Drive

After a summer of cheap thrills, Drive delivers thrills on the cheap. With a budget Michael Bay might have allocated for a single effects sequence in Transformers 3, Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn made one of the best movies of the year. Following Bronson and Valhalla Rising, Refn crafts his most polished, commercial work yet, while retaining all the ambiguity and unbridled aggression of his tough-as-nails art house pictures.

Bearing thematic resemblance to Darren Aronofsky’s recent output, Drive is like Black Swan in overdrive. The film pins its headlights on the dark implications of unchecked obsession and good intentions gone haywire. That dangerous duality – humanity on the razor’s edge of animal brutality – is played to unnerving perfection by Ryan Gosling.

Rightly among the most reliable names on the Hollywood marquee, the star of Drive plays a crucible of a character. A friendly, fatherly figure to his neighbor (Carey Mulligan) and her young son, he’s decidedly less so when the two are threatened. A sort of oblique, ultraviolent superhero, the driver leaps to defend the innocent with bloody determination. If the first half of Drive plays as drama, the second is straight up revenge fare.

Playing on the juxtaposition of calm and calamity, Refn keeps us on our toes throughout. Quiet moments stretch into suffocating silence, and the explosive violence that inevitably shatters it practically tears the frame in half. The audio is expertly mixed; you’ll want to see Drive loud. From its roaring engines and visceral blows to its curt dialogue, the film is an altar to the power of great sound design.

In truth, Drive isn’t pervasively violent, though its most excruciatingly effective moments leave a memory trail like tire streaks on a sunbaked highway. At the heart of the story is a compelling, surprisingly tender romance. Carey Mulligan has proved herself a similarly reliable talent to Gosling, and has worked in recent years with the likes of Michael Mann, Oliver Stone, and Mark Romanek.

Her fragile character’s relationship with the driver is subtle and nuanced in a manner atypical of thriller convention. They’re not family, they’re not even sleeping together. Drive is not a sexy film. Refn fetishizes neither cars nor women; if The Fast and the Furious is the sleek exterior curves of an automobile, Drive is the greasy, undulating pistons. And it’s utilitarian at a lean 100 minutes.

The rest of the small cast also impresses. Albert Brooks plays against type as a cutthroat crime lord, and a note-perfect Ron Perlman plays his meathead partner. Bryan Cranston of TV’s Breaking Bad has a small role too, as employer and confidant to Gosling’s character. Their relationships shuffle as lines are drawn and redrawn, but none of them comes away unscathed by the film’s end.

Drive is either the explosive end to a lukewarm summer movie season or an early autumn adrenaline rush. In machismo, it far outpaces its hundred million dollar competition, leaving overwrought tales of lesser heroes like Thor and Green Lantern in the dust. Its troubled characters, and the bonds of desperation that link them, elevate the film above its genre trappings and shield it from disposable entertainment status.

Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive is an anomaly. It’s like a 1200 horsepower hybrid. And it’s one of the best movies of 2011.

Pulp Fiction

 

Tarantino is without a doubt one of the best directors of the 90’s. His first film, Reservoir Dogs was amazing and claustrophobic and Jackie Brown is a wonderful homage to the exploitation films of the 70’s. However, Pulp Fiction remains my favourite.

It was nominated for so many Oscars that I still find it hard to believe that it only got one: Best original script. I’m not complaining because Forrest Gump got best picture, since that film was also Oscar-worthy, but come on, movies like Tarantino’s or the Shawshank Redemption deserved much more.

Anyway, going back to the movie, I particularly liked the first and second chapters, and that’s really a contradiction because one of the movie’s finest characters, Mr. Wolf, appears on the third. Bruce Willis also does a great job, and as far as I’m concerned he fell in love with the movie right after having read the script. I like the way his character gives a “tough guy” image at the beginning and then we discover he’s so affectionate and tender to his wife. Travolta is obviously the star of the movie and his second encounter with Bruce Willis in the kitchen along with the scene where he dances with Uma Thurman is when the movie reaches it’s highest point.

