Outstanding cinematography

Pure cinematic bliss. An absolutely breathtaking experience that left me speechless.

An hd version was released on blueray quite recently (28th October 2008) and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Also a sequel titled 'Samsara' is in production (likely to be out in 2009) and I'm really looking forward to that as well.

1 November 2008

An intensely realistic portrayal capturing the true essense of the glorious ancient Mayan civilization and it's brutal downfall; Mel Gibson delivers us another epic tale from history.

Visually breathtaking. A beautiful soundtrack. A brilliant story. Well acted. You can't ask for more. It's easily one of 2006's best.

A wonderful remake of the 1934 film of the same name. The acting is outstanding and the cinematography and the story are equally impressive. One of 2006's finest, that is both emotional and engaging.

A film with Edward Norton and Naomi Watts as the leads can't possibly go wrong now can it?

16 August 2008

The best scifi flick in recent times until they decided to do a complete genre twist and turn it into a horror around the last quarter of the film. Still didn't ruin the film as a whole though and with a cast consisting the likes of Cillian Murphy, great directing by Danny Boyle, stunning visual style and an awesome storyline, this is nothing short of one amazing film.

Highly recommended, even for non scifi fans.

"All you have to is look out for a little extra brightness in the sky. So if you wake up one morning and it's a particularly beautiful day, you'll know we made it."

Absolutely wonderful film set in the most beautiful and amazing of places. The mansion really helps in building up the chilling atmosphere and the scenes at the beach near the lighthouse were nothing short of breathtaking. This film to me is everything a true horror should be. The tension and suspense some of the scenes build up is unbelieveable. If you can really get into it, you're in for a real spine chilling experience. There's little violence and blood in it yet it's more engaging and scary than the majority of horror flicks out there today. The fact that the film's blessed with an amazing cast who all threw in terrific performances helps a lot as well I guess. Kudo's t Belen Rueda specially for a memorable performance.

Contrary to many people, I even liked the ending. It packs quite the bittersweet emotional punch. I can't think of any other way to end it all which would have been say as much satisfying and realistic.

The film's real beauty to me lies in the ambiguity of it all. It's up to you to decide what it all meant. Very much like Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. Infact this film has del Torro written all over it. I'm quite surprised that it wasn't him who directed this. But it's original and different enough for me to say that this is definitely one of 2008's finest films. A true masterpiece. Hell I wouldn't even mind an Oscar.

p.s. People who don't like reading subtitles have absolutely no idea how many amazing films they're actually missing out on. Seriously.

A truly magnificent remake of the 1922 Nosferatu film. However influential and innovative the original film maybe, you have to understand the fact that some things just weren't possible back then so I'd say this is actually better than the original. It's definitely one of the best remakes I've ever seen and quite possibly the best vampire film of all time as well.

Klaus Kinski's performance as Count Dracula is one of the film's strongest points and it's nothing short of phenomenal. As memorable as they come. Isabelle Adjani was perfect for the role as well. She's stunning and it's impossible to keep your eyes off her. As for Bruno Ganz, he did a fine job. Renfield's character on the other hand I think was played better in the original.

Above all, the one thing that got me instantly hooked is perhaps the haunting and evocative atmosphere which owes much to the cinematography and the bleak ambient music which was played throughout the film. It works like a charm. This film also has one of the best opening sequences I've ever seen and it really set the mood for what is to come and make no mistake, it's all about the mood here. You need to be in a right mood to appreciate this.

I'll have to say the only thing that even slightly disappointed me was perhaps the ending, but it's no deal breaker. Lastly I've gotta give credits to the writers. It was quite poetic writing without being over done and I really liked it. I think the film is well ahead of it's time and unappreciated much.

Daniel Day-Lewis once again moves up a dozen places in my all time favourite actor list with his phenomenal performance here. He's like a chameleon. He could do any role and convince you. I can't think of anyone else with so much versatility in terms of acting talent. I'll put him up there with the all time greats like Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson.

Great film with an excellent cast, superbly written dialogue and the soundtrack succeeds so well in building up the moods. Need I say that all the awards are very much deserved. This is the very best of 2007 without a doubt.

"Drainage! Drainage, Eli! Drained dry, you boy! If you have a milkshake and I have a milkshake and I have a straw and my straw reaches across the room and starts to drink your milkshake. I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!"

One of the greatest films you'll ever watch. It's incredible how realistic it all looked and it really succeeds in delivering a powerful message. I wish they make more films like these. Highly recommended.

