abhijeet

All reviews - Movies (23) - TV Shows (13) - DVDs (7) - Books (19) - Music (22) - Games (2)

Already time for a 90s revival?

Posted : 2 days, 19 hours ago on 14 May 2008 02:12 (A review of Carnavas)

I can't believe this album was released mid 2006. It took over a year for this to gather some momentum. The feature of their music that grabs you from the first song is the buzzing guitars circa 1994. Just that would be enough to make them my new favourite band of the week/month/year. They also throw in Billy Corgan style vocal delivery - disinterested one moment, high pitched screaming the next along with a healthy dose of angst and irony. That's enough to make them my favourite new band of 2007 (even though they released this album in 2006).

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I don't understand! No, *I* don't.

Posted : 3 days, 10 hours ago on 13 May 2008 11:57 (A review of The Wedding Banquet)

One of Ang Lee's earliest works, this comedy/drama is an excellent mix of unconventional characters, delicate family dynamics, cross cultural exchanges and a decidedly mixed ending. Ang Lee knows how to extract humour from settings that are not over the top and write compassionate yet flawed characters that don't feel artificial.

The title of the review? An exchange between two characters that don't understand the contradictions in the other person, but still accept them for who they are. I thought it summed up the spirit of the movie perfectly for me.

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Sci-fi series masterclass

Posted : 3 days, 10 hours ago on 13 May 2008 11:49 (A review of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex)

Some of the finest sci-fi series I've seen come from the Japanese animation studios. The producers and writers focus on creating something that is more than simply an action series, a problem that plagues too many sci-fi series. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is one of the best examples. It's a potent and provocative mix of action, philosophy, politics, futurism, war, sociology along with a great deal of character development and back story.

So far, there have been two seasons with the last one being broadcast four years ago. I don't think we'll see any more episodes. Another thing that others can learn from - quality over quantity.

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A movie of modest ambitions

Posted : 5 days, 8 hours ago on 12 May 2008 01:16 (A review of Speed Racer)

The directors aren't looking to make anything substantial, they just want to take the cartoon and make a live action movie out of it. That's pretty much it. It has about the same depth as the cartoon did. Unfortunately, a movie (usually) sets a higher bar as far as plot and story are concerned.

5/5 for fantastic visuals (including Christina Ricci) and 0/5 for the rest. A little bit of fun while it lasts and then you spit it out, like colourful bubblegum.

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It's a Robert Downey Jr show

Posted : 1 week, 5 days ago on 4 May 2008 02:28 (A review of Iron Man)

Robert Downey Jr is one of the best actors in Hollywood today. He completely convincing in his role as Tony Stark/Iron Man. The rest of the cast is excellent as well, no weak spots.

The movie is engrossing from start to finish. They seem to have taken a few cues from Batman Begins and tried very hard to make the action and the technology believable (I do mean believable, not realistic, it's based on a comic book after all). For the most part, everyone follows the rules of physics. The only thing about the movie that really bothered me was how Iron Monger managed to master his suit instantly, while it took Tony Stark several weeks (months?) to do the same. Still, this was about the only false move the writers made.

Doesn't set the gold standard for superhero or comic book movies (that is still Batman Begins), but it's a damn good movie regardless.

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Initiation into Jazz

Posted : 1 week, 6 days ago on 3 May 2008 11:25 (A review of Call Me Irresponsible)

I discovered Michael Bublé when I heard one of his songs playing in my co-worker's office a few days ago. That's all it took to get me hooked.

This is Michael Bublé's third album and his best so far. The bulk of his material is covers of classic Jazz and Pop songs. He picks his material extremely well and the album gels very well. His singing is outstanding throughout. Somehow, he manages to impart a healthy dose of emotion into every song, regardless of the mood.

It's hard to pick any highlights from this set of songs but I'll take a stab at it anyway. My picks are 'Lost' and 'Always On My Mind'. Both about lost love but with very different emotional tones, both pulled off beautifully by Bublé.

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Good music too, not just the show

Posted : 2 weeks, 2 days ago on 30 April 2008 11:17 (A review of How To Be A Megastar Live! (CD with DVD))

I caught the Blue Man group on stage earlier this year and loved them. I snapped up this CD/DVD set as soon as it came out because I really liked the music they played. I'm pleased to say that much of the music (the full length songs) holds up even without the visuals to accompany it. This is good alternative pop music for the most part.

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Fun and funny sci-fi adventure

Posted : 2 weeks, 5 days ago on 27 April 2008 09:49 (A review of Back to the Future - The Complete Trilogy (Widescreen Edition))

I have loved this trilogy of movies since I was 11 or 12. The second movie wasn't that well received, which has always surprised me. I thought it was superbly written. In fact, all three movies had pretty strong scripts which is commendable for movie sequels.

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Complex tale of the human psyche

Posted : 3 weeks, 4 days ago on 22 April 2008 02:00 (A review of Double Vision: A Novel (Barker, Pat))

Pat Barker is a very gifted writer. She writes about her characters like she has known them all her life and her portraits of them are intimate and complex. All her books have a smattering of damaged and/or twisted characters. She can create these characters without even a hint of a false note. They are not the rabidly violent killers than seem to inhabit most thrillers. Rather, they are people who have a more pronounced dark side than the average person (a point she does not fail to emphasise by exploring the dark sides of the more 'normal' characters in her stories).

This book is another in a series of exceptional books she has produced. A fantastic read from start to finish with more than it's share of surprises, right to the very end.

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The actors get better each time around

Posted : 3 weeks, 5 days ago on 20 April 2008 09:45 (A review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

The great advantage of keeping your main cast together for (presumably) the whole movie series is that they get more comfortable with their characters as the go on. With the Harry Potter movies, it's paid off handsomely. The acting in the fourth (Goblet of Fire) and fifth (this one) movies has been the best of the series.

The thankfully got rid of Chris Columbus as director after the first two clunkers and started to take a few more liberties with the story. Slavishly following the books led to two pretty dull movies, that I could really have done without. Although, it must be said that the directors that came later had the advantage of experienced actors and less effort required for character development.

Looking forward to the remaining movies.

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