Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist review

A mini review- something I’ll be doing a little more often.

Michael Cera is another Keanu Reeves. What do I mean by this? He can retain the same acting style in each film he does and still get away with it. Cera has a certain innocent charm about the characters he plays, but ultimately, it is the repetitive ‘innocent’ characteristic which seem to be his downfall. It is a trait which is going to become bland and redundant.

Kat Dennings and Michael Cera had wonderful chemistry in this film; the on-and-off relationship between the two was delightful to watch, albeit slightly awkward witnessing Nick (Cera)and Norah’s (Dennings) struggle to release themselves from the grip of tyranny, if you will.

Although the film had it’s high points, there were lows, such as the terrible acting by Nick’s ex girlfriend’s new boyfriend, and the clichéd characteristics of Tris herself.

These were minor discrepancies in an otherwise pretty well structured film.

8/10

Karan

Movie reviews, news, rumours

via Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist review.

(500) Days of Summer review

I had heard alot of positive things relating to this film, so naturally, I thought I’d buy the DVD and see what the fuss was all about.

The Author’s note at the beginning of the film is strangely a disclaimer, something I haven’t seen that often, at the start, anyway. The note states: “The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Especially you Jenny Beckman. Bitch.” Upon reading this the first time, I thought nothing of it. I thought it was simply some sort of inside joke, which technically, it was. Only, it wasn’t a joke, apparently, (500) Days of Summer was based on the experiences of the writer of this film, Scott Neustadter(Read more on this here).

The film was anything but conventional; the chronology of this film going back and forth, the traditional ‘rom-com’ formulas thrown away for something that was far more enthralling, and kept my attention the whole way through.

The way in which the story was depicted was what attracted me to this film the most, sure, it was certainly confusing on occasions, but for the most part it worked well in delivering the plot.

The film was a love story, but the most unconventional love story I’ve ever seen.

The story was definitely one of the most unique I have heard. As the film progressed, the story evolved a lot more, as did the characters, and was something which shined greatly in this film, as well as the performance from Joseph Gordon Levitt. Zooey Deschanel seemed quite plastic to me, although I feel her charm brought in a lighthearted warmth to the film, it felt as though she wasn’t projecting herself as well as Levitt was. However, that’s not to say her performance wasn’t enjoyable, it just didn’t seem to fit in at times, for example, the scene in the copy room, right before she makes her move, her face was just…blank. There were other minor annoyances in an otherwise great film.

A good film with an unconventional twist, lovely story, lighthearted rom-com with a difference.

8/10

Karan

Movie reviews, news, rumours

via (500) Days of Summer review.

Edge of Darkness review

From watching the trailer, the first thing that came to my head was- “Mel Gibson’s daughter is a terrorist threat???” Of course, it was slightly different to how the trailer was making it seem; misleading, if anything.

First and foremost, I’d like to address Mel Gibson’s performance in this, something which I thought overshadowed the entire duration of the film. Although the film wasn’t the most spectacular, the plot was relatively interesting and had my attention the whole way through, but admittedly by the end of the film I was slightly disappointed, albeit amused. Bojana Novakovic though, who plays Gibson’s daughter, showed her lack of experience in the Edge of Darkness, but very accurately portrayed a person affected by radiation poisoning perfectly(*).

I couldn’t help but feel almost a religious undertone throughout, more specifically in the end scene, it was such a clichéd ending, something the film could most definitely done without.

Ray Winstone had a minor role, in which he portrayed a sort of neutral party, up until halfway through the film, when things went in a different direction, but questions which were unanswered at the beginning became…well, answered.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Edge of Darkness, although it wasn’t a film I would purchase on DVD, it kept me entertained for 120 minutes.

Decent acting from the cast as a whole, decent plot, clichéd ending, overall a decent film.

5/10

Karan

*Honestly, it was…well, crap.

via Edge of Darkness review.

He’s Just Not That Into You review

I was insanely hesitant to watch this film, as it never occurred to me that romantic comedies can also be full of complexities and finely woven stories which intertwine with each other.

He’s Just Not That Into You was a film that was quite different to those rom-coms I’ve seen in the past. It wasn’t just a simple guy-falls-in-love-with-girl-encounter-a-problem-then-get-back-together-story, it was much more than that.

