The Wind Rises: The Re(al)-view

Source: http://moviefail.com/

Caproni: Airplanes are beautiful, cursed dreams, waiting for the sky to swallow them up.

The Wind Rises is not just a brilliant animated film; it has to be one of the finest dramas ever made. And it’s, animation genius, Hayao Miyazaki's final film.

The Expendables 3: The Re(al)-veiw

Source: http://wegeekgirls.com/

Barney Ross: Galgo, get out of the seat, Christmas is coming!
Galgo: But it's only June.

The Expendables is based on a simple premise; bring together a bunch of old tough guys (some of whom have amassed an impressive amount of action movie cred), with a script filled with humour and good old-school action - you know, blowing up stuff, wicked gun fights and awesome hand to hand combat that makes all feel nostalgic of the '80s & '90s action films. And it worked for the first two, the third ... not so much.

Godzilla: The Re(al)-view

Joe Brody: You're not fooling anybody when you say that what happened was a "natural disaster,". You're lying! It was not an earthquake, it wasn't a typhoon! Because what's really happening is that you're hiding something out there! And it is going to send us back to the Stone Age! God help us all...

**THIS IS A MONSTER MOVIE! If you're looking for character development, I suggest you look elsewhere.**

It's the 1950's, nuclear bombs going off in the ocean, we see a huge spine in the ocean … nothing else, and then the roar/scream (or whatever you want to call it). Fast forward to 1999, the Philippines, where Japanese researcher, Ichiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and his British assistant Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) inspect an excavation site which also houses a monster's skeleton and two cocoons hanging from the ceiling; except ... one has hatched and headed to sea, leaving behind the biggest trail you can think of.

Dallas Buyers Club: The Re(al)-view

Dr. Eve Saks: None of those drugs have been approved by the FDA.
Ron Woodroof: Screw the FDA. I'm gonna be DOA.

Matthew McConaughey has sure come a long way in his career; 10 years ago he was that toned guy that only acted romantic comedies, with one or two action movies on the side; now he's switched to roles that's gradually propelling him into acting icon. Yes, I said it ... Icon. The buzz around Dallas Buyers Club (DBC) was Jared Leto playing a transgender woman, and when you're done with DBC, you would understand why between McConaughey and Leto, they have won nearly 50 accolades.

Man of Steel: The Re(al) - view

Clark Kent: My father believed that if the world found out who I really was, they'd reject me... out of fear. He was convinced that the world wasn't ready. What do you think?

Man of Steel is not your typical comic-movie, rather it's a powerful emotional driven story about a young man's journey to find himself (it sounds cheesy, but no other words come to mind) in a world that cannot and will not accept that his kind truly exists, till the fate of that very world lies in his hands; mixed in are amazing abilities and really cool fight scenes.

Fast & Furious 6: The Re(al) - view

Luke Hobbs: When you invite me to your house, you become the guest

It's bigger, louder and just a little (actually, a smidgen) better that Fast Five; why? Well, The Rock is no longer hunting them. period! But, its definitely a fun experience.

Fast 6 (as I would refer to it), has got awesome action sequences, wicked stunts with cars, a tank and a plane, ridiculous humour courtesy of Tyrese, and an okay script. "An okay script" in the Fast & Furious franchise is gold, as their movies are more action centric - always about the race car culture with little reference to a solid story line, but something happened with Fast Five, a transition with the plot that changed the course of the franchise, and this change reflected in Fast 6, this time and for the second time in the entirety of the franchise - they are on good terms with the law; and that's a big problem, you see in Fast Five, there was a nearly non-existent bad guy in Hernan Reyes, but there was a twist - a hunter was also in play - Luke Hobbs (The Rock), so we had the team going against a guy who had the entire police force in Rio in his pocket and a hunter that's quite determined to catch his prey, even if he beats the (bleep) out of 'em.

Like Crazy: The Re(al) - view

Anna: I thought I understood it, that I could grasp it, but I didn't, not really. Only the smudgeness of it; the pink-slippered, all-containered, semi-precious eagerness of it. I didn't realize it would sometimes be more than whole, that the wholeness was a rather luxurious idea. Because it's the halves that halve you in half. I didn't know, don't know, about the in-between bits; the gory bits of you, and the gory bits of me.

Before I begin this review there are two things I would like you to understand about Like Crazy; first, the budget for this 'beauty' was $250,000 and, second, (and quite unbelievable) it was shot with a Canon EOS 7D DSLR camera. The entire film!

United: The Re(al) - view

Alma George: Manchester United must go on.

