Vivek's Talk

Inglourious Basterds

Completely different to any other Tarantino flick, yet it's got Tarantino written all over it. It was amazing, to put it simply. I was surprised by how much of this movie was subtitled, and I think it was a brave move. Kill Bill had its subtitled moments but not as much as this. Please do not see this movie if you expect it to be historically accurate in any way, it is still as fantastical as any other of QT's movies. All of the performances were incredible but Christoph Waltz was INCREDIBLE. He managed to change from speaking German, to French, to English, and to Italian at one point seemlessly. There are many surprises and some great images. Action takes more of a backseat but when it's up front it is intense. I want to see it again already

The World's Fastest Indian

This movie surprised me more than any other movie in recent years. It was wonderful, really touching, and funny in a very real way. Burt is eccentric and has a free spirit attitude, so it's hard to not like him. He makes many friends as he travels from New Zealand, then across the US to time his bike at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Some moments between Burt and the people he meets along the way are so incredibly sweet that you can't help but smile to yourself. I recommend to anyone who likes a great feel-good movie. Just wonderful!

Låt den Rätte Komma In (Let the Right One in)

How can a movie that's so dark be so beautiful? Let The Right One In is definately genre defying, the vampire element is only part of the story. It's a tale of friendship, love, coming-of-age, courage, and horror. The Swedish scenery is a perfect backdrop to the story, such beauty. It makes the violent moments in the movie all the more shocking. I'm not going to say much more about it because it really needs to be seen, but what I will say is the ending is absolutely incredible, jaw droppingly incredible. If you really think about it when the movie has ended, something will click that you might not have thought at first. When it does... Wow! A stunning movie.

Låt den Rätte Komma In (Let the Right One in)

One of the most innovative exercises in storytelling in years. This is not your grandpa's vampire flick, and it's not your teenage son's vampire flick, either -- thank god. The cinematography is wondrous to behold -- my eyes were dazzled. But where this film really transcended the vampire sub-genre of horror was the heart-swelling storyline. I actually got teary eyed when Eli (the young vampire) curled up next to Oskar (her non-vampire BFF) and he held (her?) through the night, and gave her his unconditional love. A film to be experienced before the shitty American remake drops a turd at a theater near you in 2010.

The Silence of the Lambs

*SPOILERS*

According to Flixster's 'More Like This' section, you should check out Romancing the Stone. Yes, because these are very similar movies, aren't they? I guess they both contain a kind of butchering; one butchers women, the other butchers alligators. I digress...

The Silence of the Lambs is still in my all time favourite list, and has been for almost 20 years. I remember being about 9 / 10 years old, and my dad said that his mate had leant him a video and asked me if I wanted to watch it with him. "What kind of film is it daddy?" I asked. He said something along the lines of "It's about a cannibal." Well, I was sold!

When most people think of this movie, they instantly think of Dr Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter. I guess this is ok to a certain extent. He is played with such charismatic, terrifyingly unflinching acting by Hopkins so it's hard to not think of him. However, this is Clarice Starling's movie. Foster is in almost every scene of this movie, where as Hopkins only has limited (but effective) screentime.

The story goes like this... Clarice Starling is a trainee FBI agent with a passion for behavioural science. She is asked to run an 'interesting errand', to interview incarcerated psychiatrist Dr Hannibal Lecter, a serial killer with a taste for human flesh. The FBI are struggling to find another serial killer known as 'Buffalo Bill', who is skinning parts of the women he has killed. They are hoping Lecter will offer insight to the killer. Lecter offers cryptic clues to Clarice in exchange for sharing memories from her childhood. As another woman goes missing, Clarice only has a short time to solve the clues, and must share memories that she's kept inside for years.

The first scene shared by Hopkins and Foster is incredible, which is set in a dungeon like part of the mental hospital that is Lecter's permanent home. The chemistry between the two, the way it makes you feel part of the scene, the intellectual and spine tingling dialogue; it makes the scene so special and iconic. Clarice's confrontation with Bill is another great moment, the tension and fear oozes from the screen and puts you in Clarice's shoes. At this moment that is somewhere you really don't want to be. Finally; the great escape. The way in which Lecter becomes a free man once again is both ingenious and maniacal.

So there I was, 9 / 10 years old watching this scary movie about a cannibal with my dad. It gets to the end. Am I disappointed at the lack of cannibalism? No! I feel disturbed, exhilirated, and a part of me feels that i've watched something so special that i'll never forget it. Kudos to my father for letting his little boy watch something that a little boy really shouldn't watch.

Compared with todays gorno / OTT violent movies, Lambs may not look so bad. Actually the violence in this movie is very sparse, with a more suggestive approach which I find more effective than leaving absolutely fuck all to the imagination.

The Silence of the Lambs is a timeless classic, terrifying and psychological, and without a doubt the greatest 'Lecter' movie by far.

