Triple review
I must say I'm on a streak with Cinderella Man, Batman Begins and just recently Kingdom of Heaven. Those are the last three movies I have seen, and each one has failed to disappoint.
Cinderella Man
I hate having high expectations going into a movie, but I couldn't with Cinderella Man. The duo of Ron Howard/Brian Grazer (They brought us the touching story of A Beautiful Mind), combined with the acting talent of Russell Crowe was bound to be succesful. And, it definitely was- my expectations were far surpassed. Now, many people have gripes with Russell Crowe. Sure, maybe he's a jerk in real life, but his movies are great. Gladiator, the above mentioned A Beautiful Mind, and the under-rated movie Master & Commander, are among my favourite movies. Well, Cinderella Man sits up there with the rest, if not above them all. Honestly, I don't care what an actor who is not labelled as a public role-model does in his private life. If he performs in his movies, I like him as an actor. The powerful acting of Russell Crowe in this film, backed by stunning performances by Renée Zellweger and Paul Giamatti make this an unforgettable "cinderella" story that makes you cheer, laugh and cry within the 144 minute runtime. Definitely worth the $10 movie ticket.
Batman Begins
Another movie with high expectations which were exceeded was Batman Begins. Now, Christian Bale is a very powerful actor, as demonstrated in American Psycho, Equilibrium, and The Machinist. But, could he pull of the Dark Knight? Absolutely. I thought he was almost as good as Michael Keaton as Batman, and he pulled off Bruce Wayne like a pro! This movie definitely redeemed (if not, trumped) the existing Batman franchise, and plans of making it into a trilogy are under way. Director Christopher Nolan delivered a Batman story unlike any other, bringing in elements of his earlier works such as Memento, and Following. All-star veteran supporting line-up of Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman each brought a unique, yet strong performance to this movie. Definitely a two-thumbs up, and once again...go see it!
Kingdom of Heaven
And finally Kingdom of Heaven. Now, Ridley Scott has directed some fantastic movies, but Orlando Bloom? Personally I think he's a little "soosool" (as the Persians say) to play a medieval warrior. Well, once again, my expectations (although they weren't that high) were clearly surpassed. Not only is Kingdom of Heaven a great action movie, it also has a great story. A story of courage, honour, integrity and most of all faith is delivered to the screen beautifully. Once again, Liam Neeson adds a great touch to the movie, and Orlando Bloom is able to pull his own weight. What I really enjoyed about the movie is that the Crusades are depicted in a non-biased manner. It neither belittles the Muslims or the Christians, but seems to place blame on religious fanaticism and materialism on both sides. A wonderful movie, and once again: Faran recommends!
So that's it, my triple review. Now, quick preview...War of the Worlds, coming out on Wednesday, can't miss that! And, the one I am most anxious about is Peter Jackson's King Kong. The intense Jack Black, the lovely Naomi Watts, and the quirky Adrien Brody are bound to make this film as enjoyable as possible. The trailer debuted on NBC after Fear Factor on Monday, but it can also be found at this website. Keep in mind that CG (special effects) is the last thing to be worked on in a movie, and there's still 6 months before the release of King Kong. Will the creators of Gollum (WETA) disappoint and bring us some cheesy looking dinosaurs?? I think not!
posted by faranv @ 7:35 PM
7 comments
7 Comments:
My Dearest Faran...
as I most enthusiastically perused the many blogs of which you have posted in your recent days I came across your most interesting critique of the movie Kingdom of Heaven. Being the conscientious movie buff that I am I feel it is of the utmost importance for me to give the people the truth. That is that Scott's vain attempt at depicting one of history's most fascinating periods clearly approaches mediocrity and for the simple folk, just plain old sucks. Now its obvious one who is the acclaimed director of Gladiator has a great deal of credibility amongst us everyday movie-goers but thats not reason enough to cheer for Kingdom of Heaven. Don't get me wrong, it still had beautiful cinematography, costume and fight scenes, but is this truly enough? This picture lacks what I like to call "Movie Character" meaning that in 2 years you won't remember nothing about it. Furthermore, Ridley (if that's his real name) jips the audience in an extremely anticlimactic fashion of the biggest fight scene of the movie (christians vs. muslims). As well, he fails to establish the connection between Liem Nieson (the father) and Pretty boy bloom, , did you shed any tears when the father died? Not me.. clearly suggesting lack of character development. Probably the greatest tragedy of all is the lack of heroism displayed by bloom. His big scene of "gallantly riding to the enemy" is quickly cut off cause they are outnumbered. His character is soo bland that one questions why someone even bothered to make a story him in the first place. Might as well have made a monkey the main character, at least he'd do his own stunts. In conclusion, Kingdom of Heaven is still theatre worthy.. not because of its great story line but because a lot of money was put into it. Also, I will tell you the movie is really realy really bad so when you watch it you'll be pleasantly surprised.
