The Dark Knight (2008)

I think the big question...or the question everyone actually cares about is this: Is Christopher Nolan's follow up to the critically acclaimed 2005 film "Batman Begins," The Dark Knight, as good as everyone is saying? 

Quite simply, yes, yes it is. There is no doubt about it, one of the most anticipated movies of the 21st century duly deserves every amount of praise lavished onto it. This is no ordinary superhero movie, this is a character and dialogue driven piece, not as action orientated as you might expect.

I will not go into plot details, because there is a lot of it. However, a basic one sentence summary is: Batman now has to face his most cunning and psychotic enemy, someone with no real motives...The Joker. Now that that is out of the way, I will start off with the actors (and boy, is there a lot to talk about). Christian Bale has done a tremendous job as our beloved Caped Crusader, with him already blowing everyone else out of water with "Batman Begins." Bruce Wayne has a flawed personality that hangs on the balance between righteousness and criminal. His perception of justice causes an emotional and personal shift, whether he is a wealthy businessman who fights crime in a gadget-riddled suit or just a normal man who is sick of all the scum in Gotham City and decides to give the law-breakers a dose of their own medicine. Because of this, and Bale's tremendous acting, Bruce Wayne is justified, and we emphasise with Bale's flawed hero more than any of the other actors. If there ever was an excellent Batman, this is it. The theme of right and wrong is played well with his character here.

Of course, I am sure you all want know if Heath Ledger was that good. And I can safely say that he most definitely was. Ledger's Joker is not only the best, but is now the greatest superhero film villain ever. His performance is truly terrifying, chilling, brilliant; any synonyms of the previous adjectives. Every scene he is in is stolen. The Joker truly is Batman's worst villain; cunning and psychotic, nothing quite matches his laugh and sinister makeup. If Ledger nabs the Oscar for Best Actor, I honestly will not be surprised. It is a true tragedy to see such a talented actor fall at such a young age...

All the other actors cannot be forgotten, though. Aaron Eckhart has definitely proved himself previously ("Thank you for Smoking") as someone to watch out for. Here, as Harvey Dent (and later Two Face) he is very powerful. All he wants is justice; to bring down every single criminal. Eckhart is the definitive Two Face. Maggie Gyllenhaal as Wayne and Dent's love interest, Rachel Dawes is much better than Katie Holmes. Gyllenhaal's performance has substance, I really cared for her and her future and she was terrific in every scene. Michael Caine can do no wrong, and as Alfred Pennyworth he provides some comical and emotional scenes. Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, although a limited role, does inject some sly humour and much needed morals into the story. Finally, Gary Oldman's Lt. James Gordon is riveting. He at least needs a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance as another crime-fighting hero who faces some challenging situations.

Wally Pfizer’s cinematography is simply stunning. Gotham has never looked so good, so big and deep. His wide shots purvey a dirty aura and contribute to the feel of the film. Without it, it may not have been the same. Another Oscar worthy portion, THE MUSIC! With Hans Zimmer AND James Newton Howard at the helm, how could it go wrong? The score sets the mood in every scene, giving an epic and thrilling tone. During the action sequences it really ups the adrenaline. And on the topic of action, The Dark Knight succeeds in having the best fight sequences and car chases in a comic book adaptation yet. With no obvious or over-use of CGI, the explosions and accidents are the real deal. Thrilling, edge of your seat and violent, this is brutally awesome stuff.

Nevertheless, none of this would be possible without Christopher Nolan, the man behind it all. Pairing up with the writer (and brother) Jonathon Nolan, the darkest Batman movie yet is the best, and the best so far this year. This does not feel like a comic book film, the dialogue and situations feel so realistic. And, it IS the script that drives this film. The dialogue is very, very well written and is the centre of the conflict and the movie.

It may be bold to say this, but this is the best superhero film of all time. There are others that are magnificent ("Superman" and "X-Men" are two examples) but this is the most complex, the most dark and the most spectacular and epic of them all. See it for Bale, for Ledger, for the music, the action and for Nolan's flawless direction.

10/10 !!!

Watch the trailer here:

Kingdom Of Heaven

Kingdom of Heaven is a British-American epic action film directed by Ridley Scott and written by William Monahan. The film consist of many famoust Hollywood starts, such as, Orlando bloom (played in Pirates of the Carribean), Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Marton Csokas, Liam Nesson (played in Taken 1 & 2), Edward Norton, Ghassan Massoud, Khaled El nabawy and Alexander Siddig. Ridley Scott is also famous by directing Alien (1979), also Blade Runner (1982), Thelma & Louis (1991), best picture Oscar-winner Gladiator (2000), Black Hawk Dawn (2001), American Gangster (2007), Robin Hood (2010) and Prometheus (2012). Kingdom Of Heaven got 4 wins and 11 nomination. 

The story's set is during the Crusades of the 12th century. A French village blacksmith goes to aid the Kingdom of Jerusalem in its defense against the Ayyubid Muslim sultan Saladin, who is battling to reclaim the city from the Christians leading to the Battle of Hattin. The film script is a heavily fictionalized potrayal of the life of Balian of Ibelin. Most Filming took place in Quarzazate and Ait Benhaddou, Morocco, where Scott had previously filmed Gladiator and Black hawk Down. A replica of medieval Jerusalem was constructed in the desert. Filming also took place in Spain, at the Loarre Castle (Huesca), Segovia, Avila, Palma del Rio and Casa de Pilatos in Sevilla.

