In my review of
Thor (http://kartikr.blogspot.in/2011/05/thor.html),
around 2.5 years back, I had gushed and gushed and if that wasn’t sufficient,
gushed even more about my love for Natalie Portman. I must say that she still makes me go weak in
my legs but the “love” has moved on.
Sorry Natalie – I couldn’t get myself to wait for you indefinitely ;).
Showing posts with label Stellan Skarsgård. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stellan Skarsgård. Show all posts
Friday, 8 November 2013
Friday, 12 April 2013
Angels and Demons
Most people in
Hollywood state that if there was a contest for the most effective combinations
between director and actor – Ron Howard with Tom Hanks would be right up there
with the best. They had 2 movies under
their belt before Angels and Demons. The
Da Vinci Code & that classic called Apollo 13. Both extremely well made.
Thursday, 3 May 2012
The Avengers
Bleddy Hell!!! If there was ever a super hero movie which was every man’s dream come alive then it has to be this one right? Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and The Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) all packed into one adrenaline pumping, edge of the seat riot in an attempt to save the world from Thor’s psycho brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston). And yes, before I forget, the glam quotient is covered by undoubtedly the hottest woman in Hollywood today – Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson).
The much awaited Avengers was actually a sequel of sorts into which we got a sneak peek at the end of both Iron Man 2 and Thor if I am not mistaken. The Avengers programme run by the secret organization S. H. I. E. L. D. had been disbanded many years back by the Council. But Director Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) chose to keep the programme dormant over time with our six super heroes.
He didn’t kill the programme completely. All for the day when there would be something undesirable that would take us by surprise. He was also working on a secret programme to build a machine using THE CUBE (a source of unlimited energy) that would be capable of taking on any alien invasion whatsoever. Therefore, when Loki decides that he needs to pay earth a visit so that he can trade it for getting back onto the throne, Director Fury has no other choice but to activate The Avengers.
Non Stop Action is the hall mark of The Avengers. As they say in advertising parlance – You wanted it. You got it!!! Whether you are watching The Black Widow take on the Russians in a supreme display of acrobatics and fist fighting OR you are watching The Avengers, together taking on the aliens which come in towards the end. Either ways, you are in for a visual treat that you will remember for a really long time. One can argue that it is only special effects all the way but then the effects are completely mind blowing!!! It could so easily have been ruined with a lack of attention to the minor details.
I walked into The Avengers expecting a damp squib. While it may not have the class of great Oscar block busters or not find its way into the imdb top 250, it sure checks all the boxes that good action movies do. Do not go expective performances – one cannot when you have the likes of Evans and Hemsworth playing pivotal roles. The rest of the cast is however quite good. Expect some super one liners from Iron Man such as when Captain America tells him, “Stark – we need a plan of attack” and he responds, “I have a plan – Attack”!!! Non stop entertainer as I mentioned backed with a good story. 7.5 on 10. Watch it!!!
Oh and yes, once again – released one week prior to US release in India (so the press releases said)!!! WOW!!! We are getting there folks.
Trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3899040025/
The much awaited Avengers was actually a sequel of sorts into which we got a sneak peek at the end of both Iron Man 2 and Thor if I am not mistaken. The Avengers programme run by the secret organization S. H. I. E. L. D. had been disbanded many years back by the Council. But Director Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) chose to keep the programme dormant over time with our six super heroes.
He didn’t kill the programme completely. All for the day when there would be something undesirable that would take us by surprise. He was also working on a secret programme to build a machine using THE CUBE (a source of unlimited energy) that would be capable of taking on any alien invasion whatsoever. Therefore, when Loki decides that he needs to pay earth a visit so that he can trade it for getting back onto the throne, Director Fury has no other choice but to activate The Avengers.
Non Stop Action is the hall mark of The Avengers. As they say in advertising parlance – You wanted it. You got it!!! Whether you are watching The Black Widow take on the Russians in a supreme display of acrobatics and fist fighting OR you are watching The Avengers, together taking on the aliens which come in towards the end. Either ways, you are in for a visual treat that you will remember for a really long time. One can argue that it is only special effects all the way but then the effects are completely mind blowing!!! It could so easily have been ruined with a lack of attention to the minor details.
I walked into The Avengers expecting a damp squib. While it may not have the class of great Oscar block busters or not find its way into the imdb top 250, it sure checks all the boxes that good action movies do. Do not go expective performances – one cannot when you have the likes of Evans and Hemsworth playing pivotal roles. The rest of the cast is however quite good. Expect some super one liners from Iron Man such as when Captain America tells him, “Stark – we need a plan of attack” and he responds, “I have a plan – Attack”!!! Non stop entertainer as I mentioned backed with a good story. 7.5 on 10. Watch it!!!
Oh and yes, once again – released one week prior to US release in India (so the press releases said)!!! WOW!!! We are getting there folks.
Trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3899040025/
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (English)
Obviously by now, you would have already read the book. For those who haven’t, you have about 10 more days to do so coz this one is going to hit the screens in India on the 10th Feb 2012 (hopefully). PVR has started advance booking for the same. You can pre-book your tickets on the PVR Cinemas website. For those who are unaware, here is the link. http://www.pvrcinemas.com/movie/pre-book-form.aspx?pid=8N/SGuOj9j8=&movieid=rDJnnCx7F1KWUI4/ffc0hg==
This is the review for the English version. Just happened to catch up with it in Adelaide. Could not have waited till I got back to India because the damn teasing was getting too much to handle. It was to be released about 2 months back and I have no clue why the distributors were taking so long. Plus, how could I have missed an opportunity to post a review a full 10 days before my primary audience can watch it. Will post the link again a couple of days before the actual release in India if you would like me to that is.
David Fincher has been one of my favourite directors of all time. Starting from the spine chilling Se7en (not including Alien3) all the way to the exceptionally well directed Social Network that got him his second nomination (other than The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) at the Oscars. So you could have imagined my happiness when I realized that TGWTDT was to be directed by him in English. But my happiness has been for the first time ever so slightly belied by Mr. Fincher. Through the movie, there are small instances of deviating from the actual storyline that was written by Stieg Larsson. But it keeps building up to a point where you actually get a little peeved because he changes the ending which is supposed to take Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) to Australia and closes it at London instead. Left me quite perplexed as to why he would make so many changes. And then there are consistency errors – can you believe that about Fincher. I couldn’t myself so I think I will watch the movie once again to reconfirm the same.
However, Fincher continues to score on all the other aspects. The Casting was impeccable. Rooney Mara well and truly deserves her nomination. A pity she will lose it to either Meryl Streep or Viola Davis. Craig as Blomkvist and Plummer as Henrik Vanger were brilliant. The Editing had Fincher’s direction all over it to say the least. Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall who won it for Social Network continue to give their best here as well. Great camera work especially in some scenes which are outstanding like after Lisbeth tattoos Nils Bjurman on his chest and camera moves right over her. Simply stunning.
I did however think that a lot was overdone. Like the emphasis on the physical relationship between Blomkvist and Salander. The siphoning of Wennerstorm’s funds. And the last few pages of the book which show Salander losing out on love yet again. To name a few, these were the sections which need not have been addressed at all. And therefore, important parts such as Salander’s father and the exciting build up to finding out the murderer of Harriet Vanger get compromised. To Fincher’s credit, he has given the right importance to aspects such as the relationship with Erika Berger which was downplayed in the Swedish version. Overall, not upto Fincher’s standards. But definitely well made. No surprise though that the Oscars have ignored this one. 7 on 10 is what I say.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3830160409/
This is the review for the English version. Just happened to catch up with it in Adelaide. Could not have waited till I got back to India because the damn teasing was getting too much to handle. It was to be released about 2 months back and I have no clue why the distributors were taking so long. Plus, how could I have missed an opportunity to post a review a full 10 days before my primary audience can watch it. Will post the link again a couple of days before the actual release in India if you would like me to that is.
David Fincher has been one of my favourite directors of all time. Starting from the spine chilling Se7en (not including Alien3) all the way to the exceptionally well directed Social Network that got him his second nomination (other than The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) at the Oscars. So you could have imagined my happiness when I realized that TGWTDT was to be directed by him in English. But my happiness has been for the first time ever so slightly belied by Mr. Fincher. Through the movie, there are small instances of deviating from the actual storyline that was written by Stieg Larsson. But it keeps building up to a point where you actually get a little peeved because he changes the ending which is supposed to take Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) to Australia and closes it at London instead. Left me quite perplexed as to why he would make so many changes. And then there are consistency errors – can you believe that about Fincher. I couldn’t myself so I think I will watch the movie once again to reconfirm the same.
However, Fincher continues to score on all the other aspects. The Casting was impeccable. Rooney Mara well and truly deserves her nomination. A pity she will lose it to either Meryl Streep or Viola Davis. Craig as Blomkvist and Plummer as Henrik Vanger were brilliant. The Editing had Fincher’s direction all over it to say the least. Kirk Baxter & Angus Wall who won it for Social Network continue to give their best here as well. Great camera work especially in some scenes which are outstanding like after Lisbeth tattoos Nils Bjurman on his chest and camera moves right over her. Simply stunning.
