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The Act of Killing (2012)
Possibly the best documentary ever made
No other film has left me so speechless. This is how documentaries should be made; documenting the facts and letting the audience decide what to make of it. It tells the story of horrible atrocities committed by mass murderers, told by the very murderers themselves.
The biggest strength of this movie is that it puts you in a very unsettling spot. You know these people are monsters, and their acts were heinous. But at the same time, no one seems to be bothered by it. Everyone acts casual and talks about it without flinching. You get drawn into their mad world just to find out why they are acting like this. What could possibly be their mindset? Is it denial? Some twisted sense of justice? Are they just, plain and simple, crazy? The movie never gives it's own conclusion, it leaves it to you.
People are giving this film props for it's chilling reenactments of war crimes, and covering a genocide not many have known about. Those are all true, but the real reason why 'The Act of Killing' is truly groundbreaking is the one I mentioned above. Other than that, its also a deep narrative about humanity that kills each other so much and then writes it in history. "War crimes are defined by the winners".
Everyone absolutely has to watch this documentary. Yes it's haunting and not very fun, but its also eye opening and an important study of human nature.
Tron: Legacy (2010)
Could have been so much better
God, I wish Tron: Legacy had better script and characters. Because if it did, it would've been a modern day masterpiece. Apart from those two things, nearly everything in this film is super top notch. Starting with the visuals. CGI has been done to death in many ways by other movies, but nothing like this. The world of the Grid is both technically and artistically beautiful. A digital world with a dark color pallet lit by shimmering glows of neon lights. This is one of the best looking movies I've ever seen. I give it extra merit for being creative and imaginative.
And don't even get me started on the soundtrack. Whoever made the decision to get Daft Punk to compose Tron's music deserves an award for the best decision making of the decade. Their electronic techno style score fits this movie like a glove. It makes sense to have it for this kind of movie. Combine that with the visuals, and Tron is incredibly immersive....except, when the characters come on screen.
Jeff Bridges is a great actor, but he just doesn't have much of a good script to work with. He tries to deliver it as best he can, and gives a good performance nonetheless. The real problem is nearly everybody else. The main protagonist and Olivia Wilde aren't that great either. Most of the dialogue is just tedious plot explanation. There's also a painful lack of good humor. There are very few character moments, but they just fall falt. It seems like this movie got so obsessed with creating a digital world, that it forgot to work on it's human element.
But that is all worth bearing, because like I said, this is a stunning visual experience. I bought this movie on BluRay and I never regretted it.
The Expendables 3 (2014)
I had to force myself to finish
I was not a big fan of the Expendables 1. Expendables 2 was a bit better, thanks to Simon West's direction. Expendables 3 however, took a big step backwards. It had a lazy script and was painfully clichéd. I know its a throwback to the 80's, but thats no excuse for a movie to be downright lazy and not at least try to innovate. Also, it has a lot more down time. A lot more. Whereas expendables 2 was loaded to the brim with action, expendables 3 takes a lot of time for character development which is not interesting, expect for a handful of times.
There were some good moments though. And most of them involved Mel Gibson. I can't remember the last time I saw him as a villain, but he should definitely do it more often. He plays a soldier turned bad. Kind of reminded me of Ed Harris in The Rock. He is a good mix of crazy, and professional. The film's final act was also good, but it was all ruined thanks to one thing. The showdown between Stallone and Gibson. We all knew it was coming but when it did, it was underwhelming as hell. Complete waste of potential.
As for the other characters, they are basically divided into two groups; the old and young expendables. Almost NO ONE in the young expendables is likable. The old expendables are OK though. More of the same, with a cool addition of Wesley Snipes. Antonio Banderas however was annoying.
Overall, I give this movie a 5/10. I was fresh off watching the Raid 2 and Winter Soldier which are far better action movies. Expendables 3 was just painfully average.
Free to Play (2014)
A surprisingly emotional look into the growing world of E-Sports.
Free to Play follows the story of three pro-gamers who are given the chance to win 1 million dollars from the tournament of the online video game Dota 2. The Ukrainian prodigy Dendi, the American veteran Fear, and the Singaporean talent HyHy.
Right off the bat, this is a beautifully shot and expertly edited documentary. The in game footage itself has been spiced up to fit the drama, and even though you will hear a lot of gaming jargon, it will be very clear as to whose winning or losing in the heat of things.
