Reviews

Well the movie was great, no doubt about that. Christopher Nolan is one of my favourite directors and it's no surprise that he has made another amazing movie. This one was much darker than the first one and each and every character, no matter how long or short their appearance, was fascinating.

Now let's talk performances:

Christian Bale is always interesting to watch. The best Batman by far and the best Bruce Wayne too. He's an exceptional actor and just flows into any role he does. I really like the fact that he changes his voice when he's in the Batsuit. I don't think any of the other actors who've played Batman ever did this. It really adds to the character and makes for brilliant screen presence.

Heath Ledger. One word: *WOW*. I've never been a big fan of his, but I've seen enough of his work to figure out that he was capable of some pretty decent acting. Boy is that an understatement. "Decent" doesn't even begin describe the level of complete submission of his entire being to becoming Joker in this movie. If you had no idea who was playing the Joker in this movie, you would *never*, *EVER* have guessed it was Heath Ledger. It was as though he ceased to become Heath Ledger, the actor, and just morphed into The Joker from the Batman universe. It wasn't a "performance", it was a total transformation. The best thing that I liked about it is, he took it to the extreme, but he never crossed the line into over-acting the part. You see him in his funniest, darkest and creepiest moments, but every time, it seems like he looks past the make-up and the costumes and the posture and just delivers sharp and philosophical dialogue in that creepy, creepy voice with such effortlessness. What brilliant preparation.

Best movie villain performance I have ever seen.

Everyone else was great. Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine. Gary Oldman: always cool... solid performances all round. Great to see Eric Roberts! Nice little cameo from William Fichtner as well and Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, do yourself a favour and go see it as soon as you can.

This is quite possibly the *coolest* movie I have ever seen. It went completely beyond my expectations. I read some great reviews about it, heard people say how fantastic it was, but it wasn't until I actually saw it myself that I realised its incredible *awesome-ness*. Scene after scene was just sheer brilliance. From the direction, to the acting, to the production design. Everything about it was amazing.

What impressed me most were the stunning visuals. Everything you see, every millimetre of the screen is beautiful. Earthy colours. Nothing but brown, red and green. Brilliant, rich, blood red capes on the Spartan soldiers stand out against the rich brown and gold tones and shades of everything else. Unlike other adaptations, this one truly feels like a moving graphic novel. Frame after frame just flows flawlessly on the screen.

Good, solid acting. Nothing underplayed. Nothing over-the-top. Gerry Butler is always interesting to watch - he makes an impressive King Leonidas, totally worthy of the part. Lena Headey makes a strong queen and great support play by David Wenham and Michael Fassbender. I cannot recommend this movie enough. Best movie I've seen so far this year and probably for the rest of the year. Like I said: it's just so *cool*. A+++++, *****/*****, 10/10.

For all those using the word "pure" to describe Bond in this movie: I agree 110 per cent. Before I get to Daniel Craig (fantastic, *fantastic*), I'd just like to say that I'm among those people who say that this movie is the best Bond movie yet. It was more real, more believable, more from-planet-Earth. The plot was simple enough to understand (sorry, but it was), the characters were less outrageous and we finally learn that Bond is after all, one among us. Human. He thinks and he *feels* - instead of just looking fantastic (which Craig evidently had no problem with).

Now I'll talk about him. Yes, absolutely, without a doubt - best Bond ever. We all know Sean Connery was brilliant, Pierce Brosnan was awesome etc etc etc, but Daniel Craig gave Bond that human touch that has always been lacking from the other movies. He didn't have many fancy gadgets to play with, so all he could do was show us what he could do with James Bond as a character and not as a complicated piece of machinery. He's always been a fine actor and I have to say, I was really looking forward to how he'd do in a Bond film. I loved what he did with Bond. He added a new dimension to the character and did not, for a second, look like he was uncomfortable in the least. Not even for a nano-second did I have to think, "Man, they made the wrong choice here. So-and-so could have been so much better." I can't wait to see him in the next one.

Mads Mikkelsen as a villain was great too. Quiet, subtle, there to do the job. Nothing over-the-top. No over-acting. (Kind of like Sean Bean's Alec Trevelyan in GoldenEye - good, solid acting). I really liked Eva Green in this movie as well. She was way more likable and less annoying than Bond girls of the past. She has a really natural, loose acting style. No artificiality.

