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Reviews
Clash of the Titans (2010)
Clash of the morons
Just watched the supposedly "3-D" version. The movie lacks continuity, character development, any sensible dialogue and smart acting. The 3-D effect is not cognizable. All it serves is to make the image look darker and probably give you a headache. After Avatar, I expected better from Sam Worthington. The acting is monotonous and there seems to be no effort put into delivering the dialogues. Of course there is only so much one can do when the script is so ridiculously bad.
The CGI and the boss-like battles at the end of every scene are the only things keeping you from walking out in the middle of the movie.
Save your money or go watch "How to train your dragon" again.
Valkyrie (2008)
Excellent performance...but holds no surprises
This is one of the better movies of Tom Cruise. Though the movie has very few surprises especially if you are a history buff, it is still very well done. The superior cast certainly did not disappoint. Though the central theme of the movie is an assassination attempt on Hitler, none of the protagonists in the movie come out as traitors in any angle. Nor do they see themselves as heroes. They were merely acting upon what they felt was right for Germany. This in itself is democracy in action. We get to see both sides, those who support and oppose Hitler, and not just from the view the decision-makers. One of the better scenes is where a lady working in a communications center starts to cry when they receive a message which says that Hitler is dead. Having always viewed Hitler as a tyrant and a monster, this was an interesting take on his popularity. This is a movie worth watching, if not in the theater at least on DVD. Just don't expect too many twists and turns.
Punisher: War Zone (2008)
Just awful! Ratings on IMDb fixed???
It was a toss-up between Transporter3 and Punisher and we picked Punisher based on the ratings on IMDb. Maybe there are people paid off to give good reviews and ratings. I don't know how but IMDb must put some fraud prevention in place. About the movie there is nothing much to cheer about. This is not a Marvel production and it shows. The acting is clichéd and very cheesy at times not something you would expect from a Punisher movie. I am also confused by the rave reviews for action sequences by others. Of course it is a very violent movie, but the scenes are far from gritty. Most of the folks at the theater were laughing condescendingly during many action scenes. And the less said about the awful acting the better. Do yourself a favor and give this one a pass.
Dead Space: Downfall (2008)
OK CGI, but way too dumb
The current IMDb rating when I am writing this is 6.3 which is think is highly overrated. I am actually watching this movie as I am writing this review. don't know if I will complete the movie. The CGI is not bad and but the characters lack development. There are big loopholes in the plot and many of the actions of the characters are pretty dumb. For example, they don't watch their backs when being attacked, don't close doors when being pursued, leave weapons lying around, just keep staring dumbly when...aaargh I can't go on. I am turning this thing off. I don't mind some poor CGI and lackluster plot but please don't insult the audience.
Black Hawk Down (2001)
Apocalypse Now on steroids
Ridley Scott brings to the screen a true story of war with such authenticity that it would feel like that one is actually taking part in the events which unfold. As the movie progressed it got faster and faster. I was so taken in, that I started to contemplate all the different moves the soldiers in the story might make and the outcomes that could result. The plot is delivered straight up with no side-tracks for romance angles, excessive display of patriotism and cheesy dialogues. This is one of the best war stories to have come out and is easily in the league of Apocalypse Now, Platoon, The Thin Red Line.
Body of Lies (2008)
Very believable
Give DiCaprio an Oscar already. This guy continues to surprise me. A very well made movie in the likes of Syriana. One has come to expect a certain level of perfection from Ridley Scott and he does not disappoint. The move delves in the conflict one faces in trying to do the right thing vs the patriotic thing. The supporting cast gives a strong performance, Crowe as the handler who is always second-guessing his protégé, Strong as the Jordanian head-of-security who has a hidden agenda and Farahani as the love interest. The pacing of the movie is a bit off and seems a bit slow at times but still it is money well spent at the theater. Only complaint is that the top movie at the box office last week was "Beverly Hills Chihuahua", go figure!
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Are you prepared for AWESOMENESS
I really wasn't expecting much, other than a few laughs, which would have been OK for a Dreamworks animation movie. But KUNG FU PANDA exceeded all expectations. The story is simple but the execution is superb. It would be really difficult to find something to improve on the production. The voice-overs are really good, esp Jack Black and Dustin Hoffman. The animation is very rich and the colors are crisp and bright. The action sequences are breath-taking. The laughs are mixed in at the appropriate moments. The theater was full and it was composed of a mixture of Adults and young kids. This is a fun for all movie. A testament to this fact is that almost the whole crowd stayed for the end credits. This is a very rare occurrence nowadays.\
Oh.. and I hope this does not count as a spoiler. I absolutely loved the Samurai-Jack type animation for some scenes.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
There will be a headache
I am a regular reader of comments on IMDb and trust their ratings more than any given by critics. But seeing this farce of a movie being listed int he top 250 has upset me enough to start posting my reviews, in the hope that I will save someone the agony.
Acting: (Daniel Day Lewis)DDL give a good performance, nothing less than expected. Though I feel that he was better in "Gangs of New York" . The other actors are simply there just to fill the screen space or they are miscast (Paul Dano as the preacher). Its only DDL's performance which lends any sort of credibility to the movie.
Music Score: I shudder when I think of what I had to go through for 2.5 hours. You could relate the sound to the constant whining in your head when the dentist is performing a root-canal.
It is a shame that this movie is being called a classic. Please keep a Tylenol handy if you still plan on watching this one.