What I didn't expect, was the amount of emotion Free to Play builds up. You realize that these players have literally given it all to pursue a career in gaming and the pressure is on. Pretty much all three, especially HyHy, have parents who blatantly disprove their career choices and would rather have them studying and pursuing a more stable path. The film does not glamourize E-Sports as a sure fire way to fame and fortune. E-Sports is a high risk, high reward, winner takes all industry and does not guarantee a steady income. How these players deal the pressure from home, and at a tournament at such a young age is truly remarkable. Close to the end, this movie can become a real tear-jerker for the light hearted.
E-Sports is a fast growing industry, and Valve has made a great contribution to promoting it. As for the criticism that Free to Play is just an extended commercial for Dota is very unfair. It is akin to calling 'Senna' an extended commercial for Formula 1. Of course the sport in question will be featured time to time. Free to Play is a look into the human side of this sport and the motivations and challenges of the players. My only real complain is that it is a bit short. I would have loved to see another 20 minutes just to hit the 90 minute mark.
Overall, this is a solid and well made documentary. It is available to watch for free on YouTube and I would recommend playing it in full HD.
Waar (2013)
Over-Rated as Hell
Although I went in to see Waar being pretty lenient, considering this is probably the only big budget Pakistani movie ever, i was very much disappointed by what I saw. this movie had a lot of potential, and they didn't make use of any of it.
most of it is in English, which is my biggest complaint. it feels too much Hollywood-wanabe when you see pakistanis speaking in English, and i couldn't help but laugh every time they swear. also the story is pretty generic. its your typical story of big bad terrorist on the rise, and our super mega awesome commando hero must stop them with the help of the sexy female agent and the agency of brave patriotic soldiers. it also feels like a fluff propaganda at times which i simply cant take seriously.
i give this movie 2 points. 1 for the some of the action, which was better than i expected. 1 for shaan's acting; he's a good actor with a crap role, but he still carries the movie as best he can.
giving this movie a 9 (which most users are doing) is a joke. dark knight and godfather have that kind of score, and this movie doesn't even have an atom's worth of merit those movies have.
Shingeki no Kyojin (2013)
Epic series! A must watch for all
Attack on Titan grips you from its first episode and continues to surprise you as it moves on. It has a large roster of characters who are developed throughout the entire series, but the focus are the three friends; Eren, Armin and Mikasa. The story follows their journey fighting in the last resistance against the nightmarish creatures called Titans who have literally devoured the majority of mankind and pushed them to extinction.
Attack on Titan gets really epic at certain moments. Couple that with the best soundtrack I've heard in an anime, and this series gets the adrenaline pumping. The action sequences are lengthy and well made, mixing traditional 2D animation with 3D CGI. Overall animation is solid throughout, and really beautiful at times.
My only complain is that at certain times the pace of the story comes to a crawl. But its well made up for later on, so its nothing serious by any means.
This is an easy recommendation to anyone remotely interested in anime's but I strongly suggest this to one's who are NOT into anime. If this series doesn't appeal you, then no anime will.
The World's End (2013)
And so, the trilogy ends!
Close followers of Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg knew this movie was coming, since Shaun and Fuzz were planned as a trilogy. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are back, and this time, they embark on the pub crawl of their lives, and they will finish it even if makes the world end (literally).
If your a fan of the Edgar's previous movies, you will have a blast through this one. This time its Simon Pegg who is the dimwit of the the Simon-Frost duo and he leads a great cast through a movie thats funny, thrilling, loaded with action, and smartly written. There are cameos, hidden references and throwbacks everywhere, and it might take multiple viewings to spot them all (did you see the Winchester's pinball machine??). There's also a lot more action in the World's End, mixing the art of bar fighting with kung fu (you'll get it when you see the movie).
There were times I felt like the dialogue is a little too fast, but overall, its very smartly written, as you would expect from Edgar Wright. The film also has wider array of characters, and each are given equal attention and nobody is really worth forgetting.
Smart, fast, action packed, and hilarious. 8/10
Gravity (2013)
Thrilling. Beautiful. Emotionally Engaging. 10/10
The trailer of the movie sells it as a space thriller in 3D, which sounds highly generic. Gravity is anything but.
The story is very simple but through its imagery and subtle dialogue, the film tells you so much more. Its a universal movie that reminds you life can be tough, and there are things that haunt you. But sometimes, you just have to let go. Let go and enjoy the ride that is life. Any person going and has been through tough times can relate.
Visually, words aren't enough to describe how breathtaking it is. This is the best use of CGI I've seen in a long time. It's only made better by the amazing cinematography, and Alfonso Cauron's signature super long takes with the camera free floating in space.
Only two actors in this movie, and both nail it. That's all I will say. In fact, its better if you watch Gravity knowing as little about it. Do yourself a favor and see this movie no matter what type of person you are. I recommend 3D-Imax. It's definitely worth the money.