Lawrence Jamieson is a proud prince
of some small far away kingdom. His royal Highness operates out
of Beaumont-sur-Mer, a beautiful little place located in what they call
as the French Riviera. His major occupation is to get help in the form
of hefty donations from the rich ladies who visit the place, in order to
help the cause of his enslaved people. All is going well, until one day
he stumbles upon one Freddy Benson, an American, who is in the same
line of work as himself. Except for the fact that Freddy is trying to
get help for his very sick Grandmother.
There is just one problem. Actually a
set of problems. Namely, Freddy is fishing in the same waters as
Lawrence. He is younger. Less experienced. Not to mention, an utter
moron, according to His Highness.If nothing else, he would scare away
the fish on which Lawrence relies on for his living. So Lawrence tries
to convince, persuade, or scare Freddy in order to leave voluntarily.
But to no avail. The young cocky grandson of a very sick grandmother
becomes the thorn in the backside of his highness - a thorn which will
not dislodge itself so easily.
Something
needs to be done. So they both decide to settle matters once and for
all, by placing a bet. The first one to get 50000 bucks from a lady
wins. The lady in question is ... A Soap Queen of America. The race is
on. Who will finally win?
Lawrence Jamieson, played by Michael Caine has been brilliantly portrayed. Michael Caine's
acting skills are extraordinary, as is evident in this movie. His
straight faced comedy is as refreshingly hilarious as the serious
performances he had to give during one or two scenes in the movie. The
klutzy but persistent role of Freddy has been played quite nicely by Steve Martin.
I felt his acting was a bit awkward and contrived. But it suited well for the character of Freddy. In fact he fit the role so well, he
almost defined it. After watching the movie, I can't imagine anyone else
playing the same role. Glenne Headly, who played the role of the Soap Queen of America, has also performed well.
The movie captures the beauty of some
idyllic European towns along the Mediterranean coastline, during that
golden age before such beautiful places became expensive,
commercialized, crowded and polluted...
What I liked most about this movie is
that it gave me quite a few good laughs. Its pure unadulterated humorous
good old-fashioned entertainment. A rare gem of a movie that will not
fade with age. Something you can watch and enjoy with your family
without having to worry about adult content. I had a really good time
watching it. But most importantly, it was so good, that I am sure I will
be watching it many more times in the years to come. And I am sure it
will still make me laugh and give me a good time every time I watch it!
My rating: 3.5
8 candidates prepare for the final round of an extremely lucrative job opportunity. The recruitment is supposed to be for a very high post in a very big company. An opportunity worth dying for. An opportunity worth killing for.
The exam hall is a single closed room, with no windows, a single door, a guard besides it, 8 desks and chairs and 8 question papers, one for each candidate. The invigilator sets forth a set of rules: they cannot communicate with the guard or the invigilator at any time. They cannot leave the room for any reason. And they should not spoil their own question paper. There is one question. And one answer is required. The invigilator starts a timer. They have 80 minutes to give the correct answer. Then the invigilator leaves the room. Each candidate opens the question paper. Each of the paper is blank...
So starts the quest for the question. And the correct answer. At first its a very intriguing puzzle. But as the time begins to run out, the pressure increases. Which candidates will snap under pressure? Which ones will manage to find the right answer? What is the right answer? But before that, what is the question? This is what forms the heart of the movie. This is what fuels it, grabs the audience by the collar and hardly ever lets go...
What I liked about this movie was its entirely original premise. The idea is unique. Who would have thought of making a movie based on a recruitment process for a big job opportunity? It thankfully refrains from using the age old spices of love, action, romance, murder, etc. Which makes it a refreshing watch. There is mystery and suspense. Its a puzzler, which reminds me of movies like Cube and Fermat's Room. Just like the Cube, it not only entertains by making the audience use their grey cells as they get absorbed in the puzzle, but also explores the human psyche.
Somewhere in between the movie seems to veer off from the path that one might have expects. For, it starts off as an intriguing and intricate puzzle and then turns into a psychological thriller where it explores the impact of pressure on human psyche. How a situation of stress and pressure can bring out the best or the worst in people. And how some people would go to any lengths when the stakes are high enough for them.
And the climax comes with a twist that you would never have anticipated. Some of the ideas in the movie, like how each of the candidates came to know about the job opening, may sound a bit half-baked. And some of them, for example the explanations at the end, may sound a bit far fetched and fantastic. And yet it manages to keep it all as realistic as possible, refraining from taking unnecessary leaps of fantasy.
The movie is a single room drama, where the entire story takes place within a single room. Which shows the talent of the co-writer and director Stuart Hazeldine, to be able to make the entire story work within such a limited location / set.
The camera work is pretty impressive too. Many aspects of the story are narrated very well by intuitive visuals. It exemplifies the rule that visuals can express better and are more powerful than words.
The acting ranges from very good to mediocre. I especially liked the acting of the candidates who are referred to as "white", and "dark" in the movie.
The characters are neither too shallow, nor too intricately sketched. But each character's personality is portrayed with enough details to fit the requirements of the story.
The movie will not afford you easy entertainment. It will demand your brain power. It will make you think. If you don't mind that, then its certainly worth watching at least once.
My Ratings: 3.5
Shaun is your regular working class type, staying with his annoying and dim-witted friend Ed, and trying to keep things from falling apart with his girlfriend, his job and his mom and step-dad. And failing miserably. His only solace, the regular trips to the local pub Winchester with Ed.
Shaun's buddy, Ed does not wish to grow up. His girlfriend wants Shaun to grow up. His Mom expects him to remember her every now and then. His step-father expects him to do what his mom expects. Being a nobody at the job isn't helping. His world falls apart when his girlfriend splits up with him. But it is not his world alone that's going down the drain... People all around, who had been busy doing their daily chores in a zombie-like fashion, have suddenly started turning into actual ... need I mention the famous Z-word?
