abhijeet's Movies > Movie reviews by abhijeet

It's not a disaster

Posted : 7 months, 1 week ago on 1 June 2008 09:49 (A review of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)

That sums it up...

It's not a bad movie, it's mostly entertaining and the action sequences are pretty good (and Harrison Ford shows his age). Despite all that, everything feels like it's been re-cycled. After three movies, what do we expect? The plot is wafer-thin, but this is a George Lucas creation, what do we expect? Thankfully, he wasn't writing the screenplay or directing it. Spielberg ran out of steam some years ago but at least he can effectively use old ideas. Cate Blanchett is wasted, but again, what do we expect?

Clearly, my expectations were pretty low going in. Go watch it if you're a fan of the series and you should be satisfied. If you're wondering what the fuss is all about, maybe you should go check out 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' and skip this one.

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Transsiberian review

Posted : 7 months, 2 weeks ago on 26 May 2008 08:22 (A review of Transsiberian)

A well directed thriller set primarily on the Trans-Siberian train line in Russia. An American couple get caught up with a drug trafficker working for the Uzbek mafia, his girlfriend and a corrupt cop. The wife is the most interesting character, complex and frustrating at times. Ben Kingsley does a great turn as the corrupt Russian cop. Good acting all round as well. The only thing that bugs me was the whole cliche of American tourists getting being victims of something shady in a foreign country, though thankfully it wasn't quite as straightforward as that.

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Tout est parfait review

Posted : 7 months, 2 weeks ago on 26 May 2008 12:31 (A review of Tout est parfait)

Four friends commit suicide on the same day leaving behind a fifth friend, an ex-girlfriend and their parents. Intense performances by all the actors contribute to a satisfying look at teenage lives.

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Missed connections

Posted : 7 months, 2 weeks ago on 26 May 2008 12:24 (A review of The Edge of Heaven)

A prostitute, a retired Turkish immigrant in Germany, his son who is a Professor of German and the prostitute's daughter who is a Turkish political rebel. The people is this story keep trying to reach out to make a connection but they keep tanatalisingly missing each other, again and again.

The director/writer has written a very clever script and backed it up with excellent direction and the acting is top notch too.

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Nice way to kick off SIFF 2008

Posted : 7 months, 2 weeks ago on 25 May 2008 12:41 (A review of Mermaid)

SIFF (www.siff.net) started on Friday and this is the first of 15 or so movies I plan to watch. It was a nice way to kick it off - offbeat, bizarre and very interesting. The perfect film festival movie, not because it was some arty crap, but because this kind of movie never makes it to the theaters.

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

Posted : 8 months 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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A movie of modest ambitions

Posted : 8 months 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 : 8 months, 1 week 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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The actors get better each time around

Posted : 8 months, 3 weeks 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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Same old wine, new bottle

Posted : 8 months, 3 weeks ago on 20 April 2008 09:33 (A review of The Forbidden Kingdom)

Jackie Chan and Jet Li finally make a Hollywood movie without embarrassing themselves or the audience. The story isn't original but the acting is pretty good and the production quality is excellent. If you like martial arts movies, this will be satisfying enough.

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