Are you watching closely?

(will review soon)

When it comes to great films about the World War II, this is one of those films that sit right at the very top. The D-day landing scenes surely are some of the most memorable scenes in any war film. Truly incredible film in every aspect.

Best superhero flick ever. There's just no competition. I just fucking loved watching this at the cinema. It surely is one of the best experiences I've had at a cinema.

Jack Nicholson may be a better actor but Heath pulls off the Joker's role better than anyone else had done before and the film is just brilliant. A masterpiece.

It more than deserves the hype.

( will probably add a couple more lines here later. )

Excellent film making. The use of dramatic classical music and lighting here is remarkable.

Juliette Binoche was exceptional in her role as well. Dark, mysterious and sexy, as it says on the cover. One fine film that was well worth watching.

A very compelling and beautiful plot, with two very seemingly different yet interconnected strories switching back and forth. One, a fairy tale as imagined by a little girl and the other, reality; which in here is a bloody struggle between facist Spanish troops and a guerilla uprising in a rural area up North in Spain, 1944. But it never get's too chaotic or confusing for the viewer and will keep your eyes glued to the screen from the beginning till the very end. It's absolutely magical.

This is too dark, violent and graphic to be a children's movie even though at first it looks a lot like one, which is a good thing in my book.

I'm left speechless after watching this one. It scared the shit outta me. No, it's not a horror flick, but it scared me coz it felt so realistic. And I kept on thinking how harsh and fucked up reality could be sometimes.

Combined with the phenomenal acting, the captivatingly psychdelic music, the haunting and heartbreaking story and the powerful message it delivers here, this is one of the best movies I've ever seen for sure.

Obsessions are a dangerous game to play. And sometimes, when you get addicted to a thing, there's no turning back. If there's one movie I'd recommend everyone in this world to see, this is probably it.

Tim Burton, the master of the dark arts comes back to deliver yet another outstanding masterpiece featuring some of his most faithful companions in Johnny Depp whom he worked with more than a couple of ocassions now and Helena Bonham Carter who's actually his partner in real life.

Almost everyone in the leading cast delivered brilliant performances with Johnyy Depp and Helena's characters being the most unique and interestng of all. Both characters exceptionally well made and acted, very much worthy of an Oscar nomination or two. The cinematography was breathtaking, even with all the blood and gore and the musical score accompanying the film was extremely well crafted.

Never thought I'd like a musical this much but this one has to be one of the best films of 2007 and one of Tim Burton's best.

To make it short, I fucking loved it. A very memorable experience.

One of the most beautiful and awe isnpiring films I've watched recently. Witness the true story of one guys fight against materialism and his dedication to fulfill a purpose.

Never thought much of Emile Hirsch but he does rather well here and I'm begining to like Kristen Stewart. She looks like she has the potential to become a pretty good actress.

Five stars from me for for the cinematography as well as Eddie Vedder's (of Pearl Jam) soundtrack which was stunning.

Speaking of the real thing, I admire the guy's courage and his wild spirit, but what he did almost qualifies as suicide.

Alaskan Park Ranger Peter Christian: "...When you consider McCandless from my perspective, you quickly see that what he did wasn't even particularly daring, just stupid, tragic, and inconsiderate. First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament. Essentially, Chris McCandless committed suicide."

But to take anything away from this film for that would be most unfair.

Zhang Yimou's masterpiece. One of the greatest Asian films ever made. Ofcourse, not everyone would understand what's really going on here but those who do will know how brilliant the plot is. Add to that the stunning cinematography and the amazing martial arts scenes and you've got yourself a visual spectacle there.

This is wicked. And really cool. Cool in a dark and violent way that is. It turns a bit chaotic with the twist nearing the end but the last scene was a total blast. It made the film even more the better.

Brad Pitt and Edward Norton both deliver superb performances and the dialogue was fucking awesome. Add to that a stunning soundtrack. This movie as a whole is pure genius.

Of all the post apocalyptic films I've seen in recent times, this has to be by far one of the best I've come across. The cinematography surely is one of it's strongest points and the atmosphere rendered is quite incredible. Great storyline as well with excellent performances from Clive Owen & Michael Caine. The others were decent as well I guess though nothing special. For me the film works coz it sucessfully recreates a very realistic looking and dramatic world where the story just fits in perfectly. Simply brilliant.

p.s. Nice Pink Floyd reference with that Flying Pig thing.

