People
Signup
Login
Movies
TV Shows
DVDs
Music
Books
Games
Profile
Reviews by abhijeet
Good Oasis, not great Oasis
Posted : 1 month, 3 weeks ago on 16 November 2008 03:11
(A review of Heathen Chemistry)Oasis went through quite a long creative trough, one that lasted close to a decade. They would produce albums that had some great songs but the rest would be junk, more or less. This album bucks the trend somewhat as it has more good songs than filler. There's some really good songs here - The Hindu Times, Force of Nature, Stop Crying Your Heart Out, Force of Nature, All In The Mind and a handful of other good ones. The balance psychedelia with crunching hard rock, so the album sounds both floaty and gritty in equal measure. A good Oasis album, not a great one but satisfying nevertheless.  0 comments, Reply to this entry
Quirky look at Paris
Posted : 1 month, 4 weeks ago on 11 November 2008 10:53
(A review of Paris vu par...)The concept is intriguing, take six directors and let each of them make a short film set in a Paris neigbourhood. The result is a quirky melange of stories that cover the gamut of emotions from funny and bittersweet to sad and tragic. There's the story of an American student who falls for an impostor, a young boy who can't stand the noise made by his quarreling parents, a dissatisfied housewife who doesn't really want what she thinks she wants and more. The directors also bring their varied styles to the table. Somehow, despite the enormous potential for the stories and styles being jarring, the end result gels very well resulting in a great cinematic experience. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
Second best Oasis album ever
Posted : 2 months, 3 weeks ago on 19 October 2008 11:06
(A review of Dig Out Your Soul)Oasis haven't produced such a consistent album in over a decade. Their best album to date is still 'Morning Glory' from 1995. Since then they have produced several inconsistent albums that always had a bunch of great songs but did not hold together as complete albums. 'Heathen Chemistry' and 'Be Here Now' are my favourite examples. Now, after more than a decade, Oasis have come up with an album almost as good as 'Morning Glory'. Oasis are very consistent on this album, there's almost no filler and the music is focused (unlike some of their previous forays in psychedelia). What prevents this album from being their best is the lack of a killer single(s). There isn't any 'Wonderwall' or 'Do You Know What I Mean' here to knock you off your feet. The songs are well written and well constructed so they grow better with each listening but nothing grabs you up front. That's the only quibble I have with this album, which is a completely satisfying listen. This is the album Oasis fans have been waiting a decade for. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
Only by the Night review
Posted : 3 months ago on 8 October 2008 05:57
(A review of Only by the Night)I haven't heard any of the albums by Kings of Leon before this one. It caught my attention in a review that stated the sound was similar to U2. I can see why the comparison fits, they use a similar distorted guitar based, psychedelic sound that characterised the first half of U2's career (and much of Coldplay's albums too). The Kings sound much more muscular than U2 ever did and are influenced by more classic rock and roll such as Led Zeppelin as well. Their lead singer, Caleb Followill, has a slightly rough sounding voice reminiscent of Springsteen or Dylan and he uses is to great effect throughout. His vocals are a great complement to the music, illustrated best in songs such as 'Closer', 'Sex on Fire' and 'Use Somebody'. While the music on these consists of distorted guitars and psychedelic soundscapes, his voice cuts through the dreaminess like a ragged woodcutter's axe. Without his vocals, these could be well be Coldplay songs. This is an excellent rock album, with great melodic hooks, muscular playing throughout and interesting songwriting for the most part. They don't go overboard, with just 11 songs and a combined length of about 45 mins. This allows them to be consistently good and while some of the songs are obvious highlights, there isn't any filler here. The Kings have found a place in my music collection. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
Italian for Beginners: Romance for the Jaded
Posted : 3 months, 1 week ago on 3 October 2008 08:00
(A review of Italian for Beginners)I've seen a handful of Dogme 95 movies and most (if not all) deal with rather weighty topics and are definitely not mainstream movies. 'Italian for Beginners' is listed as Dogme 12 in the list of Dogme movies. It's basically a gentle romantic comedy about a group of people who join an Italian language class in a Danish village. It is easily the most conventional movie I've seen from this group in terms of theme and content. It is also one of the best romantic comedies I've seen - ever. Dogme 95 forces a set of rules on the film maker - filming must be done on location, only hand held cameras are allowed, no props whatsoever, no background music unless it's being played in the scene, the director must not be credited and many others. The net result of this is usually a movie that is raw and direct, decidedly unconventional, and by no means boring. Applying this formula to a romantic comedy has resulted in a movie that has a very natural feel to it, is entirely free of cliches, does not rely on artificial situations to generate the comedy. The script is simple, yet engrossing. The characters are entirely believable, both in their grief and their happiness. The acting so natural that it is like watching the characters themselves and not an actor playing the character, a trick that is difficult to master. The movie, in conclusion, is a short and bittersweet concoction that you should have no hesitation is tasting. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? review
