Thursday, June 30, 2005

I, Robot---The feedback..

To fully understand the new 20th Century-Fox release, "I, Robot," one must remember the three robotic laws first put forth by Isaac Asimov's classic sci-fi book of the same name.

1) A robot can never harm a human; 2) a robot must obey all human orders unless it conflicts with the first law: and 3) a robot must protect itself unless it conflicts with the first two laws.

Will Smith is good, man. There are not many good black actors out there, i mean not the way i like them to be. They tend to be sterotypes even in their roles, but Will Smith is good. His character makes the movie a lot of fun to watch. Will Smith plays a Jack Slater-styled maverick cop. If it's old, it's good. The idea of the Robots taking over the wold isn't new but Science fiction and the special effects makes this a nice movie to watch. While not as ambitious as A.I., it is more successful ( though AI is a favorite of mine), and while not as intelligent as Robocop, it is better played.

I would give it a 4/5, just on the watching pleasure scale.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

I, Robot


Review:

Inspired by Isaac Asimov's work, this techno-thriller stars Will Smith as Del Spooner, a mid-21st century Chicago cop investigating the murder of a scientist. Wary of technology, Spooner's not the perfect man for the job, but he takes it on anyway, aided by expert Dr. Susan Calvin (Bridget Moynahan). When Spooner discovers that an android (Alan Tudyk) may be the culprit, he realizes the entire human race could be at the mercy of machines.

I will have my take on this movie tomorrow.

As i said, in the profile section as well..All comments are welcomed.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

The Sopranos: Season 5: Disc 1, 2004


Review
The house of Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) remains fractured this season, as he and Carmela (Edie Falco) continue their rancorous disputes during their separation. But Tony's determined to make his way back into his home, even as his larger family grows weaker each day from power struggles within. Adriana (Drea de Matteo) is pressured by the Feds to spy on the Sopranos, which she has to hide from Christopher (Michael Imperioli).

Season 5 rolls on...The start has been rather predictable, it starts off slowly as the new characters take their time to settle in and make the impact. I don't enjoy TV shows as much as the movies, but Sopranos has been the big exception and i have enjoyed it more than some of the movies. I have been watched all the previous 4 seasons of the Sopranos and still cling on to it, despite the loss of some good characters. Though, this first disc was just a warm up and the show will get better as the episodes go.

Rating : 3/5

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Sliding Doors



Two universes unfold in Sliding Doors, a romantic fantasy about alternate possibilities. Londoner Gwyneth Paltrow is shown in two scenarios, each propelled by the same incident. In the first scenario, she squeezes through the subway train's doors on time and catches her boyfriend fooling around. In the second version, she's stuck on the train and returns to her flat, none the wiser.

Ahh, the eternally beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow. what would movies be without beautiful women like her. Sliding doors is one of the best films that Gwyneth Paltrow has done. It has it all, humour, anger, sadness, love, compassion and a lot of lying. This movie is most special for the way the two storylines overlap, making this a very original movie. Paltrow's performance is grand as the 'hurt Helen' or the very 'naïve Helen', depending on which parts of the film you are watching. Some of her lines are priceless. Paltrow has had a very celebrated career in acting and of late singing and deserves all the accolades she gets. It was also refreshing to watch her in the murder thriller 'The perfect murder', along with screen legend Michael Douglas.


There are some other notably good performances. I love the British culture ,it has definately more class in humor and that makes the movie experiencing even more enjoyable.

Rating : 3/5

Saturday, June 25, 2005

The Jacket


Review

John Maybury's masterful thriller stars Adrien Brody as Jack Starks, a Persian Gulf War veteran who has lost his memories to amnesia. When Jack is accused of a heinous killing, he realizes he must find a way to prove his innocence. Desperate to unearth clues about his past, he seeks a controversial treatment that allows him to go back in time -- which turns out to be a heart-wrenching decision when he realizes he's destined for tragedy.

The so called masterful thriller does not seem all that masterful to me, despite having heavy overtones of the "Butterfly effect", which for me was a better movie. This is a disturbing and moving film. It interlaces love and revenge in a not so original way, through the eyes of troubled man. The idea of changing the future is not a new one and others have done a much better job with it. I don;t know, maybe i might seem a little hard but except for the talents of Adrian Brody i did not enjoy it much. I guess it seemed a little too depressing. Having said all that, i think that there would be a lot of people who would like it. It is not one of the trashy movies, just depends on ur taste.

Rating : 3/5

Friday, June 24, 2005

The Godfather, Part III


Review

Some Godfather devotees thought this final installment in the Corleone crime family saga an infamnia; for others, it represents closure to one of cinema's epic tales of dissolution without redemption. It's the 1980s, and Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) has struggled to make the family business legitimate. But dark forces (in the Vatican and among his Mafia compatriots) conspire to pull him down.

Now this is one of the controversial movies for the die hard fans of the Godfather Triology. Simply, i don;t know what the fuss was all about. It was a grandiose end to one of the greatest epics of cinema history. Part 3 was certainly as good as Part 2 if not more. The cast in Part III is sometimes cited as one of the reasons for its inferiority, but despite the relative shortage of megastars, I think the cast, including Sofia, is fantastic here. Godfather newcomer Andy Garcia was particularly impressive. The film is excellent and even though it is likely the weakest of the three when you compare them, it is somewhat unfair to put the three "Godfather" movies together because they can all stand on their own. Great movies stand on their own and "The Godfather, Part III" does just that.

Rating :4/5

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

L.I.E


A biting and disturbing coming-of-age story. Life is bittersweet along the L.I.E. -- also known as the Long Island Expressway -- as suburban teenager Howie Blitzer (Paul Franklin Dano) learns all too clearly. In the space of a week, Howie loses nearly everything and everyone he knows and is left to navigate his adolescence virtually unsupervised. Brian Cox co-stars as an older man who befriends the troubled youth.


"Howie, if you do stuff with guys, that's gay stuff. If you do stuff with girls, that's straight stuff." Howie's friend tells him. "L.I.E." is an acronym for the Long Island Expressway. The long stretch of freeway in New York responsible for getting millions of people to where they need to go, but also responsible for many grisly deaths, the L.I.E. acts as a metaphor for the bored, damaged characters in "L.I.E." This picture is not for everyone. I do like to watch Independent movies, just about when i am tired of the formula movies. This picture is still powerful filmmaking that also represents one of the few times any movie has taken the chance and dramatized such a precarious topic as pedophilia.

Brian Cox gives a very convincing performance. What makes "L.I.E." often resonate is the performance of Brian Cox as Big John. An accomplished and respected actor, Cox digs deep into the character and makes a very important choice in his portrayal of this sick man: he doesn't demonize him. The best way for an actor to portray evil is to not make the character appeal evil at all. It was a good watch, if not a great one.

Rating: 3/5