I'll tell you the singular reason why I love this film - Manchester United!

But United is much more than that, it's a powerful sports drama, with much emphasis on the emotion that surrounds the sport. This is a film that is based on the 1958 Munich plane crash that claimed 23 lives, 8 of which were members of the Manchester United Football Team (aka The Busby Babes) and 3 of the club's staff; the film focused on Assistant Manager Jimmy Murphy (brilliantly portrayed by David Tennant) and Bobby Charlton's (portrayed by Jack O'Connell) personal experience before/on/after this terrible event.

Iron Man 3: The Re(al) - view

The Mandarin: Ladies, children, sheep... Some people call me a terrorist. I consider myself a teacher. Lesson number one: Heroes, there is no such thing.

There has been a lot of disappointments for me this year, movie-wise that is; the usual suspects - Gangster Squad, G.I. Joe: Retaliation and the ridiculously disappointing, A Good Day to Die Hard. If not for Robert Downey. Jr,'s charismatic awesomeness, Iron Man 3 would have also made the cut with these huge waste of time; but it didn't (and that's a good thing for a film that has now grossed nearly $800 million at the box office!)

Oz the Great and Powerful: The Re(al) - view

Oz: I don't want to be a good man... I want to be a great one.

I know James Franco ought to be the wizard in this context, but Sam Raimi (director) takes the crown as the master of illusion in this awesome piece of family entertainment, accompanied by stunning visual effects that can only come from the same team that brought you Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, 2012, Raimi's Spiderman trilogy, Beowulf and much more - they are called Sony Pictures Imageworks.

Oz the Great and Powerful started off in cropped black & white, a genius move if I may say, as it immediately captured my interest, and it felt original (of course an homage to the 1939 film.) The segue from black & white to colour almost eluded me because of how deeply interested in the story; that and the beautiful/amazing visual effects used to depict Oz (the land), beautiful mise en scène, beautiful!

A Good Day to Die Hard: The Re(al) - view

John McClane: Need a hug?
Jack McClane: We're not a hugging family.
John McClane: Damn straight!

After spending an hour and thirty seven minutes watching one of my anticipated movies of the year, I felt really REALLY sad. Die Hard 5 (will be further referred to as DH5) was really poor in almost all areas, except for  its direction, but before ripping it to shreds, this question must be asked - What makes Die Hard so awesome?

Django Unchained - The Re(al) - view

Only Quentin Tarantino has the guts to take on a very sensitive film like Django!

Calvin Candie: White cake?
Dr. King Schultz: I don't go in for sweets, thank you.
Calvin Candie: Are you brooding 'bout me getting the best of ya, huh?
Dr. King Schultz: Actually, I was thinking of that poor devil you fed to the dogs today, D'Artagnan. And I was wondering what Dumas would make of all this.
Calvin Candie: Come again?
Dr. King Schultz: Alexander Dumas. He wrote "The Three Musketeers." I figured you must be an admirer. You named your slave after his novel's lead character. If Alexander Dumas had been there today, I wonder what he would have made of it?
Calvin Candie: You doubt he'd approve?
Dr. King Schultz: Yes. His approval would be a dubious proposition at best.
Calvin Candie: Soft hearted Frenchy?
Dr. King Schultz: Alexander Dumas is black.

Life of Pi - The Re(al) - view

 

Adult Pi Patel: What has mamaji already told you?
Writer: He said you had a story that would make me believe in God.
Adult Pi Patel: [laughs] He would say that about a nice meal.

Once known as 'The Unfilmable Book', Ang Lee proved the world wrong by transforming a truly marvellous story into a remarkable film. C'mon Richard Parker was CGI!

A Great film: Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln: Abolishing slavery by constitutional provisions settles the fate for all coming time. Not only of the millions now in bondage, but of unborn millions to come. Two votes stand in its way. These votes must be procured.
William Seward: We need two yeses. Three abstentions. Four yeses and one more abstention and the amendment will pass.
Abraham Lincoln: You've got a night and a day and a night; several perfectly good hours! Now get the hell out of here and get them!
James Ashley: Yes. But how?
Abraham Lincoln: Buzzard's guts, man! I am the President of the United States of America! Clothed in immense power! You will procure me these votes. 

There are five reasons I have not yet put out my annual Best-Movies-of-the-Year, and Lincoln is one of those reasons I am yet to post it; and I am glad I am yet to post it, because I saw it almost immediately after Flight and both films introduced me to the sort of acting that makes me appreciate film making as an art.

