Archive for the ‘Drama’ Category
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Review
Tom meets summer for the first time in an office meeting. He knows immediately that they were meant to be together. After a few awkward days they are finally going out, but love is never that simple.
500 days of Summer tells a love story in a unique but honest way, jumping between different memorable events in the relationship. It’s a glimpse into the world of love, both falling in and out of it. And most importantly it’s very real.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are brilliant together. Their chemistry is electrifying, making their performances alone worth the admission price. The cast complement each other with great comedic timing and a napoleon dynamite esque humour.
Despite the moving forward and backward in the relationship, the storyline is easy to follow. In fact, the moving around in time creates an additional interest in the subjects. This can only be attributed to a brilliant script and excellent execution by the director. What many movies have tried to do with time jumping, 500 days of Summer pulls off flawlessly.
Hands down, this is the best boy meets girl movie I’ve seen this year. It has the comedy, romance, quirkiness and spunk to reach all age groups and whisk them away. This is the perfect date movie.
9/10
Tags: 500 Days of Summer, Chloe Moretz, Clark Gregg, clever, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Geoffrey Arend, Jessica Tuchinsky, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marc Webb, Mark Waters, Mason Novick, Matthew Gray Gubler, Michael Weber, Minka Kelly, Mychael Danna, offbeat, poster, Rachel Boston, review, Rob Simonsen, romantic comedy, Scott Neustadter, Steven J. Wolfe, synopsis, trailer, Zooey Deschanel
Posted in Comedy, Drama, Movies, Reviews | No Comments »
Sunday, March 15th, 2009
Review
Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams star in this intense Drama about a Priest’s relationship with his school’s first black student. The doubt that exists between the three central characters on what really happened is mesmerising to watch and should be hailed as a must see this year.
The acting from every cast member in this movie is spell bounding from start to finish. Streep’s queen bee persona that we saw in The Devil Wears Prada is taken to new levels as the principle of St. Nicholas, Sister Aloysius. But it’s not only the three leads that control the screen, the supporting cast does an amazing job of not being over powered by the Academy favourites.
The real star in this movie is the amazing screenplay. As I think it should be with all movies, the story is the best thing about it. It’s different and provocative without being too in your face or annoying, but carries an intelligent sense of humour throughout.
The crew is next in line for the ego soaring comments I just have to make about this movie. From the sets to the cinematography everything is flawlessly carried out without as much as a hint of showing off or distracting from the story.
Overall this is one of the best Drama’s I have seen in a long time, another must see on your 2009 movie list.
10/10
Tags: 2009, age restriction, Amy Adams, black, cast, crew, Doubt, Drama, Marc Williams, Meryl Streep, movie, Philip Seymour Hoffman, rating, releas date, review, screenplay, South Africa, student, synopsis, the devil wears prada, trailer
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Friday, March 13th, 2009
Review
Dog’s are arguably one of God’s greatest physical gifts to man kind. Those that have them know that no matter how much trouble they are they love you unconditionally. They don’t care if you’re rich or poor, smart or dumb, ugly or beautiful; you’re always the best thing in their eyes. This is the surface message of Marley and Me, but there’s so much more.
Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson star in a movie that will be adored by dog lovers everywhere. Successfully mixing comedy and drama in a two hour heart warming storing that’s deeper than you might expect. Great acting and brilliant direction gives this it a depth and uncompromising honesty. If you walk out this movie with dry eyes you probably don’t have a heart.
The chemistry between Aniston and Wilson is believable and entertaining but the real star of the film is Marley, affectionately labelled the worst dog in the world by his owners. The dog manages to cause every kind of trouble as this family goes through the ups and downs of life. Wilson’s character struggles between his wife, his kids, his work and his over active dog, thus creating a wonderful commentary on the juggle of work and home.
The movie isn’t perfect, at times opportunities for extreme laughter or heart wrenching moments are missed, but overall the movie is difficult not to love.