Blindness

An epidemic outbreak of blindness causes havoc in a quarantined environment, with Julianne Moore's character the only one immune. A movie that is often difficult to watch due to the subject matter but compelling non-the-less. The victims of blindness become caught in a war of rivalry, and it's here that we witness the most disturbing elements of the story. Moore's character becomes almost godlike, although the only gift she possesses is one the majority of us take for granted. Though the movie is dark in content, there are bursts of humour and light. Amazing cinematography and performances, a must see.

Chinjeolhan geumjassi (Lady Vengeance) (Sympathy for Lady Vengeance)

Visually stunning and a gripping, often disturbing storyline. I found this the most gruelling of the Vengeance Trilogy in the subject matter sense, yet I couldn't look away. The revenge is brutal and amazing... Is it just me or did anyone else find parts of it darkly comical? I don't remember Mr Vengeance or Oldboy to be remotely funny.

Elephant

I was interested in reading what other people had to say about this movie until I started reading all of the negative comments about how the students stories weren't 'interesting' enough and it was boring... The whole fucking point of it is that it's an ordinary school with ordinary students, that's what makes it so interesting and the finale more disturbing! For those that don't know this movie was inspired by the Columbine school massacre, so we know exactly how it's gonna turn out. Part of me was hoping that the actual massacre would be more suggested than depicted but the violence made it even more shocking and tragic. The style of the movie was brilliant, with only about 20 or so minutes of actual school time shown from different students view points. I'm still not quite sure why this movie is called Elephant... I did spot a picture of an Elephant in the movie but I guess there must be a deeper meaning? Not an easy watch at times but a must see...

WALL-E

Wow... A true landmark in animation. The first 30 mins are glorious, with an eerie looking Earth brought to life by the animated WALL.E and his little Cockroach friend. It's all very sweet when EVE arrives. The only downfall is the trip into space, although there are still some very funny and sweet moments. The humans kinda ruin it! I guess it needed something else to keep the kids amused. I personally could have watched WALL.E's Earth moments throughout the whole movie, I was just blown away by the realism of the city. The obligatory Pixar pre animation called 'Presto' was hilarious and very clever! Overall WALL.E was a wonderful experience.

Eastern Promises

I thought that after A History Of Violence, Cronenberg would struggle to better or even match what he accomplished. A History.. was superb, but so was Eastern Promises! The style was incredible, and I loved the very British feel. The Cronenberg / Mortensen teaming is a great one!

Set in London, Naomi Watts (an excellent performance and great British accent) is caught in the middle of a shocking revelation involving a dead girl's newborn baby and organised crime at the hands of a notorious Russian family. Viggo Mortensen (another amazing performance) is the family's 'driver' who is expected to take more onboard than the average driver would. The movie is full of thrilling and disturbing revelations, and I was gripped throughout! It has a fair bit of graphic violence as you'd expect from Cronenberg, but it's done in such a way that you will experience minimal squeem... Unless of course you really can't deal with violence! A big admiration has to go to Mortensen for the sauna fight scene. It was a very brave thing to do, you will see what I mean when you watch it. An ultimately brilliant movie that very almost matches A History.., which in my eyes is Cronenberg's masterpiece!

The Mist

At last, I finally got to see The Mist. I thought we'd never get it here in the UK.

Stephen King adaptations are usually a bit hit or miss, and as a loyal fan of his work I can say that there are a lot of misses when it comes to the movies.
I read The Mist a while ago and couldn't put it down. It helps that it's only around 150ish pages long so it can be read in one sitting if you wish, and I thought then that i'd like to see it made into a movie.

The thing that I couldn't get over was how deep this movie was for a creature feature. It's not the usual 'small town is attacked by giant insects' movie that we've come to expect. They're usually quite entertaining and fun, but that's it! This movie however stays with you for a while afterwards. What also makes it different is the fact that in this movie, it's not only the giant insects, spiders, and monsterous birds that are a threat... It also shows how monsterous humans can be. My mate and I both agreed that if you took the fictional giant insect scenario away and replaced it with a very real situation in an enclosed environment, it would only be a matter of time before people started turning on each other out of fear, desperation, or even insanity. That is more terrifying than fictional beasts! There are some poor excuses for human beings in this movie, one in particular that thanks to too many bible readings has gone a bit loopy. The hysteria she causes is intense, and you will loathe her! Marcia Gay Harden played the character to a T! Thomas Jane was also brilliant as the all round good guy, who manages to gather a small rational posse in the crowded supermarket.

Considering it was made for a relative small amount (as opposed to the average Hollywood movie) it looked fantastic! Some of the creature effects were a bit bad but it doesn't distract from what's being depicted. It also manages to stay gripping, even though 90% of the movie is set in the supermarket. You will root for characters, you will loathe characters, you may scream, maybe even cry? The only things that were left out of the book were minor details, although the ending was changed to give the audience a bit more closure. The book kind of leaves it to you to imagine what happens next. All i'll say about the new ending is that it's not a mainstream one, you may be surprised?

