Friday 27 March 2009

Movie Review of Gran Torino


Gran Torino - 3/10
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Cast - Clint Eastwood,Bee Vang,Ahney Her

Plot Summary
Disgruntled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski sets out to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager, who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possession: his 1972 Gran Torino.

Review
When it comes to western movies,I have always been a Clint Eastwood fan more than a John Wayne fan.In fact I couldn't stand John Wayne.I guess it must be my age cause I pretty much grew up to Eastwood movies.And I still remember when I first watched Dirty Harry with his trusty fucking Magnum spewing out his evergreen classic scene," You feeling lucky punk?do ya?(etc,etc)".
I have also watched most of his directed movies as well.The ones I didn't like were Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima,which both i found too slow and draggy.I enjoyed Million dollar baby and Mystic Rivers(one of the few Sean Penn movies I like)and what I will always love about Clint Eastwood is his Dirty Harry series.And after watching Gran Torino,this movie could well be the final chapter,Dirty Harry on his retirement.because Walt Kowalski(Eastwood's character) is no different then Harry Callahan and no one can do these roles like it is than Clint Eastwood.
Now like all of his movies,The pace is slow with simple camera works and cinematography.Editing was pretty much standard as well.What I really hated about Gran Torino is the shitty script and the casting.This is definitely one of the worst castings I have seen.I do like the idea behind the plot but what I didn't like in fact what I fucking hate is,it's too politically correct.Gran Torino would have been a more convincing and believable movie if you had the bad guys as Black or Latino street gangsters,even if you had Chinese gangsters,I would be ok with it.But Hmong gangsters???WHO AND WHAT THE FUCK IS HMONG? IS THERE ANY PART OF THIS WORLD THAT HAS HMONG GANGSTERS???And to make it even more fucking ridiculous,you go get actual Hmong people acting in this movie.Bee Vang is the boy who acts like a pussified teenage gay boy who cant stand for himself and gets bullied(unconvincingly) all the time but Hmong gangsters who run the streets.This fucker cannot act to save his own life.every time I see the fucker on screen,i want to stab him.The worst scene is when he shouts angrily but to me it sounded like a cat in the middle of the nite moaning out a mating call.It's that fucking bad.This idiot should never act again.Fuck Bee Vang.Ahney Her(even her name sounds like what u call out to a prata seller) who acts as his sister is bad as well.Her worst scene is trying to convince the audience (which is me) that she was raped and beaten badly by Hmong gangsters.Not only should she(Ahney "2 prata,1 egg 1 kosong" Her),her cunt of a brother,Bee Vang and the entire Hmong cast of gangsters should be beaten to a pulp with a tire iron.Fuck Them All!!!
Like I mentioned earlier,Gran Torino would be way much better without the politically correct bullshit.Don't pussify the fucking plot.It should have an Asian family(Chinese preferable) as the victims.Black street gangsters as the bad guys and Clint Eastwood as Dirty Kwoalski cleaning shit up.

Don't bother watching this movie at all cost.Definitely Eastwood's worst directorial movie!

Best Quote
Thug: What you lookin' at old man?

Walt Kowalski: Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldn't have messed with? That's me.

Walt Kowalski: Oh, I've got one. A Mexican, a Jew, and a colored guy go into a bar. The bartender looks up and says, "Get the fuck out of here."

Recommended movies by the director
Pale Rider
Mystic River
Million Dollar Baby
Space Cowboys

A Perfect World

Movie Review of The Watchmen


The Watchmen - 8.5/10
Directed by Zack Snyder
Cast - Billy Crudup,Jackie Earle Haley,Jeffery Dean Morgan,Patrick Wilson,Carla Gugino,Malin Akerman

Plot Summary
When an ex-superhero is murdered, a vigilante named Rorschach begins an investigation into the murder, which begins to lead to a much more terrifying conclusion.

Review
There have been mixed reviews about the watchmen.I guess most of those who hated the movie is because they felt it was just too long and was probably thinking this was gonna be a highly exciting,explosives filled,special effects extravaganza movie because most comic turned movies are like that.And then there are those who have read the comic but still didn't find it faithful enough.Well,in my opinion I thought this was a fantastic movie.and I have read the comic novel as well.Even though there has been a few changes,I did find the changes acceptable.
The title sequence was brilliant.From the title sequence itself,there are some references and all.I loved the colouring of the movie,it does give a gloomy feel to it(a la Gotham city).The special effects were fantastic,like his previous movie 300, Zack Snyder uses the slow motion sequence for all the hand combat scenes.
Direction was great.Zack Snyder did a great job in 300, and now for the Watchmen as well.I just simply loved the transition from a comic panel to a movie scene.
The kill scenes were also awesome and there are some parts you probably might cringe alittle.The script was really good even though most of the lines are from the comic itself.I did enjoy the editing as well but there are one or two scenes where the cuts were abrupt.I'm not sure if this is due to the editor or the censorship board.as you know this movie was given an M18 rating.It should have been given a R21 rating instead because anyone below that age would probably be too stupid to understand the movie.This is a movie for adults... not for fucking kids.
Acting was also good.Everyone's favourite character was definitely Rorschach.And Jackie Earle Haley did a perfect job acting as Rorschach.His growl like voice was just perfect.I found his much better than Batman as well.As Rorschach does the narration as well,you would feel as the viewer,you are thinking as him.Billy Crudup as Dr Manhattan was pretty cool.The only funny thing is whenever you see Dr Manhattan,you are bound to see his huge CGI blue penis.It does get alittle distracting.The chemistry between Patrick Wilson (NiteOwl 2) and Malin Akerman(Silk Spectre 2) is ok but the love scenes were alittle too long and should have been cut short instead.
Another thing I found interesting was the soundtrack.You have songs from the 70's to 80's.From Nat King Cole's Unforgettable to Nena's 99 Luft Balloons.As the movie's timeline is during the 80's,the songs selected for the soundtrack was perfect.