The other star is Samuel L. Jackson, who plays a wise assassin that obviously knows how to handle situations. “And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger…” is my favourite quote.

Summarizing, Pulp Fiction is a modern classic and a must-see for anyone who is at least aware of what a movie is. I give it a 9 out of 10.

A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange is one of the finest film that has ever been made, in my view. Stanley Kubrick has made so many masterpieces but A Clockwork Orange is simply his finest hour!

The film grabs you and glues you to your seat from start to finish. Malcolm McDowell gives us a shining example of superior acting, and the movie is as perverted as any of Kubrick’s masterpieces. It contains horrifying violence, extreme emotions, perversity and weirdness at it’s very worst. It all boils down to serve you a plethora of thoughts for you to take with you and contemplate, after the film ends.

However, with all the perversity bursting out of this film, you will probably NOT like this film the first time you see it. I know I didn’t. Fortunately, I gave it a second chance, and thought: Hey, it was actually not bad at all. After the third time, I was lost for words.

Regardless of how many great masterpieces I see, A Clockwork Orange still towers above them. I’m sure you’ll agree, if you give it the chance it deserves, although it may require for you to see it more than once.

I would rate this movie an 8.75. Definitely a movie to watch over and over again as I’ve watched it a million times. 

The Avengers

 

Don’t hate me for what I’m going to say for you might strongly disagree. I did not like this movie. The flaws for me lie ofcourse in the plot. It matters the most. The only thing this movie had in abundance was action, and action for me is sort of comedy, makes me laugh at the stupidities, especially Captain America. Not to mention Hawkeye was a big disappointment. 

The cast was great with Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson leading the way. The others were moderate with Chris Evans as Captain America(Made Chris Evans look like a douche), Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye and Chris Hemsworth as Thor. It’s surprising how the director Joss Whedon handled them all with such perfection. 

It’s confusing how this movie has an 8.4 rating on IMDB. For me this movie was a 7. It’s the sort of movie I’d watch with my 10 year old cousin. 

V For Vendetta

This like every other great movie starts with a revolutionist trying to make a mark. Bad start, this is no other great movie, this is brilliance. But where have i seen such a situation as seen in the movie. Yes, every country is going through the very same. We might not have curfews but we are at the end controlled by the government and dependent on the government.

No one could have done it better than Hugo Weaving with his expression, What expressions you might ask since he was wearing a mask. There’s more than facial expressions, his voice was perfect for the movie, so sinister. Natalie Portman played her part very nicely portraying a struggling and confused girl in her early twenties.

What was so special about this movie however, it was the plot. Not exactly going with the book, the movie took its own way in some parts, but the writer did a great job.

It had its own style of romance, thrill, suspense and action. I’d rate it a definite 8.0.

Four Lions

The laughing fits that I had during this one are indescribable, maybe this line from the movie does however “I’m a martyr, you’re all squashed tomatoes”. Yes, you might have different views but being a Pakistani this makes perfect sense. People want to be Jihadists nowadays, I never knew you could be that without a sane mind. Not to forget we now train Jihadi crows. 

A low budget movie would have a low budget cast thus the so many unfamiliar actors such as Riz Ahmed, Kayvan Novak and Nigel Lindsay. They still did a pretty sick job by pulling off their roles as British Muslims. 

Again a low budget film would have below par visuals but those can be excused considering the incredible plot and comedy. Nobody cares about visuals anyways, right? RIGHT? (I’m the only one aren’t I)

“I think I’m confused but I’m not sure”. Waj knows me best. I don’t know what to rate this movie but why not an 8.25. An underrated movie by other people but I won’t do it any injustice. 

The Prestige

Oh my! If you haven’t watched this one, I am sorry to say, you have a sad life. This is probably the best Nolan movie, actually this might just be the best movie ever. That’s my opinion however. 

