I AM LEGEND - WILL is a legend
|
 |
Friday, 28 December 07 - 09:03 PM (GMT +08:00) By Vinod Kumar Vasudevan in Movie Reviews |
| ||
Staring - Will Smith, Alice Braga
Directed By - Francis Lawrence
Director Francis Lawrence attempts to create a zombie thriller in deserted New York City with Will Smith as the Last man standing. And his attempt at least from my point of view turned out to be a damn good one. Except for the little unexpected and unsatisfying ending I thought the movie is a must watch for those who don't mind zombies running around and screaming like hell. 
The movie kicks off with the discovery of a virus that can cure Cancer. Unfortunately the contagious virus instead creates havoc and takes out millions of people in the year 2009 (I think it is 588 million). Come 2012, Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville (a former scientist) in deserted New York City with his dog Sam. The movie takes us along Will's pretty lonely life and how he tries to keep himself busy all day by playing golf, renting movies from a DVD store (he's got a mannequin setup at the cash counter and some mannequins as customers). He even sends out a message on AM frequency to notify any other survivors of his existence and that he is willing to offer help.
As dark arrives Dr. Robert Neville completely seals out his home and hides himself with his dog in the bathtub. All sorts of weird noises can be heard. The zombies who incidentally were humans before getting infected by the virus venture out only in the dark. They have lost all their human instincts and are real blood thirsty and hungry.
So that’s how Dr. Robert Neville's daily life goes on. Incidentally he also has a high tech lab where is he working on finding a cure for the virus. Oh! I forgot to mention Robert is immune to the virus and that he does not want to leave NY as he believes that it is ground zero and this where he can find a cure for the virus. Without going any further and disclosing any more of the plot the rest of the movie is all about how Will tries to survive amongst the Zombies and find a cure.
Will Smith as Dr. Robert Neville does real justice to his role. He makes us experience the deserted New York City, his lonely experience full of fear and hope. He succeeds in making the audience feel that he is mankind's last and best hope. Director Francis Lawrence succeeds in giving us a fair share of chills and thrills. If you could just forgive the slightly sloppy ending and give full marks to Will's spot on performance then the movie is a must watch for all horror/sci-fi flick fans.
Blood Diamond – A Real Diamond
|
|
|
Saturday, 03 February 07 - 02:23 AM (GMT +08:00) By Vinod Kumar Vasudevan in Movie Reviews |
| ||
Staring – Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeniffer Connelly, Djimon Hounso
Directed By : Edward Zwick
The film is set in the back drop of a country(Africa) torn apart by a Civil War.
This movie primarily deals with diamonds mined in war zones and used to finance the conflicts. Leonardo DiCaprio (Danny Archer) who plays the role of a diamond smuggler gives a rock solid performance. Djimon Hounso (Solomon Vandy) who plays the role of a fisherman gives no less a performance. The movie rightfully deserves the 5 Academy Award nominations and I feel that Leonardo deserves to win the Best Actor Award.
Spoiler Warning : Plot Revealed To Some Extent.
Solomon Vandy, a fisherman, is captured by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and forced to work in the diamond mines under the command of Captain Poison. Solomon is separated from his family comprising of his wife and 3 kids.
Solomon discovers a pink diamond and decides to keep it for himself. Captain Poison catches Solomon with the diamond. At the nick of the moment government troops attack the RUF and Solomon somehow manages to bury the diamond before getting arrested along with Captain Poison.
In the mean time, Solomon’s son Dia is captured and brainwashed to become a child soldier.
Danny Archer a diamond smuggler is arrested for smuggling, what else, diamonds of course. Danny Archer is an ex soldier of the South African Defense force and now smuggles diamond for Colonel Coetzee. At jail he hears Captain Poison openly disclose the fact that Solomon has a pink diamond. However Solomon, having buried the diamond safely, strips off his clothes completely just to make it to clear the other the criminals in the jail that he does not have any diamond.
Danny, desperate to repay Colonel Coetzee, knows that Solomon has hidden the diamond safely. Danny makes a deal with Solomon to get him reunited with his family in exchange for the pink diamond. And then they embark on a journey to reunite Solomon to his family and get the pink diamond. Danny meets a journalist Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly) who wants to get the truth to the world, about the diamond smuggling and how the money is used to finance the rebels. Danny needs Maddy’s help to reunite Solomon with his family as she has access to the refugee camps. Danny strikes a deal with Maddy to give her all the facts with complete details including the names of the people involved along with bank account numbers in exchange for her help. And then the three of them get together to help out each other.
Will Solomon reunite with his family? Will Danny get his pink diamond? Will Maddy get her big story and get the truth out to the world? All this forms the remaining part of this fantastic movie.
The movie clearly paints the harsh cruel truth behind the glittering diamond. Of course now with the Kimberly Process (a process to certify the origin of a diamond is not from a conflict free zone) the percentage of conflict diamonds has gone down. However it still exists. I don’t know if I will ever buy a diamond again after seeing this movie.
Overall, the movie is a must watch.
Here's an interview Chuck, the movie guy has with Leonardo DiCaprio .
Apocalypto
|
|
|
Sunday, 28 January 07 - 12:47 AM (GMT +08:00) By Vinod Kumar Vasudevan in Movie Reviews |
| ||
Last night I checked out the movie APOCALYPTO. The movie is directed by the man who made "BRAVEHEART" and "PASSION OF THE CHRIST". Yes, none other than Mel Gibson. Gibson uses the Mayan language in this one just like he used Aramaic and Latin in the "PASSION OF THE CHRIST". So without any doubt the subtitles are the only thing that can help you get through this movie.
The story mainly revolves around a village which is attacked by raiders led by Zero Wolf. The captives are taken along to be sold in the slave market or sacrificed to satisfy the sun god Kukulkan. Jaguar Paw, the hero of the movie, is one of the captives. Before being captured he somehow manages to get his wife (who is carrying a child) and his kid into a ground cave. Jaguar Paw has to get back to the village to get his wife and kid out of the cave. But he is going to be sacrificed next. That’s when a solar eclipse comes in and the priest declares that the sun god is satisfied and no more sacrifices are required. And then they decide to dispose all the captives.
Zero Wolf with his men takes the remaining captives to an open ground bordered by corn fields on one end. They offer the captives an escape deal. They would need to run and get to the corn field escaping from the weapons hurled at them. Needless to say, even if they make it to the corn field, Zero Wolf's son is waiting to finish off any one who manages to get to that point. Couple of men go and are finished off before they make it to the finish. But Jaguar Paw manages to make it to the end and even kill Zero Wolf's son. He runs through the corn field to get back to his village and save his wife and kids. Now the whole thing gets personal. Zero Wolf wants to avenge his son's death and begins the chase to find and finish off Jaguar Paw. What follows is a chase to the end of the movie. Will Jaguar Paw save his wife and kids? Will Zero Wolf succeed in his attempt to kill Jaguar Paw? All that is what makes the climax of the movie.
As far the movie goes it has a very interesting plot, making one question what’s going to happen next. However I found it extremely difficult to sit through the extremely barbaric presentation of the life style of the Mayan civilization. Definitely the blood shed could have been reduced or not depicted so explicitly.
Overall I would say watch it if you can sit through some really violent scenes.
Here's some Behind the Scenes Footage of the movie. Watch what Mel Gibson and Farhad Safinia (Co Producer/Writer) have to say about the movie.
... More items are available in my News Archive
