Pompeii (2014) Canada | Germany

About a history followed by a fictional tale.

Genre:

Action, Adventure, Drama, History, Romance.

Tagline:

"No warning. No escape."

Review:

     Some of Paul WS Anderson movies were awesome and some were not, mixed bag to me. It is always a tricky to choose his movies to watch. Anyway, I went for it which was based on the historic disaster subject. Something like the movie 'Titanic', only theme was based on the real, but the story was a fictional. I was curious about to see disaster than the newly written story that merged in it.

     Todays graphics on the fingertips are the reason why the history subjects are taking a new avatars in the cinema world. The second century after the motion picture was invented is on course to right direction. Many filmmakers utilised it very well and some are overly whelmed with too much graphics like the movie '300'. But still those were awesome to revisit ancient time just like we assumed it to be while reading history books. So my expectations were usual to see men with beautiful costumes and to know more about our extinct cultures. 

‘‘Men killing each other
for amusement is not a sport’’

     This was the romantic tale with lots of actions and adventures. This movie badly missed the star powers. Since it was a German-Canadian collaboration the cast was recruited from everywhere to make it an international product. Well, I thought the lead actor was a little short though his performance was good. The others like Emily Browning, Kiefer Southerland and Adewale were better, but the pace of the movie did not give them much scope to exhibit and develop their respective characters.

     Yes, it was the story which rushed too fast towards the ending. Another 20 minutes of drama in the initial parts would have been the perfect setup for a story like this. Especially the character Cassia needed it and also a bit Atticus before all these characters meet at one point. So it seems the movie maker's plan was commercial purpose than quality of art and presentation. Anyway the entertainment was there, but not the value and standards. A slight disappointment movie, though it can be watchable at once, especially to witness the ancient city 'Pompeii'.

Similar movies:
Gladiator, Braveheart, Curse of the Golden Flower, A Knight's Tale, 300, House of Flying Daggers


Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


External link(s):
      

Blackfish (2013) Hollywood

The soul is same as you are but a different species.

Genre:

Documentary.

Tagline:

"Never capture what you can't control."

Review:

     One of the fine documentary with a fine message. Snubbed from the Oscars and I felt really bad for that. It should have been in there compared to the other nominees, including the winner. This was like another 'The Cove' which spotlights the human torture to the non human species. This documentary is not for entertainment, but which brings the public awareness of the serious issue that still taking place around the world in different venues.

     The movie was committed to expose on the imprisoned Orca, a killer whale called Tilikum and the company called 'Sea World' it owns. It all began from his capture in 1983 on the coast of Iceland, then brought back to the United States to train. In his 30 years of captivity Tilikum was involved in the deaths of his trainers, but the statement to the press and media was denoted as it was the human error. And also the movie had many heartbreaking incidents in many parts.

‘‘There is no record of an orca doing
any harm to a human in the wild.’’

     When I first heard about this movie I thought it was going to uncover the crime committed by the large Blackfish. As usual like most of the occasion my guess was wrong and I was totally surprised towards the story that tried to reveal some unexpected and unbearable truths. Everything reversed and finger points towards human just like the tag says: Never capture what you can't control. Looked like this just below 90 minutes movie was lacking in valuable inputs. Only because of the 'Sea World' that holds Tilikum refused to participate in making of the movie which portrayed them in dark shade. But the intention of the movie was explained in very honestly. There it goes my salute to the director whose attempt was so courageous.

     In my childhood, I had a fish bowl with a couple of goldfish in it and I regret having it after seeing this documentary movie. Truly an eye opener, whoever watch this would feel similar fashion, especially if you are an animal lover. Hoping this movie will change the perspective of the relationship between man and animals. Expecting more and more movies like this until people realise what's going on between dominated and enslaved species on the planet earth. If you are reading my review then you must add it to your watch list because I don't want you to miss this.

Similar movies:
The Cove, The act of Killing, Food, Inc., Project Nim


Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


External link(s):
      

The Garden of Words (2013) Japan

'The secret garden' of Japan.

Genre:

Anime, Drama, Romance.

Original title:

Kotonoha no Niwa (Japanese)

Tagline:

"A chance encounter... Becomes so much more."

Review:

     Just remember the technical brilliance of '5 Centimeters Per Second', the same director who carved this movie as well. So the expectation usually will be high for anyone who watched this filmmaker's earlier movies. The movie was too short, not even it crosses an hour mark, but only a just below the 50 minutes.

     Not only the filmmaker, but the title as well impressed me. You know 'The Secret Garden' was one of my favourite so thought it would go similar fashion. Yeah, that's right the movie deals a story of a high school boy Takao, who is passionate about shoe making. He goes to a nearby garden to the school to sketch shoes. One day during the rainy season he meets a stranger with beer in one hand and chocolates in another. The days passed by, they become very close and share things to each others. How far this unanticipated relationship takes them together and what are all changes make in their lives is followed in a heartbreaking way.

