra-ordinary standard.
This is a rather long movie, but never really felt like it should have been anything less. The story was engrossing from start to finish, and whilst not being as tight or inventive as it's predecessor, it admirably told the painful journey that Batman goes through to save Gotham, whilst expertly weaving all the supporting characters through it's fabric in a satisfying manner.
God Bless America (2011)
Cathartic
This is a movie that showcases the (frustratingly worshipped) current shallowness of popular culture in America, and then shoots it. With guns.
First off, this movie is grossly subjective. There are (quite literally) millions of people who will strongly disagree with its negative views and opinions towards the various popular TV shows it parodies and references, and that's perfectly fine. This movie isn't for them.
This movie will be enjoyed by those of us who feel that a lot of what we see on today's media is scraping the bottom of the barrel, and is celebrating the worst parts of our society. It's a commentary on the alienation within an increasingly soulless culture, where desperation brings about extreme results.
The film is about Frank, a middle aged, divorced man, who lives on his own, surrounded by neighbours, work colleagues, and a whole generation of American pop culture he despises. One day he is fired from work, and soon after, told he has a brain tumour. Whilst sitting alone at home, contemplating his limited time on the earth, and how his estranged daughter (who lives with her mother) is similar to the bratty popular teenage girl he's just seen on TV, he is about to commit suicide, when at the last minute he has the idea of the killing the bratty girl from the TV first.
And thus begins an interesting road trip. Along the way we meet a socially awkward teenage girl called Roxy, who teams up with Frank and convinces him not to bother killing himself, and instead, perhaps focus his desire for ending life towards the other members of pop society he hates.
The Roxy/Frank relationship is of course referenced as Bonnie/Clyde, and is an enjoyable pairing to watch. Whilst obviously being very Father/Daughter, the dialogue between the two dances across all the taboos to address the various suggestive dynamics between them. And they're very different from one another. Frank is an old-fashioned gentleman, with a calm disposition, whereas Roxy is a neurotic ADD teenager. Their dislike for society, whilst being their common-ground, isn't even on the same page. However, their friendship builds over simply listening to one another, and comes across very sweet, even if it is soaked in blood.
The technical aspects of the movie are fine, with camera work, lighting, sound design etc being executed well. However, one of the areas which (I suppose) I would criticise, is the exaggerated media and social references. When we see clips on Frank's TV that parody similar popular American shows, or when we see his daughter having a tantrum, they are overly stylised or acted with too much exaggeration. This gives them a comical tone, and gives the impression that these scenes (which are meant to represent the worst aspects of American pop culture), have been dumbed down to try and make the point.
This brings us to the overall larger issue that as a whole, is the film's only real flaw - it is unnecessarily preachy. There is way too much dialogue that explains the ideals and motives of the two protagonists, and given what the film's about and the audience it will appeal to, it just seems a bit patronising. The intellectuals who would appreciate the movie, don't need to be escorted through every frustration of the lead characters - we can piece together their motives quite clearly from what's happening around them. As it stands, the movie dips into moments where it feels like a rant, rather than a social commentary.
The somewhat preachy/patronising nature aside, I still enjoyed this movie greatly. The relatively unknown cast did a good job (bar maybe Frank's stereotypically bratty daughter), and the two leads had good chemistry. I personally agree with a large number of the views expressed in the film, and admittedly found the experience quite cathartic at times. If you're not adverse to some unremorseful violence, give this movie a look. I'm definitely adding it to my DVD collection.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Fun silly film.
Adapting Transformers into live-action movies is always going to be a bit of a nasty challenge to get right, but I enjoyed most of this action-packed extravaganza. It doesn't have that same magic of seeing Transformers battle for the first time and it seeming like a spectacle, but it makes up for it by having more action and more explosions.
So a quick few words on what I thought of the first movie.
Transformers 1 HATED: - Megan Fox's 'acting'. It's absolutely all form and no charisma; - most of the Transformers talking; - the scene where the Transformers are hiding in the backyard of Sam's house while he searched for the spectacles in his room (just seemed to take all the seriousness away from the Transformers and portray them as silly).
Transformers 1 LOVED: - watching the Transformers battle each other; - Shia Labeouf doing his great mix of nutty comedy/nervous acting.
Transformers 2 - HATED: - Film tends to sag in the middle when the action slows down to progress some of the silly plot. Transformers is not a film about plot, it's about the action - just keep it coming and don't try to make a story from it because it's RIDICULOUS; - Megan Fox still looks amazingly hot but cannot act to save her life. You may as well just put a cardboard cut-out of her next to Shia Labeouf and it'll do the same job for a fraction of the cost; - A scene towards the end of the movie where there is a small "dream sequence" of sorts, and the word "destiny" is mentioned. I almost vomited. The word 'ridiculous' doesn't quite do it justice; - The girl that Sam meets at college and who she is. I am simply AMAZED that they actually let that whole thing get put into the movie - it just doesn't fit into the Transformers world and leaves stupendous plot holes and questions; - There isn't enough slow-motion in the action sequences for you to take it all in - Transformers trying to be "funny" - yuck.