sincerely Faizi "the anti-faran"
Well subzero,
I have something to say to your critique. If you want a movie that will give you the feeling you had when you watched Gladiator, then GO WATCH GLADIATOR. We so often compare movies to one another, but, really, they're all different movies. Although I won't say Kingdom of Heaven is a classic, I will say it's a great movie. It had such great meaning. I wasn't even expecting any Gladiator-like battles, and was pleasantly surprised when I did see some good ol' hacking. His relationship with his father? That was part of the story, he wasn't supposed to be that close to his father. But, it was his father who cause him to become such a great leader. The movie was a beautiful movie, and we are each entitled to our own opinions. Although, the majority of the time, I have to lay down the law.
Faran...Cinderella man wasn't that great of a movie your proping it up to be.....
People of Faran's blog, save your money donnnntttt watch it, unless you want to leave the theatre double depressed. One from the movie, two from the 10$ I spent going to watch the movie that made me depressed, and so the cycle goes...
Oh my beloved Ferne Gully...
Although it may be difficult to accept, we live in a world of standards. Whether it be the speed limits on our highways that define whether we are going "too fast" or "too slow", or the Grades we get in school or even the Kabab we find delicious or disgusting, we go through our lives delegating and appointing benchmarks and I see no problem with that. Now perhaps you're right about Gladiator and it may be unfair to compare one of the greatest Epic-Action movies to every other movie that hits the big screen. It makes no sense to compare Maximus Decimus to Napoleon Dynamite and suggest that Napoleon's performance was not nearly as Captivating. But surely you'd agree that a comparison is plausable and legitimated in this situation. Lets compare these two epics. Why? you might ask... 1. Both protagonists encounter deaths within the family. 2. Both protagonists (born fighters) end up leading a small outnumbered chosen few against incredible odds and fierce opposition. 3. Both protagonists divulge in the Do-si-do of "Love" amongst their many trials and tribulations (I mean thats always good for ratings right?). Surely this proves that Kingdom of Heaven can and MUST be compared to Gladiator. Now what are the differences between both movies? KINGDOM OF HEAVEN SUCKS. If his lack-lustre relationship with his faran was truly apart of the movie than How can you accredit Bloom's Leadership Qualities to Him? Failure to pay attention to detail is the downfall of many movies, Kingdom of Heaven is no exception. Example: When his father trains him for the solid 7 seconds in the movie "calling him a good fighter" does that thus suggest that he is now a Great fighter? This and many other examples can be cited to suggest an unprepared and disorganized approach to the movie. Finally, I will leave you with one thing.
Quoting ferne gully
"Well, once again, my expectations (although they weren't that high) were clearly surpassed."
key phrase there is "weren't that high." Sure you can live a happy life without expectation. Expect nothing and you won't be disappointed right? Wrong, I and many like me will forge ahead continuing to expect the best from the movie industry propelling one Company to top the other, further improving the Movie experience. So its people like me that Keep the good movies coming.Don't need to thank me You're welcome Faran
sincerely
- faizi you're hero
Now, maybe this discussion has reached it's climax and fizzled out, because we are getting nowhere (although I will duke it out with you in person). But, one comment that does not sit right with me is your accusation of my "low expectations"...or basically low standards. No, I can definitely tell you my standards and expectations of all movies is quite high. I think you have me wrong. I was not expecting a Gladiator-type movie, but, I knew my emotions would not peaked like they were in Gladiator. That's why I had low expectations. It's all relative my friend. I, like you, hope good movies are constantly released and that the directors, producers and actors put in 110% effort in every production. I salute you as a fellow 'movie-devotee'...but I'm still gonna have to lay a smack-attack next time I see you ;)
I would just like to quote Faizi:
¨If his lack-lustre relationship with his faran was truly apart of the movie than How can you accredit Bloom's Leadership Qualities to Him?¨
Isnt that SOOOO CUTE?? Faizi mistyped Father with FARAN!! Faizi looks up to Faran like a Father!! AWww......
I don't admit too many things are cute...but I have to admit that that's definitely cute!
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