It scared the shit outta me when when he touched that car and it started beeping, towards the beginning of it. I really thought a stupid zombie was gonna jump right at your face, but it didn't, for one reason or the other. Maybe zombies don't like staying inside cars or whatever. Other than that, there weren't too many scares. This was more of a survival flick rather than a full frontal zombie assault. But it certainly was very realistic. The concept isn't very original but this turned out really well. I loved the scene at the beginning where they showed all these abandoned streets and all. It had a strange and eerie feel to it. Great choice for the Godspeed You! Black Emperor track which accompanied the scene. That's one hell of a song and certainly enhanced the scene a lot. Also Cillian Murphy was excellenthere. Perfect choice for this role.

Bloody, violent and intense, but brilliant film nonetheless with some fine characters and an excellent story. It's a Martin Scorsese film after all. Daniel Day-Lewis deserves to be mentioned specially for his portrayal of "The Butcher". Phenomenal performance. Leonardo was superb as well.

Perhaps the real super heroes here are Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale. They basically saved the batman series with this while it was in deep shit. But that's to take nothing away from the rest of the brlliant cast which included the likes of Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman and Ken Watanabee to name a couple.

The Batman is supposed to be one of the darkest superheroes out there and this film does exactly that. Which is why it succeeds. I love it. Really love it.

Christian Bale depicts the character better than anyone ever did. And the cinematography is stunning and the plot fantastic. This film has everything going for it.

Brilliant film which manages to deliver a powerful message. And Nicholas Cage shows that he's a fine actor, and so is Ethan Hawke and Jared Leto who always does the fucked-up-drug-addict role so well. Really liked the dark and gloomy feel of this as well as the excellent plot. One of 2005's best.

23 July 2007

Mixed reactions from me to say the least. I liked part of it, part of it I found a bit unrealistic and pretentious.

Throughout the movie, there are many themes switching back and forth. Bashing the Taliban regime, fighting for your own freedom and standing up for your own rights, courage, honour, loyalty, friendship and family are among some of the matters addressed. But I think the main message it delivers is about redemption from a sin one man commited long back as a young boy. For me, what ruined it as a whole was the pretentious parts and it felt like it was missing something, but it's a very compelling coming of age story nonetheless.

One thing I could absolutely agree on though is about the cinematographic quality of the film as well as the score. Quite amazing. But the film I have to say is a bit disappointing. Could've been better.

As for the book, I haven't read it. I don't read too many books and I can't be bothered seriously, even if it's way better than the film.

There is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft... When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife's right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone's right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness.

The story of Jesse James or rather the end of it, like you've never seen before.

Stunning cinematography and brilliant acting all around makes this one of 2007's finest films. Casey Affleck in particular was real impressive playing Robert Ford's role and Brad Pitt did an outstanding rendition of Jesse James himself.

This film really should've been up there with the best film Oscar nominations for 2007. Instead of Michael Clayton, if you ask me. One thing I'd tell you though is not to watch it unless you've got the time for it coz it's almost two and a half hours long. Probably a little more than that actually.

I loved the ending though it's a tragic one. I'm not really spoiling it coz you already know that from the title itself.

...There would be no eulogies for Bob, no photographs of his body would be sold in sundries stores, no people would crowd the streets in the rain to see his funeral cortege, no biographies would be written about him, no children named after him, no one would ever pay twenty-five cents to stand in the rooms he grew up in. The shotgun would ignite, and Ella Mae would scream, but Robert Ford would only lay on the floor and look at the ceiling, the light going out of his eyes before he could find the right words.

Serves him right I say. At the end of the day, Robert Ford was just a coward who betrayed them all for the money and fame none of which he deserved.

And so I've watched it finally. All I can say is this is probably the single most charming film in the history of film making. It's even better than I thought it was going to be. And probably has the greatest cast ever assembled in a film. I just love Marlon Brando and Al Pacino's performances. Not saying the other's were bad or anything but they stood out for me. Almost everything was perfect, from the brilliant plot and directing to the excellent score, the phenomenal acting and dialogue.

This is without a doubt one of the greatest films ever made and a true masterpiece from Francis Ford Coppola.

Truly a brilliant achievement in film making. One of the greatest movies of all time and it's of surprisingly good quality considering what might've been a low budget production. I'll give five stars for everything from the cast, the camera work and the phenomenal performances given by pretty much everyone in the leading roles to the brilliantly written dialogue. Nearly flawless direction and execution from the beginning till the very end.