Tags: Alan Arkin, Comedy, cry, dog, Eric Dane, Jennifer Aniston, Kathleen Turner, labradoodle, labrador, laugh, Marley and Me, Owen Wilson, release date, review, synopsis, the world’s worst dog, trailer, website
Posted in Comedy, Drama, Movies, Reviews | 1 Comment »
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Review
The age old saying that youth is wasted on the young is taken to new levels with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It’s the story of a man who ages backwards and who always seems out of place because of it.
The concept is intriguing and unique to say the least. Brad Pitt claims the lead role and does so effortlessly. In fact it’s so effortless I can’t seem to see what was so special about his performance, something for which he received an Academy Award Nomination. Cate Blanchett does a fairly good job as his leading lady but their relationship throughout the film comes off as irritating more than anything else.
In fact the creators of Benjamin Button have gotten so caught up in stunning backdrops of the different time periods and the amazing effects that turned Brad Pitt into a wrinkly old man that they’ve failed to get the audience’s attention on the story. The epic film is a full 166 minutes long, that’s two and a half hours of film which will drag in many places.
It’s not that the film was horrible but it just didn’t have that something that makes you sit up and pay attention. If anything it was a pleasant journey through the last eighty years of American History and little more.
Tags: age, Brad Pitt, cast, Cate Blanchett, Ceán Chaffin, David Fincher, Elias Koteas, Elle Fanning, Frank Marshall, Jared Harris, Jason Flemyng, Julia Ormond, Kathleen Kennedy, Mahershalhashbaz Ali, release date, review, South Africa, synopsis, Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Tilda Swinton
Posted in Drama, Movies, Reviews | No Comments »
Thursday, February 19th, 2009
Review
As an aspiring film maker and a critic I sometimes forget what it is that makes me love movies, because seeing so many bad ones puts you off. Slumdog millionaire reignited that flame for me two fold. The movie is an inspiration to filmmaking, a masterpiece, a shining light in a dull room. If you watch one movie this year it has to be Slumdog Millionaire.
The story of a man who came from the slums of India to be on Who wants to be a Millionaire?. He’s just one question away from the twenty million rupee grand prize. However the authorities can’t see how a slumdog could know the answer to questions that doctors and lawyers couldn’t answer. They pull him in for questioning and an amazing life story unfolds before their eyes. Could it be that it’s this man’s destiny to win the grand prize?
From the opening minutes you can just feel that there’s something special about this movie. The cinematography is fantastic and the score awe inspiring but all of that is blown away by fantastic acting, especially from the kids, and an amazing story. I’ve said it countless times; many movies should never have left the screenplay stage. The screenplay is the most important thing. Without an amazing story you can’t get an amazing movie. What really brings this story to life is that it’s so real. It’s not trying to prove a point or change a perception, it’s telling an amazing story from start to finish.
That doesn’t mean to say the story isn’t done in style. Danny Boyle has put together an amazing movie and deserves all the recognition this film is giving him. The acting is raw, real and crisp. All the elements have come together perfectly.
Hollywood has forgotten to a large extent why movies are made. It’s not all about money; it’s about the age old art of telling great stories, where the tribe gathers around the fire to hear the best stories over and over again. This movie gets that right.
What makes this movie more real is the reality that this is a story that in actuality takes place in our own country, within our own townships. It tackles those universal questions of is it ever OK to do wrong and when will we ever get over our discrimination of all kinds?
This is a tribute to Indian film making and an honouring of the hard lives slumdogs live. It’s hard not to fall head over heals in love with Slumdog Millionaire.
Tags: A.R. Rahman, Anil Kapoor, British, cast, Christian Colson, composer, Danny Boyle, Dev Patel, director, Drama, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Freida Pinto, genre, Irrfan Khan, Jamal Malik, Madhur Mittal, Marc Williams, producer, release date, review, Runtime, sa, screenwriter, Simon Beaufoy, slumdog, Slumdog Millionaire, South Africa, starring, street kid, studio, USA, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
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