Flight: The Re(al) - view

Whip: Nobody could've landed that plane like I did.

I've got to admit that the inverted plane on the trailer and Denzel Washington starring sold me to this film. I was thinking awesome plane stunt plus Denzel with his game face on , and Don Cheadle looking all 'goony' equals action movie ... right? Wrong! After checking out the plot I was a bit uninterested, thus making me delay its viewing till this January. I knew it was a good film, I just didn't think I would be this good; I mean if you saw 'Safe House', you would know why I didn't rush into seeing the film upon its release.

The Dark Knight Rises - The Re(al) - view

Bane: Theatricality and deception are powerful agents to the uninitiated... but we are initiated, aren't we Bruce? Members of the League of Shadows!
Bane: And you betrayed us!
Bruce Wayne: You were excommunicated... by a gang of psychopaths!
Bane: I AM the League of Shadows, and I'm here to fulfill Ra's al Ghul's destiny!
Bane: You fight like a younger man, with nothing held back. Admirable but mistaken.
[Batman uses an EMP device to cut the lights]
Bane: Oh, you think darkness is your ally. But you merely adopted the dark; I was born in it, moulded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man, by then it was nothing to me but BLINDING!
[grabs Batman from the shadows and continues to beat him]
Bane: The shadows betray you, because they belong to me!

Yes, it's nearly impossible to top The Dark Knight, but Christopher Nolan nearly did with his final installment of the Batman trilogy.

I have to admit that upon seeing the film, I was disgusted with it - yep, that was the feeling. Why? I was expecting an outright sequel to The Dark Knight, but what Chris Nolan (who directed, co-produced and co-wrote the film) did was to make The Dark Knight Rises much more in-tune with Batman Begins (which is the first movie of the trilogy), adding elements from how The Dark Knight ended, the whole Harvey Dent/Two Face debacle. For this, I thank him a lot!

Ruby Sparks - The Re(al) - view

Harry: "This is insane! You manifested a woman with your mind!"Calvin: "You can't tell anybody, not mom, not Suzie, no one."Harry: "So we're just going to pretend she's your girlfriend?"Calvin: "She is my girlfriend. Stranger things have happened."Harry: "I don't think so. I think this is pretty much the strangest thing that's ever happened. Ever."

It's sad that this film did not get a wide release, because this movie would make you appreciate simplicity in film-making.

Skyfall - The Re(al) - view

M: Quoting Tennyson's poem Ulysses: Though much is taken, much abides; and though
M: We are not now that strength which in old days
M: Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are...
M: One equal temper of heroic hearts,
M: Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
M: To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Daniel Craig's portrayal of James Bond has been the most practical of the series; though views/opinions have differed on his take of the iconic character; his has been my favourite. Skyfall follows Quantum of Solace and  Casino Royale, in depicting a character that has yet to master the art of espionage, thus there are some telling flaws like depression and the obvious loss of his shooting prowess; yet there's no question to where Bond's loyalty lies (although it would seem like its M rather than Queen & Country).

Real Steel - The Re(al) - view

I have to confess that I never considered this movie till I gave it a chance, last week that is. Reason? Well the story didn't just do it for me ... c'mon robot boxing? That's a plot that equates flop, or so I thought. After two hours, I was astonished by the awesomeness of the movie as a whole.

Of course as I began the movie halfhartedly, I noticed a name - Steven Spielberg - in the opening credits, that kind kicked my enthusiasm for this experience (yeah that's how I like to think of movies); of course I'm a fan of Hugh Jackman, but I've got to confess that it would take a better plot for me to consider how his performance would (positively) affect the movie. The major reason Real Steel cuts across the line with viewers is solely because of the story/plot (in my opinion); some say it's a tacky story baptised in sports movie clichés, others say a weak story backed by thrilling fight scenes and good use of characters that emotionally tap into the underdog complex of the viewer.

I belong to the second group of viewers.

Brave - The Re(al) - view

Brave is a very unique film ... the good kind that is, afterall its a Pixar movie! Yes, its story doesn't have the profoundness of Up, nor as groundbreaking as Ratatouille and The Incredibles; but still Brave is quite a lovley movie and frankly a breath of fresh air from all the conventional Disney princess/love themed movies of past and recent ... Tangled anyone?

After reading a couple of reviews, I've discovered that people often forget that Pixar primarily makes animated movies that appeal to kids, the secondary is that these movies have also been made in a manner that simultaneously captures the attention of adults as well; therefore reading that Brave is too kid-centric is quite sad (Newsflash - so are the other Pixar movies).