I doubt that everything depicted here is the absolute true though. Much of this is based on the accounts of people like Hitler's secretary who've claimed to have had very close relations with him. One thing I'll respect the film makers here is for the fact they never try to shove any political agenda down your throat, unlike most documentaries and films depicting these events. You're free to make of it what you will after watching it.

This will give you more than just a glimpse of Adolf Hitler and his henchmen like you've never seen or imagined before, raging with emotions in their very last moments watching their ideas, visions and basically their whole world collapse right infront of their own eyes. It's both an eye opening experience and sad at the very same time coz it felt so real and humane. Infact, I felt sympathy for some of them. I really do, however wrong it might seem to be.

The score composed by Howard Shore is one of the finest ever and well fitting for a film as magnificent as this. Everything about this as well as the other two films in this trilogy is absolutely perfect.

12 May 2009 (extended edition)
# - theatrical cut also watched

The greatest sequel ever made and one of the best films ever. This is as close to perfect a movie can get. I love Al Pacino and Robert De Niro's performances. It can't get any better than this.

B for Brilliant! One of 2006's best. Loved this movie. Very artistic and had a French feel to it for one reason or the other which I really love.

ps - This guy reminds me a lot about Robert Pires (France, former Arsenal FC player) who's one of my favourite footballers. :D

Moments of absolute brilliance get some what clouded by unnecessary pretentiousness. It's still very much worth the watch and I really enjoyed it however pretentious some scenes actually were. Afterall, the film had so much going for itself with that stunning soundtrack, great writing and an amazing cast.The writing is perhaps not very realistic but it was good nonetheless.

For me, Miranda July and Brandon Ratcliff steals the show here. The kid in particular did a pretty damn good job with his role in what truly is an adorable performance.

))<>(( . Forever. Even thinking about that scene makes me crack up. Surely that has to be one of the funniest and most memorable scenes in any film I've ever watched.

13 May 2009 (extended edition)
# - theatrical cut also watched

An excellent film from Sweden. Great performances by both the beautiful and talented leads. Apart from a few noticeable flaws, the film was superbly done.

A lot of similarities with "Fucking Amal". Both films dealing with the issue of adolescence and sexuality among girls. As with that, the highlight here is the two leads; Adele Haenel & Pauline Acquart. Very impressive performances from both.

It's a good French film but there were a couple things which I didn't like about it. For starters, I didn't like the fact that the stupid girl (Anne) got so much screen time. Didn't like her character at all and frankly, she was a distraction. More of an annoyance than anything and the nude scene involving her was totally unnecessary as well I thought.

Just when I thought Ellen Page can't top her performance in Juno, I get to see this. An even more complete performance you could say this is by the immensely talented actress who's quite easily become one of my favourites. Kudos to Patrick Wilson too for a job well done. He made it all look quite convincing. The film definitely needed some strong performances and they both delivered.

This is one intense film and it's great how it manages to constantly change your mind and opinions throughout the film. At the end, I couldn't really make up my mind either and we don't really get to know too much about her anyway. You're left to speculate, make up your own mind. I mean the guy deserved some of it but then again, seeing him suffer makes you feel sorry for him though it's the wrong this to do. To me, the part with the neigbour seemed unnecessary and kinda made it look a bit unrealistic. I would have liked the film more if that wasn't there.

Love the cinematography as well and that's one amazing poster they've done for this film. The kind which you'll never forget. Iconic. Once you've seen it, you cannot unsee it. :D

And no, she didn't cut his balls of. Had a tough time watching that part though. Pedobear better stay alert. :D

14 May 2009 (extended edition)
# - theatrical cut also watched

"Death is the road to awe."

Strangely beautiful and fascinating. One of the best films I've ever watched and I really mean it. The fact that I understood much of the symbolism depicted in the film - from the ancient Mayan cultures, the Spanish exploitation of their lands for riches and the myths about the tree of life - helped quite a lot I guess. Otherwise there's chances that you might feel a little bit overwhelmed and find it difficult to comprehend the story. Since I had pre existing general knowledge about the background behind the side stories, it was quite easy for me to fit in all the pieces and make some sense out of it. But there's no doubt that every one who's watched this will have his/her own explanation and to me it doesn't really matter since I loved it the way I interpreted it. Infact it's the very reason why this is such a great film. To make a film with so much meaning in itself, that ain't going to be an easy job by any means.

Darren Aronofsky is a genius and this film another one of his masterpieces. Beautiful music by the very talented composer that is Clint Mansell, brilliant acting from the likes of Hugh Jackman (who did a really impressive job in what must've been a difficult role), Rachel Weisz & Ellen Burstyn coupled with stunning visuals and an amazing storyline. The film had it all and I absolutely adore it.

