My take on Five Deadly Venoms movie

Directed By :Cheh Chang

---Spoilers included-------
Another interesting B grade Kung fu movie from Shaw Brother's studio. Movie start with an old teacher explaining his young student that the members of the infamous "poison gang" were once pupils of his. The five members dont know to each other, which are known only by the style of kung fu they practice (lizard, snake, toad, scorpion and centipede). Later we come to know that two of the five know each other and are friends. Teacher clearly instructs his young student about their skill set & asks him to hunt down all the members so they can no longer harm innocent people & also advices his always pair another member in order to defect the other. Rest of the plot revolves around young student efforts in finding & hunting down the poison gang. Plot wise it is no brainier & script is predictable & dubbing is horrible & DVD quality is poor. Straight VCD conversion to DVD. Despite with its limitations, movie is pure fun to watch & must for a kung fu fans. The fight scenes are very cool and well choreographed & you will see lots of young & energetic performances. This is what I expect in a kung fu movie.

RAISE THE RED LANTERN movie review

Directed by: Zhang Yimou
---Spoilers included-------
RAISE THE RED LANTERN is another interesting drama from china. Set in 1920's China, the story is about Songlian, a 19 year old university student who decides to marry a rich old man after the death of her father & step mom’s repeated requests & she becomes fourth wife of a rich man. The first wife and eldest is more like a mom to the others, the second wife is quiet and reserved & third wife is a singler { cunning, spoiled and openly displays her dislike for the others.} Being fourth wife she must learn the customs and rules of the master. The wives which all live in separate houses must compete for the affections and privileges of the master in accordance with his customs. Each night a lantern is lit in favor of whom the master will be with. Shortly afterwards all the lanterns of that wife's home and courtyard are also lit and the privileges begin. Although they are wives, we feels like they are prisoners. Plot centers around this new forth wife & her life & finally film ends with surprising climax. A beautiful film with stunning cinematography. The film is subtitled in English & run more than two hours. Casual moviegoers should skip this one & Strictly for art movies buffs.

Last weekend movies

Twilight Samurai:(9/10) Masterful work of art. Simply Fantastic!
Raise the Red Lantern: (9/10) Very beautiful drama. Casual moviegoers should skip this one. Strictly for for art house fans.

Last weekend movies

Petit lieutenant, Le : Realistic cop movie (7.5/10)
The Memory of a Killer : Belgium movie with Hollywood shadows. Ok to view once.
Five Deadly Venoms : Good kung fu movie & A must for every martial arts buff.

Ghostbusters Movie Review

Starring: Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver etc.
Directed by: Ivan Reitman

---Spoilers included-------
Another fun movie from my favorite actor Bill Murray. Coming to movie, plot centers mainly in three parapsychologists. They are clever & womanizer Peter Venkman, played by Bill Murray, always over excited engineer Raymond Stantz, played by Dan Ayckroyd, and the intellectual Egon Spengler, played by Harold Ramis. There three people study & investigate supernatural subjects in New York University. One fine day they were fire from campus for their wasteful research & they decides to starts a business,Ghostbusters, to investigate & eliminating supernatural stuff. From this point onward we will see these there people armed with some kind of lasers, they call as proton packs, their battle with ghosts & quiet perfect ending showdown at a top of ancient apartment building. Young Bill Murray was awesome in his role as Venkman & you will find superb characterizations, not in depth though, for a comedy film. Not only main three lead cast, support cast (many, but notable one is Sigourney Weaver) did amazing job. Pure fun to watch.

Last weekend movies

Ghostbusters: definitely one of the funniest films seen in recent times. Bill Murray was awesome. More later.

Brokeback Mountain: After lots of hesitation, finally watched this movie. Superb acting, masterful cinematography, superb dialogs, intense emotions engages the viewer. Definitely one of the best works from Ang Lee.

Completed Rome Season II volume. One of the best stuff from HBO/BBC.

Hellboy movie review

Starring: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

---Spoilers included-------

This is another movie based on famous comics like Spiderman, Hulk. The plot in the movie is good & interesting & convoluted at times. The story begins in 1944, near the end of World War II, with the Nazis attempting to open a channel between earth and a hell where seven evil deities have been lying in wait for just such an opportunity to come in and take over the world. Nazis attempt was thwarted but one youngboy manages to come to Earth & that young boy was adopted by an American expert & names him Hellboy. This young baby becomes a superhero who can do battle with all the supernatural creatures. Movie makers were very clear in making some of these movies characters believable in both his physical and psychological. By adding complex personality (i.e. ego, loyalty, good sense of humor and a good heart.) they made Hellboy character very interesting. Perlman makes an awesome Hellboy & Hellboy's "father" role(Albert Einstein shades) also very good. Ret of cast also did fine job. All-in-all this is a solid movie. As I said in my earlier posts this my second film of Del Toro after Pan's Labyrinth & seems be Del Toro was already proven that he can direct a fantasy in an interesting way. Seems be his earlier works are sound foundations for his latest flawless Pan's Labyrinth. I will watch his earlier movies in particular Blade II.