Considering the film was adapted from a self-help book of the same name, it made it even more interesting to see how such a book could be made into a film.

So Gigi(Ginnifer Goodwin) is the girl who needs the help, funnily enough, and the events that unfold were ever so cringe-worthy, not because they were badly acted out(because they weren’t), but because the things that she was doing were ever so hard to watch. It was precisely the scenes with Goodwin in I enjoyed the most because of her ability to portray such an awkward character.

Justin Long playing Gigi’s friend and confidant was a role which he fit in, up until a certain point I thought he was gay, reminiscent of Zack and Miri, but I was proved wrong later on.

There were times within HJNTIY which were definitely clichéd and redundant, there were even instances where I said “I KNEW that would happen!”, but no matter how many of these moments were in the film, there was always a counter-balance to these clichés, which eventually outweighed these negative factors.

He’s Just Not That Into You was a film that was, to some extent, a ‘traditional’ rom-com simply because of the predictability that seems to be present in a vast amount of romantic comedies these days, but nicely back-pedals due to some unique storytelling.

Good film, interesting story with several sub-plots and twists, He’s Just Not That Into You delivers an unexpected array of goodness in the form of a contemporary romantic comedy with a difference.

8/10

Karan

via He’s Just Not That Into You review.

Youth in Revolt review

Youth in Revolt was definitely different compared to the usual, monotonous romantic comedies which have been released in recent times(With the exception of Valentine’s Day), but this film was definitely a ‘different breed’ of this genre. It was definitely an interesting film, although it wasn’t a constant flurry of entertainment, it still maintained some remnant of comedic value throughout.

Michael Cera(playing Nick Twisp) definitely stood out in Youth in Revolt compared to his past efforts; playing a different type of character from what he usually plays, a dull, wooden version of himself. That isn’t to say that he isn’t funny, after a while, the same type of character begins to run dry and repetitive. Francois, Nick Twisp’s alter ego in the film was a character which to me, added more differentiation to the characters Cera usually plays.

There were moment within Youth in Revolt which I found relatively humorous, and it was these moments which were most memorable. Primarily the scenes with Francois were the ones which stood out, as they were different to what I’m usually used to seeing Michael Cera in.

Portia Doubleday(Playing Sheeni, Nick’s love interest) had an interesting character, but what gravitated me more toward her was her dialogue. Or, the way she was performing her lines. She had such an eloquent style when she spoke, which was complimentary to the lifestyle of her parents in the film.

Not the most exciting film of the year so far, but still an interesting look at Cera doing something different.

Lovely dialogue, great cast choice, moderately funny romantic comedy.

7/10

Karan

Movie reviews, news, rumours

via Youth in Revolt review.

Summer’s Moon review

Synopsis: A young girl searching for her estranged father is abducted and imprisoned by a demented family of killers. Summer (Ashley Greene) was traveling across the country when handsome young handyman Tom Hoxey (Peter Mooney) helped her out of a tight jam. Charmed into spending the night at his place before she starts her journey again the following morning, Summer discovers the dangers of accepting rides from strangers when she’s chained in the basement of Tom’s house and threatened with death unless she agrees to become the newest member of the murderous clan. Stephen McHattie and Barbara Niven co-star. – Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

I must say, it is far more easy to criticise than to praise, but with this, it’s going to be a breeze.

First off, I will say when I purchased this DVD, I figured it would have been a vampire flick. Why? Well, only because of the fact that Ashley Greene- “Summer”, had blood falling down her bottom lip.

I was honestly lost for words throughout this film. The only thing that made it even remotely tolerable was the hope that something interesting was going to happen n the next scene. That, and the end of the film.

The acting was below average in the majority of the film, Greene(Summer) and Mooney(Tom) had quite possibly the worst acting in this. Tom’s Father and Mother weren’t bad, but the dismal writing of Summer’s Moon severely hurt this film.

I was getting antsy waiting for some sort of clue as to why this man was doing what he was doing, but nothing. There was nothing. The entire film was just an endless string of incongruity, severely struggling for that one juncture in the film to make it worth the audience’s money. Nothing. The ending was so deeply disappointing, that I found my hands contending with my feet to get to my throat.

