A sweeping tear-jerker across the outback. With overly long running time (2 hours and 45 minutes!), uneven pacing, subplots-juggling, climatic non-ending and anti-climatic ending, it's still worth seeing if you're a romantic at heart and may be appeased by the pairing of Australia's own glamorous stars (Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman).
Showing posts with label 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2008. Show all posts
Friday, October 22, 2010
Missing Review: "The Punisher" & "Punisher: War Zone"
"The Punisher" (Thomas Jane) /"Punisher: War Zone" (Ray Stevenson) is a real hard-core, gory to the bone - but it's true to its vengeful comic roots. With the massacre of all his family members forever engraved on his mind, Frank Castle (aka "the Punisher") is one vigilante who knows no bounds. When it comes to disassembling his foes, cruelty doesn't faze him. It's brutally awesome!
DVD (2004): http://tinyurl.com/2b93yq5
DVD (2008): http://tinyurl.com/2ak6th5
Labels:
2008
Saturday, May 8, 2010
"The Dark Knight"
Dark, intense, harrowing. They don't call the caped crusader "The Dark Knight" for nothing. Always hiding in the shadow and striking at night, Batman is more of a tormented vigilante than a revered superhero, watching over his beloved Gotham.
"Batman Begins" drills down to the core. It provides deep insight about the character and the life journey that he travels. It explains who he is, why, and how he becomes the way he is. Plagued with fear, guilt, and rage, it shows the transformation from a traumatized child to a debonair billionaire turned troubled hero. With the right intensity and anguish, wit and charm, Christian Bale is the only Bruce Wayne. Personally, I liked the complex breadth of the story of 'Begins' better than 'Knight.'
BUT, if there's one thing that 'Knight' shines is the provocative nature. It boils down to one element that overshadows everything else, the JOKER. Sheer insanity. Here the story is no less complex, as a matter of fact, multi-layered. The characters are multi-dimensional and no less flawed. Batman has truly met his match.
Never before have I witnessed a nefarious nemesis with such disturbing deft that it leaves me hanging by a thread. Heath Ledger's performance is legendary. Absolutely menacing and chilling to the bone, he strikes real terror as you can't hardly believe what he's going to do next.
If Gotham has already been shrouded in dread before with organized crimes, the Joker elevates it to horrifying heights. He takes everything that Batman believes in and turns his own convictions against him. With pure devilish exuberance, he dementedly experiments with human emotions like child's play. Watch when he tells the tales to different hostages about how he got his (smiley) scars; how he gets inside their head and under their skin. He meticulously and ruthlessly infuses anarchy and constructs chaos, gleefully rearranged order in society like pieces of a puzzle without superpower or fancy gadgetry. Just a brilliant psychopath who has no limit of what he's capable of or willing to do - except decimating Batman - because then, the fun would be gone and he would cease to exist.
Then there is Two-Face, tangled among the conspiracies. One side is a hero, a symbol of hope and goodness; the other a villain of inconsolable fury and revenge. His fall from "White Knight" grace shows how vulnerable the line between righteousness and madness is.
Yet it when it comes down to it, it's choices. Whatever fate or chances handed to us, we still make our own conscious choices.
The cinematography doesn't disappoint and the special effects never overpowers. While 'Begins' shines the light eerily on Gotham, the highlight in 'Knight' is an utmost daring escape from a skyscraper in HongKong. The heady run of the BatCycle trumps over the BatMobile. The score soars and especially captures those nerve-wracking moments flawlessly.
At 2.5 hours, "The Dark Knight" is a spine-tingling spectacle to behold. DVD:
http://tinyurl.com/28swy63
Labels:
2008
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"
It's the most extraordinary film in years and the epitome of movie-watching experience. It's one of those few worth another viewing (and I could only name a couple on my list) and would still leave you magically mesmerized, profoundly stirred and satisfied.