The Story of the Weeping Camel movie review

Directed by: Byambasuren Davaa, Luigi Falorni

---Spoilers included-------

An excellent documentary about camel and goat herders & a weeping camel in the desolate and beautiful Gobi Desert in Mongolia. Basically plot revolve around a young mother camel who refuses to nurse her baby after very difficult delivery. After so many attempts finally camel owners send their two children to the city (nearly 50 kilometers in desert) in order to get a violinist to convince the camel through music. In the rest of the movie we will see those two boys journey & mother Camel feeds the young or not. Well written & direction was charming & priceless. In particular this movie takes to totally different & real world & their simple daily life. I did enjoy it very much since I spent my early life in very rural areas. A must watch. A++++++

Note: Available in netflix online

Last weekend movies

The Story of the Weeping Camel: An excellent documentary about camel and goat herders & a weeping camel in the desolate and beautiful Gobi Desert in Mongolia.

Hellboy: This my second film of Del Toro after Pan's Labyrinth. Very fun movie with cool characters & solid action & Good story. Very good comic book adaptation.

Rome Season-1 first two DVDs.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre movie review

Directed by John Huston

Starring: Humphrey Bogart
---Spoilers included-------
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is an awesome film and offers in depth analysis of greed, friendship, loyalty, trust and betrayal. Coming to movie, it tells the story of an American drifter Fred C. Dobbs, played by Humphrey Bogart, begging for pesos in Tampico, Mexico and searching for work. As story progresses, he meets another drifter like him Curtin, played by Tim Holt & friendship between them. Accidentally both meats old prospector Howard, played by Walter Huston, who excites & inflects Gold fever. Even before going, old timer warns both Fred and Curtin about that if they find gold, it has the potential to ruin their lifes. Eventually all three men go in to the hills for finding fortune. As plot unfolds we will see characters changes after finding the fortune. All actors did a terrific job & in particular Bogart's last scenes were memorable. This is a wonderful movie for character analysis and almost everything about it is extraordinary. Recommended to all & one of the finest movies ever made.

The Man Who Wasn't There movie review

Directed by: Joel Coen
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand

---Spoilers included-------

I am a huge fan of the Coen-brothers. Shot in glorious black and white to bring old style film noir look. Coming to the movie, With late 40’s setup, plot deals with Edward Crane , played by Billy-Bob Thornton, is a barber in a small town in California & very much bored of what he was doing & dissatisfied & unhappy with his life. He has a beautiful wife, working at a department store & an affair with her boss. Suddenly an opportunity comes Ed's lap. If he can get hold of 10K, then it will change his fortunes and his life. So he plans a blackmail plot & rest of the story we will see unexpected twists and turns becase of his actions. As an inner plot we will see beautiful Scarlett Johansson. Story run slowly in few occasions. All of the actors did a terrific job & dialogs were good. Visually, It was one of the best black and white movies after Jim Jarmusch’s Dead man. Story & script & direction was perfect & overall I enjoyed movie. I recommend it to any fan of the Coen brothers and of film noir/neo-noir. I will watch it again.

Last weekend movies

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead: [9/10] interesting drama with Fargo shades
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre: [9.5/10] interesting story with superb characterization. loved it.
Death proof: [8.5/10] This movie is perfect homage to 70’s grind house movie. Tarantino's use of camera, sexual exploitation perfectly blended with energetic actors, characters and story.

Death Proof Movie Review

Written & Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

---Spoilers included-------

In one of earlier post I have mentioned that Grind House is one of the top ten films of 2007. Still I am watching many 2007 movies. But I like the overall experience. I think I wrote small review after watching the same in this blog. I watched Tarantino Death Proof movie part again. {Available in Netflix instance watch category) }Basically this movie is perfect homage to 70’s grind house movies. Tarantino's use of camera, sexual exploitation perfectly blended with energetic actors, characters and story. I personally absolutely loved it. DVD contains lot of extra scenes in particular lap dance part etc. {if you really enjoyed the movies on the screen, then definitely you will enjoy the DVD also) I think the music is the best part & QT dialogs are lengthy but worthy and the movie pace was little slow compared some of QT’s hit movies. Kurt Russell performance was solid & much talked car chase real fun to watch. My rating 8.5/10 alone for movie.

Water movie Review

Written & Directed by Deepa Mehta
---Spoilers included-------




This is my second Deepa Mehta movie and I would rate her as one of Indian cinema's sensible movie directors. Set in late 30’s of pre independence time Indian society, Water chronicles the lives of several widows (primarily focusing three different widows of different ages groups which includes eight year old girl played by Sarala, Sri Lankan actress. Movie opening scene was shocker. Father asking his eight year old daughter "Do you remember getting married? Your husband is dead, you're a widow now”. And later she was sent by her family to a house for widows. Rest of the plot revolves her life around the strange world of windows & where she meets, develops friendship with Kalyani (Lisa Ray) & Shakuntala (Seem Biswas). As an inner plot we will see Kalyani fall in love with young man & her story ends with unfortunate consequences. Story lacks depth however cinematography, fine performances & good background score engages the viewer. Seema Biswas, Young Salara has done excellent job carrying the movie towards the end. Strictly for art house fans.
Black and white color sets even the better mood for this kind of film. I don’t like the color aspect. this is only my major negative from my side.

