300 (Blu-ray)

Visionary film making at its finest.

This is how I would sum up Frank Miller’s 300. The story itself is not 100% historically accurate, and nor does it proclaim to be. 300 is based on Frank Miller’s comic book series of the same name, and has been brought to film as even more vibrant and graphic than the actual graphic novel itself.

As far as the proclaimed “anti-Iranian propaganda” and “psychological warfare against Iran” goes, I didn’t see it. Maybe if I were to watch it again and purposely seek for it, I would find it. Just as the individuals who purposely seek anti-Semitism found it in Passion of the Christ and racism in Apocalypto.

Here’s my recommendation -- if you enjoy beautiful scenery and don't mind violence and excessive CGI, go ahead and watch 300 on Blu-ray. You will enjoy it! It’s not one of the greatest epics of all time, and certainly not as good as the Gladiator, but it is definitely a memorable and visually very stunning feature.

* * * (three out of five) -- enjoyable, entertaining, and very cool! As I said before -- visionary film making at its finest.


V.

Enjoyed 300? Viira recommends: Sin City, all Lord of the Rings films, and Gladiator.

Poster courtesy of http://www.impawards.com
Image courtesy of http://www.blu-ray.com
Technorati Tags: Technorati

Wanted

"A Loom of Fate" – quite literally:)

I recently saw the acclaimed film Wanted. What can I say? What should I say? Is it better than the latest Bond feature? Uhm…this is a tough one since the two are completely different genres, but I must say that the two come close in being the crappiest action flicks of the late 2008.

Wanted is directed by the visionary Timur Bekmambetov (yeah…try pronouncing that name) who has brought us the vampire fantasy flicks Night Watch and Day Watch, and put Russian film-making back on the map. So I must give him and his team a lot of credit for finally making it to Hollywood.

Plot: a frustrated office worker (James McAvoy) is approached by a mysterious woman named Fox (Angelina Jolie) only to learn that he is the son of a late assassin who worked for a thousand-year-old secret society of professional hitmen known as the Fraternity…

* * * WARNING: mild spoilers ahead * * *

Wanted is filled with lots of graphic violence, decent action, and really good CGI, but the plot is very predictable and quite bad. Especially the concept of using a loom and a binary code in determining the Fraternity’s targets – I could not believe that the protagonist Wesley actually fell for this kind of absurdity. In case if you didn’t know -- the binary numeral system was not invented up until the 17th century, so how could the Fraternity have used it for over a thousand years? And how on earth did they know that the person’s names “spelled out” by the code must be assassinated? I think I’ll rest my case here. The acting on behalf of James McAvoy is okay, but Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman perform a bit below average. Almost as if they were cast only to gain more publicity for the film. Morgan's "Shoot that motherfucker!" line almost made me cringe. After all, he is Morgan Freeman, not Samuel L. Jackson!


* * (two out of five) – mildly entertaining, but the moment you start analyzing the concept of the loom and the binary code you’d probably want to turn it off. I’ll add another star here just for the international breakthrough of Timur and his team of visionary film-makers.


V.

Enjoyed Wanted? Viira recommends: Night Watch, Day Watch, and the Matrix trilogy.

Poster courtesy of http://www.impawards.com/
Technorati Tags: Technorati

Meet Bill

"So not matter what you do, you make sure you make a lot of money doing it because it all sucks!"

This is what Meet Bill is all about. It is about a guy in his forties who has come to realize that his career and his personal life is a waste. Meet Bill is (in my opinion) a good independent drama/comedy that is both entertaining and perhaps even a little thought provoking.

Plot: Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) stars as Bill, a middle aged guy fed up with his life, job, body, hair, in-laws, cheating wife, etc. is coerced to mentor a witty teenage prep-school student (Logan Lerman from 3:10 to Yuma), who ultimately ends up mentoring Bill himself.

The plot is not all that original, but the chemistry between Aaron Eckhart and Logan Lerman’s characters is the real backbone of the feature. In my opinion they’re both sensational. Meet Bill also has a great ensemble of supporting characters including: Elizabeth Banks, Timothy Olyphant, Craig Bierko, and Jessica Alba (perhaps one of her better roles yet).

Is Meet Bill one of the better drama/comedies I have seen? Probably not, but it is entertaining and fun in its own peculiar way. And it is backed up by a great cast and a really good soundtrack.


* * * (three out of five) – maybe not worth $9.50 in a theater, but definitely enjoyable and entertaining in your own living room. Recommended for anyone who enjoys good old-fashioned independent drama/comedies.


V.

Enjoyed Meet Bill? Viira recommends: American Beauty and Little Miss Sunshine.

Poster courtesy of http://www.impawards.com/
Technorati Tags: Technorati