The positives about this film? Probably one. The scene where she gets in the car, and gets blood on her face. You’ll know if you dare watching this.

Bad attempt at a supposed ‘Horror’, I just wasn’t convinced.

3/10

Karan

via Summer’s Moon review.

Daybreakers review

Synopsis: an ambitious tale of a futuristic Earth populated entirely by vampires, and the efforts made by the creatures to ensure that their food supply doesn’t run out as humankind is faced with extinction. The year is 2017, and a vampire plague has turned most of the planet’s human population into bloodsucking ghouls. As the population of mortals fast begins to dwindle, a vampiric corporation sets out to capture and farm every remaining human while simultaneously researching a consumable blood substitute, headed by undead hematologist, Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke). His work is interrupted after stumbling onto a pocket of human survivors lead by Elvis (Willem Dafoe), a former vampire, whose past reveals a cure that could reverse the tide and save the human race. With time running out, Dalton’s only hope lies in outsmarting the security forces of his boss (Sam Neill), whose goal isn’t just to find a substitute, but to repopulate humanity in order to sell its blood to the highest bidder. – Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This was very much an adult version of Twilight, just quite a bit more…adult.

I’ve said before that I’m a fan of post-apocalyptic films (Book of Eli, Zombieland), and this one is added to the list, albeit quite dull and mundane, there were scenes within this film I quite enjoyed.

The film had quite an interesting plot, and most of the time had my attention, but when the ridiculousness kicked in, it was all a little frustrating. The coincidences, the clichés were all too much for me to take in, the questions I had were countless, questions based on the amount of times I saw something absurd. “Why are they killing them if they so desperately need blood??” or “Why are they so effing stupid???” were questions which I asked myself numerous times.

Despite being relatively interesting within the violence department, the ending and substandard effects really ruined it for me.

Just an okay film, good cast, interesting concept which had potential, if a sequel does follow, it might make more sense. Hopefully it does.

Gets a 6/10 from me.

Karan

Movie reviews, news, rumours

via Daybreakers review.

Book of Eli review

Synopsis: Eli (Denzel Washington) has been on a journey for 30 years, walking west across America after a cataclysmic war that turned the earth into a total wasteland. The world has become a lawless civilization where people must kill or be killed. The barren roads belong to gangs of cutthroats who rob and kill for water, a pair of shoes, a lighter, or just for fun. Eli is a peaceful man who only acts in self defense, and becomes a warrior with unbelievable killing skills when he is challenged. After the war and the “Big Flash”, Eli was guided by a higher power to a hidden book and given the task of protecting the book and taking it to its final destination. Eli guards the book with his life, because he knows that the book is the only hope that humanity has for its future.

I had some relatively high expectations walking into this film, and I suppose around 90% of those expectations were met.

I love post-apocalyptic films, and when they’re done right, it’s something that I appreciate the bejesus out of.

The Book of Eli was a film which impressed me in many scenes, but ultimately fell short of my expectations.

The fight scenes within this were superbly choreographed, albeit a tad bit choppy in the CG department. Reminiscent of X-Men Origins: Wolverine’s visuals (Which weren’t impressive in the least), these effects were better, but when looked at closely it was obvious where some of the effects were used, notably in the bar fight scene. All of this, however, was completely (positively) overshadowed by the shots that were used in the film, most notably the shot in the Desert, and the one(s) on the road, the metaphorical significance of these shots were effective, and really stood out the most throughout.

One thing I simply have to address was the overuse of product placement. Ok, so a couple of products is okay, but when there’s about 7 or 8 names in a film, it begins to get ridiculous. Example- GMC, Rover, Puma, KFC, Apple to name just a few. There were countless amounts of placement in this film, but let’s move away from that.

The plot to the Book of Eli was intriguing, albeit a little under-explained, although the beginning had some indication as to what happened within the location it was set, it was rarely talked about, and even then, minimally.

Denzel Washington impressed me with his noteworthy performance, portraying his character quite well, after realising what the outcome was. Mila Kunis was a wonderful addition to the film, surprised me in many parts, although a little clichéd at parts; the ‘innocent’ charm she holds so greatly is gently wearing off, but she seemed to hold onto it.  She was a lovely supporting member of the cast, however, but honestly do not think the ending can lead to anything good.