To say that Shaun of the Dead is a parody about Zombie movies, would be as accurate as stating a theorem. For it does sum up the movie, but fails to elaborate on its intricate and interesting content. In a funny yet realistic way, the movie, as it starts, portrays the pains of being a nobody in his late twenties. It parodies the daily life of the urban populace where people go around their daily chores in a zombie-like fashion devoid of life or excitement, even before the outbreak.
The unique crisp direction, and the dialogues loaded with satire make this a refreshingly comic romp through the zombie-movie-land. But its not just about the comedy. There are scenes loaded with emotions too - for example, scenes between Shaun and his stepfather, and with his mom, before he has to part ways with them... It displays the acting skills of Simon Pegg, proving that he can be versatile enough to take on serious scenes too.
It is the first movie in the Flavours Cornetto Trilogy, co-written and directed by Edgar Wright and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. It is a complete movie in itself and has no relationship whatsoever with the other two movies in the series. The fact that the three movies form a trilogy is probably a joke by the movie makers, in the same way they poke fun at a specific genre through each movie. Though its story is not as intricate as Hot Fuzz, nor is the characterization and scripting as well-crafted as that of The World's End, yet the movie stands out because of the unique directorial skills of Edgar Wright and good script for a parody.
This parody about Zombie movies, does not contribute anything new to the Zombie movie genre, except to add a few laughs and poke fun at the outrageously ridiculous outbreak of the Z-word in movies across the world. There is action and gore aplenty, apocalypse and adventure, and lots and lots of dumb zombies out to get you. But don't watch this one for the Zombie fun. Watch it instead for the rollicking antics of Simon Pegg who plays Shaun, and Nick Frost who plays Ed, both good comic actors.
I had quite a lot of laughs watching this one. Its certainly worth watching at least once...
My ratings: 2.5
No. This is not about the World's End. Or is it?
The World's End is a pub at the end of what the teenagers of Newton Haven call the Golden Mile - a pub crawl that covers 11 other pubs before terminating at this one. On the day of their graduation, Gary King and his 4 buddies decide to "conquer the Golden Mile", drinking a beer in each of the "twelve pubs along a legendary path of alcoholic indulgence"... They never manage to finish it...
That was 20 years back. Flash forward to the present. All the 4 friends are busy and settled down in their respective professions. And Gary King? He is institutionalized. Trying to come to terms with the disappointment and meaninglessness that life has become. But there is the business of the Golden Mile. The crawl they started but never finished. Unfinished business.
So Gary decides to go and finish it once and for all. But of course he cant do it without his 4 buddies. But its "Gary fucking King". The guy who, according to his best pal Andy, can do anything... So Gary visits each one of them. And using his obnoxious charm, manages to convince, persuade and at times emotionally blackmail them to join him in their 20 years old quest.
So the four friends find themselves back in Newton Haven, following the indomitable and insufferable Gary King. And while they are at it, they stumble upon a conspiracy that threatens to change their world...
This is one movie that, for me, defies classification. It is the concluding part of the famous Flavours Cornetto Trilogy (though, it is in no way related to either of the 2 predecessors). But unlike its prequels, it is not really a parody. It is a good comedy. At the same time it is quite an interesting piece of "social science fiction". It boasts some pretty cool action scenes. But best of all, it paints the characters of the 5 friends quite well. The shattered promise of youth, the nostalgic collective memories of a bunch of friends before life separated them, their trip down that memory lane, and their unresolved hopes, conflicts and desires. The movie manages to capture all this very nicely.
The script is well written. Much detailed and well crafted than either of the predecessors. Hats off to the Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. Edgar Wright's direction is, as always, awesome - bearing the unique signature that anyone who has seen the other two movies in the trilogy would quickly recognize.
Simon Pegg plays the role of the cocky, obnoxious and gritty Gary King. That Simon Pegg is a great actor has been evident in the previous two movies from the trilogy. But this one exhibits equally great acting skills by Nick Frost. He plays the role of the adorable but grumpy Andy, Gary's best buddy. The rest of the actors have played their parts well too.
The movie picks up very nicely and never once slows down.
The dialogues are at times funny ("What the fuck is WTF?"), and witty ("He used to ask me what I wanted to do with my life.told him I just wanted to have a good time. He thought that was funny. It wasn't meant to be."), and at times serious enough to the point of being philosophical ("How can you tell when you're drunk if you're never sober"). Sometimes they are a commentary on us humans and our idiosyncrasies ("Your reliance on profanity is a measure of your immaturity as a man and a species.")... That's what I liked a lot about the script... It has a lot of substance to it.
The action is at times intense. As compared to the other two movies in the series, the action sequences in this one are very professionally shot. Many action movies rely on the shaking of the camera to portray intense action. This one avoid the shaky camerawork. Instead it portrays the fight sequences very lucidly and in detail. Its fun to watch, except if you can make yourself digest the fact that all the five protagonists who are bashing up so many people, are supposed to be in their middle ages, with no indication of their acquaintance to martial arts.
Compared to the other two movies in the trilogy, this one has the best climax. The climax of Hot Fuzz was, according to me, a serious botch up. The climax of Shaun of the Dead was simply mediocre. But the climax of this one is well executed. It wraps up the story to a very satisfying and logical conclusion.
The science fiction part of the movie does not necessarily consist of an original premise. But the idea is well executed. The main idea is to make a social commentary on the vagaries of the human race, while proclaiming our right to be free to mess up ourselves the way we please. Which the movie sets forth pretty effectively, using comedy or satire as a medium.
According to me, this one was the best one of the three movies that make up the Flavours Cornetto Trilogy. And its certainly worth a watch at least once.
My ratings: 3.5