The visual style of Kingdom of Heaven emphasized set design and impressive cinematography in almost every scene. It is notable for its "visually stunning cinematography and haunting music". Cinematographer John Mathieson created many large, sweeping landscapes, where the cinematography, supporting perfomances, and battle sequence are mounted. The cinematography and scenes of set-pieces have been described as "ballets of light and color". The film also has a "jaw drooping combat sequences" based on the production design of Arthur Max

The first thing to be said for Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven" is that Scott knows how to direct a historica; epic. I really like movie with historical theme and for me Scoot really succeeded to capture all of the historic battle scenes. This movie not also capture the historic battle of war but also have a depper, more thoughtful, more about human motivation and it just get all the essence of this movie.

This movie was out on 2005 and I just watch it recently on 2013, even though the movie is made almost 10 years ago but for me the technic used in this movie is not that bad compared to nowadays movie. The director is also really braved to make a movie that basically a war between two religions, the Muslims and the Christians. In my opinion that kind of thing is really sensitive and not easy to translate it into a 2 hours movie. basically, the director will make a movie that was based on hundreds years of history, a really important history. After i watched the movie (i watched two times and you can see how i like the movie) i really like how it captures all of the elements, the history, the war and the meaning of hope and faith. 

I personally really recommend this movie because it is not some kind of lame movie that only shows wars and explosions. here is the trailer of the movie:

HOPE YOU ENJOY THE REVIEW :) LEAVE SOME COMMENT

The Bling Ring

The Bling Ring (2013)

The Bling Ring is a 2013 American satirical black comedy crime film based on actual events. Directed, written and produced by Sofia Coppola, it features an ensemble cast including newcomers Israel Broussard, Katie Chang and Claire Julien, as well as Taissa Farmiga and the famous Emma Watson (played as Hermoine Granger on  Harry Potter), the movie's main marketing scheme.

The plot of this movie is about a group of celebrity-fixated L.A. teens begin burglarizing the homes of the rich and famous Hollywood stars. Paris Hilton, Rachel Bilson, Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr are the examples of Hollywood stars that their home got robbed. As the members of the so-called bling ring begin taking greater risks to acquire the latest luxury-brands, they quickly become the prisoners of their own ostentatious obsession. This movie basically repeat the actual event into movie, from the beginning how the group discover the hollywood star's home and how they start robbing.

I personally have been waiting this movie for so long because i wanted to see how Emma Watson will play this character and for me it will be different to see her playing another role beside Hermoine Granger from Harry Potter. another reason that this movie is based on actual event and for me it is really shocking how a group of normal teenagers can robbed into A-list Hollywood stars many times before got caught. The last reason is of course because i wanted to see all the fashion and luxury thing that are included in the movie.

Finally, I watched this movie because i had many spare time due to my mid term break. for me the movie was kind of disappointing but after all its quite entertaining. Then, I do little research and oddly many top reviewer give a good review about this.

"The beauty of Sofia Coppola's intoxicating film that dabbles with celebrity obsession is that it entwines us so completely it its fake culture, that it makes us believe we are part of it"

"Director Sofia Coppola delivers a wily critique of celebrity culture in The Bling Ring as she dresses up the true story of Los Angeles teenagers robbing their Hollywood idols' homes."

"Once again, Sofia Coppola confounds expectations with an astutely relevant approach to a true story. These events may be torn from the headlines, but they also echo the world around us."

For me this movie have a good plot and a lot potential to be a awesome movie but unfortunately Coppola cannot sufficiently explore the depth of it. She cannot show a deeper meaning of the story. Out of ten I will give this movie a 5.5 out 10. Basically, the movie cannot focus on what it want to show. wether the movie wanted to concentrate more on the depth of the meaning  or to show the life of the bling ring with all of its luxury. Bottom line The bling ring have a lot of potential that haven't been dig out.

If you guys haven't watch this movie and wanted to know more, here is a video of the trailer:

Enjoy Guys! and let us know what you think :)

The Shawshank Redemption

1946,

Andrew Dufresne,

a young and successful bank merchant is convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover, and sentenced to life imprisonment at Shawshank prison. 

Over the years, he retains hope and eventually gains the respect of his fellow inmates, especially long-time convict "Red" Redding, a black marketeer, and becomes influential within the prison. 

Eventually, Andrew achieves his ends on his own terms.

Review

I believe that this film is the best story ever told on film, and I'm about to tell you why.

Tim Robbins plays Andy Dufresne, a city banker, wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. He is sent to Shawshank Prison in 1947 and receives a double life sentence for the crime. Andy forms an unlikely friendship with "Red" (Morgan Freeman), the man who knows how to get things. Andy faces many trials in prison, but forms an alliance with the wardens because he is able to use his banking experience to help the corrupt officials amass personal fortunes. The story unfolds....

I was so impressed with how every single subplot was given a great deal of respect and attention from the director. The acting was world-class. I have never seen Tim Robbins act as well since, Morgan Freeman maybe. The twists were unexpected, an although this film had a familiar feel, it wasn't even slightly pretentious or clichéd, it was original. The cinematography was grand and expressive. It gave a real impression of the sheer magnitude of this

daunting prison.

But the one thing which makes THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION stand above all other films is the attention given to the story. The film depends on the story and the way in which it unravels. It's a powerful, poignant, thought-provoking, challenging film like no other. 

If Andy were to comment on this film, I think he might say: "Get busy watching, or get busy dying." 

Take his advice.

Watch the Trailer