Can't wait to get this on HD and watch it all again. You can bet I'm gonna get the director's cut as soon as it get's released as well. I rarely watch a film more than once but this, so far I've failed to get this out of my head. I've got my hands on the soundtrack as well and I'm loving it as much as the film. The only thing I regret is not having watched this at a cinema. That would've been quite an entrancing experience.

"Together we will live forever."

A fucking epic visual orgasam and an unforgettable experience. Love the dialogue, the soundtrack by Tyler Bates, Gerard Butler's perfomance and a lot of other things about this movie. This is SPARTAAAA!!!

Absolutely fucking incredible cinematic experience. I loved every second of it. If ever you needed any proof as to how good cinema can be, this would do it nicely.

The music, the writing, the camera work, the acting, it was all perfect in a way. Audrey Tautou is such an amazing actress and Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a genius. Seriously, I'm still in awe.

19 August 2008

Simple and subtle yet it's beautiful. A fascinating insight into love and relationships in general as well as living in modern day Japan from a western perspective. The Japanese folks, they really are crazy people whichever way you look at it.

The film's just a little bit overrated but I thought it was exceptionally well done and I specially loved the ending as well as the cinematography and how good the film captures the moods of the characters. It's got quite the urban-esque feel to it and it's most appropriate given the film's setting of Tokyo, Japan.

Part of the reason why this turned out to be such a good film accounts much to the stuning performance from Scarlett. The best she's done so far I'd say and all those who doubt the fact that she's got good acting talent should probably look here. Bill Murray was great as well but for one reason or the other, I've never been a big fan of Bill. Maybe it's time I change my opinions regarding him coz he obviously ain't bad at acting.

20 August 2008

Well worth the hype. It's so good that you almost forget it's an animated film.

24 August 2008

It's easy to indulge yourself when a film get's this good. Irène Jacob is a wonderfully talented actress and I love the overall feel of the film but the ending felt way too forced for my liking.

Blue was perfection while Red and White are both are excellent films.

12 September 2008

Very original and artistic flick with some astonishing camera work. It was actually quite funny at times and there's a lot of nudity in it as well but it's tastefully done.

Definitely one of the best romantic comedies I've seen in recent times and a real surprise to be honest.

9 October 2008

"I think I can hear my heartbeat. I tell myself it's a butterfly's wings."

A film that might make you appreciate life a whole lot more. The cinematography is of transcnedental beauty and the poetic writing is equally impressive and so is the acting. Hugely inspiring (though not uplifting) flick but unfortunately I don't think it's for everyone coz it's quite slow paced and that tends to bore your average cinema goer.

"Like a sailor seeing the shore disappear, I watch my past recede, reduced to the ashes of memory."

11 November 2008

A lot of the post-rock bands are quite incredible when playing live and this was no different. I'm not really a huge fan of Sigur Ros, but I am a huge fan of the post-rock and ambient genres as a whole and it's always a pleasure to watch when people with actual talent perform their music. There's a lot about this film that appealed to me including the extremely beautiful landscapes of Iceland. They really did a stunning job with the cinematography and sound here I must say. The only thing that disappointed me was the fact they spoke English during the interview bits. They should have opted for subtitles instead considering the English they spoke was pretty weak mostly.

29 November 2008

Perhaps the best horror of all time and Jack Nicholson is in my opinion, the best actor of all time.

-Rating for uncut version-

8 December 2008

Kurosawa's adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Stunning for it's time with a surreal feel to it and a story full of metaphors. A masterpiece.

17 January 2009

While I acknowledge the fact that this might one of the greatest technical achievements in film making, I found it rather dull and tedious to watch. It just drags on and on. Yes it's very thought provoking but basically the film could be summarised into 10 minutes or so and it would probably mean the same thing. I see the film as more of a visual experiment than anything else. The rating is obviously for the cinematography. It's unbelievably good.

25 January 2009

The cinematography was just so good.

24 May 2009

20 May 2009

Spectacular in every way. Fincher has done it yet again.

24 June 2009

Breathtaking cinematography and a score that is as good. The film is beautiful to watch but the ending left me a bit disappointed.

30 June 2009

My favourite Wong Kar Wai film.

7 July 2009

The quality of cinematography in this film is unreal. One of my absolute favourites along with some of Herzog's works.

25 July 2009