Posted : 3 months, 3 weeks ago on 20 September 2008 10:01
(A review of (What's the Story) Morning Glory?)One of the best rock albums of the 90s. Listening to this again was like a walk down nostalgia lane. So much of the music I like is over a decade old now and so many of the bands that came into existence when I was young are over a decade old too. So much for the nostalgia, on to the review. Oasis backed up their excellent songwriting (mostly by Noel Gallagher) with great rock music.. In the 90s, it was a distinct break from the alt rock sound with it's buzzing guitars. Oasis constructed their songs in a format more reminiscent of the bands of the 60s and 70s. Their music tends to be guitar driven, which I love as well. They combined hard rock, slow rock and acoustic rock, sometimes all in the same song (case in point being 'Champagne Supernova'). This album was, in my opinion, the best they ever put out. The songwriting is consistently good, all the way to the end, this album has almost no throwaway songs. The music is varied and swings between frothy and fun to sombre and heavy. My favourite songs were the brilliant 'Wonderwall' and 'Champagne Supernova'. The former is an acoustic guitar driven song with lyrics about disappointment and longing. The latter starts off slowly but builds up to a big ending. These songs represent what Oasis were capable of at their peak. 1 comments, Reply to this entry
Matchstick Men review
Posted : 3 months, 3 weeks ago on 15 September 2008 05:35
(A review of Matchstick Men)When you figure out the 'twist' half way through the movie, it's really not much of a twist. It's too bad since the movie is competent in every other aspect except the main plot. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
Truly Epic
Posted : 3 months, 3 weeks ago on 14 September 2008 12:12
(A review of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)The middle parts of movie trilogies are frequently the best ones (Godfather II, The Empire Strikes Back, Spider-Man 2 come to mind). I'm not sure of the exact reasons but it's usually a combination of familiarity with the characters and one of these following two reasons: they try to end with a bang in the third movie and go a little overboard or the whole thing has just run out of fresh ideas. The Two Towers is the best of the LOTR trilogy, but not for any of the reasons mentioned above. The other two movies in this particular trilogy are both excellent movies, both deserving acclaim. It's just that The Two Towers is somehow ... better. The movie deviates from Tolkien's book the most of three, and it turns out to be a good thing. The scriptwriters move some events around, fiddle with some of the plot lines and the characters and throw in some brand new stuff for good measure. The end result is that while Fellowship gave you the feeling that LOTR is some variety of an action adventure, this movie leaves you in no doubt that it's a true epic. LOTR is a true epic in every sense. It's a grand story about the passing of an age. A tragedy that consumes so many of it's heroes and leaves the rest scarred. Where every victory comes at a price and sometimes the price is the destruction of something old and/or beautiful. In the end, it is about growing up and losing the magic we believe in when young. Tolkien makes is abundantly clear that we can never go back to how things were and it's this movie that rams the message home. This movie is the heart of the epic and is successful in transforming our view of it too. The trilogy came to a stupendous conclusion in Return but I'm glad the filmmakers didn't leave everything till the end. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
Ring Ø: Birthday review
Posted : 3 months, 4 weeks ago on 13 September 2008 02:40
(A review of Ring Ø: Birthday)The prequel to the brilliant 'Ringu' (re-made into 'The Ring') traces the story of how the girl on the tape in the original movie became a vengeful spirit that killed people who watched the tape. It borrows heavily and expands on the flashes of her life we get on the aforementioned tape. That gives the movie a reasonable amount of perspective to build upon. There is some very good acting and the direction is pretty competent as well. So why does it fail to satisfy like the original movie did? It's down to two things. Firstly, the novelty of a creepy girl in a white dress has worn off and it isn't really scary anymore. Secondly, the story is a little too convoluted. In order to fit all the pieces from the videotape together and still make a decent movie that stands on it's own, the scriptwriters have made some questionable choices. When I go 'huh?' in a horror movie, you can be sure I'm not on the edge of my seat with excitement. To sum it up, it's a pretty good movie - for a prequel. Fans of Ringu will appreciate it but anyone who has not seen the original will probably be scratching his head more than a few times. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
Lust, Caution review
Posted : 4 months ago on 8 September 2008 03:03
(A review of Lust, Caution)A spy thriller with it's share of some dark erotica topped with a punch you in the gut ending. Could have been shorter but that that doesn't detract from the overall excellence of the movie. Brilliant acting from the lead actress and that's really understating it. 0 comments, Reply to this entry
|