Boy oh boy, this movie was refreshing. It was like a breath of fresh air after being caught up in a huge cloud of dense smog. With the exception of GoldenEye, which was awesome, the double-o movies just seemed to be one brainless, action-packed drag after another. It was so good just to see a *real* story, with *real* characters and great acting - with the action thrown in for good measure (and that itself was a whole lot of fun too).

Doesn't matter if you're a Bond fan or not, GO AND SEE THIS MOVIE. You will not regret it. If it's not screening anymore where you are and you're waiting for the DVD release, grab it immediately.

10/10, *****/***** A++++++

OK now... I've never been a big Leonardo DiCaprio fan, but I have always believed that he is a brilliant actor. "What's Eating Gilbert Grape", "Gangs of New York", "Catch Me If You Can", "The Aviator" and now "The Departed." All fantastic performances. This might be a bit premature for me to say, but after four Golden Globe nominations with one win, plus two Oscar nominations... come on Academy people, hand over an Oscar to this guy, he deserves it. (Martin Scorcese's is a whole other request... I've given up on that one). He really held his own against an acting powerhouse like Jack Nicholson (who was, of course, great as well). In fact there were times when he actually stole the scene from him. If ever there was a character you sympathised with from the very beginning, it was this guy. And DiCaprio's performance really helped build that feeling.

Matt Damon has been steadily pacing himself as an actor of immense worth as well. His career speaks for itself. Solid performances every time. It was nice to see him play a character like this though. I agree with people here who say he should do this type of role more often. He was believable, it worked.

Martin Sheen was, well, Martin Sheen. Great screen presence.

Alec Baldwin was hilarious. I love the way he just disappears into his characters. He just 'blends in' with the atmosphere created by the scene. Swift, sharp dialogue execution. I love it.

But Mark Wahlberg stole the show for me. He didn't have as much screen time as the others, but man oh man, he just killed it. Brilliant performance. There are times when you wonder whether he's going to be in the next scene just so you can see him again. He stood out in every scene he was in: in the beginning with Sheen and DiCaprio and then later with Nicholson, Baldwin and Damon. I think he's always had this in him, but he really needed a quality film like this (Scorcese being the director has gotta help) to show what he can really do. I was blown away by his performance.

In fact there wasn't a hair out of line in all the performances. We've all been hearing it for weeks and I'll just say it again... this is a superbly-cast movie.

Now with the acting out of the way, let's get to the rest of the movie. It was thrilling, it was suspenseful and it took me a few minutes to get used to the ending, but the longer I thought about it, the more I liked it. I haven't seen "Internal Affairs" so I have no idea how similar this is to that. But I don't like making too many comparisons anyway. This movie stands out quite prominently on its own. A bit of a slow start, but things really heat up after the first hour.

Highly recommended. :-) ****/***** 9/10.

This movie started fairly well, but then it just kept getting worse and worse. I hated the story and I hated the dialogue. The only thing that kept me watching was the hope that *something* interesting might happen in the next few minutes. Nothing interesting happens. It's boring and it feels way too long, even for a running time of an hour and a half. The "creepy" atmosphere wasn't even creepy.

The acting was good though. I can watch Robert Downey Jr in anything. He's got a really unique style and gets into his characters well. Halle Berry and Penelope Cruz were both good as well. There are reviewers here who say that this movie was worth watching and then there are some who say that it's a waste of time. I agree with the latter.

I could have been doing something else. Anything else.

1/10. */*****

Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man. This movie was fantastic. The game scared the hell out of me, but that's not the only reason I wanted to see the movie. I'm a huge Sean Bean fan and I'd watch anything if it had him in it for even half a second. BUT, this movie has SO MANY MORE reasons for people to watch it.

The production design is brilliant. The visuals are haunting and eerie and although it doesn't have many "scary" moments, it has deeply haunting and disturbing visuals, which in the context of the entire story are great. Nothing is there just for the sake of being there. And NOTHING is left out. Nothing is implied. It's all there. The blood, the creatures, the creepy atmosphere.

And then we have the siren. The movie gets into full horror mode whenever that siren sounds and "The Darkness" descends. It quite possibly delivers the creepiest feeling you'll ever have. I completely agree with all those people who said that it's the best game-to-movie adaptation ever.

