A Month At The Movies - September 2011!

Directed by: Richard Linklater

Main cast: Jack Black, Sarah Silverman, Joan Cusack, Jack White and a bunch of kids!

Stars out of 10: 8.7/10 Stars!


Now you hold it like this and 'cello', you got this!

The thing about Richard Linklater's movies is that he is not Judd Apatow. You feel safe in watching his movies and of the only 3 films I've seen of his, School Of Rock remains as his most pleasing, most entertaining and most feel-good.

I've always been a major fan of Jack Black and I thoroughly enjoy his movies from such hits like Nacho Libre and King Kong to flops - but still damn funny - like Tenacious D in The Pick Of Destiny and Gulliver's Travels. School Of Rock is different. This is like the mother of all his movies. I must have seen this film a gazillion times and even though It was very predictable the first time around, the amount of fun it leaves behind is too great to ignore and before you know it, you are hopelessly running behind the movie in order to get more. Not exactly a must watch, as many people will find it average, but if you're stuck on a rainy day or just want to see Jack Black strumming away Highway To Hell and giving an impressive speech about The Man and how MTV destroyed everything, then sit back, ready your popcorn and enjoy the flick!

Ranked No. 122 out of 500!

Directed by: David Fincher

Main cast: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, R. Lee Ermy & Kevin Spacey!

Stars out of 10: 8.4/10 Stars!


He cut off her nose

Also stylized as Se7en, this David Fincher flick is truly entertaining. The 2 hours will be worth it! One of the most disturbing, most shocking film I've seen and 90% of the shock came from the SLOTH victim when he just suddenly springs to life. That was unexpected.

Anyways, Brad Pitt is a great actor but he has the unfortunate luck of being overshadowed by the supporting or the main cast (Edward Norton in Fight Club, Cate Blanchett in Curious Case & Tom Cruise in Interview With The Vampire for starters) but that cannot be said in this film. Even though he is sharing the screen with legends like R. Lee Ermy & Morgan Freeman, they were no match in front of Brad Pitt and he really had the upper hand and did it expertly. Not even Gwyneth Paltrow or Kevin Spacey were able to shake off Brad Pitt. Kudos!

Anyways, I'd heard alot of hype on this film and some guy recommended me that I see this film saying that the villain, John Doe, is - I'm quoting - "almost like the Jigsaw Killer" and that was reason enough for me. From the creepy opening title screen to the first victim, Gluttony, to the climatic, unexpecting ending, Se7en is one of the better films I've seen in quite a-while and is one of the best effective crime-horror movies around. I won't even describe the LUST victim! It's painful... You gotta see it to believe it!

Ranked No. 145 out of 500

Directed by: Rob Reiner

Main cast: Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollack, J.T. Walsh & Wolfgang Bodison

Stars out of 10: 7.8/10 Stars!


You can't handle the truth

Rob Reiner shows us his intelligent side in this great court-room drama film. Even though Tom Cruise starred in the Tony Scott great, Top Gun 6 years previous, I think it was this film that put him in the map of Hollywood and as a leading actor of modern times.

Anyways, with an impressive cast (this is Kevin Bacon, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollack, J.T. Walsh & Jack Nicholson we're talking about) and a great storyline, this film is not to be missed. I like films which focus on one thing throughout the whole movie with little or no subplots in between.

Boring review, right?

Ranked No. 464 out of 500

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

Main cast: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Quentin Tarantino & Eddie Bunker

Stars out of 10: 10/10 Stars!


... Just keep on truckin'

You can never get tired of Quentin Tarantino's movies. Well, maybe the Kill Bill Volumes but certainly not Reservoir Dogs. With such extreme focus on blood, violence, characters & pop-culture laden dialogue, there was little wonder why Reservoir Dogs became such a big hit and is still a favourite among movie appreciaters today.

Arguably the best dis-organized crime movie I've seen which delivers all goods and keeps you fixed onto the screen. This film ain't Titanic or Forrest Gump in which haters can view their opinions or dislikes. This film doesn't leave room for arguments or debates or any of that sort of nonsense. This film does nothing but command respect and just like wine and Meryl Streep, is getting better with time. Maybe it's because of the lack of Reservoir Dogs-esque movies we're getting? Maybe no-one has come up with a better torture scene? Whatever the reason might be, Reservoir Dogs is always fun to visit and the memorable scenes & dialogues just won't leave the head.

In this film there are 2 plots running at the same time: The robbery-gone-wrong-and-we-must-find-the-rat plot and the Mr. Orange-and-Mr. White subplot. These two people, out of the whole six, are shown in a father-son relationship and if you look it from their points of view, both acted as heroes, or at least anti-heroes, in their own rights. Their progress throughout the film is expertly shown from Mr. White taking care of Mr. Orange, even to the point of pointing a gun at Joe's face, his long-time friend but ends up shooting Mr. Orange himself after when the latter admits his is a cop. Truly an excellent moment there as Mr. White hesistants and realizes his mistake he had been covering 'the rat' all the time... and they both wind up dead anyhow!