‘‘A faint clap of thunder.
Clouded skies.
Perhaps rain comes.
And if so, stay with me.’’

     I can't say it was an unexpected surprise, it gave me what I was looking for, fulfills my desire. You know during the transition between two scenes, some director will take an alternate route by showing skies, rain, clouds, insects et cetera for the few seconds. Those were very impressive and realistic. Technically, it was spectacular, every minute details were incredibly good. It was a perfect meld between characters, story and the backgrounds.

     The visuals were very charming in every frame of the movies just like '5 Centimeters Per Second'. A fine story as well, pure drama with more realistic mode covered with sentiments at the end. Could not ask better than this. The only worry was this movie is unbearably small. I was thirsting to have extra more minutes, but I could not get. Ended seeing it with a disappointment, but more than satisfied with the complete movie. For anime movie fans, it is a must see. Hope y'all get the same excitement and pleasure like I had. 

Similar movies:
5 Centimeters Per Second, Time of Eve, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time


Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


External link(s):
    

Godzilla 3D (2014) Hollywood | Japan

He's bigger, taller and stronger. The king of the monsters is back.

Genre:

Action, Adventure, Science Fiction.

Review:

     One of the reasons why I became a movie fanatic in my early age is that Roland Emmerich's '98 'Godzilla'. I was so young and took weeks to find out what's on the poster. Then my uncle came to me and explained that it is a huge monster's leg. I was not ready to accept it, so we went to the movie and then it blew me away. I remember I got goose bump when the monster was risen for the first time from the sea shore.

     My childhood was unforgettable. I saw some good monster movies like 'Jurassic Park', 'Anaconda' et cetera. Those times were just the beginning of CGI technology. The lots of effort have been made to give a best quality movie compared to present time. I can say the 90s were the turning point for movie productions in term of 'everything can be possible'. So then came the graphic movies like 'The Lord of the Rings', 'Harry Potter' series, followed by 'King Kong' 'Pacific Rim' and finally, now, this newest version of 'Godzilla' movie.

     You know I had expected this movie a lot, after all it is one of my favourite movie characters ever since '98. Excited after seeing first teaser. But I was little unhappy over model of Godzilla, which was more outdated. I mean the blueprint for creating monster was borrowed from '54 version. Which was originally a man with costume performed stunts then later played it on a big screen where actors performed their act in front of it. Now everything is different, we got the technology, then why should choose fat one rather update it with fine anatomical structure. Because usually water animals won't be a fat one. That is why '98 Godzilla looked so perfect with slim and long legs just like an enlarged version of Iguana. Other than not redesigned 3D model, the Godzilla was presented awesomely on the screen with the great visual effects and sounds mixing. I loved to witness it on a large silver screen, it was stunning.

     The movie began with a few opening credits and a decent story till forwarded all the way to later 15 years. The boring portions started. Wanted for something to happen somewhere, but had no luck. It only teased me with some sudden loud noises and briskly camera panning away from the characters just what the monster appeared from nowhere, but it didn't. I think the human story and monster's did not synch in with a clean perfect one movie. Humans and monsters were completely parted. At least collision between them would have been very interested, just like the car and helicopter chase in the '98 version.

     All the human characters were very weak including army general, the protagonist and his silly mission. I wanted a gutsy person like Stephen Lang, who was excellent in 'Avatar' as a lieutenant colonel. You gonna love the graphic side of the movie, but this story badly misses the rockstar characters like one from Ron Perlman for 'Pacific Rim' and Jean Reno for '98 'Godzilla'. Aaron Johnson was good, but not good enough to handle whole movie himself. The inclusion of another couple of well know actors would have helped better in my opinion. Maybe the surprise entries are kept for a sequel, I guess.

     Like any other Godzilla fan, I fought for my ticket that I booked a day earlier and saw on the first day itself. Actually, I enjoyed a lot this movie, but it will never be my favourite Monster movie. 'Favourite' and 'good entertainer' are two different categories. All the good entertainers are not my favourite. Though I cherished this film in a few scenes. Most importantly, this movie making opportunity was landed on the pair of a good hand. I liked 'Monsters', the director shown his caliber in that low budget high quality movie. So I had faith in him, but the thing was he's a documentary style movie maker. I was wondering how this commercial movie gonna shape up. Well, he proved that he can pull the trigger of the bazooka as well. It was visible that he was given freedom to make his way, at least in the majority of the movie.

‘‘Let them fight.’’

     Must agree this is the best version according to the appearance of the monster. So the credits must go to all the members of special effects and visual effects team. No doubt stunts were breathtaking. It was a 2 hour movie, in that first half was dragged with human drama that I did not like much. It was drifting away from the main picture. So I was lucky in the exact beginning of the second half where the 'king of the monsters' appears in front of us completely with a huge roar. There's another flying monster in the movie called Muto. This second hour is all about them fighting each other. In a couple of the scenes I was totally disappointed where the fights between them were smartly concealed other than showing us through cable news channels and in few other tricky ways. Well, they saved it for the final battle. I guess it was a little late, but in some way it convinces us to satisfy after a long wait.