All in all,I would highly recommend movie lovers to check this movie out.Even those are not and have not read the comic before.And secretly I wish Alan Moore(Creator) would check this movie out as well.As he hates all of his comics turned to movies were pretty much shit.League of Extra ordinary Gentlemen was shit.Constantine was ok but it had Keanu Reeves in it so it's shit as well.V for Vendetta was ok but it had Natalie Portman overdoing it.So the Watchmen is it.It is in my opinion...Definitely in my top 10 list for best movie in 2009.


Best Quote
Adrian Veidt: It doesn't take a genius to see the world has problems. Edward Blake: No, but it takes a room full of morons to think they're small enough for them to handle.

Rorschach: You people don't understand. I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me!

Rorschach: [Last Line] Rorschach's Journal: October 12th 1985. Tonight, a comedian died in New York.

Recommended movies done by the director
300
Dawn of the dead(Remake)

Friday 20 March 2009

Movie Review of The Wrestler


The Wrestler - 8/10
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Cast - Mickey Rourke,Marissa Tomei,Rachel Evan Woods

Plot Summary
A drama centered on retired professional wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson as he makes his way through the independent circuit, trying to get back in the game for one final showdown with his former rival.

Review
After watching the trailer(which totally moved me),I was eagerly waiting for the movie.As what the trailer says,witness the resurrection of Mickey Rourke,it is true.A truly amazing,emotional stellar performance from Mickey Rourke.What a comeback...I used to love watching Rourke's older movies.My favourites has always been,Angel heart,9 1/2 weeks,Harley Davidson and The Marlboro Man.Then when he did a shit movie called Double Team with Jean Claude Van Damme and Dennis Rodman,directed by Tsui Hark(FUCK HIM),It was his downfall.But after this movie,I'm happy to say that Mr Rourke is back.From what I read,the main lead was supposed to go to Nicolas Cage but Aronofsky wanted Rourke and Cage being a good friend of Rourke graciously gave it to him.As this is a low budget movie(which I think suits Aronofsky better),Rourke did this movie for free.It was also at this point of time when Mickey Rourke was at his lowest and decided to do the movie as the character he was acting was just like what he became.
Mickey Rourke who also used to be a professional boxer said this was the most hardest movie he has done,both physically and mentally.For 6 months,he trained under an ex Israeli soldier in the gym to build his body up and trained for 4 months under an ex Samoan wrestling trainer.Even though Marissa Tomei and Rachel Evan Woods did a great job in their respective roles(Marissa Tomei looks hot!!!),this movie is clearly Mickey Rourke and no one is gonna steal his thunder.
Direction for this movie was great if not brilliant.Aronofsky ended the movie same way as he ended Requiem for a Dream...sad and depressing.I loved the camera works and the cinematography which really helped capture the emotions from the actors.A lot of track shots were used and handheld cameras also which gives a more gritty,edgy feel to it.Another good thing about this movie is the soundtrack.Alot of 80's glam rock songs were used.and one particular Guns N Roses song was used for the entrance music of Mickey Rourke's character,Randy "The Ram" Robinson.Aronofsky told Rourke he couldn't afford to pay any royalties to the bands for their music,so Rourke(who happens to be a good friend) asks Axl Rose if he could use the song for free and Axl obliged.Rourke said in an interview he used to use this song as the entrance music during his boxing days.The song was Sweet Child O' Mine.And for the theme song which I really hope it will win an Oscar for best Song,Rourke wrote a letter to Bruce Springsteen telling him about the movie he was acting in and all.Bruce Springsteen wrote,played and sang the song,'The Wrestler' for free.
I just love it when a director and his actors have a splendid chemistry and they make a great movie no matter how simple it is.The Wrestler is just like that.

I strongly recommend everyone to watch this movie.But do not watch this movie if it is censored,because it will totally ruin the experience.I really hope the censorship or the distributors release this movie uncut as it is a masterpiece.
Last but not least,Mickey Rourke deserved to win best actor for the Globes and Bafta.

Best Quote
Randy 'The Ram' Robinson: I'm an old broken down piece of meat and I deserve to be all alone, I just don't want you to hate me.

Randy 'The Ram' Robinson: In this life you can lose everything you love, everything that loves you. Alot of people told me that I'd never wrestle again, the only one that's gonna tell me when I'm through doing my thing, is you people here.


Recommended movies by the director
Requiem for a dream
Pi
The Fountain