From the great ensemble cast, I frankly think that Tim Roth, the rat-cop Mr. Orange, should've been nominated for Best Supporting Actor as he gave one of his best performances - alongside Rob Roy. Everyone was perfect in their own way but there was something about Tim Roth's performance that dominated the screen whenever he opened his mouth and his bloody passed-out body, a position which he remains for literally the whole movie, only makes his character more great. If you're questioning this, I suggest you watch the part in the car after when he is shot or the part with the commode story.

In conclusion, this is a must see movie but be warned: When Mr. Blonde starts dancing, close your eyes and lower the volume... Or skip all that!

Ranked No. 88 out of 500

Directed by: Mike Newell

Main cast: Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen, Bruno Kirby & Anne Heche

Stars out of 10: 8.0/10 Stars!


A Cadillac is better than a Lincoln

Mike Newell, the director of the greatest Harry Potter installment, directed this great, a little on the short, gangster-drama, or grama, movie. Al Pacino has done many memorable roles in his extensive career but none has been more funny or more sympathic than the animals-obsessed Lefty in this movie. Working alongside with Johnny Depp (Joseph Pistone a.k.a Donnie Brasco) & Michael Madsen (Sonny Black), It was clear that Al Pacino was the only one who knew his stuff and therefore, played his part flawlessly.

Unlike the other gangster/crime-drama movies like Goodfellas, Scarface or The Godfather Trilogy, this film is not shown in a gritty, nitty, dark or violent way. In fact, It's shown in a colourful, moving manner which really brings you in the underworld and you really learn alot. For example, the difference between "he is a friend of mine" & "he is a friend of ours". While most gangster movies start from as it is, Donnie Brasco literally starts from scratch with Al Pacino & Michael Madsen being the teachers while Johnny Depp and us, the audience, being the students! Even though the pairing of Depp & Pacino was a little shaky, it was truly engaging and Michael Madsen, forever the tough-ass baddie, has one of his best movie roles after Mr. Blonde.

In conclusion, this is an engaging movie with a great storyline and hardly any gore with one of the greatest performances by Al Pacino and just like his other movie, Dog Day Afternoon, is one of the realistic films I've seen. Watch this only after you have seen the above mentioned gangster movies, as this one is so unique.

Ranked No. 463 out of 500

Directed by: David Cronenberg

Main cast: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt & Ashton Holmes

Stars out of 10: 7.9/10 Stars!


Yea, I'm scared. Let's get out of here before he goes all Dirty Harry on us

A History Of Violence is like Mount Olympus. Instead of Gods gathering to argue, we have bad-asses pointing guns at each other. In this case we have Ed Harris (Fogarty) in the first half and William Hurt (Richie) in the ending with Viggo Mortensen (Joey/Tom) acting as the bridge. The latter is the younger brother of Richie and the enemy of Fogarty in this helluva movie about a once killer, Joey, who has assumed a new identity Tom Stalls and is married with 2 kids. His past catches up with him when he becomes a local hero by killing 2 psychopaths who also happen to open the film in a memorable way and attracts the attention of Fogarty. Every aspect, every detail is greatly shown and even though the violence is limited, is expertly described.

Now, this film is divided into 3 parts: Demanding, Discovering & Dominance. Don't get too excited, this is not 'official'. This is just how I saw the film.

Let's start with demanding and by demanding I mean Ed Harris - the modern Telly Savalas. From his introduction to his meeting with Sheriff Sam to his encounter with Edie in the mall to his death, Ed Harris gave a demanding performance, as he always does, and managed to upstage everyone sharing the screen with him. His absense only wants you to take another dose of the ol' syringe of bad-assery. A performance not to be missed!

Now we have discovering and that is Viggo Mortensen. Even though Viggo is the main actor in this, his performance skills are actually shown in great light when he re-discovers about Joey, the actual himself. His son, Jack, finds out who he is and the once calm Tom Stall disappears from their eyes and becomes Joey and he slaps him. Next, he almost strangles Edie to death but they start making love on the stairway. This was Viggo's, and his character, best moment.

The last we have is dominance and that is William Hurt. His mere 9-minute screen time is just about the time he needs to show off his bad-assery. He simply dominated the ending and even in his death, looked just about intimidating as he was when was alive and drinking! No wonder William Hurt was nominated.

In conclusion, this is solely for Cronenberg-fans or fans of bold, mature crime-drama movies or those who think that Ed Harris, William Hurt & Viggo Mortensen are one of the greatest actors on Earth. If you agree with the latter, then go ahead and watch this great - but not better than other Cronenberg films - movie and tell me what you think of it!

Ranked No. 398 out of 500