I did however think that a lot was overdone. Like the emphasis on the physical relationship between Blomkvist and Salander. The siphoning of Wennerstorm’s funds. And the last few pages of the book which show Salander losing out on love yet again. To name a few, these were the sections which need not have been addressed at all. And therefore, important parts such as Salander’s father and the exciting build up to finding out the murderer of Harriet Vanger get compromised. To Fincher’s credit, he has given the right importance to aspects such as the relationship with Erika Berger which was downplayed in the Swedish version. Overall, not upto Fincher’s standards. But definitely well made. No surprise though that the Oscars have ignored this one. 7 on 10 is what I say.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3830160409/
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Thor
When I first saw the trailer of THOR, what excited me more than the concept of yet another Marvel comic being converted to a movie was the fact that Natalie Portman was part of the movie. So here is probably my first disclaimer – I thought I was but now I am completely sure about this. I know I will be joining a very long queue of people in the world. I also know of a few friends in my life who are in the same boat as me chief amongst them being Sumantra Mukherjee (sorry Sumo – your competition just increased by 0.001%). I also know that one Benjamin Millepied is probably feeling insecure and yet smirking under that smile of his that he currently holds the principle rights to Ms. Portman. So without much ado here goes – I AM IN LOVE WITH NATALIE PORTMAN. So it is going to be extremely difficult to keep this movie review unbiased. However, I am trying my best to do so. In case there are any differences of opinion then it can be attributed to the state of mind that I am in currently which concerns one of the lead actors in the movie.
Now let me try and get you back to the review. Thor (Chris Helmsworth) is an arrogant young man. Along with his friends Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Hogun (Tadanobu Asano), Fandrall (Josh Dallas) and Sir (Jaimie Alexander) have fought many a conquest to protect and to extend the rule of Asgard. He is the first born of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and Frigga (Rene Russo) – The King and The Queen of Asgard. He believes that his father is not being fair when he refuses to attack their worn enemies – The Frost Giants of Yodenhime. He decides to take his father head on thanks to the instigation from his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who secretly harbours the thought of becoming king after Odin. Thor attacks Yodenhime on his own and barely manages to get back alive. But Odin doesn’t take too kindly and banishes him to Earth and takes away all his powers. He also banishes Thor’s hammer along with him with a caveat that only a worthy person would be able to pick it up and then gain all of Thor’s powers. That’s when our hero crashes into astro physicist Jane Foster’s (Natalie Portman) car who is trying to investigate some strange but gorgeous Aurora which seem to be appearing at regular intervals of late.
I had no clue that Kenneth Branagh has a directing side to him as well. I have always known him to be a solid actor. In his first movie after Sleuth (starring Michael Caine and Jude Law) Branagh uses truck loads of special effects. Some action sequences especially the first attack on Yodenhime by Thor and Co are visual treats to say the least. I guess Branagh had to up the ante on that count. He must have tried his best to make Chris Hemsworth act. But the fine specimen of humanity that Hemsworth is, proves it once again that acting talent is inversely proportional to good looks. Long way to go for Hemsworth to make a mark of any sort. That he will continue to be Thor in the sequel i.e. The Avengers (stay till the end of the credits to have the first look) is good news for him I say. My inputs on Natalie Portman will obviously be coloured and hence I will refrain from any comment. So to round it off, Thor is an average superhero movie with great special effects and not too much acting on display. But its definitely a big screen movie and not one for the idiot box. So watch it on the big screen while it still lasts. I give it 5 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1431476761/
Now let me try and get you back to the review. Thor (Chris Helmsworth) is an arrogant young man. Along with his friends Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Hogun (Tadanobu Asano), Fandrall (Josh Dallas) and Sir (Jaimie Alexander) have fought many a conquest to protect and to extend the rule of Asgard. He is the first born of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and Frigga (Rene Russo) – The King and The Queen of Asgard. He believes that his father is not being fair when he refuses to attack their worn enemies – The Frost Giants of Yodenhime. He decides to take his father head on thanks to the instigation from his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who secretly harbours the thought of becoming king after Odin. Thor attacks Yodenhime on his own and barely manages to get back alive. But Odin doesn’t take too kindly and banishes him to Earth and takes away all his powers. He also banishes Thor’s hammer along with him with a caveat that only a worthy person would be able to pick it up and then gain all of Thor’s powers. That’s when our hero crashes into astro physicist Jane Foster’s (Natalie Portman) car who is trying to investigate some strange but gorgeous Aurora which seem to be appearing at regular intervals of late.
I had no clue that Kenneth Branagh has a directing side to him as well. I have always known him to be a solid actor. In his first movie after Sleuth (starring Michael Caine and Jude Law) Branagh uses truck loads of special effects. Some action sequences especially the first attack on Yodenhime by Thor and Co are visual treats to say the least. I guess Branagh had to up the ante on that count. He must have tried his best to make Chris Hemsworth act. But the fine specimen of humanity that Hemsworth is, proves it once again that acting talent is inversely proportional to good looks. Long way to go for Hemsworth to make a mark of any sort. That he will continue to be Thor in the sequel i.e. The Avengers (stay till the end of the credits to have the first look) is good news for him I say. My inputs on Natalie Portman will obviously be coloured and hence I will refrain from any comment. So to round it off, Thor is an average superhero movie with great special effects and not too much acting on display. But its definitely a big screen movie and not one for the idiot box. So watch it on the big screen while it still lasts. I give it 5 on 10.
Watch the trailer at http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1431476761/
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