Not so sure about the biblical references though, it definitely worked the way they used it within the film, and it didn’t bother me, but it may have been somewhat controversial. That’s what makes cash I guess. That’s what it seems to be these days.

Good film, decent visuals, great dialogue, great choreography, great product placement,

6/10

Karan

via Book of Eli review.

Up in the Air review

The opening scene is pure hilarity, something I definitely enjoyed, and were people who have actually been fired recently in real life. The scene was organic, a word I use quite a lot, but this scene was just that- real, with real people. At any point during that establishing scene did it seem scripted to me, it was obvious they were being directed, but not so obvious that it was harmful to the overall polished-ness of the film.

George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a man who travels from state to state firing people from their jobs because their bosses are too afraid to do so.

So up until a little while into the film, he’s leading a sheltered life of solitude and emptiness, but he doesn’t realise this until he meets someone who complements him perfectly.

What I found to be brilliantly astute was the way the air miles were portrayed within this film, as some sort of status symbol. Another thing I admired was how Clooney’s character had a goal that he wanted to reach, it was as if he lived his life simply to achieve this.

The way he spent every aspect of his life so sparingly was admirable, how he was organised, almost as if his life was choreographed. Brilliance, would be the best word to use here, how each scene was crafted with such precision. What do I mean? I’m referring mainly to the scenes where Ryan and Natalie(Anna Kendrick) are together, especially the scene where they both set out for the first time, the flow of that particular scene was clean, it was brilliantly edited, and was when I began to get a good insight into Clooney’s character.

Kendrick was great in this, her character was sheer brilliance, definitely her best role I’ve seen her in. Her cockiness-turned-understanding attitude was a good change of pace, I think she was portrayed as a cocky graduate quite well, and when she found out how damaging life can be, it was heartwarming, when she understood what she was doing was a little unethical and belittling.

Theres not much else I can say without ruining the story, but it was such a good watch, another great from Jason Reitman, the ending was a bittersweet moment for both the audience and Clooney’s character I think, but it was a stirring moment when he had returned to assist with the problems.

Good film, good plot, good acting, witty, quirky dialogue, great cast, great film.

9/10

Karan

Movie reviews, news, rumours

via Up in the Air review.

The Hangover review

Despite it not being a ridiculously funny film, it definitely had it’s charms, and it became apparent why it was praised.

I only found myself laughing probably about three times throughout the entire film, and other times a smile creeped out. Just a smile.

The humour was actually funny, but it just really felt way overdone, almost as if it was trying too hard. It was just all sex, drugs and toilet jokes here. Very reminiscent of early Apatow work. Not necessarily bad, it just felt overdone, all too familiar for my taste.

The plot was intriguing to me, the result of  last night’s drug and alcohol fuelled romp appearing to be a huge catastrophe was hilarious, seeing what the gang went through trying to figure out what happened was pure hilarity, but like I said before, alot of the gags used were just…okay. When all of these elements were melded together in once bunch, it was just a substandard comedy film, which quite honestly dragged the film down a little.

The cast in The Hangover most definitely were the shining stars of the film, most notably Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis. Cooper I was familiar with from ‘Yes Man’ and ‘Wedding Crashers’, but seeing him in a starring role was definitely something which I agreed with and definitely gave the film a little more credibility. Of course, in saying this, Ed Helms was delightfully amusing, after watching his performance as a regular in the US TV show, ‘The Office’. Galifianakis was a new face for me, prior to the film I wasn’t aware of his existence, and for this I’m disappointed with myself. Zach would most definitely take the ‘most effing funny’ award for his performance in this, and quite frankly, the three time I laughed, it was because of Galifianakis.

I enjoyed the film, it was far from the funniest film I’ve seen, but it had it’s charms, and is why I enjoyed it so much. With plenty of laughs, awkward moments, The Hangover is a straightforward comedy while at the same time quite clever, with it’s intricately intertwined continuity, it was most enjoyable thanks to the starring cast who stole the film.

Despite lack of originality in the comedic department, it deserves the praise it’s been receiving.

8/10

Karan

Movie reviews, news, rumours

via The Hangover review.