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Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Sure, a little slow, but nicely done!!
Greetings from OppositeofColumbus. Like many, I thought the trilogy wrapped up years ago. So when I heard of the next movie, my first reaction was - why? While I liked the trilogy, I didn't think they had been quite the blockbusters to spawn another trilogy, and they had a sombre tone. Nevertheless intrigued, I went for the early screening not having even watched a trailer or read anything about it.
First off, watch it on whichever premium format you can. The CGI is really well done from apes emoting to the dramatic terrains.
I liked that the hero was a little diffident at first but grew with the story. Sure we've seen it a thousand times, but it was still an identifiable journey.
The ideology splits were shown well, the action sequences were effective and the shades of characters kept me interested. Sure it left a few questions hanging, but I guess those are for the sequel(s).
Pacing did feel slow at times but I like that personally better than nonstop effects and explosions. Mae was the more intriguing character, with Noa's arc (see what I did there) being a more predictable one. If you let yourself go on the journey, I think you'll enjoy it. No huge surprises in the story though - you'll know if you're gonna like it or not pretty much in the first act. Have fun!
Dhoom:3 (2013)
Dhoom 3: Gets Worse Despite Aamir's Presence
When the first movie came out, I thought it was a cool idea - a bike gang with a charismatic leader ala Point Break. Mainly watched it for John. Ditto for Dhoom 2 and 3 - you watch it for the antihero or the actress (Hrithik, Aish, Aamir) and the "heroes" are just incidental. The fact that Aamir not only signed up for this was alluring enough. That he buffed up again was hinting that he was as usual taking his role seriously. But the movie is just too absurd to utilize his acting skills and just relies on charisma, glam-sham and entire style over substance. Vijay Krishna Acharya, who wrote the scripts of all Dhoom movies is at the helm but instead of helping, that decision ends up marring the movie into a Rohit Shetty'esque brainless action- entertainment caper.
Aamir, contrary to what your lines said in the movie, you became a true clown by appearing in this maskhari movie.
VKA - WHY would you kill your own movie by gaping plot holes, mindless action and lifting bits from more movies than you can shake a stick at?
IMDb - why would you allow the cast to be written in such a way that the major twist of the movie is revealed?
Pros - Aamir tries his best and acts well, but the character has so many contradictions that it doesn't make sense. Katrina seems to have gotten more fit for this role too, though she still can't act convincingly.
Cons - Script, script, script. Plot holes big enough to drive a semi through. - A magic act never seen before is one of the oldest tricks in the magician's repertoire - A father who recites poems about courage and making your own destiny and kills himself leaving his kid to fend for himself, and another kid - In this day and age, when US banks rarely keep cash, the bank in the movie has enough cash to make it rain on the street, and no one grabs either the cash or even glances twice at the thief who is running vertically for Chrissake! - Just 'coz a message is written in Hindi, Mumbai cops show up in Chicago? And here I thought there were a million, or millions of people who could have read the message for CPD or FBI. Not only do they show up, he is suddenly the boss of everyone? And their CPD liaison shows up on a BMW bike to give them a ride? Yeah, right! - Banks keep their money and assets (federally) insured. Why would robbery or blowing up one story of a building shut it down? - Preps for robbery plans but no execution is shown. Why in the world is he making cash rain and running down the side of building? Ugh! - Why can't meticulous planners and drivers of "transformer" BMWs don bulletproof vests or at least wear masks? - Don't even get me started about the brick walls, auto rickshaws, amphibian bikes and flying bodies (of humans, and cars) - Why does Sahir leaves Jai to die in one scene and doesn't even blink an eye to see him alive? - If Ali is there at the theme park, why not arrest/kill Sahir right there? - Samar gets slapped and injected unconscious and never even retaliates, at all? - And the last scene. Oh, the last scene! The foreign cop with no power calls a lieutenant and choppers and SWAT teams get ready to go? And where do they go? They land at precisely the dam that the brothers are crossing at sunrise. And how do the cops know the brothers would be there at that exact moment? That, my dear, is the REAL magic of Dhoom!
In summary - don't go thinking you're gonna watch an Aamir movie, even though he has the biggest role. Don't even go thinking you'd see a Dhoom movie with at least SOME semblance of a story. Go as if you would to see Rohit Shetty or Salman Khan movies, and you would be all right. Otherwise, save your 172 minutes. But I think majority of audience would spend that time, like I did, and make this movie a hit. I'd be very hesitant to go for the next one though. ENOUGH.
Halloween (1978)
Call me heretic, but...