The acting was really good from everyone. The only criticism I have there is that Radha Mitchell needs to work on her American accent a bit. It kind of restricts her expression in her dialogue delivery sometimes.

Highly recommended movie, especially for horror fans and not necessarily for just lovers of the game.

****/*****

This was a good movie, but I thought it had somewhat of an unsatisfsying ending (well, to me anyway). Sad too. It moves nicely, though and you don't want to be interrupted. It can get rather graphic at times, but that's mainly because of the subject material, I guess. Geoffrey Rush is brilliant.He has a real knack for bringing strange and twisted characters to life. Michael Caine is doing his usual job of being superb as well. Every new role Kate Winslet performs is different from the previous and she excels every time. She expresses emotion very well. And my goodness, Joaquin Phoenix. I wouldn't say that I was ever a *fan* of his, but damn, now I am. If there was ever a performance that just made me melt, this was it. The restrained emotions and frustration of unfulfilled desires of his character were just performed brilliantly. This guy's an amazing actor.

First thing's first... the main reason I went to see this movie was because of Sean Bean... he's one of my all time favourite actors. I just made it a point that whether or not this movie was actually good, I would force myself to like it because he was in it. I actually genuinely enjoyed the movie. :) I though it was great. I walked out of there quite entertained. I wasn't really concerned with it's similarities to The DaVinci Code or whether or not some of the historical information was accurate... I just had a good time watching the story unravel on screen. The performances were pretty decent. Nicolas Cage, as usual, does a pretty good job with the lead role, Diane Kruger looks great and Justin Bartha was very likable... the guy has perfect comic timing. Sean Bean, of course, in my humble opinion, was brilliant as the greedy, deceitful villain. A great thing about him is that he never overplays his characters. He sets exactly the right tone needed for a specific situation.

This film was well worth 2 hours of my time. ****/*****

I am not American nor do I know the history of New York, but if this film is anything to go by, I think that the New York of that time period would not have been a very pleasant place to live. This film is very graphic and rather disturbing. But it is worth sitting through for the acting.

A lot of people have said that Daniel Day-Lewis should have won the best actor Oscar... and I won't say anything different. He was just phenomenal. Pure genius. He totally transformed himself into Bill the Butcher and not for one second could you see any part of Daniel the Actor. The expressions, the body-language, the dialogue delivery... absolutely brilliant. It's a shame that he hasn't done a lot more films but maybe that's where the "quality over quantity" factor comes in. He could easily be doing lots of movies, but I guess his greatness lies in the fact that he can come out every few years with a performance like his life depended on it and then disappear. One thing's for sure, he never loses his charm. One of the greatest of all time, definitely.

I've never been a big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, but I do believe that he is an exceptional actor. "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?", "Catch Me If You Can" and now this one... all solid, intense performances. He really got into character and did a great job despite the accent slip-ups.

The less said about Cameron Diaz, the better. I will agree with everyone who has said that she was less annoying in this movie than usual. Decent performance, but nothing noteworthy.

The rest of the supporting cast is great. Jim Broadbent, Brendan Gleeson, John C. Reily... all fine actors. And then of course, Liam Neeson. His role was short, but whatever he does is always excellent.

My rating: 8/10.

OK.... ummm.... Mr. Shyamalan.... WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU???!!!

This was one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my entire life. The acting was pretty good, but the movie was pathetic. The "surprise ending" wasn't even a surprise... it wasn't even an ending...

This film started from no where and ended up no where. Throughout the whole thing I kept thinking, "maybe something will happen now, maybe something will happen now..." Nothing ever happened. Completely over-hyped. The trailer was so cool, but the movie was a disaster.

I want my money back.

*/*****

This film was excellent. Absolutely fantastic. The style made you realise immediately that the movie was in the hands of another director. (Nothing against Chris Columbus... I loved the first two movies as well). It was definitely darker and scarier than the previous ones and the acting and effects were superb. The kids have really grown into mature actors and now that they have a bit more practice and experience, they looked and performed great. I haven't read the books, but I loved the story. Emma Thompson did a good job but I feel she was wasted. The movie could have done without those scenes... A very enjoyable experience... awesome film. *****/*****