Transformers 2 - LOVED: -The action is mind-blowing. This is what you go to see the film for, and apart from the slow-mo flaw, it's pretty breathtaking and surprisingly violent too; - Sam and his parents are genuinely hilarious.
And that's it.
I went to see Robots doing battle, and for 90% of the movie that's what I got. This isn't a film for those looking for a smart plot or realistic story lines and physical motion - this is something to visually gawk at, and sonically admire. This is special effects without having to think about it. There are plenty of other films that showcase superb character development and plot, but this isn't it and nor does it try to be.
This is a live-action movie that you could easily imagine being a cartoon. If that's what you want to see I think you'll enjoy this as pure entertainment. If you didn't like the first movie I can't see how you would like this one, but for those who liked watching metal smash into other metal, you'll be buzzing from this flick.
Fainaru fantajî sebun adobento chirudoren (2005)
SPECTACULAR *Victory Music*
Yes I AM a FF7 fan, but how many people who watch this movie are NOT going to be? And so, I'm reviewing this movie from a FF7 fan perspective, and with no regret. (I would not know how to adequately review the movie for someone who has not played the FF7 game.)
Visuals - 10/10 I loved Advent Children. It's a sensory delight - a complete audio-video overload. The visuals were breathtaking: some feats were accomplished that I would simply have not quite thought possible with an animated feature. When the action scenes came about, they were, for lack of a more accurate word, a roller-coaster. With dramatic camera movement sweeping across from range to range, to seamlessly integrated bullet-time effects at the crucial moments, to the sheer level of detail - it's all hard to fault. The animation looks big budget, the style and imagery is awesome, and the effects at times made me forget that I was watching animation rather than live action footage. I could ramble on for hours repeating myself on the fantastic quality of the visuals, but it simply wouldn't do it any justice.
Sound - 10/10 The sound was fabulous. The voices for all the characters didn't disappoint (no one sounded silly) and the sound effects were bold and sharp. The music - from the game that (in my opinion) had the best game soundtrack EVER, transfered beautifully to the movie. Most of the memorable themes from the game are present in the movie, albeit often using different instruments to fit in better with what's going on. There was some bolder rock and slight thrash metal music over the really intense action scenes from time to time, but it all fitted in well with the movie's situation at the corresponding time.
Story - 7/10 The story and characters would be the main flaws of the movie. Both aspects were simply not up to par with the game - but then again, the game could spend 40+ hours developing these points - the movie only has about 90 minutes. As far as the story goes, the plot wasn't bad or anything, but just not as ambitious as was expected from someone who played the game through. In effect, the plot seemed rather weak in comparison. The game was so extravagant with the intricate plot twists and story progression/development, that the movie never really stood a chance to compete in the same league. Instead, the movie took the more sensible approach - to expand on the action and try to place as many inside-jokes and themes into itself instead of trying to impossibly recreate the massive story factor, which was originally such a driving force in the game. The lack of Materia usage also caused me some controversy - the story of the movie chose to use little (though not ZERO) Materia, and instead lots of supernatural fighting ability and skill. I would hope that if a sequel was made it would incorporate Materia much much more extravagantly and importantly into the film. There were also many plot holes in the movie - all which can be forgiven if you think of Advent Children as a random anime, but seem ridiculous when you realise how it was based on a game that executed plot tremendously well.
Characters - 7/10 The characters, whilst all being present in one form or another, don't necessarily shine to their true potential. There simply isn't really enough movie-time to spend with all of them. And so, all of their background stories and abilities are not entirely showcased, and in some cases, barely at all (Red and Cait Sith leave absolutely no real lasting impressions). Even Cloud, who is the focal point of the movie, I feel doesn't use enough of his familiar abilities from the game. The Materia issue is a strong reason for this. With that said, it's a joy to see the cast back in action, even if it's in such a role that doesn't utilise them to their fullest. The new characters were the ones that caused me most of the strife however - the Bad Guy Trio and the kid dude Denzel - there was a huge lack of explanation about any of them. Anyone willing to use their imagination can probably fill in the blanks with something reasonable and be done with it, but objectively speaking the issue is still there to be commented on and is therefore a little disappointing.
Value - 10/10 The replay value for this movie is excellent - I personally want to watch it again in a more bigger and louder way - bigger screen, louder volume.
Enjoyment - 10/10 Whatever the flaws of the movie, they simply weren't big enough to hinder my enjoyment of it, and I honestly think that will be the same case for most people. I enjoyed Advent Children tremendously, and encourage fellow FF7 fans to go see it.