Last weekend movies

Dark Days (9/10) An excellent documentary about homeless people of New York City. Simply awesome from debut maker.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (8.5/10)
The Man Who Wasn't There (8.5/10)

Lost In Translation movie review

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray

Directed by: Sofia Coppola

---Spoilers included-------

In brief the plot revolves around two married people, one is young confused charlotte, played by Scarlett Johansson, and the other one is Bob Harris, played by Bill Murray, who was on short trip to Tokyo for a commercial shooting. Both are isolated not only from other people who speak English but isolated in their own marriages to some extent. Most of the he movie takes place in a rich hotel in Tokyo & on the Tokyo streets. Their common loneliness leads them to some kind of strange emotional rapport, they spends whole night on unknown Tokyo streets and one have to see the final ending on the big screen. The performances are solid, genuine and natural. Another major strength of this movie is appropriate dialogs & less dialog scenes in which actors eye contact, and body language tells lot of things. I liked the visuals - I loved seeing a bit of Tokyo. In particular the giant dinosaur display in the background scene, simply awesome. If you are looking for Bill Murray comedy, then this is not a movie for you.

Last weekend movies

The Host: Feels like a loosely inspired by “Godzilla”, this Bong's action thriller about a mysterious creature & a family struggle get their girl struck in Monster nest. I liked the director approach of showing some personality to the monster& its introduction scenes etc. Few scenes are original & fine performances & realistic CGI engages the viewer. It will not have long sticking power like Bong earlier movie. 8/10

The water: This movie is not for everyone. In brief the plot is about pre independence time Indian society & their treatment of fellow widows & story revolves around three widows of different age groups. Story lacks depth however cinematography, fine performances & good background score engages the viewer. (8/10)

Lost in Translation: Yet another movie on the subject of loneliness. This film follows the two lonely American souls in Tokyo (A middle-aged man and young house wife). Good meaningful character study of two identical people has drawn each other in an unknown country. If you are looking for Murray comedy, then this is not a movie for you. Both Bill Murray and Charlotte Johansson acting were solid. 8/10

Last weekend movies

Down by Law by Jim Jarmusch
During late 90’s, I first saw Down by Law and enjoyed a lot. I watched it again over weekend. After two decades, Still it hasn't aged at all. In fact, it has gotten even better.
Simple story, nice visuals, wonderfully written dialogues, better acted , Cinematography is perfectly done & background soundtrack is very very big plus point.
Film opens with amazing opening scene of the seedy streets of New Orleans as we listen to Tom Waits' "Jockey full of Bourbon." Every shot in that opening scene could be a fine piece of art hanging on a wall. 10 out of 10. Another fine DVD from Criterion Collection.

Secret things

A complex movie that showcases the violence and the decay that is just under the surface of high society life & questions morality and finally pushes the limits. In brief this movie is about two young women, a stripper and barmaids, who were unemployed and decide to use their sex appeal as a tool to get on the fast track to success in the corporate world. Things go as planned for them for a while until they meet a more cunning, evil man and rest of story revolves around three people lives. The film is well cast, and the all three leads gave strong performances. The story ok. As I said it pushed the limits at the end. Some of the scenes with nudity are pretty erotic but they're present with great style. Cinematography was simply amazing in few scenes. 7 out of 10. For mature audience only

The Bank Dick

I watch and love many old films and the reason I watched this one too. For some reasons, I did not like content & Field’s jokes. Whatever the final car chase was pure fun & original.

Battleship Potemkin (1925) Movie Review

Directed by: Sergei M. Eisenstein
---Spoilers included-------
"Battleship Potemkin", was on many critics' all time top ten movie lists & I have heard of Battleship Potemkin for sometime and finally got time to view it. (Big thanks to Netflix for unlimited free streamed movie feature. Watched the same movie twice in a 10 hour gap.)

In brief this movie plot revolves around the mutiny on the Battleship Potemkin that helped ignite a populist revolt in Odessa, subsequnt massacre at the hands of Cossack troops and the final encounter with a Russian fleet. I was surprised & stunned for the content. The cinematography, especially the high black and white contrast, the glint of light on the sea at night, is fascinating & this alone worth viewing. Also much talked Odessa Steps sequence was stunning and I can see how this film influenced many of the movies that I enjoy today. The innovation offered by Eisenstein is incredible & truly a classic film. No wonder it finds top place in many critics list. Anyone who loves old films should see this one. 10 out of 10.

Last weekend movies

North by Northwest:
My favorite classic Hitchcock movie.
The casting, acting is top notch & the sets in this movie are truly memorable.
The UN building, crop dusting and Mount Rushmore scenes are breathtaking both visually and for raw tension. 10 out of 10.

The Giant Buddha’s:

Smart, thoughtful, convoluted documentary (for its many inner stories.)
It never tells the history of the giant Buddha’s instead maker Christian Frei’s treats the Buddha’s as symbols of Afghanistan's devastated cultural heritage. The most surprising and fascinating question in the film is this: why did the world care so much about these statues but not to the living people in Afghanistan?