This was a truly unforgettable film. Beautifully made and superbly acted. Tom Hanks is definitely, definitely one of the great masters of the craft of acting and he never disappoints. I'd watch this movie for his expressions alone. Tyler Hoechlin was excellent. The movie more or less centered around him and he did a wonderful job. Jude Law was of course, brilliant and Paul Newman was fantastic as well. The viewer is kept in constant suspense throughout the whole movie and the rainy atmosphere helps build up the gloomy mood very well. This is one of the movies that after watching stays in you mind for quite a while. Highly recommended. *****/*****

Amazing animation, amazing voice acting, amazing dialogues, amazing movie!!!! Every single character in this movie is extraordinary! I just have to say that Dory is the most hilarious movie character in the history of cinema. This is one of the best animated feature films of all time and boy does it deserve the Oscar this year! A father goes in search of his son Nemo after he is taken away by a scuba diver and the fun starts from there! Exciting, thrilling and an entire ocean of laughter from start to finish! Absolutely brilliant! The guys from PIXAR have really outdone themselves this time! 10/10 *****/***** A+++++

Why on earth hasn't Johnny Depp got an Oscar yet???? Even if he doesn't do a movie in a whole year, they should just give him one for being a darn good actor. Darn great actor, infact! This movie was an adventure. One that you could go on again and again and again. Every aspect of the movie was extremely entertaining. As soon as Johnny Depp enters, you know that there's gonna be a hell of a performance. And there was. That guy can play anything and I really wouldn't mind if he played a pirate for the rest of his life! His ability to put on almost any accent for any role is absolutely amazing. He doesn't slip up even for a second. Orlando Bloom looked really good, Keira Knightley looked really pretty and this role suited her well. Geoffrey Rush was amazing, as always. The direction was excellent and the dialogues were hilarious. Very highly recommended! *****/*****

Excellent. Extremely captivating. Didn't wanna look away for a second. Leonardo DiCaprio has always been an incredible actor (I think so anyway) - I'm not a huge fan of his, but you gotta hand it to the guy - he's an amazing actor. His expressions and dialogue delivery are very natural. He pulled this role off perfectly. Tom Hanks as expected, was great. This man can do anything. Anything. Every role fits him perfectly. I don't care what this guy plays, I'll go see him everytime. And of course, Spielberg rules.

If you haven't seen this movie, get off the computer, NOW and go and rent it. No, don't rent it, BUY it. It's worth every cent!

*****/***** 10/10 100% A+

This movie was refreshing. It will come out in Sydney on August 6th, so it was kind of cool to find out that this amazingly charming, sweet and highly enjoyable movie would be on in the plane on my way to Singapore last week. The costumes are very cute, the sets are very cute and the actors are very cute.

Renee Zelwegger as the highly ambitious Barbara Novak does a splendid job and fits into the role quite well. I liked the way she used her voice in certain dialogues and her facial expressions were good too. Although I've never been a big fan of hers, this movie changed my perspective on her performances a little bit.

Ewan McGregor is the cool, suave and extremely good looking Catcher Block. This guy can fit into almost any role. I just love this man's expressions, his accent, his hand gestures... everything about him is absolutely adorable. That's just how his character is as well. His way of walking, talking, gesturing... very smooth.

David Hyde Pierce as Catcher's boss Peter MacMannus and Sarah Paulson as Barbara's editor, Vicki Hiller were delightfully funny and both did a great job in keeping true to their character. If you're looking for light entertainment and just something to make you smile, this is the movie for you! *****/*****

Well.... let me see. It started out just fine. Then all of a sudden I just don't know what happened. I haven't read the book, so I don't want to comment too strongly, but in all seriousness, this was a very, very, very average movie. Even a few points below average in some parts. There's a certain feeling you get from reading a book and no matter how cool or how creepy the book is, you just can't make a film good enough to capture the essence of the story. Especially if it's a Stephen King book. His books are extremely difficult to translate into a motion picture and with only a few exceptions, most of those movies are just not worth watching. The four main characters were interesting though and well-acted. Donnie Wahlberg was great, but Morgan Freeman was totally, totally wasted.

Stephen King's books are great, but that's about it. I just wish they would stop making movies on them. See it if you really want to, but I'd suggest to wait until it comes out on DVD or video.

First thing's first... Nicole Kidman was absolutely brilliant.

