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

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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

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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

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via Youth in Revolt 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

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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

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via The Hangover review.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona review

Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a film which interested me, but at the same time I felt quite inattentive throughout the duration of the film. Despite it’s witty dialogue and relatively interesting characters, I couldn’t help but feel a little bored. Starring Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz and Rebecca Hall, VCB is a love story about the tremendously unsettling activities love triangles can cause. Well, that’s my take.

There were several elements to this film I thoroughly enjoyed, some of which I will discuss.

The narration was interesting, I genuinely enjoyed how it resembled that of a book’s narration. A lot of the time I found myself bewildered as to what was happening, and the narration I felt deeply helped the catch up of scenes which were confusing to me.

Rebecca Hall, who plays Vicky, was quite honestly a substandard performer. There were several times when her ‘acting’ was questionable, and quite frankly was overshadowed by the rest of the cast’s performances. However, that’s not to say her performance was completely bad, there were scenes where her acting was organic, natural, and didn’t actually seem as though she was acting. Similarly, Javier Bartem (who played Juan), had the same effect, but his acting was fluid, far more undiminished than that of the aforementioned co-star. However, in saying this, the scene when herself and Juan were observing the guitar player, and the expression she was holding on her face was quite fascinating; sitting quite motionless on the seat observing the man quite delicately was definitely a moment within the film where Hall (or Rebecca) shined.

The film as a whole was quite a polished looking piece, and the delicate music used throughout was definitely a great addition which further added to the clean, alluring presence of the movie.

The plot was relatively formulaic, with occasional sub-plots which were quite surprising, and this made the film that little bit more interesting to keep me interested.

Overall, an okay film, characters were interesting enough for me to continue watching, plot was not bad, the formulaic factor ruined it a slight bit, but ultimately didn’t take away from the cast’s performances and the overall feel of the film.

5.5/10

Karan

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via Vicky Cristina Barcelona review.

Avatar 3D review

Over 16 years ago, James Cameron wrote a 114-page ’scriptment’ on an early idea of Avatar. 16 years. Cameron planned on following ‘Titanic’ with Avatar, but because of both technological and financial restraints, he was unable to do so.

Fast forward to around 2004, ten years after his project was shelved, it was apparent that he technology that he required was accessible. Fast forward five years to present. December 17, 2009. I witnessed one of the most incredible spectacles in this I have been privy to.

From the outset, it was apparent from that moment on, the film was going to be like nothing myself or anyone in the audience had seen.

Virtually every aspect about Avatar was breathtaking, from the visuals, down to the revolutionary MoCap technology that was developed for the film. Motion Capture itself is a ground breaking piece of technology, but the way in which it was utilised within this film was outstanding. The expressions, the likeness of their real-life counterparts were extraordinary.

The emotion that was transferred over into the Na’vi likenesses was just inconceivable, it[the technology] really captured every muscle on the character’s face, from the tiny twinges of Neytiri’s eyes, to the way Jake Sully gives a small hint of a smile toward her. Amazing.

Something that excelled this film even further for me was the language that was created. By creating a language that was unique to the Na’vi, it brought out a whole other perspective. I really felt that the true emotion from the Na’vi(who spoke, anyway) came from their native tongues, rather than when they spoke English. It felt far more organic, believable.

3D to me is something that I’m still a little undecided about. It’s something that has been around for generations, and has only just been recently ‘revamped’, if you will, into something that is meant to completely change cinema. Watching Avatar in 3D was something that absolutely must be done the first time. Although iffy in places, the moments within the Pandora world are so extravagant, that it(It’s been said so many times before, but I mean this) really feels like your there, watching the Na’vi jump from branch to branch, interact with each other. While I was watching, I honestly became incredibly immersed within the film that I almost felt a little disoriented if I looked away from the screen. Then in saying so, it was possibly the glasses I had on for too long. Possibly.

Negative? Maybe one thing. the character development was seemingly absent in this film. A lot of the characters didn’t seem to be progressing much, weren’t going anywhere- being developed. It was great seeing each of them, but, it was lacking in this department. They were far from one dimensional, each character had their own identifiable characteristic, but ultimately, they were just that- Characters with a specific trait to tell them apart from the others.

This negative does not at all bring the might of this film down, because there was one major thing that makes Avatar one of the best films in 2009, to me, at least: The soundtrack.

The soundtrack… Will be left for another time. Right now, this was the Avatar review.

Overall, great characters, great plot, just the right amount of action, amazing visuals, most definitely better in 3D, emotion, romance, it has it all. Ladies and gentlemen, this film…was Titanic. As in, the size..because..ahh. You get it.

With already 13 award nominations within days of its release, it’s no wonder this is being hailed as the most revolutionary film of all time.

9.9/10

Karan

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via Avatar 3D review.

Vlog #1 – development of writing skills

Vlog #1 – Development of writing skills from Karan Dholakia on Vimeo.