Caramel

Caramel reminded me of Almodóvar in the sense that it is a movie devoted to women and contained similar themes and humour to some of his movies.
It centres around five Lebanese women; Three who work in a beauty salon where most of the movie takes place, one a regular client and one a tailor who works across the street. They are all good friends and each has a problem in their life...
The title 'Caramel' is taken from a form of waxing that is used in the salon, which looks quite painful!
This is a wonderfully touching movie with bursts of hilarity and sadness.

Gone Baby Gone

I wasn't going to rate this movie as high, but thinking about it more indepth, it was a great movie. The only thing that bothered me about it was there were a couple of scenes that seemed a bit amateur, almost as if Affleck had to shout "Erm... It's your cue." Some of the supporting roles were a bit wooden. Style wise, it looked incredible. Most of the acting was brilliant, especially Casey Affleck. The twists and turns were good but I felt they kind of became too much towards the end. I wasn't hugely keen on the flashbacks either, I feel they're not always neccessary and can insult the audience. I guess this is more personal to me though, and not a general theory. There were some very interesting moments, some very thrilling moments and some very disturbing moments. One thing that I couldn't get over was the little kidnapped girls resemblance to Maddie McCann, a British couple's child who has been missing for over a year now. I'm not sure what I was expecting from Affleck but it certainly wasn't something as thought provoking and controversial as this. I look forward to his next project, and also to lil bro Casey's future performances.

Imaginary Heroes

Another wonderful suburban set drama with bursts of quirkiness and real humour. The cast and the unravelling script were amazing... Check it out!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Well, it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but I do believe die hard Indy fans will be disappointed. I just take it for what it is; Mindless fun! There were a lot of 'funny for the wrong reason' moments. I can't really fault the action, pretty incredible. Cate Blanchett looked amazing, and Shia's entrance was very Brando-esque. Harrison Ford is old, but combined with a stunt double he pulled it off. Ray Winstone was pretty annoying, Karen Allen was great, John Hurt was OK... I think the ending will make the Indyphiles cry. Lets just say it takes the series to a whole new level that's out of this world: Take that as you will...

Little Children

If I had to compare this to another movie, i'd have to say American Beauty in the fact that picturesque suburbia is not always what it seems. Beautifully shot, great cast, interesting plot twists. Some people have mentioned the humour. I personally didn't find it funny, at times I even found it quite uncomfortable to watch. Jackie Earle Haley was brilliant as the creepy, self loathing sex offender. One scene in particular in which he goes on a date was very shocking. It seemed most of the characters in the movie were looking for some kind of redemption. A very good movie.

Snow Cake

A very touching movie with great, realistic performances and very real humour. The death of a hitchiker leads Alex, a man with his own demons to the victims mother, Linda. She is autistic and grieves in a very different way to Alex. Linda insists Alex stays with her at least until 'trash day', because she doesn't like to touch trash. A wonderful relationship blossoms between them, and also between Alex and Linda's neighbour Maggie. Between them, they help Alex come to terms with his past. An incredible movie!

Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden?

The main point of the documentary was NOT to find Osama Bin Laden, i'm sure many of you gathered that. As a friend of mine said, if the heavy numbered military can't find him how can one man? What this docu-movie does go out to find (and show) is that the majority of people in the Middle East are just like you and me. Parts of the movie were sadening, parts were shocking, but much of it was funny and humane. It has unique elements that make it feel slightly different to a standard documentary without straying from the subject matter. It also opens your eyes to how the citizens of the Middle East view the USA. Morgan Spurlock is an entertaining documentarian. He comes across as incredibly down to earth and is very likable.

Iron Man

WAHOOOO!!! A very entertaining superhero movie with the incredible Downey Junior in the title role. Hey, I even enjoyed watching Paltrow in this. I usually find she has as much character as a piece of Brighton Rock (although as far as Rock goes, the Brighton kind probably has the most characteristics).
Tony Stark is a weapons-of-mass-destruction inventor, but not the usual kind. He's a cool guy; Bit of a playboy, suave, and HOT of course, but I won't steer away from the subject. When he's held hostage in Afghanistan and forced to build a high-tech missile, he opts to make a high-tech iron suit instead to escape. The Stark that returns to the USA is a new one, with a change of heart for the field he's in.
The action scenes are incredible, and the jokes didn't piss me off like the usual superhero jokes do. It also has a lot of relevance to todays war on terror!
I loved this movie. I am not a comic book reader, but some mates I went with are and they loved it too.
Word of advice: Stay until the end of the closing credits. I didn't really understand, but my mates told me Marvel fans will be wetting their pants. Infact, I think one of my mates did!!