This movie raises creepiness to a whole new level. The direction and suspense level are just excellent. Very few horror movies are made this way. The less you see and the more you feel and hear... the scarier it gets. The main character, Grace, is determined to keep herself and her children protected from strange "intruders" in the house which she has been living in for five years. The sudden appearance of three mysterious servants hasn't made it all that easier for her either. So, you can imagine the extremely tense feeling that Grace is overcome by throughout most of the movie. And Nicole does the perfect job of keeping that tense expression on her face for the entire duration. Both of the kids did a great job and though Christopher Eccleston's role was a bit short, he was great too. Very interesting, full of suspense and some fantastic twists and turns. Highly recommended. 10/10.

Ok... Richard Gere doing a tap-dance... and looking so incredibly cool doing it... that came very late in the movie, but I have got to tell you, that was one of the coolest movie/musical items in the history of movie/musical items that I've ever seen. It wasn't really long, but it was very impressive. Ok, now for the rest of the movie. It was beautiful. It started with a bang and ended with one. The musical items, costumes, acting, sets, direction - everything was brilliant. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renee Zellweger and Richard Gere looked really good and have unbelievably good voices. Great performanes as well, Renee just stole the show. Everyone else was just perfectly cast... John C. Reilly, Queen Latifah, Taye Diggs. If you haven't seen this yet, go and see it, it's well worth your time. 10/10.

Ok... here's the deal.... if you're an Eminem fan and you haven't seen this movie, watch it. If you're not an Eminem fan and you haven't seen this movie, watch it. He was great, he was in every scene and he did total justice to his role. The story's not all that bad either... a guy who just doesn't let go of any opportunity he might get to make a better life for himself and gain the respect of people around him, most of whom are of a different race. Quite meaningful and well written. 9/10.

Pretty interesting, not bad. More or less shows the evils of getting too greedy for your own good I guess... Alex Kingston was really good, the guy who played Billy was good too, but Sean Bean was the best. He's a very good actor (and very nice to look at too), he more or less had the whole movie in his hands.

It had a very surprising ending (although I got suspicious and then not-so-suspicious numerous times during the whole movie). The story wasn't bad at all, but watch it for the cast. 6/10.

This movie is a classic. So vibrant, so spectacular, so captivating. It had every single quality of a great musical. Not a single song was out of place. Just by looking at the elaborate sets and costumes, you could tell that a huge amount of effort and passion was put into this. The story is very ordinary, but the way that Baz Luhrmann has presented it is simply delightful. And the singing... oh dear Lord, Ewan and Nicole's voices! They were so good! It didn't look as if they were doing this for the first time (although Ewan did sing in A Life Less Ordinary - but that was just one song), it looked like they had been singing for ages! By the way, I loved how they turned "Roxanne" into a tango.

Ok, now for the acting. I was so surprised that Ewan McGregor didn't get any nomination for Best Actor at the Oscars. He was just great, superb, amazing, excellent. Not just his singing (and his oh-so-attractive appearance) but his expressions. You could almost feel every emotion Christian (his character) was feeling, it reflected so clearly on his face while he was singing AND acting. This guy is a very, very good actor and now we all know he can sing as well!

Nicole Kidman was very impressive and she has also proven that she has a beautiful singing voice as well. Her performance was brilliant as well and I was glad that she got a nomination. She looked great too. She portrayed every aspect of Satine (her character) very genuinely.

Now anyone who's seen Richard Roxburgh before could almost laugh when they see him in the Duke's role. He had to change his voice and normal facial appearance and the way that he carried himself was so much suited to the character, that sometimes you didn't even realise that this was Richard. Excellent performance, I loved it.

Jim Broadbent is so good at every role that he does. Even though he got an Oscar for Iris this year, his performance in this movie was great too. It was a very difficult role, but he played it to perfection.

I've always been a fan of John Leguizamo's work. His character was a very difficult one too and he didn't disappoint me at all this time either. The accent along with the humourous personality of Toulouse Lautrec was nicely done.

There was only one big disappointment and that was that Baz Luhrmann did not get nominated for an Academy Award. Now that was simply not fair. This certainly wasn't a movie to be overlooked. Even if they intentionally did not nominate him, there was no reason for it. That spectacular, visually stunning piece of work definitely could not have been achieved without him. He's got such an imaginative and artistic outlook on various aspects of life and he really makes very interesting and entertaining films to say the least.

One of the best musicals of all time, definitely. *****/***** Watch it.