     During the final battle something did not look good. I thought Godzilla was an animal, suddenly he becomes very intelligent and uses his fire-breath in a particular position to defeat his enemy. That's not at all, walking back to the sea was kind of looked like a Disney's fairy tale concept. Because monsters should behave like one not like one of a Marvel's superhero who concerns for human safety. That is the portion made me think like is it a children's movie? Because I just saw it till the end without aware. That small mistake was one of a drawback in the movie. They desperately wanted it for a sequel and so they did it without harming humans around.

     Again the digital 3D was wasted with this movie. It was shot as a regular and converted into digital 3D. There was none pop-outs throughout. Okay, fine, that's not a big deal, but in most of the parts depth of the visuals were weaker, almost plain with too much darker background. I would say there's nothing special offers in this digital 3D version of the movie. Since it is made as a one we must prefer 3D over regular for somewhat better result to get.

     There's a generation gap, fighting over different version won't change anything. My favourite version will remain the same and so yours and others. The purpose of all versions is to entertain the audience and so it does. As far now my review was mixed respond with a bit slides toward the negative side. In one line to say what's the wrong with this movie is that human portion of the story was a big letdown, though the vfx tried its best to lift is as much it can.

     Overall, I believe repeat viewing this movie won't help us to love it. The first impression is the best, if you got it, then fine, if not, so you must be either '98 or '54 version fan. If you are a Godzilla fan then it is a must see movie whether you like it or not. Put all your faith and take a chance, who knows you may like it better than me. 

Similar movies:
Godzilla '98, Gojira '54, Pacific Rim, Cloverfield, King Kong, Monsters.


Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


External link(s):
      

Million Dollar Arm (2014) Hollywood

Two talented boys in one man's dream journey.

Genre:

Biography, Drama, Sport.

Tagline:

"Sometimes to win, you have to change the game."

Review:

     The Hollywood's exploration of India based subjects is continuing. I have been enjoying those. Something quite refreshing which traveling on a new perspective to entertain the world audience. Especially, this movie was not a bigger one like 'Slumdog Millionaire' or 'Life of Pi', but cute emotional family drama like 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel'.

     It was a biopic-sport-drama about an American sports agent, J. B. Bernstein, who brought two young fastest arm Indians to the States to train as the professional baseball pitchers. Before that, he conducts a reality show called 'Million Dollar Arm' in various Indian locations to find the perfect one. In the end he gets two and takes back them to the country. What follows is the cultural collision where these two finds hard to fit in and perform. With many inspiring lines and tears in our eyes it comes to the conclusion.

     It was a nice story and inspiring. This movie teaches many things like about family values, sharing culture, hard work for a better future, having faith, true love and all the above the most deserved second chance. It was a predictable story. The minor problem with the movie was it won't explain thoroughly some of the contents it portrays. It is due to cultural different some will have a hard time to figure it out the meaning of it. But for South Asians and Indo-American it will be a perfect movie.

     The movie had more than sufficient humorous scenes and many of them were in an Indian accent. I had a great time laughing for those comedies. Those comedies are because of the difference pronunciation of the same word between the people of two countries. The character Amit is the center of the attract when it comes to the humour. In the other end, especially in the second half the story drags most of its parts towards the sentiments. I can't say it was unnecessary, but truly was impeccable and touching.

‘‘They need to know
that you care them’’

     I never knew this director. After checking out his filmography, yeah, I have watched many and liked a couple of his movies, especially 'Lars and the Real Girl'. He did a great job, especially shooting in Indian summer is not an easy task. He himself told in Q&A meet about his struggles. All the actors well cooped. John Hamm's one of the best performances. No doubt he was remarkable.

     The boys from 'Slumdog Millionaire' and  'Life of Pi' are the two Indian characters. Suraj Sharma as Rinku and Madhur Mittal as Dinesh did justice to the respective roles, though they were not similar kind of face to the real ones like usually filmmakers choose for a biopic. They were really good, did key performances alongside John Hamm's JB character. Lake Bell was a surprised attraction of the movie. I found her kind of cute in some of the scenes than never before. And other major attractions were Alan Akin with his usual incredible show in the small span, and a few others, especially that Indian character called Amit.

     Even before it was released many had criticised it by saying a TV movie and so 90s. But I had faith in it and watched and it never disappointed me. I have already said in my many reviews that I love tearjerker movies, so it was my perfect one. Some mighty one's are releasing on the same week this movie hitting the screen. I believe this is the only one pure family drama that one could ask for an alternate. In fact best by so far in this summer, according to the family friendly films. I highly recommend it, but all you need is to have a low expectation.

Similar movies:
A Barefoot Dream, The Blind Side, Million Dollar Baby, Oppai Volleyball, Gridiron Gang.


Suitable for:
Tween, Teen, Adult, All


Final verdict:
Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent


External link(s):