So why do I think this movie is the best ever. The plot is absolutely flawless. Made me say OH JESUS! Saying that for movies is pretty hard nowadays. From the beginning of the rivalry to the end of it, from Borden’s transporting man to Angier’s, it was perfect. 

Who would make better actors for this movie than Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman. The roles of two magicians going against each other in the most sinister but decent of ways can only be pulled of by these too. Then there’s Michael Cane bringing his speech giving skills. Let us not forget Scarlett Johansson here and we all know the reason for which she’s loved. 

I’ve watched this movie so many times now and I would watch it again anytime, I just wish i could forget the movie completely so that watching it again I get that same feeling when i watched it the first time. They said it best with “you want to see it again the second its over”. I’d give it a rating if 9.75.

The Prestigious IMDB Top 250

Ah! The IMDB top 250. So many good movies in the list. Meanwhile there are some movies in the list I would remove without even giving a second thought about them. Generally I like thriller movies which make you say WTF every five minutes and the IMDB 250 is filled with these. Here’s a list of my personal favorites from the IMDB top 250.

The Shawshank Redemption
The Godfather
The Dark Knight
The Usual Suspects
Memento
Fight Club
The Prestige
Snatch.
Warrior
V for Vendetta

Here are five movies that i would not like in the 250:

The Avengers
Toy Story 3
Amadeus
The matrix.

The movies that i wouldn’t like in the 250, honestly its not that they aren’t good movies but they’re just not my sort.

Watch these great movies. Again these are my personal favorites, share with me your favorites in the comment section and if you disagree with my disapproval of adding those movies to the list and tell me why.

Ted Can Make You Laugh

How a Ted actually made me laugh is funny on its own considering the quality of comedy movies coming out nowadays. Yes, you read it right, comedy movies nowadays are not very funny, I probably laughed more during Paranormal Activity than a comedy movie of 2012.

Back to Ted, I’d say its a great movie, makes you laugh, has a decent plot, taking an idea very childish and making it into a a box office hit. The whole bit where Lori starts being a bitch describes woman in a relationship very well(sorry to the women reading this).

I’d say the cast was decent with Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis adding there funky mix to the movie and Seth Macfarlane the director himself with his funny as hell voice over for Ted. A better replacement for Mark Wahlberg however could have been Bradley Cooper. 

With the visuals I have to say The Creative Cartel did a great job making Ted look like a teddy bear but make it look real at the same time. 

Definitely a watch again movie. I’d give it an overall rating of 7.0(I’m being generous since a movie finally made me laugh). 

The Dark Knight Rises

Talk about over rated movies and the dark knight rises would be among the top 3 for 2012. A lot of you might disagree but think rationally. Watch the first two Batman productions, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight and you would definitely say this was a let down and that too by Christopher Nolan who has directed great movies such The prestige and Inception.

Taking nothing away from the movie however, lets first look at the positives of the movie.  The cast was totally fitting with of course Christian Bale making the best Batman up to date. There’s Anne Hathaway who brings her mix of bad ass and sexy to the movie. Michael Cane never disappoints with his emotional speeches which brings a tear to your eyes. The one to watch out for however is Tom Hardy who plays as the monstrous and terrifying terrorist leader Bane and even though he wears a mask in the movie you can feel the emotions.

The movie doesn’t fail to entertain with its great action, editing, lightwork, visuals and sound all making the movie something it is not. Where the movie fails however is the plot.

With Heath Ledger passing away after The Dark Knight Nolan had no other choice but to introduce a new villain to the movie, but even with bane he could have done a better job. The introduction of Talia al Ghul as Banes lover destroys the whole movie and how Bane has only waged this war so that Talia al Ghul can take revenge for her father  Ras al Ghul’s death is some what disappointing. Who has seen a monster love anyways!

I’m actually sad that i spent my money for a cinema ticket to watch this movie when i could have done something much better with it. Honestly speaking i took a nice nap during the movie. My overall rating of the movie would be 7.5.