...I thought the movie was hilarious! I only watch horror movies occasionally. The Ring was disturbing and Alien, Jurassic Park, The Conjuring were good IMHO. New Evil Dead was stupid as heck. So that gives you some idea about my preferences.
I got a chance to watch Halloween on Halloween 2013 (it's 35th anniversary) in Cinerama and I figured why not. It IS a classic after all, why pass up the chance to watch it on big screen?
Maybe I'm just too used to newer movies (I do like old films - 12 Angry Men, Godfather movies, GBU, Once Upon..,even Cleopatra), but I thought this movie did not work for me as a horror at all. There is no development of Michael Myers as to why he's that evil and why he is after our protagonist. The story might continue in Halloween II but I'm never gonna watch it. Even if I take the evilness for granted, I find it hard to believe that he can appear/disappear from anywhere at his will, learn to drive like an expert after 15 years in captivity, become unconscious and conscious like a robot AND nothing can kill him when even a 6 years old can kill an adult with a couple of awkward slashes. Then we have our heroine who never bothers to check whether he's dead or alive and keeps leaving the butcher knife (and herself) close to him.
I confess that the heavy breathing was probably effective in 1978 but to me it just sounded funny. The score, though nice, never really connected - there would be ominous music so many times in the movie for no reason. And when he does appear, it's not all that scary. Again, maybe it was back when it came out. One part that was disturbing was babysitters allowing others to have sex in their employer's house and two characters talking about ripping a child's clothes off. Ugh!
Now to the fun part - late 70's low budget fun! Clueless inspector who doesn't smell weed out of a hitherto airtight car? Agrees to stay on duty for a doctor he doesn't believe? Girls getting naked or half-naked for no reason? Nobody calls the police in the entire movie (except 1 try), even after suspecting murder(s)? And the BEST part - a sex scene that lasts 10 seconds and the girl goes - FANTASTIC!! I expected to come out of the theater scared, and I came out smiling. SMILING! I guess I better stop.
Friends with Benefits (2011)
Predictable fun!
The movie was entirely predictable since it was, after all, a formulaic chick flick (Boy meets girl, good moments, bad moments, almost break up and then patch up leading to Happily ever after). But it was funny at times and had some poignant moments thrown in for good measure. Justin Timberlake, though he's getting typecast in fast talking smooth operator type roles, was good. Mila Kunis was better and they had pretty nice chemistry together. I like how they broke couple of stereotypes (art director, sports editor, who was probably the funniest, BTW). Her mom's character was funny as well. It won't stick with you, but it won't bore you while you're in there either. Good one to watch w/ your SO.
6/10
The Hangover Part II (2011)
Same formula still works
It's a good thing I didn't remember lot of the first movie (prolly didn't see the whole movie either), but I knew the story and some scenes.
That said, this movie turned out to be pretty funny. True that the characters don't seem that outrageous anymore, but some jokes still hit home. My favorite was probably the Allentown song. Roping in MT again was cool too.
In short, if you're gonna judge it based on the first, you probably won't like it. Watch it without any expectations and it's pretty nice. Njoy!
Forks Over Knives (2011)
Probably not scientifically balanced, but thought provoking
I kind of knew going in that this movie would make a case for vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. It was nice that they did that with real scientists with work and publications behind it. I have long known the benefits of a largely meatless lifestyle myself.
As thought provoking and sometimes dramatic that it was, I hesitate to give more credit to the science than due. Just like the two main scientists featured, there could be numerous others whose studies show opposite results. It's obvious that you have to pick dramatic facts if you're going to make it a movie, and that's what they did. The producer/narrator's bias was very obvious.
That said, the production is of good quality, it portrays some interesting facts and opinions and is even funny at times. All in all, thought provoking and definitely worth the time. 7/10
Buried (2010)
What the heck?
The LAST thing you want to do when you make a movie like this is to portray the character as unlikable. Paul Conroy doesn't sound like the guy you would want in your circle of acquaintances, much less care about him. I mean, who says F you to someone who just gave you a life saving number, keeps using the lighter when all the common sense and even another person tells him not to, doesn't try to find how deep underneath the ground he is by trying to open the snake crack wider? And he stays on the phone for too long with no potential results. At the end, you think you'd probably not even want him alive. I shouted at the screen and left the movie once, but my wife wanted to finish it, and even she didn't like it by the end. First half is HORRIBLE, second half doesn't get better either.
2 stars ONLY because they thought they could make a movie like this, and pulled it off with Ryan Reynolds, of all actors! Save the 90 minutes for something else IMO.