***Detailed review pending***
Labels:
2008
"Wanted"
Words can't do justice. "Wanted" is ultra-cool. Stunningly slick and stylish, breathlessly gravity- and death-defying. It's absolutely The Coolest thing I've seen in years! It's a similar adrenaline rush I got from seeing Neo et al. in the very first Matrix and Christian Bale as human weaponry in "Equillibrium." When you thought all the novelty was gone, along came "Wanted."
I can't describe the spectacular sequences of scenes (hyper-ballistic fights, leaps, drops, shoots, chases - humans and bullets) without revealing the 'coolness' factor of how they transpire. They've got style down to pat. The 'WOW' factor, literally jaw-dropping moments for me surpass the most recent phenomenon that is "Iron Man." Intensely bloody-violent aside, the movie is pure exhilaration from start to finish. As a comic-action movie, this one actually manages to put twists and turns into an otherwise linear storyline. Powerful performances all around. The transformation of the main lead is actually believable. While Angelina Jolie is de facto when it comes to action movies (channeling Lara Croft with a killer instinct), James McAvoy is certainly not the first (or umpteenth for that matter) that comes to mind as a super-assassin. Morgan Freeman, as always, is right for the head role. Lastly, perfect ending. I couldn't have asked for a more satisfying one. It's best to go in with a blank slate (don't read any summaries or spoilers) and leave every bit of logic at home. I may actually show up for a second round!
Labels:
2008
"Iron Man"
I had been anticipating "Iron Man" since I caught the preview at a Q&A panel with Jon Fraveau, Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow et al. at Comic Con last July. Guess Fraveau has joined the ranks of director Sam Raimi ("Spiderman"), Brian Singer ("Superman," "X-Men"), Christopher Nolan ("Batman"). "Iron Man" blew me away.
Absolutely exhilarating. Ingenious (meticulous creation of the armor suit depicted in stages, 3D interactions, technologically advanced mansion, breathtaking special effects), audacious (closing scene), hilarious (hilarity peppered throughout and delivered). The working mechanics of the technology that make things in the movie seem to be "grounded" in reality, rather than some fantasy.
While suspension of disbelief is a must in every superhero movie, "Iron Man" really does look like a future reality. The set is "real" as well (and local to me). No futuristic Chicago or retro New York. Just plain 'ol Los Angeles, Malibu and Santa Monica, California.
The phenomenal feeling was akin to when I watched the first "Spiderman" or "X-Men." There is a novelty factor ("Batman" and "Superman," we had seen them on the big screen before). The characters are flawed. And people can relate to the human theme that is core in each movie. Be it the feeling of agony for being different and isolation, frustration for inadequacy or inferiority, having the chance to redeem and right oneself for erroneous ways in the past.
Flamboyant and brilliant, Tony Stark has a place in a crowded superhero society. Not dark and brooding as Bruce Wayne, not at all mighty and good as Clark Kent, and unlike the average Joe of Peter Parker. Unlike "Spiderman" or "X-Men," no overly or extended emotional scenes in "Iron Man," but the undercurrent subtleties actually work just fine. There are still smidges of heartfelt moments weaved in among the gizmos.
Lastly, it ought to be mentioned - such an amazing feat for casting a 40+ year old well-known actor with less than sterling reputation in a major superhero role (couldn't have imagined Downey in that role earlier).
Wait till the last of the credits roll. There's a bonus scene at the end. All I can say is sequel, sequel!
Labels:
2008
"Vantage Point"
It has an interesting concept but doesn't live up on the execution. After a few times of rewinding to the exact same starting point for the purpose of putting the puzzles together from multiple angles (again, sounds conceptually interesting), it gets a bit tiresome. Bland performances, zero character development, outlandish key elements, absurd resolution. If you're expecting an intellectual political thriller, this is not it. It is a thrill, however. Frenetic pace, foot & car chases (reminding you of the style and implausibility of the "Bourne" series, "The Italian Job," "Live Free Die Hard"), gun shots and explosions. Actually enjoyed the last two-third tremendously - when it shifted into high gear (starting w/ Forest Whitaker's vantage point) and the actions never let up till the end.
Labels:
2008
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